Chapter 6 An unexpected encounter
At night, the hidden boat was pushed into the water.

Black Bear sat at the stern of the boat thinking about a way out. At the bow, the black warrior held the oar and paddled left and right, and the boat gradually approached the exit.

The closer you get, the faster the water moves, and you can clearly feel the change in boat speed.

After entering the river, Black Bear gathered his thoughts and began to accurately direct the Black Warrior to row the boat.

With Mengze as the boundary, the upper reaches of the river are called Weishui, and the lower reaches leading to Sishui are called Huoshui.

After driving two or three miles into the river, we saw the checkpoint set up by Yucheng. However, after nightfall, there were two bonfires outside the water fort at the dock, but no obvious patrolling soldiers.

After winning the Battle of Guandu the year before, he defeated Yuan Shao's returning attack at Cangting, and defeated and expelled Liu Shijun, the Left General and Governor of Yuzhou, to the south.

Liang State was actually the hinterland of the Xudu court, and the night patrols were only to guard against thieves, rather than night curfew patrols at the level of war.

Even with such laxity, Black Bear still saw a figure swaying on the arrow tower of the water fort, who seemed to be observing the changes in the river and the road.

The black bear took out a magic berry and ate it... If he was really discovered, he would throw the black warrior to the south bank to attract the enemy and row out by boat; if that didn't work, he would jump into the water and drift.

If you drift farther away, you can call out the big white goose and float while holding it.

As for the three geese on the boat, they were lost, so it was not worth the risk of life.

The boat went along the current without any accidents.

There are more than ten miles of waterway left. There is a dock three or four miles away, and after another ten miles, there is a small water fortress connecting land and water.

As luck would have it, when I was about to pass the pier, I saw a man holding a torch and coming out of the water village, followed by another man holding a fishing rod and a small stool.

There was no way to avoid it, so the two men sat on the dock, each holding a fishing rod and casting their rods one after another, with torches inserted diagonally on the side, looking very comfortable with each other.

A dozen steps away, the black bear on the boat stopped paddling, and the current pushed the boat downstream to continue floating.

One of them noticed the outline and traces of a small boat floating in the river, and quietly nudged his companion with his elbow.

Both of them were military officers, wearing sleeveless leather armor inlaid with iron plates, and they also wore leather helmets when it was windy at night.

But they didn't bring bows and crossbows, only swords and harpoons. One of them tilted his head and said, "Get some old rice to make a nest."

"Yes, otherwise it would be hard to see any gains."

Another person even leaned over to look at the water surface where the pole was hanging, and pretended to get up and go back to the camp.

"Ugh……"

Black Bear closed his eyes and took a long breath. The Black Warrior turned into Ka. He clamped his right hand between his palm and fingers, opened his eyes and started skipping stones towards the South Bank Pier.

The black warrior appeared on the shore, holding a ring-handled sword, and rushed to the military officer who was about to turn around in five or six steps at a time, and slashed the ring-handled sword into the man's neck.

The knife was almost two inches into the flesh. He grabbed the handle with both hands and pulled out the blade diagonally, but he almost cut off half of the opponent's neck.

Hot blood splashed out, and before the black warrior could move, the squatting officer rolled backwards and was about to stand up, draw his sword and shout.

At this time, the tall and long-legged black warrior caught up with him in a step and a half, holding the ring-handled knife in both hands and slashed swiftly, directly hitting the opponent's leather helmet, causing the leather helmet with hardened lacquer on the surface to be dented.

This blow made the opponent dizzy, and the ring-handled sword he had just drawn fell to the ground. His body swayed and he fell backwards.

The black warrior didn't make any unnecessary moves. As soon as the opponent fell down, he stabbed him through the nose and into the brain.

"What kind of fish are you fishing for in the middle of the night!"

The boat approached the dock, pulled the two warm, bleeding bodies onto the boat, cleaned them up a bit, and then rowed away, leaving behind a slanted torch that continued to burn with the flickering flames of fish oil.

They rowed hard and stopped only when they reached the mouth of the water diversion river, twenty or thirty miles away.

The blood of the corpses on the boat overflowed and accumulated. Black Bear looked around at the two river branches in front of him. According to his memory, the main river here leads to Xiayi and Xiaoxian; it merges into Sishui in the east of Xiaoxian, which is close to Xuzhou and Pengcheng; and the tributary in front of him is Fengshui, which merges into another large marsh, passes through Fengxian after leaving the marsh, and then merges into Sishui, and the place where it merges into Sishui is Peixian.

