Chapter 13 Target Xia Pi
There were three transport ships in front, and the last ship was still towing two ships, one large and one small.

These transport ships are similar in size and shape, all are flat-bottomed boats, with three floors above and below, nearly eighty feet long from front to back, and a little over two feet wide.

From bottom to top is the storage cabin, the middle is the living cabin, which is also the place for rowing; there is a small wooden cabin at the rear of the deck, which is called the sparrow room. The layout and structure of the tower ships and warships are similar. There are several floors above the deck of the warship, and a sparrow room and wooden building for command are built at the rear.

The four sides of the bird room roof are equipped with chest-high protective wooden boards to protect several archers.

There are oars extending from both sides of the second-floor living cabin, with a total of ten pairs of oars; there are no side rowing oars after the ten pairs of oars. The side rowing oars can only be operated by one person due to coordinated operation, and the larger the boat is, the lower the efficiency.

After the side rowing oars are removed, the large tail oar is operated by four people working together.

This transport ship does not have a stern rudder, and the stern oar can replace the stern rudder to fine-tune the course, which is directly commanded by the bow in the sparrow room.

There are masts and stiff sails in the boat.

This type of transport ship sacrificed some of its carrying capacity and enhanced rowing efficiency. It was a modification made for the Central Plains water system.

There are many winds between the Yangtze River and the Huai River, so there is no need for too many oars and manpower.

On the wooden building of the sparrow room, Black Bear placed his hands on the guardrail and looked around, feeling quite emotional.

This is just a small transport ship in the Yangtze River Basin. Standing on the bird room, the eye level is four or five meters higher than that of a small fishing boat!
The reeds growing on both sides of the river no longer block the view, and one can see far into the depths of the reed beds.

Height is an advantage!
Large transport ships, giant battleships, and legendary flagship ships that can carry thousands of people... It would be very exciting to command one and travel between the Yangtze River and the Huai River.

Compared to fighting on horseback, it seems safer and more romantic to command a warship to charge recklessly.

Black Bear's eyes were shining as he was looking forward to the future. He asked Xuan Liang: "How do people build ships in Jiangdong?"

"There is a captain in charge of ships, who is assigned to exiles, criminals, and sons-in-law. I don't know how to build ships or where the most ships are built. But the Three Wus have been used for shipbuilding for hundreds of years and there are no hundred-year-old timbers. Most of the timber is taken from Yuzhang, Lujiang, and the dense forests of Shanyue."

Xuan Liang thought for a while before answering, and then asked, "If you like the huge warships, you can go to Jingzhou. Liu Jingsheng's Jiangxia Huang Zu had a blood feud with the Sun family. In the fourth year of Jian'an, Sun Bofu defeated Huang Zu and took more than 6,000 large and small ships. When I left Jiangdong, I heard that Huang Zu wanted to build huge warships, which were the kind of amazing works."

During the Han Dynasty, there were already large warships with tower ships that could carry thousands of people. If Huang Zu wanted to make a big move, he naturally could not hide it from Jiangdong.

"I don't want to go to Jingzhou for the time being. After replenishing the sailors in Xiapi, I will go up along the Sishui River."

Thinking of the destruction of Pengcheng and Xiapi, the former commercial centers, Black Bear couldn't help but sigh: "I still need to purchase armor and equipment, as well as mercury, lacquer and other items. With the chaos in the Central Plains, mercury will probably be hard to buy."

Watching more short videos related to the craft can give you a general impression, that is, when mercury mixed with gold is heated, liquid gold can be obtained. After applying it to the object and heating it to evaporate the mercury, the object can be gilded.

Gold can also be hammered into gold foil or ground into gold powder and pasted on the black warrior's armor or clothes, and then coated with transparent lacquer to reinforce it.

I think that in times of chaos, business declined and luxury consumables like mercury were out of circulation.

For example, someone like Cao Cao would definitely have no interest in useless things like mercury.

Xuan Liang listened and thought about it, and said with his own knowledge: "If the amount of mercury needed by the commander is small, you can go to Langya Dao Palace to buy it. If the amount is large, you can go to Xiangyang and Jiangling, where there are all kinds of mercury in the world. As for armor and equipment, it is really inconvenient to buy them. In my humble opinion, you can occupy the Iron Mountain to make them yourself."

As for manpower, technical talents and the like, just go and grab them.

As expected of a third-generation old official of the Sun family, Black Bear asked again, "I heard from people in Xiao County that there were many Wu girls and Yue girls on the boat. Why are there none on the boat?"

