Chapter 10: Forgive me for my courage
Before noon the next day, more than eighty boats slowly sailed down from Xiayi Ferry.

The bodies left behind at the ferry had been cleaned up, and the newly dispatched county soldiers turned around and left immediately when they saw the large number of incoming boats.

Even the four gates of Xiayi County were closed, and the county magistrate wore double-legged armor and climbed the city walls to participate in the defense.

The city is some distance away from the Huoshui River. At noon, the river looks like a jade belt from afar.

At this moment, on this jade belt, more than a hundred ships are connected front and back and winding, and the number of people on them seems to be no less than a thousand.

The county magistrate did not dare to delay. He sent an urgent letter to the prime minister of Liang State and at the same time warned the counties of Qiu Qiu and Xiao in Pei State downstream to prevent them from being attacked by the rebellious bandits.

There are many oak trees planted in the county, so it is named "Lanqiu".

The terrain here is slightly higher and there are few lakes in the county.

The death of the Xiayi County Lieutenant served as a good warning to his colleagues. When Black Bear was operating two boats through this section of the river, there were no pedestrians in sight on both sides of the river. Even the villagers, common people, and tenants who were supposed to be working in the fields hid in the settlements and did not come out, as if they were avoiding the rebel army and bandits.

The road was smooth and we arrived at Xiao County before nightfall. Xiao County was on the north bank of Huoshui River, about one or two miles away.

The docks and houses outside the south gate of the county are connected for two or three miles, which shows that they were prosperous in the past, but most of them have become ruins, and the docks and water forts are even more deserted.

Xiao County is too close to the river and has received warnings from upstream.

When the black bear passed by, the county soldiers and the militiamen had already been mobilized to climb the city wall. About twenty steps apart on the city wall was a straw bundle filled with burning fish oil. The dense straw bundles made of this reed were very resistant to burning.

The boat docked at the north shore pier. Black Bear went ashore to stretch his body and looked at the alert defenders on the city wall with some surprise.

Are you making such a fuss over the death of a county lieutenant?
If thieves burn and kill a whole community of people, you wouldn't necessarily be that nervous, right?

After thinking about the principles behind it, I have more or less grasped the main idea.

Could it be that the incident of bandits killing the county lieutenant might be recorded in history books?
Or is it that the act of killing officials will directly trigger the sensitive nerves of officials from all over the country?

Killing civilians seems to be a different concept from killing officials?

Relying on its night vision, the black bear dismantled the fence of the dock water fort, and soon a flame two or three feet high rose up.

When the fire started, drums were beaten on the city walls to sound the alarm. At this moment, the county magistrate, county lieutenant, county assistant, and chief clerk all climbed up the city walls.

Due to the darkness, the people on the city wall could not see clearly how many bandits there were. While they were discussing, they saw a man holding a torch gradually approaching and stopping when he was about seventy or eighty steps below the city.

Looking more closely, it was clearly three or four figures, carrying a lot of firewood on their backs, which they piled up and ignited with torches.

When the fire started, the county magistrate called out to the archers on his left and right: "Shoot quickly! Kill the bandits!"

The county's elite archers were under the command of the county lieutenant. Lieutenant Xiao was about to give an order with a sullen look on his face, but the local county magistrate spoke up: "Sir, why not take another look at the thieves' intentions?"

The chief clerk was also a local, and he whispered, "The villages and towns outside the city are weak and unprepared. If we provoke the enemy army, the people may suffer heavy losses."

Seeing that the county lieutenant did not object or speak, the county magistrate nodded and said solemnly: "I also want to protect the city, officials and people. I would rather be punished by the court than to cause an unwarranted conflict."

Seeing his statement, the county magistrate and the chief clerk looked at each other, and the chief clerk volunteered: "I am willing to go and investigate the thieves."

"also may."

The county magistrate agreed after a little consideration. If possible, he did not want to offend the big families in Xiao County.

The big families of Pei State that have survived to this day are either long-standing wealthy families with the surname of Cao, or humble military families who have followed Cao Gong and made many military achievements in recent years.

Since he was unable to intercept and suppress the thieves when they crossed the border, the most he would suffer would be dismissal from office, but he would still be able to be employed in the future.

But if the conflict is exacerbated and the bandits kill too many people across the border, the big families in Xiao County will vent their anger on him... No one knows how many relatives with military merits there are among the poor common people in the villages and towns outside the city.

