Because it was sailing against the current, the fleet carrying 800,000 kilograms of thick copper was not fast. One hundred flat-bottomed cargo ships of 500 stone were connected by iron chains, forming a long string on the river surface. Nearly a hundred boatmen pulled long ropes and walked hard on the shore. Everyone was naked on their upper body, and the thick ropes were tied into their bronze muscles.

In addition to the thick copper ingots, there were twenty ship guard soldiers on each ship. They sat bored on both sides of the cargo ship and napped. This was not the first time the fleet sailed. They had walked on this road five times before, transporting millions of kilograms of pig iron and millions of kilograms of thick copper to Chang'an, without any accidents.

There are troops stationed along the way from Jiangxia to Chang'an. Even when we arrive in Xiyang County under the jurisdiction of Wang Shichong, there are 6,000 Zheng troops stationed along the way. Although the Tang army fleet hates the Zheng army very much, they have to admit that the Zheng army stationed along the way really gave the fleet a sense of security.

The fleet had a night of rest and supplies in Junyang County, so it did not dock in Nanxiang County, but was preparing to dock in Danshui County, fifty miles away for a night. This was the navigation rule set by Qu Tutong. The fleet must dock overnight at an army stationed place, and even temporary docking is not allowed.

The commander of the fleet was Xia Jie, who was over thirty years old, from Xiangyang County. He was a general of the Central Army. This time he was ordered to lead two thousand troops to escort the fleet.

At this time, a subordinate whispered: "Wang Shichong has no sincerity at all. These six thousand troops are like six dead pigs."

The Tang army along the way in Jingzhou would follow the boat, and hand over one stop after another. When we arrived at the 400-mile river channel in Xiyang County, although there were six Zheng troops protecting the coast, the Zheng army did not marching along the way like the Tang army, but was stationed in the military camps without moving.

"Forget it, Wang Shichong has no sincerity at all. Sending troops to escort is just a formality. It's up to us!"

Seeing that there were dense woods on both sides of the strait, Xia Jie felt a little uneasy and immediately ordered, "If you send the order, I will be more vigilant and not allowed to sleep!"

Nearly a hundred boatmen on the east coast are from Jiangxia. They are the largest transportation cost for fleets. It takes about half a month to travel from Jiangxia County to Shangluo County. The Tang army provides dry food supplies along the way. Each boatmen can earn about twenty stags of money. Although it is very hard to pull fiber, they can earn twenty stags of money per trip, which still makes the boatmen work willingly.

According to convention, each boatman has a fiber head, and he is responsible for controlling the rhythm of the fiber pulling, so that the fleet can sail smoothly, and at the same time, he can use the inertia of the boat to reduce the hard work of the boatman.

"Hanshuiqianshi left Danshui, hey--"

"Ten counties and hundreds of towns pass by, hey--"

Slimming is a way to control the rhythm. Follow the singing and everyone uses their strength to use their strength in one place, providing higher fiber pulling effect.

Xiantou is an old man in his sixties, with his surname Jiang. Everyone calls him Jiang Xiantou. He has been working on Hanshui and Danshui for forty years. He has rich experience and high prestige. The fiber team under him is also the most famous fiber team in Hanshui.

Jiang Xiantou's slim position is at the front of the team, and he also sang the slim song. He will control the slim rhythm according to the terrain and the fatigue of the boatmen, that is, the speed of the boat.

At this time, Jiang Xiantou suddenly felt that the rope loosened. When he turned around, he saw a tall and strong young man appearing beside him and pulling the rope with him. Although it seemed to be kind, the young man broke the rules, making him feel that the rope was not as powerful as it was.

Jiang Xiantou couldn't help but glared at him fiercely, "Go to the back, there's nothing you have to do here!"

He had never seen this young man before and thought he was a new helper.

The young man had a gloomy face and said nothing.

"Who are you?"

Jiang Xiantou suddenly felt something was wrong. He brought all the boatmen out of his hometown. He didn't even recognize this young man. He looked at the young man in surprise.

This young man is naturally Liu Lancheng. He hid behind a big tree. When Jiang Xiantou passed by the big tree, he immediately joined the boatman team. His goal was to control this Xiantou.

"Shut up!"

Liu Lancheng said coldly: "If you don't want to die, just be honest and pull your body!"

Jiang Xiantou discovered the dagger that the other party was inserted at his waist. He was very experienced. He had encountered thieves in the past forty years. The first thing he did to rob a ship was to control Xiantou.

Experience tells him that the other party is definitely not alone, so don’t act rashly at this time.

"You have found the wrong ship, there are two thousand soldiers on the ship."

He thought the other party was a bandit, so he lowered his voice to remind him, hoping that the other party would retreat in a difficult situation.

"To tell you the truth, we are the Sui Army!"

"ah!"

Jiang Xiantou exclaimed, knowing that he was in big trouble.

At this time, his son not far behind him also found extra people and asked, "Dad, what happened."

Jiang Xiantou was afraid that his son would come up and die, so he hurriedly said, "It's okay, it's an old friend. Ask me something, don't leave Xian's seat!"

