Chapter 305: Water Bandits

The sixteenth year of Hongwu, the third day of the fourth month.

The fleet has been five days since it left Jingzhou.

The river narrows more and more, the mountains on both banks rise higher, and the current quickens.

Zhu Rong stands at the bow, gazing at the narrowing gorge ahead, knowing in his heart that they are about to enter the Three Gorges.

Qutang Gorge, Wu Gorge, Xiling Gorge.

In a previous life he rode a cruise ship through once, when it was tourism, crowds everywhere, tourists taking photos at every turn.

Now it is different.

The green mountains on both sides are cut like knives, the river rushes like an arrow, and occasionally a few monkeys can be seen clambering on the cliffs, emitting mournful cries.

"The monkeys' cries on both banks never cease, while the light boat has already passed ten thousand layers of mountains."

That poem by Li Bai was written about this very place.

"Dad, what are those monkeys shouting?" Zhu Qiong Jiong runs over, looking up to ask.

Zhu Rong lowers his head to look at his son and laughs, "They are calling 'Someone's coming, run!'."

Zhu Qiong Jiong blinks and asks again, "Why do they want to run?"

"Because they've never seen people like us, they're scared."

Zhu Qiong Jiong nods thoughtfully, then suddenly shouts toward the shore, "Don't run, I won't eat you!"

The monkeys are frightened by his shout and dart into the forest, vanishing in an instant.

Zhu Huanhuan steps out of the cabin, hears her brother's shout, and shakes her head helplessly.

"Jiong Jiong, you scared them."

Zhu Qiong Jiong pouts, "I just wanted to play with them."

"What you call play, that shout of yours, they think a tiger is coming," Zhu Huanhuan gives him a reproachful glance.

Zhu Qiong Jiong, unwilling to concede and about to argue, suddenly feels the boat lurch violently.

He loses his footing and falls forward.

Zhu Rong, quick-eyed and swift-handed, grabs his back of the neck and lifts him up like a chick.

"Be careful, this stretch of water is swift."

Zhu Qiong Jiong, hanging in midair, sways back and forth, but feels no fear, instead giggling.

"Dad, I'm flying!"

Zhu Huanhuan watches beside him and can't help but laugh.

Zhu Rong puts his son down and looks ahead.

The river suddenly narrows here, the current grows even more turbulent, and the hull begins to pitch violently.

"Zhang Wu!" he calls out.

Zhang Wu strides over, clasping his fists, "Prince!"

"Tell the boatmen to be careful; this stretch of Water Route is treacherous, reduce speed, safety first."

"Yes!"

Zhang Wu turns and goes to relay the order.

The fleet's speed slows, each vessel cautiously entering the gorge one after another.

……

The water of the Three Gorges is more perilous than Zhu Rong had imagined.

The cliffs on both banks are sheer, as if cut by knives and axes; the river's center is strewn with reefs, and the current striking the rocks throws up successive white waves.

"Wu King" is a steamer, powerful and maneuverable, so it is not feared.

But the cargo ships trailing behind struggle; the boatmen shout commands, beating the oars with all their might just to keep up.

Zhu Rong stands at the prow, his gaze sweeping the banks, silently estimating the distance.

At this speed, passing through the Three Gorges will take at least three days.

During those three days, extra caution is required.

"Prince, go into the cabin to rest; it's windy outside..." Guanyin Nu steps out, holding a cloak.

Zhu Rong takes the cloak, drapes it over himself, and laughs, "No problem, I'm just checking this stretch of Water Route; we might have to travel it again later."

Guanyin Nu nods, stands beside him, and together they gaze at the scenery of the banks.

"This place is truly dangerous," she says softly.

Zhu Rong hums and says, "The Three Gorges have always been a heavenly barrier; countless people have perished in these waters."

Guanyin Nu is silent for a moment, then asks, "Prince, you mentioned Tie Mu Er's side—will there be such peril there as well?"

Zhu Rong thinks for a moment, shakes his head, and says, "I don't know; we'll find out when we go."

Guanyin Nu asks no further.

……

At noon, the fleet anchors at a relatively gentle river bay to replenish fresh water.

Calling it a river bay is a stretch; it's only a little wider than the river, with the banks still steep cliffs.

Zhu Rong leads his family off the ship, stretching their limbs on the shore.

Zhu Qiong Jiong, having been cooped up too long, leaps off the boat and dashes along the riverbank, sprinting back and forth.

"Be careful, don't fall into the water!" Xiao Zhu and Xiao Ying shout while chasing behind.

Zhu Huanhuan sits on a big Stone, pulls the Book of Songs from her bosom, and begins to leaf through it.