Cao Gong's hegemony is about to be achieved. To the nobles, powerful men and women from humble backgrounds and heroes in Pei State, every man and woman in Pei State is precious!

The same is true for Cao Gong. Every Pei citizen is the foundation of Cao's hegemony.

Soon, the chief clerk took a basket down the city wall, picked up the torch thrown from the top of the city wall, held it diagonally and walked forward towards the water fort at the dock.

The lieutenant of Xiayi County was killed in the battle, and Xiao County directly withdrew the garrison soldiers from the water fort outside the city.

He gradually approached the large campfire and saw Black Bear cooking fish soup, while some silhouettes of people were vaguely seen standing on the dock.

When they were about twenty steps away from the campfire, the black warrior in armor and masked face came over holding five tree trunks as thick as his arms, threw them on the campfire, and then stood five or six steps behind the black bear to keep watch.

The black warrior stood in position, and the chief clerk stepped forward and bowed: "I am Wang Dong, the chief clerk of Xiao County, and I am here to see the hero on the order of the county lord."

Black Bear had charcoal powder on his face. He took out the brocade bag from his waist bag and threw it to the man named Wang Dong: "This is my trophy. I don't want to kill anyone, but he insisted on blocking the way. Attacking and killing the government troops is really a last resort."

There was a ribbon hanging from the brocade bag. When Wang Dong picked it up, he knew it was the brocade bag with the seal and ribbon of the unlucky Xiayi Wei. He took it out and observed it for a while, and recognized that it was indeed the seal of Xiayi Wei.

After putting it in place, he took two steps forward with both hands and put it down, bowed slightly and clasped his hands: "Hero, rest assured, my county lord has been adhering to the way of protecting the territory and the people since he took office, and the praises of the people are not false. All the heroes who have passed by, from the county lord down, have no hostility."

"I have no hostility towards the officials and people of Xiao County."

The black bear immediately expressed his opinion, and changed the subject, saying: "To avoid being looked down upon, please give me a stone of good rice and two pieces of silk. It is a bit unreasonable to ask for weapons, so just take these."

Wang Dong was surprised to hear this. He frowned and thought for a while before asking, "May I ask if the hero is just passing through here, or will we have more exchanges in the future?"

"I'll be back."

Black Bear looked at the man and couldn't help but smile: "How come Wang Zhubu has a better suggestion?"

"I dare not. I have a small fortune in this county, and I have long wanted to find a hero to do something for me."

Wang Dong took a step closer and whispered, "My family is good at brewing wine, but we have no way to sell it." In order to store food for the war, the Xudu court repeatedly reiterated the ban on alcohol.

Black Bear frowned as he listened. He thought about it and realized that this family industry was in the midst of a cold winter. The only people in the Central Plains who could consume large amounts of alcohol were the wealthy and powerful people in Xudu.

Since we are all powerful people, it is safer to brew wine quietly. Why buy wine?
It is very inconvenient to transport wine from here to Xudu by water. One has to go upstream along the Weishui River and enter the Langdang Canal, and then go downstream along the Langdang Canal to transport the wine to Xudu.

You have to go through many checkpoints along the way. Even if you have a legal identity, it is difficult to drink alcohol legally unless you travel at night.

Seeing that Black Bear was not interested, Wang Dong said, "I have relatives in Lanling. What do you think of the fine wine of Lanling?"

Lanling is in Donghai County, Xuzhou. How could Xuzhou obey Xudu’s prohibition on alcohol?

After thinking for a while, Black Bear said, "I am not free in the short term. If it is Lanling wine, I will send someone to find you when I want to go to Xudu."

Wang Dong smiled and said, "I can have someone transport the wine to Xia Pi. Only Cao Gong's rule has a strict ban on alcohol. We can also sell it for a good price if we transport it to Chenliu. Shanyang and Jiyin are closer, so it's not very cost-effective."

Wang Dong pointed to Xiao County and said, "Although this county is not rich, the hero pities the people and only asks for two pieces of plain silk and one stone of rice. This will inevitably make the county lord and county lieutenant look down on him. Please forgive me for being so bold and ask for a hundred times the amount."

Black Bear was silent for a moment, looking carefully at Wang Dong with a friendly smile, and for a moment he didn't know how to evaluate this outstanding scholar.

Considering his own transportation capacity, he nodded reluctantly: "That's fine, just give me 30%."

"The county lord and county lieutenant are outsiders, so it's not difficult to get rid of them."

