In midsummer in May, the turbidity of the river is rolling. The section of the river from Jiujiangfu to Huguang is quite turbulent. The flood flows eastward, flows to the mouth of the lake, and then joins the water gushing out of Poyang Lake. Ships on the voyage, if there is no wind, cannot travel thirty miles a day, and large cargo ships are even slower than snails. There is not enough rain this year, and it is difficult to see clouds in the sky around Qingming.From the spring of the previous year, in Nanjing, Jiangxi, and Huguang, until the early summer of the 27th year of Wanli this year, there has not been a day of rain in this area.

Last year, it can be said that there was no harvest, but the land tax not only did not decrease, but increased by one to two times. The common people began to break up their homes and flee to the states and counties in all directions for food. Ten rooms were empty.Those who can't bear it simply put down their hoes and pick up the murderous knife. Natural disasters are terrible, but man-made disasters are even more tragic and cruel.Natural disasters and man-made disasters are frequent, and the most fertile lower reaches of the great river, a land of fish and rice, has turned into a world full of thieves and thieves.

The drought is over, and there has been no rain for two years, but the melted snow water in the upper reaches is still rushing down as scheduled, and the peach blossom flood rises slowly, so although the turbid waves are surging, there will be no floods.Drought and floods, God is too good at playing tricks on people. Huguang, a land of fish and rice, suffered even worse disasters, but it was not caused by natural disasters. The people were in dire straits, and it was about to become a hell on earth! The man-made disaster comes from the eunuchs, tax supervisors and imperial envoys sent by the current Emperor Wanli all over the world, the four most cruel are known as evildoers.

There is one in Huguang; Yan Wang Chen Feng. From Jiujiang to Jingzhou, there are no less than 30 additional banknote customs, tax stations, and collection offices. Every bamboo, every tree, every thread, every station needs to pay taxes. The simple luggage of passengers also has to pay taxes at the station.Anyone who resists surrender, kill!If there is no money to pay, they will be detained for one or two years of hard labor. What about Wang Fa?Since Emperor Wanli ascended the throne, there has been no kingly law. The magistrates, prefectures, and counties of all prefectures and counties in the world have lost one-third, and the court officials have also killed one-third.

Over the years, bandits and robbers have increased a hundredfold. The number of heroes who eat Jianghu rice has also increased a hundredfold. To survive, benevolence, righteousness and morality must be thrown out of the sky. The only way to survive is: to take risks.If you want to live a happy life, you must first take out your conscience and throw it to the dogs. It was already time to apply for a license plate, and the small passenger boat was sailing with full sails, and was rushing upstream along the left channel of the river.It was getting dark, and this kind of small passenger ship, which could only carry more than ten passengers, was very dangerous to sail at night, so it was necessary to rest at the shore.

Although it is not allowed to sail at night, during the flood season in spring and summer, small boats cannot withstand wind and waves, so it is better to sail during the day.Moreover, it would be a big disaster if it ran into a boat of water thieves at night. The right side of the river is a mountainous area of ​​Mufu Mountain, and the water is fast and violent. Therefore, the boats sailing on the river all sail along the left side of the river. The series of islands are all under the jurisdiction of Huguang Huangmei and Guangji.Jiangyou belongs to Ruichang, Jiangxi.To say that this area of ​​the river is a no-regards zone is really worthy of the name.

This small single-masted passenger ship is bigger, and the wind is stronger and faster. The wind in the river is not strong today, and the speed of Shanghai Airlines is quite slow. Depending on the situation, it will be difficult to arrive at Wuxue Town for a rest tonight, which is the scheduled destination. The waves kept beating against the hull, the deck was full of water, and the passengers could not get a foothold. Only four boatmen were busy, paying attention to the changes in the water situation. The people who were really busy were the boatman and the sailboatman. The deck of the middle cabin was half open, and a young man leaned out the window to look out. Water droplets splashed people from time to time, but he didn't mind it.

The young man has sword eyebrows and tiger eyes, but his aura is not intimidating, and he has a usual smile, there is no frightening light in the tiger eyes. Looking at his age, he was about twenty-two or three years old, like a tiger, with a slender figure rather than a big man with a broad waist and a round waist.Wearing a grayish green shirt, he doesn't look like a scholar. The hem of the green shirt is tucked into the belt, so it doesn't have a literary flavor. There is a medium-sized exquisite purse on the belt, but there is no pen bag and fan pouch, so it is impossible to be a student. Anyway, it is difficult to estimate the identity because of the four appearances.

