Lin Hai led his disciple and newly befriended scholar Chen Ruiwen to visit Wuxi for two days. On the third day, someone suddenly came to Chen Ruiwen's home to look for him. After a while, he bid farewell to Lin Hai, saying that he had important matters at home.
Let's go back to Suzhou first. I was reading at midnight and it was not convenient for Lin Hai to ask him to stay, so he didn't ask any more questions and said goodbye after a few pleasantries.
Chen Ruiwen left the inn and went straight to the Wuxi County Government Office. When he arrived at the County Government Office, the leader of the water bandits on the lake yesterday was already waiting. The county magistrate Zhang Yuan and a young scribe in white were sitting on the left and right, and the first person sitting on the seat was
It was actually King Wu. Chen Ruiwen hurriedly stepped forward to salute.
King Wu narrowed his eyes and said: "Mr. Chen, I came to Wuxi overnight according to your plan. It seems that my trip was in vain."
Chen Ruiwen bowed and said: "I didn't expect that General Xu didn't find the boat that Mr. Lin and I were on."
The leader of the water bandits, General Xu, hurriedly stepped forward and said: "Because I listened to Mr. Chen's information and Mr. Wei's strategy, I overestimated the enemy and was defeated. This is also my fault."
The young man who was attacked by King Wu stood up and cupped his hands and said: "It was really a student's mistake to ask General Xu not to bring a bow and arrows. At first, he was afraid that he might accidentally shoot Mr. Lin. The student never thought that the gangsters from the capital city of the Taiping Escort Bureau actually knew the nature of water.
"
General Xu clenched his eyes and said: "Mr. Wei easily said the word 'misstep', but do you know how many of my men have died?"
"It's just that according to what General Xu said, everyone on Master Lin's ship has the ability to be a general, and they also use hand-held crossbows, which have poison darts made by high-ranking people, and there are many forward firearms and iron mines. Then
The ship is no longer a cruise ship, it looks like a warship. It would be difficult to capture even with a bow and arrow."
General Xu said angrily: "Aren't the arrows in your brothers' hand and crossbow arrows the same?"
Chen Ruiwen hurriedly said: "General Xu, the students have been on the boat. If there was really a battle, how could the students not know about it? Furthermore, according to what the general said, the two ships started fighting at noon three o'clock, and the battle continued until noon six.
It was just after midnight that Mr. Lin went into the cabin to rest. Jia Cong had been chatting with students about interesting things in the capital. Until Mr. Lin got up at about noon, the two of us went to the bow of the ship to look at the present and the past, and talk about poetry.
Thesis. I dare to ask General Xu, how could Jia Cong chat with the students and argue with the general in the next three moments? Even if the student was deaf and couldn't hear the sound of fighting, could it be that he was distracted. His physical skills were not good? Later, when you were fighting on the deck
Didn't you see the student and Mr. Lin? Could it be that the student and Mr. Lin know the invisibility technique?"
General Xu said: "General, I have never seen Mr. Chen and Mr. Lin from the beginning to the end. However, last night, General Mo and several brothers followed Mr. Zhang to see the ship. In fact, it was Mr. Chen who fought with the general.
The one my men pointed to."
Chen Ruiwen said: "It's obvious that the ship fighting General Xu is another ship. I just don't know who that Jay Chou is. Your Majesty, you have to pay more attention. The student had checked the conversation between Mr. Lin and Jia Cong last night." Then he said it again.
King Wu couldn't help but laugh: "He called the escort master Sun escort! Could it be that he thought of Sun Dasheng?"
Chen Ruiwen said with a smile: "Jia Cong is still young after all, and sometimes he is confused. It is obvious that their escort agency does not have a Kun escort master. Escort master Cai has stopped flying escorts for a long time, and the escort masters are not the age that General Xu said. And we
A total of eight people came out from Suzhou, Mr. Lin, students, Jia Cong, Jarvis, Mr. Lin's bodyguard Yang Song, his sister-in-law Rui Jin and two young and skilled bodyguards. Jia Congruo called the names of the three bodyguards.