"The Xiao people were unaware of the true situation. To avoid being robbed by pirates, I lied to the outside world and said that I was sending military equipment to the Chenliu camp."

Xuan Liang realized that he was wrong, so he immediately changed his words and said, "It was because of Cao Gong's old reputation that they believed him easily. It was also because Sun captured many men and women when he attacked Jiangdong in the early years. In order to obtain military supplies, he sold some women to the Central Plains. But since Cao Gong collected household taxes, his officials and soldiers have used cloth as their salary. Jiangdong has no shortage of cloth, so they stopped this kind of business."

"It's a pity."

Black Bear turned around and sat on the wooden couch, squinting his eyes lazily in the sun, and said to Xuan Liang who was squatting beside him, "After we recruit sailors and make them proficient in sailing and oars, we will go to Chenliu. Think about whether there are any notorious families along the way. The common people are poor, so there is no point in robbing them. Killing the rich and helping the poor is the righteous act favored by heaven."

Xuan Liang also frowned and thought hard. Now with the endorsement of Sun Quan and Xu Kun, this transport team was still legal and safe for the time being.

Cao Hong is currently expecting that the journey to Chenliu and Xudu will be safe; but as long as Cao Hong arrives at Xudu and fails to get the desired wealth, this small fleet will immediately be blacklisted and become bandits.

As for whether he could successfully rob the rich and help the poor, Xuan Liang had no doubt about it.

After thinking for a moment, Xuan Liang shook his head and said, "General, you don't know that under Lord Cao's rule, the Central Plains was in ruins and the products were poor. Lord Cao advocated diligence and thrift. There were many powerful people in the Central Plains who had bad reputations, but most of them lived a simple life."

Worried that his own leader was too young to understand, Xuanliang carefully explained the situation: "It's not that the powerful people in the Central Plains respect the teachings of diligence and frugality, it's really that Cao Gong's General Fa Qiu and Lieutenant Mo Jin are terrifying. Since Cao Gong raised the righteous army to fight against Dong, he has always suffered from insufficient military supplies, and no graves he passed by were intact. If the dead are like this, how dare the living be so presumptuous?"

That’s right, under the rule of Central Plains today, do you dare to show off your wealth?
Valuable items, including copper objects that were not essential for daily life, were also buried and hidden.

In other words, although one took risks in breaking through the strongholds of local tyrants and evil gentry, one could not obtain gold, bronze, or five-zhu coins on the spot.

It's not true love for gold or bronze, these are just materials in Black Bear's eyes, materials for making stronger cards.

In the short term, this transport fleet is safe as it is covered in a legal cloak and does not take the initiative to cause trouble.

The other end.

"What white goose thief?"

"Have we become white goose thieves?" In front of the bonfire at night, the families of Mengze gathered together. As Zhang Jun reported some information about what happened today, the Ding Zhuang who were in charge of each family were all shocked.

Since taking refuge in this river, poor people from nearby areas who heard the news have come to seek refuge in the afternoon, bringing with them the latest news from Xiao County.

The twenty or so ships that were captured were divided up in the morning. Even if you didn't get these ships, you still got the old ships that were scrapped and replaced. At the very least, you still got the supplies.

This behavior is no different from robbery.

Zhang Jun said, "My advice is useless. The people who came to surrender are from Pei. Zhang Feng and his gang have already thought about accumulating manpower to strengthen themselves. If they go to Huainan, they will lead more than a thousand young men. They are also from the same hometown as Liu Shijun, so it will not be difficult for them to be appointed as officials."

Song Wu also told the people around him about his worries: "I am worried that after the Pei people become strong, they will have evil intentions to annex us. Killing us as thieves will not only gain wealth and merit, but also eliminate future troubles."

The young and strong were even more surprised. A middle-aged man with a scar on his face laughed grimly: "Song brothers are not joking. Zhang Feng and his gang are from Pei after all. They are from the same hometown as Liu Shijun and Cao Aman. If we are falsely accused of being the White Goose Thieves after we die, the world will believe it. But if we point to this group of Pei people and say they are the White Goose Thieves, I think no one in the court will believe it."

"If we wait any longer, there will be more people from Pei, and we will be no match for them."

A middle-aged man said, "Why not part ways with them early and pursue our own livelihoods? At worst, if we don't go to Huainan, we can settle down in Huaibei."

