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Chapter 387 Hearing about the water bandits for the first time, Minglan makes a plan

Less than a month after Gu Er arrived in Quanzhou, Zhao Zongquan and his son in Yuzhou were chased and killed by a group of rebels whose leader called himself Emperor Zhaode, just like in the original drama. Flag, raised the banner of rebellion against the imperial court.

I don't know if it's luck or what, although without Gu Er's rescue, Zhao Zongquan and his son have several generals who are skilled in martial arts and are willing to sacrifice their lives for him and his son. Only then did Zhao Zongquan and his son be saved from the rebels, but Zhao Zongquan was hacked by the rebel leader, and his son Zhao Ceying was also stabbed several times.

In addition to Zhao Zongquan and his son in Yuzhou, several unpopular clans were hunted down, which immediately attracted the attention of the court.

Yuzhou is located in the southwest of Beijing, with Jinghu Road in the southwest, Huaihe River in the southeast, and Jiangsu and Zhejiang in the south!
Time flies, and it is late July in a blink of an eye. Changbai not only got married, but also made up for the vacancy in the Imperial Academy. Smile every day.

On the other hand, Changwu, the eldest son of Youyang, failed in the martial arts examination and failed to go to high school, so he had to go back to his hometown to get married first, and then plan his future.

Sheng Wei had rushed back to Youyang a few months ago to take care of lifelong affairs for Changwu, and handed over all the affairs of the Jihai store in Quanzhou to Shulan and Changsong siblings.

When the wedding day is approaching, the siblings will rush back early to attend Changwu's wedding.

At the same time, the old lady Sheng, who was far away in Bianjing, had already started packing her bags and asked Sheng Hong to prepare the boat.

Xiaotao got Minglan's order, left Sheng's house early, and went straight to find Wang Erxi who had been waiting in Tokyo for a long time.

In the past two years, almost all parts of the country have not been peaceful. Water thieves and bandits are everywhere. The Cao Gang is born with water, relying on water transportation to make a living. It is said that wherever there is water in the world, there are gang members of the Cao Gang. Although this statement is a bit exaggerated, But it is also enough to show that the Cao Gang is powerful and well-informed.

Especially the Jianghu news that the officials and lords in the court don't pay much attention to, the Cao Gang is the most well-informed.

Today, the largest sales destination of the icing business that the Sheng family and Wang Zhong cooperated with is Tokyo. The old lady Sheng is now in charge of all the properties of the Wang family, so naturally she is not ignorant of the news on the waterway.

"Why is Miss Xiaotao here?" Seeing Xiaotao, Wang Erxi immediately smiled.

Xiaotao saluted Wang Erxi, called Second Brother Wang, and then went straight to the point: "Second Brother Wang, the old lady plans to leave for Youyang in a few days!"

I don't know if it's because she has practiced martial arts all the year round, but Xiao Tao doesn't talk much in front of outsiders on weekdays, and she always gives people a naive feeling.

Hearing this, Wang Erxi frowned, and reminded with a dignified expression: "Miss Xiaotao, the road is not smooth now, and there are several more fishes on the waterway, and they are quite powerful. The business name became known, and the local yamen sent troops to suppress it several times but returned without success.

Moreover, the land is not peaceful now. In many places going south and north, there are strongmen who occupy the mountains as kings and plunder the passing merchants! "

But Xiaotao shook her head: "The old lady and the girl know about what you said, but you don't know the reason. Brother Wu from Youyang Dafang is going to get married in three months, and the old lady from Dafang always The old lady is not in good health, and the old lady is getting old now, and Youyang is far away. If I don’t go this time, I don’t know if there will be a chance to see you again in the future! The old lady wants to take this opportunity to say goodbye to the old lady in Dafang See you last time."

Wang Erxi still had a serious face when he heard the words, but he stopped persuading: "Although the third master has already given orders, but the current situation is more serious than expected, Miss Xiaotao allows me to prepare, pick more good players, and more Prepare some weapons in case of emergencies!"

Xiaotao also knows that this road may not be smooth, and it is always good to be more prepared: "If there is anything that needs help, second brother Wang just ask."

