Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 111 Boat

Liu Daogui gave Liu Zhong five thousand strings of cash and asked him to build a fort in Hexiang first, and then build several forts in the east later.

Lanling and Langya are separated by a river, which is closer than the distance between Chucheng, Pengcheng and Xiapi.

After two or three days, Liu Muzhi responded. He was actually interested in going out to sea to fish and was willing to join in. In the words of his letter, it was to "alleviate the hunger of the people."

Liu Daogui was overjoyed, as this was equivalent to tying the interests of Lanling and Langya together.

Langya was a large county with more fertile land than Lanling. It nurtured a number of powerful aristocratic families such as Wang, Zhuge, Xu, Zhi, Yun, Fei, Yu, and Yan. Even Emperor Yuan of Jin, Sima Rui, started his career in Langya County and was carried south by the aristocracy to Jiankang to resume the Jin Dynasty.

Although Liu Muzhi was the chief clerk, he was highly appreciated by Jiang Hua and all matters in the county, big or small, were handled by him.

From now on, we will have another reliable ally.

After the spring plowing was completed, Liu Daogui immediately returned to Guangling with the borrowed money.

I thought ten thousand strings of cash were enough, but when I asked around in the market, I found out that any grain ship with a capacity of four or five hundred hu would cost six or seven hundred strings of cash. Such a ship was like a fallen leaf on the sea, and would be destroyed by a single wave of wind.

The most suitable vessel for going out to sea is a tower ship, the bigger the better, but one ship costs 50,000 to 60,000 strings of cash, which is unaffordable even if you have money. They are only toys for the aristocratic families.

I found Gao Xun to discuss it, but he just kept shaking his head.

"Tao Ze doesn't know the market situation. Seagoing vessels are not rivergoing vessels, and tower ships are not necessarily suitable for seagoing. For ten thousand strings of cash, I can buy ten seagoing vessels with a capacity of more than eight hundred hu."

"Ten ships with a capacity of 800 hu?" Liu Daogui's eyes lit up.

As expected, professional matters require professionals. If a layman goes to the shipping market blindly, he will naturally be regarded as a sucker.

Ten ships of 800 hu each are about enough.

Gao Xun said, "To conceal our tracks, it would be best to purchase them in Kuaiji, where there are many seagoing vessels and they are cheap."

Kuaiji was the largest seaport in Jiangdong, with numerous aristocratic families. Ordinary people could not survive and had to go to sea to make a living, which in turn promoted the development of navigation.

However, the round trip would take too long, and purchasing ships from the gentry would definitely attract the attention of someone with ulterior motives. On the contrary, Guangling did not have so many concerns. There were many merchants traveling back and forth from the south to the north, and if something happened in the future, it would not be easy to find out.

"Just spread out your purchases in Guangling. It's best not to involve me or your Gao family."

Liu Daogui is more concerned about safety.

If we take the wealth of Yandu, we won’t care about these small amounts of money.

"This is easy. I'll transfer some reliable people from the Gao family. After we get the boat, we'll go around the coast, make the deal at sea, buy some paint, and paint it. My people will leave, and yours can return to Guangling in batches."

Gao Xun has always been meticulous in his work and has thought of everything he can think of.

"Okay!" Liu Daogui made the decision and handed him two grain ships full of money, gold and silver.

That evening, a ship stopped at Jiangjin.

Apart from the higher mast, larger sails and deeper draft, Liu Daogui, an outsider, could not see much difference between it and the canal boat.

However, if you look closely, you can still see some differences. The ships in the river use wooden anchors or stone anchors, while these sea ships use heavy iron anchors.

Seeing this big, black and thick thing, Liu Daogui knew that his money was not wasted.

People in the north ride horses, and people in the south sail boats.

The Jin Dynasty fled south and retreated to Jiangzuo. The shipbuilding industry made great progress, and the Jiangzuo navy was the best in the world. Huan Wen's northern expedition was carried out by both land and sea.

A dozen unfamiliar Gao family members untied the ropes, adjusted the sails, and slowly sailed eastward along the river, slowly disappearing into the twilight.

