Chapter 1112: From Shandong to Liaodong

This arrangement wasn't because they couldn't fit more people, but transferring supplies via small boats at sea would definitely be very inconvenient. Yu Dajiang offered a few suggestions, but seeing Liu Yong insist, he agreed.

This time they were using sea vessels from Xuzhou, and the Yu family had their own considerations. For instance, there were four young men of Cai family background, plus two student orderlies sent by Xuzhou. Before departure, assignments were adjusted and they were placed to work on Liu Yong's ship.

There was one matter both sides agreed on: they had spent a large sum to hire two guides familiar with the Liaodong coast. Given the current situation over there, they dared not just blunder in blindly.

The five ships hoisted sail and left port. Before departure, they received guidance from the guides and only said this voyage was to transport goods for Xuzhou. The guides didn't know Liu Yong and his group were from Xuzhou — this was purely out of caution. These days on the seas off Dengzhou Prefecture, many government naval forces doubled as pirates. Ships without backing easily went and never returned. But once they flew the Xuzhou name, everyone became far more cautious. Even the Vice General had been forced to flee — who wouldn't be afraid?

The first day at sea was fine, calm and peaceful. Liu Yong, Li Yuliang, and the Xuzhou men all boarded with great excitement to take in the scenery. It was truly novel and fresh — everyone's first time seeing it. Yu Dajiang's side also arranged for the sailors to do their utmost to please them, like fishing and casting nets, bringing up quite a lot of seafood which they cooked and ate on the spot. They even had Hanjing famous liquor aboard, and quite a lot of it — Liaodong's bitter cold lands always had great demand for strong spirits. This time they opened two jars, and everyone drank very happily.

The atmosphere made Li Yuliang feel very comfortable. He felt that the mutual suspicion before boarding had all vanished like smoke, and everyone was now united in purpose, heading for the Liaodong coast.

Li Yuliang's alcohol tolerance wasn't bad, but he wasn't quite adjusted to being on the ship. After drinking, he felt tired and went to sleep early in the adjacent cabin.

These cargo-carrying Guangdong ships naturally couldn't be called comfortable. The ship workers and sailors all found gaps among the cargo to lie on the deck and rest. Only the ship owner and helmsman had hammocks. But Liu Yong and Li Yuliang were honored guests and couldn't be slighted, so a cabin space was cleared for them to rest.

The ship's hull swayed. Li Yuliang slept hazily and very lightly, startled awake by the slightest noise. But the ship workers and sailors aboard had all been instructed, and they rarely passed by this area.

"Sir, drinking aboard ship easily goes to one's head. The ship owner ordered this humble one to bring you a pot of hot tea. You'll feel better after drinking it. There are still several days before we make shore..."

Li Yuliang was startled awake by this greeting. He lay there motionless and heard Liu Yong get out of bed, open the door, and close it. Their two rooms were adjacent, and the gaps in the dividing wooden planks were large — there was no soundproofing to speak of. Sounds from that side could be heard very clearly here.

After the sailor entered and closed the door, his voice immediately dropped low. Li Yuliang heard Liu Yong say, "The next room is one of our own, it doesn't matter." Only after that did the fellow begin to answer.

"Why did they send you to deliver tea? Have they noticed anything?"

"The Yu family side probably hasn't thought too much of it. They even deliberately sent this subordinate to attend to you, since being from Xuzhou feels familiar. No one followed this subordinate either. Everyone here has already been instructed not to approach without reason."

"That's good then. Has there been any unusual movement from the Yu family?"

"The Yu family, high and low, still relies on Xuzhou. It's just that one faction in the family only thinks of making money and doesn't want to do too much for us for free. The other side feels that working for us will let them earn even more in the future. The two sides often clash. Some people are from Yu Zhiyuan's elder brother's faction, and Yu Zhiyuan can't do anything about them either. Moreover, many in the Yu family do things under the name of Yu Zhiyuan's elder brother."

The voice was kept very low, but Li Yuliang on this side could hear it very clearly.

"Was the ship change this time their idea?"

"Originally several sand ships were supposed to come. According to the Yu family's old shipwrights, although the wind and waves along the Liaodong coast are strong, sand ships can run without hindrance in this season. But just before departure, the Yu family took on several business deals from Fujian and needed sand ships to transport goods there. They temporarily reassigned the ships, and we only set out after the Guangdong ships returned. Waiting for the ships delayed us by ten days."

Hearing this, Li Yuliang felt some anger rising. The Zhao Battalion's gathering of Liaodong refugees — even he, in Linqing Prefecture, knew the Zhao Battalion regarded this matter as extremely important. Yet the Yu family, who had received great kindness from the Zhao Battalion, had delayed for their own profit. They truly didn't know what was important. But Liu Yong's tone on the other side remained very calm.

"Has the Yu family had any collusion with officials or anyone else?"

"This subordinate hasn't managed to find out about that. But this subordinate and the other brothers can't see the higher levels in the Yu family. If there really is something, we wouldn't know either."

Liu Yong was silent for a moment, then spoke and asked, "How are you all doing with learning seamanship and ship-handling skills?"

