The pipe-flagged merchant ship sailed into the bay and anchored at the port of the harbor, where several customs officers went under the ship to inspect the goods and collect taxes.

A lever crane lowered a large box from the sailboat, and several strong boatmen with iron bars got off the boat, and they were ready to pry open the box. They were followed by a man who looked like a captain.

"What kind of goods are you shipping?" The leading tax collector looked at the box and his chin furrowed.

"It's all little things that don't deserve to be mentioned." The captain approached the chief tax collector and stuffed him with a heavy, tinkling bag.

The tax collector took the bag with swiftness, opened it with only one hand, and when he saw the pearls in the bag, which were as bright as the stars, he smiled slightly, and put the bag into his sleeve as if nothing had happened.

"Well, it is indeed an ordinary type of local goods, which are taxed according to the general goods. Now let's weigh it up and pay the money. The tax collector folded his hands on his stomach and calmed down.

Suddenly, a punching bag punch slammed into his eye, knocking him to the ground, and the bag of pearls fell out of his cuffs and flowed all over the ground.

"Why do you still need to collect money!!"

The tax officer, who was blinded by a punch, opened his eyes and saw the bald head in a sailor suit shouting, full of anger: "My host, there was a boat capsized at sea before." The ship is full of spices, and if I give you money, do I still have any wages?? ”

Several tax collectors hurriedly picked up their superiors, while the nearby Sarga Imperial Guards, who were patrolling nearby, noticed the commotion and moved closer to the ship.

"It hurts me!! Bastard. The tax collector covered his eyes, and only then did he cry out.

Several other strong boatmen hurriedly grabbed the bald man, while the shipowner ran over and quickly nodded and apologized.

"What's going on?" An officer led a group of guards to run over quickly to maintain order.

The pampered patrol officer heard the word "spice" like a vulture smelling blood, and he also saw the snow-white pearls still rolling on the ground. These factors made him run several times faster than usual.

"They, bribing the official, were sternly rejected by the official! This impudent bald man actually attacked an official!! The tax collector covered his eyes and shouted. There must be contraband on their ship!! Must be buckled for a thorough inspection. ”

The patrol guards surrounded the boatmen, and the soldiers worked together to subdue the bald man and make him kneel.

The patrol officer looked at the pearls all over the ground and the man covering his eyes in front of him, and felt a little funny.

"Oh, they paid bribes?"

The tax collector looked up at the gloating harbor patrol officer in front of him, he gritted his teeth and lowered his voice: "What is seized from the ship, you will share one-third." Kill that bald man for me. ”

"Half!"

"Deal!"

The patrol officer turned his head to the captain, whose face was pale and trembling, and he asked, "You are the person in charge of this ship?" ”

"Yes, yes!!" The captain was submissive, nodding his head like a chicken pecking rice.

"I heard that you are going to bribe this pearl?"

"No....." The captain just wanted to deny it, but the patrol officer just glared at him, and Mr. Captain coaxed again.

The captain whispered a few words to one of the shipwrights, and the boatman relented and immediately ran back to the ship to get the pearls.

The patrol officer nodded and said, "Since you are suspected of carrying prohibited goods. My soldiers need to go up and check it out. ”

The tax collector covered his eyes, looked up at Qiu Ba, and thought, "This guy is much more ruthless than me." Although the merchant ship did not offend him, they asked for an extra bag of pearls, plus a few soldiers sent in, and their hands and feet were not clean. Hum. ”

Finally, the patrol officer knowingly asked, "Who is the person who committed the murder against us?" ”

The tax collector pointed viciously at the bald man who was kneeling.

"According to the laws of the Imperial Overseas Territories, attacks on soldiers, officials were punishable by sixty lashes to death by hanging. For the sake of not causing serious consequences, give you eighty lashes in the penal code. ”

The bald man stopped talking, and hung his head in despair. The tax officer with a swollen left eye was also a chill: "This Qiu Ba is really brutal, and eighty lashes are not as pleasant as hanging people directly." ”

The boatman, who had just boarded the boat, slipped out of the boat, carrying a cloth bag, which was still full of round things.

