I saw that the man's purple-black face was surrounded by a beard, and his eyes bulged out like bull's eyes, which looked quite scary.

Especially with two bows tied around his waist and an iron thistle bone in his hand, such a special weapon made Liu Qi think of Shamoke, the barbarian king of Wuxi.

When a few people got on the boat, they immediately knelt down to thank them, and said a lot of things in their mouths, but no one understood them.

Gan Ning stepped forward and asked, "Do any of you know how to speak official language?" ”

An older middle-aged man bowed down and said, "Thank you for saving this military master!" ”

Gan Ning asked, "Who are you, where do you come from, and where are you going?" ”

The man replied, "We are Wuling Wuxi Miao people, and we went to Jiangling to sell animal skins and medicinal materials. ”

Gan Ning's eyes were slightly cold, and he said in a deep voice: "If it is a sale item, why is there nothing on the ship?" ”

The man replied, "I just passed through the trapped dragon beach, and accidentally hit a reef, and the bottom of the boat leaked, so I had to throw away all the food and goods I had exchanged, and then I reluctantly rowed the boat and waited for the benefactor." ”

Gan Ning snorted slightly, looking at a few people vigilantly, he also knew that it was a small island in winter, and it turned into a shoal in summer, and if people who were not familiar with the situation passed by, it was easy to hit the boat.

Liu Qi has been quietly looking at a few people, stepped forward and said with a smile: "Since we are the people of Wuling, we should save each other, but we are going to Jiangling, and we are not on the way, I am afraid that it will delay your trip." ”

The man hurriedly said: "The military master saved my life, I am already grateful, and when we wait for Jiangling, we will find a boat to cross the river, and we dare not disturb you." ”

Liu Qi said: "It's okay, the ship has passed Jiangling, and it has to return to the south bank, and I will send you back together, but this time the property is lost, and you return empty-handed, I am afraid that it will disappoint the clansmen." ”

The man sighed: "We didn't dare to take the Dongting waterway, so we had to take a detour to the mouth of the Youjiang River, an extra half a month away, accidents are common, and it is also a helpless move." ”

Liu Qi said with a smile: "After you go back, tell your clansmen that you don't have to worry about this matter in the future, now not only have the Dongting water thieves been eliminated, but also the government will soon open up the Yuanjiang waterway, not only can you easily enter and exit Wuling, but there will also be caravans to go into the mountains to collect animal skins and medicinal materials, so you don't have to take such a risk." ”

"Really?" The man looked surprised, glanced at Shamoke, and asked, "Is the government really so good?" ”

Liu Qi nodded and smiled: "The people of Wuling are also the people of Jingzhou, since they should be treated equally, the government has issued a list of documents, the mountainous areas are exempt from taxes, and Cao Yun will also be opened, and in the future, Youyang, Chenyang, and Yuanling will have official governments to purchase materials, and you will naturally see these official documents when you return to Wuling." ”

The faces of the barbarians who said these words changed slightly, and even Shamoko couldn't help but take a step forward to speak, but fortunately he was pulled by a person behind him, and then he reacted, his mouth opened, and he lowered his head.

The man bowed down and said, "I heard that General Liu inspected Jingnan, and it seems that these policies are what he has set...... It's just wonderful. ”

After speaking, he spoke Miao to the others, and a few of them seemed to have an argument, and then retreated to the shelter to rest.

Liu Qi returned to the cabin and asked Gan Ning, "Do you know who the Wuxi Barbarian King is?" ”

Gan Ning shook his head and said: "Barbarian kings are generally elected by the elders of various clans, and they are replaced in a year or several years, and Mo Jiangbo is not familiar with the affairs within the clan. ”

Liu Qi said: "That strange-looking, tall man should have something to do with the barbarian king, these people come with unknown intentions, you should be more careful, it is likely that they are prepared, maybe this is a temptation of Wuxi Man, or maybe ...... Don't have any intentions. ”

Gan Ning has been walking the rivers and lakes for many years, and he also feels that these people are a little strange, but he can't say it, but now he heard Liu Qi so sure, shook the knife in his hand, and said in a deep voice: "The general can rest assured, a certain self will send someone to strengthen vigilance." ”

When Liu Qi recognized Shamoke, he knew that this incident seemed to be accidental, but it was actually strange.