Pei County was an important water transport hub in the upper reaches of the Sishui River, with a customs officer for collecting taxes. After the Sishui River flowed out of Pei County, it was Guangwei and Liu County of the Pengcheng State of Xuzhou.

A water transport hub like Pei County at the junction of states and counties was an important place for commerce and tariffs in times of peace, but became a battleground for military strategists in times of chaos.

Following his simple geographical knowledge, Black Bear steered the boat along the main trunk.

Once we pass Xiaoxian and avoid the inspection in Pengcheng, we will be truly free.

Cao Cao was from Qiao County, which was located on the west side of Pei State and was also the location of the original capital of Yuzhou Prefecture.

After the defeat of the Left General and Governor of Yuzhou, Liu Shijun, Pei State had become a stronghold of Cao's clan, so Xiao County was relatively easy to deal with. The most difficult place was Pengcheng, which is now the eastern gate of Pei State.

Pengcheng is a fortified Pei county, and there must be a fleet patrolling at night!
There are many small tributaries in the Weishui River Basin, and there are also tributaries to take in the lower reaches, but if you are not familiar with the river routes, you will only get lost if you run around.

These were all the useful information I had. In fact, I was completely lost after passing this water diversion. I only knew that after merging into the Sishui River, it could flow into the Huaishui River. Then, after going upstream along the Huaishui River for who knows how many miles, I would find a water diversion heading south. This was the Feishui River. Going downstream along the Feishui River, I would reach Hefei, the new capital of Yangzhou.

When we arrived in the Sishui River basin, the accents were different and it was almost like being alone in an enemy country.

After thinking it over for a while, he threw the two newly acquired black magic powers into the two corpses. Immediately, the blood on the sampan disappeared, leaving only two sets of clothes, leather helmets and armor, two sheathed ring-handled swords, and a short dagger with a leather sheath.

Then he summoned two clumsy black servants, gave each of them an oar, and directed them to row the boat.

After walking for another ten miles, they saw a narrow tributary on the north bank and immediately directed the small boat to head towards the tributary.

This tributary is barely navigable, and the reeds are so dense that there is no end in sight.

After traveling through more than ten lanes, the boat stopped in front of a thatched cottage.

The thatched hut was made of stacked reed mats, the stems and leaves of which had turned white due to wind and sun.

There is no human habitation, and the densely growing reeds near the thatched cottage have long dried up over the years.

He ordered the black servant to push the boat onto the reed hill. The black warrior used his ring-handled sword to cut the reeds to clear a path. Then Black Bear saw two skeletons of different sizes in front of the thatched cottage. They must have died in each other's arms.

Dense dry reeds grew inside the thatched cottage, which were also cut by the black warrior. Black Bear also entered and saw three or four thin skeletons lying together. The ground, which was hardened with loess, was pierced by the reeds that grew later, leaving cracks everywhere.

Even the fire pit area is the same, there is no complete place to stand.

Black Bear also took out his ring-handled knife to clear the reeds in the thatched hut, and soon cleared out a large area to stay. He then ordered the black warriors to collect the bones in the hut and bury them in water together with the bones outside.

He used the flint given by Taoist Zhang to make a fire. There was still a blackened iron pot in the thatched cottage. He instructed the black warrior to take it out and give it a rough clean, and then fetch water from a slightly upstream place.

Flames rose in the thatched hut, and the black bear stared at the dancing flames.

The black warrior mechanically sent bundles of dry reeds to the fire pit to maintain the burning.

Soon the water in the hanging pot boiled, but the black bear had no intention of drinking the water. He just thought that boiling water would make the place more lively and have a residential and homey atmosphere.

When I’m in a bad mood, I take out a bright red magic berry and put it in my mouth to taste its rare sweet taste.

He was still too weak after running all the way. Even though the black warrior's sneak attack could instantly kill two soldiers in leather armor, he was still too weak, especially during the day.

There are two kinds of strength: one is being able to defeat the opponent smoothly in a battle, and the other is making the opponent dare not fight with you.

The night wind rustles the reeds.

Black Bear looked at the steam rising from the hanging pot and imagined his future life. He said to the black warrior beside him, "I want a small valley close to the market for convenient trading. It doesn't need to be too big, but I can raise a dozen cows and horses, thirty or forty pigs and sheep. There should be two or three hundred acres of irrigated paddy fields in the valley, surrounded by various trees. Compared with these, I want to have a good sleep, rest for a while, live a normal life, and then seriously consider how to face this chaotic world."

