The day after Lin Fu and the others left Jiangning, they encountered a typhoon crossing the Yangtze River.
Since the beginning of summer, the water level in the Yangtze River has continued to rise, submerging the beaches and lakes on both sides, and connecting them together. Coming down from Jiangning, the river surface is extremely vast, and the dense rain curtain is so white and gray that it is impossible to see it. In the shadow of the opposite bank, the storm was raging, setting off huge waves up to 10 feet high, and the Yangtze River in the afternoon seemed like a vast ocean.
The three large ships "Dongyang", "Jiyun 1" and "Jiyun 2" were also forced to find a small river branch in a place called polder between Huyang County and Jiyang County to take shelter from the wind and waves.
The three thousand-stone ships lowered their sails and stopped at the fork of the alley. The wind and waves in the fork of the river were still not small, and water waves kept hitting the deck. Lin Fu was wearing a short-breasted shirt, and his whole body was soaked by the heavy rain. He personally led the people to the The bed crossbow, scorpion crossbow, assault canoe and other accessories on the deck are reinforced to prevent them from being blown into the water by wind and waves.
The nine tall masts of the three ships stretched into the air, making a roaring sound when the wind blew.
The rain was a little lighter, the wind was still strong, and it was not possible to set sail yet. Lin Fu asked others to retreat into the cabin. He and Ao Canghai stood under the awning, looked outside, and drank a bowl of hot ginger sugar soup.
Big Loach Master Ge Cunxin and Wu Qi were watching from the other two ships to prevent the ship from accidents in the wind and waves. Lin Fu also brought out two young men, Chen Enze and Hu Qiaozhong, who were also on the other two ships at this time.
"The waves are so big in the Yangtze River. I don't know how it is on Changshan Island?" A man like Zhou Putie was afraid of the wind and waves. He sat weakly at the door of the cabin without even having the strength to stand firmly on the deck. nothing.
The ship was rocking too much, and it was impossible to cook the medicine. The ship's doctor gave Zhou Pu some refreshing and antiemetic herbs to chew, and he felt a little better.
Although there were no weather satellites in the world at the time, fishermen on the coast had extensive knowledge and experience in dealing with summer typhoons, and could detect an approaching typhoon from unusual weather changes almost a day or two in advance.
Before entering the typhoon season, Lin Fu reminded Qin Chengzu and others to pay attention to preventing typhoons on Changshan Island, and ships should avoid long voyages as much as possible. According to his observation of the vegetation on Changshan Island, Changshan Island is located in the northern waters of the Yangtze River mouth. It is not in a major wind belt. Although contact has been temporarily cut off due to the typhoon season, Changshan Island does not need to worry too much. The supplies sent before the typhoon season can also keep Changshan Island in autumn.
Correspondingly, entering the typhoon season, the activities of the East China Sea pirates will also be greatly restricted, and they are more likely to use the offshore islands they have already occupied to invade the inland.
Lin Fu looked towards the shore. Large reeds were blown and broken. Two big trees were blown down and lay across the water, exposing their tangled roots. There were several farmhouses on the shore, and the roofs were removed by the strong wind. There were two thatched houses. The wall also collapsed, and no one could be seen in the rain. I don't know where to take shelter.
There was another heavy rain. Just as Lin Fu and Ao Canghai were about to return to the boat to take shelter from the rain, a merchant ship floating on the river outside the alley branch floated up.
Half of the merchant ship's mast was broken off in an unknown place, and the remaining half of the mast was less than two feet high. It must have been broken by the strong wind, and the sail was blown in an unknown direction. Most of the canopy was torn off by the strong wind and was dragged in the water. Exposing the cargo contained in the cabin, you can see bulk rice and a large number of bagged goods. Even if the boat canopy is taken off, it will inevitably be wet by the heavy rain.
The hull of the boat was tilted severely, and it looked like it was filled with water. Five or six topless men were rowing hard to get to the shore.
This kind of common cargo ship on the Yangtze River has a carrying capacity of about two hundred stones. It has sails, oars and oars. However, the wind blows northward and is strong. The cargo ship relies on five or six people to row the oars. Not only can it not dock, but it is also blown by the wind.
The center of the river drifts.
This section of the river is dozens of miles wide, and the wind and waves are bigger in the center of the river. If it doesn't reach the north bank, the boat will either take in water and capsize, or be blown over by strong winds.
The people on the boat saw a big boat sheltering from the wind and waves at the mouth of the alley, so they waved their hands and shouted for help.
The wind and rain were so strong that Lin Fu couldn't hear what they were shouting. When a ship was in danger, it was the most basic moral obligation to help the leader. He and Ge Cunxin, the great loach man standing on the deck of "Jiyun 1", quickly agreed on the rescue by shouting loudly and gesturing.
plan.
The Great Loach Master Ge Cunxin put an assault boat fixed on the front deck of "Jiyun 1" into the water. Lin Fu connected the cables on the three ships and took out three long ropes that were almost more than 200 feet long.
On the assault boat, people drove the assault boat over to tie the cable to the cargo ship, and here they used manpower to pull the cargo ship over against the wind.
The cargo ship was pulled to the river beach and separated. The owner of the cargo ship was a middle-aged man. He changed into a long gown that was soaked by the rain and took a boat to the Dongyang to express his gratitude. The long gown was wet and clinging to his body. It was very inconvenient to move with a package.
The man was also exhausted, so he slipped and fell while climbing up the rope ladder to the deck. The package fell apart, and several gold and silver coins were scattered on the deck.
Seeing the middle-aged man pick up the gold and silver coins, wrap them up and hand them over, Lin Fu frowned and asked, "What does this mean? It is a moral duty to help people in danger. Besides, we can only do it with a little help."
