In the rhythmic sound of the paddle wheel, the people on the boat slept soundly, and before we knew it, several hours later, when the sky was about to dawn, the boat was blocked at the exit of the north of Hongze Lake leading to the canal.

The noisy sound from outside woke Liu Ziguang from his dream, looked out of the porthole, there were a lot of ships outside, the dense masts were like a forest, and he immediately put on his clothes and went to the top of the boat to watch, the captain was already standing on it with a clairvoyant mirror to watch, and when he saw Liu Ziguang coming up, he hurriedly saluted and said: "General, the two boats in front of me are arguing, and the entrance to the canal is blocked, and they refuse to give in to each other, so it seems that they will delay some time." ”

Such a wide water surface can actually block boats, Liu Ziguang picked up the clairvoyant mirror and looked, not far in front of him was a huge official ship, with a lot of flowers and flags on it, it seemed to be the car of Lord Cui of the Ministry of War, and he was trying to enter the canal from Hongze Lake; The ship on the opposite side is even more amazing, although it is not an official ship, but it is twice as large as the official ship, the ship has five floors of pavilions, all of which are carved beams and paintings, exquisite workmanship, the ship is tall, the portholes are inlaid with printed Western glass, the two huge paddle wheels are even more majestic, and the iron impeller shines a little in the morning light. A big golden flag on the bow of the boat was wrapped in the river wind, and a big "Hu" character could be vaguely seen on it. The boat was about to enter Hongze Lake from the canal, and the waterway was supposed to be quite spacious, but both ships were high-spec ultra-wide boats, so they blocked head-on, making it impossible for other boats to pass.

The two sailors did not give in to each other, stabbed each other with long bamboo artemisia, and kept shouting and scolding in their mouths, the big ship of the Hu family was five or six feet higher than the official ship, and the sailors were more sturdy, so they had the upper hand and turned the sailors and officers and men on the official ship on their backs.

"Who is the surname Hu? Dare to argue with the official ship. Liu Ziguang put away the clairvoyant mirror and asked.

"General, take a closer look at that flag." The captain replied, pointing to the golden banner that had been blown out by the wind.

Liu Ziguang looked again, and it turned out that there were three silver words "Rishengchang" next to the word "Hu". It dawned on him that it was the money carrier of the bank. No, the money ship can't be dragged so much, no matter how rich the ticket number is, it is a businessman after all, a small citizen, and you can't fight with the government.

"This ship is not an ordinary ship, alias called the Iron Salamander, is the ship of the great treasurer of the rising Chang, the whole ship from top to bottom a total of eight layers, can carry five hundred people, all with the best Nanmu material, and the outside is also wrapped with a layer of iron sheet; There is a watertight compartment at the bottom of the ship, which has good waterproof performance; The steam engine is also specially made by Wuchang Shipyard, with 10,000 horsepower; It is also equipped with a ship's steam repeater custom-made at our Liguo Iron Works, which is called a sharp, ordinary boat can shoot a pair of piercing ...... at once" The captain said dancingly, his face was excited, and the spitting stars were about to splash on General Liu's face.

Liu Ziguang hurriedly took a step back, and said in his heart how could this usually very steady captain become crazy when he talked about the Iron Salamander, and hurriedly stopped the somewhat crazy captain, and continued to ask: "Could it be that the big ship is the master?" Then I will find someone to build a big ship tomorrow, and I will also play everywhere to block the way of the official ship. ”

Before the captain could answer, Peng Jingrong's voice sounded behind him: "No matter how big an ordinary civilian ship is, it doesn't dare to compete with the official ship, even the ship of our Liguo Iron Works is no exception, but the iron salamander is different, it dares to compete with the official ship not because it is big, but because its owner is Rishengchang, and because it is the car of Miss Hu, the big treasurer of Rishengchang." ”

Seeing Peng Jingrong walking on the top of the boat, the captain hurriedly saluted, and the eldest lady laughed and said: "Lao Wang, I heard you just say so energetically, are you taking a fancy to other people's iron salamanders, our iron factory is also going to change ships, although it is not as good as the iron salamander, but it is also a rare big ship on the canal." As he spoke, he walked up to Liu Ziguang and draped a black-faced and red-bottomed cloak on Liu Ziguang's shoulders, "It's windy on the lake, be careful of catching a cold." ”

The eldest lady became more and more like a little woman, the captain smiled, bowed back and walked away without disturbing the little two, and went back to his cabin to ponder the new ship of his dreams.

