"The exact situation is not clear, and someone has been sent to investigate, but it doesn't look like there is a problem with the river, and it looks like someone is arguing on the bank. The servant explained.

As long as it wasn't a silt in the river, Barov breathed a sigh of relief, and then he frowned again.

Someone is arguing on the shore?

Could it be that the merchant ships of two families collided?

With a puzzled attitude, Barov walked out of the cabin.

The sight in front of him startled him.

More than a dozen large merchant ships docked on the shore of the shoals, recognizable by the badges on the flagpoles, came from at least five families, one of which was not far from the residence of the Luming family.

Because of the obstruction of his vision, Barov could not see what was happening at the forefront, but could only see a group of uniformed soldiers on the shore, all with weapons in their hands, communicating with the sailors of the merchant ship.

The scene on both sides of the strait has also changed.

Barov remembers that the banks of the shoal were desolate, covered with stones and withered weeds, even before the winter had passed.

Now, the wasteland has been transformed into neat planting fields, and dozens of farmers are busy digging irrigation ditches.

Closer to the river, Barov saw seven or eight strangely shaped buildings, semi-circular stone buildings like the roof of a castle.

Let's say it's a house, it has no windows or chimneys, only a doorway for people to enter and exit, and a large hole with a diameter of 50 centimeters.

And out of that big hole, a black iron pipe protruded.

Barov didn't know what it was, but just looking at the iron cylinder made his heart tremble.

At this time, the sound of the quarrel came in the direction of the wind.

Due to the distance, Barov could only faintly hear a few words.

"Greed...... Never ......"

"Give way ......"

"...... to war"

"Blocking...... The cost ......"

"Not a single silver coin will ......"

Barov tried to stick his ears out, but the sound of the howling wind completely drowned out the quarrel, and he could not hear anything but this information.

But these words can already make Barov think a lot, and he can even guess the ins and outs of things.

Someone intercepted a passing merchant ship on a shallow beach and demanded money from them?

This man must have had something wrong with his brain, didn't he know what the Serra River meant to the families of the South?

This is the main transportation route related to the rise and fall of the family, no family will let it have an accident, and for the sake of profit, the merchants can do whatever it takes to get rid of the guy who prevents them from getting rich.

The guy who planned this is really whimsical, he is simply poor and crazy!

Barov sneered, the hillbilly who ran out of nowhere dared to hit the head of the Serra River with the idea of making a fortune, it was really self-defeating.

He rubbed the bridge of his nose, feeling a little bored.

Soldiers from several merchant ships began to line up, and they were ready for battle.

"Looks like we'll be able to leave soon. Barov exhaled, he didn't think that the dozen or so men who stood in the way alone could defeat several merchant ships, which combined with hundreds of soldiers.

Poor mountains and bad waters come out of the mob.

This sentence is really not wrong, it's just that this group of mobs has found the wrong target.

The southern family is not something that any hillbilly can provoke.

"Whew...... , Ross, informed the sailors, ready to set sail. Barov yawned, "Before dark, we're going to get to Swan City." ”

A deafening roar suddenly resounded over the surface of the Serra River.

Barov was startled by the sudden loud noise.

When he looked ahead again, he saw a scene that he would never forget.

Billowing black smoke billowed from the hull of a merchant ship flying the horse totem flag at the front, and it fell diagonally to the left like a dying old man, and the soldiers on deck screamed in terror, unable to stand as the hull swayed, unable to even hold on to their weapons.

Under the smoke, the flames also burned, and as the fire grew larger, the people on board the ships threw away their weapons and armor and jumped into the Serra River.

At this time, Barov looked at the strangely shaped buildings, and the smoke of gunpowder had not yet cleared in the dark iron cylinders.

This, what kind of power is this?

Barov felt his jaw drop silently, and the expression on his face became dull.

With one blow, a ship with a length of twenty meters was destroyed, although most of it was due to the ablation of the flames, but Barov did not forget that before the flames ignited, a large hole was broken in the hull of the ship that was hit!

This is the power that only a giant trebuchet can have.

However, it was only an inconspicuous iron cylinder that attacked!

The mongoose didn't realize that the power of * was so powerful that it crushed one of the opposing ships in a single look.

Although under his deliberate operation, *'s attack was mainly based on attacking the hull of the ship, and no casualties were caused, the image of the ship being sunk in an instant was enough to deter these merchants who intended to resist.

At this moment, standing in front of the mongoose, a young man who was originally menacing showed a ghostly expression on his face, and he watched in amazement as the family's merchant ship sank to the bottom of the river, and his originally planned counterattack had ended before it began.

The soldiers threw away their armor and swam ashore exhausted, all of them were paralyzed from exhaustion, and although the river water in spring was not as cold as in winter, it was definitely not warm, and most of the soldiers were blown by the wind on the shore, and they were all shivering like quails.

Counting on them to fight, joke!

"I warned you," the mongoose explained, holding the musket in his hand, and speaking to the young man in front of him in as gentle a tone as possible, "you only need to pay one percent of the tax, and you can pass." Why do you want to be like this?"

"I've reminded me more than once that forcing a pass is only going to end up being sunk. ”

"It's a pity that you won't listen to my kind advice. ”

The meerkat's eyes narrowed, Rand gave him full autonomy, and he remembered what Rand had told him when he handed over the toll booth.

These merchants are all cheap bones, iron roosters who don't pull out a hair.

Tell them in a good voice that they may not buy it.

Only if they are afraid of you from the bottom of their hearts will they cooperate with you.

The first time the toll booth is running, it must show its iron wrist.

Everything is difficult at the beginning, only the first time, let the businessmen see their strength, they will obey their own rules.

So, if you don't accept it, give me a hard beating!