Chapter 221

Guan Yuniang found a simple map of the Tang Dynasty from several large boxes she had brought, spread it in front of Zhang Zhou, pointed it out to him and said: "Su and Sheng are closely related to each other. They are connected to Yun, Xiaoyun and Hezhou on the top, Kyoto on the East, Mengzhou on the west, Nanping from the river, Ying and Qin across the Qinjiang River! We have developed Qinzhou, and Su and Sheng should be the center of our own radiation of Kyushu's sphere of influence. If we embrace Su and Sheng, we can grasp the overall situation!"

Because Qinjiang is not popular, these two states have become places where God doesn't kiss milk and don't love! They used to be inferior to Hezhou. Su banxing's idea and layout are perfect, but Zhang Zhou feels a little big.

"Su banxing is right, but how can I have so much energy and material resources to consider here? Su and Sheng are not rich. They can't be revitalized simply by adding a few business routes. What's more, they don't need a little silver!"

"Mr. Su said that if the jingbandits in the Qinjiang River succeed, we can build both sides of the Qinjiang River into a commercial and economic corridor! After all, it is easier to feed people by water. The people of the two states will naturally concentrate on the river bank. At that time, we just need to develop the two states!"

"Economic corridor?"

"Well, you see, it is located in the middle and lower reaches of the Qin River. The water potential is gentle and the river is wide, which makes it easier for ships to come and go..."

Su banxing's view forced Zhang Zhou to be convinced that his purpose of developing Qinzhou was just to find a way back for himself, but Su banxing saw a broader side.

"When Sir comes, I'll have a good talk with him!"

——————

Night rukong and Zhang Xingzhi took the initiative to escort Yan Xinxin away! The ship went up and passed Qinzhou, which is the boundary of Yingzhou.

The ship is a new passenger ship made by Kyushu commerce. Although the specification does not exceed five feet, many designs are different, more stable and stronger, and the ship speed is faster!

Zhang Xingzhi looked at the empty night climbing up from the bottom cabin and asked with a smile, "what's the new discovery?"

The night was empty and tut tut said in two voices: "no wonder it was so fast. The mechanism below is quite complex. With the help of two boatmans, it can reach the speed of five or six boatmans. If ten boatmans go together, the speed will be twice as fast as now! It's amazing to think about the speed with the help of sail force in the downwind!"

"Younger martial brother, he said that the ship was originally built according to the requirements of being able to go to sea. At present, it can only be regarded as an experimental ship! It's far from his real idea!"

"This guy has so many ideas!"

"First, he has many ideas. Second, this guy is really willing to invest. Yang Jiu, the shipbuilder, spends at least 200000 taels of money to study the shipyard every year! It's funny when I think of this, younger martial brother. However, he is unique in business..."

"Hum!"

Not far away, Yan Xinxin, sitting beside the boat, snorted. After Yan Xinxin got on the boat, she was basically alone. She didn't know what she was thinking, but whenever she said that Zhang Zhou was good, she would respond with a hum.

The two men looked at each other with helpless expressions. No longer did they understand women's thoughts, they could see that the aunt's Secret resentment against Zhang Zhou was very deep!

At this time, standing at the top of the ship, a guard in charge of lookout shouted, "there seems to be something ahead!"

This situation is definitely not a scenery. The two people also got serious and hurried up to the second floor to watch. They soon saw the abnormal situation on the river ahead.

A merchant ship on the river was surrounded by several small boats. Nine times out of ten, it should have been robbed by water bandits!

"Move over quickly! Inform the crew to prepare for battle!" Zhang Xingzhi shouted.

Without any hesitation, the ship boss turned and ran to a corner, issued an acceleration order to the bottom cabin through a large bamboo tube, and then personally commanded and controlled the ship and rushed to the place of the incident!

Five or six guards on the ship have been shot down. Although the other guards look frightened, they also know that up to now, they have no choice but to fight to prevent the water bandits from boarding the ship.

In the cabin, a noble old woman kept praying and chanting Buddha. An old man like a rich man standing beside her was at a loss!