, The eldest lady helped me put on the cloak, but I put the caftan on Zeng Cheng, I am really a negative man who eats inside and out, Liu Ziguang has a little fever on his face, and let Peng Jingrong's slender hand help him tie the ribbon on the collar of the cloak.

"You just said that Miss Hu, what kind of big shopkeeper is it, how can she be more angry than the military department?" Liu Ziguang was still puzzled, leaning on the railing and looking at the fight scene ahead. The high-level figures on both sides did not come forward, and let the subordinates abuse and fight to see who was powerful.

"What if it's a military department? What grade is it, it is just two grades, but the big shopkeeper of Rishengchang is a hereditary Zhengyi product, ranking three dukes, the Ming Dynasty has a system, industrial and commercial households can be awarded grades according to the contribution to the imperial court, this is still the rule set by the first emperor, at the beginning, relying on the silver money donated by these large households in the south of the Yangtze River to do military salaries to keep half of the country, but also created so many black yarn merchants in the Ming Dynasty, although the grade of businessmen do not sit in the yamen and have real power, but they can also wear black yarn round neck supplements, Mrs. is also a decree, When you meet an official of the same level, you can not worship, speaking of which, my father still has a three-grade official uniform. Among all the black yarn merchants, the one who donated the most and the highest grade was Hu Xueyan, the former treasurer of Rishengchang, who was a well-known product, not to mention the official ship of the Ministry of War, even if Shangshu came in person. Peng Jingrong told these reasons.

"Oh, I see, then why didn't the official ship back down?" Liu Ziguang is even more strange.

"The rules of the previous dynasty, my father didn't even wear the official uniform under the box, nine thousand years old was in power, and there were more officials who sold, and no one took it seriously." Peng Jingrong said. "But this official ship is still a little Meng Lang, the Hu family is not an ordinary black yarn businessman, they are rich and rival the country, and now the money circulating in the Ming Dynasty is the silver ticket of Rishengchang, and the reputation of the people is there, just print a piece of paper that is silver, which is more convenient and safe than cash. His family's silver protection team, whether it is a car or a boat, is painted in front of the three numbers "101" to indicate two knives and a shield, with such a sign of the car and ship will not be robbed anywhere, provoked the Hu family, that is, provoked the hornet's nest, the world's masters, half of the palace inside, and half of them are in the big mansion of the Hu family in Hefei. You wait to see the excitement, after a while, Miss Hu will be impatient, and there will be a good look at this official ship. Peng Jingrong explained.

"I really got it this time." Liu Ziguang finally understood that the Hu family was equivalent to the status of the central bank of the Ming Dynasty, if the head of the household was the minister of finance, then this Miss Hu was equivalent to the president of the People's Bank of China and the Zhongnong China Construction Bank of Communications, and the country's economic lifeline was controlled in her own hands. ”

As if in order to verify the authenticity of Peng Jingrong's words, the sailors on the two ships moved their weapons, just now it was bamboo artemisia, and now it is a long knife and a big gun; There were many officers and men wearing soft armor on the official ship, carrying waist knives and climbing the Iron Salamander, and used the back of their knives to cut down the sailors with bamboo artemisia, beating the sailors to scream again and again, and turning the situation around for a while. But after a while, he was beaten by several big men who came out of the cabin, fell into the water or was thrown back to the official ship.

There was a crying father and shouting mother's shout, and the sailors of the surrounding boats also dropped anchor, watching the officers and soldiers eat with great interest, and the big men on the official ship could no longer sit still, and a team of entourages set up a formation on the ship with a sign of silence and avoidance, waiting for the adults to appear.

I saw this liveliness. Liu Ziguang saw that people were so happy to be bullies, and he couldn't help but want to bully the boat in front, "Lao Wang, tell someone to drive the boat in front of you, let's lean forward, I can see it more clearly." ”

The captain agreed, and slowly started the steamer, and several sailors with bamboo artemisia coaxed the fishing boats and passenger boats in front of them to drive away, so that General Liu could watch the excitement more pleasantly.

Fortunately, they were in the lake on their side, and there was a lot of room for maneuver, and after a few boats were driven away, the paddle steamer of the ironworks was already close to the center of the bustle. You don't need a clairvoyant mirror to see the official authority of adults.

