The long river was sparkling, and the waves pushed against the ship's hull which was like a small mountain. The three five-tooth ships swayed gently with the waves.
Birds flew over the tall wooden poles on both sides of the river. Rhythmic, high-pitched horns from the river bank sounded, startling the birds so much that they spread their wings and flew to the steep foothills in the distance.
The dock on the river bank was bustling with activity, with more than a dozen horse-drawn carriages coming and going, unloading cargo. Young and strong laborers were shouting slogans while sweating profusely, dragging ropes with tense thighs and arms, or pushing carts to the deck, and moving the cargo to the cabin under the shouts of the supervisor.
On the shore, flags were fluttering. An old general with gray hair was sitting on his warhorse, his beard stroking in the wind, his eyes looking far away at the official road leading to this side.
After a while, he called the deputy general and said, "The time is almost up. Send someone to check ahead. Why hasn't the Imperial Master arrived yet?"
"yes!"
The deputy general bowed and turned his head to the scout on standby. The latter kicked his horse's belly, galloped out, went up a gentle slope along the official road, suddenly pulled the reins, looked ahead, turned the horse's head, and came back.
"Whoa!"
The scout pulled the reins, stopped his horse, and raised his hand to the old man opposite: "General, the imperial master's team has arrived."
The old man nodded at him, waved his hand to let the scout retreat, raised his eyes and looked at the end of the official road.
There was a faint sound of horse hooves.
In the field of vision, more than a hundred cavalrymen with guns in hand marched slowly in parallel, spreading to the team behind. The Blue Sky Black Bird and the Yin-Yang flags were held high. The sounds of weapons clashing and people's footsteps accompanied a long team coming over. The two teams of well-armored infantrymen had a stern look in their eyes, holding down the hilts of their swords at their waists, their footsteps stomping on the ground, and a murderous aura emerged.
The long dragon-like procession made people feel uneasy. The civilians and boatmen who were watching from afar felt an inexplicable chill on their backs and faces. More than a thousand soldiers gathered around, and the leading veteran urged their horses forward.
The team in front seemed slow but was actually fast. Before he could even bow, they arrived in the blink of an eye.
After a while, they went down the gentle slope. The one-armed man with two long-handled swords on his back at the front of the cavalry loosened the reins, raised his hand, and an officer shouted.
"stop!"
The 'long dragon' coming over slowly stopped, and the foot soldiers in the ceremonial guard came to their senses. They had walked such a long way without feeling tired at all, and it felt like they had just left the city gate. They glanced around and saw distant mountains and nearby rivers. It was obvious that they had arrived at the Ba River.
Many people were a little overwhelmed. How could they reach the destination so quickly after traveling a hundred miles
At this time, the veteran general on that side dismounted, raised his hands towards a sedan chair in the middle of the team, and bowed his head slightly: "Han Qinhu greets the Imperial Master."
When the voice came, the infantry pushed open the two sides, revealing a sedan chair that was slowly lowered to the ground from the shoulders of four strong soldiers. The curtain was opened, and a pair of auspicious cloud shoes stepped out. Lu Liangsheng, wearing a black robe with gold-plated water patterns and a moon-shaped ornament hanging around his waist, walked through the soldiers with swords on both sides, came to the old man opposite, and bowed to return the greeting.
"General, you are too polite. I have no official position or rank, so I should be the one to show respect."
"The Imperial Master is too modest."
The veteran general was Han Qinhu, who was an acquaintance of Lu Liangsheng, having met him two or three times. After some politeness, he stretched out his hand and said, "It's almost time, Imperial Master, please get on board."
"General, please."
Lu Liangsheng stretched out his hand towards the boat, and Sun Yingxian holding a whisk, Zuo Zhengyang carrying two swords, Zhu Ganglie holding a rake, and an old donkey also followed. They lined up at the back and headed towards the Wuya ship in the lead. The water was rough. There had been heavy rain in the previous two days and the water level had risen sharply, which was just right for such a large ship to sail. The boatmen and soldiers went to the deck to make final preparations for sailing.
The soldiers and generals around watched the national teacher accompanied by the general walk through the middle and board the ship. Most of them had never seen him before in the military camps in the suburbs, and they couldn't help but whisper.
"Is this the national teacher?" "He is younger than me..." "So what if he is younger? As long as he is capable, that's fine."
"I heard there was a rebellion in the south and a man with magical powers, so Your Majesty invited the Imperial Master to come out."
"This is the best way, so we don't have to go and die in vain. The Imperial Master is also a person with magic, right? I wonder if he will accept disciples..."
They were talking in low voices at once, and when they saw someone coming, they had not yet closed their mouths when the captain kicked them, and they all followed the team and entered the towering ship one after another.