It is said that during this period, the water bandits in Qinzhou seem to have stopped a lot. In addition, they hired more than 20 experienced Jianghu experts before they dared to go south by boat. As a result, they still met the water bandits.

The old man saw the leading man in the guard, walked into the cabin and hurriedly asked, "what's the situation outside?"

"Oh, there's some trouble. I've hurt several brothers!"

"Didn't you say to ensure safety? You also said that it would be easy to deal with water bandits!"

The man was a little ashamed.

"I haven't met the water bandits before. They are not so difficult. These people are much stronger than those water bandits and are difficult to deal with!"

"What do you say?"

"I think maybe we can talk to them and spend money to eliminate disasters! This is not a time to be greedy for money!"

"Well, as long as you keep safe, it doesn't matter to spend some money!"

"Lord Weng, I'm afraid this can't be solved with a little money!"

The rich man spoke in his heart. Don't I know about it? At present, we still have to rely on the other party to maintain. We don't dare to be too rude, so we nodded again and again.

"You just talk. Life is the most important at this time!"

After the man went out, the old woman cried, "if you had known this, you might as well not leave!"

"Oh, what do you know? Isn't it for safety? Stay. Will Sima Jingyan let us go once the situation changes?"

The old woman turned her head and looked. In the cradle in the corner, a child was sleeping soundly, sad and crying!

……

"Silver? Ha ha! What's the use of money? Give me all the food on the boat. Don't blame me for being cruel if you dare to hide a mouthful of grain!"

According to common sense, if these water bandits confirm that the target of looting is difficult to entangle, the strong attack will cause no small losses. They generally accept the trade of giving up money to protect their lives! This is also the reason why the guard leader decided to talk. But the request of the water bandit really stunned the guard leader! In my mind, is it the famine caused by the bandits in the Qinjiang River?

"Fellow heroes, we are not a merchant ship, let alone a grain ship. The grain on the ship is barely enough for everyone to travel. The silver is OK..."

What the dead lack most now is materials. How can they live without enough materials? They have captured nearly 30 shuizhais along the coast of Qinzhou, but the harvest is sad!

When the strongholds attack each other, the winner will loot the loser and destroy all that cannot be taken away. Some small strongholds know they are unable to fight. They just take the stronghold to escape before the wind blows. In short, for various reasons, they can harvest less and less materials.

You know, the consumption of hundreds of strong men who constantly attack is far from comparable to that of the same number of villagers!

The lack of effective supplies makes their attack more and more weak, unable to form material accumulation, and their survival is gradually in distress, let alone meet their requirements of "returning home"!

So now the most critical issue is not the money, but the cost of food and clothing!

It's too late for the wild goose to pluck its hair. How can we let go of the food supplies that can provide dozens of people for several days? Whether you starve or not has nothing to do with us. We just want food!

The negotiation failed. The dead man, who was the leader, issued an attack order without hesitation. Seven or eight small boats surrounded the big ship again and launched an attack!

Although the guard leader knew that the other party was numerous and difficult to win, his duty was to know that the result of surrender was also difficult to escape death. He was also inspired to be bloody, commanded the remaining guards and boatman, and fought back against the "water bandits"!

After all, the dead men lack experience in water warfare and rely entirely on their fierce and fearless life. They can't help each other for a while!

"There's a boat coming over there!"

During the confrontation, a dead man found a ship coming towards them and hurriedly reported to the leader.

The leading dead man frowned and immediately sneered.

"Better come, grab it together! Send a signal to the shore!"

Under the shade of the trees on the shore, there were more than a dozen small boats.

Dozens of dead soldiers dressed up as villagers are watching what happens on the river.

"It seems that it's really troublesome for brothers to engage in water war!" a big man whispered.

"It just takes more time! But it will be easier than robbing those stockaded villages, and the harvest will be considerable. After all, we are in a very bad situation now..." the man answered, obviously he was not worried about the present.

"Alas, when will this end? Do we still have hope of going back?"

"Don't be so pessimistic, the guild leader should take us back!" but the voice has lost the confidence before!

