The surface of the river at the Horse Field Pier was very wide and the surface of the water was gentle like a large mirror, reflecting the flowing clouds in the sky and the tall mountains on the other side. The pier was relatively deserted. Compared to other seasons, there were only a few ships anchored there at this moment, giving off a feeling of crossing the wilderness without any people on board.
In the distance, there was an intense, resounding, distant and lingering mountain song drifting over. The song came from the peak of the mountain and floated over the head of the water, carrying a special meaning. The song was sung by the salt workers. At this moment, they were walking on the steep plank road on the other side of the river, carrying salt baskets or carrying shoulder poles on their backs.
There was a salt well deep in the mountains and the quality of the salt was very good. It was boiled on the spot and the salt workers had to carry the salt baskets out of the mountains in order to sell it everywhere. The ancient plank road on the cliff was built for this purpose. On one side was the cliff and on the other side was a bottomless abyss. The ancient stone road had long been worn smooth by the salt workers' feet.
"Leaving early and returning late is so tiring. To earn money to support the family, the salt road is so rugged, a little carelessness can cost one's life!" Listening to the salt song, a desolate air assaulted one's face.
Ye Xiaotian and Hong Baichuan's men stopped at the pier. Someone went forward to find the man at the pier and asked him to help find a ship. After collecting some loose silver, the Five Spines and Six Beasts Dock Boss, who was idle, immediately busied himself.
Very soon, he returned to Ye Xiaotian and Hong Baichuan. He nodded and bowed, saying: "Master, Young Master, there are three big ships at the pier, but one of them is going to sell salt to the west and not to the east. The other two are going to the east. One is only stopping temporarily, the other is going to stay here for three to five days. This lowly one has made an agreement with them to bring your group to Tongren Province. One hundred and fifty taels of silver, what do you think … "
Ye Xiaotian thought for a while and exchanged a look with Hong Baichuan, saying: "We have so many people and so many horses. One ship is too crowded. I will book all three."
The dock boss was stunned for a moment before he smiled and said, "Young Master, I'm afraid you didn't understand what I said just now. The other two ships …"
Ye Xiaotian interrupted him. "I understand now. One is heading west, and the other is leaving in two days! I'll book all three ships! I'm a reasonable person. I won't treat them unfairly. I'll pay five hundred taels of silver for each boat. "
"Young Master, the ship heading west is heading to Shuixi to sell salt. I'm afraid it won't be willing to go east for a few days. As for the other ship, it's a private ship belonging to a wealthy merchant. I'm afraid they don't care about earning such a small amount of money. I …"
"This Ye is a reasonable person, but if reasoning doesn't work, I won't be reasonable!"
Ye Xiaotian waved his hand and the bodyguards immediately rushed forward aggressively. As they walked, the sabers at their waists were slowly unsheathed. The shipwrights and laborers on the dock looked over in shock. Only when they saw the gleaming swords and spears rush towards them did they snap out of their daze and dodge in a hurry.
Ye Xiaotian's bodyguards rushed onto the ship. A while later, bags of salt that had already been loaded onto the ship were tossed out. The other merchant's private ship did not have much on it, but there was a steward who was also dragged off the ship by the ferocious warriors of the Crouching Ox ridge.
The steward paled in fright and fled far away before stopping. He turned around and called out, "How dare you! You bandits, do you know the Yellow Crane tower? Our ship belongs to master Huang of the Yellow Crane tower! Do you know Cui Sanliang? Cui Sanliang is the head of the Thirteen Swamps! Do you know the relationship between our master Huang and master Cui? They're brothers-in-law! "
Whoosh!
A long spear streaked across the sky and accurately landed at his feet. The sharp tip of the spear penetrated more than a foot deep into the hard ground. The shaft of the spear shook like a fan in front of his eyes, and the rapid buzzing sound resonated with his heart.
In the distance, a burly man bellowed, "If you keep making noise, I'll pierce you with my spear. Do you understand?"