"Yes, Brother Song and I share the same opinion."

Zhang Jun stared at the men in charge of the various families around him and said, "No matter how Zhang Feng persuades us tomorrow, we will leave first. If we can shake them off, we will do so. If we can't, we will camp separately at night! As long as we enter the territory of Pengcheng and Xiapi, if anyone surrenders, they will also go to us. People from Xuzhou and Pei cannot go together."

Song Wu also spoke up: "That's right. The sooner we enter Xuzhou, the safer we will be. The more people from Xuzhou we recruit, the more wary the people from Pei will be. Maybe we can support each other and go to Huainan together. So tomorrow, men and women must make up their minds. If we slack off and give in, there will be no good end."

The scarred man also threatened: "Men will be killed, and their wives and daughters will become slaves. Don't think the people of Pei will be lenient, even boys of a few years old can't escape the slaughter. Don't think my words are harsh, if you don't believe me, go ask the people of Xuzhou."

"Bah! Just do it!"

A young man had a fierce look on his face: "The White Goose Thief is right in front of us. My brothers and I will not bow to the Pei people even if we are White Goose Thief!"

"Yes, it is better to follow the White Goose Thief than to be annexed by the Pei people."

The people around him expressed their opinions one after another, and Heiyun nodded and said to his peers around him: "It is better to be a bandit than a slave of Pei people."

It didn't take long for everyone to reach a consensus. Zhang Jun felt relieved when he saw this. He was afraid that everyone would have different opinions and be suppressed by the people of Pei, and that they would be easily annexed and divided and disintegrated.

Once the cohesion is lost, when the people of Pei raise their knives to kill or chop you up, you will have no bargaining position.

After the meeting, Song Wu stood up and looked at the Pei people's camp on the opposite bank. The bonfire there was even more blazing, and the place was bustling with people.

In just one day, the people of Liang were powerful in the morning, but in the afternoon, as the poor people from Pei around them came to surrender, it was the turn of the people of Pei to be powerful.

However, the White Goose Thieves were roaming around in the nearby waters, so the people of Pei could not show much power.

It is better to keep your tail between your legs than to attract white goose thieves.

Song Wu watched for a moment, and Zhang Jun beside him asked with a smile: "Brother Song, how long do you think they can run rampant?"

"When the news of the assembly of the county soldiers comes, the people of Pei will panic."

Song Wu said confidently, "The Pei people who are good at fighting have joined the army to serve the court, while those who stay in the countryside to survive are nothing but grass. The soldiers of the counties and states are either gathered in Xiang County or in Xiao County, which are a hundred miles apart. They can rush to the battlefield by boat at any time. How can Zhang Feng and his ilk not panic?"

But there was no smile on Song Wu's face. If the county soldiers really blocked the waterway, then in order to prove their innocence, this group of Pei people might really kill them.

It is wise to not wait until the danger really comes to an end before reacting and to leave the potentially dangerous situation as soon as possible.

Heiyun also returned to his own boat, pulled out his ring-handled sword and wiped it with fish oil. His pregnant wife sat on the boat, and his two daughters and youngest son snuggled up to their mother, covered with a quilt.

The two older sons were standing by the boat. They were about twelve or thirteen years old. One was the biological son and the other was the stepson, but neither of them smiled.

When the fire was about to go out, Heiyun put away his sword and took out two rusty spear blades from the side and handed them out, saying, "There are no weapons at home. Make spears out of bamboo and wood. If trouble really breaks out, follow me and fight if you can. If you are defeated or I die, run away. The farther the better. Go to Xia Pi if you can."

There is also a kitchen knife at home, which is carried by my wife at all times.

When things really come to the end of their rope, he believes his wife will make a decisive choice.

This is the way the world is. The dead people of Xuzhou cannot tell the world about the cruelty of the people of Pei.

Children growing up in troubled times should adapt to this fate.

Hei Silang felt the blade of his spear and asked, "Did Third Brother really go to Xia Pi?"

"The words he carved on the wood board are Xia Pi. If you get separated, go to Xia Pi to find him."

Heiyun looked at his two sons who were expressionless due to nervousness. In the darkness, he couldn't tell each other's specific expressions. "I think he followed the White Goose Thief. I was worried at first, but after listening to Zhang Jun and Song Wu, following the thief is not a bad thing."

The career prospects of a thief are broad. Isn’t it seen that five or six county governors and prime ministers in Xuzhou were once bandit leaders?

(End of this chapter)