The middle cabin, commonly known as the official cabin, is divided into front and rear cabins, and can carry eight passengers. Everyone squeezes in, but of course it is limited to male passengers. The back cabin is also divided into two cabins, and female passengers have a special cabin. The boatmen lived in the wheelhouse, and they used the gangway outside the cabin to get in and out. They often had to pass by the window, so passengers had better not come out and get in the way. In fact, during the voyage of the ship, passengers do not want to take the risk of walking outside at all, as soon as they step out of the deck, they will become drowned chickens.

Young tourists don't look at the river from the window. The turbid waves are surging and the river is vast. There is no beautiful scenery to see, and there are not many boats passing by. His eyes focused on the two two-masted fast boats that were overtaking from the outside. The distance between them was less than ten feet, and he could clearly see the situation on the other boat. The clipper brig was larger than the sloop, but with an extra sail, it was half as fast, and in a moment the first one passed ahead. There were four boatmen controlling the small clipper boat, but the boatman didn't pay attention to the movement of his boat.

But he paid attention to the two small fast boats, and he went out to the deck in a moment. A big wave hit the deck, and his gown was half wet. Guest officer, please don't come out, okay?The waves are big and dangerous.A boatman kindly opened the cabin door and asked him to go back to the cabin. You have to look after the ship, not me.He smiled and refused: You will be busy soon, and you don't have time to pay attention to the passengers! Huh!guest officer meaning Except for the boatman who manages the sails, the other boatmen actually don't need to be busy. With the sails as power, they don't need to use oars to steer the boat. Those two ships.He pointed to the two fast boats that were on board. That's a cargo ship.said the boatman. Passenger and cargo ship means carrying both passengers and cargo. Do you know the five-clawed Jiao Luo rudder of Qian Jiao Zhu? oops!On the opposite side is Qixiong Dajiang.The boatman's face changed drastically: the guest officer said Wait for their signal! really him?The boatman didn't seem to believe it. good. oops! Don't be afraid, listen to them.He comforted the boatman: this bastard is quite reasonable and will not kill indiscriminately viciously.Anyway, the property on board is limited, and there will be no bloodshed if there is no resistance.Voila, the signal went. The fast boat, which was thirty or forty feet ahead, had already occupied the channel and blocked it in front.There was a boatman standing on the roof of the cabin, waving a triangular black flag to signal for the small passenger boat to lower its sails and approach the shore. The second fast boat sailing side by side is slowly approaching.On the side of the slab, eight big men with water knives were eager to move. The boatmen panicked and panicked. God!The boatman’s cry seemed to be crying: there is a sandbar over there, and once the boat lands on it, it cannot get off. Lower half sail and let me deal with them.The young man yelled to the boatman on the back boat: "Keep on the course, don't be afraid." The downstream starts from Liangshan in Nanjing to the Huangzhou River in the upper reaches. There are seven groups of water thieves known as the Seven Heroes of the Great River in this section of the river. The number of each group ranges from twenty to one hundred and twenty. The leader who lives on the boat is called the rudder master, and the one who lives in the lair of the waterside stockade is called the master. Five-claw Jiao Luo Kui is the third-ranked one, owning five clippers and nearly sixty minions. How can the boatman not be afraid? Suspicious, not knowing what to do, the boatman was also at a loss. The young man's voice was not loud, and he was speaking for the thief boat. Which bastard who doesn't know how to live or die dares to speak wildly?The thief boat, which had approached to about five feet, heard an ear-splitting roar. it's me.Young people also shook the river. Who are you?The black-faced thief asked sharply. The surname is Zhao, and I want to offer you a friendship. asshole Watch out for your dog's mouth.Remember, there is no next time.The young man shook his left hand, and a faint electric light pierced through the air: ten coins in bonus. The distance between the two ships was about five feet, and the two ships were bobbing and sinking sharply in the waves. It was almost impossible to hit the target with a light concealed weapon. With a crisp clang, the target of the gangster's water diverter knife was hit by the electric light, the blade tilted, almost throwing the knife away. The electric light slanted, and with a soft sound, it penetrated into the top of the oar column beside him, revealing a brownish-yellow light shadow in a semi-arc. The thieves were taken aback, and stretched out their hands to pull out the hidden weapon, gasped when they saw the figure clearly, and waved their hands repeatedly. The bow of the ship was twisted, and the thief boat left quickly. The thief boat in front also stopped signaling to get out of the channel and sail towards the middle