In the eighteenth year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty, Jinshi was born in Wuyingdian University, the soldier department was still in the army, the deputy governor of the Fifth Army, and the governor of Shandong, Cui! The name-bearing Okutsu was taken out of the cabin and spread out against the wind, hunting and fluttering in the fresh morning lake breeze.

"It turned out to be him, the head of the Ten Tigers at the age of 9,000, Cui Chengxiu, the secretary of the Ministry of War, no wonder he had to say goodbye to the Hu family, Cui Shangshu is a nine-thousand-year-old descendant, Miss Hu is the queen mother's favorite person, and people in the capital call her a princess. When the representatives of the two sides meet together, they must be separated. Peng Jingrong said after seeing Daxu.

As soon as the words fell, a person dressed as a general stood on the bow of the official ship and shouted: "Wait for the civilian ship to listen, Cui Shangshu of the Ministry of War has urgent military affairs, and if you don't quickly retreat, dodge the waterway and let us pass!" The sound of the air echoed across the lake, and anyone from afar could hear it. Cui Shangshu was dressed in a bright red official uniform, standing on the deck and brushing his beard, looking very neat.

A person wearing a low-level civil official uniform also stood up on the Iron Salamander, and replied loudly: "The treasurer of Anhui Risheng Changhu has urgent official business to enter Beijing to meet the Queen Mother, regardless of the officials and people, they will all retreat!" This master's voice was even more sufficient, making it the martial arts master's lion's roar, and the people next to him were so shocked that they covered their ears, showing a painful look on their faces, I am afraid that even the people in Hongze County, dozens of miles away, can hear it.

After the lord finished roaring, he said again: "Dare to ask what grade the adult on the official ship opposite is?" If you have to compete with the current dynasty, is there any etiquette? Na Wu was speechless when asked, and looked back at his own Shangshu.

Cui Shangshu deserved to be the head of the Ten Tigers, and waved his hand decisively: "The military affairs ahead are urgent, and now I can't talk about any grade, let me make a fire and start the boat, and hit it!" Whoever dares to stop it will be killed. ”

"Yes!" The officers and men got the order, and they drew their bows and crossbows like wolves, aiming at the sailors on the Iron Salamander, and several officers and men also launched a crossbow, put the triangular steel arrows on the crossbow, and the strings were tightened, and the murderous spirit was aimed at the board of the Iron Salamander, ready to pierce the opponent into a hedgehog at any time.

Stopped here casually for a long time, but the steam engine of the Iron Salamander has not stopped working, seeing that the official ship is about to use force, with a sharp whistle, a row of windows suddenly appeared on the bow of the ship, and the giant spearhead that flashed cold light was displayed in front of everyone with the threat of death. Not only the threat of the steam repeater, but also the huge iron hull of the Iron Salamander, at this moment the impeller began to start slowly, and if it really collided, the small official ship would definitely turn into a piece of wood.

The faces of the officers and soldiers turned pale, and they were stunned, and they didn't give face to Lord Shangshu, how could this end.

Cui Chengxiu's face did not change, he walked a few steps and stood on the bow of the boat, like a stone statue, the lake wind blew the hem of his red official uniform, revealing black official boots, and the surrounding officers and soldiers looked at the adults calmly, and also mustered up the courage to stand up straight, and the spirit of beating was with the adults.

Of course, Cui Shangshu is not ready to play the trick of being stunned and afraid of dying, he is a member of the imperial court, not a green-skinned hooligan, I saw him stretch out his right hand and shout, "The sword is coming!" ”

A small official in the cabin who had been preparing for a long time also rushed out and put a long sword on Cui Shangshu's right hand. The latter held the sword in both hands and raised it high, "Shang Fang's sword is here, who dares to collide!" ”

Liu Ziguang was taken aback, it was really a turn of the peak, and the legendary thing like the Shang Fang Sword was also taken out to grab the road, and looked carefully at the sword: the length is far beyond the ordinary sword, the cloud head sword block, the sword head is like a petal cirrus cloud, the scabbard is wrapped in white Jiaoyu skin, there is no handle, the overall feeling is simple but not simple, Shang Fang Sword will not be fake, and Cui Shangshu does not have the courage to fake the royal authority like this.

Shang Fang Sword, if I come in person, you can cut first and then play, this is a fact that every little common person knows, you can not take the second grade of Shangshu seriously, but you can't take the emperor himself seriously.

However, a cold and arrogant female voice still came from the Iron Salamander: "Hit me." ”