xymnovel Chapter 254 Getting Ashore
Chapter 254 Getting Ashore
Chapter 254 Getting Ashore
Chaos reigned on the pleasure boat.
The girls who were just smiling sweetly a moment ago are now all pale-faced, panicked and not knowing where to go. Some are slumped on the ground, some are shouting and yelling, and some are running around like headless flies, just causing trouble.
The officials aren't much better.
Luo Li, the Tongzhi of Jiqing Road, referred to Gypsies as "Luoli" in the Yuan Dynasty. Upon hearing the sound of muskets exploding and arrows piercing the air, he instinctively lay down on the ground and crawled under the table.
When the fire started and smoke filled the air, he felt that the soft blanket he was lying on might kill him, so he hurriedly got up and rushed out of the cabin. Xuancheng blankets have been quite famous since the Tang Dynasty. It is said that dancers can walk on them and the blankets are submerged up to their ankles. Bai Juyi praised them in a poem.
"Lord Luo, wait for me!" Judge Zhou Zhuang bent over, seemingly dodging arrows, and quickly followed after Luo Li when he saw him fleeing.
Liu Bozhen, the magistrate of Jiqing Road, and Niao Cishana Suerding, the censor of the Southern Censorate, were both drunk. When they heard the noise, they sobered up a bit and helped each other to their feet. After taking a few steps, they collapsed to the ground.
"Zhu Chen? Where is Zhu Chen? Help this old man out quickly!" Liu Bozhen groaned as he lay on the ground.
The censor Sengnu had just rushed to the cabin door when he heard this, so he came back, grabbed Niaocishanasuerding, and ran towards the door.
Judge Wang Hao's mind went blank, and he ran straight out, only to be kicked by Seng Nurui.
Wang Hao was furious.
The monk glared at him and said, "If we implicate Magistrate Liu and something happens to him, none of us will be in a good position."
Helpless, Wang Hao could only turn back, help Liu Bozhen up, and stumble forward.
Zhu Chen stood by the railing, his face ashen as he stared at the chaotic river.
An enemy ship carrying several people sailed downstream. After a fierce battle, it seemed that several of them had died, and the remaining men were losing their courage. Now, only one archer was still fighting back.
There was another enemy ship upstream, only fifty or sixty paces away. Three archers stood at the bow, constantly hurling fire arrows at us.
To be honest, in a real naval battle, rockets might not be very effective. Unfortunately, this pleasure boat is full of flammable materials, and the slightest mistake could lead to a raging fire, not to mention that there are already several fires.
In short, this boat couldn't stay any longer; they had to move as soon as possible. And the boat to move them to was right next to them—the small boat that had brought him there—which was tied to the side of the pleasure boat with a rope, so he could jump off at any time.
Zhu Chen was not one to hesitate or look back. Just as he was about to give the order, he saw several officials who had been invited to the banquet that night rushing out one after another. He was immediately delighted and thought to himself that he didn't need to go in to look for them. He simply took them away.
"Lord Luo." Zhu Chen went directly to the highest-ranking official, the Assistant Magistrate, and said with a serious expression, "The matter is urgent. Please come with me on the boat."
"A boat? There's a boat?" Rory was overjoyed. "Quick, take me ashore!"
Upon hearing this, Zhu Chen said to the others, "Why don't we get on the boat first, and I'll lead my men to break through the blockade and go downstream?"
Rory glanced at the battle raging behind them, where arrows flew and drums roared. Moreover, a larger ship was drifting upstream, and catching up with this intact little boat wouldn't be difficult. Could they really escape?
Although Zhu Chen had lived a life of luxury for many years, he was a desperate man in his early years and naturally wanted to take a gamble, but Rory was not.
Having figured this out, he pointed without hesitation to the south bank of the Qinhuai River and said, "Go ashore."
Zhu Chen hesitated, but Luo Li stomped his foot, his finger almost poking Zhu Chen's face, and said, "What do you think you are? You dog-like wretch, do you really think the court can't deal with you? I said let's go ashore, will you listen?"
For a fleeting moment, Zhu Chen's face darkened. However, having been in the business for many years, he still possessed a certain composure and did not react on the spot. Considering that getting on the small boat might not guarantee escape, he nodded and said, "Let's not delay, let's go ashore."
"Whoosh! Whoosh!" One rocket after another came flying over. Although most of them failed to start a fire and went out as they burned, two or three of them hit some kind of flammable material and burst into flames.
This seemed like a death knell, making the situation on the pleasure boat even more chaotic.
"Splash!" Zhu Mancang, holding a sharp blade, was the first to jump onto the small boat, then looked around warily.
Zhu Chen was the second to jump down, and Zhu Mancang helped him steady himself.
Next were Lu Tongzhi Luo Li and Judge Zhou Zhuang.
Zhu Mantun stood on one side of the ship's railing, forcefully embracing the drunken Nantai official, Niaocishanasuerding, and handing him down. Zhu Mancang caught him from below and laboriously placed the Semu official into the cabin.
Judge Wang Hao clung to the bow of the boat and said urgently, "Master Zhu, let me off the boat first."
Zhu Mantun ignored them and quickly embraced Prefect Liu Bozhen, with whom they had a good relationship and who had helped them a lot, and carefully escorted him down.
"It's my turn." Wang Hao saw that there were already six people on the small boat and worried that he wouldn't be able to get on, so he planned to climb over the railing and jump off the boat.
Zhu Mantun pushed him aside and nimbly got onto the small boat, followed by Lu Dashi and the censor Sengnu.
