The noise at the dock where the boat was moored was getting louder and louder. There were shouts of fighting and killing, and there seemed to be screams of swords and swords.
"Is there a fight between rivers and lakes?" Qin Mubai glanced at him in surprise, picked up the government servant who fell to the ground next to him, and said, "I'm not interested in making things difficult for you. What's going on at the dock? Our goods are still there. Woolen cloth!"
The yamen servant was knocked unconscious and was really frightened by Yuwen Hongtai's power. At this time, he said in shock: "Are you...really businessmen, not here to cause trouble?"
"Stop talking nonsense, just tell me what I ask you!" Qin Mubai shouted.
"I'm not very sure. It's time for the water ghosts from Xihe Cao to come and cause trouble!"
"Xihetrough? Water ghosts? Which group of people are they?" Qin Mubai asked.
"Are you from other places?" The officer glanced at everyone and said, "The water ghosts in Xihe Cao are a group of rogue idlers and green forest bandits on the other side of the Eight Ghost Crossing. They specialize in robbing ships on this river. . All passing ships, whether official ships, private ships or passenger ships and cargo ships, will have to pay for crossing the river, otherwise they will have to cut the boat! They are so tyrannical! In the past, they only robbed secretly on the river, but now they are blatantly causing trouble at Baguidu! "
After hearing this, Li Ke couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. He frowned and said, "Isn't the Eight Ghost Crossing a yamen-opened bureau? It is also guarded by yamen officers. They dare to come and cause trouble. Could it be that they really have no royal laws and dare to attack the imperial court?" confrontation?"
The yamen officer smiled bitterly: "Sir, I bet you just don't understand the rights and wrongs of this green forest road. In the Tang Dynasty, it is not just a piece of king's law that can have the final say. The water ghosts in Xihe Cao have been causing trouble for decades. Yes, the officers and soldiers have suppressed them several times. When have they been completely eliminated? They are all hiding in the rivers of Ganggangwan Bay and are difficult to find. How can we tell the difference if they change their clothes and become good people? , there are people behind them to protect them, otherwise, how could Baotiangu dare to go against our Xiangyang County Government? "
Just as he was talking, the shouts of death from the other side of the pier became louder and louder. The travelers on the passenger ferry nearby were so frightened that they fled in all directions. Several more boats capsized and sank, causing huge waves. Several boatman coolies fell into the river and shouted for help. The capsized ship and scattered cargo quickly crushed them and submerged them.
"He's dead, he's dead!" he shouted, causing even greater noise and confusion. Some people jumped into the river to save others, but the melee on the shore continued.
At this time, everyone saw that those who were fighting against the yamen officials were a group of tough bandits wearing tight black clothes and dripping wet. They all wielded their swords very ferociously. They had never seen anything real due to lack of training. Daozhenxue's government officials were frightened at first. How could they dare to fight to the death with them? Therefore, a large number of government officials and officials were forced to retreat. The boatmen and their legs were suffering, so they hid in panic or jumped on the boat, fearing that one of the boats would be sunk and buried in the belly of the fish.
In such a place, even people with good water qualities will inevitably suffer. There were huge waves, too many ships, and the cargo that was constantly scattered and sinking. Anyone who was hit by it would definitely not be able to emerge from the water again.
"Rebel these thieves!" Li Ke shouted angrily, "What do the soldiers and horses in Xiangzhou do for food? Why don't you come to arrest and suppress the traitors who openly resist the imperial court?"
"Hey! It would be great if the soldiers were willing to take care of this kind of thing." The yamen servant said with a bitter face, "Except for them moving when the court issued a civil order to hunt down water ghosts, even if the governor's office moved to the palace The soldiers came to fight, but they arrived too late. Each time, they waited until the water ghosts were done making trouble and the murderers and looters were gone before they came as an afterthought. "
Li Ke looked at Qin Mubai suspiciously. Qin Mubai curled his lips slightly and nodded to express his understanding.
The two of them thought tacitly: Could it be that the Xiangzhou Military Mansion is still colluding with the Shuifu Mansion
At this time, the group of more than ten water ghosts became more and more arrogant. They killed the besieging government officials and then went to chop the anchor rope coiled on the shore with their swords. With one cut and another, many boats floated away. The boatmen and porters on the boats yelled in panic. Many people began to jump off the boat, or transfer to other boats, or jump directly into the river.
