Chapter 236 Exploration

Dengzhou Prefecture City is Penglai County. The city is tall and majestic. It is one of the fortresses in Shandong. Because it is located in the sea and the Bohai Sea, the gateway to the garrison of the capital, it has always been stationed with naval troops.

During the Kong Youde Rebellion, the Liao soldiers relied on Dengzhou City to face the superior forces outside the city that were more than ten times their own. They actually held on for more than two years, which shows that the city was strong and dangerous. Now, it has been almost six years since the chaos, and the city is still in ruins and has not recovered its vitality.

You should know that, except for the hundreds of young women who were used as camp prostitutes on that day, the population in the city was almost massacred, and now the residents in the city have moved from other places.

The city was so ruined that the damage caused by the attack and defense that day has not been repaired yet. However, for the officers and generals, the vast sea is a natural barrier, so the enemy will naturally not come, and those who deceive themselves feel very at ease.

After Kong Youde led his army to flee from Shuimen on a boat, the final battle made the military port and Shuimen very dilapidated. The navy only had some warships left to dock. On the contrary, some fishermen and merchants paid some money to borrow this good port and park and affiliate, which was very convenient.

Since the Pinghai guerrilla Luo Hao led 5,000 troops to "meet thieves" between Laiyang and Qixia overnight, more than a thousand soldiers were left in the Dengzhou Prefecture City, and most of them were old and weak. Zhao Neng, the Dusi stationed in Laiyang County, was an enthusiastic general. He knew that the troops in Dengzhou Prefecture City were weak, so he sent a thousand people to be stationed on the edge of Dengzhou City. Compared with the more than a thousand old, weak, sick and disabled soldiers in Dengzhou Prefecture, it is the difference between tigers, wolves and cattle and sheep.

With the intimidation outside the city, the people in the city were even more trembling and did not dare to act without action. The general who was guarding here even wrote a letter a day to Shandong General Qiu Lei, saying that he was old and weak and could not take this important task, and asked him to retire and return home. The Dengzhou soldiers who were rampant on weekdays even shrank their tails and were afraid that they would be caught by the Jiaozhou camp outside the city.

In June and July, it is a good time for the fishermen. The sea is calm and there are several fishing floods coming from abroad. After a year of livelihood, it will be a lot of subsidies. Those businessmen who go out to do business have similar ideas. Take this opportunity to go a few times and make some money.

Therefore, at the Shuimen Military Port in Dengzhou City, there are many ships coming in and out every day. However, both fishermen and boatmen were surprised to find that the soldiers guarding the port who used to like to blackmail were much more settled at this time. In the past, if they saw the ship's harvest or the boatmen's clothes were more glamorous, they would often be extorted a lot of money. But now, these soldiers are very abide by the rules and dare not do anything randomly.

A small fishing boat also slowly sailed into the water gate from the outer port and found a suitable location for mooring. He skillfully threw the ropes onto the shore. A sailor looked like a pedal and ran to the shore a few steps, then tied the ropes to the piles. The sailor greeted the people on the ship and walked up to the dock. When he saw soldiers who were managing the port coming, he quickly resigned and trotted to the front.

"Several military officials, the young ones who went out to sea to fish on Sang Island, sell the fish here and leave."

Sang Island is a small island about half a day away from Dengzhou Prefecture City. The island is full of fishermen. The soldiers guarding the Water Gate know that, but they just spoke coldly:

"You can stop for three days after fifty months."

Looking at the soldier's hand, the few pieces of silver held by the sailor were thrown back into the bag in a hidden way, and took out a string of copper coins, placed them respectfully on the soldier's hand, and said respectfully:

"This is seventy cents. The extra military masters took it to drink tea, which is also a little bit of the villain's intention."

The soldier who collected the money first looked back and hesitated before accepting the copper coins. He whispered:

"Don't be known to others. Your boat will be stopped here for a few more days, and our brothers will not care about you."

"Everyone knows it, please don't worry, Jun Ye."

The sailor nodded and bowed, and said, "The two sides had nothing to say. After passing by, the sailor looked back in surprise, thinking that when he came last time, the soldier from the Shuimen Military Port looked like a wolf. He didn't even ask for money, but even had to take some fish and shrimp in vain. Why did he be so obedient recently? He could simply describe it as honest.

Although the sailor claimed to be from Sang Island, he saw that he had a good understanding of Dengzhou City and stopped and soon entered the main street of Dengzhou City. Although Dengzhou City was in decline, it was still a big city for the nearby villagers. It was a big deal to come here to buy things. Moreover, there were many things on the island. It was difficult to come out once and have to buy them all. Soon, the sailor got into a grocery store.