Wang Erxi said: "Miss Xiaotao, don't worry, the third master has long expected that the old lady and Miss Six will return to Youyang sooner or later, and has made all the arrangements. It's just that it will take some time to gather the manpower, and the ship will also have to make some arrangements at that time. , By the way, can the serving maids bring less and more robust servants, preferably those who understand water, and they can help if they are really in danger."

"I'll tell my girl when I get back!" Xiao Tao nodded cautiously.

Back at Sheng's house, Xiaotao immediately told Ming Lan about Wang Erxi's suggestion. After hearing this, Ming Lan took it for granted. She immediately went to Mrs. Sheng and told Wang Erxi's words.

Old Madam Sheng wasn't the kind who didn't listen to people's words, so she immediately asked Ming Lan to arrange staff with Mother Fang.

Three days later, when everything was ready, Wang Erxi brought 32 good men, and prepared a lot of spears and poles in the warehouse, hunting bows and arrows, and even took long knives with him.

Some of these 32 people used to be elite fighters in the Cao Gang, and later voted for Wang Zhong along with Wang Erxi, and some were farmers in the Zhuangzi. A good man who dared to kill, had an innocent net worth, had seen blood, and fought with thieves. In the early years, he often traveled south and north to transport frosted cloth, and even went to Quanzhou with Wang Zhong.

Before returning to Quanzhou this time, Wang Zhong specially selected them for the old lady and Minglan.

The day before the departure, Wang Erxi took the lead on board the boat and lived in the bottom warehouse. Mrs. Sheng and Minglan didn't bring too many maids, but arranged for more than a dozen servants to guard the house. Followed on board the boat.

As soon as Mrs. Sheng and Minglan uploaded the upload, Wang Erxi went to see her.

"According to the news from the Cao Gang, the Bianhe River is currently relatively peaceful, but there are several bands of water thieves entrenched near Huaiyin. The brothers of the Cao Gang and the government have suppressed them several times, and only two of them have been wiped out. There are quite a few fish that slipped through the net and escaped, and I'm afraid they all joined the rest of the bandits, the villain has already notified the brothers of the Cao Gang, and when we reach the border of Huaiyin, they will come to meet us."

The old lady Sheng looked at Wang Erxi and nodded, then said: "You are Zihou's brother, so the old lady can trust me, and now there are only two female relatives on board, Ming'er and I, and there are no males, since Zihou sent you over , the matter of guarding will be left to you to take full responsibility, how to go, how much to go every day, it is all up to you to make up your mind, and the dozen or so guards of the Sheng family also follow your arrangements, but some One point, we must arrive at Youyang before the Mid-Autumn Festival."

Wang Erxi bowed his hands respectfully and said: "Old lady, don't worry, everything has been arranged properly. We will follow the cargo ship of Changping Oil Workshop. There are brothers from the Cao Gang on the three cargo ships of Changping. Thieves, they will also give us a warning, so that we have enough time to deal with it."

"You can make arrangements for these things!" Mrs. Sheng knew that she was not as proficient in these things as Wang Erxi, so she might as well leave these things to Wang Erxi.

But Wang Erxi said: "Back to the old lady, the meaning of the third master is to let the sixth girl try to be on her own and gain experience!"

Old Madam Sheng was breathless, and looked at Wang Erxi: "Does Zihou want Minger to take care of things?"

"Let me take care of things?" Minglan on the side was also very surprised, looking at Wang Erxi suspiciously.

Wang Erxi explained with a smile: "The third master said that the sixth girl is very intelligent, she has a good heart, and she has been taught by the old lady, but she still lacks a little experience and experience, and she lacks a bit of tempering. Now we have almost prepared everything we need to do, let Miss Six be in charge, and the villain only needs to give some hints from the side, it will be beneficial and harmless for Miss Six to take charge of the royal family in the future."

The old lady Sheng nodded, "Brother Chong has a heart, since that's the case, then let Zihou make arrangements!"

"Grandmother, I..." Ming Lan wanted to say something, but was interrupted by the raising of her hand by Old Madam Sheng.

