Looking north towards the rivers and mountains

Chapter 68

Chapter 70 (Final Chapter)

"Heave-ho! Heave-ho!" With shouts of encouragement, the sailors worked together to gradually correct the course of the Wind-Drilling Sea Spinach.

The howling north wind swept across the sea, causing the bamboo sails to billow and propelling the ships forward.

The morale on the Wind-Drilling Sea Loach is now extremely high. Having sailed two ships with only one death and one injury, their confidence has soared to new heights that they even sing songs while maneuvering the boats—

"The master craftsman steers the chariot as if it were a horse, with several men pulling on either side." Gao Daqiang was not afraid of the cold at all. He tore open the tattered collar of his clothes, revealing dark chest hair inside, and sang a sea song that was off-topic.

"With immense strength in my hands, let the snow waves surge to the heavens." A seafarer assisting from the side also sang loudly in response, his face flushed.

After they finished singing, the two of them burst into laughter.

Hearing the two singing, Yu Yuan also became very interested. Looking at Shao Shuyi from outside the cabin door, he shouted loudly, "Good patriarch, Chief of the Thousand Households, you work hard without complaint! You dog slave, why did you hit me?"

"Brother Shao isn't going to transport grain to Zhigu, nor does he want to be that lowly official in green robes," Wang Huadu said casually. "What are you singing about?"

"Huh?" Yu Yuan blinked, somewhat surprised.

He hadn't wiped the gunpowder off his face yet; it was patchy and looked quite comical.

Shao Shuyi walked over with a smile, wiped Yu Yuan's face with his sleeve, and said, "I don't care whether I become an official or not. What's most important is that the brothers who fought alongside me live a good life."

As he spoke, he looked at the canal boats drifting downstream. Kong Tie and a seaman, holding swords, stood on the boat, carefully checking the cargo.

With them removed, there are now only six people left on the Drilling Wind Sea Loach, including Shao Shuyi, two people including Gao Daqiang, plus Yang Liu, for a total of nine people. It's a bit of a struggle to handle the boat, especially when turning the rudder and adjusting the sails. They are constantly running around, each person doing multiple tasks, and they are so busy that their feet barely touch the ground.

Fortunately, that chaotic period is over.

At this moment, the drilling ship was moving forward at full speed, trailing behind the canal ship, gradually closing the distance.

From the enemy's perspective, it's quite hopeless.

The menacing bandits were close behind, refusing to let up. Their boats, with their shallow draft, were tossed about in the wind and waves, moving slowly. It seemed they would be caught before nightfall. What could they do?

So they immediately resorted to unconventional methods—

Amidst the glaring, bloodshot stares of the crew of Zuanfeng Haiqiu, the sailors on the canal ship threw heavy boxes of Goryeo blueware into the sea.

After throwing away the blueware, they still felt it wasn't enough, so they dumped bundles of Korean paper, bags of dried meat, dried seafood, and pine nuts into the sea to reduce the weight of the ship.

But they dared not throw any more, because the boat's draft was too shallow and its center of gravity too high, making it unsafe, especially when trying to escape.

"You scoundrel! How dare you do this!"

"Stop! I'll spare your life!"

"If you keep throwing it like that, it'll be a real pain."

"Wait until Grandpa gets here, then we'll see how he deals with you."

Wang Huadu and Gao Daqiang were so angry that their noses almost twisted, and they shouted threats at each other.

Of course, this intimidation is not without basis.

Despite throwing so much stuff onto the canal boat, its speed was still slower than that of the Wind-Drilling Loach, and the distance was reduced by a significant amount.

They probably realized the problem. So, under the command of the ship's foreman, they turned right and sailed straight into the shallow waters where underwater sandbars were dense, risking running aground rather than being overtaken.

They achieved their goal.

Just as the Wind-Drilling Sea Loach closed the distance to about a mile, the canal boat shook violently and almost capsized in the sea.

The sea breeze blew hard, and the canal boat made a loud scraping sound from its hull, but it only swayed and could not get through the shallows.

There's nothing we can do!

At the ship's foreman's command, he immediately stripped off his winter clothes and, with the other six men, jumped into the sea and swam toward the shore.

This was a "tragic" escape.

Although they were very close to the shore, the icy cold seawater was not going to be kind to them.

As they swam, some people began to lose control of their limbs and twitched, sinking into the water.

Others who saw it wouldn't come to the rescue; they would simply muster their remaining courage and, driven by the will to survive, instinctively swim towards the shore.

The sea bream stopped far away, and they dared not take the risk.

"What should we do, Brother Shao?" Wang Huadu was so anxious that he stamped his feet.

"Did you come here for money, or to kill someone?" Shao Shuyi glanced at him and asked.

Wang Huadu was speechless.

Making money is of course the primary goal, but it's also very satisfying to kill to one's heart's content.

Shao Shuyi then looked at Gao Daqiang and Yang Liu.

"Brother Shao, it's your decision," Gao Daqiang said.

"You have the most people, so you call the shots," Yang Liu said sullenly.

Shao Shuyi smiled and said, "Turn around, go pick them up, and then figure out a solution."

No one objected.

******

As darkness fell, the Wind-Drilling Loach located two captured canal boats.

Wu Heizi and Qi Erlang were the first to be found.

The former was injured and had his wound roughly bandaged, but he couldn't exert himself. Even rowing was difficult for Qi Erlang alone. Therefore, they breathed a huge sigh of relief after being hooked by the grappling hook.