stream. The boatman of the small passenger boat couldn't stop chanting Buddha's name, thankfully he escaped the catastrophe. The two pirate ships turned around inside and out, and gradually sailed side by side.The two burly men on the first boat jumped onto the two pirate boats with exquisite agility. Boss, what's the matter?The big man got into the cabin and asked in surprise. There were seven big men in the cabin, the black-faced big man sat by the window, took out a coin and threw it on the board with a snap. Take a look, you should not be unfamiliar, at least you have heard of this character, we are quite lucky!The black-faced man smiled wryly: If this bastard doesn't make friends, at least half of our brothers will go to see Hades. That is a coin that counts as ten, no, it should be said to be privately minted private money.Money-making refers to the official Baoquan Bureau or Baoyuan Bureau, and Xiaoping coins issued by the government.Other dynasties are called ancient coins, and those privately cast by the people are called privately cast coins. Usually, private minted money can't be banned, so the government has to turn a blind eye and close its eyes, too lazy to check and ban it and let it circulate in the market. Its value is equal to that of ancient coins, only slightly lower than that of official minted coins. This privately minted coin belongs to a large denomination of tens of coins, with a diameter of one inch and two cents, and a weight of one or two coins. The copper quality is very good.Generally, Xiaoping makes money for one penny, which weighs one penny and two cents. The money minted in different dynasties of this dynasty is different, the heaviest one is three cents, the lightest is only seven cents, the size varies in thickness, and even iron cast coins are issued. From the material and size of the money style, we can see the economic situation of that dynasty. This coin is of good quality and heavy weight. On the front is Yangwen Zhengde Tongbao, and on the back are two parallel dragons.In the middle of the top of the dragon, there is a ghost head carved with simple lines, which looks like a dragon ball that looks like a double dragon. Emperor Zhengde reigned for 16 years and did not issue coins. Therefore, this Zhengde Tongbao is privately minted money. As for where and who made it privately, it is impossible to trace it. As long as you see the words "Zhengde Tongbao", you will know that it is not making money. However, people who use it among the people do not know whether Zhengde has made money and issued it.This kind of money is rarely issued, and its current market value is quite high, but those who receive it usually don't use it anymore and keep it as a treasure. In the south of the Yangtze River, because of the double dragon pattern on the money, it is unprecedented and very beautiful. It is considered a good omen and is very popular. The people call it happy money. It is said that women use it as a belt loop to pray for a boy or a girl as they wish, so it is not easy to see in the market, and its value can be increased by three or four times, and it can be used for thirty or forty coins. The ghost head was carved with a sharp weapon, so you can tell it's not cast. Ghosts worry about Zhao!The big man exclaimed in horror when he saw the ghost head pattern. That's right, among the four people in the world who are nicknamed ghosts, the surnames are Zhao Qiansun, Sun Li, and they are all fake surnames.The fearful face of the black-faced man is still there: the hidden weapons of the four contemporary killers are different, and the flying money of Zhao Zhao is the most vicious.This guy has only been out for two or three years. He is neither black nor white, good or evil. He is extremely skilled in disguise and disguise. Got to peel off the skin.Once he feels that the words are important, killing people will be a nightmare. I know.The big man said: In recent years, there has been great chaos in the rivers and lakes. A large number of ghosts and snakes have entered the rivers and lakes. Everyone is fishing in troubled waters. The most murderous one is one god and four ghosts, making the rivers and lakes even more chaotic. One god of retribution and four ghosts are all evil spirits who kill The God of Plague is the public enemy of heroes like us, the thorn in our side and the thorn in our flesh.I really hope that someone will stand up and kill these gods and ghosts to save the world from harm. Brother, don't make them so horrible and abominable.The black-faced man didn't take his companion's criticism seriously: We are not ambitious tyrants, so we don't need to treat him as a vicious ghost.This Gui Jianchou Zhao is actually quite reasonable. His reputation in the world is mixed. If you don't do something harmful to the world, the handle is not in his hands. If you don't provoke him, he will be harmless to you.Fortunately, we didn't do anything today, and he didn't hurt any of us with his ghost flying money. That's right.The big man nodded in agreement: he should kill more than half of us when we board the ship to commit murder.Well!There must be someone on his ship who made him unwilling to reveal his identity. Maybe!Anyway, we're pretty lucky, and we're going to have to celebrate tonight to get rid of the bad luck.It's really bad luck to meet Sha Xing