"Zihou is thoughtful. You will get married next year. Brother Chong will be working hard outside. You will be in charge of the huge royal family. It is time for you to accumulate experience and see the world."

"Grandmother, my granddaughter has never taken care of things, I'm afraid I can't do well!" Minglan said modestly.

"Silly girl!" Old Madam Sheng held Minglan's hand and said with a smile, "No one is born capable of everything. Besides, you have helped me manage the Wang family's properties for several years. It's a good time to try to be on your own. taste."

"Then granddaughter?" Ming Lan blinked her big black and bright eyes, but she couldn't hide the smile in her eyes.

The big ship went all the way southeast along the Bian River and moored at the Hewan Wharf at night. The Caobang and the Changping ship in front had walked this waterway countless times, and they were very familiar with the whole route. Minglan and It was not the first time for the old lady to go south, and the journey went smoothly without encountering any twists and turns.

In the morning and evening when nothing happened, Ming Lan took a fishing rod and sat on the side of the boat with Xiao Tao and Dan Ju to fish. Xiaotao, who is unobtrusive, gets something every time, and envies Danju and Cuiwei who are fishing together.

Naturally, the fresh fish caught every day should not be wasted. Ming Lan changed the way to cook for the old lady, steamed today, braised tomorrow, stewed the next day, boiled soup, made soup, pickled fish, etc., etc., all the way. From Bianjing to Huaiyin, Minglan and the old lady ate almost all kinds of fish recipes.

On this day, as soon as I entered the border of Huaiyin, several small boats sailed beside me.

The people who came were none other than Che Sanniang and her husband, who had met Minglan before, and several men from the Cao Gang, all dressed as fishermen, with fishing nets and harpoons on board.

Che Sanniang and her husband Shi Keng boarded the big boat of the Sheng family, exchanged pleasantries with Wang Erxi, and then went to meet Minglan.

"Brother Shi, Miss Che! It's you?" Ming Lan was quite surprised to see the person coming, but she was even more happy. When she followed Wang Chong south last time, Ming Lan met Che Sanniang and Shi Keng face to face. , I had a good impression of Che Sanniang and his wife, and hurriedly greeted them to take their seats.

"I haven't seen you in a few years, and the sixth girl is more and more lively!" Che Sanniang went to the rivers and lakes to sell her background, she didn't read any books, and her words were relatively simple and straightforward.

Ming Lan said: "Ms. Che is still so upright!"

Che Sanniang couldn't help laughing when she heard this, Danju and Cuiwei hurriedly brought some bowls of herbal tea to quench their thirst, and after drinking the tea, they exchanged a few words and then got straight to the point.

Che Sanniang said solemnly: "That group of water fish has become more and more arrogant. In the past few months, they have robbed several passing cargo ships. They have killed more and more people. The methods are so ruthless. Our people have fought with them a few times. A lot of manpower was lost, so my uncle specially transferred me and the head of the family from Quanzhou, and brought a lot of elite gang members to fight with this group of water fish and kill many of them. It's a pity that this group of water fish They are as slippery as loaches, and they disappeared after a few laps on the river, and I haven't been able to find where their lair is until now."

When she said this, Che Sanniang couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. If she could mobilize the troops of the Huaiyin command battalion and follow the Cao Gang to encircle and suppress this group of water fish, they might have wiped out this group of water fish long ago. Although they have some power, they are just rivers and lakes gangs in the end, and they cannot mobilize the manpower of the Huaiyin Command Battalion.

Although the Xiang Army was corrupt, it was still an army after all, with complete armor and sharper weapons than the water thieves and bandits. Although its combat power was not comparable to that of the Forbidden Army, it was not completely corrupt. It was still possible to suppress bandits and thieves.

"But girl, don't worry, with our brothers from the Cao Gang, we will definitely be able to send the girl and the old lady to Youyang safely!" Although Che Sanniang and Shi Keng came to suppress bandits, compared to suppressing bandits, Obviously, the safety of Ming Lan and Mrs. Sheng is more important.

