There is a god in the sky

Chapter 147 The Mystery of the Dock 14

Su Qiyu was in tears.

He covered his face in anguish.

"This was the beginning of a nightmare. In the years that followed, Luo Fusheng intensified his enslavement of the town's people."

He increased the amount of saltpeter mined and set quotas for each household to submit. Those who failed to meet the quotas would be beaten, have their food and wages deducted, and have their quotas increased for the following month.

Many people died in those years, most of them from exhaustion.

My mother, uncle, and aunt all died from exhaustion in the mountains. I was originally going to go too, but I ran away and escaped from Tongling Town with my cousin.

Unfortunately, three years ago, I got separated from my cousin on the street, and I thought I would never see her again in this life.

He sobbed softly, "I swore at my uncle's grave that I would take good care of her as she grows up, but I broke my promise."

"Has none of you gone to the state government to report this? Or are the officials above just turning a blind eye?"

Su Qiyu looked at him with amusement.

"Lord Xiao is still young and has a smooth career. I'm afraid he hasn't seen much darkness yet, has he?"

You should know that gunpowder is a military commodity, and ordinary civil officials and civilians have no access to it, except in Tongan County.

Because Tongan County had the largest gunpowder workshop, and some of this gunpowder was sent to the army, while some was given by Luo Fusheng to his master.

Why didn't any state officials intervene? Because they dared not, because Luo Fusheng's master was far more powerful than them.

Who is his master?

“I don’t know. I’ve been investigating all these years. All I know is that he sends out gunpowder about once every six months. This time the amount is larger than before.”

Manager Wang is right. Magistrate Luo is very cautious. None of the people working at the docks know who they are meeting with.

They only need to deliver the goods to the agreed location, and someone will pick them up and transport them to the next destination.

"Sir, a group of people is coming from over there, probably several hundred." Suiying looked warily behind him.

Everyone turned around and saw a group of thugs carrying weapons and looking fierce walking towards them.

Xiao Ji made a decisive decision: "Let's go, get on the boat!"

The leader shouted, "Don't let them escape! The higher-ups said there's a reward of ten taels for killing one person, and a reward of one hundred taels for capturing the youngest official alive!"

A group of people rushed over.

Suiying protected Xiao Ji and was the first to jump onto the official boat. The boatman immediately untied the ropes and ordered the sails to be raised and set sail.

"Quickly, board the ship in batches! I'll cover the rear!"

Sui Feng, holding a knife in one hand and a long stick in the other, stood blocking the dock.

Shen Lan ran in the middle, ready to jump onto the boat at any moment, but she didn't rush to get on. Instead, she looked behind her to see if anyone was in danger and offered to help.

"Take Su Qiyu up with you!"

Someone shouted something, and Shen Lan saw Su Qiyu not far from her, so she ran towards him.

Su Qiyu pulled out an account book and handed it to her, saying, "This is the amount of gunpowder they have sent out over the years. I implore Lord Xiao to expose Magistrate Luo's crimes and avenge my family!"

“You are a witness, so you can go to Beijing with us.”

Su Qiyu smiled bitterly, "I killed someone, which is a capital offense. Rather than die in a foreign land, I'd rather stay here and keep my family company."

He pushed Shen Lan hard.

"Please tell Lord Xiao that I very much wanted to go to the capital with him and also wanted to make my ambitions come true, but it is hopeless in this life."

He pulled a dagger from his boot and turned to charge at the enemy.

Shen Lan pressed the ledger to her chest, wanting to go up and help, but Sui Feng pulled her onto the boat.

The ship has already set sail.

Su Qiyu was the only one on the shore facing the enemy.

Two fists are no match for four hands.

His body was covered in wounds, dripping with blood, like a blood-soaked gourd.

“They outnumber us. Even if we all join the fight, we still won’t be a match for them,” Sui Feng comforted Shen Lan.

Shen Lan didn't need his comfort; this was Su Qiyu's own choice.

Moreover, Shen Lan sympathized with his plight, not his character.

And then there was that small town that, too, gradually disappeared under the influence of corrupt officials and cruel bureaucrats.

Shen Lan saw them pinning Su Qiyu to the ground, but the next moment, Su Qiyu pushed them away forcefully and plunged the dagger into her own chest.

He turned to look at them, a smile on his face.

Blood smeared his face, but Shen Lan could still make out what he looked like.

"Lord Xiao, is it permissible to bring this gunpowder into Bianjing?"

"Going through it openly is definitely not going to work; we'll have to find another way."

Xiao Ji turned and went into the cabin. Not long after, he handed a letter to Sui Ying, saying, "Send it to Bianjing immediately and deliver it to the Marquis of Pingyang."

Suiying hesitated, "My lord, the Marquis of Pingyang is not on good terms with the Xiao family."

"If he can't handle the credit that's already been handed to him, then I have nothing to say."

Fu Qingyan stepped forward and said, "Cousin, let me go with Suiying."

There are some things that are better left to him to say than to follow along.

Moreover, this was also an opportunity for him to negotiate with his father.

"Okay, now that you're all grown up, you also need to learn how to handle the relationship between father and son."

Upon arriving at the next dock, Suiying and Fu Qingyan switched to land travel.

By land, riding a fast horse without stopping, one can reach Bianjing in just three days.

"My lord, we will reach Xiangzhou in two more days. Even if the weather is bad then, we can switch to the land route, which will only take another three days."

Xiao Ji stood on the deck looking at the ships behind him.

The cargo ship was quite large and easy to spot.

Luo Fusheng couldn't possibly not report it; his master would likely receive the news soon.

Those two boats were easy to find on the river.

Xiao Ji asked Shen Lan for advice: "How can we evade the enemy's pursuers?"

"Break up the main force and send them to Beijing in batches, leaving official ships to attract the enemy," Shen Lan said. "The more difficult part is, what about the gunpowder on that ship?"

No one would steal the tribute oranges on the official boat, but if the gunpowder were taken away, their evidence would be lost.

Talk is cheap; who will believe them when the time comes?

Xiao Ji turned and went into the ground floor warehouse. Looking at the warehouse full of tangerines, he had an idea.

Two days later, Chen Shi arrived at the Xiangzhou Prefectural Government Office with a letter.

The prefect of Xiangzhou looked very displeased after reading the letter.

"They really are scions of a prominent family, what a grand display!"

Seeing that Chen Shi was still there, the officials standing nearby would always say some nice things to him.

"Since it's something that Prefect Song presented as tribute, it must be very valuable. It wouldn't hurt for us to help deliver it."

The prefect of Xiangzhou snorted coldly, thinking to himself: A few boxes of oranges, and they really treat them like treasures?

However, this reminded him that he could also take this opportunity to send something to the capital.

What was Xiangzhou like?

Oh, right, Zhuge Cai (a type of vegetable).

However, Zhuge Cai is not even as good as oranges. Oranges are at least from the south and can be enjoyed by dignitaries. Zhuge Cai probably doesn't even qualify to be served.

Finally, he prepared two carts of yellow wine and dispatched a hundred soldiers to escort Xiao Ji to the capital with Chen Shi and others.

In the darkness, on the riverbank, a group of men dressed in black boarded a boat.

Both ships were anchored on the shore, with the cargo ship clearly having a deeper draft.

The men in black searched the official ship first, but found nothing, so they went to search another ship.

The warehouse was filled with boxes, the same ones as before.

They pried open the wooden box and were overjoyed to find the porcelain bottle inside.