Cao Thief

Chapter 781
Merchant ships ride the wind and waves, sailing in the vast sea.

At the end of summer in June, the waters of the Liaodong Peninsula are already showing a touch of coolness.A black dragon flag was planted on the ship, indicating that it was a merchant ship from the mainland.Generally speaking, in this sea area, Cao Wei has almost no opponents.What can compete with it is the Jiangdong Navy.However, the Jiangdong navy is better at fighting on the big river, and its combat effectiveness at sea is relatively weak...

This is also related to the direction of Jiangdong Navy's army building.

Sun Quan hoped to have a peaceful corner, all in the southeast, and rely on the great river to compete with Cao Cao.Therefore, after he took over Jiangdong, he vigorously promoted Xiao Kuailing's army building policy to facilitate fighting on the river.

And this policy happened to coincide with Zhou Yu, and the two quickly reached a consensus.

This is also one of the reasons why the Jiangdong navy developed rapidly after Sun Quan took charge of Jiangdong.Due to the change in the policy of building the army, He Qi, who advocated the policy of large ships in the early days, was also put aside.

He Qi was left idle due to many factors.

The attitude towards Sun Quan is certainly a factor, but Sun Quan's change in the policy of building the army is also a factor.

Over the past ten years, the Jiangdong navy has formed a powerful combat force on the river.

At least for now, the Jiangdong water army is definitely in a dominant position, dominating the river.Although Cao Cao ordered Gan Ning to be the governor of the navy, with Du Ji as his assistant, he stabilized the situation and contained the Jiangdong navy.But in general, Cao Wei's navy is still at a disadvantage and can only defend passively.

Maybe in a few years, three to five years?Even longer, Cao Wei was able to restore the situation by virtue of his strong economic capabilities.

But for now, it is not enough to compete with the Jiangdong navy.

However, every advantage must have a disadvantage.

While the Jiangdong navy is promoting Xiaokuailing in all aspects, its control over the sea area is relatively weak.

Cao Cao's establishment of the Tangling Island Navy on Tangling Island is to promote the principle of equal emphasis on size and size.

Especially after Kan Ze, Jiang Wan and Zhang Song arrived in Guangling, combined with Cao Peng's suggestion, Kan Ze set the class of ships. The 800-person giant building ship is a 'giant high-grade' sea-going ship.The ship is divided into five floors and can accommodate thousands of people, which is suitable for sailing along the coast; the 500-person building ship is the 'Mengde class', which can be used for both military and commercial purposes; the 300-person building ship is the 'Jian'an class' , which is mainly applicable to the sea, but also can travel on the river.The Jian'an-class building ships are also the main equipment of the Dongting Lake Navy.

Under Jian'an, there are boats suitable for 100 people and 50 people, which are Xijing and Dongdu respectively.

In addition, there are still ten people who use 艨艟 and are widely equipped.

Now in the Dongting Lake Navy, there are [-] Jianan-class ships, [-] Xijing-class ships and [-] Dongdu-class ships, with more than a thousand warships; while in Dongling Island, they are assembled together.There are ten giant-class ships and thirty Mengde-class ships...but the remaining three-class ships are relatively weak.But it is enough for the Tangling Island navy to dominate the coast.

It is also for this reason that while Zhou Cang has established a firm foothold on Dongling Island, he has also strengthened his patrols along the coast.

Liaodong Peninsula waters, far away from Tangling Island.

But overall, it's pretty safe.

"Brother, when can we go to Lone Bamboo City?"

On the sea boat, Cao Nian was in high spirits, holding a young man's hand, and asked with great interest.

The young man was in his early twenties, smiled, and said softly: "Don't worry, my son. According to this speed, I can arrive at Lone Bamboo City by tomorrow morning at the latest. If my son is tired, go to sleep for a while. Wait for the arrival soon At that time, I am calling the crown prince to wake up. At that time, the crown prince can reunite with Da Duhu!"

"Brother, what does daddy look like?"

"Tall and strong."

"Have you met brother and dad?"

Confusion appeared on the young man's face, and he said softly after a while: "I have seen it, but I am not very familiar with it."