Zhu Maoer hurried over and saw that there were already nine people on the boat. He sighed almost imperceptibly, exchanged a glance with the two guards who had rushed over, took off his cotton-padded coat on the spot, and jumped into the river.
Wang Hao was dumbfounded.
The fire grew larger, and the screams from the pleasure boat grew louder. Women rushed to the side of the boat, waving and pleading with Zhu Chen and the others on the small boat.
There was no response from the small boat. Lu Dashi cut the rope with a single stroke, and the brothers Zhu Mancang and Zhu Mantun picked up bamboo poles and pushed the small boat toward the shore.
Seeing this, Wang Hao gritted his teeth, followed Zhu Mao'er's example, took off his robe, and jumped into the water.
However, he played a trick and instead of swimming towards the shore like Zhu Mao'er and the others, he jumped into the small boat that was gradually moving away.
After falling into the water, he frantically thrashed about with both hands and managed to grab onto the side of the small boat.
"Master Zhu, quick, pull me up!" Wang Hao's heart ignited with hope, and his face was filled with joy as he said, "I will repay you."
Lu Dashi, with a stern face, swung his knife down.
A blood-curdling scream echoed across the river. Wang Hao, his face contorted in agony, tumbled backward into the water, leaving only three bloody, severed fingers clinging to the side of the boat.
After shaking off the disturbances, the small boat slowly approached the south bank of the Qinhuai River, eventually stopping at a place full of reeds and silt, unable to move forward even an inch.
All eyes turned to Zhu Chen.
"I can't walk anymore, let's get off the boat." Zhu Chen didn't hesitate at all and was the first to get off the boat, stepping into the river water that was over his knees, struggling to walk.
As he walked, he turned his head and ordered, "Leave one person behind to go back to the pleasure boat and see if we can bring another boatload of people down."
Zhu Mantun stood at the stern of the ship, clasped his hands in a salute, and said, "Brother Zhu, let me do it."
Zhu Chen nodded to him and continued on his way.
Zhu Mancang quickened his pace, walking alongside Zhu Chen.
Lu Dashi sheathed his sword, picked up Liu Bozhen, whose arms and legs were weak, and walked in third place.
The others also disembarked, disregarding the icy cold of the river, and helped each other as they struggled forward.
After everyone disembarked, Zhu Mantun went to the bow of the boat, struggled to pole the bamboo pole, and headed towards the increasingly engulfed painted boat. He disappeared from sight in a short while.
Just then, a sharp whooshing sound suddenly came from the air.
Lu Dashi, who was walking in the middle of the group, instinctively dodged, and with a "thud," the arrow landed right in Liu Bozhen's chest.
Old Liu had been living a dissolute life, even taking off his thick brocade robe, leaving him in only a single garment. How could he possibly withstand the arrows that were being hurled at him? He cried out in pain, his limbs trembled violently, and then he lay still.
Lu Dashi was startled, but he was a seasoned veteran who had seen many battles. He quickly recovered and threw the wounded Liu Bozhen into the muddy water, leaving him to fend for himself.
No one else said anything when they saw this.
"It must have been shot from Phoenix Terrace." Zhu Mancang looked up at the dark distance ahead, his face showing some worry.
"There's no turning back now," Zhu Chen said, struggling to shovel the muddy water. "We can only grit our teeth and move forward, and get ashore first."
Zhu Mancang nodded, mustered his remaining strength, waded through the river with a splashing sound, and quickly arrived in front of Zhu Chen, intentionally or unintentionally blocking his path.
"Whoosh!" Another arrow flew from afar, splashing up tiny droplets of water.
Zhu Chen felt a chill run down his spine, knowing he couldn't delay any longer. Ignoring his exhaustion, he mustered all his strength and hurried forward.
Finally, the third arrow grazed the arm of the censor monk, forcing him to abandon the Southern Terrace Experience Bird Thorn Sanasuding in his arms. Zhu Chen's feet touched solid ground, and then he climbed up the riverbank using both hands and feet, panting heavily.
The riverbank was quiet, even excessively quiet.
Zhu Chen felt a little uneasy, and he turned his head to look behind him.
Zhu Mancang has reached the shore and is reaching out to help the others.
"Hurry up, don't delay," Zhu Chen urged, then crouched down and came to a willow tree, looking around in the dim moonlight.
Ahead was a gentle slope, dark and gloomy, with nothing visible except the occasional rustling of the wind through the grass and reeds.
Just as he was feeling uneasy, a light appeared in the darkness ahead.
"Bang!" The musket fired.
The iron pellets tore through the air, whistling as they hurtled toward the group who had just climbed onto the riverbank.
A scream rang out from the darkness, followed by a dull thud as a body fell to the ground.
Zhu Chen instinctively lay down on the ground.
Several torches lit up one after another on the gentle slope ahead, followed by the rustling sound of footsteps.
"Whoosh! Whoosh!" The sound of arrows piercing the air was mixed with the sound of footsteps.
The unfortunate monk was shot a second time, this time in the lower abdomen, which caused him to fall to the ground, convulsing uncontrollably.
Beside the monk, Lu Dashi groaned, clutched his shoulder, staggered a couple of steps, and crashed into a bush.
The footsteps ahead were getting closer.
Zhu Chen's face was terribly gloomy, and he subconsciously drew his ring-handled sword.
Zhu Mancang rushed over and stood beside him.
Zhu Chen glanced at his cousin and remained silent.
Zhu Yuanwai, who controlled the private salt market in five routes of western Zhejiang and had connections with countless officials, fell into disgrace and found himself with only one subordinate by his side.
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