"It's strange, why did the ship float towards the center of the river when the cable was broken?" everyone asked in confusion.
The officer replied: "Is there any need to ask? There must be water ghosts at the bottom of the river dragging them with ropes! ... Hey, these cargo ships are going to suffer! These are all a group of officials who have just been transferred from Huaizhou "Salt!"
"How dare you plunder official salt? How audacious!" Li Ke shouted, "Rengui, Yin Yang, it's time for them to take action. To stop them, it's best to capture them alive!"
"Yes!" Xue Rengui and Yin Yang shouted in unison and ran forward with bare hands. Yuwen Hongtai was stunned for a moment: "Master, why don't you ask me to do it too?"
"You should stay here to protect the young master!" Qin Mubai said with a smile, "It's not important for you to take action, so it's better for me to go."
"Uh..." Yuwen Hongtai bared his teeth in embarrassment and smiled.
"Sorry to trouble you, Mu Bai." Li Ke smiled at him, as if he was a little embarrassed to give him orders.
"It's just a little effort. Besides, this is my responsibility." After saying that, Qin Mubai headed towards the dock.
The yamen servant looked at everyone in surprise and asked: "This young master... are you from a family of officials?"
Li Ke glanced at him and raised the corners of his mouth slightly, but remained silent. Yuwen Hongtai lifted the yamen servant aside and shouted: "You talk so much! Just stand here. If those blind yamen servants dare to make trouble again, I will be the first to kill you!"
Qin Mubai strode towards the dock and looked around warily. Yin Yang and Xue Rengui rushed to the front and charged into the group of water ghosts with their bare hands, knocking down several people in an instant. Seeing the experts coming to help, all the government officials were emboldened, and they shouted and came over to kill them.
Qin Mubai was not in a hurry to rush in and fight. Yin Yang and Xue Rengui had already promoted these mere green forest bandits. He looked around at the fighting scene in front of him for a while and found a rather strange situation.
In the chaos and fierce fighting just now, no one suffered any serious casualties at the scene. Only a few boatmen and porters were accidentally injured by swords in the melee, but all the many government officials who were not good at kung fu were intact. It seems that they know how to protect themselves, and the water ghosts have no intention of fighting these people to the death. Their goal seems to be just for these large ships filled with official salt.
"Are there collusion between officials and bandits?" A question suddenly arose in Qin Mubai's mind.
On the shore, Yin Yang and Xue Rengui had already seized the swords, and the killing was filled with screams. The water ghosts were a little panicked now. Many people stopped cutting the cables and jumped into the water desperately. After turning over a few flowers, they disappeared. A few injured guys didn't care about resisting and jumped into the water desperately, disappearing without a trace with a burst of blood and foam.
The water ghosts moved very quickly and no one was able to escape very quickly. It was obvious that they were well trained and had a clear purpose. Although Yin Yang and Xue Rengui are masters, they are typical northern landlubbers who don't know how to swim. They felt a little frightened when they got to the water. They couldn't even stand on the boat, so they actually watched a group of water ghosts all jump. Entering the river, there is nothing you can do.
"You are so cunning..." Qin Mubai frowned and found that although the government servants were all yelling and angry, they seemed to be used to such scenes and did not show too much panic or fear. The cargo ships that had their cables cut off also stopped drifting due to the squeeze of the branches next to them, and were parked a few feet away from the river bank, drifting.
The water ghost comes and goes even faster. The instant commotion plunged the entire dock into chaos. The government officials came to their senses, surrounded Qin Mubai and others, and asked: "Who are you?"
"Obviously I helped you repel the water ghosts, but you still treat us like nothing. Do you really think you don't know what's good?" Qin Mubai sneered, "But you, so incompetent and inactive, can't do anything in the face of the water ghosts. Even if you fight to the death and don’t try hard to save the Guanyan ship, what’s your motive?”
"Hmph, I think you are a group of water ghosts! You just caused trouble on purpose just to make things easier for them! As the battle started, you came to cause trouble again, so you took the opportunity to let them go!" Zhou Laojiu, the leading government servant, carried the He pointed a knife at Qin Mubai angrily and shouted: "Tell me the truth, who are you?"
