In the commercial waterway of Wenshui, the active pirates were rather low-key and also rather secretive. If one believed that the pirates here were armed with large sabers and bows, had scars on their faces, and wore pirate banners to brazenly rob on the waterway, then one would be gravely mistaken. If this really was the case, they would have long been exterminated by the soldiers. This was the heart of Central Sichuan, so how could they allow pirates to behave so atrociously? Where would the Imperial Court put its face?
The pirates here were all hidden within the merchant caravans. Sometimes, when they saw a merchant ship approaching, it was very likely not a merchant ship, but a pirate disguised as a merchant. These pirates disguised themselves very well. Sometimes, even if they encountered soldiers, they would not give themselves away. This was the truly frightening aspect of pirates. They would suddenly strike when others were unprepared, dealing a fatal blow to the unprepared merchant caravans.
There were also a few smaller pirates that would disguise themselves as fishermen fishing in the river. There were only three or five of them, and they gave off a rather unthreatening feeling. Who could three or five fishermen threaten? No one would be afraid of these pirates, making it very easy for them to succeed in robbing them.
Of course, the larger the scale of the pirates, the larger the merchant ships they could rob. And a small pirate of three or five people could only target a single small merchant ship.
Many small merchant ships only had a few people on board. Two to three people would hold the cargo, and three to five people would sail the ship. With just these few people, they naturally weren't a match for three to five pirates. As long as they got close to the merchant ship, they would pull out a knife and press it against the other party's neck, and the small merchant ship would fall into their hands. But if the other party was a large fleet with a few hundred people, they wouldn't dare to rob them at all. Otherwise, if the robbery failed, they would die without a burial ground.
Ang Lee's fleet had many people, more than five hundred. Moreover, many armed soldiers were standing on the deck. As a result, it was naturally impossible for any pirates to get close. It was already not bad if they did not hide. As a result, Ang Lee did not encounter any pirates along the way, not even having the chance to satisfy his cravings.
Not far ahead, there was a fully loaded merchant ship draped in canvas. Moreover, its speed was not slow. It was even faster than the patrol ship they had encountered before. This made Ang Lee somewhat puzzled. He felt that there might be something strange about it.
"Ferryman, what's going on with the merchant ship in front? It's clearly fully loaded, and it's even going against the current. How can it be so fast? Could it be pirates?"
Ang Lee's hands were itching, and he wanted to have some fun. He really hoped that it was a pirate ship in front of him.
The boatman took a look and furrowed his brows. He said, "It's true. It's already covered in canvas. There should be cargo. But the cargo ship is heavy. It shouldn't be so fast. Could it be that there's no cargo on the ship?"
"Why don't we stop them and take a look?"
Ang Lee said.
Chen Long, who was beside him, was also very interested in fighting pirates. He whispered, "Assistant Minister Li, I'll go wake up the soldiers and have them prepare."
The boatman hurriedly interjected, "Assistant Minister Li, I'm just speaking nonsense. If it's not pirates, then wouldn't the soldiers have made a wasted trip? They're all sleeping well. Why bother?"
It was very obvious that this boatman was someone who did not like to cause trouble. As long as it had nothing to do with him, he would not interfere. He liked to play it safe. This was a problem that many people had since ancient times. They were always afraid of causing trouble, and believed in the truth of not caring about matters that did not concern them.
"What do you mean by looking for trouble? Does it benefit you boatmen to keep the pirates alive?"
Ang Lee turned his head to look at the boatman. He then signaled for Chen Long to quickly wake up the soldiers on the ship and prepare to forcefully inspect the merchant ship.
The soldiers of the Dragon Martial Army and Ang Lee's guards were all trained. As long as there was an accident, they would be able to prepare for battle in an extremely short amount of time. Therefore, when the merchant ship in front of them approached, the soldiers on the ship were already prepared.
This time, Ang Lee had 30 guards and 300 soldiers of the Dragon Martial Army. Among them, Ang Lee's ship had 30 guards and 20 soldiers of the Dragon Martial Army. It was the ship with the most people and was also the largest ship. With so many people, it was naturally to ensure Ang Lee's absolute safety.
Now that these people were prepared, even if there were more than 100 pirates on the other ship, they would be able to deal with them. There was no need to worry about the pirates' strength. No matter how strong the pirates were, they would not be able to do anything to these elite soldiers.
