The four boats continued to move forward, Cui Ruoyu went to rest in the cabin, and Wang Yuan never left the bow of the boat, observing the situation of the waterway. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 info Cui Ruoyu ordered the maid to send refreshments to Wang Yuan several times, but a few dishes of refreshments did not move at all, and every time the maid Xiao Pian came, she always looked at Wang Yuan motionless and stared at the water in surprise, and reported to Miss Cui Ruoyu truthfully after going back. Cui Ruoyu hummed softly every time, and then continued to read the book with the scroll without saying anything. After a while, he asked the maidservant Xiao Lian to send a pot of tea and a plate of snacks.

Wang Yuan stood at the bow of the boat, watching the sun cross the sky overhead, slowly falling on the western horizon. The anxiety in my heart can be imagined. Originally, the sun was setting, the mountains and fields were dyed, the sunset was like fire, and the colorful scenery on the water surface of the trees was very beautiful, but he didn't have the slightest mind to appreciate it.

Eventually, the river ahead changed, the embankment narrowed, the current became stronger, and the speed of the boat tracing became much slower. There was also a gourd-waist-like estuary in front of him, Wang Yuan carefully observed the width of the river, and felt that it was almost there, and two big boats could block it horizontally in this river, so he shouted loudly: "Miss Cui, please come and take a look." ”

Cui Ruoyu had actually noticed the changes in the river, and as soon as Wang Yuan's words fell, she had already slowly walked onto the bow of the boat.

"Miss Cui, if you look at the river here, it should be a great place." Wang Yuan pointed to both sides of the riverbank.

Cui Ruoyu looked at the river carefully, nodded slightly, and said: "The river here is narrow, less than three zhang deep, it should be a suitable place." So Captain Wang, here he is? ”

Wang Yuan nodded and said, "This is it." It's been almost four hours. I have a bad feeling that we'd better do it right away. ”

Cui Ruoyu nodded in response, and ordered someone to order the three big boats in front of him to stop, and the oarsmen and boatmen slowly adjusted their positions, and lined up the three big boats side by side on the river. Wang Yuan and Cui Ruoyu got on the first boat in Xishou from the gangplank, and the warehouse full of grain on that boat was neatly stacked. There was quite a bit of other cargo on board.

"Scuttling the ship." Cui Ruoyu ordered in a deep voice.

A dozen oarsmen, not asking why, went to the bottom of the cabin with axes and began to chisel the bottom of the big ship. The ship was extremely strong, and the bottom was very thick. All of them are spliced together with the elasticity and toughness of tung oil. There are also mortise and tenon joints and iron rivets connected to each other between the wood and the wood, and the thick keel of the arm is densely packed. The gang worked hard for a long time, and only a few small gaps were made. The river was pouring in quickly, but the boats were too slow. It took half an hour for the first boat to sink into the river. After a burst of bubbles and whirlpools, the entire ship and the thousands of stones of grain on board sank. The mast at the top of the wreck is exposed to the water, and most of the hull is half a foot underwater. This is exactly the optimal depth at which the ship passes.

By the time the second ship sank, it was already dark. The boatmen sank it by the light of the lantern torches. A boatman also accidentally fell overboard and was almost wrenched by the whirlpool of the wreck. If Wang Yuan hadn't thrown a rope for him to grab and pull him out of the whirlpool, I am afraid that he would have been trapped at the bottom of the warehouse.

The third ship continued to gouge through the bottom of the ship, which was also more than half an hour, when the bottom of the ship began to enter the water. However, due to the dim light, the boatmen were unable to act in unison. As a result, only one of the three holes was opened. The river bubbled in, and the strong current staggered several boatmen at the bottom of the boat, and when they got up again, they could no longer find a place to cut through the hole, and they could not enlarge the hole. Therefore, although the water flow is strong, the speed of water inflow is much slower.

Everyone had no choice but to wait slowly. However, it was not long before a sharp-eyed boatman suddenly saw a little flickering light on the surface of the river at the bend in the river to the north. After the boatman pointed it out, in a short time when everyone stared at it, that little light became a dense light like a starry sky.