The steward of the Huang clan was stunned for a moment. With a strange cry, he took to his heels. Ye Xiaotian did not pay any attention to this at all. When the ship was mostly cleaned up, Ye Xiaotian gestured towards Hong Baichuan. "Uncle, please!"
Ye Xiaotian had only learnt Hong Baichuan's identity as an Embroidered Uniform spy last night, which had truly surprised him. However, there was no conflict of interest between the two of them. Instead, they were partners who worked closely together. Coupled with his relationship with a tycoon, he became composed very quickly.
Ever since Ye Xiaotian had directly ordered his people to clean up the ship, the steward knew that this person was not someone to be trifled with. He had already shut his mouth tightly, afraid to even let out a fart. Only when he heard Ye Xiaotian's words did he realise that they were not a pair of father and son.
Ye Xiaotian and Hong Baichuan walked forward. The big brother of the dock wanted to chase after them, but he was forced back by two shiny steel knives. He timidly stopped in his tracks and gave the two fiendish men a smile that was uglier than a crying face. Hong Baichuan said, "Are you worried that the ship heading east is a trap?"
Ye Xiaotian said, "They've taken my elder brother away from the Seven Stars Monastery, so they're clearly planning to take action. They must be using the opportunity when I return to the 'funeral' in Crouching Ox Ridge. As a result, they can take action at any time. We have to be on guard."
Hong Baichuan nodded. His gaze landed on the ship that was clearly more luxurious. It was clearly the private ship of master Huang of the Yellow Crane tower that was about to head east in a few days. Hong Baichuan smiled and said, "Out of the three ships, two of them are cargo ships. They're too crude, so only this one … Don't tell me you're going to choose this one?"
Ye Xiaotian said, "There's no harm in taking it. Unless they already know that the information has been leaked, they wouldn't have left something like this behind. If there's a trap, it's most likely the ship that's heading east. However, it's better to be safe than sorry …"
Hong Baichuan said, "So you're going to take the salt ship that's supposed to head west?"
"That's right!"
… …
"For a plan to be foolproof, it has to be flawless! As a result, we can't have any illusions at all. We have to take all accidents into consideration. The entire dock, regardless of whether it's a ship of various sizes, must be in our hands as long as it can float on the river. "
"This … I'm afraid it's a little difficult, Young Master Tian. Although there are fewer ships on the river during winter, it's not impossible. We have to control …"
"That's your problem. If you don't want ships that shouldn't appear at the Horse Field River dock, then control the upstream and downstream. Find a reason to stop all ships heading towards the Horse Field River. Until Ye Xiaotian boards the ship, no ship that isn't under our control is allowed to appear. I don't care what price you have to pay! "
"Yes …"
Downstream of the Horse Field River, there was a narrow torrent area. The locals called it the Black Gully Estuary. On both sides of the estuary, there were two mountain springs that converged from the mountains. Usually, the spring water gurgled and the creek was very shallow. However, if there was a rainstorm, the mountain torrents would accumulate on the narrow creek bed and flow faster and faster. When it reached Jiangshan, one would often first hear the roar of the water before seeing the huge waves.
At that time, the mountain torrents on both sides of the river would cause huge waves to rise to the sky. The mist would be dense for several miles, making it very spectacular. It wasn't the rainy season at the moment, but because of the eruption of the mountain torrents during the rainy season, the silt at the bottom of the river had been washed out, forming a small waterfall. Coupled with the narrowness of the river and the rapid flow of the water, a number of large and small whirlpools were formed.
Traveling from this point to the west required the use of trackers to pull the ship up. Traveling from this point to the east, large ships were better off, but small ships could easily capsize. It was an accident prone area.
Not far from the shore, there was a high-rise area next to the mountain. It was uneven in the jungle. At this moment, Tian Binfei was in one of the high-rise buildings. From the window, he could see the river in the distance.
Hearing the news that Ye Xiaotian had commandeered three large ships, thoroughly inspected them, boarded them, and sailed east, Tian Binfei's lips slightly revealed a proud smile.
