Dafeng Night Watchman
Chapter 184: Chapter 184: Inspecting the Barge

Chapter 184: Chapter 184: Inspecting the Barge

The bloody light was endless....The official ship was full of villains...Xu Qian'an was shocked.

But he did not make a rash judgment, because there were often pirates on the canal, and these officials might have just repelled the bandits who tried to rob.

"What kind of ship is that? Why is it different from ours?" Xu Qian'an looked at the official ship getting closer and closer, and asked his colleagues around him casually.

There were many old Tongluo people present, who were knowledgeable and experienced. After identifying it, they answered: "That is a pontoon. Judging from the flag, it seems to be from Yuzhou."

A pontoon is a large flat-bottomed ship, mostly used to carry goods.

Xu Qi'an said "Oh", his eyes flickered, and he continued to ask: "Are there any pirates near Yuzhou?"

Song Tingfeng laughed and put his hand on Xu Qi'an's shoulder: "It's only half a day's journey from here to Yuzhou Customs. Have you seen anyone robbing people at the gate of the government?"

"That's no problem." Xu Qi'an nodded, as if he had confirmed something.

"What's no problem?"

"It's no problem to get merit." He glanced at Song Tingfeng, and seeing that the two ships were about to pass by, he quickly said: "Tingfeng, go back to the cabin and replace Jiang Jinluo immediately, and say there is an urgent matter."

He then glanced at the seven or eight Tongluo on the deck, and said in a deep voice: "There is a problem with that ship, you follow me."

After that, he shouted to the pontoon on the side: "Stop the ship!"

The voice rolled and echoed on the river.

The officials on the pontoon ignored it and pretended not to hear it. Even some boatmen quietly adjusted the angle of the sails, and the pontoon was tilted away from the official ship where the night watchman was.

At this time, the other Tongluo also noticed something was wrong. Before they could speak, they saw Xu Qian'an leaning on the guardrail, and the deck under his feet "cracked" and broke, and he shot out like a cannonball.

In an instant, he crossed a distance of dozens of meters and landed steadily on the deck of the pontoon.

"Crack..."

The sound of the deck breaking was endless, and seven or eight Tongluo jumped up one after another, relying on exaggerated jumping power and agitated energy, and also jumped onto the pontoon.

Seeing a group of Tongluo "invading" the pontoon, the faces of several clerks on the deck changed slightly, and they quietly pressed the handle of the knife at their waist.

"Several adults..." A bearded man ran out of the cabin quickly, wearing a government uniform, a tall hat, and a pair of black boots on his feet.

He looked around at the gongs on the deck and clasped his fists and said, "What can I do for you?"

Xu Qi'an did not speak, but carefully observed their micro-expressions and subtle movements. Zhu Guangxiao said in a deep voice:

"What government office are you from?"

"I am the captain of the ship guard of the Canal Transport Office, escorting a batch of iron ore to Beijing." The bearded man answered. The uniforms they wore were printed with waves, which were the uniforms of the Canal Transport Office.

Yuzhou is rich in iron ore. Salt and iron are both the lifeblood of the country. In layman's terms, they are strategic resources and a major financial source.

The gongs were not surprised by this and turned to look at Xu Qi'an. They didn't understand why he suddenly intercepted this ship.

Xu Qi'an narrowed his eyes and noticed a detail. Up to now, the barge was still sailing and had not dropped anchor.

"Guangxiao, stop the ship." Xu Qi'an said in a deep voice.

Zhu Guangxiao immediately went to the stern and kicked the huge and heavy anchor into the water, and the barge slowly came down.

When this taciturn colleague returned, Xu Qian'an asked: "Why didn't you stop the boat just now?"

"This..." The bearded man looked embarrassed and whispered: "Wait a moment, sirs."

He returned to the cabin, and after a while, he folded a few silver bills, handed them over obscurely, and said with a smile:

"I know that no matter where you are, as long as you see the sirs in the night watchman's office, you have to show respect... I was ignorant just now and wanted to get away with it. I deserve death. Please forgive me, sirs."

Xu Qian'an took a look and saw that they were all silver bills with a face value of fifty taels, totaling about three hundred taels.

Did he think that we blocked the ship to accept bribes? The night watchmen present reacted and were angry and amused.

Although the night watchmen were not very clean, they were not to the extent of plucking feathers from passing geese. However, the reputation of the night watchmen is indeed very bad, thanks to the civil officials who have been throwing dirty water day after day, shaping the night watchmen into Wei Yuan's eagle claws, doing evil deeds such as harming loyal people and taking bribes and perverting the law.

The best thing for scholars is to use the pen to kill people's hearts.

"Ning Yan..." Zhu Guangxiao frowned and cast his eyes on Xu Qiyan.

Including him, the copper gongs did not believe that Xu Qiyan intercepted the barge for silver. This guy who would cut the silver gong with a knife for an irrelevant woman, whether he is likable or not, but his character is worthy of recognition.

The bearded man saw that no one took the silver note for a long time, and his heart sank. He didn't think there was anything wrong with his response, but it seemed that the night watchmen didn't buy it.

"Take me to the cabin to have a look." Xu Qiyan took a few steps forward and stared at the bearded man.