"Is that so..."

Cao Nian couldn't help feeling a little disappointed.

Cao Peng wrote to see Cao Nian.

It's a pity that Lu Lan couldn't escape for the time being, so he had to send someone to take Cao Nian on a merchant ship when it was returning to western Liaoning.There were about 300 people accompanying him, all of whom were soldiers of the trapped camp who accompanied Lu's overseas trips back then.

Those who fell into the battle in the past, now there are only more than 300 alive.

Although he is a little older, his combat power is becoming more and more tyrannical.

It's just that these traps are rarely on the battlefield.Gao Shun's policy of elite soldiers is no longer suitable for the current Lu Han Kingdom.From the 12th year of Jian'an, Lu's Han Dynasty began to implement the Fubing system by learning from Cao Peng's policies in Hexi.Ever since, there were more and more soldiers, and the formation was gradually eliminated.

However, for the Lu family, even though they were eliminated, they still treated them very favorably.

This time when Cao Nian went to see Cao Peng, Lu Lan thought about it and decided to go out to protect Cao Nian's safety.

In addition to more than 300 people trapped in the battle, there is still Prime Minister Lu Han and a man named Zhou Fu accompanying him.

This Zhou Fu was the Zhou Buyi who had lost his memory when Lu Lan brought Lu Han from Xudu.However, Zhou Buyi's name had long since been discarded, and he was renamed Zhou Fu, with straight characters.Zhou Fu's memory, after several years of recuperation, still shows no signs of improvement.If you use the special terms of later generations to describe Zhou Fu's situation, it should be similar to compulsive amnesia.It was Zhou Fu himself who was unwilling to recall the past and deliberately avoided it.And as time went by, this subconscious compulsion became more and more serious, even he didn't know it.But in other respects, it seems normal.

Especially in terms of knowledge, Zhou Fu gradually recovered.

As Pu Yangkai's assistant, he gave many excellent suggestions, which earned Lu Lan's trust.

Standing on the deck, Zhou Buyi looked at the sea.

He has no memory of the past at all.But for Cao Peng, he has a very deep memory.

That's his brother!

However, it feels like his elder brother seems to be a little scruples towards him.

Zhou Fu also didn't know what the reason was.Anyway, when he heard Cao Peng's name, he instinctively felt a kind of fear, or rather, a kind of awe.Scratching his head, Zhou Fu couldn't understand the reason.I was about to return to the cabin to rest, but suddenly I heard someone shouting loudly: "No, pirate!"

Pirates?

Zhou Fu shuddered, and hurried to the edge of the ship's deck, looking up.

But on the horizon, several black shadows appeared.

The speed is very fast, and it is rapidly approaching the upload...

"Liaodong squid!"

When the sailors on the ship saw the flag on the pirate ship clearly, they couldn't help but let out a panic cry.Zhou Fu's complexion suddenly became a little ugly.Frowning, he turned his head and ordered: "Send the order and prepare to confront."

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was no such thing as pirates.

People uniformly use 'Pirates' to refer to those guys who loot their houses at sea.Since the Yellow Turban Rebellion, pirates have been banned repeatedly.Because the sea is vast, it is difficult to encircle and suppress, and people, including those elites, have not developed a concept of "coastal defense", so they are quite helpless towards pirates.

There are generally two ways to deal with pirates.

Suppress and caress.

These are the two most commonly used strategies nowadays.

However, "suppression" is more about encircling and suppressing pirates after they are lured from the sea to land.At first it worked.However, as the pirates suffered more and more times, they gradually changed from simply landing and plundering to plundering merchant ships at sea, and selling their stolen goods through some land channels.

This also makes it more difficult to eliminate pirates.

Soliciting is mostly aimed at some pirates who are willing to pacify.

For example, Guan Cheng, he had some skills at first, but later he had to become a pirate, so he was recruited by Cao Cao.In history, there are also Haixi thieves who were wiped out by Cao Peng in the early days.They were originally recruited by Chen Deng, but now they died at the hands of Cao Peng.After all, appeasement can only be used as an auxiliary means, but cannot completely change the situation.Until the formation of the Dahaixi pattern, Zhou Cang was entrusted by Cao Peng to strengthen maritime patrols.At the same time, because of the financial support to Lu's Han Dynasty, the sea market became more and more prosperous, and the theory of Haiphong gradually came into being.But this kind of coastal defense is more of an unconscious behavior, and has not really formed a concept.

