It turns out that those twenty or so people in Lugou Inn are also suspicious, but there's nothing we can do about it.

  After the New Year's festival, hundreds of thousands of refugees were stranded on the north bank of Chao Tian Dang. The number of homeless refugees along the Shiliang River was particularly large, and fishermen and boat households in Hongze Pu also gathered to resist taxation. To say that there are suspicious circumstances, how many groups of refugees along the Shiliang River are not suspicious?

  Refugees are also easy to be despised, in a world of chaos and disorder, morality is truly useless. To make a living, they will not hesitate to kill people, set fires, rob houses and commit other crimes. Refugees gather and disperse like locusts, if there is work to do, they will do it; if there is no work, they will beg, steal from the rich, or rob houses. When they gather, they will plunder wealth and kill people, when they succeed, they will scatter into the countryside, and the refugees who fill the mountains and fields make it impossible for the authorities to catch the culprits, even small groups of bandits have suddenly increased.

  The knife and bowmen in the county can barely cope with capturing thieves, guarding cities and houses, but they are unable to show off their strength in the vast countryside. At this time, the local militia play a crucial role in maintaining and stabilizing the local area, but most of them are private soldiers controlled by wealthy families, and their scale is limited after all. They can barely form self-defense organizations and do not dare to take the lead in attacking bandits, nor do they have such motivation. Some wealthy families set up porridge houses for self-protection and to win people's hearts, taking out some rice and grains every day to cook porridge to relieve disaster victims.

  The situation being what it was, the local authorities naturally became more cautious in their treatment of people with suspicious appearances. At least they didn't dare to arrest them indiscriminately anymore. Even if they were arrested and put in prison, nothing could be extorted from these people, so everyone adopted an attitude of "one less thing is better than one more thing". On the one hand, they gathered troops to intimidate the refugees and prevent them from rioting, while on the other hand, they hoped that this wave of refugees would pass peacefully.

  Lin invited Liu Xilin and others to come aboard the boat for a drink, asking them to move their luggage and mules onto the boat. Apart from the suspicious-looking men drinking in the wine house, there were also many huts built around the ferry terminal where stranded migrants lived. Very few of these migrants could afford oil lamps or candles, so at night the huts were pitch black and it was impossible to tell how many people were there. The county of Shiliang did not have any reliable statistics on this either.

  "Alas..." Lin Xie let out a faint sigh in his heart. In the south bank of Chongtian Lake, inside and outside Jiangning City, it was still a peaceful scene. Only when one reached the north bank and headed further north did they realize that the situation was becoming increasingly tense. The imperial court had made great efforts to eliminate bandits before and after the New Year's festival, forming a wave of refugees earlier than in previous years. This also caused many places to miss the spring planting season, and this year's famine in the north might be impossible to alleviate.

  It rained again at night, and on the stern deck of the Dongyang ship, there were still three layers of cabins. Lin Xie and others were drinking in the top cabin, with the cabin door open, and the candle flames swayed by the incoming night wind, casting a reflection on the faces of Lin Xie, Liu Xilin, Sun Jing Tang, Zhao Hu, Gu Tianqiao, and Da Jia Ye.

  Sun Jing Tang only then knew that the young man with a simple appearance and robust physique he had met by chance at Yeouido was the Dongcheng school lieutenant who was about to take up his post in Jiangning.

  Gu Wu Chen was able to suppress Wang Xue Shan, but in the end it was still because of the former Dong Cheng Wei Chen Zhi's foolishness. After Chen Zhi was dismissed and imprisoned, the position of Dong Cheng Wei had been vacant, with Zhang Yu Bo, a participant in the Left Si Kou army, temporarily taking over. It wasn't until now that Sun Jing Tang realized that this position would still be taken over by a military officer from Gu Wu Chen's faction, indicating that Gu Wu Chen already had considerable influence in Jiang Ning. Seeing how respectfully Liu Xi Lin treated Lin Fu, Sun Jing Tang became even more convinced that Lin Fu was indeed the first disciple of the Gu family and not just a rumor. Although this dynasty emphasized literature over martial arts, the position of Dong Cheng Wei was crucial, and even if only comparing official ranks, a sixth-grade military officer was far superior to a ninth-grade scholar-official. However, since Lin Fu and Liu Xi Lin were both part of Gu Wu Chen's faction, their actual status would still depend on how close they were to Gu Wu Chen.