The soldiers were sheltering from the rain in the cabin until they had to pull the cargo ship over manually. Only the middle-aged people realized that these three large ships were all warships.
In such a heavy wind and rain, it was impossible for Lin Fu to hang the flag on the mainmast. The middle-aged man did not know where these three warships came from. It would be a great kindness to help them. The middle-aged man did not dare at all.
He was careless and without taking a breath, he took all the gold and silver coins that the ship and his men had on hand to express his gratitude and did not even bother to save the two people who fell into the water when the sail mast broke.
One of the two people who fell into the water was his own nephew. The middle-aged man looked at Lin Fu and wanted to plead for search and rescue, but he felt that it was too difficult. With such a big wind and waves, the water was so fast that the big ship could not raise its sails in the river, and the small boat was too heavy.
If you can't resist the waves, you can't search and rescue at all. Whether you can survive depends on your luck.
The middle-aged man gave up reluctantly, for fear of offending the adults, and respectfully held the gift in front of his forehead and said: "We were heading upstream to Danyang on this trip. When we encountered this typhoon, the sail was almost broken by the strong wind before we could find a place to take shelter.
Even the boat and the people fell into the river. This thank you gift is really meager. I dare to ask your name, and we will prepare a generous gift for you when we get back..."
"The damage to the cargo ship is considerable..." Lin Fu said.
A good reputation in the local area is more valuable than one or two hundred taels of silver. Lin Fugang was about to resolutely refuse, but Wu Qi showed his head and called him: "Sir..."
Seeing Wu Qi standing on the rope ladder and not coming up to the deck, Lin Fu knew that he had something to say privately and asked someone to make tea. He asked the middle-aged man to go first to the cabin to do it. He walked to the side of the ship and asked Wu Qi: "Master Wu Qi, do you have something to say in private?"
What's going on?" The probe saw two teenagers, Hu Qiaozhong and Chen Enze, standing on the boat below.
"Haha, things in this world are really unpredictable. You probably wouldn't have thought that the person who entered was Hu Zhicheng from Chongzhou..." Wu Qi grabbed the side of the boat and laughed.
"What, what a coincidence, he is Qiao Guan's father!" Lin Fu also felt that it was a coincidence and asked Hu Qiaozhong on the boat, "You won't admit the wrong person?"
"It's true, he is indeed Qiao Kou's father, my third uncle..." Hu Qiaozhong said emotionally. He had been reluctant to meet each other, but they met by chance. How could a young man suppress his excitement?
Emotions?
"I heard from the sailors on the ship that their sail was blown off three miles ahead. At that time, two people were taken into the water, and they were afraid that they could not be saved," Chen Enze said from the side.
"There may still be a chance of survival after launching the broken sail mast. Immediate search and rescue is needed," Lin Fu said immediately. "Master Da Loach has experience, so he took 'Jiyun 1' to raise half the sail with the wind and search and rescue in the direction of the center of the river. 'Jiyunyi'
Yun Er' ordered people to go ashore and pull ropes to the river bank to search and rescue downstream. All six assault boats were launched into the water and connected to the big ship with cables. It was limited to one hour, and everyone was asked to pay attention to safety..."
There were such big storms and heavy rain in the river. If it were anyone else, Lin Fu would only lend a helping hand and would not take the risk of searching and rescuing in the river. After all, none of the boatmen and sailors on the three ships had any experience sailing in such wind and waves.
Since he was one of his own, the situation was different. Lin Fu immediately sent two thousand-stone ships and six assault canoes out of the alley fork to search and rescue.
Hu Zhicheng felt that Lin Fu could still talk, and thought that maybe he could beg him to send a boat to search and rescue the people who fell into the water. Maybe he would do his best to obey fate. He watched Lin Fu open the hatch and come in, and stood up hurriedly.
Lin Fu first said: "I heard that two people fell into the water on your boat. I have sent a boat to search and rescue. However, with such a big wind and waves, the chance is really slim..."
Hu Zhicheng was stunned there. He never expected that Lin Fu, who had already been a great help when they met in the water, would take the initiative to send a boat to brave such a big storm to search and rescue the person who fell into the water. He immediately made a "plop" and knelt on the ground to save him.
Kowtow to Lin Fu.
Lin Fu was also shocked. He had the family information of the Chongzhou meat ticket boy. Hu Zhicheng was also a scholar. He inherited the family's sugar factory business with his brother after failing to pass the examination. It is normal for commoners to kowtow before officials.
, people who study regard kowtow as a great gift.
Hu Zhicheng knelt down and was about to kowtow. Lin Fu hurriedly went over to support him and said, "What's the matter? I'm just doing what I do. Mr. Hu doesn't need such a big gift. Why can't I afford it?"
"Sir, do you recognize me?" Hu Zhicheng was slightly startled. Then he thought it was the sailor on the ship talking to Lin Fu's hand, and then said, "No matter how slim the chance is, if you have this intention, you will regenerate your parents with kindness. I will take the place of the two who fell into the water."
It is appropriate to kowtow to the Lord."
"Mr. Hu sat down to talk first," Lin Fu said, "There are two people around me who recognize Mr. Hu. I invite them to come out and meet Mr. Hu..."
Hu Zhicheng saw Lin Fu's extraordinary demeanor, but he couldn't guess his identity, let alone anyone around him who knew him. He saw that the door of the cabin was dark, the wind and rain were fierce, the ship was shaking, and the lights could not be lit. Hu Zhicheng couldn't see clearly when he came in.
Looking at the person's face, I heard a call full of emotion: "Third uncle, it's me and Chen Enze, the boy from Uncle Chen's family..."
When Hu Zhicheng heard this familiar voice, he felt like he was struck by thunder and was stunned for a moment.