Ordinary Wuxi barbarians come out to do business, he believes it, but Shamoke obviously won't, and people who can become the king of Wuxi will never take such a small fishing boat to Jiangling.

Since the blockade of Dongting Lake, the fleet has basically gone from the mouth of the Youjiang River to Jiangling, and there are many large and small boats, and it is too much of a coincidence that their fishing boats appeared at this time.

They specifically sought out their own ships, either to test the official attitude, or to have other plans.

Before figuring out the purpose of the barbarians, Liu Qi decided to wait and see what happened, not to startle the snake.

At noon, they arrived at the Sleepy Dragon Beach, and the sailors knew that this area was complicated, and the ships were slow, and as soon as they rounded a reef, they saw a merchant ship coming quickly.

The defenders immediately beat the drum to warn the ship to slow down and detour, not to mention that there are many reefs here, and there are even more undercurrents under the river, and it is easy to collide with each other if you are not careful.

Sure enough, the boat just came, and suddenly it turned around in the center of the river, and hit the big boat sideways, splashing a large amount of water, and the people on the boat exclaimed.

"Turtle son, will you be able to sail the boat?" Gan Ning was furious, raised his knife and pointed at the opposite side and shouted.

But it was too late, the ship had already rammed, the big ship was slow to turn the rudder, and it was too late to dodge at this time, so the sailors had to be on guard to protect the ship.

Bang –

At the same time, the ship in front of it had already collided, although it was half a cut lower than the warship, but this time the force was not small, the hull shook violently, and the water splashed.

Liu Qi heard the noise outside, the hull of the ship shook, and came out of the cabin to check the situation, Huang Zhong was guarding outside the cabin, helping Liu Qi to the side of the ship.

The ship had smashed to pieces, the ship had been knocked into a hole, and the sailors were furious and were about to fire arrows to destroy them.

"Wait!" Liu Qi hurriedly stopped: "They didn't mean to ......"

Before he finished speaking, he saw more than a dozen people suddenly emerge from the cabin, all dressed in black and covered with black scarves, walking on the shaking plank.

"Be careful, there are assassins!" Huang Zhong's face changed slightly, and he immediately reminded loudly.

These men threw the hook locks in their hands onto the side of the ship, and with steel knives in their mouths, they climbed up like ants, all of them agile and skillful.

Liu Qi was puzzled, this trip to Nanjun, except for the Hongmen banquet in Guiyang, was basically very smooth, where did the assassin suddenly come from?

Could it be that the remnants of the Cai family have not succeeded?

Sun Ce was killed by the assassins because he offended the Jiangdong family, and after Sun Quan succeeded to the throne, he didn't check it, and finally pushed it to Xu Gongmenke.

At this time, those men in black had already begun to board the boat, Gan Ning led the troops to guard the side of the boat, stepped forward and cut the rope with a knife, and the man in black fell into the water with a thud and disappeared on the river, and there was no sign of struggle, obviously the water was also good.

Several other people climbed up from the side, Gan Ning took out the iron halberd with the other hand, used both hands, and pounced directly on them, stabbing one by one, and in the blink of an eye, three more people screamed and fell.

Crossbow arrows were fired from the side of the ship, and those black-clothed people also fell like dumplings under the chaotic arrows, but many of them had already climbed onto the side of the ship and began to fight in close combat.

"Master Jun, let's help too!" Suddenly, the stern of the boat came out, and the middle-aged man was still talking, and Shamoko was already striding over.

"Liu Qi, you're dead!" Without waiting for the officers and soldiers to react, Shamoke roared, raised the iron thistle bone and jumped high, and smashed it down at Liu Qi.