Travel through space and help the prince’s husband in construction

There are many people in the fleet, and everyone has his or her own concerns. Among them, Lord Zhang and Hu Wenshu often get together and quietly plan what to do next.

He also planned how to use the power of the Wen family to help them get promoted in official positions.

The two had also speculated about Mrs. Wen's thoughts. They both agreed that even if Mrs. Wen discovered their plan, she would not expose it directly.

Even if Lord Wen doubted their escort behavior, he would not expose them directly, but would explore their true thoughts.

The two had already heard that after Lord Wen came here to work, he had open and covert conflicts with local officials.

The local officials said one thing on the surface and another behind the scenes, so Lord Wen needed to recruit more confidants and officials who would obey his orders.

The two of them escorted the fleet here this time to make it clear that they wanted to join Lord Wen.

As long as they are not found to have done anything unforgivable by Lord Wen, they will definitely be valued by Lord Wen.

Therefore, the two of them behaved very calmly along the way and had no fear of their conspiracy being exposed.

The two ruffians who were traveling with them remained alert at all times. They knew the importance of this mission very well. If they made any mistakes again, their lives would be in danger.

They, along with an official and a boatman, were several hundred meters ahead of the fleet to inquire about the situation on the waterway. The boat was small but fast.

In some places, the current is turbulent. Large ships are not afraid of it, but small ships have to pass through it carefully to avoid being overturned by the sudden eddies.

On the fifth day, the four of them were still exploring the way ahead. The familiar water surface was normal. However, the boat they were in was suddenly dragged by an unknown force in the water, causing the boat to capsize.

However, the four people on the boat all grew up near the water, so they can swim naturally and are particularly good at it.

However, if the boat capsized, they would have to follow the current and swim to the shore in an area with gentle currents.

They had an accident in front, and the big ship behind them also noticed it, so they slowed down their speed.

But apart from the boat capsizing, nothing unusual was noticed on the water.

The captain of the lead ship led the fleet and headed towards the accident site very cautiously.

When they arrived at the accident site, nothing unusual happened. The captain breathed a sigh of relief. The fleet behind them didn't know what happened, and just adjusted their speed according to the fleet in front.

Unexpectedly, when the fleet was passing through the waters where the accident occurred, the lead ship discovered the accident. The crew member in charge of guarding the bottom of the ship shouted loudly: "It's bad, there are water ghosts under the ship, digging at the bottom of the ship. Send someone to stop them quickly."

If the water ghosts are not stopped immediately from destroying the hull, the ship will leak in no time.

Once a large ship leaks, it is very dangerous and the ship must be stopped immediately at the shore to repair the hull.

There is no village in front and no shop behind.

There are high mountains on the left side of the river bank, and a forest not far away on the right side. There are no houses within ten miles before and after.

If the ship docked here and encountered robbers waiting on the shore, the cargo on the ship would not be the most terrible thing, but the passengers on the ship would also be in danger. They could rob the owner of the property or even kidnap the person and demand that his family pay money to redeem him.

There are also some crew members on the ship who are very good at swimming. If they find any abnormality on the bottom of the ship, they will send people underwater to fight with the water ghost that is destroying the ship.

But when the people on the boat took off their clothes and jumped into the water, the water ghost who was on the boat had already swam back to the shore.

The crew members who were sent down were all very skilled. They asked the captain whether they should chase those water ghosts?

The captain of the first ship asked them to return quickly. It was not advisable to stay here for long. Since the water ghosts had already landed, they might as well take this opportunity to pass through this dangerous place quickly.

However, when the people on the ship were pulling the crew members in the water onto the ship, the water ghosts who were ambushing in other places quietly ran to the bottom of the ship and began to rob the ship.

When the crew went into the water again, the second wave of water ghosts returned to the shore.

The pirates were numerous and powerful, and they took turns to attack the boat like a monkey show, which made the crew members exhausted. They no longer had the strength to fight the pirates.

At this time, the entire fleet knew that they had encountered water ghosts, and these water ghosts were very difficult to deal with.

The pirates had been playing a cat-and-mouse game with the crew protecting the fleet. The crew on board were very nervous, fearing that the ship would be breached, which would put their lives in real danger.

Everyone wants to see how Lord Zhang handles such a difficult matter?

On the way, Lord Zhang knew that the fleet was under his jurisdiction the day before yesterday, and he had already sent people to reach an agreement with those pirates. Therefore, there was no need to worry.

Now, the fleet has gone far away from his jurisdiction. He appeared calm, but he had other plans in mind. He knew that although those pirates would also make a profit, they were just small-time rioters. He asked for a toll and then let the fleet go.

But this time, he wanted these people to do something big together. At least they should be more powerful than usual. They would make the owners and captains of the ship dare not underestimate them. They would be intimidated.

Now, the pirates threatened the fleet with boat-drilling water ghosts and offered large amounts of silver to buy the right to pass.

However, the fleet owners discovered that the number of pirates this time was much greater.

The amount of silver they demanded was so exorbitant that it made all the ship owners feel painful.

The toll for a boat is five hundred taels of silver.

These merchants bargained with the gouache because the goods on the ship, although profitable, would not exceed one thousand taels at most.

Usually a few hundred taels of silver is good.

