The ship was stuck in Qingjiangpu. A few young men were somewhat accustomed to the water, but they had to stay on the ship to take care of the others. The next day, Lin Fu and Fu Qinghe went ashore.
The north bank is Tinghu County, Huai'an Prefecture. The Huaihe River has changed its course many times in history. There is no very accurate map in this era. Lin Fu can only roughly estimate that Tinghu County is located between Lianyungang and Yancheng in later generations. Because the north bank of Qingjiangpu is Tinghu Lake
County, the south bank is Yancheng County, and the north of Tinghu Lake is Xinpu County, both of which belong to Huai'an Prefecture.
The reed marsh on the north bank is almost twenty miles deep. In early October, a cold current hit. Although they entered the water after the sun rose, Lin Fu and Fu Qing's lips were still purple from the cold when they stepped ashore.
Fu Qinghe is a martial arts practitioner with strong muscles and bones, but he is already in his fifties. No matter how strong his body is, there is a limit. Lin Fu has also consciously strengthened his physique during this period, but a good physique cannot be exercised in a short time.
Yes, they were too cold. They changed into dry clothes wrapped in oil paper on the shore, ate dry food, and basked in the sun and stretched their hands and feet before they gradually recovered.
Lin Fu and Fu Qinghe went ashore and planned to get a small boat that could travel through the shallow reed swamps to pick them up first.
After walking westward along the river bank for twenty or thirty miles, I didn't see any boats docked on the bank.
The shallow water beach is filled with endless reed marshes. The water is shallow and it is impossible to sail. Where can big boats and small boats stop on this shore? It was not until I walked to Qingpu Jindukou in Tinghu County that I saw a suitable boat.
Qingpujin is said to be a ferry port, but it is as prosperous as a town, with all kinds of businesses gathered, stalls and shops, boats and cars passing by, and hurried travelers making it very lively. This is the main transportation thoroughfare in the east of Huai'an Prefecture, except for those going upstream.
In addition to the passable Qingjiangpu waterway, there are also north-south official roads that meet here. Tinghu County has a water and land post office here, as well as an inspection department office.
Lin Fu and Fu Qinghe were sitting in a restaurant at the ferry, sitting next to the window, observing the situation at the ferry, and discussing in a low voice: "If you spend money to buy a boat, others may become suspicious..."
There were more than a dozen soldiers belonging to the Qingpujin Inspection Department in front of the ferry. After asking around, it turned out that there were more than 80 sword archers in the entire Inspection Department. In addition, there were more than 20 postmen at Qingpujin Station. It was okay to hire a boat for money.
, if you buy a boat directly, it will be too difficult for others not to be suspicious. Lin Fu nodded and said: "We can only wait until dark..."
Lin Fu and Fu Qinghe were sitting in the shop drinking. The fruit wine was a little astringent and sweet, far incomparable to the hard liquor of later generations. Lin Fu and Fu Qinghe drank slowly, not feeling drunk at all.
Near dusk, four men walked into the shop, three long and one young. They were all wearing long robes, but they were all strong and healthy men. They were very different from ordinary people when they walked and looked around.
Lin Fu and Fu Qinghe were sitting next to the window. They could see the ferry from the window. The four people who had just walked in were sitting on the Eight Immortals table next door. The younger man with a black face looked at Lin Fu and his accomplices.
He said softly: "You said you can't bring knives on the ferry. Why do they bring knives?"
Although the black-faced young man spoke softly, Lin Fu could hear it clearly with the tips of his ears. The black-faced young man's accomplice was a middle-aged man, who must have been the leader. His eyes were stern to stop the black-faced young man from talking nonsense, and he looked at Lin Fu warily.
, Fu Qinghe glanced at it.
Lin Fu looked out the window and saw a vendor selling chestnuts with sugar paste passing by. He called out to the vendor and was about to let him bring a handful of chestnuts in a lotus leaf bag, but he saw the middle-aged man's eyes sweeping over Fu Qinghe's face.
