"Miss misunderstood, we're just here to pass on a message." Zhao Chuan glanced at the little lieutenant who was a little nervous next to him and said.

"Say it quickly."

Zhao Chuan said what about Hou Ye, the other party sneered, and said that there is no Hou Ye on this ship at all, what do you want to do with Hou Ye?

Zhao Chuan bluntly said that the water bandits wanted the Hou Ye to pay tribute to the gold, silver and jewelry in the capital, otherwise they would burn the ship.

"Who said that there are gold, silver and jewels on this ship?" Hou Ye's daughter raised her eyebrows, and her momentum was compelling.

"This ......" Zhao Chuan turned his face and looked at the little lieutenant.

Hou Ye's daughter said that if you don't believe it, you can check it, and said that she ordered people to pour out the contents of those boxes, in addition to women's clothes, there are also a small amount of jewelry that is estimated to be for women's own use, and there is no gold and silver jewelry.

The same was true of the other first-class cabins on the third floor, where there were no gold, silver or jewels at all.

Zhao Chuan returned to the second floor and explained the situation.

went to the bottom again and told Wang Ke.

"Impossible! When we boarded the ship at the Nanhai Wharf, we had eyeliner to see Hou Ye get on the boat with our own eyes and arrange for someone to carry more than a dozen heavy large boxes! ”

Wang Ke swore an oath, and said that there were his people watching all the way, and it was impossible for things to get off the boat or transfer the package.

That's very strange, since it's going to the capital to pay tribute, it's impossible to go empty-handed. Zhao Chuan was also puzzled.

"What do those dozen big heavy boxes look like?"

Zhao Chuan asked about the size and shape of the boxes, and determined that those boxes were the ones he had just seen, but they were all women's clothes and supplies, and there were no gold, silver and jewelry. And this Hou Ye is not on this ship at all.

Zhao Chuan sighed, greatly disappointed. It's a pity that Wang Ke engaged in such a big battle, it turned out to be an empty joy.

Zhao Chuan thought that you Wang Ke was a king at first, but he didn't expect that he would be just a bronze in the end.

I haven't figured out the situation, so I can't do this!

It seems that fighting with this treacherous and cunning Hou Ye is almost hot.

"What now?" Zhao Chuan looked at Wang Ke, "It's better to withdraw people, there is no point in consuming it any longer, otherwise it will not be so easy to talk when the naval warships come in a while." ”

Wang Ke was silent, and his face was cloudy.

Zhao Chuan returned to the cabin and told the seven girls about the situation.

The seven girls grinned and said Can't you see this? The tribute that this Hou Ye sent to the capital was those dozen young and beautiful women!

Zhao Chuan woke up like a dream, but he was puzzled.

"What does it mean to pay tribute to a dozen beauties? Can this be called a treasure? ”

"Hah! You don't understand this, the object of the Hou Ye's tribute must need these dozen South China Sea beauties, which are of special use! The Seven Girls smiled mysteriously.

"What can this South Sea beauty be for? The old men in the capital who are vegetarian are just playing with these little beauties for fun. ”

remembered that Wang Ke said that he took Zhao Li to his hometown Nanling Beach to raise him, and married him a few beautiful local wives, that kid couldn't miss it, so he decided that the same was true of those old men in the capital.

Pretty young women, what man doesn't like it?

"Then there must be something special about the beauty of the South China Sea, right? Otherwise, what to do with this tribute. Zhao Chuan asked thoughtfully.

"You're smart!" Seven girls praised Zhao Chuan.

The Seven Girls said that for ordinary men, beauties are just playthings, but for some cultivators, beauties with certain special physiques are tools to improve their cultivation.

"And such a thing?" Zhao Chuan was surprised.

The Seven Girls said that there is a kind of exercise called Yin and Yang double cultivation, but some men who practice evil methods use certain beauties with special physiques as containers. Because men who practice evil laws are easy to go mad, when the evil fire is full and cannot be controlled, they must use some beauties with special physiques as containers to vent.

Zhao Chuan pursed his lips, "After talking for a long time, isn't it just venting fire?" ”

The seventh girl's face flushed, "Don't say it's so shameless, okay?" ”

Zhao Chuan went back and reported the situation analyzed by the seven girls to Wang Ke.

Unexpectedly, Wang Ke also thought of this, and also suspected that this was the case, but he was not sure.

