Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

Chapter 454 Maritime Merchant Ruan Er
dong dong dong-

The archer holding a crossbow ran quickly, suddenly stopped and let Hu Yanqing and other generals pass before continuing to run towards the side of the ship.

"What happened?"

Hu Yanqing said as he quickly walked up to the cockpit of the ship's cabin: "How many pirate ships are there? When did they block the way?"

"Xiao Shou discovered it just now when the golden bell was ringing." The deputy general said as he followed Hu Yanqing and stood behind: "There are three ships in total, and they are attacking the merchant ship over there."

"...Merchant ship." He repeated the words, and Hu Yanqing felt a little relaxed. He didn't just come for the Pinghai Navy, otherwise it would take a lot of effort, and it would be bad if the warship was damaged.

Looking up, I saw three ships in the distance with black flags, circling a ship in the middle, and I saw them getting close to each other.

"Commander, would you like to help me?" the deputy general asked in a low voice from behind.

Hu Yanqing didn't look back, he just looked ahead and said: "It looks like my Song Dynasty ship... go and help!"

"Yes." The deputy general nodded.

This can be regarded as an unethical rule. When encountering pirates and plundering at sea, all navies should step forward to expel them. However, for these generals at sea, they usually will not take care of them even if they are not their own businessmen. Some navies even watch. If there are no boats around, I will pretend to do it myself.

The deputy general ran out and shouted: "Send the order! Go forward and drive away the pirates!"

"Send the order! Before..."

The sergeant who delivered the order repeated the order loudly, and the sailors holding two small flags shouted the order together, and the warships of the Ping Navy began to turn and sail towards the besieged merchant ships over there.

Not even halfway, the ship with the black flag seemed to see the approaching Pinghai navy. Hu Yanqing watched as someone pulled out the knife on the merchant ship and ran up the gangplank back to the ship. The three ships hurriedly put on their sails and started sailing in succession. There was no time to retract the springboard, and he quickly left the dangerous place, leaving only three channels with white waves behind him.

"Let's go and see how the people on the merchant ship are doing." Hu Yanqing looked at the ship that started to lower the black flag, and said "hum-": "A group of scavenging crows."

He turned around and patted the deputy general behind him: "Go down, nothing will happen."

The deputy general nodded, and the two of them immediately walked out of the room. There was a faint sound of crying in their ears. Hu Yanqing turned around and saw several corpses lying on the deck of the merchant ship from a distance. The blood was red and dazzling in the sun. , several men were kneeling in front of the corpse and crying.

He couldn't help but shook his head: "The pirates deserve to be killed!"

The deputy general also looked at the miserable situation and couldn't help but nodded in agreement.

Seeing several ships from the Ping Navy approaching, and when the gangplank was lowered, a general boarded up. Hu Yanqing also knew that this was a follow-up inquiry, and it was also to prevent pirates from lurking on the ship. As long as they searched it, it would be fine. If you find it, you can leave.

"Go down and set sail immediately after the inspection." The commander of the navy looked up at the sky and squinted his eyes slightly under the sunlight: "It's already a little late for us to wait. Don't miss the deadline set by the commander. the term."

The deputy general thought that there was still time, but when he saw his general frowning, he didn't tell the difference and just nodded in agreement.

The sea breeze blew the flag, the hanging banner with Song characters stretched in the wind, and the Pinghai flag that was lowered one position was also flapping.

Hu Yanqing returned to his cabin, and Fang sat down to take a rest. The chair was not yet warm, and there was noise outside. Not long after, the deputy general came over and knocked on the cabin door: "Commander, the owner of the merchant ship outside asked to see him, saying that he had important matters. Report."

……

The sea breeze was swaying the sails. On the pirate ship, Wei Zhaode was squatting at the stern. The sea breeze made the man squint his eyes. In his sight, the warships of the Ping Navy had surrounded the merchant ship. He couldn't help but stretch out a hand to rub his chin. , feeling a little uneasy in my heart.

There were footsteps coming from behind. The sea-covering dragon didn't even look back and said, "Are you all ready?"

Han Kai touched his bare forehead: "Ready, brother, can Ruan Xiaoer make it happen? That guy is ugly and strong, who looks like that?"

"The second brother has already said something, so you and I should not worry."

……

Flat naval command ship deck.

Hu Yanqing looked up and down at the sturdy figure in front of him and frowned slightly: "Are you the owner of the merchant ship?"

"The villain Ruan Er is the owner of the merchant ship." The man in the brocade robe showed a flattering smile: "This general may not think that the villain is tall and tall and does not look like a wealthy family, but he knows that the sea is really dangerous these days. The villain has to practice martial arts to protect himself, otherwise I'm afraid you won't be able to see me today."

Then he looked at the face of the person opposite who was looking at him, touched his cheek and said suddenly: "The villain is born ugly, but it doesn't matter how he looks when he makes money, he is so frightened." Hu Yanqing nodded, there were many wealthy people in the Song Dynasty who studied martial arts. , this person is a sea trader, which is more dangerous than on land. It may be possible to practice some martial arts for self-defense. He waved his hand and said: "That's all, I don't care why you look like this. What do you want to see me for?" ?”