Wang Yuan gasped and said, "Rebels, that's the rebels' fleet has arrived." ”

The boatmen were terrified. The flotilla approached in the distance at a rapid pace. With the speed of the water and the power of the sails, in just a short tea time, it has been two or three miles away. The rebels were already clearly visible on the large ship that bore the brunt of the attack.

"Get ready to set sail and leave." Wang Yuan shouted.

Everyone hurriedly evacuated along the gangplank to the ship, but Wang Yuan did not move, but picked up a springboard and put it on the slowly sinking big ship, and got up to go to the sunken ship. Cui Ruoying frowned and shouted, "Captain Wang, what are you doing?" ”

Wang Yuan said: "This ship is sinking too slowly, and the rebels will not be able to sink even if they arrive here." In that case, the rebel ship will crash into the gap, and I'm going to make it sink faster. ”

"But how can you do it?" Cui Ruoying shouted.

Wang Yuan grinned and said: "I have my means, I just refused to go into the water before, but now I have to go into the water." ”

Wang Yuan took three steps and two steps onto the sloping deck of the big ship, pulled out the broken sword with a bang, grabbed the thick rope on the deck with his left hand and pulled it around a few times, his body jumped into the air, and jumped into the black river with a 'poof'.

Cui Ruoyu and everyone shouted in surprise, and they all poked their heads from the bow of the boat to look underwater. But the surface of the water was dark, and the sound of the whirlpool of water was all over the eyes, and there was a dull abnormal sound of the sinking hull of the ship. I couldn't see Wang Yuan's shadow, nor could I hear the slightest sound of him.

The crowd waited anxiously, and the time passed extremely long, and the rebel ships in the distance came at a rapid pace, gradually reaching hundreds of paces away. The rebels on board had also spotted the ship with the lantern on it, and they began to wait and shout.

Everyone was anxious, but Cui Ruoyu did not give the order to sail, and the boatmen did not dare to act. When he was at a loss, he saw the waves on the black water, Wang Yuan's wet head came out of the water, and he breathed in a big gulp of air while waving his arms to the building boat. Behind him, the big ship was sinking at a great speed, the whirlpool on the surface of the water was turbulent, and the sound of the water surging was dull and terrifying.

"Quick, get him on board." Cui Ruoyu shouted loudly.

The boatman threw down the rope, and Wang Yuan grabbed the rope and was pulled onto the boat. While everyone was asking, they heard a loud bang, and a feathered arrow grazed the scalp of a boatman and nailed it to the post at the stern, and the tail of the arrow trembled and made a buzzing sound.

The next moment, the sound of countless feather arrows breaking through the air came, and Wang Yuan shouted: "Hide!" The rebels have released their arrows! With that, he stretched out his wet arms, hugged Cui Ruoyu and Li'er's master and servant one by one, and bounced up hard under his feet, and the three of them rolled into the ship's hall.

……

The sound of the "tuk tuk tuk" arrows hitting the hull of the ship was as dense as raindrops, and several strings of wind lanterns hanging on the stern mast were shot down on the stern deck by the dense rain of arrows, and several strings of fireballs were instantly raised. In the midst of the noise, the screams of the shipwrights were heard, apparently someone had been shot.

Wang Yuan shouted: "Hurry up the boat, hurry up and start the boat." ”

Dozens of boatmen hurriedly began to move, supporting the boat, paddling the oars, and the boat began to retreat quickly to the south. The rebel ships in the rear approached at a rapid pace, and the arrows became more and more dense and fired at the ships. "Pengpeng" sounded several times, and the exquisite long window behind the ship's hall was broken into pieces by the sawdust. Several powerful crossbows with a muffled thunderous sound shot into the ship's hall from the hole, and struck deep into the ground.

Wang Yuan knew that this was a crossbow fired from a bed crossbow, and the rebels' ships were equipped with bed crossbows, although this thing was not very powerful, it was still very deterrent to these wooden ships. In a few moments, the wooden wall behind the ship's hall would shatter. Then the ship hall loses its shelter. Thinking of this, Wang Yuan held Cui Ruoyu and Xiao Lian in his arms one by one, and his body jumped up and rushed behind a thick wooden pillar. As soon as he hid himself, the wooden wall of his hiding place suddenly burst open, and the wooden wall full of carved windows at the back of the entire hall was gone. Countless arrows shot directly from the hole, and the wooden pillar where the three of them were hiding burst like a popping sound like rain hitting lotus leaves. The wooden pillar instantly turned into a porcupine full of feathered arrows. The three of them shrugged their shoulders and hugged each other tightly, listening to the whizzing of arrows and crossbow arrows buzzing past, bursting the sawdust in the ship's hall and making a mess.

