Cheng Ruoxuan hung his heart and went back and forth in the cabin, busy delivering drinks and food to the sailors, while paying attention to the movements of those sergeants. However, by the evening, the expected strife did not arise, but the wind slowly weakened. There is a lookout hole on the bow side, but it is not as far as the attic, and when the wind is high and the waves are high, you can't see anything, and it is only then that it can finally come in handy.

Cheng Ruoxuan happened to be near the lookout hole, and as soon as his mind moved, he stepped forward. The important positions on the ship are no longer under the control of the sailors, and the people who are in charge of this place have naturally changed. She kept an eye on it, smiled and handed over the wine bag, took the opportunity to take a closer look at the lookout hole, and complained casually: "The wind and waves are finally weak...... But this sea is connected to the sea every day, what can you see? "In front of him, he just thought that he was an ordinary boatman.

The "ordinary boatman" was very vigilant, took the wine bag, only smiled at her, and did not answer. Cheng Ruoxuan was not embarrassed, leaning against the window and waiting for him to finish drinking. The wind and waves have not completely stopped, the two ends of the cabin are still turbulent, an afterwave hit, the bow of the ship was thrown high, Cheng Ruoxuan was so shocked that all his internal organs had to fly away from their original positions, so he had to hold on to the bulkhead to stabilize his body. But after staying in the main cabin for half a day, she gradually got used to it, and with the help of the bow of the ship, she even had time to look out twice.

In the afterglow of the setting sun, she faintly saw an island.

Her mind moved, but it was a pity that the nautical charts were left in the attic, otherwise they might have been able to know where the fleet was. She silently wrote down the matter, and was not in a hurry to find Jing Feng, but only caught a real sailor in the crowd to chat.

After a few trips back and forth, she already knew what to expect. There were two groups of people on board, and the overseers had leather boots under their cloth clothes, while the original boatmen were much more casual, with occasional straw sandals and more simply barefoot. These people are accustomed to being open-mouthed, and when they see the little girl who is the bartender, they are willing to talk to her more. The overseer had seen her talking to others, and she was still waiting for her as if she were facing a great enemy; Later, I found that they only talked about some country gossip, and gradually relaxed their vigilance and went with her.

After chatting for a while, Cheng Ruoxuan learned that he was a veteran who often went to the far sea, so he deliberately led the conversation to the island. "It's so far from the shore, and there is no one to rely on, if you really can't stand it, is there a place to shelter from the wind?"

The sailor didn't think much about it, nodded and said, "It's not impossible to stop the boat and rest, there are several islands in this area." The largest one is called the outlying island, and not only is it inhabited, but even the port has been repaired. Sometimes we stayed on the boat until our mouths were bleeding, and we could go and ask the islanders for a few oranges to eat. ”

Cheng Ruoxuanqi said: "Is there a resident so far away from the land?" ”

"Why not? It's just that the small place has been detained for a long time, and the style is more conservative. The sailor seemed to remember something interesting, and said with a smile, "It is also strange to say, those islanders escaped from the earth a few years ago, and no one here refused to contain them, so they could only find a broken boat to swing on the water, and the boat drifted with the current, and finally drifted to the island, and they saw that the water and soil on the island were good, so they settled down." ”

Cheng Ruoxuan's eyes widened when he heard this. "Displacement" is just a description in the history books for her, and it is the first time she has heard of it with her own ears, just a few years ago at sea more than 100 miles away from her home. She thought about it and felt that it was wrong, and said in disbelief: "I see that everyone is so laborious to paddle, how can people in the past be able to get there by following the current?" ”

The sailor laughed: "The little girl hasn't spent much time at the beach, has she?" Now the north wind is blowing, and we are all battling with the ocean currents along the way; When the islanders drifted over, it was summer, and the currents and winds were in opposite directions, so why not send them to the island? But this is not a good thing, it is easy to send it over, but it is difficult to come back, and besides, those people are not small and rely on water to eat, and the work of building ships is not very good. I heard that when they first arrived there, it was really difficult to return to the land, and they almost starved to death; Later, I got acquainted with the fishermen and boatmen who passed by, and asked us to help the islanders if they needed anything. After coming and going, they became acquainted. ”

