On July 11, the 17th year of Yuanping, the bank of the river outside Pingxi City was crowded with people who came to watch the excitement early in the morning, especially near the Pingxi City Pier. The dense crowd filled all the places on the pier where people could stand, and the children climbed up the trees. The crowds gathered on both sides of the river were even more than those during the dragon boat race.
Of course, all of these people had heard that the Manufacturing Bureau was going to test new ships in the Xijiang River today, so they came to watch the fun. Judging from a distance, the number of people gathered on both sides of the Xijiang River was probably no less than 70,000 or 80,000. Of course, in addition to the common people of Qiyun County, many people from all walks of life who had flocked to Qiyun County in the past few days were also gathered by the river, ready to watch the excitement.
For today's experiment, several thousand meters of the river surface were temporarily closed. There were no ships on the river. All the ships were docked at the pier or by the river, leaving the river surface empty.
Ming Wangzong and his entourage arrived at Pingxi City last night and settled down there. Today, Elder Feng Qinghe sent someone to inquire and learned that Qiyun Supervisor Yan Liqiang would come to Xijiang today to watch the new ship experiment of the Manufacturing Bureau, so he brought his disciples here. To be honest, Elder Feng Qinghe himself was also curious. He wondered what kind of ship could run fast on the water without many people? He was also ready to come and see this excitement...
…
"Wow, why are there so many people here? How can we squeeze in..." As soon as Mo Ziling arrived near the Xijiang Wharf, she looked at the huge crowd in front of her and couldn't help shouting. Then she turned to look at Feng Qinghe with a sly smile on her face, "Master, you asked us to come here to see the new ship. You don't want us to use Qinggong to fly to the treetops to see it, and fight with those kids for a spot. Wouldn't we be like monkeys? I don't mind, but Master, you are highly respected and have a noble status. This..."
After hearing what Mo Ziling said, all the disciples of Mingwang Sect couldn't help but hold back their laughter. In this case, perhaps only this little sister would not make Elder Feng angry. If it were any other disciple, they would piss themselves when Elder Feng looked at them, and would not dare to talk to Elder Feng like this. Mo Ziye heard this and didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and glared at his sister.
"Haha, stop talking nonsense. If we all run up the tree, it will be disgraceful..." Feng Qinghe coughed twice and glanced at Mo Ziling. "Your Senior Brother Zhao Li has already arranged it last night. We have disciples of the Mingwang Sect all over the world. We have business in every state and county. What's the big deal about this?"
As soon as Elder Feng Qinghe finished speaking, the Zhao Li he was talking about walked over quickly from a road next to the pier and bowed to him, "Master, it has been arranged..."
"Okay, let's go!"
The people of Ming Wangzong followed Zhao Li and walked less than two hundred meters along the bank of Xijiang River, and they came to a five-story restaurant on the river bank. The owner and waiters of the restaurant were waiting respectfully at the door, and when they saw Elder Feng Qinghe and his party coming, they immediately took everyone to the fourth and fifth floors of the restaurant. Here, the view was broad, and the entire river near Xijiang Wharf could be seen. Everyone could drink tea while watching the excitement of this morning.
Feng Qinghe, Mo Ziling, Mo Ziye and others were sitting by the window on the fifth floor, looking at the river.
"I heard that Qiyun Supervisor Yan Liqiang will also come here to watch this morning. Have you found out where he is staying?" As soon as everyone sat down, Elder Feng Qinghe asked the owner of the restaurant.
The shopkeeper of the restaurant was only an outer sect servant in the Mingwang Sect. In front of Elder Feng Qinghe, he was very respectful and didn't even dare to raise his head when speaking. "Reporting to Elder Feng, the restaurant platforms on both sides of the river where people can watch the new ship test of the Manufacturing Bureau today have not been guarded by soldiers and patrols until now. As the governor, he will definitely not mix in the crowd and watch with ordinary people. This will not only disturb the people, but also be dangerous. I heard that from last month to now, Qiyun County has killed five or six groups of assassins sent by the Black Jie and Shatu people to assassinate the governor. So I guess the governor should come by boat today. You will know when Elder Feng sees the boat later!"