"The merchant ship in front, stop immediately and accept inspection."
Chen Long stood at the bow of the ship and shouted loudly.
After waking up the soldiers on the ship, he also sent people to wake up the soldiers on the two small boats behind. There were 20 soldiers on each boat. These two small boats were the fastest and could block the escape route of the merchant ship in time to prevent this problematic small merchant ship from escaping.
The merchant ship was covered with canvas, so the situation inside could not be seen. Only five people could be seen at the bow of the ship. One of them was a middle-aged man who looked like a merchant. The rest were attendants and boatmen. It was very suspicious that the two boatmen could sail the ship so fast against the current.
"I'm calling you. I want you to stop and accept inspection."
Chen Long saw that the other party was pretending to be deaf and mute, so he raised his voice. At the same time, he ordered the two fastest boats to quickly block the route of the problematic merchant ship and force it to stop.
The people on the small boats immediately became nervous. It was obvious that they were not merchants at all, but pirates disguised as merchants. A few of the gentler looking ones were outside, and under the canvas were a few fierce-looking burly men. If they were really inspected, then everything would be exposed.
"Strange, why should we stop and accept inspection when it's just a merchant ship?"
"Could it be that the soldiers have also learned this trick? This is not a merchant ship at all, it's all soldiers in disguise."
"There are 20 or 30 of them? The soldiers don't need such a big formation! I've already asked around. The soldiers have all gone to repair the road. There aren't many patrolling soldiers on this waterway. "
"Are you blind? How did you find out? Can't you see that they are all carrying swords? They are clearly soldiers, and they have more people than us. "
"Boss, there are two more ships coming and blocking our way. They are also soldiers. They are too tough. We can't beat them. Let's run!"
"Turn around and prepare to run."
After a series of conversations, the pirates on the ship decided to run. They had turned out in full force this time. The cabin was filled with pirates holding all kinds of weapons. As long as the soldiers went up, they would definitely be exposed. Therefore, they definitely could not let the soldiers on the ship. The soldiers had already surrounded them, so the only thing they could do was turn around and run.
"Assistant Minister Li, they are turning around. They are preparing to escape! Looks like they are pirates. "
Chen Long's eyes were filled with excitement. Ever since he had been on duty, he had been standing guard every day. He had not done any meritorious service yet. Wasn't this a good opportunity to perform meritorious service? If he missed it, it would be too much of a pity.
Ang Lee was already certain that the small merchant ship in front of him that was preparing to escape was a pirate ship. The people on the ship were naturally pirates.
"There must be quite a number of pirates hiding under the canvas. What if they're all hiding under there? Pass down the order, tell the soldiers to be careful. There might be many pirates. "
Ang Lee opened his mouth and said.
Chen Long acknowledged and ordered the two small boats to give chase.
These two small boats did not have any cargo on them, and they had the most boatmen. There were twenty soldiers on each boat, and they were the two fastest ships in the fleet. They were prepared to deal with any unexpected situations, and this was the best opportunity to make use of them.
The small merchant ship turned around very quickly, and before the two fast ships caught up with them, they had already turned around. However, the pirate ship did not have many boatmen, so it was still slower in terms of speed. Under the pursuit of the Dragon Martial Army, they were about to be caught up.
"Quick, speed up and keep up."
Ang Lee ordered his own ship to follow and support the two fast ships in front.
With so many soldiers chasing after them, especially the two fast boats following closely behind, they posed a great threat to the pirates. In order to deal with this threat, the pirates picked up the bows in their hands and shot at the ships behind them.
At the moment the sail was lifted, Li An saw very clearly that there were actually almost 30 pirates on such a small merchant ship. Every single one of them had a savage expression that revealed the ferocity and greed that came from their bones.
These pirates were equipped with many types of weapons. There were swords, sabers, crossbows, and spears. In a close combat battle, they naturally preferred to use crossbows. The Dragon Martial Army soldiers at the front also chose to use crossbows to shoot at them.
Even though they both used crossbows, the quality of the crossbows used by the pirates could not compare to the quality of the crossbows used by the Dragon Martial Army. The quality of the arrows was also far inferior, so the power naturally could not be mentioned in the same breath. The crossbows and arrows used by the Dragon Martial Army could cause great destruction, far surpassing the crossbows used by the pirates.