  "Huai'an Prefecture imposed a fishing tax to support the suppression of bandits, and the situation in Hongze Lake suddenly became tense. At its most intense, tens of thousands of fishermen gathered and made a ruckus, and with refugees passing through during the New Year's festival, the waterway was completely blocked. Although Dongyang only shared a border with Hongze Lake at the northeastern corner of Shiliang County, once the fishermen in Hongze Lake caused trouble, Dongyang would inevitably be affected as well. When I received the order to deploy, I was stationed in the north of Shiliang County and couldn't leave my post for the time being. At the beginning of the month, Chen Hansan's suppression team from Huaiyang was deployed to Huai'an and stationed in the northeast of Hongze Lake to intimidate the rioting fishermen, who finally dispersed. Only then could I return to the prefectural city to report to Governor Shen..." said Liu Xilin.

  "Has Chen Han's three battalions arrived in Huai'an? Has anything bloody happened?" Lin Bing asked.

  "It's said that he killed some people, but it's not very serious. Chen Hansan is not a Huai'an native, and in Huaiyang, his hands are also stained with blood. In Hongze Pu, he has no qualms about taking action. Magistrate Shen is actually opposed to transferring Chen Hansan over here, the bowstring is already stretched too tight, it's time to loosen it a bit. However, Magistrate Shen can't control things outside of Dongyang Prefecture. Brother Lin going to Shiliang County doesn't have to worry too much, I'll return to the prefectural city, and Magistrate Shen will still let one battalion of troops be stationed in Shiliang, under the command of the Shiliang county magistrate..." Liu Xilin said.

  Dongyang Prefecture Governor Shen Rong is a young official who advocates for the reorganization of local prefectural troops. Liu Xilin is an excellent general unearthed by Shen Rong, and the Dongyang Prefectural Army is more trustworthy than the garrison. According to Liu Xilin, Shen Rong still has concerns about the situation in Hongzepu. Indeed, when fishermen's livelihoods are at stake, gathering crowds and making a ruckus cannot be easily dispersed by force. Although the fishermen have dispersed for now, it may be temporary restraint, but it also reveals some other information. The gathering and dispersal of Hongzepu fishermen seem to be in order, not like ordinary riots.

  Ge Cunxin, Ge Cunxiong brothers and the Ge family were the leaders of the fishermen and boat households on the Nanru River, and later became the leaders of the resistance against extortion by the fishermen and boat households. In Hongze Lake, there were also many wealthy families similar to the Ge family, who helped the government manage the fishermen and boat households in peacetime, collecting taxes and donations from them, which alleviated the contradictions between the government and the fishing households. However, when the contradictions intensified, some of these wealthy families became the government's henchmen, while others sympathized with the fishing households, and it was uncertain whether some people had other ambitions.

  Hongze Pu fishermen gathered and made a disturbance, there must be some people secretly organizing and pushing behind the scenes, it's not something difficult to understand, unfortunately, from the official documents sent by Huai'an Prefecture to the county government, it can't be seen that the local authorities have detected these.

  The old carp wants to keep watch at night, he drank half a bottle of wine and stopped, went out on patrol.

  Lin Xuan also told Liu Xilin about some situations in Jiangning, with Sun Jingting and Gu Tianqiao present. Lin Xuan only spoke vaguely, allowing Liu Xilin to have a general understanding of the situation in Jiangning. As for specific and subtle secrets, after Liu Xilin arrived in Jiangning, both Gu Wuchen and Zhang Yubo would personally instruct him on the details.

  Drinking till late at night, Lin Tie let Liu Xilin rest on the boat, and after dawn, he would have Xihehui send a boat to take them to Jiangning. Having one more or one less boat didn't make much difference for him.

  There were suspicious people at the ferry terminal, and there were many refugees. If someone incited the refugees to riot, Liu Xilin and his three attendants would definitely not be able to cope, nor could they expect the sentries and tax collectors at the ferry terminal, who usually only bullied the good and kind, to help in any way.

  Sun Jing Tang returned to the west river meeting, Wu Peng's boat rested, Lin Fu let Zhao Hu accompany him on the deck, Ge Cun Xin stood at the bow staring at the shore, the ferry was lit with a few lonely lanterns, and other places were dark shadows.