Cheng Ruoxuan nodded and said: "The villagers are simple and really enthusiastic. ”

The sailor said, "Anyway, they all live on the sea, and they help each other, so that's how it should be!" It is estimated that because of the great disaster, the islanders are a little restrained and afraid, and they do not like to go to the land; But if they really get into trouble in this area, they are willing to come out and help. ”

Cheng Ruoxuan silently wrote down the matter, and when he finished delivering dinner, lit the wind lantern, and passed by Jing Feng's side, he took a break to discuss the course with him.

"The island I just saw is located twenty miles southeast of the township. The boat will be there after a little walk. She estimated, "Is it an outlying island?" ”

Jing Feng's vision was limited, and he looked out of the porthole for a long time, but he was still not sure, so he only said: "If the direction is right, then it should be." He seldom had such an indecisive state, and scratched the back of his head embarrassedly as he spoke, "I don't go out to sea much, so I stopped there once." At that time, our sails were so old that they were blown out by the wind, so we asked the people on the island for a piece of cloth. ”

Cheng Ruoxuan remembered the sailor's words, "I am really willing to help." ”

"You've heard that?" Jing Feng glanced at her, "Also, people who beg for a living at sea know this place." In the past, when fishing boats were going to the open sea, they were helpless, so that the heavens should not be, and the earth was not spiritual; In recent years, with the presence of outlying islands, the situation has improved a lot. The fire captain also mentioned before that he had been caught in a storm two years ago, and the whole ship capsized, and it was the islanders who saved his life. Although the outlying island is some distance from the township, it has accumulated a lot of friendship in recent years, and it can be regarded as our fellow villagers. ”

His words also corroborate what the sailors had previously said. The island is just a group of hard-working people who have left their homes, and it doesn't look like a place where troops need to be sent to it. Cheng Ruoxuan thought that the sergeant on the ship might not be going to such a paradise, and asked, "Are there any other islands ahead?" ”

Jing Feng shook his head and said, "Further east, except for a few uninhabited islands and reefs, I'm afraid there is only the vast sea." Fishing boats will run that far. ”

Cheng Ruoxuan became more and more confused, and before he could figure out his idea, he heard him ask, "What do you mean by those words you said during the day?" It made me nervous for a long time. ”

She didn't want to say that she had seen where these people were coming from. Where would a maid who serves the living of the lady of the boudoir have such insights? But those waiting in front don't know what trouble it will be, and it is really inappropriate to hide Jing Feng at this time. She was hesitating, when she saw the bearded man call out to the fire chief, and the two of them whispered for a while, and then went to the helmsman. After a while, the fire chief said to everyone: "Drop anchor and prepare to land." ”

Cheng Ruoxuan looked up at the lookout hole, it was a little farther away, but he could also see that he had arrived close to the island. Fortunately, the wind was slower near the island, so it didn't take much effort to stop the ship and anchor. After a while, the cabin changed direction, and where she and Jing Feng were, they were on land. Jing Feng looked outside, raised his eyebrows, and said "strange".

Cheng Ruoxuan hurriedly asked, "What?" ”

"I remember that a port was built on the outlying island." Jing Feng looked a little confused, and poked his head out to look at it for a long time, "Why do you have to stop the boat next to a wild beach?" ”

Even on the wild beach, the boat came to a steady stop. However, the barefoot sailors were all puzzled, and no one knew why they had dropped anchor here. At this moment, the fire commander gave another order: "Retract the oars and close the portholes." ”

The overseer went to lock the door to the bilge, but the boatmen did not move, and all of them looked at the firemaster in astonishment. This order came without a beginning or an end, and the fire chief showed some embarrassment on his face, but he didn't explain, just urged again.

