Chapter 126

At the Yixing Town wharf, the river breeze blew gently, and fine, continuous waves slapped against the bluestone, reflecting the white light of the sky.

The tower ships passed by the wharf, flags fluttering, attracting the attention of fishermen who even forgot to pull in their nets.

"What a huge ship! It must be thirty zhang long, right? Where did such a grand lord come from to be so imposing?"

"I'm afraid it has four or five stories, taller than the Langyun Pavilion, the tallest in Pingyang County! Won't it tip over being that high?"

"Wait, run! Run quickly! There are demon beasts! Run!"

A scream of terror spread across the wharf. The fishermen looked closely, and by the side of the fleet, there were actually nothing but finless porpoises, dense and numerous!

Fishermen who had fished all their lives and never read books had never seen such a scene.

Five or six-meter-long finless porpoises were bigger than fishing boats. How could humans be their match? They grabbed their oars and fled toward the shore in a panic.

"Fellow villagers, don't panic! Finless porpoises are not demon beasts; they don't hurt people! They are more docile than dogs!"

A merchant ship was closer to the wharf, and a young man on it shouted loudly.

The fishermen were stunned.

Those who were bold enough took another look, and the finless porpoises were indeed orderly in the chaos, truly guarding the two tower ships in the middle.

Seeing the people on the merchant ship, they appeared accustomed to it, drinking wine or blowing in the river breeze, without a trace of the panic of seeing demon beasts.

"Strange, even fish can be tamed? The martial artist's methods are truly magical!"

The fleeing fishing boats stopped one after another, whispering.

"I heard finless porpoises aren't fish."

"Nonsense, if they aren't fish, why do they swim in the water? You're talking blindly."

"Finless porpoise, finless porpoise—they're pigs in the river!"

"When can my kid have that kind of success? Those two from the Li and Chen families broke through their barriers yesterday and today. They're also martial artists, and they say they're going to throw a banquet!"

"What are those two from the Li and Chen families? The one from the Liang family is the truly amazing one. I heard he's already become an official! He rides a big red horse every day, full of majesty! His old little house has been renovated into a three-entry courtyard. I went over to help when they were laying the tiles! Truly, his ancestral grave is smoking with good fortune."

"Indeed, if my kids could be half as capable as him, I wouldn't be able to sleep at night, and I'd wake up happy in the middle of the night."

"Sigh, things are changing too fast. This morning, someone bought things at the market without paying and went to reason with the village elder. Hey, guess what? The person spat at him and didn't even pay attention."

"There's such a thing?"

"There are too many people, and the village elder's face doesn't work anymore."

"Indeed, the one who moved in next door to me is said to be a martial artist. Can a martial artist listen to a village elder?"

A fisherman stood at the bow of his boat and shouted at the top of his lungs: "Brother! Where did the boat come from, and where is it going?"

The one who answered was still the young man who had shouted for the villagers not to panic.

"From the Imperial Capital! Going to Pingyang County! See the tower ships? Inside are the lords of the River Patrol Office!"

"River Patrol Office? Does that mean we won't have to fear water demons in the future? Can we go to deeper places to fish?"

"Pingyang County, huh? Hurry, hurry, let's go see the excitement!"

"Call the people! So many ships—go be a laborer, you can earn quite a bit!"

The fishing boats joined the fleet.

Some merchants inquired about the harvest, and the fishermen took the opportunity to sell one or two large fish.

By the time they reached Pingyang County, every household in the county had come to the shore, just like in Yixing Town, to watch the excitement.

Ten thousand people lined up, and one could get dizzy just looking at them, not to mention a fleet of ten thousand people—it was prosperous beyond compare.

Looking at the wharf from afar, the two tower ships were hooked together with iron chains, and each lowered two small boats. Two soldiers were in each, rowing, and they sped toward the shore like arrows, sliding into the newly built dock.

The soldiers took out several long bamboo poles and inserted them into the water to confirm the depth, nodding to the other soldiers.

Several small red flags were held in the soldiers' hands, and they stood up to signal.

