"A sea of blood … That official ship is full of villains …" Xu Qi 'an was shocked.
But he didn't recklessly make a judgment. Because water bandits often appeared on the canal, these officials might have just repelled the bandits who tried to rob them.
"What's that ship? Why does it look different from ours?" Xu Qi 'an looked at the approaching official ship and casually asked his colleague.
There were many old gongs present and they were knowledgeable. After identifying it, they replied, "That's a pontoon. Judging from the flag, it seems to be from Yuzhou."
A pontoon was a large, flat-bottomed boat used to carry goods.
"Oh," Xu Qi 'an replied. His eyes flickered as he continued to ask, "Are there water bandits near Yuzhou?"
Song Tingfeng snickered and put his hand on Xu Qi 'an's shoulder. "It's only half a day's journey from here to Yuzhou's fair. Have you ever seen a bandit blocking the road in front of the yamen?"
"Then there's no problem." Xu Qi 'an nodded as if he had confirmed something.
"What's no problem?"
"There's no problem in earning merit points." He glanced at Song Tingfeng. Seeing that the two boats were about to pass each other, he quickly said, "Tingfeng, return to the cabin immediately and find Jiang Jinluo. Tell him there's something urgent."
He then glanced at the seven or eight gongs on the deck and said in a deep voice, "There's something wrong with that boat. Follow me."
After that, he shouted at the pontoon on the side, "Stop the boat!"
His voice echoed on the surface of the river.
The officials on the pontoon ignored him and pretended not to hear him. Some of the boatmen even quietly adjusted the angle of the sail so that the pontoon was slanted away from the official ship where the night watchman was.
At this moment, the other gongs also sensed that something was wrong. Before they could speak, they saw Xu Qi 'an push against the guardrail. The deck under his feet cracked and he shot out like a cannonball.
In an instant, he crossed a distance of dozens of meters and landed steadily on the deck of the pontoon.
"Crack …"
The sound of the deck cracking rang out incessantly. Seven or eight gongs jumped up one after another and jumped onto the pontoon relying on their exaggerated jumping force and surging Qi.
Seeing the gongs "invading" the pontoon, the officials' expressions changed slightly. They quietly pressed on the hilts of their swords at the back of their waists.
"Sirs …" A bearded man rushed out of the cabin. He was wearing the uniform of a yamen official, a tall hat, and a pair of black boots.
He looked around at the gongs on the deck, cupped his hands and said, "What can I do for you?"
Xu Qi 'an did not speak. He carefully observed their micro-expressions and subtle movements. Zhu Guangxiao said in a low voice,
"Which yamen you are you from?"
"I am the captain of the ship guards of the shipping yamen. I am here to escort a batch of iron ore into the capital," the bearded man replied. The uniforms they wore were embroidered with the pattern of waves. It was the uniform of the Grain Transport Office.
Yuzhou was rich in iron ore. Salt and iron were the lifelines of the country. In layman's terms, they were strategic resources and also the main source of finance.
The gongs were not surprised by this and turned to look at Xu Qi 'an. "Qi"
Xu Qi 'an narrowed his eyes and noticed a detail. The pontoon was still sailing and had not anchored.
"Guangxiao, stop the pontoon," Xu Qi 'an said.
Zhu Guangxiao went to the stern and kicked the heavy anchor into the water. The pontoon slowly stopped.
When the silent colleague returned, Xu Qi 'an questioned, "Why didn't you stop the pontoon just now?"
"Well …" The bearded man looked awkward. He said in a low voice, "Sirs, please wait a moment."
He returned to the cabin. After a while, he folded a few banknotes and handed them over. He smiled apologetically.
"I know. No matter where I am, I have to show respect to the officials of the yamen. I was ignorant just now and tried to bluff my way through. I deserve to die. Please forgive me."
Xu Qi 'an glanced at them. They were all banknotes worth fifty taels. There were about three hundred taels in total.
"Does he think we stopped the pontoon to accept bribes?" The night watchmen reacted. They were angry and amused at the same time.
Although the night watchmen were not very clean, they were not to the extent of plundering the goose's feathers. However, the night watchmen did have a bad reputation. This was due to the civil officials' slandering day after day. They shaped the night watchmen into Wei Yuan's eagle claws. They did evil deeds that harmed the loyal and honest people and took bribes and perverted the law.
Scholars were best at using the pen to attack people's hearts.
"Ning Yan …" Zhu Guangxiao frowned and looked at Xu Qi 'an.
The other bronze gongs, including him, did not believe that Xu Qi 'an had stopped the pontoon for the silver taels. This guy who would kill a silver gong for an unrelated woman might not be likable, but his character was worthy of recognition.
The bearded man's heart sank when no one accepted the banknotes. He did not think there was anything wrong with his response, but it seemed that the night watchmen did not buy it.
"Bring me to the cabin." Xu Qi 'an took a few steps forward and stared at the bearded man.
At this moment, Xu Qi 'an stood in front of all the bronze gongs. He casually put his right hand behind his back and quickly made a gesture.
The gesture was subtle and subtle, but the expressions of the bronze gongs behind him quietly tightened.