Occasionally, he looked at it twice more hesitantly, with a doubtful look in his eyes that he couldn't hide.
Lin Fu glanced at Fu Qinghe. Fu Qinghe frowned slightly and gave him a look, indicating that he should go out first before talking. Lin Fu took the waist knife, and he and Fu Qinghe went to the elm counter at the entrance of the store to check out, and walked to the official road opposite.
street.
The four men from before had moved to their table - that table was next to the window, more suitable for observing the situation at the ferry - and the four men were observing the situation in front of the ferry.
Seeing that Fu Qinghe was thoughtful, Lin Fu asked softly: "Master Fu, do you know where they came from?" The black-faced young man accidentally revealed that they were carrying weapons with them, but they hid them in his pocket because they were worried about being interrogated at the ferry.
Maybe they have accomplices; besides, they don’t look like ordinary business travelers.
"We were old friends ten years ago," Fu Qinghe said, "but they don't recognize me anymore."
"Oh?" Lin Fu recalled how the middle-aged man looked at Fu Qinghe and thought that Fu Qinghe had changed a lot in the past ten years. He glanced at the window of the shop again. Those men were all staring at the inspection of the ferry.
The officers and soldiers could not tell what they were doing here. Seeing Fu Qinghe frowning thoughtfully, he was probably thinking about this issue as well.
"Ignore them, let's go see the boat first," Fu Qinghe said.
Lin Fu followed Fu Qinghe to the ferry without saying a word. It could be seen that Fu Qinghe was very concerned about the four people who suddenly appeared at the ferry. However, they first had to take the two girls and the young men ashore and hide them, so they could not interfere with much.
Lin Fu's identity card was not lost, and he and Fu Qinghe carried weapons with them without fear of interrogation.
Although Lin Fu is a descendant of the Lin family in Dongyang, after he passed the scholar examination, the seventh wife Gu Yingxiu helped him speak, and the family allowed him to return to the clan. Unlike the bamboo and wooden dental plaques of the Han tribe, his identity plaque was made of copper
It marked his status as a scholar and his origins in a distinguished family in Shiliang County, Dongyang, and he also had the privilege of being followed by servants and carrying protective weapons.
In this era, even if you want to carry out sword-fighting and travel around the world, you still need to have a good family background; although the government's control of people's weapons is not strict to the extent that several families share a kitchen knife, ordinary people have no special
Identity and proof. He was swaggering through the city with a sword in public. If he was discovered by the government, it would be strange not to be arrested as a bandit. If he resisted at all, he would be shot to death.
Lin Fu and Fu Qinghe squatted on the bank to observe the boats in the river, planning to attack at night. When they heard the sound of rutting in the distance, they stood up and saw a group of officers and soldiers escorting four prison cars coming from the official road from the north.
Officers and soldiers escorted prison cars across the border, which always attracted the interest of ordinary people. Travelers and traders at the ferry immediately gathered to watch. Lin Fu and the others were far away, and they only saw a woman in a red coat sitting in the last prison car, with disheveled hair.
Yes, the four men just now also walked out of the shop and mingled with the crowd to watch.
Lin Fu subconsciously thought that these four men appeared here to rob the prison car. He saw Fu Qinghe's expression changed greatly from the side, turned around and walked towards the official road. Lin Fu didn't ask any questions and followed Fu Qinghe.
.
When they approached, the group of officers and soldiers were escorting the prison car into the post house. Lin Fu could only see clearly the face of the young woman in red coat in the last prison car. Her face was haggard and haggard. If she looked closely, her beautiful face had two scratches.
There was a small cut, and the red coat on her body was cut with sharp knives in many places, revealing the yellow cotton wool inside. A small piece of flesh was exposed on the back of the left flank, which was blown white by the cold wind in early winter. However, the young woman's hands were shackles, and
I couldn't reach out to cover it.
Depending on the situation, the escorting officers and soldiers will have to spend the night in the post house before leaving tomorrow.
The four men from before had turned around and entered the shop first. Fu Qinghe looked solemn, and Lin Fu asked softly: "Are we old friends too?"