The boatmen of the Cui family rowed desperately, and the sails on three sides were raised, and the building boat, which was shrouded in arrows, quickly broke away to the south. The rebel ships in the rear did not slow down and rushed over. The arrows were firing more and more violently. Suddenly, however, a violent crash resounded through the canal. The rebel ship suddenly crashed into a wall, and the hundreds of rebel soldiers on the deck turned into rolling gourds with inertia, and many of them screamed and rolled into the icy river. Others were thrown high, screaming and falling into the river. The moment the crash came, all the arrows disappeared, and everything came to an abrupt halt.

Wang Yuan reacted immediately, dodged out from behind the pillars, and looked at the river behind the open boat hall, the figures of the rebels on the big boat were shaking, and the lights were shaking. Countless panicked shouts and screams were being heard clearly.

"Hahaha, bumped into, bumped into." Wang Yuan laughed loudly: "Miss Cui, have you seen it?" The rebel ship crashed into the sunken ship. ”

Cui Ruoyu whispered, "You let me go first." ”

Wang Yuan only found out at this time that he was holding Cui Ruoyu's master and servant in his arms and didn't let go, his hands were still tightly hugging Cui Ruoyu's soft and elastic waist, and the two warm and fragrant bodies were being tightly hugged by his chest. The fragrant body odor rushes straight to the end of the nose.

Wang Yuan hurriedly let go with a sigh of relief, and said embarrassedly: "Rude and rude, don't blame the two of you, it's not intentional rudeness." ”

Cui Ruoyu turned her back, sorted out the messy hair bun and clothes, and said softly: "Don't say it, I didn't say that you did it on purpose." ”

Everyone went to the aft deck of the building and watched from afar at the rebel ship that had crashed into the sunken ship. The rebel ship had already crossed over, and under the boat, there was chaos and noise above and below the water, shouting and shouting were intertwined, the lights were shaking, and the figures were chaotic, and it was a chaotic scene. On the river behind the big ship, countless boats were crowded together, and the chaotic shadows of the ships were slanting horizontally, and they had all been moored. Obviously, they didn't dare to force their way through.

"It worked, and it was in vain that we took this risk." Cui Ruoyu said in a low voice.

Wang Yuan smiled and nodded: "Yes, it took three big ships, tens of thousands of stones of grain and so many goods of your Cui family have sunk, this money is spent so much, there is always something to gain." ”

Cui Ruoyu said: "These are nothing, but it is worth it to stop their steps." I just don't know how long I can block it. ”

Wang Yuan said in a deep voice: "Miss, don't worry, it will take at least a day or two for them to dredge the waterway. Now that it's so dark, they must be at a loss. Tomorrow after dawn they will be able to tow and move the shipwreck. There was so much food and cargo on the ship that it would take a lot of effort for them to move it. And, as far as I can see, the rebel ship will not be able to hold either, you see, the hull has tilted, apparently the bottom of the ship has broken and has entered the water. ”

Everyone looked intently, and sure enough, they saw that the rebel ship that was coming across was already with its head down and tail high, and it was on a downward trend. The crowd rejoiced. Several boatmen who were injured by the arrows were even more relieved, and they couldn't even care about the pain, and applauded loudly.

"The ship is too unstruck. It looks tall and mighty, and I can't stand it no matter how I hit our grain ship. A Cui family nurse sneered.

Wang Yuan said with a smile: "An Qingxu and Yan Zhuang built these big ships to transport troops, not to draw water stations. What good ship can be built in more than three months? These big ships are mighty in appearance, but they are all quickly put together. If they don't leak, they're lucky. How can such a ship withstand a violent collision? It's just that they are all silver-like pewter heads, and they are useless. ”

All the boatmen and the nurses knew the other meaning of the silver pewter spear head, and they burst out laughing. What happened just now made everyone suddenly have a lot of good feelings towards this Captain Wang. The arrow hit just now, if he hadn't reacted quickly and quickly protected the eldest lady and the maidservant Li'er, he might have made a big mistake. At that time, everyone was stunned, and they hurried to hide after his command. Only then did I know that I would raise the sail and row away, otherwise I would stay for a while, and the consequences would be unimaginable.

