Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 1520 Xijin Ferry

Yangzhou, Xijin Ferry.

The moon is bright and the stars are sparse, the breeze is surrounded by the river water, brushing the bluestones of the ferry wharf lightly, gurgling, and the silvery moonlight pours into the river water, turning into broken silver all over the river.

A huge fleet sailed slowly in the middle of the river, dropped a few sampans from one of the battleships, and then went north to Hangou via Xijin Ferry without stopping, entered Tongji Canal along the Huai River, and went straight to Guanzhong.

Taking advantage of the moonlight, several sampans slowly arrived at the river. Instead of approaching the pier, they docked at a rocky spot not far from the pier. Small iron anchors were thrown into the shore from the sampans. In the shallow water, one after another, strong men in black jumped onto the rocks on the shore. More than [-] people paused for a while to adjust their equipment, and then disappeared quietly but quickly at the ferry.

The moon is shining brightly, only the river is gurgling, and the drums are more melodious in the middle of the night...

*****
Xijin Ferry has been an important ferry on the Yangtze River since ancient times. It has Xiangshan Mountain as a barrier to the east to block the turbulent tide, and corresponds to the ancient Hangou in the north.

During the Six Dynasties, the route across the river here was fixed.

The unprecedented scale of "Yongjia South Crossing", more than half of the northern refugees crossed the river and landed from here. In the fifth year of Long'an in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Sun En, the leader of the "Five Dou Rice Road", led "[-] soldiers and [-] boats" from the sea into the river and arrived at Zhenjiang. Controlling the Xijin Ferry, cutting off the connection between the north and the south, and besieging Jianye, the capital of Jin, was defeated by the Beifu soldiers led by Liu Yu, and then failed to attack Linhai County.

Xijindu has long been transformed into a small town by a ferry, with bluestone slabs paving the road, extending from the pier to the center of the town, with houses and gables made of blue bricks on both sides.

The night leak deepened, and Qiu Shenji didn't want to sleep.

Standing up and wearing only a middle coat, he pushed open the door, and the cold moonlight poured in like silver frost, and the cool river breeze blew slowly, which relieved his depressed mood a little.

There was a noise from one ear room, and not long after, a soldier came out with sleepy eyes, yawned and said in surprise, "Why don't you sleep well, Mr. Lang? Tomorrow when you cross the Yangtze River, you will enter the boundary of Jiangnan. It seems that this boat is sailing on the river Don’t even think about the safety of the South China Sea. The waterways in the south of the Yangtze River are densely covered, but they are full of narrow boats. The swaying is uncomfortable. This place is still thousands of miles away from the South China Sea. Of course we dare not make things difficult for you, but you can You should be more careful."

This soldier was escorting Qiu Shenji all the way to the South China Sea for distribution. Because of Qiu He's position in the army, who would dare to punish Qiu Shenji?Although it was dispatched by the army, it has been traveling overnight since leaving Guanzhong. It is like traveling slowly and leisurely, and there are boats and vehicles along the way, which is safe and comfortable.

It stands to reason that the best way to go to the South China Sea is to follow the canal directly into the Yangtze River, then go down the river to Huating Town, and then take a sea boat bound for Nanyang or Dashi from Huating Town to the South China Sea.

However, Qiu Shenji refused to do so, he had to cross the south of the Yangtze River from Xijin, across Lingnan to the South China Sea!

The soldiers felt a little unbelievable, isn't this just asking for guilt...

However, Qiu Shenji had his own plan.

He is not a coward, but he is not a reckless man. In his mind, no matter Huating Town or the fleet on the sea, they are all Fang Jun's men. Fang Junzhi's "forbidden scorpion" married the "underestimated enemy" back home, would he still survive if he fell into the hands of these people?
The sea is vast, and it is easy to throw a few people down to feed the fish, but sailing on the sea is dangerous, and it is common and logical to lose a few people...

That's why Qiu Shenji would rather trek through thousands of mountains and rivers than be in Fang Jun's territory...

Hearing the soldiers' words at this moment, how could Qiu Shenji not hear the complaint?Who doesn't want to travel leisurely in a spacious and comfortable sea boat, but instead has to take a road that is ten thousand times more difficult?

In the past, if someone had such an attitude, Qiu Shenji would have been furious a long time ago, but now these people are officials who were ordered to escort him, even if they were afraid of the power of their Qiu family and did not dare to make things difficult for him, they still suppressed him in the end. He said with a smile: "The road is a bit difficult, but you don't have to worry about it. My father has already stationed troops in various places. Everywhere he goes, someone will make proper arrangements. You just need to treat this trip as a game, and there may be delays in time." I have done a little, but as long as I get to the ground, someone will give me a thank you, which will definitely satisfy you."

The soldier said awkwardly: "What is the gentleman talking about? It is convenient for others, and since the gentleman wants to go this way, I will accompany you."