The establishment of the Dongling Island navy, although it improved some of the situation, was mostly confined to the north and south waters of the estuary of the Dajiang River, to the waters of Donglai County, which is also called the Yellow Sea area in later generations.

In the waters of the Liaodong Peninsula, Cao Wei's navy was still unable to take care of everything.

This 'Liaodong Squid' is a group of bandits in the waters of the Liaodong Peninsula.

Where did it come from?

not known...

But this group of thugs killed people without blinking an eye, looted goods, and robbed people, often without leaving any behind.

Behind him, there must be a backer.

But no one knows his identity.

When Zhang Liao was stationed in Liaodong, when he was the general of Liaozhong, he also deliberately planned to kill these thugs.However, several designs were unsuccessful.Later, when the Bingzhou War broke out, it could only be abandoned halfway.

Zhou Fu has also heard of Liaodong squid.

These pirates like black, and even the ships are painted black.

All the sailors on board were also dressed in black.Hence the name 'squid'...

"Brother, what happened?"

Cao Nian ran out of the cabin and asked curiously.

At this time, the squid ship was approaching the merchant ship, and the squid on board issued an arrow warning and ordered the merchant ship to stop.

A cold arrow roared towards Cao Nian.

Zhou Fu yelled, "My lord, be careful."

While speaking, the man had rushed over and threw Cao Nian onto the deck.The sharp arrow hit Zhou Fu's back, and he groaned, but enduring the pain, he hugged Cao Nian and hid in the dark.

"My lord, hide quickly."

"Brother, are you alright?"

"I'm fine!"

As Zhou Fu said, he drew out his sword, cut it into two with his backhand, and then stood up.

"Throw away the cargo on the ship, let the two merchant ships of the Chen family and the Ma family quickly approach them, gather in battle, and prepare for battle."

This is the carved feather arrow, the arrow used by the frontier army.

Zhou Fu's face was serious, and he commanded loudly.

Cao Nian's face turned pale, and he followed Zhou Buyi without saying a word.

"My lord, why are you still here?"

"I want to fight with my brother."

Cao Nian reached out and pulled out a dagger from his waist.

This dagger, named 'Ningxue', was forged by Cao Ji and given to Deng Ji as a weapon.He just heard that Cao Peng was overseas and had such a son, and Deng Ji had nothing to give away, so he gave Ningxue to Cao Peng, and then Cao Peng transferred it to Cao Nian.Ningxue is a rare work in Cao Ji's middle period. The dagger is slightly slender, but it is extremely sharp.

It's just that a weapon like a dagger is not elegant.

In addition, it has been kept in the hands of Deng Ji, so it is also unknown...

Seeing that Cao Nian was cracking hard, but still holding on, Zhou Fu secretly admired Cao Nian, pretending to be strong.

"Then stay by my side and don't act rashly."

At this time, the other two merchant ships had already moved closer.

Zhou Fu also saw that the merchant ship couldn't outrun the squid's sea ship, so he simply brought the three merchant ships together to form a sea and land.Three hundred soldiers were originally scattered on three merchant ships, but now they are also gathered in one place.

These squids are insane!

"Ready to confront."

Zhou Fu shouted loudly.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of a machine spring on the other side's ship.

A spear came whistling, and hit the deck with a snap, tearing the deck of the ship apart.

"It's a big crossbow!"

Some businessmen shouted in terror.

And Zhou Fu's complexion immediately became even uglier.

There are carved feather arrows and large crossbows...these are all standard weapons of the army, where do these pirates come from?

No wonder the 'squid' are rampant, I'm afraid there is military power behind them.

It seems that today is going to be dangerous!
Zhou Fu turned his head to look at Cao Nian, and secretly made up his mind, "No matter what, you must not put your son in danger.

He beckoned, motioning for a team to come forward, and whispered in that team's ear.

