Chapter 46 Night Raid 1

The three civilian boats following the official ship were not big, just the most common civilian boat style.

The boatman in charge of rowing was particularly strong and sturdy, and the "passengers" sitting in the cabin were all middle-aged men, and everyone had strange packages in their hands.

The long packages contained long guns, and the shorter ones contained long knives. There were also weapons such as soft whips and iron rods.

As long as no one boarded the ship and entered the cabin to check, there was nothing unusual from such a distance.

The three civilian boats were not parallel, and each was separated by about two miles of water. Mixed with the boats on the river, they were not eye-catching at all.

The first boat had the most people. There were about twenty strong men. There were lame beggars and scarred faces among them. The leading man had a strong back and a pair of triangular eyes. He was the second in command of this group of pirates.

"Second boss, do we really want to take the risk to do this?" Scarface asked uneasily, "There are quite a few guards on this official ship. What if..."

The lame beggar sneered and said, "What if? Scarface, you are getting less and less courageous. There are at most 20 guards on that official ship, and with the boatman, there will be no more than 40 people. We have 70 people here. Besides, we don't plan to board the ship and kill people. We just need to pull out the knife to stop them, rob them and leave. We are used to this kind of business!"

Of course there are risks. However, what they are doing is robbing and selling people at the risk of their lives. How can they achieve anything if they are timid!

The second boss looked at the lame beggar in agreement, "The lame man is right. If you want to make a fortune, you have to take risks. The first boss has sent people to urge him several times, saying that he is short of the best "goods". There is a noble leader on the barbarian side who has offered a high price of 200 war horses for a stunning beauty."

The eyes of the bandits in the cabin lit up.

Two hundred war horses!

If they are transported to the interior and sold, there will be at least 70,000 or 80,000 taels! According to convention, the first and second bosses will get one-third, and the rest will be divided equally among everyone, which is nearly 1,000 taels.

After this job, it will be enough to spend on food, drink and entertainment for one or two years!

Thinking of this, everyone became excited and said in unison: "Scar, if you dare not do it, you will stay and watch the ship."

"That's right, we will follow the second boss to do this job."

"If you want to eat meat and drink happily, how can you not take some risks..."

Scarface was ridiculed by everyone, and he shrank his neck and kept silent.

The second boss was quite satisfied when he saw his men rubbing their hands. Thinking of the glimpse of beauty at the dock in the daytime, he was eager to move again.

There are not few beautiful girls who have been kidnapped. But it is unprecedented to see such a beautiful girl as today. Such a stunning beauty, let alone two hundred war horses, even if the price is higher, there is no worry that he can't sell it.

It's a pity that in order to sell at a high price, the girl must be a virgin who has never been touched by anyone.

Even if he kidnapped someone, he could only watch...

Then he thought again, if he did this, he could get a large sum of money. What kind of beautiful woman would he want at that time?

"Everyone, please be quiet for a while." The second in command calmed down and said in a deep voice: "We are doing a beheading business. If we are not careful, everyone's life will be over. So, before we start, I have to tell you the rules again."

"First, no one can act without my order. Second, you can't kill people. Don't covet the gold and silver on the ship. Move quickly and retreat quickly after robbing someone. If anyone doesn't listen to my order..."

The second in command grinned, and a terrifying murderous light flashed in his triangular eyes: "My knife doesn't recognize people."

The bandits who were excited and shouting just now responded in unison, and the cabin suddenly became much quieter.

The lame beggar, relying on his merit in reporting the news, boldly asked: "Second Master, the night is long and dreams are many, why not take action tonight. Otherwise, we will follow all the way and arouse the suspicion of the guards on the official ship."

The second master said without hesitation: "Wait a minute. Our three boats will take turns to follow and observe the movements on the boat, and then take action after understanding the specific situation on the boat."

......

Two days later.

It was getting dark, and the boatmen were all exhausted after rowing for a day. There were still dozens of miles of water to the next dock, and they could not catch up with the dock anyway.

The leader of the boatmen went to report to the head of the guards: "......Tonight, we can only dock on the shore to rest."

After so many days of water travel, such a situation has also happened.

But the boat went to a place where few people went, and there was an empty wasteland by the river. Except for one or two civilian boats passing by occasionally, there was no human habitation at all.

The leader of the guards nodded and said, "I'll report to the master and his wife, you let everyone have a good rest."

After knowing this, Master Ling only ordered one sentence: "Let the guards work harder at night and take turns to guard the night."

This is just a precautionary measure. What kind of scoundrels dare to attack the official ship?

The sky soon darkened.

Everyone had dinner, sat and chatted for a while, and then went back to the cabin to rest.

Bai Yu lit the candlestick. Ling Jingshu held the book and read it softly to Ling Xiao.

"A Shu," Ling Xiao suddenly frowned and said softly, "I felt nervous and uneasy all day today. I always felt like something was going to happen?"

It is said that twins have telepathy, and it turns out to be true.

Ling Jingshu was restless all day, and she didn't expect Ling Xiao to be the same.

"Don't think too much, it's been a safe journey, nothing will happen." Ling Jingshu pretended to be relaxed and cheerful to comfort Ling Xiao, but her eyes swept across the bamboo tube beside the pillow.

This was what she specifically asked Bai Yu to ask the boatman for. If there was an unexpected accident on the boat, just open the lid of the bamboo tube and throw it out with force, and a sky-high flame will emerge from the bamboo tube. It can be seen from a distance of thirty miles on the water.

This is the distress signal when the official ship is in distress. As long as such a flame is seen, no matter what kind of ship it is, it must rush to rescue in the shortest time.

When the official ship travels, it must prepare several such bamboo tubes.

In fact, most of them have no chance to be used. The boatman has half a basket of such bamboo tubes. Therefore, when Bai Yu went to ask for it, he got one without much talk.

Ling Jingshu also hid a sharp dagger under her pillow.

However, don't tell Ling Xiao about this, lest he gets more nervous.

"You've never been far away, nor have you ever lived on a boat, so you're probably a little nervous, so you're just imagining things." Ling Jingshu softened her voice: "It's getting late, go back and wash up and go to bed!"

Ling Xiao responded sullenly.

After coaxing Ling Xiao away, Ling Jingshu also simply washed up and went to bed.

Perhaps because she was too nervous, the slightest sound of the breeze blowing through the window seemed to ring in her ears.

Ling Jingshu had a rare insomnia, and she fell asleep only after midnight.

After sleeping for an unknown period of time, Ling Jingshu was suddenly awakened.

......