Some people transported some worthless items, because the cost was low and the risk was small, so the profit was also small. A shipload of goods could only earn two or three hundred taels of silver.

Now the pirates demand five hundred taels of silver for a boat. Not only will the trip not make any money, but the boat will even lose two or three hundred taels. No one will agree to this easily.

However, the pirates are becoming more and more powerful, and it seems that they will not let you pass unless you pay the money.

Because they have now clamored: "After an incense stick of time, if the owner of any ship does not agree to take the silver, we will let the water ghosts drill a hole in the bottom of the ship."

Do you want to throw all the goods and people into the river, or leave in peace? It's your choice."

The louder these pirates shouted, the more frightened the boat owners became, because they shouted, "Listen, everyone on the boat, if you want to survive, you must collect the silver quickly.

After paying enough silver, the ship and all the people were safe.

Otherwise, the ship, cargo and lives would be lost.

If you don't pay, you will leave the ship, cargo and people behind.

The ship owners were so angry at these unreasonable bandits that they vomited blood, but they did not dare to resist.

The louder the bandits shouted, the more frightened the fleet owners became.

At the critical moment, the county magistrate, Mr. Zhang, led Hu Shushu and the officials to step forward.

He was not afraid of the pirates. He sincerely advised the leader of the pirates, appealed to their emotions and reason, and made some promises.

What made all the merchant ship owners unbelievable was that those vicious pirates actually respected Lord Zhang so much.

Magistrate Zhang's authority was particularly useful to them, and he actually persuaded these greedy bandits to retreat.

Some ship owners were also wondering if Mr. Zhang had any connection with these pirates. Everyone was acting together.

But they didn't quite understand the current situation. After all, those pirates had just behaved very ferociously.

If Lord Zhang had not shown up, their ship would have really been breached by the boat-smashing ghosts.

If the ship cannot reach the shore in time, it will sink in this bottomless and turbulent river.

Therefore, these ship owners were very grateful to County Magistrate Zhang.

They don't care whether there is a conspiracy or not, they only care about whether the ship can reach its destination safely.

It now seems that County Magistrate Zhang's presence on board can indeed protect them from arriving at their destination safely.

Mrs. Wen was also on the boat, watching the entire incident unfold.

She still believed that County Magistrate Zhang and Hu Wenshu were somehow in collusion with these pirates.

However, there is no way to verify the specific collusion and conspiracy between them.

But at least now those water ghosts no longer dig at the bottom of the boat.

Everyone on the boat felt relieved.

Otherwise, if the bottom of the boat leaked, their fate would be very tragic, either being taken hostage or being sunk to the bottom of the river.

No matter who you are, you have to obey the vicious pirates.

Just now those pirates shouted: The toll for one boat is five hundred taels of silver.

It's not that Mrs. Wen couldn't afford the silver, but based on her experience, she judged that if these pirates easily took the toll of 500 taels of silver for each boat, they would use the same trick again on the next section of the road.

After the pirates had emptied all the money they had, they would definitely seize the ship and the cargo. It was still unknown whether the people on the ship could be released.

Mrs. Wen was very worried about the chaotic local transportation environment.

Her husband was demoted to Quanzhou as a prefect because his friend Yang Daotai, who was the same age as him, was threatened by local evil forces including bandits and pirates when he was a prefect here, and the decrees issued by the court were difficult to be seriously implemented here.

Moreover, although Yang Daotai tried every possible means to properly protect the convoy transporting tax silver, all the tax silver for the year was still robbed by the bandits.

The king issued an order that Yang Daotai be punished severely, dismissed from his post, investigated, all his property confiscated, and his entire family reduced to slavery and sold immediately.

Wen Lord pleaded for Yang Daotai. He argued: "Your Majesty, the poor local security is not the fault of Yang Daotai alone, but the banditry that has formed in the entire Quanzhou Dao for many years is difficult to cure. Lord Yang can't change the local security environment in a short time even if he tries his best."

The king saw that this Lord Wen dared to stand up and overturn his judgment. The king immediately glared at Lord Wen and asked him to continue.

Lord Wen defended his friend, “Your Majesty, as everyone knows, Yang Daotai has only been in office for one year.

He took office in the winter of last year, and after more than half a year of hard work, he was able to establish a cooperative situation with local officials and businessmen.

Yang Daotai spent a long time communicating with local officials and merchants before he was able to promulgate various decrees. Tax revenue also increased by half compared to previous years.

Yang Daotai worked very diligently in Quanzhou and did not dare to slack off at all.

He and his trusted men finally collected the tax money.

In order to ensure the safe arrival of tax silver at the royal capital, they chose two modes of transportation: land and water.

Not only did they dispatch officials, but they also hired a famous local escort company to escort the tax silver.

In order to ensure that the transportation route and time of the small silver coins would not be known to bandits, they disguised the vehicles and ships carrying the silver.

During the transportation, he doubled the number of manpower, but still could not escape the pursuit and blockade of local bandits.

These bandits were not only well-informed, but also tipped off local insiders, and learned the transportation route of the tax silver.

They have rich experience in robbery. The robbers can judge whether the boats and vehicles are loaded with heavy metals from the wheel tracks and the depth of the boats' draft. Therefore, they can judge which vehicles and boats are loaded with silver.