He whispered to Liu Lancheng again: "June, we boatmen all rely on coolies to make a living, don't hurt us!"

He brought all the boatmen out of his hometown. Even if something happened to him, he could not return to his hometown to explain. He knew that the target of the Sui army was a ship, not the boatmen.

Liu Lancheng said coldly: "Listen to my arrangement, I will naturally let you go. I won't hurt you. Keep singing the slim song!"

Jiang Xiantou felt relieved and continued singing, "Carry thousands of ships on one shoulder, and measure the Han River with both feet! Hey--"

The low singing echoed on the shore.

After walking about a mile, Jiang Xiantou felt that the Sui army was not a vicious person, so he plucked up his courage and said, "I can cooperate if Jun Ye wants to do it, but we have lost 2,000 guan!"

"Let's go back to Ye County to get the money yourself. If you cooperate honestly, you won't lose money."

Liu Lan saw that the fleet had entered the ambush circle of the Sui army and immediately ordered: "Just say that the road ahead was destroyed by mudslides, let the ship stop and lean on the side!"

Jiang Xiantou hesitated for a moment. Liu Lanzhen Ke captured the contradiction in his heart and said murderously: "If the ambush fails, kill you to vent your anger!"

Jiang Xiantou's heart trembled, and without hesitation, he immediately turned around and waved: "Stop for a moment!"

The boatmen stopped one after another, and Jiang Xiantou's son stepped forward and asked, "Dad, what's going on?"

"My friend said the road ahead was destroyed by mudslides. You go and take a look, it's five miles away!"

Jiang Xiantou wished he could support his son as far as possible. He also ordered his trainer to "dang the boat!"

The ship has no power and goes against the current. If it does not advance, it will retreat. Therefore, it must temporarily be docked and tied to the shore with a rope.

At this time, Xia Jie was surprised and immediately asked his men to go down to ask about the situation. Soon, his men came back and got on the boat and said, "The old Jiang said that there was a mudslide in front of him, destroying the road. He had sent his son to check it out. If it didn't work, they would go to the west bank to pull the fiber."

"How could he know that the road ahead was destroyed by mudslides?" Xia Jie was really puzzled.

"It seems like I met an acquaintance."

Xia Jie saw that the boatmen were sitting on the ground and resting and drinking water, and the fleet began to dock, although he was unhappy, if the mudslide really destroyed the road, the situation would be a little troublesome.

"Emute them to hurry up, you can't stay along the coast!" Xia Jie shouted.

A soldier jumped ashore and ran towards Jiang Xiantou, "The general has an order, the fleet cannot stop, prepare to set off!"

After waiting for a while, Xia Jie became more impatient and stood up and ordered: "The fleet sets off immediately!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a harpoon flew out of the water behind him, with great power and pierced Xia Jie's chest. Xia Jie screamed and fell into the water.

The sudden incident scared everyone. At this moment, countless soldiers emerged from the woods, holding shields and spears, rushed towards the shore. The hundreds of boatmen who were resting were so scared that they stumbled on the side. The Sui army soldiers, regardless of the boatmen, rushed directly onto the ship and fought fiercely with the soldiers guarding the ship.

At this time, dozens of Sui army water ghosts hid in the water climbed onto the first ship and were fighting fiercely with the thirty Tang soldiers on the ship.

The first ship is an 800-stone passenger ship, which does not carry copper ingots. It is the command ship of the entire fleet and is crucial to controlling the fleet. Since the fleet is linked with iron chains, in order to prevent thieves from stealing ships during night breaks, the chains are all locked. All the keys of the large locks are stored on the first command ship. As long as the command ship is occupied, the entire fleet will not be able to escape.

Liu Lancheng jumped onto the big ship with a horizontal knife in his hand, swung his sword overturned the two soldiers. He kicked open the cabin door and rushed in. He did not entangle with the enemy soldiers, and directly rushed to the inner cabin. As soon as he arrived at the cabin door, a Tang army captain rushed out with a large wooden box. Liu Lancheng shouted loudly and slashed towards him. The Tang army captain dodged. He did not dare to fight and fled to the cabin. Liu Lancheng waved his backhand and shot the dagger in his hand, hitting the back of the Tang army captain.

The Tang Army Captain screamed, and the wooden box in his hand fell to the ground, and it broke open. Several large strings of keys slid out from it. Each key had a number. It was the key to untie the chains of hundreds of small boats, and it was also what Liu Lancheng was looking for when he got on the boat.

Liu Lancheng pierced the chest of the Tang Army Captain with one knife, grabbed three keys and rushed out of the cabin, killing two Tang Army soldiers who intercepted him, and rushed to the deck.

Without the key, the Tang soldiers could no longer quickly untie the chains. Under the powerful impact of the Sui soldiers again and again, the Tang soldiers could not resist it. They died and fled. In just a quarter of an hour, the Fenglei Army ended the battle and occupied a hundred cargo ships. Liu Lancheng immediately ordered the hundred cargo ships to be driven into the middle of the river and overturned, and 800,000 kilograms of thick copper sank into the Danshui.
Chapter completed!