Every day thereafter, a ship appeared on the Yangtze River at Yejin. Liu Zhong selected two hundred elite sailors and marched south, stating in the letter that each one had been carefully screened and their loyalty was impeccable.

Everything is ready, but new problems arise.

These soldiers were all refugees from the north. They had no problem floundering in the river for a while, but once they got on the boat, let alone out to sea, they would feel dizzy and suffer from vomiting and diarrhea on the Yangtze River.

It’s not easy to do anything these days, including doing justice.

Liu Daogui had to change his plan and attack by land. After the attack was successful, Li Damu fled south by boat.

The ships and people were ready, and they only had to wait for a dozen days before the Tianshi Dao would hand over the money and goods to Sima Daozi's people.

"There is good news and bad news." Zhao Lunzhi ran between Guangling and Yandu, personally delivering the news verbally, keeping it confidential to the utmost.

"I've taken off my pants, why should I care about good news or bad news?" Liu Daogui was so poor that his eyes were green with envy. The arrow was on the string and had to be shot.

Zhao Lunzhi laughed. "The good news is that the wealth accumulated this year is greater than in previous years. The bad news is that the number of Taoist priests gathered in Yandu has doubled, reaching a total of 10,000 people..."

Yandu has always been the base camp of evil bandits.

During the past two years, Wang Gong and Sima Dao were fighting each other, and the Tianshi Dao took advantage of the chaos to grow stronger.

Where there is money, there are people. The Tianshi Dao followed Sima Daozi and colluded with him to make a fortune by selling illegal salt.

"No, both of what you said are good news! The more Heavenly Masters there are, the easier it is to fish in troubled waters!"

With fewer people, Liu Daogui's more than 200 people would be more likely to be exposed.

The Tianshi Dao has some similarities with the Yellow Turban Army in the late Han Dynasty. It has a large number of people but very low combat effectiveness.

Even the Tianshi Dao might not have had the governance capabilities of the Yellow Turban Army. Zhang Jiao established thirty-six regional leaders and organized them strictly. At one command, millions of followers in the eight states of Qing, Xu, You, Ji, Jing, Yang, Yan, and Yu rose up in rebellion.

The Tianshi Dao has been around for so many years, starting from the Yongjia period, and has never been quiet, but no one has ever accomplished anything, and they were all wiped out by the imperial court in a short time.

The bottom line is that the organization is not tight enough.

The current Tianshi Dao is even more of a makeshift troupe, and its leader Zhang Jiao still knows how to shout the slogan "The blue sky is dead, and the yellow sky should be established. In the year of Jiazi, the world will be blessed with good fortune."

The Tianshi Dao does not even have the most basic declarations and ideas, and has always relied on sorcery and lust to confuse foolish men and women.

Gao Xun asked, "Besides Sun Yizhi, are there any other powerful figures?"

Zhao Lunzhi thought for a while, "There is also a man named Fan Chongmin, who is said to be so brave that he can't resist ten thousand men."

Liu Daogui laughed and said, "These days, anyone, whether human or demon, dares to claim to be brave enough to defeat ten thousand men. Has Sima Daozi sent any powerful figures over here?"

"Ru Qianqiu has personally led 500 naval forces to Yandu."

Ru Qianqiu used to be just a thief, and was Sima Daozi's right-hand man, who amassed tens of millions of dollars for him.

The imperial navy did have some combat capability, having followed Xie Xuan in a bloody battle against the Di Qin army.

After the Xie family voluntarily handed over power, the naval power also fell into the hands of Sima Daozi.

"Then the key to this battle is how to deal with these 500 navy soldiers." Gao Xun looked at Liu Daogui.

With both the Tianshi Dao and the imperial navy, it seems that it is not easy to get a piece of meat from Yandu...

However, after planning for so long, Liu Daogui had already thought of a countermeasure. "Those who borrow strength will be wise, and those who take advantage of the situation will succeed. I will take the Sima family's money and silk."

(End of this chapter)