Liu Junhua, who was sent by Tian Xiufeng to assist Tian Binfei, recalled Tian Binfei's previous instructions. His originally disapproving attitude immediately turned into incomparable admiration. This Ye Xiaotian was indeed cautious in his actions. No wonder this person was the Third Madam's trusted advisor. His work was truly watertight.
Tian Binfei lightly said, "Alright, Ye Xiaotian is already here. Go to the Zhang Net Cafe! Success or failure, it all depends on this one move! "
Liu Junhua shivered and immediately agreed. When he quickly walked down the stairs, thinking about the important matter that was about to be carried out, his heart couldn't help but start thumping.
"Clap, clap, clap!"
Tian Binfei clapped his hands three times. Two black-clothed men quietly appeared behind him.
Tian Binfei said, "After this is done, get rid of Liu Junhua."
The two black-clothed men didn't say anything. They only bowed to him and quietly disappeared.
Not everyone was qualified to know all the ins and outs. The success or failure of this matter was really important to Yang Yinglong. Other than the few headmen who participated in this matter, the ordinary people who participated in this matter were each in charge of a section, each in charge of a matter. They had no idea what the entire matter was about.
But as the specific person in charge of carrying out the "Day Swap" plan, Liu Junhua knew. Therefore, after the matter of silencing the witnesses, he had long obtained Tian Xiufeng's permission.
The two men sent by Tian Binfei were also not sent by Yang Yinglong. Even if they didn't say it, they would secretly be bitterly disappointed to use their own people to silence the witnesses. These two killers were Tian Binfei's men. They weren't controlled by Tian Feifei's identity, but by the real Tian Family's eldest young master, Tian Binfei.
As the head of the Tian family, he secretly trained and controlled a private army. This private army was completely under his command and was under his sole command. Most of the Tian Clan people didn't know of the existence of such a force. Even Tian Miaowen only knew of the existence of such a force. But she didn't know everything about it. She didn't know how to contact it or how to control it.
Tian Miaowen always thought that the details of such a force were placed in a secret box that only the head of the clan could know. And the truth was so. But she didn't expect that her eldest brother didn't die. Moreover, he sent people to sneak into the Tian Residence and took away part of the information from this secret box.
As soon as Ye Xiaotian's ship left the dock of Machang River, the people who were secretly monitoring his movements immediately sent a signal to the checkpoints and docks upstream and downstream. Only then did the ships that were delayed upstream and downstream leave the docks one after another.
Ye Xiaotian and Hong Baichuan boarded the salt ship. The rest of the people boarded the three big ships. The other two big ships protected Ye Xiaotian's ship in the middle, riding the wind to the east. As expected, their speed was much faster than on the muddy and bumpy land.
Along the way, there were ships going upstream one after another. Ye Xiaotian didn't care. He was in the cabin discussing with Hong Baichuan how to solve this dilemma.
Since they already knew the other party's plan, as long as they were careful, it would be difficult for the other party to succeed. When they returned, they would tell their confidants about this matter. It would be better to nip the problem in the bud. But how could they save Ye Xiao 'an? This was very tricky.
"Nephew, if you announce to the public that you already know that your brother is still alive and already know their plan …"
Ye Xiaotian shook his head. "Do you think they will release my brother when they think he has no more value? Who knows if they will become angry and kill him to keep him quiet. As long as my brother is dead, all of my words will become deliberately creating trouble to provoke Yang Yinglong. Other people won't even be able to see his corpse. Will they believe my words? Besides, I can't risk my brother's life. "
Hong Baichuan nodded silently. This was indeed a difficult matter. Even if he was intelligent, he had no idea at this time. At this time, they heard the voice of the captain outside the cabin. "Lower the sails! Anchor, be careful. Distinguished guests, sit tight. Take care of the horses and don't get startled. We've arrived at the mouth of the Black Python ~ ~ ~ "
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