The number of names is not enough."
General Xu sneered: "Mr. Chen, do you mean to say that the general is lying?"
Chen Ruiwen hurriedly held up his hands and said: "General Xu is overly concerned. The holes in the general's ship and the iron nails on his calves are all solid evidence."
General Xu said angrily: "If you hadn't sworn that there was only one Yang Song on the ship who was not good at water, how could I have underestimated the enemy so much!"
Mr. Wei hurriedly said: "General Xu, please calm down. I'm afraid Mr. Lin is not on board."
General Xu became even more angry: "Many brothers and I have gone to see the ship! That's the one! Unless Mr. Chen pointed out the wrong ship!"
King Wu thought: "I have never heard of a bachelor named Jay Chou in the Hanlin Academy. Furthermore, General Xu said that the young man who was good at using poisonous darts was extremely skilled in martial arts and was very powerful. The Rongguo Mansion could not support such a person.
There are some hints of masters in the inner circle." Everyone was surprised. He added, "Some of the masters in the inner circle were taken away by Liu Dengxi, and some were subdued by King Yan. It is not impossible that King Yan sent people to protect Lin Hai.
"
Chen Ruiwen hurriedly said: "Lin Hai did not come to Suzhou from Beijing to say goodbye to King Yan happily, but was kidnapped by King Lu's people. Jia Cong and Jarvis led the bodyguards to rescue him in Cangzhou because he was upset.
Jian Jia Cong took the opportunity to instigate him to travel around and come south."
Mr. Wei said: "Students have sent people to investigate the battle of Cangzhou in detail that day. The bodyguards of the Taiping Bodyguard Bureau are very skilled, but they must not have the ability to defeat General Xu."
General Xu shouted: "Your Majesty! It is indeed that ship!"
The King of Wu meditated for a while, and then motioned to Zhang Yuan with his eyes. Zhang Yuan then told Chen Ruiwen again: "The day before yesterday, a young man came to the Yamen with a post from Rongguo Mansion, saying that it was Jia Shima who came to Wuxi from Beijing.
I was doing business, and I wanted to get a safe and non-fancy boat to cruise the lake tomorrow. I never mentioned Mr. Lin and Mr. Cong, nor did I mention hiring guards to get on the boat. In the early years, Xiaguan's father went to Beijing to donate his official position to replace Xiaguan.
Even with the connections to Rongguo Mansion, no county magistrate in Xiaguan District dared to offend these people, so they arranged a cruise for him."
Chen Ruiwen asked: "Where is the ship?"
Zhang Yuan turned to look at King Wu, who said: "In that case, let's go to the boat and take a look first."
King Wu then stood up, and Zhang Yuan led them to a small pier. There was only one ship moored on the pier, which was a bit dilapidated. When General Chen Ruiwen and Xu saw it, he said: "This is the ship!"
King Wu frowned and said: "It's so dilapidated! Why don't you find a new ship for Lord Lin?"
Zhang Yuan smiled bitterly and said: "Xiaguan thought it was a young steward from Rongguo Mansion who came to Wuxi on business and wanted to travel around the lake. It would be nice to get him a boat, and he also ordered the boatman to clean it up. After all, Xiaguan is an official of the imperial court. If it weren't for the sake of their government,
For my own sake, how can I serve these powerful slaves and their second master?" King Wu heard that it made sense, so he let it go.
The master personally led the way, and a group of people boarded the boat. General Xu repeatedly said, "This is the boat." The boatman and his wife were on the boat, and they came over to kowtow to the King of Wu. The King of Wu waved their hands to let them get up. Chen Ruiwen saw the boatman.
With gray hair and beard, he was shocked and pointed at him and said: "The boatman yesterday was not you!"
