Chapter 107: Smooth Sailing

Although news of the national mourning had not yet reached Zhejiang at the time, and the ignorant bore no guilt, that only applied to those who were innocent to begin with — in his situation, this should be called punishment for multiple crimes stacked together!

Dismissal from office and investigation would be lenient.

Thinking of the miserable state after the incident came to light, a chill ran from the base of his tailbone straight to the back of his skull. The Guard Commander wanted to cry but had no tears, and truly wished he could take a knife and slit his own throat on the spot.

Just as he was hesitating between hanging himself and cutting his own throat, he heard that thieves had broken into the Lin estate, and suddenly felt he had grabbed a lifeline.

As long as he could catch the thieves and pin the crime of destroying the river-blocking chain onto them,

then even if he couldn't claim merit, at least his faults and merits would cancel out.

That was why he had mustered his household troops, spurred his fast horses, and rushed over through the night.

If not for saving his own skin, why would he, a dignified Guard Commander, bother with the life or death of a local tyrant like the Lin family?

Now, the Guard Commander's only goal was to catch this band of thieves in one sweep and turn the matter into an ironclad case!

He had thought the thieves, surrounded within the estate, were already at the end of their rope.

He never expected they could come up with such a cunning scheme to fish in troubled waters.

Truly, utterly cunning! Utterly treacherous!

Under his orders, several groups of men chased and intercepted from all sides, and after tremendous effort, finally managed to gradually calm the crowd.

His household troops kept shouting: "Sit down! Everyone sit where you are!"

At that moment, another thunderous boom came from within the estate, followed by a towering column of fire shooting into the sky.

The crowd that had barely been calmed was startled once again, scattering and charging in all directions.

Quite a few women of the Lin household, wearing only chest wraps and undershorts, screamed and ran, revealing large expanses of snow-white skin — a great display of spring scenery.

The Guard Commander's household troops, disciplined and strict, managed to hold themselves back.

But the patrol post soldiers and the Constable's civilian militia had never seen such a sight — every pair of eyes was stuck in those surging waves of white flesh.

Some of the bolder ones even went straight up and started groping with their hands.

The women, molested and groped, became even more panicked and helpless, screaming without end, which in turn stimulated the rest of the Lin household people to run about chaotically as well. Some had already taken the chance to run a li or two away, and the household troops hurriedly gave chase on horseback.

For a moment, in front of the Lin estate gate, it was utter chaos again — chickens flying and dogs jumping, everything in a mess.

Beside the Guard Commander, a household soldier cupped his fists and said: "General, it seems there are still remnants of the thieves inside the estate. Let me take some men to have a look."

The Guard Commander pondered for a moment, then slowly shook his head.

First, gunpowder could be detonated by a fuse — the thieves might not necessarily be inside the estate. It was very likely a feint to make him split his forces, making it easier for them to fish in troubled waters.

Second, the situation inside the estate was unclear. If his household troops charged in rashly, there could be casualties. Even if thieves really were in the estate, holding the exits and catching them like turtles in a jar would do.

With this thought, the Guard Commander asked the Patrol Inspector: "Where does the back gate of the estate lead?"

A bewildered look appeared on the Patrol Inspector's face as he turned to look at the village militia squad leader.

The squad leader quickly said: "A li or two out the back gate is the Yongning River. The thieves can't have gotten far!"

The Guard Commander thought to himself: "Damn it!"

The Guard Commander hurriedly said to his household troops: "Call twenty men to circle around to the back gate with me!"

At this moment, at the Lin estate's back gate.

In the dim light of dawn, the crew members filed aboard the boats carrying the last of their gold, silver, and valuables.

"Boat Six, all present!"

"Boat Five, all present!"

From the seven bird boats, calls of counting came one after another.

"Boat Three, all present!"

Lei Sanxiang finished his count: "Helmsman, Boat One is all present too. Let's go!"

"Set sail!"

At Lin Qian's command, the seven bird boats slowly set off, oars creaking as they rowed.

"Thieves, don't flee!" The sound of hooves came from afar, mixed with a furious roar that pierced the clouds.

One could see a squad of cavalry charging swiftly from outside the Lin estate's western wall.

Though only a little over twenty men, every one of them wore armor and carried long blades — a fierce and daring aura rushed forth to meet the face.