As Wang Dong spoke, he turned his head slightly to look at the armored warrior who was standing upright and motionless five or six steps behind the black bear. Such warriors are hard to find, but warriors with such strong obedience are even rarer.

Such a brave man is like a death warrior.

Being an enemy of such a person is a terrible thing that makes people lose sleep and eat.

Retracting his gaze, Wang Dong said seriously, "Not only cloth and rice, but also gold. If a hero has ten points of strength, he should ask for ten points of money and cloth. To facilitate bargaining with the county lord and county lieutenant, I will also ask for armor, swords, bows and crossbows, arrows and other items. Later, I will invite the county magistrate and county lieutenant to come to negotiate, and spare the armor and weapons, so as to get money and cloth."

"Mr. Wang, you are my friend now, my good friend, you have to sit down and talk!"

Black Bear's interest suddenly increased. He raised his hand and pointed. Wang Dong took a step forward and sat cross-legged on the ground. Then he heard Black Bear say, "I won't let my friends suffer. I only want half of the gold and cloth. The rest belongs to you. You can take it all or give some to others."

"You are truly a hero. May I ask your name?"

"I cannot elaborate on my surname or hometown, so as not to bring shame to my ancestors. I have always loved geese, so Mr. Wang can call me General White Goose."

As the black bear spoke, he waved towards the dark corner of the dock. A mature white goose flapped its unusually broad wings and ran over quickly, causing Wang Dong to glance sideways in amazement.

The big white goose approached and landed in the black bear's arms. It was very heavy, and its body looked bulky due to its fluffy feathers. When the goose's neck stood up, it was two feet taller than the black bear.

Holding the big white goose, Black Bear said to Wang Dong, who had calmed down, with a smile: "If I don't die, I will be famous all over the world."

"I deeply agree with you."

Wang Dong had never seen such a big goose. It was possible that this big goose could kill a child in one bite.

Then he bowed to Black Bear and said, "I am grateful for the trust of General Goose. I shall repay you. The county lord fears General Goose's might, so more than 30 large and small boats that stayed at our county's customs have been evacuated to the downstream. If General Goose is interested, you can go and take them."

Then he took out a half-burned stick from the fire and drew a map of the waterway on the ground, and pointed at the third tributary downstream: "From here, about twenty miles down, you can see a mountain stream after passing a hill. There are mountains on both sides of the water, so it is not difficult to identify. Most of them are merchant ships, and there are no official ships."

"If I don't take it, wouldn't I be disappointing my friend's expectations?"

Black Bear then asked, "If we want to recruit skilled sailors, can we only borrow people from merchant ships?"

The chaos during these twenty years was basically fought on land, especially in the Central Plains, and there were very few naval battles.

Wang Dong answered without hesitation: "If it is between Qingzhou and Xuzhou, the Qingzhou Guancheng is stationed overseas, and his subordinates are proficient in naval warfare; the ship merchants and the Huai and Si fishermen are also good choices. If the E general is short of naval forces, he can swallow this caravan. This Jiangdong Xu family fleet is good at naval warfare."

He smiled and said, "I heard that all the people on the ship were Wu girls and Yue girls."

Seeing the lewd smile, Black Bear didn't understand but reacted: "What are you transporting these for?"

"Lord Cao's army is stationed in Chenliu, so they should be going to strengthen the military market."

Wang Dong sighed as he spoke: "Since the Sun clan's invasion of Jiangdong, the counties and towns they passed through have been destroyed, and many men and women have been captured."

"I understand. I will do my best to save him. How should I transfer the money and silk I get later to Mr. Wang?"

"This is easy to hear."

Wang Dong smiled, and Black Bear also understood that this group of officials had no intention of paying the full amount, so there was no need for them to make any transfer payments.

As Wang Dong left to pass on the information and communicate, Black Bear also figured out this guy's intention of betraying the caravan. This was to divert his attention so that he would not attack the people of Xiao County.

As for whether the Xu family fleet was transporting women or children, Wang Dong didn't care and just mentioned it casually.

Soon, the south gate of Xiao County was opened.

Two ox carts loaded with gold, cloth, and rice came slowly, which surprised Black Bear.

This Wang Dong even skipped the bargaining process between the two parties.

The ox cart unloaded the cargo at the end of the firelight, turned around and drove away.

Wang Dong stayed behind and bowed deeply to the black bear from afar before getting in the car and leaving.

(End of this chapter)