The boatman hurriedly knelt down again and said, "Sir, this boat is usually run by a young man, an old woman, and two children. When there are passengers, they bring a few young men for fun, and when there are no passengers, they also bring goods. But yesterday morning, it was early in the morning.
After the passengers boarded the ship, a young man in blue gave me twenty taels of silver and said that he had found another ship's lady to cook, and also invited a ship boss and three or four waiters. The two
Ten taels of silver is considered as the money for renting the boat. We don't need our family. Let us rest. Because the county magistrate is the middleman, I don't dare to ask for his deposit."
Mr. Wei smiled and said: "That twenty taels of silver is enough to buy your boat. You still have the nerve to ask for a deposit." He asked him to take the silver to see, but the boatman coyly refused to give it. Mr. Wei said, "I
I don’t want your money. How about I give you a rental fee of 20 yuan?” The boatman immediately took out the money from his arms. Mr. Wei took it and took a look at it and said, “Your Majesty, it is indeed Beijing.
The silver." He said and handed the silver over.
King Wu saw that it was not only the money from the capital, but also the official silver, and nodded. Mr. Wei returned the silver to the boatman, and actually gave him another twenty copper coins. He and his wife were so happy that they kowtowed.
Mr. Wei carefully searched the bow of the ship, snickered a few times, turned around and replied to King Wu: "If it is really this ship, and there has been a battle, there must be some clues left. Are both sides of the fight so accurate?"
The sword has never cut off the side, and the sword has never chopped into the side of the ship?"
When General Xu heard this, he hurriedly checked it again personally. The ship was quite old, but the cracks were old. There were no new ones, and there were no knife marks. He kept saying: "It's strange. It's strange."
…”
Chen Ruiwen led King Wu into the cabin from the bow and pointed him out one by one: "Here Mr. Lin and I sit and recite poems and drink tea, here I chat with Mr. Cong and eat snacks, and here we all eat together on the boat.
vegetable……"
After they all went in, Mr. Wei quietly pointed to a damaged area and asked the boatman: "What was damaged here? Do you still remember it?"
The boatman frowned and said, "I don't remember. Could it be that the boy who picked up the beans when they were transporting beans the month before hit it with a shovel?"
Mr. Wei said with a smile: "No problem, I'm just asking casually." After saying this, he walked towards the cabin.
The group of people walked around in a circle and found nothing wrong, so they left. King Wu also ordered someone to give the boatman ten taels of silver, and the boatman and his wife thanked him happily.
Mr. Wei laughed in a low voice and said: "The prince is very resourceful. The two of them originally made a living on the lake, and they are greedy for money. Needless to say, they will definitely praise the prince for his generosity and kindness when meeting people."
The King of Wu had money, so he gave it casually. He immediately became happy after receiving such a favor from him, and said with a smile: "I just feel pity for the people of Wu who work hard day and night." Everyone hurriedly followed up with a few words of flattery.
Returning to the county government office, Mr. Wei said: "Looking at it this way, I'm afraid we are not in the same boat." General Xu was about to argue, but swallowed it. He thought again, "My lord, this matter is really strange. How could it be possible?"
What a coincidence? The boat that General Xu chased was exactly the same as Mr. Lin's boat? And they also changed the boat boss and boat girl. Who is Bachelor Jay Chou from the Hanlin Academy? Where did he get so many masters on his boat? There were more than those on Lin Hai's boat.
It's also powerful, and has cast iron mines and hand crossbows."
Chen Ruiwen said: "It's not strange to change the boat girl. Jia Cong is a tricky talker. He must not be used to the ordinary boat girls. The boss of the boat change must be because Yang Song and Jarvis are cautious. The students guessed that the boats are probably Jia's horse shop.
Although they are all cargo ships, there are only a few ship bosses. Moreover, the students also recognize Jia Cong these days. Although he is young, he is very smooth and aggressive, and he is quite envious of the wealthy people in the green forest.