who is worried about seeing ghosts. I always feel that the atmosphere in Jiang Nian is not right today, and I have to avoid the limelight. The small passenger ship sailed slowly, breaking the waves from the outer edge of a continent.During the peach blossom flood season, the area of ​​the tens of miles long continent shrunk by half.But in the center of Chau, you can still see overgrown vegetation and even private houses.On the other side of the continent is the majestic river embankment. The young man was still sitting in the half-open cabin window, looking at the river view leisurely, as if he had completely forgotten the accident that happened not long ago. Beside him, there appeared an eight or nine-year-old child with delicate features and a bit wild appearance. In fact, there is nothing to see in the river view. Large ships in the middle of the river are constantly coming and going, all kinds of boats are sailing, various water birds are flying in the sky, and the wide river is turbulent. , How can you feel beauty when you are uneasy?I just hope to arrive at the shore earlier to avoid the risk of wind and waves. Master Zhao, will those robbers still come?The little boy leaned beside him and raised his head to ask, with an innocent smile on his face. Won't.His tone was affirmative: Those people are robbers just to survive, and only a few are born bad people.If you know that you will die when you rob, you will not take the risk of being killed to rob.Are you afraid of it? With you here, I am not afraid.The little boy reached for the medium-sized purse on his waist, and took out a large handful of various coins. There are many kinds of men's purses, small and delicate ones can hold small valuable items, such as small silver ingots.A big bag of sundries and pocket money. All kinds of new and old ancient coins can be used in common, and there are two kinds of coins, one big and one small, which are special.The small one is a piece of Jiajing Tongbao, which is of better quality than Hongwu coins, nine tins of copper and one piece of copper.With a bare back, it weighs one coin and three cents, which is heavy money. At present, each penny can be used for two Hongwu coins. It is the most beautiful type of money made in all generations, and has the highest use value. In the Jiajing Dynasty, money was cast three times: six years, twenty-three years, and forty-two years.The most exquisite issued by Jingshi in the forty-two years, there are three kinds and five grades.Three types: light back, wax paint, arrowhead edge.Fifth class: Dang ten, Dang five, Dang three, Dang two, one wen.A text with a bare back is of the best quality, and the weight will add one point (in the past, it weighed one cent and two cents). At present, five hundred coins can be exchanged for one tael of silver, while wax lacquer arrowheads cost one thousand coins.The money of other dynasties costs 1,300 or 400 Wen, and the counterfeit money (privately minted money) costs more than 1,500. In the past, famous money darts like to use Hongwu money.In particular, only the word Hongwu is cast on the front, and the Hongwu money on the back is painted with various colored paints on the light back, engraved with marks, and sprinkled in a string. The colorfulness is really like a rain of flowers. To scare and shock the effect. Don't be naughty.Xiaojiao, you can't play with coins.He smiled and stopped the little boy from playing with money: I hope that you will be good at using money throughout your life, and you don't need to use money to harm or kill people in various ways.Go back to the back cabin and tell your mother, don’t panic if anything happens, I’m in charge of everything, you know? oh!Master Zhao, is something still going on?The little Jiaoren is a little ghost, and he actually heard something in his words. that ship.He pointed upstream: there would be accidents, but no trouble. Upriver and beyond, a real fast boat with sails and oars, was moving lightly through the rolling waves, so that it seemed to be merely floating in place, and deliberately keeping her position. On the bow of the ship, there are seven flags of different sizes and colors with different pictures and texts. Several people on the deck have bows in their hands, and another person has a red triangular signal flag, which can be seen as an armed ship at a glance. oops!Another pirate ship?Xiaojiao jumped up. No, it's the sentry boat of the Jiangfang camp, the boat that catches thieves, but it's not catching thieves now.He got up and took out a paper bag from the bag under the bulkhead: it is now a ship for the tax bureau to collect money, and also to catch fugitives who owed taxes and escaped. oops!us You are not fugitives who owe taxes, but the families of prestigious and wealthy families.Don't worry, everything is mine.Quick, go back to the back cabin, dear. There was a shout from the boatman outside, and the boat began to approach the north bank.The sentinel boat upstream is constantly signaling with flags. The north shore is a large continent, and five passenger and cargo ships are parked.There are also two sentinel boats moored on both sides, and there are many figures. Ding Yong, who is checking the boats, keeps going up and down. Money can pass through gods, and money can make ghosts turn millstones. As long as you have money to spend, whether