He nodded his head and stepped aside.

However, he was standing not far from Cao Nian.Zhou Fu told him that once the form is not good, even if he is trapped and dies, he must protect Cao Nian.

Pong!
The squid's ship hit the merchant ship, shaking violently.

"Prepare to meet the enemy!"

"Fall!"

"Fall!"

After a lapse of ten years, the cries of being trapped once again echoed in the sea.

Zhou Fu held his sword, ready to rush forward to fight.

But at this time, a long horn sounded...

On the surface of the sea, more than ten Jian'an-class ships suddenly appeared.In addition, a giant building ship, surrounded by three Mengde-class building ships, slowly appeared in people's sight.The speed of Jian'an-class sea-going ships is obviously superior to other sea-going ships.Riding the wind and waves in the sea, roaring.The ship raised the mast, and the black sails were blown by the sea wind, showing a huge bow.

This is also the unique equipment of Cao Wei's sea ships, and it is only equipped with sea ships above the Jian'an class.

That giant building ship is a huge high-grade sea-going ship.

The ship is equipped with six masts, which are slowly raised under the skilled operation of the sailors.

Huge six-masted, Mengde four-masted, and Jian'an single-masted.

The sea ship started with full sail, at an astonishing speed.

Black sails, beautifully crafted, gold-rimmed silver characters, the inscription "Five Armies General Protector, Chariot General", and a huge "Cao" in the center, showing its ownership.

"Stop it!"

A squid yelled in horror when it saw the huge tall ship.

The two auxiliary ships rushed out immediately, trying to stop the huge tall ship.But the giant high-rise ship didn't stop at all, and when it came roaring, it heard a loud bang.The sea ship, which can accommodate nearly a hundred people, seemed so vulnerable under the huge impact force of the huge high-rise ship, and was immediately shattered by the impact.

On the observation deck on the upper floor, a man stood.

Judging by his age, he was around thirty, with long, delicate features and a short beard under his chin, exuding a heroic spirit.

He didn't wear armor, only a moon-white robe.

Covered with a silk cloak, hunting in the wind.

He wears a three-pronged purple gold crown with hair tied on his head, and a lion jade belt around his waist.There is a sword under his ribs, and a silk folding fan in his hand.

Behind him, stood two teenagers respectively.

One was holding a brocade box about four feet long, and the word 'Tianxian' was written on the box in glittering gold.Contained inside is the Tianxian Sword, one of the 36 Tiangang swords that is said to be able to cut off two thousand stone officials.

And the other boy is holding a square sky painting halberd.

The head of the halberd gleamed coldly, and under the sunlight, there was a touch of blood.

Zhou Fu was pleasantly surprised when he saw the man.

He hurried forward a few steps and shouted loudly: "Da Duhu, the prince is here!"

It's Cao Peng!
The general guard of the five armies, the general of chariots and cavalry, Cao Peng, the marquis of Xinwu Township...here we come!
Some people may ask, why is Cao Peng at sea?

It turned out that after Cao Peng arrived in Zhuojun, after discussing with Deng Ji, Xiahou Lan and Zhang Liao, he handed over the specific matters of the government soldiers to Pang Tong, and Pang Tong was in charge.Anyway, neither Deng Ji, Xia Houlan nor Zhang Liao will add any obstacles.Ever since, Cao Peng started the idea of ​​patrolling.He happened to be going to Guzhu City to pick up Cao Nian, so he sent someone to borrow from Zhou Cang a Jugao, three Mengde, and fifteen Jian'an.Walking along the coastline is more like a tour than a tour.

Today, there is already a coastal defense operation in the Yellow Sea.

However, including the Bohai Bay in the Liaodong Peninsula, the coastal defense is empty.

While sailing, Cao Peng came up with the idea of ​​strengthening the coastal defense of the Bohai Sea.

Liaodong!

Or Liaodong...

Cao Peng felt that it was necessary to set up a naval force in Liaodong Bay and build a dock port similar to Yuzhou Mountain, so as to fully guarantee Cao Wei's interests in Liaodong Bay.However, this is just an idea.

Whether Cao Cao will adopt it is not certain.