The owner of the restaurant kept calling him "Supervisor" instead of Yan Liqiang's name. Although it was unintentional, it indirectly made Feng Qinghe understand that even the outer gate servants of Ming Wangzong were so respectful to him. It can be imagined that Yan Liqiang's status in Qiyun County and how popular he was among the people. Feng Qinghe was not angry about this, but was a little curious about the assassination of Yan Liqiang. He frowned slightly, "Why, Qiyun County has not been peaceful these days, and even Yan Liqiang has been assassinated many times?"
"That's true. Since the order to kill the Hu people was issued, I heard that the seven Shatu tribes and the Black Jie people hate the governor to the core and will naturally send people to assassinate him. However, the people they can send are either Shatu people or Black Jie people. Several groups of them were discovered by the people and rangers in Qiyun County not long after they arrived. They were killed directly. There were also two times when they were close to the governor, but they were still killed by the master guards around the governor!"
"Yes, I understand!" Elder Feng nodded. "By the way, you are in Qiyun County. Do you know what new ship the Manufacturing Bureau is going to test on the river today? Why does the Han Empire Times make it sound so amazing?"
"That... I don't know!" The shopkeeper showed a trace of shame on his face, "But I heard that since the second half of last year, the Manufacturing Bureau has built a shipyard on the riverside of Huanglong County to prepare for shipbuilding. I think this new ship should be made by the Manufacturing Bureau's shipyard. In addition, there has been a lot of movement in Huanglong County in the past two months. Tens of thousands of craftsmen are busy in Huanglong County, expanding the Huanglong County dock and building houses on the flat land. I heard that the governor wanted to build a new steel plant in Huanglong County early, and the person in charge of this matter is the governor's father..."
"I understand, you can go down!" Elder Feng Qinghe nodded.
"Yes!" The shopkeeper bowed respectfully and went down.
"Master, do you think those Shatu and Heijie people will be forced into a corner and ask assassins from our Han Empire to deal with Yan Liqiang now? In this case, Yan Liqiang will be in danger..." Mo Ziye asked worriedly as the shopkeeper left.
Elder Feng Qinghe shook his head. "Zi Ye, don't worry. Ever since the great changes in Imperial Capital and the fall of the Ye family in the northwest, there are very few people in the Han Empire who would collude with the Seven Shatu Tribes and the Black Jie people. It is impossible for those Black Jie and Shatu people to find any top killers and strong men in the Han Empire to assassinate Yan Liqiang. Now Yan Liqiang is fighting for the country. Several top killer organizations in the Han Empire dare not take such a business. This is a taboo. If they really take it, whether they succeed or fail, they will destroy themselves. If those Shatu and Black Jie people really dare to go to them to discuss such a business, they will definitely send those people's heads to Yan Liqiang first!"
"That's good..." Mo Ziye breathed a sigh of relief.
As soon as she finished speaking, there was a sudden commotion on the riverside outside the restaurant, and someone shouted, "Look, look, the ship from the Manufacturing Bureau and the Supervisor is coming..."
Looking from the restaurant to the river, one could see three ships approaching. One of the three ships was a two-story tall ship, with the flag of the Qiyun Protectorate flying high on it. The other two ships were a cargo ship, and the other was being towed by the cargo ship with ropes. On these two ships were the dragon and tiger flags of the Manufacturing Bureau...
Among the three boats, the first two were fine, but the third one looked a little strange. From a distance, the middle and rear part of the boat, on both sides of the hull, was covered with cloth. Under the cloth, there was something bulging and protruding outwards, like two big turtles lying on the side of the boat. No one knew what it was!
As the three boats arrived, everyone on the river bank suddenly became curious and stared closely at the boat with the middle section covered with cloth. Everyone knew at a glance that the boat should be the protagonist of today's manufacturing bureau experiment.
The three boats sailed to the center of the river outside the dock and just stopped. Suddenly, the waves in the river rose and water splashed. Three black shadows jumped out of the river. One of the black shadows opened a black bow in his hand while still in the air and shot an arrow at the gorgeous two-story ship. The other two roared, tightly grasped the scimitars in their hands that shone brightly in the sun, and tried to jump onto the ship...
This scene took place right under the eyes of tens of thousands of people watching on the river bank, and many people on the shore screamed in surprise.
(End of this chapter)