The signalman on the tower ship waved his flag in response, and orders were passed down one by one. The sails were lowered, the anchors were dropped, and long oars extended from the sides of the ships. Under the control of the sailors, the tower ships slid into the dock extremely steadily.

When the hundred-meter giant ship slid into the dock, the crowd on the shore was so frightened by the momentum that they retreated in unison.

The long ladder slid down.

"A backwater, a village of fools."

At the bow of the ship, Wei Lin, wearing a peacock-gold fur cloak, looked down from above, his entire face hidden in the shadow of the ship's tower, revealing neither joy nor anger.

Pingyang County was a first-class prosperous county in the entire Huaiyin Prefecture, with everything one could want.

But for Wei Lin, the grandson of a Duke from the Imperial Capital, it was a backwater in the countryside.

Looking around, there were no pavilions or buildings over ten zhang high, let alone those hundred-zhang-high pavilions built with precious wood.

In the entire county, the tower ship he was on was the tallest, standing at the pinnacle.

Looking down, the Administrator Yang Dongxiong and County Lieutenant Yu Dun had received the news and had been waiting here early in the morning.

For a long time, no one got off the ship.

The common people discussed among themselves.

Yu Dun looked at Yang Dongxiong's expression and asked in a low voice: "Didn't the Imperial Envoy say they were acquaintances? This..."

If they were truly acquaintances, why would they put on such airs?

Enemies, right?

Yang Dongxiong shook his head, indicating he didn't know either. The Imperial Envoy only said there were acquaintances but didn't specify who. He had been away from officialdom for a long time, and the information he could gather in the court was very limited.

On the ship, Wei Shaozi, dressed in black, knelt on one knee.

"Foster father, shall we get off the ship?"

Wei Lin, who had been staring at the river for a long time, waved his large arm, bringing his cloak with him, and walked into the room.

"It will dirty my battle boots. Tell them I have been traveling for a long time and am physically and mentally exhausted—I won't get off!"

"Yes!"

The other tower ship.

Ran Zhongshi looked at the guard: "Still haven't found Big Brother Xu?"

"This subordinate is ashamed."

A woman in a light green dress stood to the side: "Brother, shall we go down first?"

Ran Zhongshi shook his head: "No. If the main and deputy Commanders don't appear, what would it look like if we went down? If we really did that, we would only be mocked for not knowing etiquette. That group of people is waiting to see our show."

If Wei Lin doesn't get off, how could they dare to overstep their authority?

If the River Patrol Office doesn't get off, the merchants on the merchant ships can't get off either.

For a time, the entire wharf fell into a strange silence. Countless large ships docked, but no one got off.

Ran Ying said dejectedly: "Do we have to keep waiting?"

"We can only wait."

"Sigh, what's wrong with Big Brother Xu? He's always unreliable at critical moments."

Ran Zhongshi smiled bitterly: "If he could be reliable, General Xu wouldn't have sent Big Brother Xu over to be tempered."

"Are you talking bad about me behind my back just because I'm not there?" A slightly teasing voice came from behind the two.

Ran Zhongshi and Ran Ying turned their heads in surprise.

"Big Brother Xu, you finally came." Ran Zhongshi let out a long sigh of relief. An official one rank higher crushes people to death; without Xu Yuelong there, his pressure was immense. He saw Liang Qu beside Xu Yuelong: "Who is this little brother?"

"Let me introduce him: my Uncle Yang's disciple, Liang Qu, appointed as a River Uncle in the River Patrol Office. These two are the grandson and granddaughter of the Marquis of Fengning, Ran Zhongshi and Ran Ying. Ran Zhongshi can be considered your superior, a sixth-rank Water Balance Guard."

The highest leader of the entire River Patrol Office is the Water River Viceroy, a first-rank high official in the court.

Below him is the Water River Governor, a third-rank official.

The Water Balance Commandant is the local River Patrol Office Commander, a fourth-rank official.

Further down are the fifth-rank Water Balance Envoy and the sixth-rank Water Balance Guard.