The captain carried the cloth bag and shook it in distress, and he took the bag and walked forward with heavy footprints one by one.

"Whip." The patrol officer rolled up his sleeves and shouted, and one of the soldiers handed his commander the pitch-black and hard whip.

"Sir, this .....," the captain shouted.

"I'm busy! to my subordinates. ”

"This fool is my friend's son, and he went to sea with me for the first time. If I can't go back, I can't explain to his father, so I beg His Excellency the Captain to spare his life. ”

"Huh?!" The patrol officer stared at the captain with bloodshot eyes. "Didn't I spare him his life? According to the general treatment, he was killed directly and thrown into the sea. It's the normal way. ”

"Ahh......h

A soldier rudely tugged at the bag in the captain's hand, and the captain didn't let go of the bag as if he hadn't reacted.

In the next second, a short incantation was clearly heard in the ears of the people around him, spitting out the captain's mouth. At the same moment, the captain's hand loosened, and the bag was in the soldier's hand.

The bag that was supposed to contain the pearls exploded in an instant, and the round spheres emitted a dazzling light, making the eyes of the nearby crowd unable to see for a short time.

"Bang bang bang!" Near the port, a noisy gunfire rang out, and the smoke of gunfire filled the air.

The bald man had been prepared, and he closed his eyes a split second before the light appeared. At this time, he overturned the soldiers beside him and ran in the direction of the sailboat.

"Bastard!" The invisible patrol officer drew the pistol at his waist, and he fired a shot at the sound of running, and the bullet directly tore his shoulder.

The bald man endured the pain, and a punch between life and death shattered a soldier's head.

The hapless soldier was the one who had just taken the captain's bag, and the moment he lost his sight, the reaction of his long training caused him to immediately stab his musket bayonet, which skillfully pierced the captain's heart.

After breaking the soldier's head, the bald man also fell to the ground, seeing that he could not survive.

The "shipwrights" who had lost their two companions, and who had no time to mourn their dead companions, immediately dragged the stunned tax collectors as meat shields and retreated.

The exasperated patrolman blinked, he was now barely regaining his sight, and immediately dropped his pistol and drew his saber.

The patrol officer shouted: "Shoot, shoot!!" No mercy! They are anti-......"

Before he could finish the sentence, the patrol officer's head was gone, and a bullet with wind magic came from behind him, cutting off his head in an instant.

But even if the commander died, the well-trained guards immediately crouched down and opened fire, and three or four of the seven or eight "boatmen" who used the tax collectors as meat shields died in an instant, along with the meat shields in front of them, and only three or four were still alive. However, the "meat shield" in front of them has been shattered, and they will not be spared in the next round of shooting ten seconds later.

The remaining three or four wounded "boatmen" desperately pushed back, and behind them the suddenly loose planks of the sailboat's cabin were opened, and a group of accomplices poured out of the cabin and pulled them into the ship.

Almost at the same moment, several heads with Imperial military caps fell from the deck of the sailing ship.

"Upper!" An Imperial Guard shouted.

On the deck of the sailboat, eight or nine gun barrels stretched out, aimed at them. The reflexing Imperial soldier immediately raised the muzzle of his gun and aimed upward.

"Below!" Another Imperial Guard exclaimed.

I don't know when the trap door in the cabin opened again, and a group of "boatmen" were working together to straighten an eight-pounder field gun at the opening of the cabin.

Although there were as many as thirty or forty Salga Imperial soldiers on the ground, twice as many as the people on the ship, they did not know whether to aim up or down at this time.

The cold winter air froze into ice at this moment, and some people remembered their relatives and friends far away from their hometown, and tears flowed from their eyes, ran down their cheeks, and dripped to the ground.

In the next instant, two gunshots coincided, followed by a deafening cannon shot.