Wang Ke was difficult to do, he wanted to rob this huge amount of money as funds to do a major thing, but now he found out that there were only dozens of beauties, and the plan seemed to be about to fail.

Zhao Chuan wanted to ask what the important thing in Wang Ke's mouth was, but after thinking about it, it was better not to ask, more things are better than less things, people don't take the initiative to tell them, it's not good to know.

Wang Ke looked very uncomfortable, and the expression on his face could not be described as painful.

Zhao Chuan was willing to help, but he couldn't think of any good way at the moment. The Hou Ye didn't get on the ship at all, what treasures, not even ordinary gold and silver treasures, and he couldn't rob them if he wanted to, at most he grabbed a dozen beauties, but what was the use of robbing them? They have to be fed and drunk, and even if they are sold, they are not worth a few dollars.

"The one you are talking about, the huge amount of money you want to use to do big things, how much is it?" Zhao Chuan scratched his head, and he had nothing to say.

"This, Third Young Master, this money is too much, and ordinary individuals can......'t take it out," Wang Ke said absentmindedly.

"I know, I just want to ask, there has to be a number of this money, maybe someone can get it." Zhao Chuan smiled.

Wang Ke thought about it and said that he would get at least 600,000 taels of silver.

600,000 taels? That's a lot of money.

Zhao Chuan said that this money is too much, there is no way, and this ship may not be worth much.

Wang Ke said that the ship cost 180,000 taels.

Zhao Chuan said Then what are you waiting for, you are water bandits, who is not the same for robbery?

Zhao Chuan officially told the ship's owner and passengers that because the third-floor Hou Ye refused to hand over the looted gold and silver treasures, the ship was detained until the bandits got the money.

Immediately, all the guests on the ship were dissatisfied with Hou Ye, and they scolded endlessly.

Sure enough, after the two pillars of incense, the passenger boat was driven into a river fork by the bandits.

The sky is not yet dawn, but it can be seen that this is a small river fork, and the widest part is only thirty zhang, but the water is very deep, and the luxury passenger ship is slowly driven into it by the water bandits.

Not far ahead, the small river fork is getting narrower and narrower, there are a few fires in the middle of the river in front, it turns out that a small island in the center of the river full of big stones is only a radius of ten steps, in fact, it is a big reef, and the passenger boat is parked nearby.

Huang Jin walked into Zhao Chuan's cabin in a panic, and said to Zhao Chuan that it was about to dawn, why hadn't the Hou Yeshui warship come to rescue yet?

The entire ship was waiting uneasily.

After dawn, the bandits spread the word that everyone should not worry, only tie up the ticket and not tear the ticket. As long as Hou Ye's money, don't want everyone's wealth and life. Everyone should play and eat, but you can't leave for the time being, please wait for a day or two.

This is not only a righteous bandit, but also a civilized bandit. Everyone was completely relieved when they heard this, and their spirits relaxed for a while, and the public area on the second floor gradually became lively again.

In the afternoon, three warships went down the river from the direction of Jiangzhou and stopped at the fork of the small river.

These are three old-fashioned flat-bottomed warships, or hand-cranked wooden oars with sails, and the boats are not large, only four or five zhang long.

After a while, three warships drove into the fork of the tributary in an inverted zigzag pattern, two in front and one in the rear, moving slowly and slowly.

Seeing the sailors coming, the sailors all hid in the bilge, while the passengers on the first and second floors all ran to the deck, and when the sailors came, they felt rescued, and laughed happily on the deck.

The three warships slowly approached the passenger ship, but when they were still dozens of steps away from the passenger ship, a cannon fire suddenly sounded on both sides of the strait, and after only two sips of tea, the two flat-bottomed warships in front of them were hit again and again, the masts were broken, and the sails were also on fire.

The warships that caught fire were in a miserable situation, some jumped into the water, some fought fires, some cried, some shook white cloths and surrendered, and they were in a mess.

The passengers of the luxury passenger ship stood on the deck, and they were very surprised to see this scene, and they could not imagine that the sailors were so vulnerable. The passengers watched indifferently, and many of them had expressions on their faces that could not believe their eyes.

The bandits did not embarrass the sailors, on the contrary, they took small boats to rescue the sailors who fell into the water, and some even went to help fight the fire.

