When Cheng Ziyu heard that even Ludi had spread the explosion of the Cheng family today, the boulder that had been hanging in his heart was finally relieved. The fire may have been caused by Zhu Changjue, but the explosion must have been caused by the painting.

Dangerous substances like gunpowder have always been carefully kept by the Cheng family. There aren't many on the small village, so since the big bang has happened, it means that everything is going well.

In this way, whether it is the capital or Jingxi, she has no worries for the time being.

Anyway, she always had to go south, and when she passed Taihu Lake, she took a look before deciding whether to rescue her family or let them continue to hide.

The news from the capital also arrived, saying that everything was going well. The prince stayed honestly, and Zhu Changan didn't dare to move. The emperor deliberately invited Bai Heng back to Beijing to discuss matters, but coincidentally, Beiban really moved a little, so that Bai Heng "had to" not leave...... It was all fed by Cheng Ziyu.

But such a temptation also happened to give Zhu Changan something to do. If the emperor doesn't die, the scene between him and the Northern Barbarians can only be performed, and in any case, it can drag on for a few more days......

My heart was relieved, and my appetite was better.

The Queen Mother was happy, not only moved a few more chopsticks, but also hurriedly recruited Xiao Er to add a few more dishes.

Seeing that the table was spacious, Xiao Er couldn't help but want to keep people for two more days, so he talked about the nearby situation attentively.

"Actually, if you are not in a hurry, it is not recommended that you continue to travel."

It turned out that bandits in the nearby waters had suddenly become rampant recently, and dozens of ships had already been hijacked in the past few nights. In particular, medium- and large-sized merchant ships with valuable cargo are the objects of their attention.

If you're lucky, you'll only get hijacked.

Unfortunately, even the boat and the people were taken away by the bandits.

For a time, the nearby waters were full of panic, and most of the merchant ships did not dare to move.

And the more goods they carry, the more they dare not go on the big ship carrying distinguished passengers, and they dare not go at night.

As a result, a large number of ships were stranded, which made the dock more ships than usual, and the restaurant inn was especially popular.

"The water bandits still have some scruples during the day, and they stop at the big cities and towns along the road, but if they are still in a hurry at night, it is absolutely unacceptable! You can ask around first, and if you want to stay overnight, just say hello to the smaller ones. Although there is no vacancy in my restaurant, the small one is familiar in Liaocheng, so it is no problem to find a few rooms for you to rest for a few days. ”

Several people looked out the window together, knowing that what the shopkeeper said was actually true. The small Liaocheng wharf is almost overcrowded. It's early winter, and if you don't have to be helpless, who doesn't want to hurry up and complete the itinerary to go home for the winter and the New Year, who will spend time in such a small town. It turns out that the reason for the congestion is here!

"The water bandits are so rampant, don't the government care?" The Queen Mother pressed and asked.

"I can't help it! Jiangnan, there is one thing after another. The Liangjiang Yamen was withdrawn again, and now there is a war. Many of Ludi's troops have been transferred to the south, and they have insufficient spare strength. ”

Xiao Er pointed to the notice on the wall, which was issued by the government. "There is a war going on in the south, and the naval forces with combat capabilities have basically been transferred. There's no way to complain, the overall situation is the best, isn't it? ”

Xiao Er shook his head.

"I see that you are kind people and remind me that Liaocheng is okay here, but if you cross the Yellow River, the situation is not so good. By the way, if you want to change to overland, you need horses and carts, and you can also find small ones. At present, because of the shortage of horses and carts, although there is a queue, as long as you are willing to spend money, the small ones can still help...... Eh...... Here it ......."

Before the second child finished speaking, several elegant seats were shouting at him.

"Then, then I'll see you all back, eat and drink well, just say hello if you want......"

Xiao Er ran to the next table.

When I listened quietly, the other party was really inquiring about the price of renting a horse.

It turns out that in Liaocheng at the moment, even donkeys and mules are being bought at a high price. Some people have seen the way to make money, and they have gathered all the horses around them in advance, trying to make a lot of money. According to their words, in just a few days, the price of carriages and horses, whether they are rented or sold, has already doubled several times.

Cheng Ziyu thought that when her grandmother and mother came home a few months ago, they also encountered water bandits, but nothing happened to them, but in just a few months, the water bandits' courage has grown, why has even their strength increased exponentially?

And in such a short period of time.

"The water bandits have been banned repeatedly, but they are flexible and elusive. They just rob the money, but even if the merchant ships can sell silver, but the target is too big, how can they hide and digest it? ”

The Captain of the Guard nodded, "Do you think someone is taking over the cargo of the ship they looted?" Or is there someone behind them? ”

"They robbed more than a dozen boats in just a few days, which was too rampant. The defense capability of large merchant ships is not low, and it stands to reason that after the news of being robbed appears, the merchant ships will be on alert after that, how can they be so vulnerable? Therefore, the combat effectiveness of these water bandits is definitely not bad. Who has the ability to sail now?