Guanyin Nu walks nearby, gathers a few unknown wildflowers, weaves them into a small wreath, and places it on her daughter's head.

Zhu Huanhuan touches the wreath, her cheeks flushing slightly.

"Thank you, Mother."

Guanyin Nu smiled and pinched her face.

Zhu Yong stood by the riverbank, watching the swift current, when he suddenly heard a clamor from afar.

He turned his head downstream, where he could vaguely see several small boats struggling on the water.

"Zhang Wu..."

"..."

"Send someone to check what's happening."

"Yes!"

A few Longxiang Army soldiers ran downstream along the riverbank.

A moment later, they brought back a boatman drenched to the bone.

When the boatman saw Zhu Yong, he immediately knelt and kowtowed repeatedly.

"Sir, please save us! Sir, please save us! Our boat capsized, several people fell into the water!"

Zhu Yong frowned and looked at Zhang Wu.

Zhang Wu immediately led men downstream.

Zhu Yong followed as well.

…

A mile downstream, the river widened a bit, but the current remained fierce.

The wreckage of several small boats littered the shore, and a few drowning people struggled in the water, desperately swimming toward the bank.

One of them was about to be swept away.

Without a word, Zhu Yong leapt into the river.

The river water was ice‑cold and piercing, but he paid it no mind, thrusting his arms to paddle toward the person.

The person was a young man in his early twenties, seemingly a good swimmer, but the current was too swift; his strength had drained, and he could only drift.

Zhu Yong swam to his side, grabbed his arm, and hauled him toward the bank.

On the shore, the Longxiang Army soldiers had already lowered a rope, ready to receive them.

Zhu Yong reached the bank, seized the rope, pulled hard, and hauled the man onto shore.

The man lay on the bank, spitting water in large gulps; after he finished, he rolled onto his back, panting heavily.

"M‑much thanks, benefactor..." he said weakly.

Zhu Yong waved his hand and looked toward the river.

Zhang Wu and his men had already rescued the other people, each of them lying on the bank like dead dogs.

"What happened?" Zhu Yong asked the young man.

The young man gasped for a moment, then stammered through the story.

They were villagers from a settlement upstream, making a living by fishing.

Today, while passing the Three Gorges, they accidentally struck a hidden reef; the boat capsized and all the cargo was lost.

"Cargo? What cargo?" Zhu Yong asked.

"It… it was salt destined for a town upstream, twenty dan of salt," the young man said with a grimace.

Twenty dan of salt, two thousand jin.

In these days, that's not a small amount.

Zhu Yong looked at Zhang Wu.

Zhang Wu understood and ordered the rescued villagers to be taken to a makeshift tent, where a fire was lit to dry their clothes and ginger soup was boiled for them.

The villagers thanked them profusely, nearly kneeling to kowtow again.

Zhu Yong waved his hand, telling them to rest properly.

…

At dusk, the villagers regained their strength and came to kowtow and thank Zhu Yong.

The leader was that young man, named Chen Shuisheng, a fisherman of the village.

"Benefactor, you saved several of our lives; we… we truly don't know how to repay you..." Chen Shuisheng knelt, his eyes reddened.

Zhu Yong looked at him and suddenly asked, "Who were you delivering the salt to?"

Chen Shuisheng was momentarily stunned and said, "It was for a town under Kui Prefecture; that town is remote, mountain roads are poor, so normally we travel by Water Route.

We took the job hoping to earn some money for household expenses, but who could have known…"

He began to speak again, on the verge of crying.

Zhu Yong was silent for a moment, then said to Zhang Wu, "Send someone to fetch two hundred taels of silver from the boat."

Zhang Wu was taken aback, but complied.

A moment later, two hundred taels of silver were placed before Chen Shuisheng.

Chen Shuisheng was dumbfounded.

"B‑Benefactor, this… this is…"

"Take it to buy salt and continue the delivery," Zhu Yong said calmly.

Chen Shuisheng opened his mouth but could not speak for a long while.

The few villagers beside him were also stunned.

Two hundred taels of silver.

They had never seen so much money in their whole lives.

"Benefactor… we… how could we accept your money…" Chen Shuisheng stammered.

Zhu Yong looked at him, then suddenly laughed.

"Take it, and next time you pass the Three Gorges be careful, don't capsize again."

Chen Shuisheng knelt on the ground, kowtowing like pounding garlic.

"Great benefactor, your great kindness, we… we will be oxen and horses this lifetime to repay you!"

Zhu Yong waved his hand, indicating them to get up.

"Stop being oxen and horses; just live well, that's enough."