The seventh-rank Water-Regulating Lang, eighth-rank River Uncle, and ninth-rank River Chief.

Each rank is divided into main and deputy, which is the distinction between main rank and secondary rank, occasionally interspersed with many civil positions, such as Yang Dongxiong's Administrator.

Administrator is not Headmaster.

"Story," former events, past affairs. In the state, there are administrators who govern; like the decision-making officials in today's commanderies, they are in charge of criminal prohibitions, and their methods have already been fully recorded in history.

Their position is equivalent to an advisor, a fifth-rank official, similar to a "Squire" or "Horse-Washing Official"—it's no exaggeration to call it a nominal position.

It's not that the imperial court couldn't give a better one; with Yang Dongxiong's qualifications, he was more than capable of being an official with real power.

It was mainly considering that Yang Dongxiong had originally resigned to return home, and his youngest son had died on the battlefield, truly having contributed much. The Emperor couldn't bear to have him work hard, so he gave him the position of Administrator.

In the River Patrol Office, Xu Yuelong, as Deputy Commander, is a fourth-rank Water Balance Commandant.

Ran Zhongshi, as a Water Balance Guard, is two ranks higher than Liang Qu, and is indeed his direct superior.

Xu Yuelong's move was to let him recognize who the people in his faction were.

Both sides knew it clearly and cupped their hands in salute.

Ran Zhongshi pondered for a moment: "Are you the inventor of the Pinyin method?"

Liang Qu bowed slightly: "A minor skill, not worth mentioning."

"Brother Liang is too modest; it's not a minor skill." Ran Zhongshi laughed, "I have a younger brother who is just at the age of reading enlightenment. Having learned the Pinyin method, now as long as it's a book with phonetic notation, he can read it, and he learns characters extremely fast—several times faster than the traditional phonetic method. It is truly a great talent.

It's a pity that when I was learning to read, there wasn't such a convenient method. It took me two or three years to recognize most of the characters. It's truly a pity that this method appeared too late; otherwise, I wouldn't have been disciplined by my father with a stick every few days."

The distance between the two sides narrowed significantly.

Liang Qu bowed again: "Lord Ran overpraises."

"From now on, we are all one of our own; there's no need for this. Let's go down quickly and not let Uncle Yang wait too long!"

Xu Yuelong interrupted the conversation and walked off the tower ship first.

Seeing that someone had finally come down, the crowd on the wharf blowing in the cold wind finally caught their breath.

Even the merchants became happy; they were here to do business, not to engage in politics.

If the business couldn't be done, wouldn't they have come for nothing?

"Uncle Yang!" Xu Yuelong stepped onto the wharf and immediately went up to pay his respects to Yang Dongxiong, his hands folded in front of him, performing a ninety-degree bow.

Yang Dongxiong was stunned by being called 'Uncle'. He looked Xu Yuelong up and down carefully several times and probed: "Yuelong?"

"Hahaha! Uncle Yang, you still remember me!"

Xu Yuelong had no official airs. Born into a military family, he had been a lawless person who flew hawks and chased dogs since he was a child, and he responded loudly.

"So it's you kid! When I left, you were only ten years old, right? In the blink of an eye, you've grown so big? You've grown strong and handsome. Are you married? Is General Xu well?"

"I'm not married yet. My father is well. Before he sent me here, he told me to visit you more. You are truly a sharp blade that hasn't aged, exactly the same as my impression of you when I was a child!"

"Good, good, good!"

Seeing an old acquaintance, Yang Dongxiong was in a pleasant mood and said several 'good' words in a row.

He never expected that the acquaintance the Imperial Envoy mentioned would be the son of his old general.

After the pleasantries, Yang Dongxiong was straightforward and asked why Xu Yuelong hadn't gotten off the ship for so long, causing him embarrassment.

Xu Yuelong bowed in apology, leaned into Yang Dongxiong's ear, and whispered.

A glimmer of sharpness appeared in Yang Dongxiong's eyes.

No wonder they gave him a show of force as soon as they arrived.

It turns out the main Commander was someone else!