The man had a beard on his purple-black face and his eyes were bulging like cow eyes. He looked quite scary.
Especially the two bows tied around his waist and the caltrops in his hands. Such special weapons reminded Liu Qi of Shamoke, the barbarian king of Wuxi.
After several people got on the boat, they immediately knelt down to express their gratitude, and said a lot of gibberish, but no one could understand them.
Gan Ning stepped forward and asked, "Does anyone here speak Mandarin?"
An older middle-aged man bowed and said, "Thank you, general, for saving me!"
Gan Ning asked, "Who are you, where are you from, and where are you going?"
The man replied, "We are Miao people from Wuling Wuxi, and we come to Jiangling to sell animal skins and medicinal herbs."
Gan Ning's eyes were slightly stern, and he asked in a deep voice: "If they are selling goods, why is there nothing on the boat?"
The man replied, "We just passed Kunlong Beach and accidentally hit a reef. The bottom of the boat leaked. I had no choice but to throw away the food and property I had exchanged, and then I rowed the boat reluctantly to wait for my benefactor."
Gan Ning snorted slightly and looked at the few people warily. He knew Kunlongtan. It was an island in winter and turned into a shallow beach in summer. If people who were not familiar with the situation passed by, they could easily collide with the ship.
Liu Qi had been quietly gazing at the few people, then stepped forward and said with a smile, "Since you are from Wuling, we should help you. However, we are going to Jiangling, which is not on our way, so I am afraid we will delay your journey."
The man hurriedly said, "General, you saved my life. I am very grateful. When we get to Jiangling, we will find a boat to cross the river. We dare not disturb you."
Liu Qi said, "It's okay. After the boat passes Jiangling, it will return to the south bank. We will take you back with us. However, since all your property has been lost this time, I'm afraid you will disappoint your clan members if you return empty-handed."
The man sighed, "We dare not take the Dongting waterway, so we have to take a detour through Youjiangkou, which adds half a month to the journey. Accidents happen all the time, so it's a helpless move."
Liu Qi smiled and said, "Go back and tell your clansmen that they don't have to worry about this anymore. Not only have the Dongting pirates been eliminated, but the government will soon open up the Yuanjiang River. Not only will you be able to enter and exit Wuling easily, but there will also be caravans that go into the mountains to collect animal skins and medicinal herbs, so you don't have to take risks like this."
"Really?" The man looked surprised, glanced at Shamoke, and asked, "Is the government really that good?"
Liu Qi nodded and smiled, "The people of Wuling are also the people of Jingzhou, so we should treat them equally. The government has already issued a notice to exempt taxes in the mountainous areas, and to open up water transport. In the future, there will be government offices in Youyang, Chenyang, and Yuanling to purchase supplies. When you return to Wuling, you will naturally see these official documents."
These words made the faces of several barbarians change slightly. Even Shamoke couldn't help but take a step forward to speak. Fortunately, he was stopped by someone behind him. Only then did he react, opened his mouth and lowered his head.
The man bowed and said, "I heard that General Liu was inspecting Jingnan. It seems that these policies were set by him... That's great."
After saying that, he began to speak Miao language to those people. They seemed to be arguing with each other, and then retreated to the shelter to rest.
Liu Qi returned to the cabin and asked Gan Ning, "Do you know who the Wuxi Barbarian King is?"
Gan Ning shook his head and said, "The Barbarian King is usually elected by the elders of each tribe and is replaced every year or several years. Mo Jiangbo is not familiar with the affairs of the tribe."
Liu Qi said, "That tall man with a strange appearance should have some relationship with the Barbarian King. These people's intentions are unclear. You should be more careful. It is very likely that they came prepared. Perhaps this is a test by the Wuxi Barbarians, or perhaps... they have ulterior motives."
Gan Ning had been traveling around the martial arts world for many years and he also felt that these people were a little strange, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Now that Liu Qi was so sure, he clenched the knife in his hand and said in a deep voice: "General, don't worry, I will send people to strengthen the vigilance."
When Liu Qi recognized Shamoke, he realized that although this incident seemed accidental, it was actually strange.
He believed that ordinary Wuxi barbarians would come out to do business, but Shamoke obviously would not. Anyone who could become the king of Wuxi barbarians would never take such a small fishing boat to Jiangling.
Since Dongting Lake was blocked, the fleet basically went through Jiangling from Youjiangkou. There were many large and small ships. It was too much of a coincidence that their fishing boats appeared at this time.
They specifically came to their own ships, either to test the official attitude or for other purposes.
Before figuring out the barbarians' purpose, Liu Qi decided to wait and see and not alert them.
At noon, they arrived at Kunlongtan again. The navy knew that this area was complicated and the ships moved slowly. Just as they rounded a reef, they saw a merchant ship coming towards them quickly.
The defenders immediately beat drums to warn the ship to slow down and take a detour. Not only are there many reefs here, but there are also undercurrents in the river. If they are not careful, it is easy for them to collide with each other.
Sure enough, as the ship approached, it suddenly turned in the middle of the river and rammed into the large ship sideways, splashing large amounts of water and causing the people on the ship to scream in surprise.
"You bastard, do you know how to sail a boat?" Gan Ning was furious and pointed his knife at the opposite side and shouted.
But it was too late, the ship had already rammed them and was slow to turn the rudder. It was too late to dodge, so the navy had to be on alert to protect the ship.
Bang-
At the same time, the ship in front had already crashed into it. Although it was half a head lower than the warship, the force was still considerable. The ship shook violently and water splashed.
Liu Qi heard the noise outside and the shaking of the ship, so he went out of the cabin to check the situation. Huang Zhong was guarding outside the cabin and helped Liu Qi to the side of the ship.
The ship's side had been broken by the impact and a hole had been taken in it. The navy was furious and was about to shoot arrows to kill these people.
"Wait a minute!" Liu Qi hurriedly stopped him, "They didn't mean to..."
Before he finished speaking, a dozen people suddenly came out of the cabin. They were all wearing black shorts, with black scarves covering their faces, and they walked on the shaking deck as if it were flat ground.
"Be careful, there is an assassin!" Huang Zhong's face changed slightly and he immediately reminded loudly.
These people threw the hooks in their hands over the side of the boat, biting steel knives in their mouths, and crawled up like ants. Each of them was agile and skillful.
Liu Qi was puzzled. This inspection tour of Nanjun had been basically smooth except for the Hongmen Banquet in Guiyang. How could an assassin suddenly appear from nowhere
Could it be the remnants of the Cai family
Sun Ce was assassinated because he offended the Jiangdong noble family. After Sun Quan ascended to the throne, he did not investigate the matter and finally put the blame on Xu Gong's followers.
At this time, the men in black had already started to board the boat. Gan Ning led his soldiers to guard the side of the boat. He stepped forward and cut the rope with a knife. The men in black fell into the water with a splash and disappeared on the surface of the river. There was no sign of struggle, and it was obvious that they were good swimmers.
Several other people climbed up from the side. Gan Ning took out the iron halberd with his other hand, used both hands, and rushed directly towards them. He killed them one by one with his sword. In a blink of an eye, three more people fell down with screams.
Crossbows were fired from the side of the ship, and the men in black fell down like dumplings under the hail of arrows, but many of them had already climbed up the side of the ship and started fighting in close combat.
"General, let us help too!" Suddenly someone came out from the stern. The middle-aged man was still talking when Shamoke strode over.
"Liu Qi, you are dead!" Without waiting for the officers and soldiers to react, Shamoke roared like a tiger, raised the caltrop bone, jumped high, and smashed it down at Liu Qi.