Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 113: Building Ship
The gates of Yandu City were wide open, but the defenders on the city walls were facing a powerful enemy.

"Who are you? Which river are you from?" A loud shout came from the front, and the defenders on the city wall immediately drew their bows and arrows, pointing at Liu Daogui.

Then the clanging sound of armor was heard, and a team of armored soldiers rushed out of the city wall and surrounded everyone.

The last time I came to Yandu, the security wasn’t so strict.

Liu Daogui glanced at the group of armored soldiers with a stern look in his eyes. He exuded a sense of competence and murderousness from head to toe, which was completely different from the laziness of the Tianshi Dao.

"We who are from Luoshui, following the order of the chief priest, are heading south to gather together."

"Luoshui? The chief priest?"

The officer on the city wall was extremely cautious.

This question actually stumped Liu Daogui. He had no idea what the chief priest on the other side of Luoshui was called. If he got it wrong, he would be exposed.

Just as he was about to pull out a piece of gold from his pocket, he heard a laugh from inside the city wall, "Hey, isn't this Brother Gou Dao?"

A familiar face gradually appeared in the firelight, it was Liu Guangzhi.

The officer on the top of the city wall asked, "Do you know this man?"

"Brother Gou Dao from Luoyang, Gou Rizhi!"

Liu Daogui almost vomited blood. This name was really not very flattering, but in fact it was not a bad taste, but had a good meaning.

From "The Book of Rites: The Great Learning": If you improve yourself every day, you will improve yourself every day.

It means getting rid of the old and bringing in the new every day, and constantly improving.

The names Liu Daogui gave them weren't very nice either, Caozhi, Ganzhi, Kanzhi...

"Since you have an acquaintance as a guarantor, you can enter the city." The officer's voice softened.

The bows and crossbows on the city walls were put away, and the soldiers retreated.

Liu Daogui followed Liu Guangzhi into the city.

The city was obviously different from the last time I came here. It was heavily guarded, with soldiers patrolling in groups of three or five and questioning the Taoist priests.

"Ru Qianqiu is a very capable guy!" Liu Zun hummed in a low voice.

A minor official who caught thieves became a favorite of Langya King Sima Daozi and amassed billions for him. He must have been quite capable.

Sima Daozi had two favorites around him. One of them was an actor named Zhao Ya, who was said to be extremely handsome and became Sima Daozi's "private partner"...

Liu Daogui asked, "When will the money and silk be shipped away?"

Liu Guangzhi said: "The boat will leave at Mao tomorrow."

There are still four or five hours left, and the city is now heavily guarded, so it is not the time to take action.

"Rest for two hours first, then contact the other brothers."

"We've already agreed on this. Once chaos breaks out in the city, we'll attack together!"

"Okay!" Liu Daogui took the time to take a nap.

At daybreak, he woke up on his own initiative and followed Liu Guangzhi to the port, which was already busy.

Cartloads of salt were shipped in from various salt fields, and the Tianshi Taoists were responsible for loading the salt onto the grain ships.

Liu Daogui used to think that if he followed the Tianshi Dao, he would be able to eat and drink well, but he didn't expect that they were just a group of cattle and horses.

There are four tower ships anchored at the east port, which are very conspicuous. Three floors are exposed above the water, like attics, and are more than ten feet high. The flags on the top of the ships flutter, swaying with the early morning sea breeze, like a giant beast emerging from the deep sea, overlooking Yandu City.

On the upper floor of the largest ship, the words "骠骑" were clearly written without any concealment.

The surrounding canal ships were like ants in front of them.

Liu Daogui had seen tower ships in Guangling before, but none as large as these. Sima Daozi's moves were truly extraordinary. However, the words "骠骑" (Piaoqi) hanging on them were truly absurd and inexplicably ironic.