In this way, it didn't take long for the pirates to be defeated. Five or six pirates were shot down while the Dragon Martial Army soldiers were caught off guard and many of them were injured. However, the two ships were getting closer and closer to the pirate ship. It wouldn't take long for them to catch up.
"Boss, what do we do? We're about to be caught."
"Run! If we don't run now, it'll be too late. "
"There are too many soldiers. We can't win, so we can only run."
"We should have burned more incense tonight. Otherwise, we wouldn't have encountered such a situation."
"What's the point of talking nonsense? Quickly run away."
"Boss, another one of our brothers is injured. We've run into trouble today."
"Who is it that wants to make things difficult for us? Once we escape, we'll wipe out their entire family."
The group of pirates cursed.
Some of them were rowing boats, some were shooting arrows, and some were holding up simple shields to block the arrows from the Dragon Martial Army. However, they were only running for their lives. They were too weak and did not have the strength to fight against the Dragon Martial Army. If they continued to be in a stalemate, they would only end up dead.
The one who was disguised as a merchant was the leader of the pirates. He naturally saw that they had run into trouble tonight. If the stalemate continued, there would only be the risk of all of them being wiped out. He had to think of a better way as soon as possible. However, he was different from ordinary pirates. He could not swim. Abandoning the boats and running away would not work. He did not want to be captured by the soldiers alone. He had robbed so much. If he was captured, he would definitely be severely punished. He did not even dare to think about the consequences.
"Brothers, it seems that we have to be ruthless. Go down and sink the boats. As long as we sink the two boats behind us, we will be safe."
The leader of the pirates finally gave a vicious order.
These pirates spent most of their time on the water. Most of them were very good at swimming. They could hold their breath underwater for a few minutes without any pressure. They could even stay underwater for a long time with the help of a small tool. From there, they could easily sink the boats.
Hearing the leader's order, seven or eight pirates immediately threw down the crossbows in their hands. They picked up hammers and chisels, as well as a one-meter long bamboo pole, and quickly jumped into the water from the bow of the boat.
"Assistant Minister Li, the pirates want to escape by jumping off the boat."
Chen Long said.
Although there was still some distance between them, seven or eight pirates jumped into the water one after another. This movement was very loud. Chen Long and Ang Lee were on the boat behind them, but they could still hear it.
After the seven or eight pirates jumped into the water, the remaining pirates no longer fought back. A few of them raised their shields to block, while the rest rowed the boat in the cabin. Even the leader of the pirates was no exception. He hoped that the boat could move faster so that they could escape the pursuit of the two fast boats behind them.
When Ang Lee heard the splash of water, his judgment was the same as Chen Long's. He also felt that these pirates wanted to escape by jumping off the boat. However, when Ang Lee turned on the flashlight and carefully observed the water in front of them, Ang Lee's thoughts changed. He suddenly realized that the pirates who jumped into the water did not escape. Instead, they swam towards the two fast boats not far behind them. This could be seen from the ripples in the water. This made Ang Lee shocked. These pirates were really smart. They actually took the initiative to attack.
"Chen Long, how are your men's swimming skills?"
Ang Lee asked.
Chen Long was stunned at first, then he said casually, "They are all northerners. Their swimming skills are average."
Ang Lee sighed, "Oh no, these pirates are probably going to dig into the boat. Hurry up and remind the soldiers to pay attention to the bottom of the boat."
"Dig into the boat? No way! These pirates know how to do this? "
Chen Long's face was full of suspicion, but he still shouted the order.
Just as the order was passed, the two fast boats in front were already attacked by the pirates. These pirates used hammers and chisels to dig into the bottom of the two fast boats. The sound of the vibrations could be heard from far away.
In order to breathe, they had all prepared bamboo poles that were over a meter long. The insides of the poles were all open. As long as they held one end in their mouths, the other end would be exposed to the water to ensure that they could breathe normally. In this way, these pirates would be able to drill the boat underwater for a long time. As for the small section of bamboo pole that was exposed, because the target was too small, it was very difficult to be discovered. At this time, the night was very dark, so it was very difficult to discover these exposed bamboo poles from the side of the boat.
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