After about half an hour, the sailor walked out of the shop, but his dress was no longer the short-clad one at the sea, but he looked like a traveler, carrying a small bag on his back, holding a bad horse, holding a cake in his hand, and biting it while walking.

When they arrived at the city gate, the soldiers who were also lazy guarding the city gate checked the route of the traveler. It said that a Dengzhou city citizen went to Dongchang Prefecture to visit relatives. He passed through several prefectures and allowed the passage. According to the rules, the soldiers asked for three cents. Before leaving, they said: This army is in chaos, why are you doing outside?

The sailor smiled without answering, and went on his own way. He walked halfway through the road and said, "These wastes don't even have the energy to make money, what else can they do?"

Although it was on the road, the sailor dressed in this trip knew that the road was not peaceful, so he went to the Chema Shop first, and there were more people gathering on the road together. Who would have thought that when he arrived at the Chema Shop, the shopkeeper was a real person and said:

"Although the years are not good, it's peaceful on the way. Even if you walk alone on the road, you don't have to worry about anything. The thief of the horse has already gone to farm."

This immediately made the sailor confused, but he couldn't show his unfamiliar appearance. He just nodded and laughed dryly, explaining:

"It's better to walk with more people and feel at ease."

If multiple people get together, the car shop will earn more money. Since the customer insists, the shopkeeper will be happy. He is also a clever character who is sent to the show and said politely:

"I heard from my brother's accent, and there was a bit of Liao Town. When did I move here?"

The sailor's pupils contracted slightly, and there was still a smile on his face. He still replied calmly:

"The ancestors came here and I had no idea about the Liaodong territory."

The shopkeeper didn't ask much. The sailor also went to find a shop to rest. The people gathered together quickly. A group of passers-by from Dengzhou Prefecture City and nearby places started to set off. The sailor was obviously not good at speaking, but he was willing to inquire. Among the people who were traveling with him, there was a good talker, and such an audience would naturally make a big fuss.

In the past six months, for ordinary people, they do not know what kind of swords and swords are there in private in Shandong, and what the truth is. What they can only know and believe are what the government said, and the rumor that the government intends to release.

For example, Caozhou General Liu Zeqing colluded with the rioters in Shaanxi, and the two sides were unevenly divided into spoils. The bandits entered Caozhou and killed General Liu, who was both loyal and wise. As a result, when General Liu died, the ground in Shandong was immediately in chaos. The soldiers in Dengzhou Prefecture were either defeated by themselves or were disbanded by the bandits. As a result, a general who was in charge of Laizhou Prefecture was divided into various places. What's the use of the soldiers who were in charge of two or three thousand people in one mansion? The court is so confused that it will cause a big mess sooner or later.

The man said the spit was flying, and the sailor kindly reminded him, "Don't be heard by the government, it will be a disaster." The man said happily, and didn't care, and said directly:

"Wei Zhongxian's disaster has long been eliminated by the saints. Now the sages of Donglin are in court, and it is very clear."

The sailor Xiaoxiao didn't say anything and just walked all the way. The sailor, or a passerby who was walking, separated from the brigade when he arrived in Qixia and rode his own bad horse slowly.

In the next month and a half, the sailor could be seen in Dengzhou Prefecture, Laizhou Prefecture, and Qingzhou Prefecture. He walked in many places and watched many things.

A month and a half later, the man returned to Dengzhou Prefecture City, almost reversed the order of entering Dengzhou Prefecture City. When he arrived at the port of Shuimen, he became a sailor. There were so many ships entering and leaving at the port of Shuimen every day, who would pay attention to a sailor on the ship?

The fishing boat on which the sailor was not the one he was riding when he came. Similarly, no one came to pay attention to the boat. The fishing boat on which the sailor took the return trip claimed to be a ship from Dazhu Island when he was parked due to the fee. However, after sailing out of the water gate of the military port of Dengzhou Fucheng, the direction of the boat was not Dazhu Island.

The Ming Dynasty did not regularly inspect the navy and navy on the sea surface. Moreover, even if there was such a setting, interception and inspection of the small boat at sea was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Moreover, even if it was intercepted, the people on the boat could be said to be going out to sea to fish, and there were not many prohibited things.

But the ship left Dengzhou Port and passed Dazhu Island without docking. It still reached the northernmost part of the island chain, but still did not dock. Instead, it drove directly to the Zhongzuo Soochow of Jinzhou before getting off the ship and docking.
Chapter completed!