At this, the student orderly sailor who had come to deliver tea grew somewhat indignant, his voice rising a little: "The Yu family is too petty in how they do things. They never stint on food, drink, and daily necessities, but they just won't teach any real skills. On board we can only follow along and do odd jobs. Helming, sail-handling, reading the sea — they teach none of it. The people from the Cai family say they've already learned quite a bit just by watching, but doing it this way, you can't learn true skill at all. Might as well quit the Yu family's employment, find a fleet on our own to gain experience, and in a few years we could finish learning and go back, sooner to work for Master Jin."

"First, keep calm and stay put. Wait for word from this side. Make it clear to the others: keep a close watch on the Yu family people aboard ship. If something happens out on this sea, we can only rely on ourselves."

After the fellow raised his voice to take his leave and left, Li Yuliang on the other side could no longer sleep. He even wondered whether the Zhao Battalion had planted informants in his own family as well. This thought made him toss and turn. In the end, he reflected that as far as the Li family was concerned, he himself had done plenty of things that were eating from the inside and helping outsiders — his own family counted as informants too. Thinking this, he finally sank into deep sleep.

When he woke the next day and went up on deck, Li Yuliang tucked a short knife into his clothes. Toward these people on the Yu family ship, he was clearly much more on guard. But looking at Liu Yong and the others, every one of them had an utterly natural expression. Only then did he realize he was showing traces of his thoughts.

The morning was fine, but by afternoon the wind on the sea gradually picked up, and the ship's rocking grew stronger with it. For the ship workers and sailors, this was routine, but for Liu Yong and the others who had just boarded a sea vessel, it was unbearable. Before long, someone was leaning over the ship's rail, vomiting violently. Liu Yong was the same.

The sailors on the Yu family ship had clearly anticipated this situation. Suppressing their laughter, they settled everyone down and even specially prepared hot soup. Drinking it made them feel somewhat better.

Li Yuliang was a rare case — he didn't get seasick. Among the several dozen Xuzhou martial men on board, he was the only one who didn't. Li Yuliang helped the Yu family's ship workers look after his companions, mainly keeping an eye on Liu Yong's side.

Liu Yong vomited as if heaven and earth were spinning. After emptying his stomach completely, he finally recovered a little. He had Li Yuliang support him down into the ship's hold to go back and lie down to rest. Li Yuliang naturally complied. Supporting him just so, they descended from the deck. When there was no one around, Liu Yong suddenly said in a weak voice: "Pass on my order. Have everyone watch the Yu family people on board. The moment anything is off, kill them immediately."

These words spoken so suddenly made Li Yuliang freeze. Liu Yong glared at Li Yuliang and said through gritted teeth: "Everyone's weak from vomiting, but the Yu family people are fine. What if they get malicious ideas? We have to strike first!"

These words sent a shiver through Li Yuliang, but he hastily agreed. Liu Yong didn't return to his own cabin either. Instead, he placed his weapon within reach and just leaned against a pile of cargo.

Li Yuliang hurriedly walked up onto the deck. Only then did he notice that many people on deck were vomiting or gasping for breath in scattered clusters. But all these people were leaning near the Yu family sailors and ship workers. This discovery made Li Yuliang's heart pound several times. Only now did he realize what he would encounter upon entering the Zhao Battalion. Beneath everything that seemed ordinary, bloody slaughter could erupt at any moment. Not necessarily to harm others, but one had to be constantly on guard against being harmed.

He notified them one by one. Those Xuzhou household retainers and martial men on board seemed to have been prepared long ago. The moment Li Yuliang brought it up, everyone knew what to do. It was just that each of them had indeed vomited miserably and was utterly drained. But this misery and weakness didn't hinder them from killing. Li Yuliang made his round very cautiously and was convinced that if anything happened, the Yu family people would be slaughtered to the last man.

At this moment, Li Yuliang understood why Liu Yong had distributed the manpower this way. It was so they could control a ship with superior force at any moment, without being plotted against by the Yu family.

But these were all just precautionary measures. By night, the wind gradually lessened, and everything was perfectly normal. The Yu family people, however, had no vigilance whatsoever.

"Running at sea year-round, there are no honest men on ships. They all have to be ready for a fight. It's just that they trust us, so they're not on guard." That night, Liu Yong began to take the initiative in explaining things to Li Yuliang.

"As things stand, the Yu family has no disloyalty toward our Xuzhou. It's just that they have too many petty calculations, so we have no choice but to take precautions. But these things are all our own preparations — revealing them would harm relations. We're not government officers now, so we have to be careful in everything. Just remember: guard against the hearts of others, for they may be unfathomable."

What Liu Yong said to Li Yuliang were words from the heart, completely treating the other as a Zhao Battalion newcomer to be instructed.

Over the next few days, the Yu family made no unusual moves. Everyone also gradually grew accustomed to the wind and waves at sea. According to the sailors, the weather at sea was already quite good.

Following the sea guides' arrangements, after departing from Penglai, the prefectural seat of Dengzhou Prefecture, they sailed all the way north: Long Island, Daheishan Island, Dazhushan Island, Daqin Island, Nanhuangcheng Island, Beihuangcheng Island. They stopped at each small island between Shandong's Dengzhou Prefecture and Liaodong's Jinzhou one by one. Their first destination in Liaodong was Lüshun, which was still under the control of Ming army remnants.

Long Island no longer needed to be visited, because Ming forces had already set up a military camp there and no longer allowed Liaodong refugees to stop there, directly transferring them to Dengzhou Prefecture. They were also taking in Liaodong deserters on the spot to enlist them. The situation at Daheishan Island was much the same.

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