One ship was badly damaged and soon sank to the bottom of the river, while the other was barely able to move through the water after extinguishing the fire.

The surviving sailors all crowded into the warship and were released, but they had to go back and give a word to ransom the ship: 100,000 taels of silver for the passenger ship, and 500,000 taels for the Hou Ye's daughter and others.

This operation made Zhao Chuan dumbfounded, this is just a joke, Xindao Wang Ke, aren't you a lion biting with a big mouth? Whoever the official family is, they want to blackmail others, how can there be a reason for the official family to be blackmailed by the people.

Two days later, the same luxury passenger ship came from the direction of Jiangzhou, paused at the fork of the tributary, and then put down a small boat on it, carrying people from the official family to send off the message.

Zhao Chuan's worries turned out to be unnecessary, and the person who came was an old post guard at a nearby post station. He said that the official family agreed, but the treasury was empty and could not come up with the money for a while, so could it be less, and if it could not be less, could it be paid in installments.

In order to show sincerity, I will first present 50,000 taels of silver tickets, can I release the Hou Ye's people first?

The water bandit immediately said that the ransom must not be less, and the 50,000 taels of silver tickets will be accepted first, and people can put some first, but they are not Hou Ye's people.

The bandits called out all the passengers on the first floor and transported them by small boats to the new luxury passenger ship for release.

Two days later, another luxury passenger ship sailed from the south in the direction of Jiangzhou, passing by the fork of the tributary to pause, and a small boat was also put down, carrying people from the official family to send off the message. It was said that the official in charge of shipping gave 80,000 taels of silver tickets, saying that it was difficult to live in the period of turmoil, and that there was only so much at the moment, and asked for the ransom of the ship.

The bandits discussed for an hour, saying that to be a man is to be trustworthy, since the money for the ransom of 100,000 taels of the boat opened before was now only given 80,000 taels, considering that what the other party said was also the truth, they agreed to release the boat. But the people of the third-layer Hou Ye must get off the ship and continue to detain them until the Hou Ye pays the ransom.

The people of the third-story Hou Ye were reluctant to get off the boat, and the official family went on the boat to explain the situation but was scolded, and the water bandits went upstairs to drive away the Hou Ye's people, and as a result, friction and fighting occurred.

The people of the third-story Hou Ye said that the boat was there and insisted on going with the boat, but the Hou Ye's people did not have enough ransom to pay, and the bandits did not want to let them go. But the ransom of 80,000 yuan was given to ransom the boat, which was sent by the official Ministry of Water Yamen, since it was promised to let the boat go, it was not a matter.

Wang Ke said that he couldn't be the master of this matter, so he had to go ashore to contact the master at the top to ask.

Wang Ke said hello to Zhao Chuan, went ashore, and said that he would not be back until two days later.

It seems that Wang Ke can't be a family, and he is just an intermediate character. Zhao Chuan stood on the passenger boat, looked at the back of Wang Ke who was gradually moving away after going ashore, and smiled bitterly.

The two sides did not reach an agreement, so the official family temporarily transferred the second-floor passengers to the new luxury passenger ship, and then the new passenger ship continued to sail north.

Zhao Chuan was also a second-floor passenger, and wanted to transfer to the new luxury passenger ship with everyone, and then go to Jiangzhou to get off the boat to find Master Xiaoyaozi, but when he thought about it, he had been delayed for a few days, and even if he went to Jiangzhou, he didn't know if he could still find him, so he simply didn't rush to leave, just stayed on the boat and watched how things developed.

It was night, just after the hour arrived, the weather suddenly changed, dark clouds rolling, lightning and thunder, accompanied by a strong wind, the wind blew the huge passenger ships were shaking, and a heavy rain came in a moment.

Half an hour later, the torrential rain did not lighten, the water of the tributaries rose sharply, and the small islands in the center of the river were invisible.

Zhao Chuan found that the passenger ship had begun to move, probably because the bandits wanted to escape the rainstorm and drove the boat upstream of the tributary.

"Oops! Nothing looks like is going to happen to my ship. The owner of the boat was worried, "Such a heavy rainstorm, and the boat is not powered enough, it must be difficult to drive in the hands of this group of bandits!" ”

As soon as the owner's words fell, he heard someone below shouting desperately, "Oh no! Hit the rocks! The bottom of the boat is in the water, run away! Run! ”