"Captain Wang, what did you do when you went into the water just now? It's killing us. I thought you wouldn't be able to get up. The handmaiden asked softly.

Wang Yuan smiled: "That ship sank too slowly, I just went into the water and opened a few holes in it with a long sword." ”

The boatmen were stunned, Wang Yuan knew what they were thinking, and said with a smile: "I don't have any great skills, but it's okay to be water-based, and I can hold my breath underwater for a while." The key is to rely on my sword to sharpen iron like clay. ”

Wang Yuan pulled out his long sword and waved it casually, and a thick wooden pillar was cut in half like tofu. Everyone suddenly realized and smacked their tongues in admiration. Although this Captain Wang said it modestly, in fact, it is extremely dangerous to go deep underwater and make a hole next to the sinking ship. Not to mention the messy ropes and sails in the water next to the boat, there is a high chance that they will get entangled in their hands and feet and drown people alive. The powerful suction force of the big ship when it sinks is also a deadly threat known to experienced boatmen, and Captain Wang's behavior is not as simple as he himself says.

"Let's hurry up and turn back, I don't know how the people in Qingjiang County have evacuated? And whether the officials of Shanyang County, the seat of Chuzhou Prefecture, have already received the news. In short, we have a lot more to do. Wang Yuan smiled.

The boatmen hurriedly agreed, and each went back to paddle and start the boat. Wang Yuan and Cui Ruoyu also left the stern and headed to the bow. In fact, there is no need to walk through the corridors on both sides of the ship, and the ship's hall has been opened, and only a dozen pillars support the two-story wooden building above. The entire building was crumbling, like a castle in the sky.

Looking at the mess, Wang Yuan smiled bitterly: "Miss Cui, I'm really sorry, I basically destroyed your boat, I'm afraid this ship has been repaired." This shipbuilding won't last long. I'm afraid it will be demolished after dawn, otherwise it will cause death and injury. ”

Cui Ruoying smiled and said: "There is no need to repair it, when it arrives in Qingjiang County, it will be directly set on fire, this ship is full of holes, it is better to repair it than to build a new one." ”

Wang Yuan said with a smile: "That's what I said, how can the broken ship match the identity of the eldest lady of the Cui family." ”

Cui Ruoyu said angrily: "Don't make fun of me." By the way, thank you for saving my life, I was stunned by the arrow just now. If you hadn't saved me and Li'er, we'd both have been shot. ”

Wang Yuan smiled and said, "Miss, I am a person who is in the army, and I am still a captain of the Shence Army. If I can't even protect the two of you, do I still have the face to say that I am a member of the Divine Army? ”

Cui Ruoyu smiled and said, "It seems that all the soldiers and generals in your Divine Strategy Army are as brave and fearless as you." I look at you with a look of pride on your face. ”

Wang Yuan nodded and said, "Miss Cui, even if it is just an ordinary soldier in the Shence Army, he is the most brave soldier today. Moreover, the Shence Army never oppressed the people, and never acted for the tiger. The mission of the Shence Army is to relieve the suffering of the people and restore peace to the world. ”

Cui Ruoyu tilted her head and pondered for a moment, and said softly: "I understand, I'm afraid this is the reason why they won every battle." Captain Wang, I'm going to rest for a while, and my legs and feet are still a little weak. Captain Wang forgave me for being rude, and I went first. ”

Wang Yuan arched his hand and said, "Miss Cui is at her own convenience." The south is smooth sailing, but it also takes two hours to reach the Qingjiang River. You'd better go get some sleep, because tonight won't have time to rest. ”

Cui Ruoyu nodded yes, turned around and walked towards the hatch of the deck ship, Wang Yuan admired her graceful back, and a strange feeling rose in his heart. Suddenly, Cui Ruoyu stopped and turned around, Wang Yuan's gaze couldn't be avoided, and she met her starry eyes for a moment. Cui Ruoyu's face was shy, and she said in a deep voice: "There is something to inform Captain Wang, I am a girl, please ask Captain Wang not to call Miss Cui Cui." From now on, you will be called Ruoyu. ”

Cui Ruoyu said, smiled, and slowly walked into the cabin.