Ruan Er suddenly said excitedly: "This villain is going to sea to do business with the Japanese country. It is unlucky to be targeted by that group of pirates. It's just that he killed the elders of my family and many of his associates. I hope the general will take the decision to destroy this group of bandits and bring peace to the world." This sea area.”

……

Han Kai smelled the wind with the fishy smell of sea and scratched his head: "Don't let Ping Haijun be attracted, and you will get trapped in it instead."

"The second brother is more thoughtful, so it's okay." Wei Zhaode stood up, patted the wooden stern of the boat, and said with a snap: "Besides, have you ever seen officers and soldiers who are not greedy for money at this time. "

Han Kai thought about it and nodded slowly: "Yes, sometimes I feel that the officers and soldiers are the ones who should be bandits."

……

trouble……

Frowning, Hu Yanqing opened his mouth and said: "General, I still have important things to do, and I'm afraid I can't help..."

When Ruan Er heard what he said, he immediately put his hand into his arms. Several soldiers beside him immediately pointed their spears at him. When he pulled it out, he saw a gold silk ribbon. The self-proclaimed rich man tore the bag open with all his strength. With a tingling sound, a stack of gold leaves fell down, reflecting the sunlight that immediately caused the sergeants walking around to stop and stare blankly.

Then the merchant said, "I know that you, the lieutenant, have something important to do, so I am willing to donate all the money I got from this business trip, a total of 80,000 guan, and ten sharp Japanese knives as a reward."

"Eighty thousand?!"

Hu Yanqing was about to refuse when he heard a scream behind him, and his heart skipped a beat. He turned around and looked at Cheng Haijun's commander, who jumped over and grabbed Ruan Er: "What did you say?" But seriously?"

The merchant immediately pointed his finger at the sky and the earth: "How dare you deceive the lieutenants? I would rather not get the money this time, but also want those people who killed my elders to die."

"Brother Hu Yanqing!" Commander Cheng Haijun's eyes lit up, he turned around and walked to Hu Yanqing's side and whispered, "How about helping this man?"

"Brother Li, it's not because Hu Yanqing doesn't want to, but it's really taking too much time to suppress the bandits. If you and I go after the pirates and miss the time limit set by the court, we will be slapped with military sticks."

"It's better to be beaten by a military stick than to die in poverty." Commander Li straightened his neck: "You and the soldiers under my command all live on reward money. How many copper coins have we seen since last year? How can the young and old in the family live like this?"

Seeing that the commander of Ping Haijun on the opposite side was about to object, the man took a step forward and whispered into Hu Yanqing's ear: "Brother Hu Yan, why don't you take a look at the expressions of our subordinates? If you don't respond, believe it or not, you will be there on the battlefield one day." It’s unbearable to say that something happened.”

Hu Yanqing's pupils shrank and he glanced around. Sure enough, he saw all the sergeants on the deck looking at the gold leaves on the ground with gleaming eyes. He also saw all the generals under his command looking at him. The one who was close to him swallowed The sound of saliva was clearly audible.

"...That's all." Hu Yanqing closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Although Ping Haijun had joined the Forbidden Army since the Renzong Dynasty, his treatment was not much better. It was common for him to withhold food and salary. If this was not allowed, There will really be trouble later.

"Command the entire army to follow the pirates ahead!"

The sonorous tone sounded over the ship, and all the soldiers were visibly happy: "I am willing to fight to the death for the general!"

A nearby ship stopped and didn't know what was going on. Out of curiosity, they shouted and asked in the air. When they got the answer, the answer spread. "I am willing to fight to the death for the general!" The voice became louder and louder, and eventually spread to the Pinghai and Chenghai armies. .

Hu Yanqing looked at his sergeants running around with a wry smile. His vigorous figure was completely different from that of just now. He looked at a businessman with a grateful face. Commander Pinghai was still a little worried, so he secretly called his deputy to whisper softly: "Go to his ship and check to see if there are any of his elders and how much money he received."

"Yes."

The deputy general responded and saw Ruan Er disappear into the crowd. Not long after, the inquiry results came. It was indeed that an elder was dead. Everyone on the ship saw it. Only the money received was unknown to everyone. They only got the account book from the accountant. , there are more than 84,000 silver coins. After checking the cabin, the number is accurate.

Hu Yanqing breathed a sigh of relief, called Ruan Er, and asked a few sergeants to watch him. He also ordered twenty sergeants to board the merchant ship and let them follow behind the fleet. Then he looked at the drum with confidence. The sails were full and they moved forward to catch up with the pirates.

……

"It's done!"

When Wei Zhaode saw the Ping navy ship raising its sail and catching up, he immediately slapped Han Kai: "It's up to us now, brothers, please pay attention to your speed, don't let these red guys catch up."

"Yes!"

　Happy Lantern Festival~~
　　PS: In the Northern Song Dynasty, when the rewards were not in place, the soldiers did not fight and dispersed, trapping the generals to death. The most famous one among the cultivators is Zhongshi. If you are interested, you can check it out for yourself~~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)