"It's no use thinking about it. Keep going!"

After so much experience, we have no morale. What will happen tomorrow? I'm too lazy to think about it! It has happened in the past two days. Although it is only a very individual phenomenon, it still has a great impact on the mood of the whole team!

"Why? No confidence?"

A low voice came behind the two people. They were surprised and hurried back to salute. They didn't dare to look up.

"Guild leader, my subordinates just talked nonsense. Please..."

Jin Laoyou smiled and said, "just talking. It's no big deal!"

Jin Laoyou crossed the two people and looked at the river through the shade of the tree.

"How's it going?"

"It shouldn't take long to solve it!"

"Well, the days are made. Just make it through!"

Two people stood behind Jin Laoyou, silent!

At this time, a sharp eyed dead man shouted, "another big ship is approaching. Leader Li asks for support!"

Jin Laoyou whispered, "go!"

The two men took orders, commanded the dead men who rested on the shore to get on the ship one after another, quickly drove out of the shade of the trees and rushed to the river!

Jin Laoyou stood still with his hands down and continued to watch the changes in the river!

The first group of people have already been on board. The guard man has some skills. At first, he can entangle with the enemies who rushed up. However, as more and more dead people get on board, he is finally outnumbered and falls with a knife!

At the same time, a large ship rushed into the array of small boats under siege. Without exception, all the small boats in front were directly knocked over, and the dead on board were thrown into the water one after another.

A tall man, with a long gun in his hand, jumped directly into the robbed ship. It was an absolute understatement, so he carried the dead aboard into the water one by one!

Although the first group of small boats suffered heavy losses, the second group of small boats, under the command of the leader, took a firm attitude and clear goal, and did not hesitate to besiege the big ship that joined later! However, before approaching, there was a wave of crossbow shooting

Kyushu water transport ships, although not military ships, have richer attack means than official military ships, and rely on more than the powerful crossbows in the hands of the crew!

When a small boat was about to lean against the big boat, it directly threw a huge cylindrical wood close to the waist from the top of the corresponding big boat, which rushed down to the conical end. In order to increase the weight and penetration, it was also inlaid with a layer of iron sheet, which hit the middle of the boat accurately and vigorously. The boat that had no time to avoid was directly smashed through, and there was no chance to remedy!

There was also a small catapult on the ship, which threw two round stone balls in a row and sank a boat far away in an instant!

At first, Jin Laoyou looked at those dead men who knew they were invincible, but still moved forward bravely, and even died in vain. He couldn't see any distressed and anxious expression on his face! As if he were an outsider.

Later, he finally frowned, not because of the adverse war situation, but because he saw clearly that there was a flagpole in the ship's building. The flag on the flagpole was clearly marked: Kyushu water transportation!

After thinking for a while, Jin Laoyou's eyebrows gradually soothed!

A few days ago, it was reported that a group of people were marching in the mountains and kept shouting words like "Huan bin killed the monster and is showing it in Qinzhou City". Because they suspected that those people might be Qinzhou people, although they were found, they did not attack them.

He knew that Zhang Zhou was chased by a monster. He always thought that Zhang Zhou had no chance to survive! But the current situation made him think of the possibility that Zhang Zhou was not dead! He has seen Zhang Zhou's domineering moves. Although he also believes that it should be Zhang Zhou's magical surprise, which is not his normal level, does this guy give people less accidents?

Jianghu also has Jianghu rules! If Zhang Zhou dies, the shops and stores of Kyushu commerce, including the frame and ships, will hang a black fan flag as a memorial. This is an iron rule in the Jianghu that cannot be changed! Deny that even the beggars on the street will spit on you! And no black fan flag was found on this ship! Then it can only explain one thing. Zhang Zhou is still alive!

If Zhang Zhou dies, no one in Qinzhou will help him, because apart from the enemy, he is the one who wants him to die; If Zhang Zhou is alive, he has hope to find a helping hand, because Zhang Zhou can talk about everything without a fundamental conflict of interest! Looking at the scene that few of his subordinates were left on the river, Jin Laoyou smiled knowingly.