It was already late at night, and Murong Fu was still standing on the bow of the boat without sleeping. Batianshi and Gong Yeqian stood behind him, saying nothing.
With the help of two or three lights on the Bianhe River and the faint starlight in the sky, the boatmen and trackers dragged the big boat forward in the dark night.
Gong Yeqian also advised Murong Fu to rest early, but Murong Fu took him there with a smile. He also knew his master's temper, so he didn't say anything and just stayed by his side silently.
Ba Tianshi was not a retainer of the Murong family, so for some unknown reason, he stood silently behind Murong Fu and blew the evening breeze.
Murong Fu did not look back and suddenly said calmly: "You two, there should be a good show tonight."
"Why did you say this?" Gong Yeqian asked curiously. Batian Stone was like his name, like an eternal stone. Nothing could make him speak.
But after saying this meaningless sentence, there was no more follow-up. Murong Fu clasped his hands behind his back and continued to stand on the deck blowing the wind. Gong Yeqian couldn't ask any more questions when he saw his young master like this.
The night was very quiet. At this section of the water, the water gradually became deeper and had already reached the thighs of the trackers. It was estimated that after a while, we would be able to enter the deep water area and there would be no need to stretch.
Murong Fu suddenly shouted to the trackers who were pulling the fibers: "Brothers, thank you for your hard work. When it's over, everyone will be rewarded with one or two silver coins!"
A powerful voice came from the crowd: "Bullying a boatman who doesn't understand martial arts, you're a bullshit! Those who have the guts to fight against labor and management, those who don't have the guts to get out of the way and get out of the way!"
Murong Fu frowned, feeling a little troubled. He didn't want to dirty his clothes for a few unscrupulous water bandits.
The reason why there were no major disturbances was thanks to the Song Dynasty's preferential treatment of the scholar class and the restrictions on the powers of generals. Therefore, although there have been constant civil unrest since the founding of Emperor Taizu, they were limited to the scope of one road at most, and there were no Make a big fuss.
Murong Fu smiled: "Second brother Gongye, please be patient. You don't have to do anything. Just watch a good show here."
Gong Yeqian asked in a deep voice: "Master, do you want to send these people away?"
The leader, a well-dressed man named Xiang Wanghai, smiled domineeringly: "Wang Jinbao, it turns out you are an old boy."
Xiang Wanghai was shocked: "Who is meddling in other people's business and hindering the business between labor and capital?"
For example, this is what Murong Fu and others are encountering now.
Suddenly, there was a huge fire, and the densely packed torches illuminated the dark sides of the bank as if it were daylight.
The well-dressed man raised his hand and slapped him again, knocking out two of the boat boss's teeth: "Young man, labor and capital are doing business in this river and lake. When have you ever negotiated the price with anyone? If you don't complain to labor and capital, labor and capital will pay you back." Save some face. You are chatting with the labor and management, but the labor and management want to give you some color and let you know how many eyes Lord Ma has."
This word flashed across everyone's mind, and their hearts sank.
The boss of the boat nodded quickly and smiled: "Yes, yes, it's a small one. I wonder why you, old man, are so valuable for coming here?"
In these years, although there were basically no major wars and the world was at peace, it did not mean that everything was peaceful. During the Song Dynasty, commercial trade was extremely developed and land annexation was not suppressed. As a result, the gap between the rich and the poor in the Song Dynasty was greatly increased compared to the previous generation, and almost It took decades to intensify land conflicts to a level that only appeared at the end of other dynasties.
But the absence of major troubles does not mean that there are no troubles. For example, refugees were an important problem in the Song Dynasty. In the Song Dynasty, the exploitation of tenant farmers almost reached the point of breaking their bones and sucking their marrow, causing a large number of civilians to lose their land and become refugees.
But Murong Fu then slowly shook his head.
The boss of the ship covered his face and said in fear: "Master Xiang, our boss has already paid the monthly payment. I'm afraid it's a bit unruly for you to do this!"
"Water Bandit!"
Now Gong Yeqian really couldn't figure it out. He said respectfully: "I am stupid and I really can't guess what the young master means. Please give me some instructions."
Among them, some people entered the city and became handicraftsmen, while a considerable number became bandits and started businesses without capital.
He waved his hand: "Young men, rob everything on the boat and keep them as meat tickets. If you are a bitch, use them to give your brothers some pleasure!"
Everyone took a closer look and saw that it was the pair of strong brothers, and the chain came from one of them.
Who knew that this would have the opposite effect?
Just when the steel knife was just a hair away from the head of the ship's boss, and the ship's boss' life hung on a thread, a slender iron chain flew from a distance and wrapped around the steel knife.
Although he was scared to death, he still spoke boldly and mentioned his employer's name in the hope of scaring this lawless thief.
Look at this young master, he not only enjoys food and wine, but is also so generous in giving rewards. This is what he calls a real gentleman, unlike some crazy and deceitful people who want to blow their nostrils in front of people like him. How can we look at people like us if we go to heaven?