Not to mention how powerful Wang Zhong is now, but the Wang family and the Sheng family have been taking care of the Cao Gang all these years. Whether it is going south or going north, all goods that go by water are transported through the Cao Gang. How much profit they made and how many Caobang brothers they supported, Che Sanniang and his wife also took the safety of old lady Sheng and Minglan as their top priority.

Not to mention, the branch rudder set up by the Cao Gang in Quanzhou has already gained a lot of fame in the sea with the blessing of Wang Zhong, and even earned a lot of gold and silver.

"Then it's hard work, Mrs. Che!"

"They're all from my own family, so why not be polite!" Although Che Sanniang is a woman, she has a rather bold temper. It's so prosperous.

"I don't know how to deal with those water thieves?" Minglan asked curiously.

Che Sanniang said helplessly: "What else can we do, unless we can find their lair, otherwise, we can only be careful ourselves."

Minglan's black and white eyeballs kept rolling, and her eyes were slightly focused: "Since you can't find the nest of the group of water fish, why don't you use a trick to lure the snake out of the hole! Then follow the vine!"

"Lead the snake out of the hole? Miss, you mean to lure out that group of water fish??" Che Sanniang, Shi Keng and the others couldn't help but look at Minglan.

Minglan smiled and said, "Maybe they don't need us to lure them, they will come out by themselves!"

"This group of water thieves has been able to occupy themselves for such a long time, even the government can't do anything about them, presumably their news must be extremely well-informed."

Che Sanniang said with deep conviction: "It must be so, otherwise, the government has suppressed it several times without success. On the contrary, it will make this group of water fish more and more arrogant."

"Maybe there are spies planted by them at the nearby ferries and docks."

Ming Lan said: "According to this, we and Changping's cargo ship add up to a total of five big ships. Such a fat big fish will definitely not escape their eyes. You said that group of water thieves will watch us helplessly. In the past?"

"Of course not!" Che Sanniang slapped her thigh and said excitedly, "Miss, what do you mean, let's wait for the school of fish to come up on the boat?"

Minglan shook her head and said, "It's not possible that there are no eyes and ears on the boat. It's too blatant to go up and ambush like this. It's better to ambush by the side first, and then kill those water thieves when they attack the boat!"

The eyes of the three people all lit up when they heard the words: "If we kill them at that time, those water thieves will definitely not have time to escape. If we catch a few more people alive, we will definitely not be able to find out where their lair is!"

But Ming Lan said: "Why don't we create a siege for them, kill some, catch some, let go, and then arrange people in advance to quietly follow those who let go, and find out where the water thieves' lair is. "

"Miss, this method is very good, but this group of water fish is too thieves, and we don't have so many people in Huaiyin who can take care of both ends. I'm afraid they will be transferred overnight after they fail and run away."

But Ming Lan said to Wang Erxi: "Second Brother Wang, I remember that the Huaiyin Command Camp is nearby, so Second Brother Fan brought gifts, father's and elder brother's name stickers, and went to the Huaiyin Command Camp.

Let’s just say that my grandmother and I went back to our hometown to visit relatives and worship our ancestors. We heard that there were water thieves in Huaiyin recently. We are afraid of being disturbed by water thieves, so we ask the commander to send troops to take photos. After that, I will definitely tell my father and brother, and I will give you another generous gift! "

Wang Erxi has been with Wang Chong for a long time, and he has learned to use his brain by his ears and eyes. Hearing the words, he couldn't help asking: "Miss, what do you mean, let the soldiers of the command battalion lie in ambush, and follow them to the water thief's lair?"

Minglan said: "That's right! We don't know the specific situation of the water thief's lair now. If we rush to kill the water thief, although it is possible to catch the water thief by surprise, it is also very likely to fall into a stalemate. Our manpower is limited. Over time, we may not be able to They have the upper hand, but the soldiers commanding the battalion are well equipped with bows and arrows, far better than us, and also far better than the water thieves, if they chase them to the water thieves' lair, it is very likely that they will succeed in one fell swoop."

"Young man, let's go!" Wang Erxi cupped his hands and said.

Minglan said: "Danju! Go to the storeroom and pick some presents for Second Brother Wang. Prepare more money and jewels, as well as the few pieces of brocade that you got from the palace!"