Amidst the gallop, one cavalryman drew his bow, nocked an arrow, and loosed — the arrow tore through the air with a whistling sound.

Beside Lin Qian, a crew member's shield took the arrow with a dull thud. The crew member stumbled, nearly knocked to the ground.

Fortunately, this kind of mounted archery skill belonged only to the lead rider.

Lin Qian gave the order: "Raise guns!"

The crew members behind him pulled out ten matchlock muskets from the cabin, deftly loading powder, ramming shot, lighting the slow-burning fuses, and blowing on them to keep them burning.

The waterway here was narrow — sails could not be raised, and they could only row slowly. It was only a matter of time before the cavalry caught up.

Lin Qian's gaze was fixed tightly on the approaching cavalry as he estimated the distance in his mind.

Seeing the cavalry close to within twenty paces, Lin Qian bellowed: "Fire!"

"Bang, bang, bang..."

Ten matchlock muskets rang out, white smoke rising on all sides.

From afar, one could see two horses burst with a cloud of blood mist at their chests, then their front legs gave way, and the riders on their backs tumbled off as well.

Another rider was hit in the arm — most of the limb turned into flesh and blood in midair, leaving only a layer of skin connecting it to the body.

That cavalryman let out a miserable scream and fell off his horse.

Seeing this, the remaining cavalry not only did not lose momentum, but charged forward fearlessly, braving death itself.

Lin Qian said: "Crossbows!"

The musketeers stepped back to reload, while twelve crossbowmen moved close to the gunwale, sharp bolts aimed at the cavalry.

At this moment, the lead cavalryman drew his bow and loosed — an arrow came flying, swift as a shooting star, aimed straight at Lin Qian.

Lü Zhou, quick of eye and hand, hurriedly raised his shield to block.

"Thunk!" A dull sound—the arrow slammed deep into the shield, its fletching trembling without cease, the head piercing through the shield, no more than five inches from Lü Zhou's throat.

"Release!" Lin Qian's expression did not change; seeing the cavalry had entered within fifteen paces, he gave the order in a loud voice.

Immediately after, a series of crossbow string sounds rang out.

Another mist of blood blossomed among the cavalry, and several more men tumbled from their horses.

The man who had just loosed that arrow also took a bolt and fell from his mount; inertia carried him rolling several times. In the dust, he stood up—no bolt had struck his body, but on his right shoulder and arm, there was a ghastly dented furrow; the bolt had luckily ricocheted off.

The remaining cavalry were now no more than ten paces from the boat, nearly arriving in an instant.

Lin Qian roared: "Now!"

Lei Sanxiang rose, grinning savagely as he hurled an object—a rectangular column, the length of an arm, pitch black all over, with a fuse tied to one end. The fuse was already lit, burning away swiftly in midair.

Dawn had just broken, and the surroundings were still somewhat dim.

The object hit the ground—a hiss of gunpowder, then it burst forth with intense white light and smoke.

The surrounding cavalry were blinded by the white light, unable to see anything for a moment.

The warhorses beneath them were also startled, bolting in every direction.

One cavalryman could not control his horse; it charged straight forward and plunged directly into the waterway.

His cloth-faced iron armor soaked with water, heavy beyond measure, and unable to see, in his panic he choked down several mouthfuls of water. He struggled a few times, grabbed hold of the bank, and counted himself lucky to have kept his life.

"What a thrill! Again!" Lei Sanxiang laughed wildly, then lit another thermite stick and tossed it onto the shore.

In an instant, another ball of blinding white light flared up.

The thermite reduced the red lead to molten lead, flowing wantonly across the ground, and also ignited the surrounding vegetation—in a moment, roaring flames rose high.

Lei Sanxiang covered his eyes with one hand while using the other to light another thermite stick; after igniting the fuse, he threw it to the bank.

This time, nothing sounded.

These thermite sticks had been purely hand-made by Lin Qian; for three thrown, two going off was already a stroke of great luck.

Seeing that Lei Sanxiang was about to throw another, Lin Qian hurriedly stopped him.

By now, the cavalry on the shore had fallen into complete chaos and could no longer give chase.

The lead bird boat had already sailed into the Yongning River.

A northwest wind was blowing over the river; the bird boat came down from upstream, with both wind and current in its favor—truly sailing as swift as flight.

"Turn the rudder right, raise the sails!"

(End of chapter)

Yahei

Pink Round

Pen