Cao Peng believed that it was necessary to have a clearer understanding of the situation in the Liaodong Bay waters, so he led people to patrol the sea.

Unexpectedly...

"Prince Protector, the prince is here!"

A strange voice came, but Cao Peng couldn't help but shuddered Lingling.

Originally, he didn't think that Cao Nian was on the boat.But hearing this shout, how can I not understand.

Xiao Nian is on the boat?
Cao Peng suddenly became furious...

"Zhang Hu, send an order to attack, don't let a squid go, shoot and kill!"

"Here!"

The young man holding the halberd responded loudly, and immediately ordered someone to beat the drum.

The sound of the drum suddenly became rapid, and a young general on a Mengde-class high-rise ship, which was a huge auxiliary ship, heard the sound of the drum, so he pulled out his sword and shouted sharply: "Give me my order, set sail and attack me."

This young man is named Guo Huai.

He was originally from Yangqu, Taiyuan, the son of an official.

His grandfather, Guo Quan, was once an official worshiper of Da Si Nong, while his father, Guo Yan, was the prefect of Yanmen.Two years ago, 20-year-old Guo Huai was promoted as Xiaolian.When Zhang Liao learned about it, he conscripted Guo Huai as the Fu Cheng and his assistant.

After Cao Peng came to Zhuojun, he also met Guo Huai by chance.

This is the famous general of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms. He once resisted Zhuge Liang and Jiang Wei's Northern Expedition, and made great military exploits.

In history, officials worshiped the general of chariots and riders, Marquis of Yang Qu.

However, at this time, Guo Huai's reputation was not obvious.

Cao Peng immediately asked Zhang Liao for it, but Zhang Liao did not refuse.

After entering the Dufu of the Five Armies, Guo Huai paid homage to Sima, the Duhu, and became Cao Peng's personal follower.For Cao Peng's appreciation, Guo Huai is naturally very grateful, but suffers from having no chance to repay.Now that Cao Peng gave the order to attack, Guo Huai immediately became excited.

He commanded the Mengde-class building ship under his seat to rush out with a roar, heading straight for the squid ship.

And those squids were stunned by the sudden blow, all at a loss and flustered.

"Xiao Nian, your father is here, your father is here!"

Zhou Fu had the urge to survive the catastrophe, hugged Cao Nian, and shouted excitedly.

Daddy?
Xiao Cao Nian looked in the direction of Zhou Fu's finger. Under the sun, Cao Peng stood on the observation deck of a huge building.

The sea breeze swayed the big robe, looking like a fairy.

I don't know how many times I met my father in my dream.But when Cao Nian really saw Cao Peng, he couldn't help crying!

"Is that Daddy?"

"Ok!"

Cao Nian suddenly broke free from Zhou Fu's embrace, ran a few steps, put his small hands to his lips, and shouted towards the tall figure on the approaching big boat: "Daddy...Daddy! I'm Xiao Nian..."

Since he was born, he has never called 'Daddy'.

Everyone else has a father, but I don't!
Although Lu Lan and others told him time and time again how much Cao Peng loved him, in Cao Nian's heart, they still couldn't let go.Now, daddy is here!He appeared in front of Cao Nian in a way that Cao Nian had never thought of.The grievances accumulated in his heart for many years poured out all at once, he shouted loudly.

On the ship with huge buildings, Cao Peng also heard the shouts.

"Falling sail!"

Sun Shao shouted loudly.

The sails on the tall ship slowly descended.

The ship swayed across the sea and slowly approached the merchant ship.

When Cao Peng saw the little man on the boat who was calling to him, his nose sore and tears fell down his face.

That's my son!

Cao Peng's eyes were red, and he walked down the lookout quickly.

He stood on the side of the boat and shouted to the little man on the boat: "Xiao Nian, don't be afraid, Daddy is here!"

Behind Cao Peng, Sun Shao's eyes also turned red.

For a moment, he seems to have returned to the past.The little man on the boat seemed to be him, and Cao Peng seemed to have become Sun Ce.

"Daddy!"

Sun Shao muttered to himself, tears could not help falling silently...

(End of this chapter)