"Slave servant, go now!" Danju is Minglan's chief housekeeper and Minglan's confidant. She is very capable, but she is too kind in her heart, and she is not tough enough to treat her subordinates.

"Sister Che, Brother Shi, when do those water thieves usually attack?" Ming Lan asked carefully about the water thieves' news.

Che Sanniang and Shi Keng had dealt with this group of water thieves, so Minglan naturally wanted to ask them clearly.

"It's usually in the middle of the night, around midnight, sometimes earlier, sometimes later, when everyone on the boat has fallen asleep, they sneak onto the boat and are caught off guard." Shi Keng replied.

Minglan nodded slightly, pondered for a moment and then said: "Then please trouble Big Brother Shi and Mrs. Che to follow us closely and send people to watch out for the water thief's movements. Kill here."

"I listen to the girl." Mrs. Che was very surprised by Minglan's wise plan, but at the same time couldn't help admiring it. Minglan had such a plan at a young age, and couldn't help but sigh with emotion. No wonder the third master left Tokyo all over the place. The daughters of wealthy families in the city are not picky, but they have found a concubine daughter from a fifth-rank official family like the sixth daughter of the Sheng family to be the future eldest lady. It seems that the third master has a discerning eye to recognize talents, and he discovered the extraordinaryness of the sixth daughter of the Sheng family early on. , that's why I came here to ask for marriage...
Minglan naturally didn't know, but in just a short moment, so many thoughts came to Che Sanniang's heart, she just smiled softly, picked up the teacup, and said modestly: "Minglan is just a layman, the detailed rules and regulations , what should be done, I have to arrange it with Brother Shi and Lady Che!"

"Miss Six is ​​being modest, the girl has arranged very well, as long as the group of water fish dare to come to the door, we will definitely make them come and go." Che Sanniang laughed boldly.

Che Sanniang and Shi Keng left for lunch, and the couple bid farewell. Near sunset, Wang Erxi finally came back with good news. There were famous cards from Sheng Hong and Chang Bai, and Ming Lan The commander of the Huaiyin Command Battalion was naturally happy to be favored by the gift, but he didn't say to send troops to protect him, only to send troops to suppress the bandits, but he could escort the Sheng family and his party along the way.

The five large ships sailed slowly into the border of Huaiyin. The first night was calm and the sea was calm. On the second day, the large ships sailed into Hongze Lake, and stopped at the shore for repairs after nightfall.

I don't know if it's because I'm away from Tokyo, far away from the hustle and bustle, and the life on the boat is too clean and leisurely or something. After nightfall, the old lady Sheng's energy is more vigorous. Seeing that Haishi is almost passing, when it's time for people, The old lady didn't feel sleepy yet.

Minglan didn't dare to ask the old lady to stay up all night, so she made someone boil a decoction to calm the nerves, and gave it to the old lady, and the roommate silently waited for the old lady Sheng to rest.

After Old Madam Sheng fell asleep, Minglan came to the top deck, followed by Xiaotao and Danju, feeling the cool night breeze blowing from the lake, looking at the brightly lit big boats ahead, she couldn't help feeling It's a bit complicated.

There is tension, worry, and besides that, there is even a trace of anticipation.

"Girl, it's getting late, let's go back to the cabin and rest!" Danju next to her said with concern.

Minglan shook her head, looked at the lake where she could not see her fingers in the night, and then raised her eyes to look at the night sky, it was also pitch black, the stars and the moon were covered by the night.

"The moon is dark and the wind is high, it's a good time to kill and set fire!" Ming Lan said with emotion.

"Don't worry, girl, Xiaotao is here!" Xiaotao subconsciously touched the double knives stuck in the back of her waist. Since she entered the boundary of Huaiyin, after nightfall, Xiaotao carried the two knives with her every night, guarding Minglan's side every step of the way. Even when sleeping at night, Minglan sleeps in the back room, and Xiaotao stays outside.

Minglan looked at Xiaotao who was a little nervous, with a smile on her face, and said softly: "Don't be nervous, the thief may not come!"

As soon as Minglan finished speaking, there was a movement from ahead.

(End of this chapter)