  "What's wrong?" Lin Xuan saw Da Jia Ye staring at the shore with a serious expression.

  "There are a few groups eyeing us from over there, and another group just left," said Da Jia Ye, standing guard at the bow of the boat, still able to vaguely see the situation on shore. "The brothers have all put on their armor and are taking turns resting. If they set their sights on us, they're really asking for trouble."

  With armor and without, the difference is great. On the Dongyang ship, there are twenty sets of fine composite armor, while others have at least double-layered leather armor; even at close range, they don't need to fear being shot by hunting bows, nor can ordinary swords and knives easily harm them. The people on the ship are all brave and skilled in battle, with sharp blades and hidden strong bows and crossbows. If they still feared small groups of bandits, then Ge Cunxin would have lived this life in vain.

  Lin Xiang gazed at the shore for a moment, and saw that the people on this side had already retreated. He couldn't see anything unusual, so he pulled Da Yu Ye and Zhao Hu to squat on the deck to discuss: "Our ship is empty, anyone with some experience in sailing can tell whether it's loaded or not at a glance; besides, the water in Hongze Lake is shallow, even if Dongyang number didn't carry goods and wanted to pass through Hongze Lake to enter the Huai River, it would still be trembling with fear of being stranded. What do these people want to hijack our ship for? And it's also suspicious that the fishermen who gathered to protest against the donation in the middle of the month suddenly dispersed..."

  "Are they going to set a trap to lure Qin Chengbo into their net?" Zhao Hu remembered that Lin Xian had said before drinking that after Qin Chengbo stepped down, he would likely want to take the opportunity to return home and show off. He thought about it for a moment and said, "The fishermen and boatmen of Hongzepu continue to block the waterway and not disperse, even if Qin Chengbo wants to return home to honor his ancestors, he won't be able to take the route from Hongzepu to Zhongli County..."

  "Hongze Pu has always been a shallow water area, and fishermen and boat households do not have large ships. Qin Chengbo brought his family back to Zhongli, and it must be a large fleet. If someone really wants to lure Qin Chengbo into the trap, just forcing the Qin family's ship fleet into the shallow waters of Hongze Pu will allow them to do as they please. But we also need to prevent the Qin family's ship fleet from retreating back to Shiliang River. If it were me, using a large ship to block the retreat route of the Qin family's ship fleet is absolutely necessary..." said Da Zhen Ye.

  "It seems that we should first confirm whether the person secretly investigating this side is related to Hong Zepu... Lin furrowed his brow and ordered: "Light the lanterns, have one group of people put on their armor and hold swords in formation. Try not to provoke a conflict if possible; also send a message to inform Hei Ya to come aboard."

  "Alright." Da Yu Ge Cun Xin replied, and went to make arrangements. He was also from a boatman's family, if the other side were fishermen or boatmen from Hongze Lake, they would have to show some respect for their shared background, and it would be best if they could intimidate them into not starting a conflict.

  There were three layers of cabins on the stern deck, and the top deck was about three zhang high above the water surface. On the top deck, there was a wooden tower about one zhang high, similar to the river mouth angle tower. Although the copper oil lamp placed on it was not as huge as that of the river mouth angle tower, the three lamp cores were all as thick as an infant's arm. The oil lamp holder was half a person high, with a canopy above, and a glass cover to block the wind. After lighting the lamp core, the entire 12-zhang-long and 2-zhang-wide Dongyang No. deck could be bright as day.

  To be honest, the wooden lantern tower on the upper deck is not as good as hanging a few wind lamps on the ship, which is more convenient and saves money. The glass cover is also fragile and expensive. However, with the use of polished concave bronze mirrors, the light can be projected to a distance of over 300 steps away. In an era without searchlights, such a simple wooden lantern tower can make the Dongyang number less prone to errors during nighttime navigation or gain many advantages in nighttime battles.

  Lin Xie only wanted to deter those people from having greedy thoughts about the Dongyang, and if they were targeting Qin Chengbo who was about to leave Jiangning, they should give him an illusion that he could safely pass through Shiliang River and Hongzepu instead of taking action against the Dongyang.

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  Miscellaneous Academy Qing Bamboo Hall: 28719226 (collecting middle school students) Thanks to book friend Yijiang Chunshui for providing group resources.

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  P.S: Looking for red envelopes.