Their family even opened a brothel in Beijing! They were on Taihu Lake, and they bluntly said that they did not look down on the grass bandits. They ran away when there was a fight, which was not what Jia Cong said. But where did the ship that he fought with General Xu come from?
According to what General Xu said, the first wave he made was based on Mr. Wei's plan to have people dive under the water to penetrate the bottom of the boat. There were already many people wearing navy uniforms waiting under the boat."
"Oops!" Mr. Wei said, "I forgot!" He quickly stood up and said to King Wu, "Damn it! How can ordinary people have that? Unless they are officers and soldiers. Your Majesty, the so-called 'escort master'
They are officers and soldiers pretending to be. It is not certain who the scholar Zhou is on the ship is."
King Wu said: "How come their ship is exactly the same as Lin Hai's?"
Mr. Wei turned to Zhang Yuan and said, "Then when did Jarvis come to look for Mr. Zhang? And when did you take him to see the boat?"
Zhang Yuandao: "I came here the morning before yesterday. I can't remember the time. Because I was busy with official duties, I asked the master to take him to the dock to find the boat."
Chen Ruiwen said: "The day before yesterday, I went to Wuxi City with Mr. Lin and found an inn to rest for a while. Not long after, Jarvis came in and said that the boat was arranged."
Mr. Wei asked: "Who found the inn? How long did it take?"
"Jarvis found it without much effort."
Mr. Wei clapped his hands and said: "Students understand!" He stood up and bowed to King Wu, "Master Lin's disciple Jarvis is cautious by nature. I heard from Mr. Chen that when they were on a cruise in Suzhou, they specially invited him at the pier.
A few fishermen who knew how to swim temporarily acted as escorts, so the trip to Wuxi would not be taken lightly. Since Jia Cong had already planned to visit Wuxi, they must have contacted Jia's Horse Racing Company in Wuxi a few days ago and were ready to get acquainted with each other.
The boss of the boat in Taihu Lake is a young man who is good at water, and a boat girl who can cook boat dishes. If you don’t believe it, let’s ask someone to find out what the boatman looks like according to what Mr. Chen said. The student dares to say that he will definitely be found on the cargo ship of Jia’s Horse Company.
"
King Wu nodded and said, "Sir, continue."
Mr. Wei cupped his hands again and said: "Sir Lin, Mr. Chen and his party arrived in Wuxi the day before yesterday. Jarvis led the way to the inn. I think I have already found out where the inn is, so I followed the address and found it. Because Jia's Horse Company
There was no cruise ship, so he took advantage of the old friendship between Rongguo Mansion and Mr. Zhang and asked Mr. Zhang to get him a boat to cruise the lake. But he didn't realize that anyone was following him."
King Wu was shocked: "Following?"
Mr. Wei said: "Master in the field." Everyone in the room took a breath of cold air. He continued, "Mr. Lin will wait until the next day to travel to the lake. It will take most of the day and one night to pretend to be a similar boat.
.General Kuang Xu did not board the ship, but it looks similar on the outside. The cruise ships in Wuxi are basically the same."
After a long while, King Wu asked with a gloomy face: "Sir, what do you mean, what does this boatman do?"
Mr. Wei said: "I don't know, students. Either they want to rob Lord Lin, or they want to prevent us from robbing Lord Lin. If it is the former, they will ruin our affairs, and we will ruin theirs, but the follow-up will not be the same."
Let it go. If it’s the latter—" He smiled solemnly, "Your Majesty, there is a traitor among us."
Everyone was shocked and looked at each other. Even King Wu stood up and said, "Sir, please explain."
Mr. Wei waved his hand again and said: "It may be that there was a thief. Someone eavesdropped while I was waiting to discuss the strategy."
Everyone calmed down again.
He added: "It's just that Master Lin's ship has been followed by Master Chen's men in small boats since it left the port. That week, the bachelor's ship was able to find the opportunity to confuse the sight, but General Xu completely followed the wrong ship. The timing was perfect.