Fu Qinghe walked to a deserted place, and said to Lin Fu solemnly: "My old friend is in trouble, Mr. Fu cannot stand by and watch; if Mr. Fu meets misfortune, the young lady and everyone have no choice but to ask for help from Mr. Lin." He said that he was about to bow down.
.
Lin Fu stretched out his hand to support Fu Qinghe and said: "The cause of the incident is still unknown. Is it too early for Mr. Fu to take care of his funeral now?"
"..." Fu Qinghe didn't know what to say for a moment.
"Master Fu, do you think I'm someone who is afraid of getting into trouble?" Lin Fu said, "It's better to meet an old friend first before talking about it."
Fu Qinghe pressed Lin Fu's shoulder gratefully, without saying many words of gratitude. The two returned to the food shop to find the four men. The four men had already left. They asked the shopkeeper about the direction of their departure. Lin Fu and Fu Qinghe
Qinghe chased all the way north.
There are endless fields on both sides of the official road, and there is a maple forest more than two miles to the north. The autumn leaves are stained with frost and are as red as fire. From a distance, it looks like a big handful of wildfire burning in the fields, which is very beautiful.
.
The four men left from this direction. They wanted to rob the prison car and would not be too far from the ferry. The maple forest was the most likely place for them to hide. Lin Fu and Fu Qinghe walked straight into the depths of the woods.
After walking a hundred steps, they suddenly heard footsteps behind them. Lin Fu and Fu Qinghe turned around. Sixteen or seventeen men in fine clothes and holding swords surrounded them. The middle-aged man in the restaurant
He stared at Fu Qinghe and said: "It is indeed you. I thought I was mistaken. Since you left in secret back then, why are you following me again today?" His excitement could be heard in his hoarse voice.
.
"Let's not talk about old things for now. You have been active in Huaishang these years. Even if Zi Ang and the others are captured by the government, they should be escorted from Huaishang to the two capitals. Why does the prison car pass by here?" Fu Qinghe asked, "Are you right?
Are you planning to rob the prison van here?"
Huai'an Prefecture is the downstream of Huai River, thousands of miles away from Huai Shang.
"Whether you save Zi'ang or not is none of your business," a short and stocky man next to the middle-aged man cursed harshly, "You eggless thing, what qualifications do you have to pretend to be a good person here? You can't save Zi'ang.
Ang, four ladies, at worst we can go on the road together. Brothers will walk together on the road to hell, so we won’t be lonely..."
"You followed the prison car all the way, why didn't you rob it on the road and drag it until now?" Lin Fu ignored the old grudges between Fu Qinghe and the group of people in front of him. The top priority was that he needed to figure out some key issues.
"They are the bandits who roam the Huaihe River. The imperial court has been arresting them for many years. They even set up special anti-theft division offices in the Huaishang prefectures for these bandits." Fu Qinghe didn't mind that the people in front of him spoke ill of him, and gave Lin
Fu introduced them, "If such a heavy prisoner is successfully robbed by his accomplices, the escorting officers and soldiers will kill him immediately, and even kill his family members. If they try to rob the prisoner on the road, the escorting officers and soldiers will not hesitate to kill the prisoner first."
Yes, they have to wait until the officers and soldiers are separated from the prison car before they dare to take action."
"High School Tiger, who is he?" The middle-aged man stared at Lin Fu with a slight frown and asked Fu Qinghe, "The disciple you accepted?"
"Master Tan has been very kind to me for my survival, so you don't have to worry about Master Tan leaking the information about the rogue bandits."
"Bare feet are not afraid of people wearing shoes. I am afraid of birds." The short and sturdy man spat. With outsiders present, his words became more restrained and he did not say anything about driving Fu Qinghe away.
Fu Qinghe smiled bitterly and explained to Lin Fu: "High School Tiger was my nickname ten years ago. If my old friend didn't mention it, I would have forgotten it." He then explained to everyone in front of him, "I have lived in Jiangning for nearly ten years.
