Chapter 211 (1/2)



211 Inspecting the ship (1)

A continuous bloody light … ‘That official ship is full of villains … Xu Qi ‘an was shocked.

However, he did not make a rash judgment, because the canal was often filled with water bandits. These officials might have just defeated the bandits who tried to Rob them.

“What is that ship? why is it different from ours?” Xu Qi ‘an looked at the official ship that was getting closer and closer, and asked his colleague casually.

There were quite a few old Gong Masters present, and they were very experienced and knowledgeable. After recognizing the name, they replied, ” that’s a ship. From the flag, it seems to be from Yuzhou.

The floaters were large flat-bottomed boats that were mostly used to carry goods.

“Oh,” Xu Qi ‘an replied. His eyes flickered, and he continued to ask, “”Are there any water bandits around Yuzhou?”

Song tingfeng snickered and put his hand on Xu Qi ‘an’s shoulder, “”This place is less than half a day’s journey from Yuzhou’s mingguan. Have you ever seen anyone block the road and Rob at the entrance of the Yamen?”

“Then there’s no problem,” Xu Qi ‘an nodded, as if he had confirmed something.

“What do you mean by no problem?”

“There’s no problem in getting merit points.” He looked at song tingfeng and saw that the two boats were about to pass by each other. He quickly said, “”Tingfeng, go back to the cabin and find Jiang Jinluo immediately. Tell him that there’s an emergency.”

He then glanced at the seven or eight gongs on the deck and said in a deep voice, ” there’s something wrong with that ship. Follow me.

After he finished speaking, he turned to the ship on the side and shouted, “”Stop the boat!”

His voice rolled and reverberated on the river.

The officials on the ship ignored him and pretended not to hear him. There were even boatmen who quietly adjusted the angle of the sail, and the ship tilted away from the official ship where the watchman was.

At this time, the other gongs also felt that something was wrong. Before they could say anything, they saw Xu Qi ‘an holding on to the guardrails. The deck under his feet broke with a ” ka Cha ” sound, and his whole body shot out like a cannonball.

In an instant, he crossed a distance of tens of meters and landed steadily on the deck of the ship.

“Ka Cha …”

The sound of the deck breaking was endless, and seven or eight gongs jumped up one after another. Relying on their exaggerated jumping power and the surging Qi, they also jumped onto the float.

Seeing the group of gongs “invading” the ship, the expressions of several officers on the deck changed slightly, and they quietly pressed on the hilt of their swords at the back of their waists.

“My Lords …” A man with a full beard ran out of the cabin. He was wearing a Yamen uniform, a tall hat, and a pair of black boots.

He looked around at the gongs on the deck and cupped his fists. “What business do you have?”

Xu Qi ‘an didn’t say anything. He carefully observed their micro-expressions and subtle movements. Zhu guangxiao said in a deep voice, ”

“Which Yamen are you from?”

“This humble servant is a ship-guarding Constable of the water transportation Yamen. I am here to escort a batch of iron ore to the capital.” The bearded man replied. They were wearing official uniforms with the pattern of waves printed on them. It was the official uniform of the water transportation Yamen.

Yuzhou was rich in iron ore. Salt and iron were the lifeblood of the country. In layman’s terms, they were strategic resources and also a major financial source.

The gongs weren’t surprised and turned to look at Xu Qi ‘an. They didn’t understand why he had suddenly stopped the ship.

Xu Qi ‘an narrowed his eyes and noticed a detail. Until now, the ship was still sailing and had not anchored.

“Guang Xiao, stop the ship.” Xu Qi ‘an said in a deep voice.

Zhu guangxiao immediately went to the stern and kicked the huge and heavy anchor into the water, and the ship slowly came down.

When his silent colleague returned, Xu Qi ‘an asked, “”Why didn’t you stop the boat just now?”

“This …” The bearded man’s expression was difficult as he said in a low voice,”My Lords, please wait a moment.”

He returned to the cabin, folded a few silver notes, and vaguely handed them over. He smiled apologetically and said, ”

“I know that no matter where I am, as long as I see the night watchman and the Yamen’s officials, I have to show respect … I was insensible just now and tried to deceive you. I deserve to die ten thousand times. Please forgive me, my Lords.”

Xu Qi ‘an glanced at them. They were all silver notes worth fifty taels, and the total was about three hundred taels.

Does he think that we’re blocking the ship to receive bribes? The night watchmen reacted, feeling both angry and amused.

Although the night watchman wasn’t very clean, he wasn’t at the level of plucking feathers from a goose. However, the reputation of the night watchman was indeed very bad. This was thanks to the Civil officials who poured dirty water on him day after day, shaping the night watchman into Wei Yuan’s Eagle Claw, who did evil deeds of harming loyal and good people and corrupt and bend the law.

A scholar was best at using a pen to Pierce the heart.

“Ningyan …” Zhu guangxiao frowned and looked at Xu Qi ‘an.

Everyone, including him, did not believe that Xu Qi ‘an had intercepted the ship for the sake of money. This fellow who would cut a silver Gong for an unrelated woman was not likable, but his character was worthy of recognition.

The bearded man’s heart sank when he saw that no one had taken the silver notes for a long time. He didn’t think there was any problem with his response, but it seemed that the night watchmen didn’t buy it.

“Take me to the cabin to take a look,” Xu Qi ‘an took a few steps forward and stared at the bearded man.

At this moment, Xu Qi ‘an stood in front of all the gongs. He put his right hand behind his back and quickly made a gesture.

The gesture was subtle and subtle, but the gongs behind him quietly tensed up.

This was because this hand gesture was the professional sign language of the Yamen, which meant:Prepare to move.

“Take me to check it out.” Xu Qi ‘an requested.

“Alright, please.” The man with a full beard agreed.