……

The boat quickly moved south along the river, and although it was badly damaged, it was still not wrong under the manipulation of dozens of boatmen. The sails of the ship slowed down the wind, coupled with the hard work of the boatmen, two hours later, but seeing the lights flickering in front of them, they had already arrived at the wharf of the east gate of Qingjiang City.

The boat docked, and Wang Yuan wanted to say goodbye to Cui Ruoyu, but he didn't see Cui Ruoyu show up. Wang Yuan had no choice but to say hello to the boatmen's nursery, and led the horses down the boat along the gangplank.

The dock was deserted, and although there were many lights, there were few people. There was not much sound in Qingjiang County in the distance, and there were few lights at the head of the city. Wang Yuan led the horse for a few steps, and suddenly two figures flashed out from the side of the grain pile, Wang Yuan was startled, and saw clearly the dress of the two through the dim light, it turned out to be two officials from Qingjiang County.

"Dare to ask if it is General Wang who went with the Cui family's big ship?" A official asked.

Wang Yuan nodded and said, "Exactly." ”

"Oh, you're back. Zhang Da, hurry up and report to Ma County, General Wang is back. One of the officials hurriedly said to another officer beside him.

Another official agreed, and the girl ran in the direction of the city gate. The remaining official accompanied Wang Yuan in the direction of the city gate. On the way, Wang Yuan learned that the Taishou of Chuzhou and some officials arrived in Qingjiang County at noon. He went north with the Cui family's big ship, so they waited for him to come back until this moment. Wang Yuan scratched his head and thought to himself, he had forgotten about this stubble, and let these people wait for eight or nine hours.

There was a noisy footwalk at the city gate, and a group of people hurried with lanterns, and when they came closer, Ma Pengju stepped forward quickly and shouted, "Oh, you can be regarded as coming back." We're waiting anxiously for something to happen to you. ”

Wang Yuan smiled and said, "I've kept you waiting." Have all the officials in Chuzhou arrived? ”

"It's noon, you go to do something, Chen Taishou took people to help the officials evacuate the people, and they were busy until dark. Chen Taishou, Zhao Beijia, and Hong joined the army. Come and see you. Ma Pengju dodged away and shouted at the group of people behind.

Seven or eight officials stepped forward quickly and came to Wang Yuan and bowed with a long bow. A black-robed middle-aged man in the middle said in a deep voice: "Chuzhou Taishou Chen Bangyan took Chuzhou to drive Zhao Cheng, Si Cao joined the army, Hong Wending, and officials from various departments in Chuzhou have seen Wang Xiangguo. I don't know that Xiangguo is coming, and I can't meet Xiangguo, so please forgive. ”

Wang Yuan hurriedly arched his hand and said: "Chen Taishou, don't drive Zhao, work hard." Courteous. ”

The surrounding more than a dozen officials and regimental training soldiers knew that at this moment, they knew that the person who rushed on horseback today was actually the prime minister of the dynasty, and several of them were the soldiers who were playing tricks with Wang Yuan today, and they were even more frightened with their legs and feet.

After everyone finished greetings, Chen Bangyan arched his hand and asked: "I heard that Xiangguo went to block the river with the Cui family's grain boat, but I don't know if it succeeded?" ”

Wang Yuan quickly recounted everything that happened not long ago, and the officials were speechless, surprised and delighted. What was surprising was that the rebels were already dozens of miles away, and Xiang Guo and the others were almost shot by them tonight. Happily, Xiangguo's plan worked, and the rebel ships were blocked on the side of the sunken ship, and they were impassable until dawn.

"Xiangguo has a good plan, now we have one more night and at least half a day tomorrow to evacuate the people. Xiangguo, the lower officials have already made their own decisions, and ordered the people of Shanyang County to also start evacuating, without Xiangguo's permission, and asked Xiangguo to forgive his sins. Chen Bangyan said in a deep voice.