The black warrior stood still, listening attentively, and nodded slowly under the control of the black bear, looking very approving.

Other wandering people were stranded in other places and had to bow their heads under the eaves of others. They might be slaves of subordinates or serve as officials in a certain place, all for the sake of survival.

With such a high starting point, it's really depressing to be a thug.

If I remember correctly, Cao Cao was about to capture Ye City.

Why could Zhen Ji, such a famous woman, only be able to revolve around the Cao family's father and son?
If you survive for a while, there is a chance that you can get it.

Not to mention Zhen Ji, if the opportunity is right and Cao Cao's army is on an expedition, it would be a good idea to steal Cao Cao's house and take the items away.

As he thought about it, cards appeared in front of him... With such a good foundation, he was unwilling to be someone else's younger brother.

Even if you can endure it now, you will be stronger in the future and it will be impossible for you to be inferior to others for a long time.

Soon he fell into a coma, probably because it was the first time he slept in a house that was truly sheltered from the wind. Although the hut was simple, it was still a relatively closed and safe space.

It was already afternoon when he woke up. The diffused light had dissolved the two black servants, but the black warrior remained motionless, having developed resistance.

He rubbed his eyes, stood up, ate a magic berry, then lowered his head, crawled out of the hut and untied the sack.

The three poor white geese were already hungry and short of water. They flapped their wings, some of their down flew away, and they jumped into the river to drink and play.

Soon he summoned the gander to join in. With the gander around, there was no need to worry about them running away.

Not daring to leave it alone, the black bear sat on the ground, leaning against the boat and continued to think about where to go next.

Two officers of high status have been killed, and the bloodstains at the scene have not been cleaned up. During this period, the enemy will strengthen their defenses and may even mobilize military garrisons along the river to conduct searches.

Pengcheng has become Cao Cao's eastern gate, and the defenses there will only be tighter.

It's refreshing to jump out, but the difficulty is that it's very difficult to jump out.

This place is very far away from Meng County, and with Yucheng as a barrier, it is difficult to meet acquaintances in the nearby waters and tributaries, so there is no need to worry about being exposed.

Moreover, everything requires evidence. As long as one is not captured alive or encounters an official who knows him, the revelations made by ordinary people are of little consequence.

He had died in corvée labor. If he escaped alive and was discovered, the first people to suffer would be the county official in charge of the Meng County team and the supervisors sent by higher-level agencies.

Therefore, the probability of bringing trouble to your original family after living here for a period of time is very low.

You don’t need to buy food, salt, or even medicine to treat illnesses, and you don’t even need to dig wild vegetables.

The scope of activities for the lurking life is very small. As long as three black warriors are strengthened, they will have the confidence to break into Pengcheng.

In a nighttime naval battle, you must first protect yourself from being shot to death by a crossbow, then throw the Darth Vader card onto the other ship, and you will win.

After a few times of this, the defenders will learn to play deaf and dumb.

An army that doesn't even have any pay will not get any compensation if it dies. So why would they fight for it?
Isn’t it good to be alive?
Black Bear was even more angry when he thought of the two garrison soldiers who were killed last night.

Although these two people lost their lives, this was not what he wanted to see. Now that he had alerted the enemy, even he himself, the stationed soldiers in the Weishui River Basin, would have trouble living in peace.

If the commotion gets bigger, perhaps someone like a special envoy will show up.

While he was deep in thought, he could faintly hear the sound of drums. The black bear just listened quietly with his ear tilted, and had no interest in following the sound to observe.

On the waterway five or six miles to the south, more than a hundred large and small transport ships were sailing in a line.

A flag of the Dongguan County Magistrate was prominently displayed. On the second deck, Yin Li wore leather armor with gold and silver patterns and a green cloak that symbolized the vitality of all things in spring. I squinted my eyes to observe the reeds on both sides of the river.

The sailors on the ships rowed in an orderly manner and the boats moved slowly.

When rowing upstream, the actual boat speed is the speed of human rowing minus the surface velocity.

Nearly half of the more than 100 boats were sampans, each carrying seven or eight people, with four rowing and another three or four wearing leather or wooden armor and holding bows on guard.

There were also archers on the transport ships watching the sides, but most of them were not armored.

Liang State is already the hinterland, so there is no need to be too harsh when marching.

(End of this chapter)