Also, who is most short of ships? Who needs gold and silver the most? They have even robbed people, either because they are short of people, or they are still short of money and want to exchange people for money. ”

"Are you suspicious of Zhu Changjue?"

"It is not surprising that Zhu Changjue was able to collude with pirates and pirates. Just enriching the water bandits into his team can not only provide combat power reserves, but also have many benefits.

He can take the opportunity to tow all suspicious ships. There should be a lot of teams like ours from the capital to the south, among which there should be many official ships and the like, if you can get some imperial officials, strategic materials, weapons, grain and grass, it will be a thousand catties, and it will be a big bargain to destroy the imperial court's plan to strengthen itself.

And I suspect that this is also a means for them to find Zhu Changzhe. They still can't find anyone, how can they not be in a hurry? Zhu Changzhe was seriously injured, and it is unlikely that he will have a bumpy road journey. That's why he thought of stopping the ships coming from the south to the north.

Furthermore, it should be deliberately ruthless. Water bandits are troubled, or the pot of the court, the crime of the court. The fishermen will complain, the people will complain, the merchants will complain, and the water bandits will naturally complain about the incompetence of the imperial court. Zhu Changjue will probably take the opportunity to incite more families and people to stand on his side, right? ”

"Miss is right."

The accompanying deputy commander of the armor guard just came back after shaking outside:

"I just received news that the bandits hijacked the merchant ship of the Jinhua historian five days ago and demanded ransom. The historian reported to the official as soon as possible, but the government failed to act in time. The bandits failed to receive the ransom, and killed more than 100 people on the boat, including the second master of the Shi family, three days ago. The Shi family suffered heavy losses in both wealth and wealth, and it was determined that it was the sailors who did not do anything, and they were extremely dissatisfied at that time.

The historian was in great power in Jinhua, and once again pressured the local yamen to ask for an explanation. However, the local government was already under the control of Zhu Changjue and the Japanese and was overwhelmed, so they forcibly temporarily suppressed the dissatisfaction of the Shi family.

But I didn't know that the historian was angry, and decided that it was the officials who protected each other, not only used their influence to spread the dark corruption among the Great Zhou officials, but also defected to Emperor Jue yesterday. They sacrificed all their wealth, and Emperor Jue promised to use all his forces to exterminate the water bandits in the future to avenge the Shi family.

In addition, at the instigation of the historians, several large merchants who had also been robbed of merchant ships were very dissatisfied with the imperial court. If according to the current trend, the trouble of the water bandits is incomprehensible, it is equivalent to passively pushing the help of those big businessmen to Zhu Changjue. ”

“……”

Queen Mother Cheng Ziyu and the others took a deep breath.

If the imperial court did not take action to eliminate the water bandits, it would be to force the victimized merchants to be dissatisfied or even rebel. No wonder the water bandits robbed all the big ships, because the owners of the big cargo ships are all big families, and the merchants who can afford to rent big ships are all big businessmen, and who has the strength to do long-term business and trade who has no big power behind them?

Therefore, Zhu Changjue's envelope, to put it bluntly, are all part of the forces whose strength should not be underestimated.

They are forcing the imperial court to divide its forces to clean up this mess.

But if the water bandits are easy to get rid of, it is impossible to get rid of them for thousands of years. If you really want to do it, the naval army will definitely not have enough troops, so where to transfer troops? At this moment, the Great Zhou Dynasty was already full of smoke, and there were even more threats on the waterway. The army is already stretched, not to mention the navy.

And then the ship? The bandits are all sharp boats, they come and go quickly. Ordinary ships simply can't catch up with them.

If you don't have a warship, how can you fight?

After King Jue rebelled, all the warships in Jiangbei and Jiangnan were transferred to the east and south to the greatest extent. If the ship's strength is recalled, it will still be cheaper for Zhu Changjue, and it will reduce the pressure on his combat strength, isn't it.

So this is destined to be a persecution that will not be right no matter how you choose. It is destined to be a useless and unsolvable choice that is exhausted.

"Therefore, the yamen can only pacify first, and there is no way to suppress the bandits, so they can only warn first and try their best to prevent the merchant ships from traveling south at night."

Another guard came to report.

It is said that not only Liaocheng, but also the nearby ports are in a similar situation.

Most of the ships, those who could wait, waited. If you can't wait, you will go overland. If there are those who can call the shots, they will simply give up. It is said that the Liaocheng market has been particularly lively recently. Many merchant ships are shipping, so they simply sell the goods in Liaocheng and then return to the sea, and they don't even earn money......

Only a handful of ships risk ignoring warnings in order to meet deadlines, and that is all by chance......

"What should I do?"

yes, what to do?

"Shall we also go by land?"

