People come and go at Fenglin Ferry. This is the only way from Xiangcheng to Hedong County, and it is also the only way for the people of Xiangcheng to go to the imperial capital. Xiangshui is the largest river in the northwest of the empire. There have been many famous people. For example, Li Luan, the previous patriarch of the Li family, and Luo Yao, the current general guarding Yong County in the southern border of the Great Sui Dynasty.
Luo Yao's ancestral home was in Hedong County, and he was considered the most outstanding figure in Hedong County in the past century.
There are at least dozens of ferry boats at Fenglin Ferry, and besides the official boats, there are many fishermen punting on the ferry. The official boat is a ferry boat set up by the government at Fenglindu. The fee is low, and the boat is large and safe. But because there are too many business travelers passing by the ferry, it is obviously not enough to rely on only one official ship.
Although the fishing boat is small, the local fishermen are all good at the helm. They grew up on the banks of the Xiangshui River since they were young, and they are already familiar with the river to the point where they can no longer be familiar with it.
However, it was clear that Aunt Xi, the head of Hongxiu Zhao, still didn't trust these local fishermen. She ordered the convoy to stop on the shore and wait for the official ship from the other side to return. The carriages that Hongxiu Zhao rode in were all hired from Fan Gu, and these coachmen were actually the only six or seven border residents left in Fan Gu.
After crossing Xiangshui, there are carts waiting for customers to hire on the bank. So there is no need to worry about not being able to travel after crossing the river. Besides, after crossing the river and walking a dozen miles, Lecheng, the second largest city in Hedong County, is located. Because facing Fenglin Ferry, the most indispensable thing in Guanle City is the inn and restaurant.
Because there are too many people recruited by Hongxiu, if you hire fishing boats, you need at least a dozen. So it makes sense for Mrs. Xi to insist on waiting for the official ship to return. After all, the red sleeves are all beautiful girls. Moreover, Hongxiu Zhao has accumulated a huge fortune in the past few years, so he has to be careful.
After dozens of girls got off the bus from the shore, they immediately became the focus of everyone's attention. These fishermen have never seen so many beautiful women gathered together, and each of them looks like a fairy, which makes people unable to take their eyes off. The rough men immediately became very enthusiastic, and many rushed over to invite the girls to take their ferry.
Women with red sleeves are never afraid of men, and they will not be timid when they see those excited fishermen who can't control themselves. Some people even ask those fishermen about the good places on the other side.
While waiting for the official ship, many girls ran to the trestle bridge to buy some dried fruits and fresh fruits. There are vendors setting up stalls near the trestle bridge. Although the price of fruit snacks sold is much higher, they will never be short of catties. This also reflects the pride in the bones of the people of the Sui Dynasty. The reason for the price increase is that it is not easy to transport the goods to the shore. Besides, it is naturally more expensive to do business in this place, but these hawkers will never do dirty things that are short of money.
In the eyes of the common people in the Sui Dynasty, the price can be raised clearly, but the business must be clean.
This is the character of the people of this powerful empire. If someone does business in a dishonest manner, not to mention customers, they will not be spared, even colleagues will not spare him.
Even peddlers valued their reputation so much, which shows the pride of the people in the Sui Dynasty.
After the girls from Hongxiu Zhao got off the bus, the ferry was bustling with excitement. After the money was settled, those Fan Gu's coachmen returned immediately, and they had to walk for two months before they could return to their hometown. It's just that none of them would have thought that their family members were long gone, and their home was gone. It has to be said that the seven or eight coachmen who returned to Fan Gu did not escape bad luck in the end.
The ferry became lively, and even the middle-aged man who had been fishing by the river for seven days and seemed to be forever calm also looked sideways at him. No one noticed, he quietly gestured behind him.
After seeing this gesture, seven or eight tourists immediately walked over to the trestle bridge. Seeing them approaching, the expressions of many vendors near the trestle bridge changed slightly. Also, no one noticed that they moved the weapons hidden in the dark to a place within easy reach.
In the forest behind the reeds, a cluster of thick leaves on a big tree suddenly moved, and a man with branches all over his body made a gesture, and there were at least fifty flying fish in dark red clothes in the dense forest. The man in the robe immediately grabbed his weapon.
Gao Tianbao, who was blind in one eye, stood on a high slope. When he saw the dilapidated carriage staggering to the ferry, he couldn't help but draw a smile on the corner of his mouth. This smile was a bit complicated. There is pride, relief, and a bit of chilling blood.
He flashed off the cloth clothes he was wearing outside, revealing the flying fish robes that could call wind and rain even in the imperial capital.
At his waist, hung two very strange and rare weapons. This kind of weapon is not used by many people even if you look at the rivers and lakes. It is difficult to practice it, and it is even more difficult to practice it well.
hook.
The middle-aged man who was fishing also saw the dilapidated carriage and a few tall horses following alone behind the carriage. There was no one on the horse, so the carriage looked a little weird. The driver who drove the carriage was wearing a big bamboo hat, and on sunny days, he even wore a coir raincoat.
But he doesn't care if it's weird or not, as long as this carriage appears at the ferry, then the people in the carriage will definitely have no way out. As the deputy governor of Qingya, he has this confidence.
Just at this time, the float was ups and downs, he lifted the fishing rod, and a huge koi jumped out of the water, struggling non-stop and splashing a spray of water in mid-air.
The middle-aged man smiled slightly and couldn't help talking to himself.
"Just the right amount of fish, fry and fry as I like..."