The gang of officials in the Ministry of Punishment didn't care which way Qiu Shenji took or how long it would take to reach the South China Sea. How could they control them?

After all, it was just as Qiu Shenji said, and it was fine to treat this mission as a game, treat Qiu Shenji well, forgive him for not daring to disobey the emperor's order and run away halfway, anyway, there is still a considerable amount of money to get when we reach the land ...

"In that case, the little one should go to bed first, and you, sir, should rest early."

After the soldier finished speaking, he yawned and turned back to the room, and continued to sleep...

Qiu Shenji kept a smile on his face and stood in front of the door with his hands behind his back.

It's been a long journey to the South China Sea, the reason why he lingered all the way was not that Qiu Shenji was afraid of the harsh environment in the South China Sea and the torture and setback after being assigned, but because he hoped that his father who was far away in Chang'an would be able to convince His Majesty to take back his order.

He was only in his twenties, and he still had great revenge in his heart, but he never thought that he would be framed by that Fang Jun and end up being sent to Nanhai...

In the family letter he received yesterday, his father had already mentioned that he had passed through King Jing's door, and he had connected several military leaders to intercede with His Majesty.According to His Majesty's style of treating the generals in the army with grace, he will almost certainly forgive his sins.

Even if he cut his job for the people, as long as he is not burdened with a crime, he can calmly start again!

The father in the middle of the capital has already started to operate. Perhaps after crossing the river, before he leaves Jiangnan, His Majesty's pardon will be delivered quickly...

Thinking of this, Qiu Shenji felt a little more relaxed, and looked up at the stone pagoda standing on the street in front of the door with great interest.

This is a rare stone pagoda for crossing the street. The lower part of the pagoda is built with blocks of stones to form four stone pillars.The tower base is made of two identical xumizuo, on which is a lotus-covered round base and a flat drum-shaped tower body.There are thirteen circles of belt-shaped reliefs, symbolizing the thirteen layers of heaven, on which there is a small rosette and a small circular lotus seat, with "Eight Treasures" engraved on the wheel, and the top of the pagoda is above it.

There are the same lettering on the east and west banners of the stone tower pedestal. It lies in the middle of the small street, and the moonlight pours on it like water, which is quite simple and elegant...

After standing at the door for a while, Qiu Shenji yawned and went back to the room, closed the door, and fell asleep peacefully on the couch.

In a daze, a slight sound of footsteps rang in my ears...

The Qiu family started with martial arts, and they have been warriors for several generations. Qiu Shenji is even more sharp in hearing and eyesight, even in his sleep, he suddenly woke up. Before he woke up, his right hand subconsciously reached under the mattress and grabbed a dagger .

……

Outside the house, a soldier happened to wake up at night, too sleepy and too lazy to go to the toilet, so he untied his belt in the shadows in front of the window, trying to let the water go.

Suddenly, he felt the wind blowing behind him, and the hairs on his neck stood up with a "shua". There was a soft rustle, and the horizontal knife in his hand reflected the white moonlight, shining coldly!

The soldier was stunned, and then suddenly shouted: "Who... Uh!"

A crossbow bolt with the sound of the bowstring suddenly plunged into his throat, and the shouting stopped abruptly like a duck whose neck had been choked.

The man in black obviously didn't notice the pawn hiding in the shadows in front of the window, even though he shot him with one arrow, he still stunned the enemy!

The leader raised his sword and said in a muffled voice, "Kill! No one will be left behind!"

Before the words were finished, someone kicked the front door open with a "bang", and Qiu Shenji's broad and burly figure appeared at the door, holding a gleaming dagger in his hand, and hissed, "Come on! There are assassins!"

This trip went to the South China Sea. Although he was assigned for a crime, the Qiu family sent a guard composed of more than ten generals to protect Qiu Shenji's safety along the way.What Qiu Shenji was thinking at the moment was to wake up the generals. The group of men in black in front of him was only about 20 people, and his family of more than ten people would add more than ten soldiers. If you have not recovered, you may not be incapable of fighting!
However, to his surprise, when he yelled, all the generals in the side room were awakened, and they all rushed out shouting, but the reaction of the men in black in front of them was beyond expectation!The men in black in the front row didn't rush up to kill themselves as soon as possible, but... squatted down one after another?
Then, Qiu Shenji's eyes were about to burst, and he was so frightened that his wits flew out of his wits!

I saw the man in black in the front row lowered his body, just revealing a row of wounded crossbows in the hands of the man in black behind him...

"Boom!"

Before Qiu Shenji could move his footsteps, there was a muffled sound, and more than ten crossbow arrows left the string almost at the same time, passing through the cold and bright night sky in an instant, they were nailed to Qiu Shenji's body in no particular order.

(End of this chapter)