Some younger guys were so happy that they even shouted "Long live". Fortunately, it was the middle of the night and there were no people around. Otherwise, this would be a big deal and would cause a minor disaster.
Hearing what the boss said, hundreds of people's eyes suddenly glowed green like wolves, and they were all sharpening their knives and about to take action.
Murong Fu smiled and said nothing, but his expression clearly showed that he did not agree with Gong Yeqian's proposal.
Someone underwater responded: "There is something in the water that hurt my brothers' feet!"
There was a faint smile on Murong Fu's face, but it was dark in the night and no one saw it.
Xiang Wanghai raised his hand and slapped him: "Young man, you are trying to trick me, who are the people on the boat?"
Then, a strong force came from the iron chain, and Xiang Wanghai was caught off guard. Due to his carelessness, the weapon flew out of his hand.
The captain of the boat was so anxious that he almost went crazy. He knelt down in the water and kowtowed indifferently: "Master, Mr. Xiang, my dear grandfather, please, if you are so arrogant, just treat me like a kid. Let the little one go. If something happens to the little one, he will be killed by the master if he goes back. Please be merciful!"
Xiang Wanghai was furious: "You ignorant bitch, labor and management are robbing the rich and giving to the poor. Who in the world is not a hero? You old dog, why are you here to grind me off? It's not easy to explain when you go back, right? Then don't go back. Got it!"
The sudden change was like a handful of salt being thrown into a hot oil pan, and the scene suddenly exploded.
As he said that, his eyes were filled with fierceness, he drew out his waist knife, and struck it towards the head of the boat boss. The boat boss turned pale with fright, his legs went weak, and he fell to the ground.
The panic was quickly reported to the boss of the ship. The boss of the ship hurriedly came to the deck, saluted Murong Fu first, and then shouted to the water at the top of his lungs: "What's going on!"
Someone reminded them like this, and the people behind them stopped one after another, for fear of getting in trouble. For a moment, the originally orderly team suddenly became chaotic.
Gong Yeqian asked again: "What do you mean, Master, to deal with these people?"
The big ship stopped for a moment, and almost all the trackers could not help but be stunned by the unexpected reward. Then they all looked at each other, and they could see the unconcealed joy on each other's faces. With this tael of silver, It means that in the next month, the family's expenses will be settled, so why shouldn't they be happy?
Murong Fu smiled happily. It was said that Gong Yeqian was a descendant of Gong Yechang, one of the seventy-two sages under Confucius. He was known for his calmness and strategy. In a short period of time, he proposed three different proposals. The solution is that compared to Feng Bo evil and Bao Bubu causing trouble everywhere, such subordinates are obviously more likeable.
Gong Yeqian thought for a while and then asked: "Does the master mean to recruit these people and use them for his own use?"
The boat boss suppressed his fear and got off the boat to deal with it. He smiled and said, "Hey, isn't this Mr. Xiang Wanghai from the Shahe Gang? Why, where did you get rich recently?"
Some people immediately felt a little moved, secretly thinking that it was a pity that they could not work under this man for a long time.
At this moment, screams such as "Ouch" and "Oh my God" came from among the trackers, and then someone slumped and fell into the water in pain.
The atmosphere was very solemn, and the rest of the people were obviously in a panic. After all, any ordinary person would be so frightened that his legs would become weak if he saw hundreds of shining steel knives surrounding him in the middle of the night. If he didn't sit down on the ground, he was already in good mental condition. Yes.
Generally speaking, just spending some money would be enough in this situation, but Murong Fu slowly shook his head.
Recalling that Murong Fu had said before that there would be a good show tonight, Gong Yeqian was puzzled, but he stopped asking questions. He believed that it was reasonable for him to do so, but he still put his hands on his own unconsciously. On a pair of judge's pens, once these bandits who don't know the heights of heaven and earth dare to offend the young master, I will give them a good look.
Except for Murong Fu and the other three, everyone was shocked. The scene in front of him seemed to be within Murong Fu's expectation but also a little disappointing to him. He clasped his hands behind his back and shook his head slightly, as if he was very dissatisfied.
The boat boss frowned, cursed, and wanted to go down to check.
Everyone was shocked at first, but after they calmed down a little, they saw clearly that there were hundreds of people standing densely on both sides of the strait, holding torches and weapons in their hands. Prey wolf pack.
Someone screamed and warned: "Someone put something in the water. Be careful not to get hurt!"
A group of water bandits shouted and cursed: "What kind of dog-like thing are you? How dare you go against our boss!" "Our boss will chop you into three pieces with one knife!"
Various voices merged into one, noisy, and the river beach suddenly became lively.
Murong Fu watched everything in the scene quietly, not intending to interfere, but the playful smile at the corner of his mouth became thicker.
It's interesting. It seems that this journey will not be so boring after all.