…
…
"Officials handle the case!"
An extremely loud shout came from the side of the reeds, followed by dozens of flying fish robes rushing towards this side with knives. Before the merchants on the shore had the slightest reaction, these dozens of people had already The last carriage was surrounded by water.
From the very beginning, they were not prepared to engage in any assassination.
The reason why so many people ambushed at the ferry was to deal with any unexpected incidents. An official order to handle the case is enough to make those business travelers and fishermen stay far away. In the Sui Dynasty, most of the people maintained enough respect and fear for the government. It is by no means an easy task for this century-old empire to maintain the prestige of the government among the people.
There were also corrupt officials in the Sui Dynasty, but they were also pragmatic. The people of the Sui Dynasty didn't even hate officials who were greedy for money, they only hated officials who were greedy for money and didn't do practical things.
So Fang Jie once said, what an idealized country this is, living in this country, even if it is poor, there seems to be nothing to complain about.
When the girls of Hongxiu Zhao saw that Fang Jie's carriage was surrounded, they immediately became confused. They rushed back to Aunt Xi's side, but kept their eyes on the carriage not far away. In any case, from their point of view, Fang Jie is also a companion. Most of them would not be exposed to any secrets, so in their view, Fang Jie was still the landlord of the Hongxiu Building and the big shopkeeper of Jinyuanfang. A few days ago, Fang Jie's carriage was ambushed on the way, Aunt Xi explained to them that Cui Lue's business enemies from that aristocratic family did it, so they were more fond of Fang Jie's righteous action.
So, while they were watching the movement of the carriage, many people looked at Mrs. Xi for help.
But Mrs. Xi didn't do anything at all. Just when the girls were a little disappointed, they realized that at some point, Mrs. Xi was surrounded by a middle-aged man who looked kind and was carrying a fat koi.
And just when the middle-aged man walked up to Mrs. Xi, the old cripple took a step forward. This step was not big, but it just blocked all the angles that the middle-aged man could shoot.
"I've been thinking about what kind of meeting gift I should give you."
The middle-aged man looked at Mrs. Xi and said with a smile. He raised the struggling koi in his hand and said in a gentle tone, "Fortunately, I'm lucky today."
Aunt Xi looked at the koi, then shook her head slightly.
The middle-aged man looked sad for a moment, and threw the koi on the ground casually. For some reason, the carp that was alive and kicking just a moment ago died after landing and remained motionless.
He still maintained a smile, but there was already a hint of coolness in his tone: "Since it loses its qualification and value as a gift, it is useless."
He took out a jade tablet from his cuff and held it up to Aunt Xi: "I know you also have a very important tablet in your hand, which can ensure that your red sleeve move can be used anywhere in the Sui Dynasty without any harm. Blocked and made things difficult. Although the power of the jade card in my hand is not small, there is no doubt that I dare not embarrass you. You and everyone in your red sleeves have nothing to do with today's affairs, and I can even arrange for the official ship to go alone Send you and your men across the river."
He glanced back at Fang Jie's carriage and said, "But I must remind you that this case...even if you take out that signboard, it won't be able to stop it."
"good."
Aunt Xi said only one word, then turned and walked away.
The middle-aged man was taken aback, as if he didn't expect things to go so smoothly. But at this moment, he suddenly felt his body stiffen. The arm that was still holding the jade tablet seemed to be frozen, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't let the arm drop from mid-air.
Since he entered Ouchi's bodyguard office, it was the first time in so many years that he felt fear outside the Governor. So when he looked at the old cripple, he found a sneer of disdain on the corner of the latter's mouth.
"If everyone is willing, I will crush you to death right now."
The old cripple sneered and said, "What I dislike the most is that the people in Gongmen pretend to be awesome. It's just a broken brand... In my eyes, it's not as good as a piece of shit."
After he finished speaking, the jade tablet in the middle-aged man's hand cracked open with a crack.
The old cripple took a sip of his wine, turned and walked away.
It took him at least five steps before the middle-aged man regained his freedom.
The old cripple stopped, looked back at the middle-aged man, and said in a very serious tone: "It's hard for me to understand how an idiot like you can sit in the seat of deputy governor. Don't you have a brain? A Is a singing and dancing shop protected by a ninth-rank master really just a singing and dancing shop? A woman who can command a ninth-rank master is an ordinary woman? Even if you don’t use that brand, can you afford it?”
"Xi everyone said a good word, not because she didn't dare to take care of it, but because she didn't want to take care of it."
After he finished speaking, he paused again, as if he was thinking about something. After a while, he suddenly thought of it, and then he smiled and said to the middle-aged man: "Teach me a word around that kid in the carriage... He said it was better than An idiot is still an idiot... called an idiot."
At this moment, a loud curse came from the surrounded carriage.
"Boundless fucking Tianzun, do you think that people who practice Taoism are easy to bully? I am telling you, I am a Taoist figure who rushed to the imperial capital to be the invigilator of the Yanwu Academy. If you offend me, believe it or not, I will make shit for you Can't eat and walk around? Dare to search my car?! Blind your dog's eyes!"
The middle-aged man's face changed, but he saw Gao Tianbao, his subordinate, running over quickly, with anxiety and fear on his face: "My lord, there are only two people in the car... the kid from the Cui family in Xiangcheng is driving the car, and there... there are only two people in the car... A fat Taoist priest."
"Didn't you keep staring all the way!"
"It's been staring at... I don't know people... When did people disappear..."