The Red Chamber: Starting from Saving Xue Baochai

Chapter 24: Encountering Bandits in Liaocheng, Shandong

September 28, the sixteenth year of Yuanzhen.

On the terrace of Jiang Fan's ship, Shen Yuan and Jiang Fan were sitting opposite each other drinking tea.

"The situation in Shandong seems to be more serious than imagined." Jiang Fan looked at the refugees on both sides of the canal with an extremely solemn expression.

After more than ten days of sailing, they finally left Jinling and entered Shandong.

Compared with the prosperous Jinling, Shandong, which has suffered from natural disasters all year round, is simply another world.

On both sides of the canal, one can often see ragged, skinny hungry people with withered faces and dull expressions.

Some people were digging weeds, and when they found something, they would stuff it into their mouths along with the roots and mud.

Some people staggered forward, struggling to move forward, but they didn't know where they were going.

A scene of chaos and famine.

Shen Yuan asked, "Didn't the court consider transferring grain from surrounding areas to provide disaster relief?"

"My father told me that the imperial court allocates funds to help Shandong every year, but it is not enough."

"Why not? Nanjing and even Jiangnan should have plenty of food."

"The money and grain are in the hands of the bureaucrats and gentry, not the imperial court." Jiang Fan explained: "And the imperial court needs relief for more than just Shandong."

Upon hearing this, Shen Yuan fell silent.

In addition to Shandong, the areas affected by famine in the Great Zhou Dynasty also included Guanzhong. Furthermore, the troubles in the nine borders also consumed a large amount of military funds and food. The imperial treasury had long been stretched to the limit and could hardly continue.

Even so, Jiangnan was still prosperous and extravagant.

"In recent years, my uncle has been cleaning up the bureaucracy and cracking down on corruption in Nanjing, so he confiscated a lot of the proceeds from corrupt officials, right?"

Jiang Fan nodded, but said helplessly: "All this money has been handed over to the national treasury. It is already difficult for my father to keep 10%."

After talking about this, Shen Yuan understood and stopped talking about this topic. He couldn't control these things now.

Even as they were talking, several more refugees fell down on the shore and never stood up again.

Jiang Fan saw this and seemed reluctant, so he said, "Should we leave some food for them?"

Shen Yuan hesitated for a moment, shook his head, and said, "What we need to consider now is how to protect ourselves next."

At this time, some people had already stopped on the shore, looking at the ships in the canal with greed in their eyes, as if they were looking at prey.

Shen Yuan had no doubt that if they took out the food at this moment, those people would wade over desperately and tear their ships to pieces.

Now is not the time to show any sign of weakness, or even of chastity.

Jiang Fan was awakened by Shen Yuan's words, and his expression became more solemn.

"What are your plans, Brother Shen?"

"From now on, have the guards hold knives and take turns standing on both sides of the ship." Shen Yuan paused, his tone became more serious, and said: "Everyone should be alert and pay attention to the river at all times. The real danger may not have appeared yet."

Jiang Fan was shocked when he heard this, and asked in a serious tone, "Brother Shen, are you saying that there will be bandits hijacking the ship?"

Shen Yuan nodded.

With the famine so severe and so many refugees, it is not surprising that bandits and pirates appeared.

The government troops will suppress the larger bandits, but the government has neither the will nor the ability to deal with the smaller bandits of a hundred or so people. There are too many of these groups, which gather and disperse from time to time.

In the next few days, the atmosphere on the ship was extremely solemn.

After discussion, Shen Yuan made adjustments to the personnel on the ship.

Xiangyun and Qiu'er took their maid to the Xue family's boat and lived with Baochai and Aunt Xue.

Shen Yuan led a dozen Shi family guards in the front, Jiang Fan led a dozen Jiang family guards in the back, and the two ships firmly protected the Xue family's ship in the middle.

Except for the guards, everyone else went into the room and did not come out.

There would be no sailing at night, so Shen Yuan made an estimate in advance and would stop at the Guanjia Ferry to rest before the third hour every day.

There are many ferry boats, government patrols, and many fleets have hired bodyguards to escort them, so it is relatively safe here at night.

Just like that, in this solemn atmosphere, Shen Yuan and his party moved forward cautiously.

On October 5th, they entered Guanjia Ferry in Liaocheng, Shandong to rest.

Late at night.

A series of screams broke the tranquility of the night.

"what-"

"There are bandits! Poof—"

Soon, there was a cry of killing. No one expected that bandits would dare to attack the official ferry, and they were killed by surprise, and wailing sounded everywhere in an instant!