"There are a lot of us, and it's too conspicuous to get together. It's dangerous to take it apart and go away. It's better to take a boat. "Cheng Ziyu has a long way to go in this trip, and he doesn't dare to take people apart. Moreover, I have to go to Taihu Lake. It is necessary to have a boat to be convenient.

"They're all waiting for horses and cars. Even if we pay a lot of money, I'm afraid we won't be able to get many carriages and horses. And we don't have time. "I can't afford it, I can't afford to wait.

A quarter of an hour later, Cheng Ziyu made up her mind.

Abandoned consignment.

They went to the big trading houses and began to unload all the valuable goods on board......

She couldn't give up going south, and she couldn't give up sailing.

Even, she didn't dare to give up the night walk.

The emperor doesn't know how many days he can last, the prince doesn't know how many days he can deceive, and Zhu Changan doesn't know if he will take risks, they don't have time.

So she thought, if she didn't have good goods and good things on her ship, wouldn't she be targeted? Bandits aren't so lame as to rob any boat, do they?

Taking advantage of the fact that all the guards were busy unloading, Cheng Ziyu wandered around the Liaocheng Market.

After unloading the goods, taking the risk of taking an empty ship, wouldn't it be clear to outsiders that there is something wrong with the ship? She'll have to find something to load.

A flash of inspiration came to mind......

She had an idea.

Liaocheng is near Zibo.

It just so happens that Zibo is also a land of pottery.

At this moment, the dock market is full of stranded and low-priced pottery.

She picked it up in Tao City.

If you have a picture, you don't buy the bag, but smash it and pay for it.

The captain of the armor who followed her didn't know what she wanted, and wanted to help but was rejected by her.

"I want to look at the thickness of the pottery wall, the hardness of the bottom, the size of the bottleneck, and the ripeness of the pottery embryo, you don't understand."

After looking for a full hour, Cheng Ziyu really found what she wanted.

"How many, I want them all." What she was pointing to was a set of decorative pottery vases, large and small.

"A set of six, I have five hundred! The original price is a set of three taels of silver, and now I will sell the goods and give you two taels of silver per set. If you can pick it up today, I can give it to you at half price! ”

The owner can't wait to make a move. These bottles and cans can't withstand collisions and take up too much space. At present, every inch of land and money at the wharf is unloading, and what is lacking is the space. He cleared this batch of goods, and he was able to collect a lot more good things. Even if it's just to store the goods, it's all silver picked up for nothing.

"Five hundred is not enough, is there anything else?"

"How much do you want?"

"As many as you want!"

Only then did the shopkeeper solemnly respect this unattractive little lady.

Soon, an old man came.

"There are 10,000 sets in total. Do you want to? ”

"Yes!"

It turned out that this was a batch of custom bottles from Zibo. After the goods were transported to Liaocheng, there was a water banditry. The merchant couldn't get the goods out, so he gave up the goods without even a deposit. At this time, it is dangerous and expensive to return the freight, so the seller simply sells it here.

"10,000 sets, 10,000 taels. I'll take them all today. ”

"Deal!" The goods can go out in one go, which is already grateful. In this way, you can make a lot of money by vacating the space.

"But I need paperwork."

"No problem, the paperwork for the goods is there, what do you need, I brought the chapter book, and this will be given to you." You let me write whatever I wanted. "The lord who is so rich that he doesn't blink an eye for ten thousand taels of silver, the seller just wants to make friends.

Hurrying and hurrying, finally, two hours later, 10,000 sets of pottery vases boarded their ship, filling a large boat and two small boats.

"Ten thousand taels! Are you winning these goods because they are worth their money? The chief of the guard asked quietly.

"The goods themselves are only worth five thousand taels at most! But as long as you use it well, it's great value! ”

"How do you use it?"

"Don't you think the ship is a lot lighter with all the heavy loads it used to have? Moved a lot faster? ”

“…… That's it? ”

Cheng Ziyu didn't answer, but just smiled at him......

They left Liaocheng Wharf.

At this moment, they all began to rejoice that they did not choose a luxurious and comfortable large ship that day, but used this kind of medium-sized boat, which seemed to be extremely ordinary.

Low-key ship, low-key cargo, low-key staffing, bandits will not be so blind, right?

As it gets dusk, the various boats on the canal heading south are indeed decreasing at a visible rate.

As night fell, fewer boats were still moving on the lake.

The sand boats guarding their main ship also had to be kept a little distanced in order to be less conspicuous.

Fortunately, the night was calm and nothing happened.

In addition to this, they were accompanied by a large merchant ship with a large number of people.

After a moment's thought, the captain ordered the ship to follow the ship in front.

Even if it's just a cover.

Anyway, if the water bandits want to rob, they must also rob the front ship first. If they really want to rob it, it will not be too late for them to turn around.

The night was dark and the wind was high, and the birds were rising in all directions.

Without warning, the large merchant ship in front of it slowed down, sounded the warning horn, and then the lights came on......