The sailors still did not know why, but they had no choice but to do so. Jing Feng dragged the wood pulp back to the cabin, frowned and muttered, "What the hell are you doing?" Cheng Ruoxuan looked around, and said in his heart that the passage and portholes were sealed, and the ship would be like a prison, could it be that the sergeant's target was on the ship? The thought sent her into a cold sweat. Suddenly, Jing Feng stopped her behind her, followed by a sound of breaking wind, and a man in boots threw a knife, nailing it to the edge of a baffle that had not been lowered for a long time. This frightened the sailors a lot, and several people subconsciously wanted to dodge, but behind them was an airtight bulkhead, and there was no way to retreat.

Seeing this, the fire chief hurriedly shouted a few "calm down".

In the midst of the confusion, the men in the boots stepped out, stood in two columns, and with a loud bang, drew their knives from the boots. The bearded man walked to the front with his knife and stood facing everyone. He had been as gentle as a seasoned old sailor. Now the gentleness had vanished without a trace, and the light of the sword reflected on his long-haired face, showing a kind of invulnerability majesty.

"I am Cao Chengqi, the commander of the left guard of the Great Liang Water Army." He said in a deep voice, "Today's requisition of the pearl diving fleet is to pacify the bandits in the East China Sea. ”

The sailors were in an uproar. Jing Feng frowned, and said loudly: "Isn't this place an outlying island?" How can there be bandits? ”

Cao Chengqi said: "The islanders here are the bandits. ”

The sailors looked at each other as if they had objections; Cao Chengqi had already said loudly: "A military order is a military order, and those who disagree with each other will be dealt with like a bandit." ”

The sailors were silenced. The fire chief even threw a glance at Jing Feng and motioned for him to shut up. Jing Feng's eyes were full of dissatisfaction. Cheng Ruoxuan stood beside him and heard a sentence of "what a big breath". She hurriedly tugged at the corner of his sleeve and persuaded in a low voice: "A good man doesn't suffer a loss in front of him." If you really want to protect the outlying islands, you have to wait for the opportunity. ”

"After suffering such injustice, where can the lives of the people on the island be saved? You can wait, I can't wait! Jing Feng was stubborn, and the tone of anger and mockery followed.

Seeing that he was about to come out again, Cheng Ruoxuan grabbed his arm and said hurriedly, "The portholes are all closed, just to prevent you from ventilating and reporting the news." In this situation, what can you accomplish alone? If you die today, even if you have the opportunity to help the islanders in the future, who will dare to stand out? Besides," she said through gritted teeth, "then Cao Shi said in public that the islanders are bandits, and there must be a basis, otherwise the fire chief will not listen." If you refuse to believe it and run out to uphold justice, what evidence is there? You have a grudge against the officials, I know that; But you've only seen the islanders once, so what can you know? ”

Even though Jing Feng was enthusiastic, he had to admit that his words were reasonable, so he had to stand in place, calm down for a while, and then whispered: "I didn't rush at you just now." ”

Cheng Ruoxuan sighed silently, still pinching the corners of his sleeves in his hands, beware of him from doing anything again.

Cao Chengqi was still giving orders: "Everyone on the ship stays where they are, and they are not allowed to leave the main cabin without my order." Chen Zhuo! The baby-faced helmsman answered, his slightly soft brow and eyes not diluting his solemn complexion by half. This man had been at the stern of the boat, and among those in his boots, he was the only one who did not assemble with the group. Cao Chengqi said: "You stay in the main cabin, guard the rudder, and take care of the crew." If you get lost, you are the only one who asks. Cao Cao Tie! The turbaned overseer answered the line. Cheng Ruoxuan only thought that he had heard it, but Jing Feng had already sneered and teased: "Which elder gave this name?" It's really open. ”

Cheng Ruoxuan glanced at him, and wanted to remind him to be cautious, but Jing Feng had already raised his eyebrows, and said indifferently: "You are not allowed to discuss military orders, but you are not allowed to speak." ”

Fortunately, Cao Cao Tie didn't intend to ignore it at all. He stood in front of Cao Chengqi with the tips of his boots together, like an iron nail that was wedged into the ship's plank.

Cao Chengqi instructed: "You take a team of scouts and explore the road first." The rest of the people, come with me! ”