Everyone was awakened by the loud noise.

Shen Yuan quickly went to the terrace and took a look.

The ferry was in chaos at this time. The bandits had already started fighting with the patrolling officers and soldiers, but there were only a hundred or so officers and soldiers, while the bandits were pouring in, and it was estimated that there were no less than a thousand of them.

"Brother Shen! What should we do?"

On another ship, Jiang Fan also saw the situation clearly and his expression was extremely solemn.

Shen Yuan turned his head to look at both banks, then at the river surface, and without hesitation, he said in a deep voice: "Leave the boat and head north, quickly!"

Soon, their three ships left the shore and sailed north at the fastest speed to escape from the chaotic ferry.

Inside the Xuejialou boat, several girls were feeling anxious and uneasy.

"Are they bandits? We... encountered bandits." Xiangyun looked worried and sounded a little panicked.

Outside, there were shouts and wails one after another. Even if you didn't go out to see, you knew what was happening.

Baochai's face turned pale. This was not the first time the girl had encountered bandits. The memory of two months ago was still vivid in her mind.

She collected her thoughts, calmed her mind, looked at Xiangyun, and comforted her: "It's okay, with Brother Shen and the others here, everything will be fine."

Having said that, it's impossible for the girl not to be worried.

Qiu Er also forced herself to remain calm and said, "Shen Yuan and my brother will protect us."

Xiangyun felt relieved after hearing what her two sisters said, and said softly, "Well, Brother Shen has killed many bandits before."

Aunt Xue watched the little girls comforting each other without saying much, but she was filled with worry. She didn't know how dangerous the situation was.
At the ferry, the ships that had not yet been robbed saw Shen Yuan and his men fleeing the dock, and they reacted and also left the shore, heading towards the river, fleeing in different directions, north and south.

The bandit leader saw this and ordered the bandits beside him, "Let Lao San stop them."

"Don't worry, big brother. None of these fish can escape."

On the canal, the third leader of the bandits had already blocked the river with his men on boats. When he saw the boats approaching, he said jokingly, "Let a few brothers go over and rob those boats."

Soon, a small boat sailed out and approached Shen Yuan's ship, and a bandit with a grim smile was about to board the ship.

Suddenly, there was a flash of cold light, blood splattered everywhere, and then the bandit's head flew out, the head was separated, and the smile on his face froze instantly.

"There's a tough one! The Third Master"

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

The other bandits on the boat came to their senses from the brief shock and were about to call for support, but before they could finish their words, they were shot in the head by arrows flying through the air.

After dealing with the small boat of pirates, Shen Yuan's ship did not slow down at all and continued to sail north.

this.
The third in command in front was already stunned.

Where the hell does this ship come from? Why does it have bows and arrows?
"Third Master, what should we do? The boat is coming."

The third in command had a gloomy look on his face. The other side had bows and arrows, so it was not wise to go up and fight head-on. Their main forces were on the banks on both sides of the canal.

"Let a few brothers dive into the water, destroy the boat, and force them to land!"

Shen Yuan was concentrating and being alert when he suddenly felt the ship shake.

Immediately, a guard reported: "Shen Jieyuan, it's bad! Someone is drilling the boat underwater, and water is starting to fill the cabin."

Shen Yuan looked around, his mind racing, quickly analyzing the situation in front of him.

Then, he shouted loudly: "Brother Jiang!"

When Jiang Fan heard the sound, he knew that Shen Yuan was in trouble and quickly moved the boat over.

"Brother Shen."

"There are water ghosts below who are destroying the boat. We can't leave by boat." Shen Yuan explained briefly, and then quickly told his plan: "There is a valley ahead. We will drive there as fast as possible. After landing, we will quickly enter the valley. It is easy to defend and difficult to attack."

Jiang Fan looked in the direction Shen Yuan pointed, and saw that there was indeed a valley not far to the northeast. He then understood Shen Yuan's idea.

Soon, Shen Yuan abandoned the punctured ship and boarded the Xuejialou ship with his guards.

Afterwards, the remaining two ships, under the command of Shen Yuan and Jiang Fan respectively, quickly approached the eastern shore.

The third leader of the bandits saw that his goal had been achieved, so he stopped asking people to scuttle the boat. If the boat sank, a lot of money and goods would be lost.

“First, follow these two ships. If they don’t come to the shore, we will destroy them.

Also, inform the big boss to send more brothers over, and tell them that this side is tough and has bows in hand."

(End of this chapter)