Qin Mubai couldn't help but raised his finger and pointed at him in annoyance, and said word by word: "For Wang Fa, you are neglecting your duties and shirking your responsibilities; for Daoyi, you are ignorant of right and wrong and confusing right and wrong! Why did the Xiangzhou County Government raise you like this?" A bunch of rubbish!”
"What did you say?!" All the government officials were furious, and they were about to rush forward and take action.
Yin Yang and Xue Rengui stood around Qin Mubai, only sneering. When the government officials saw these two people, they remembered their skills in fighting the water ghost, and they felt a little frightened and did not dare to come forward. They stopped abruptly, as if there were roots growing in the soles of their feet. Everyone was blushing with anger, but no one dared to come forward.
On the other side, Li Ke looked up and couldn't help but smile: "Oh, the water ghost just escaped, and the government officials pointed their arrows at us again. What a talent! Hong Tai, let's go over and take a look."
At this moment, there was a sudden rolling sound on the river embankment in front of Caotou, and there was a burst of smoke and dust floating up. Everyone looked sideways and saw a large group of horse troops galloping towards them.
Zhou Laojiu shouted in surprise: "Okay! The officers and soldiers are here! Brothers, the officers and soldiers from the state capital are here! - Taking down these stubborn culprits is a great achievement today!"
"Officers and troops from the state capital?" Qin Mubai raised his eyes and took a look. There were about fifty cavalry coming. Wearing mountain armor and gray uniforms, they should be a standard formation of the government cavalry team.
When the groups of porters and boatmen saw the officers and soldiers, they all nervously stood aside and stayed away. The government officials felt as if they had seen a savior, and they instantly gained courage, and the anger on their faces became even more intense. Immediately someone shouted: "Come on, come here quickly! We have blocked the water ghost accomplices!"
"Where?" Someone among the horse soldiers shouted, and they rolled in from fifty miles away and formed a circle outside the government officials.
Qin Mubai glanced at these people and heard Yin Yang next to him laughing softly: "General, the flood is coming to the Dragon King Temple. These people... will be your subordinates in the future, right?"
"Ha, wait and see what happens. I would like to know what they want to do?" Qin Mubai said with a low smile.
Li Ke asked Yuwen Hongtai to clear the way, and also walked in pushing and shoving. Looking around, he smiled and said, "Oh, the battle is not small!"
"Young master, we are in trouble. Thank you for being so calm and composed." Qin Mubai couldn't help but smile, "What if we are hacked to death on the spot by them indiscriminately?"
"Hacking him to death on the spot? Are you going to kill someone to silence us, or frame him for the crime?" Li Ke laughed loudly and deliberately, "Hey, you guys are talking. What kind of charges are you going to give us?"
On the other side, the cavalry soldiers had all dismounted, but they did not rush over. Instead, they called Zhou Laojiu and other government officials over, and they discussed in whispers for a while, and then one of the military academy officers rushed in.
The military academy student was tall and mighty. He glanced at Qin Mubai and others with cold eyes like a cheetah. Without any nonsense, he raised his hand and said, "Take them all and take them away! Anyone who resists will be killed without mercy!"
Yu Wen Hongtai immediately became angry and roared like thunder: "How dare you! You have eaten the courage of a bear and a leopard!"
"Shut up." Li Ke took a step forward and pulled Yuwen Hongtai back. He turned back and smiled at Qin Mubai, "Mubai, are you interested in being a prisoner?"
"Okay! The young master is interested in elegance, how can I not accompany him?" Qin Mubai smiled knowingly.
"It's wonderful. If you don't enter the tiger's den, it will wilt. I want to know what they want to do with us." After Li Ke whispered this sentence softly, he said loudly, "Hey, we are just passing merchants. It’s really not a water ghost, this is obviously a misunderstanding! You can’t arrest people randomly!”
Qin Mubai laughed secretly when he heard it: Li Ke is quite good at acting!
"Hmph, you're such a cunning water ghost, you still dare to quibble in public! - Take them all and take them away!"
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[Busy, very busy... Just one update today. I will update more in a few days when I am busy. Please understand! ]