Year, if Chengzu is willing, just call me Fu Qinghe, and just pretend that the senior high school tiger died ten years ago..."
"Shuangji Gao Sanhu, there were many outstanding men in the army back then, and you know you have no shame in wasting this name!" A man with half of his left ear missing stood up and ridiculed Fu Qinghe angrily.
Lin Fu thought that Fu Qinghe had really made everyone angry back then. He was surrounded by old friends and no one had a good look towards him. He bowed his hands to everyone and said, "Dongyang Tan Zong has met all of you..." He is not afraid of wearing bare feet.
Fu Qinghe concealed his true identity for him because he didn't want him to be involved too deeply, so he followed Fu Qinghe's wishes and gave a pseudonym.
Fu Qinghe said sincerely to the middle-aged man at the head: "Chengzu, don't mention him in the past. If you want to save Zi'ang and the fourth girl, I can always do my best. If you really want to save him, you can't rush him."
let's go."
Lin Fu thought that the "four ladies" in the short man's mouth and the "four girls" in Fu Qinghe's mouth should be the young woman in the red coat in the prison car. When he heard Fu Qinghe call the middle-aged man in front of him "Chengzu", he was instantly confused.
Thinking of who he was, Qin Chengzu and other Liuma bandits' sea arrest documents were also posted in Dongyang Mansion. Unexpectedly, the middle-aged man in front of him who seemed to be somewhat elegant and elegant turned out to be the famous leader of the Liuma bandits.
Qin Chengzu pondered for a moment and explained to Fu Qinghe: "After the various prefectures in Huaishang established the anti-theft department, each prefecture allocated money to set up a new anti-theft camp to exterminate horse thieves like us. It became increasingly difficult to operate in Huaishang.
Chen Hansan voted for the government again this year. We were active in Jiangling but did not get the news in time. After autumn, we were bitten by Chen Hansan, a dead dog, and the officers and men of the third battalion of the anti-theft battalion in Jiangling. More than two hundred brothers
Less than fifty brothers rushed out. We couldn't wait in Huaishang, so we walked downstream. Zi'ang and the fourth lady led the two brothers into Xinpu City to find out the news, and surrounded the anti-theft camp led by Chen Hansan.
They couldn't get away... Chen Hansan sent his cronies to take them to Jiangning to take credit." When the name Chen Hansan was mentioned, the middle-aged man gritted his teeth and wanted to swallow them alive.
"Where are the others?" Fu Qinghe asked. After Qiu, nearly fifty people broke out, and there were only sixteen people in front of them.
"Brothers who are well-equipped, you see these people, Sanhei and Wu Qi are guarding outside the forest." The middle-aged man said with a gloomy expression.
"There are only eighteen people, and you want to rob the official post?" Fu Qinghe frowned and asked, "You also know that the team of officers and soldiers escorting the prison van are all elites from the Chen Hansan Division, and the Qingpujin Inspection Division has eight swordsmen and archers.
There are more than ten people stationed nearby, and there are more than thirty soldiers in the post house. You just want to rob the official post?"
"Is there any way? Only after entering the inn will Ziang and the others be imprisoned in a separate room... After leaving Qingpujin, this group of officers and soldiers will have to take the waterway and take an official ship to Jiangning, and the chance of making a move will be even slimmer.
"The middle-aged man said, and it could be heard from his tone that he was still willing to discuss a rescue strategy with Fu Qinghe.
The water outlet of Qingjiangpu is very shallow, which is not conducive to the passage of large ships. Going up from Qingpujin, the channel conditions are much better. As long as the shallow water beach is avoided, the passage of medium-sized boats of three to five hundred stones is very convenient. Passing Fanliang Lake from Huai'an Prefecture
, crossing Hongzepu, you can enter Dongyang Prefecture, and there is a river that connects to Jiangning Prefecture. After the officers and soldiers escorted the prison cars onto the official ships, it would be really difficult to snatch the people out unscathed. But it was just like them.
What's the difference between rushing into a posthouse to save someone and risking death?