When Kong Tie and the seafarer named Bian Sandou were found, they had already anchored their boat in the shallow waters near the shore. However, with just the two of them, they obviously couldn't do much more.

All night long, no one slept. Instead, they transferred as much valuable cargo as possible to the drilling ship, while the bulky and worthless cargo remained on the canal ship to be dealt with later.

On the morning of the 17th, Shao Shuyi and others took advantage of the rising tide to tow the stranded canal boat to deeper water and further transport the cargo.

After all the work was finished, it was already the afternoon of the 17th. Everyone was in high spirits, but exhausted.

"If we don't gather more people, we might not be able to move this ship." Exhausted, Wang Huadu sat on the deck, panting heavily.

The sea breeze lifted the tarpaulin, revealing the golden object beneath.

Wang Huadu clenched his fist, slammed it down, and then grinned, "This bronze object is really solid; I wonder how heavy it is."

"Dog slave, Goryeo bronzes are quite famous. Once melted down, they won't be worth as much. It's best to take them to Liujiagang and have someone appraise them before making any further decisions," Yang Liu said, crossing his arms again.

As he spoke, his eyes kept glancing at Shao Shuyi.

Upon hearing this, Wang Huadu retorted irritably, "Why didn't I notice how unambitious you were back then? All you ever think about is money, money, money. Is money your father?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Liu felt a surge of anger, but he quickly remembered something and forced himself to swallow it back.

On this ship now, he is the weakest, so he lacks confidence.

Shao Shuyi astutely noticed all of this, smiled, and said, "Brother Yang, you played a crucial role in today's gang fight. We're all brothers, there's no rush to divide the spoils. Besides, these goods aren't easy to sell, are they? Otherwise, why would Sun Chuan and Zhou Ziliang have gone to such lengths to transport them to Jiangning?"

Yang Liu was silent for a moment, then finally nodded and said, "Anyway, it's not up to me. Whatever you say goes."

"That's enough," Shao Shuyi said with a gentle smile, seemingly oblivious to the emotion in his words.

"Yang Liu, what are you pretending for?" Shao Shuyi was magnanimous, but Wang Huadu was not so easy to talk to. He scolded, "In today's battle, you hid at the back, slower than the Qi brothers. What kind of logic is that? If you had rushed forward faster, Qi Dalang wouldn't have lost his life!"

Upon hearing this, the ship fell silent, with only the whistling sea breeze and the creaking of the anchor chain being pulled.

Qi Erlang, who was standing guard beside his elder brother's body, raised his head, looked blankly at Wang Huadu, then at Yang Liu, and remained silent for a long time.

Wu Heizi frowned and remained silent.

Yang Liu felt a chill run down his spine and cursed himself for being so loose-tongued. He thought that Wang Huadu was no good either, otherwise he would not have said such hurtful things.

"You dog, what nonsense are you spouting?" Shao Shuyi slapped the gunwale forcefully, then looked at Yang Liu and said, "Brother Yang, I keep my word. You won't be shortchanged by a single penny. But let me make this clear: we've robbed quite a bit, but we might not be able to keep it all when we get back. After Sun Chong hands it over, if the authorities ask where the stolen goods are, I'll have to hand over something as a token of my appreciation. Do you understand?"

Yang Liu nodded hesitantly, not daring to say anything more.

"The Gao brothers?" Shao Shuyi turned his gaze to Gao Daqiang.

"I understand." Gao Daqiang smiled wryly and said, "I could tell a long time ago that you were in trouble and needed money to settle things. I understand."

At this point, he looked at Kong Tie, who was standing in the shadows at the stern of the ship, and said, "Besides, if it weren't for you, Baijianu wouldn't have come to me, and I wouldn't have had this opportunity to make a fortune. You handle it as you see fit, just make sure it's roughly right. If you need any work in the future, just let me know."

"Brother Gao is a truly straightforward person," Shao Shuyi praised.

After saying that, he waved his hand and said, "Yu She, when you get back, keep a separate account book for every expense, and then read it aloud to everyone at the end."

.

"Okay." Yu Yuan nodded vigorously, holding a copper fire torch in each hand.

Wang Huadu noticed this and exclaimed, "Yu She, you were incredibly brave today, outshining many others without uttering a single complaint. I'm impressed!"

Yang Liu's eyelids twitched slightly, indicating that he had already identified himself with the description.

Yu Yuan didn't understand and waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "Don't say that. I didn't hit a single person I was aiming at today."

"

A burst of laughter erupted from the ship.

Despite the laughter, the audience gained a new understanding of the Fire Alliance.

This thing is inaccurate at long range and may not have a chance to hit at close range, but it can be used to fire at close range in confined spaces with pre-loaded ammunition, and its effectiveness is quite amazing.

I aimed at person A's chest, but the bullet ended up hitting person B's thigh.

I aimed at C's head, but the bullet ended up hitting D's arm.

I'm not going to aim anymore. I'll just load three or four bullets and fire randomly at close range. That'll do too.

That's not the main issue; the key point is that it can actually hurt people.

In today's naval battle, Cheng Ji's archery skills were the most outstanding, while Yu Yuan's contributions were actually second best, although he appeared quite comical during the battle.

Men at sea value practicality highly; if something is useful, it is useful, and everyone can see that.

From now on, regardless of others, no one will object to equipping the ships under Shao Shuyi's command with firearms.

Some traditions are often established unintentionally.