At this time, Xu Qiyan stood in front of all the copper gongs, his right hand inadvertently behind his back, and quickly made a gesture.

The gesture was subtle and subtle, but the gongs behind him quietly tensed up.

Because this gesture is the professional sign language of the night watchman's office, which

means: prepare for action.

"Take me to check it out." Xu Qiyan asked.

"Okay, please." The bearded man agreed at once.

.... Isn't it too easy to agree? Normally, you shouldn't protest: the canal transportation is not

the responsibility of the night watchman.

Well, it can also be that he is cowardly... Xu Qiyan thought about it, led his colleagues, followed the bearded man into the cabin, and went down the narrow stairs to the bottom

cabin.

Lighting the candles one by one, the bearded man led the night watchmen to check the ore filled in the cargo boxes.

A gong grabbed a handful of fine iron ore and said, "They are all high-quality iron ore,

screened."

The bearded man laughed a few times, which was considered a response.

The Tongluo dropped the iron ore calmly, touched Xu Qi'an's waist with his scabbard, and

signaled with his eyes.

Xu Qi'an said: "You continue to check."

He walked to the side with the Tongluo and asked in a low voice: "What's wrong?"

The Tongluo lowered his voice: "The ore is ground too finely, and the quality is too good."

Xu Qi'an didn't understand: "This is shipped to the capital, what's the problem?" The Tongluo glanced at the people not far away, retracted his gaze, and whispered: "I investigated a corruption case in the Ministry of Industry a few years ago, which was related to iron ore. Ore is calculated by weight, not quality.

"In order to gain benefits and enrich themselves, officials will mix crushed stones or inferior iron ore into the iron ore. As long as a certain degree is grasped, there will be no problem." ... That is to say, the quality of the iron ore here is too good... Xu Qi'an nodded. After the inspection, there was no abnormality, and everyone returned to the cabin. Xu Qi'an made another request: "Give me your documents."

The bearded man obediently took the document issued by the Canal Transport Office. After confirming that it was correct, Xu Qian'an said, "You didn't encounter any problems on the

way."

"How could that be? We just left Yuzhou." The bearded man said.

Oh, then explain the green light on your head... no, what does the blood light mean?

Xu Qian'an walked and observed the cabin. The bearded man accompanied him throughout

the whole process, answering all questions with an unusually good attitude.

All the way to the kitchen, four cooks sat on a small wooden stick, silently watching Xu

Qian'an and others.

There were many seasonal vegetables stored in the baskets in the kitchen, which looked quite

fresh.

Xu Qian'an smiled and said, "Now my eyes light up when I see vegetable leaves. I ate fish on

the boat for many days, which was fishy and unpalatable."

He glanced at the four cooks and said, "Right."

A cook glanced at the bearded man, and when their eyes met, he understood and smiled

humbly: "Yes, the fish in the river will inevitably have an earthy smell. It is normal for adults

to be uncomfortable with it. People like us who have been living on the water for years have

long been accustomed to it."

"Oh, you don't know how to remove the fishy smell. "Xu Qiyan nodded with a smile.

Hmm? The four cooks tasted something strange from Xu Qiyan's meaningful smile.

The bearded man did the same, and tried to say: "Sir..."

Before he could say anything, the man with the copper gong hit his chin from bottom to top, and his gums collided, and a mouthful of broken teeth popped out.

Then, the man with the copper gong punched him in the chest twice at a very fast speed, bang bang... The force penetrated his back and tore his uniform.

The bearded man was hit and flew out, hit the wall, and fell to the ground limply. Xu Qiyan, who suddenly attacked, no longer paid attention to him. He turned around and

swept his leg, breaking the ribs of a cook, and then broke the sternums of the remaining three

cooks with the strength and speed of a warrior.

The whole process took no more than five seconds.

Despite this, the fight in the kitchen still attracted the attention of both sides outside.

Xu Qiyan shouted: "Capture everyone on the boat and leave them alive. "

The gongs, who had been reminded by the hand gestures, reacted very quickly and attacked without hesitation, knocking down boatmen and clerks one by one.

For the night watchmen who were all in the Qi training realm, subduing a group of clerks with decent skills was not much more difficult than Xu Qi'an beating Xu Lingyin.

At this time, Xu Qi'an felt a strong aura landing on the deck. In order to save the bearded man

from jumping into the water and escaping, he carried him out of the cabin and onto the deck. Jiang Luzhong frowned and looked at him silently.

Xu Qi'an turned his head to look in the direction of his official ship and found that Governor

Zhang was also alarmed. He stood on the deck and looked over here with a solemn expression. This barge was also an official ship, belonging to the Yuzhou government. Xu Qi'an's actions

were no different from those of a pirate. If there was no reasonable reason, this matter would be difficult to handle.

"What are you doing? "Jiang Lvzhong cast an inquiring look and glanced at the beard in Xu Qi'an's hand.

He recognized it at a glance as the uniform of the Caoyun Yamen.

"There is something wrong with this ship, but it's hard to say what it is." Xu Qi'an explained.

"This is a barge of the Yuzhou Caoyun Yamen. Is it transporting iron ore?" Jiang Lvzhong

asked.

"Yes,"

Jiang Lvzhong nodded and said in a deep voice: "How did you replace out that there is something wrong with it?"

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