Huo Qubing, the first General of Cavalry, attacked the Xiongnu in the north, sealed the Wolf's Lair, launched two battles in Hexi, captured the Xiongnu's golden man for offering sacrifices to the sky, went straight to Qilian Mountain, opened up four counties in Hexi, and annihilated 1.7 million Xiongnu soldiers, forcing them to flee far away, and there was no royal court south of the desert.

Ma Chao of Shu Han and Cao Hong of Cao Wei both served as General of Cavalry and were the bravest among the three armies.

Sima Yi also served as General of Cavalry for a few years, but he was able to pacify Liaodong and resist Zhuge Liang, so he was considered qualified.

The only commendable thing about Sima Daozi, the General of the Cavalry, was that he joined forces with the emperor to drive out Xie An and Xie Xuan, returning power to the Sima family for the first time...

"There are four tower ships, each with more than 130 soldiers on board, and there are thousands of Taoist priests in the port. We can only rob one!" Liu Daogui said while looking at the tower ships.

Liu Zun asked, "What about the other ships?"

Liu Daogui spat out two words coldly, "Burn it!"

"You are going to poke a hole in the sky." Liu Guangzhi folded his hands. Everyone else looked nervous, but he looked calm.

"The sky of Jiangzuo is pressing down on us, and we can hardly breathe. Haven't you had enough of this?" Liu Daogui said with a double entendre.

Thinking of what I had experienced over the years, the contempt and criticism I had received in military uniform, and looking at the magnificent ship in front of me, an inexplicable anger surged in my heart.

Why are poor families always poor and rich families always rich?

Princes, generals and prime ministers would rather have their own kind.

Six hundred years ago, someone raised his voice in Daze Township. Not only was the divinely-ordained imperial power challenged, but this sentence was also engraved into the bones of the Chinese people.

"I've had enough." Liu Guangzhi was actually a victim of this era. In his early years, he participated in the Battle of Feishui, shed his blood for the court, and fought bravely, defeating the Di Qin army of hundreds of thousands. But he was kicked out by the court...

This is also the fate of the vast majority of Northern Army soldiers.

On the one hand, the imperial court relied on the Northern Palace Army to suppress the powerful people in Jiangdong, but on the other hand, it was worried that the Northern Palace Army was too powerful and threatened the Sima family's rule. It suppressed and wooed the Northern Palace Army at times.

But no matter how they were suppressed or won over, the soldiers from the lower classes would not get any benefits.

"Ganzhi and Kanzhi, you two will lead five Tiger Guards to the first ship to the west. Duozhi and Daoshen will lead five Tiger Guards to burn the second ship. Daoheng and Daoming will burn the third ship. Don't fight to the death. Once the fire starts, jump into the sea or hide immediately. Your own safety is the most important! After the fire starts, my uncle will instigate the Tianshi Dao to rob the wealth. The more chaos, the better. Guangzhi will lead his men to provide support from behind."

The plan had been brewing long ago, and Liu Daogui made slight changes based on the actual situation.

The wages of avarice is death.

As long as there is chaos at the port, there is no need to worry that these Taoist priests will take advantage of the situation to rob.

On the way here, Liu Daogui witnessed the hot tempers of these people.

To put it bluntly, the vast majority of people join Tianshi Dao not because they are devout, but to survive and for money.

The Tianshi Dao has always used money and sex to seduce its followers.

"Leader!"

Everyone bowed their hands.

Liu Daogui glanced at everyone and whispered, "Drive out the barbarians and recover our land!"

Everyone's eyes became extremely determined, "Drive out the barbarians and recover our land!"

Everyone needs a dream, even if this dream sounds extremely presumptuous, it can still leave an indelible mark in people's hearts.

The reason why we are human is because of our thoughts.

It was as if a flame was burning in Liu Daogui's chest. The few words he mentioned casually before were believed by more and more people. The faith of countless people poured into them, and they became a ray of morning light in everyone's mind.

Being in such a big environment, Liu Daogui was also affected and gradually became more determined...

(End of this chapter)