This was because this gesture was the professional sign language of the night watchmen's yamen. It meant, "Prepare for action."
"Bring me to the cabin for inspection." Xu Qi 'an requested.
"Alright, please." The bearded man agreed without hesitation.
"… Isn't he too quick to agree? Normally, he should not have protested, "The water transportation is not under the jurisdiction of the night watchmen."
"Hmm, it could also be that he's a coward …" Xu Qi 'an thought. He led his colleagues into the cabin with the bearded man and went down the narrow stairs to the lower deck.
After lighting the candles one by one, the bearded man led the night watchmen to inspect the ores that filled the cargo boxes.
One of the bronze gongs grabbed a handful of fine ores and clicked his tongue. "These are all high-quality ores that have been filtered."
The bearded man chuckled a few times in response.
The bronze gongs put down the ores without batting an eyelid. He poked Xu Qi 'an's waist with his scabbard and signaled with his eyes.
Xu Qi 'an said, "Continue with the inspection."
He walked to the side with the bronze gongs and asked in a low voice, "What's wrong?"
The bronze gongs lowered their voice and said, "The ores are too finely ground. The quality is too good."
Xu Qi 'an did not understand. "This is for the capital. What's wrong with it?"
The bronze gongs glanced at the people not far away and retracted their gaze. They said in a low voice, "A few years ago, I investigated a corruption case in the Ministry of Works. It was related to iron ores. Ores are measured by weight, not quality.
"In order to gain benefits and fill their own pockets, officials will mix gravel or inferior iron ores into the ores. As long as the degree is controlled, there won't be a problem. "
"… In other words, the quality of the ores here is too good …" Xu Qi 'an nodded.
After the inspection and finding nothing out of the ordinary, the group returned to the cabin. Xu Qi 'an made another request. "Let me see your documents."
The bearded man obediently fetched the documents issued by the Transport Office. After confirming that there were no mistakes, Xu Qi 'an said, "Did we encounter any problems on the way?"
"How could that be? We've only just left Yuzhou," the bearded man said.
Ah, then explain the green light … no, the bloody light on your head. What does it mean?
Xu Qi 'an observed the cabin as they walked. The bearded man accompanied him the whole way and answered every question he asked. His attitude was surprisingly good.
When they arrived at the kitchen, four cooks sat on small wooden stacks and looked at Xu Qi 'an and the others in silence.
There were many seasonal vegetables stored in the baskets in the kitchen, and they looked quite fresh.
Xu Qi 'an smiled and said, "Now when I see vegetables, my eyes light up. I've eaten fish on the ship for many days. It's fishy and disgusting."
He glanced at the four cooks and said, "Am I right?"
One of the cooks glanced at the bearded man. They exchanged glances and understood each other. He smiled humbly and said, "Yes, the fish in the river will inevitably have a fishy smell. Sir, you're a noble, so it's normal that you're not used to it. People like us who make a living on the water all year round are used to it. "
"Oh, you don't know how to get rid of the fishy smell." Xu Qi 'an smiled and nodded.
"Hmm?" The four cooks sensed something strange from Xu Qi 'an's meaningful smile.
The bearded man was the same. He said tentatively, "Sir …"
Before he could finish his sentence, his chin was hit by the copper gong from below. His gums collided, and a mouthful of broken teeth flew out.
Then, the copper gong punched him twice in the chest at an extremely fast speed. Bang, bang … His strength went through his back and tore his uniform.
The bearded man was sent flying. He hit the wall and fell to the ground softly.
Xu Qi 'an, who suddenly attacked, no longer paid attention to him. He turned around and swept his leg, breaking the ribs of a cook. Then, with the speed of a martial artist, he broke the sternum of the other three cooks.
The whole process took less than five seconds.
Even so, the fight in the kitchen still attracted the attention of both sides outside.
Xu Qi 'an yelled, "Take down everyone on the ship. Keep them alive."
The copper gongs, who had been alerted by the hand signal, reacted quickly. They attacked without hesitation and knocked down the boatmen and officials.
For a night watchman whose average cultivation was at the Qi Realm, subduing a group of officials with decent skills was not much harder than Xu Qi 'an beating up Xu Lingyin.
At this moment, Xu Qi 'an sensed a strong Qi landing on the deck. To protect the bearded man from jumping into the water, he dragged him out of the cabin and onto the deck.
Jiang Lvzhong frowned and looked at him in silence.
Xu Qi 'an turned around to look at his own official ship. He found Inspector Zhang was also alerted. He was standing on the deck and looking at them with a serious expression.
This pontoon was also an official ship. It belonged to the Yuzhou government. What Xu Qi 'an did was no different from a pirate. If there was no reasonable reason, it would be hard to handle.
"What are you doing?" Jiang Lüzhong cast a questioning look at the bearded man in Xu Qi 'an's hand.
He recognized that it was the uniform of the Water Transport Office.
"There's something wrong with this ship. But I can't tell what it is exactly." Xu Qi 'an explained.
"This is a pontoon from the Water Transport Office. Is it transporting iron ore?" Jiang Lvzhong asked.
"Yes."
Jiang Lvzhong nodded and said in a low voice, "How did you find out there's something wrong with it?"