…
"Offshore—"
Walking on the deck, Lu Liangsheng raised his head and saw the soldiers standing on the top of the five-story ship waving flags and shouting. It was the first time he had seen such a large ship. Even the Golden Wing Ship when the Chen Dynasty was still in existence could not compare with it. The deck alone was like flat ground, and there was no sense of shaking at all. None of the northern soldiers who were traveling on it showed any signs of seasickness.
"I heard that this kind of ship was specially built by the Duke of Yue when he attacked Chen. Now that I see it today, I know that he is much better than me."
Looking away, Lu Liangsheng and Han Qinhu walked on the deck, chatting and laughing. The latter patted the fence, his gray beard spread out, and he also laughed.
"Duke Yue is proficient in both magic and military arts, and he is also an outstanding martial artist. It is indeed difficult for ordinary people to compare with him. However, State Master, please do not be modest. Duke Yue is old, while State Master is still so young. I think his achievements in the future will be greater than ours."
As he was speaking, the ship shook slightly. The two large poles at the stern tilted the ship and slid towards the center of the river along the flow of the river. The soldiers on Chuanlou Mountain shouted again and waved their flags.
"Put down the oars!"
On both sides of the huge hull, twenty long oars each broke free from their bindings and fell into the water, splashing water more than two meters high, like the feet of a centipede, creating circles of ripples in the water. After a moment, the hull pushed up white waves and divided them into both sides of the ship's side.
Lu Liangsheng walked to the side of the boat, looked at the mountains, fields and villages along the shore slowly moving backwards, and turned to look at the old man.
"General Han, based on the speed of the ship, how long will it take us to reach Yuhang?"
"If the journey is smooth, we should be able to arrive in more than half a month. If the river is blocked and the water level is low, it will take some more time."
Han Qinhu's words were not nonsense. Although the Wei River, Ba River, Yellow River, and Huai River areas were connected, there were many places with steep mountains and narrow river channels. They were going to quell the rebellion and also survey the river channels. If they could pave the waterway from Chang'an to the south in the future, in addition to unblocking the trade routes, it would also be more powerful for the court to control the south. If there was another rebellion like this, the northern soldiers would only need to go downstream to reach the enemy's city.
The old man held onto the fence and smiled, "However, I think it would be better if this war lasted longer. After such a long period of peace, my bones are getting looser and looser. I'm afraid that in two years, I won't even be able to lift a weapon."
"I'm afraid the general's idea cannot be accomplished."
Lu Liangsheng knew that he was just expressing his feelings, but there were some things he still needed to make clear.
"Now the people in the south are also citizens of the Great Sui Dynasty. Even if the soldiers and generals incite rebellion, it actually has nothing to do with them. If the war lasts too long, the people will suffer. If we can convince the other side this time, that would be the best. If not, I will try my best to capture them within a few days. The rest of the rebels will be left to you, General."
"Okay, then I'll follow the advice of the national master. It just so happens that I, Old Han, also want to see the immortal's method, haha!"
Han Qinhu stood on the side of the boat and laughed heartily, attracting the attention of the surrounding soldiers. At this time, someone shouted, "Is there something in the water?!"
Someone looked in the direction of the sailing ship in search of the sound. Under the rolling waves, a long black shadow swam quickly over and rushed in front of the ship. The huge shadow even made a hole in the water. A large rock covered with aquatic plants rushed out of the water with a bang and hit a steep cliff on one side, making a loud noise.
The soldiers on the deck swarmed to the bow, and Han Qinhu also ran over. He saw the big rock flying out, his eyes widened, and he pointed at the black shadow swimming away under the water, then turned to look at Lu Liangsheng.
"Master, this... this... is this the dragon we invited that day?"
The sun was shining brightly. Lu Liangsheng walked to the old man's side, his black silk robe fluttering in the river breeze. He stood at the bow of the boat, looking at the black dragon swimming in the distant waterway, and nodded.
"The fish-scale dragon is the longest in the water. The waterway here is not smooth, so it's just right that the old dragon clears the way so that the fleet can arrive faster and make it easier for the civilians and soldiers rowing the oars."
"The national teacher is truly powerful."
Han Qinhu stroked his beard and sighed, then looked at the black shadow disappearing in front of him and suddenly burst into laughter.
"I am thinking now that those rebels and generals hope they can hold out for a little longer, otherwise it would be a wasted trip if they don't even see the magic of the Imperial Master!"
This time back home, it would be best if I didn't need to use magic...
The river breeze blew on his body, fluttering his clothes. Lu Liangsheng looked at the mountains and villages along the river bank and thought.
…
The sun is shining brightly, spreading across the sky and across the long rivers. The sky becomes gloomy and a heavy rain is about to fall.
Fulin Prefecture, Wantong County.
The city was in a desolate state, the gates were tightly closed, soldiers on the walls were on high alert, the large flag with the word "Sui" on it was cut off and thrown under the city, and a large flag with the word "Chen" on it, which had not been seen for many years, was once again erected on the city wall.