Chapter 854: How Does This Person Speak?

Three days later, Quanzhou Port, on the shore.

Xiao Yuanhang kissed his daughter's cheek and said, "Good girl, listen to your older brothers; Daddy will come to fetch you soon."

"Got it," Tuan Tuan said, hugging her father's neck tightly and nodding, "Daddy, come quickly, I'll miss you."

"Alright." Xiao Yuanhang placed his daughter into Luo Zhenjiang's arms and said, "Leader Luo, I entrust Tuan Tuan to you."

Luo Zhenjiang hugged Tuan Tuan and said solemnly, "Prince, rest assured; as long as I'm with Tuan Tuan, I'm present."

Xiao Yuanhang scanned the crowd and said, "Do not underestimate them; the Red-haired Barbarians dominate the seas, so they must have some outstanding strengths. I await your reports."

Xiao Ze clasped his hands and said, "Prince, rest assured, I take my leave."

The group boarded the cargo ship and set sail for Taiyuan Island.

At noon two days later.

The dockworkers shouted, "We've arrived! It's right ahead!"

Everyone stepped onto the deck and looked forward.

They saw a massive, undulating, deep‑green silhouette stretching between sea and sky, its ends disappearing beyond sight.

In the distance, towering ridges were hidden in mist; midway up, a swath of dark‑green vegetation clung to the slopes, and at the foot of the mountains a flat plain spread out.

"Wow!" Tuan Tuan's eyes widened, "It's huge!"

Xiao Er stared blankly and nodded, "Is this… an island?"

Feng Zhou replied, "Alright, it seems so."

"Damn it," Lu Qi swallowed, "This island is unbelievably huge, isn't it?"

Luo Zhenjiang instinctively tightened his hold on Tuan Tuan, "No wonder the Red‑haired Barbarians stay here; this island isn't smaller than Jiangzhou City."

Xiao Ze nodded, "I read in the Palace's 'Chronicle of Taiyuan' that Taiyuan Island is roughly twice the size of Jiangzhou City."

Xiao Ningyuan gasped, "That big?"

Xiao Ningchen looked around, "An island of this magnitude would be a decisive battleground in naval warfare; we must definitely reclaim it."

Xiao Ningxun raised a hand and pointed, frowning, "Look!"

Everyone looked in the direction of his finger.

They saw, not far away on the sea surface, countless thick wooden stakes thrust straight up from the seabed, linked together by arm‑thick iron chains.

Every few stakes, a flag was hoisted at the top.

The flags bore orange, white, and blue horizontal stripes, flapping loudly in the sea breeze.

The iron chain stretched across the water, cutting the harbor entrance in half, leaving only a narrow gap for ships to pass.

Xiao Ningchen hummed, "Sooner or later I'll replace all of these with our red battle flags!"

On the shore, two stone watchtowers stood at opposite ends of the harbor, one at each side.

The sentries on the watchtowers were frantically waving their flags toward the sea.

Immediately afterward, a muffled bell toll rang from the shore.

The bell's sound rolled over the water, deep and rapid, one after another, clearly warning the cargo ship not to dock.

The shore cannons' muzzles turned slowly, black barrels now aimed at the cargo ship.

Soldiers ran back and forth, chattering something, some standing by the artillery, more forming a line, raising their firearms.

The atmosphere was tense, and everyone's hearts rose.

"Red‑haired people!" only Tuan Tuan shouted excitedly, "Their heads really are covered in red hair!"

Everyone: "……"

"You really are a little brat," Luo Zhenjiang said helplessly, shaking his head, "At a time like this, you're the only one who can notice these things."

Xiao Ze scanned the running soldiers, "The defenses are indeed stringent."

Xiao Ningchen said, "Buoys block the way, shore cannons press the line, sentries warn— the defense is quite good."

Xiao Er nodded, "Their meaning is clear: if you try to force through, you'll have to pay with your life."

Xiao Ningxun gave a slight nod, "The Red‑haired Barbarians have been operating here for thirty‑eight years; just this port shows they've truly put in effort."

The cargo ship slowly reached the gap.

A Red‑haired Barbarian soldier on the shore raised a brass, horn‑shaped megaphone toward the cargo ship and shouted:

"Stop the ship! No departure! Come forward, fire the cannons, open fire!"

Feng Zhou laughed heartily, "Is he telling us to stop or to not let us go?"

Lu Qi also laughed, "I think even he isn't sure himself."

Tuan Tuan raised a hand to cover her little ears, "That person's words sound so harsh!"

Luo Zhenjiang smiled, "Rarely do Red‑haired Barbarians speak Zhongyuan language."

Xiao Ningyuan curled the corner of his mouth, "Since their display is so grand, we must show off ours as well."

"Weigh anchor, stop the ship!"

"Aye!"

"Where's the megaphone?"

"Here it is, Young Master," a dockworker handed him an iron‑made megaphone.

Xiao Ningyuan took it, one hand bracing the ship's side, the other raising the megaphone to his mouth, and shouted loudly, "People on the other side, listen up!"

The voice, through the megaphone, carried to the shore: "We come from Jiangzhou! On this ship are the silk, porcelain, and tea you desire!"

"Tell your governor, within one hour, if you don't allow us to dock, we'll turn around and depart!"

After shouting, he handed the megaphone back to the dockworker, "Repeat what I just said several times."

"Yes!"

The dockworker took the megaphone and shouted the words verbatim.

After a few repetitions, the soldiers on the shore went from a puzzled expression to sudden comprehension, and then a few turned and sprinted away.

Xiao Ningyuan waved a hand: "Alright, no need to shout. They understood; let's go in for tea."

The cargo ship steadied and stopped on the sea, and the group calmly walked into the hold.

In less than half an hour, a brown high‑headed horse galloped toward the harbor, and the rider was Mei Er.

When he heard a merchant ship was coming from Jiangzhou, loaded with goods he wanted, he rushed over at once, certain it was those Jingcheng wealthy merchants!

"Ugh—!" he tightened the reins, and before the horse stopped he leapt off, seized the soldier's megaphone, and shouted at the cargo ship, "Come! Hurry, come!"

The deckhand hurried into the hold: "Boss! The people on shore are letting us through!"

Luo Zhenjiang lifted Tuan Tuan: "Come, let's go take a look."

The group walked onto the deck.

On the shore, a man of about forty held up a megaphone and shouted continuously, "Silk! Porcelain! Tea! Come! All come!"

The group: "…"

Lu Qi chuckled and cursed, "What's with the way this man talks?"

"Give me that tube!" Tuan Tuan pointed at the megaphone lying nearby.

"No!" Xiao Ningchen tried to intervene.

Luo Zhenjiang had already taken the megaphone and held it to Tuan Tuan's mouth: "Here, I'll hold it for you; shout whatever you want."