you are an official or a bandit, you should have no problem keeping your old life. If you have money and power, if you use it properly, you can still survive even in the face of natural and man-made disasters.Even if the world is turned upside down and catastrophe is imminent, the chance of survival is much greater than those who are poor and miserable. There were originally five civilian boats on the beach, but two of them were just released. The boatman and the passengers worked together to push the boats that had landed on the beach into the water. Under the command of the people on the shore, the ghostly small passenger boat had to be put directly on the beach, and it was not allowed to anchor or put a pole to moor the boat.Rushing onto the beach, it would be impossible to escape. The boat landed on the beach to make up for the vacancies of the three release boats that sailed out.The sentinel boat that followed also parked on the right side. Let's search.The ship watchman unsheathed his bow and stringed knife, and issued an order to his companions on the shore who were about to board the ship: You deal with those people first. The situation has been effectively controlled, sir, please rest assured.A big man on the shore reported to the bearded man on the sentry boat. What's the matter with those people?The big bearded man jumped onto the deck of the small passenger ship, glanced at the ghost who was out of the cabin, ignored him, pointed to the person on the shore not far away, and asked: "What's suspicious?" Several men carried swords.The big man on the shore said: Mr. Wu is dealing with it, there will be no problem. That's good.The big bearded man waved his hands to signal the people on the shore to leave, and turned his hands on his hips to face the smiling Gui Jianshou: You are not like the captain of the ship. The flood has exceeded the high water mark, and the area of ​​the island has shrunk by half. There is no sand and sand on the beach. Passengers on the other two ships were forced to stand in front of the bushes in two places, guarded by two groups of big men respectively, and several strong bows could be fired at any time.If you want to break out of the siege of swords again, God knows how many lucky chances you will have? Due to the appearance of Guijianshou, the big man on the shore who was guarding the passengers, and more than 20 male and female passengers under guard all paid attention to this side. Those who searched on the two ships also turned their heads to look here. Those who were intercepted should be like little ghosts who have seen the king of Hades. How dare they smile without fear like ghosts seeing sorrow?It was too abnormal, so it attracted the attention of many people. The distance between the top and the bottom is only four or five feet, and everyone present can see the original appearance of the person concerned clearly. Gui Jianchou only glanced at all sides on the shore, and then he saw the appearance of the central figure clearly.Especially the face of the young girl passenger who suppressed her anger was extremely vivid and unforgettable at first sight. It seems a little inappropriate to be called a girl, and it should be called a yellow-haired girl.But tall and slender, and only slightly revealing the moving curves that represent youth. She just combed two big braids representing girls, which means that she is not yet old enough to make up. Wearing two pieces of white-bottomed small emerald flower trousers, the waistband of the clothes bulges into the shape of an embroidered purse, and a long organza woven floral scarf hangs from the waistband, not a sweat towel and handkerchief. In those big bright and clear eyes, the expression of suppressing anger was actually very intimidating, revealing a faintly charming brilliance. In the eyes of some people, this kind of brilliance is quite attractive, just like the so-called anger and anger, and it also has a pleasant sentiment. Another tall, strong, handsome young man in his twenties, wearing a moon-white gown and carrying a sword, is full of heroism, his eyes are cold and bright, his anger is on the verge of eruption, and he seems to be about to let go Expressive expression. Below are travelers, coming from Kyoto.Gui Jianchou's official speech in the capital is very fluent, which is completely different from his previous dealings with water thieves. While speaking, he opened his paper bag with a pleasant smile: surname Li, Li Xiong.One for each family member and children accompanying the ship Shut up, I won't ask you this.The curly bearded man scolded. oh!I have to say it first!If you don't explain it first, how will you know what attitude to take?Are you an imperial envoy from the General Tax Administration of Wuchang Prefecture?right?His smile disappeared, and his face was calm and majestic. The big bearded man was taken aback for a moment. Eunuch Chen Qin of the Imperial Horse Supervisor was stationed in the Jingzhou branch office, and the governor's tax office was set up in Wuchang, with 20 sub-offices.My elder brother, Li Renfeng, is the preacher of the Jingzhou Tax Supervision Branch.I escorted my sister-in-law and nephews, along with nine relatives, friends and servants.Gui Jianchou handed over the stack of documents that he had taken out: These are all the travel certificates and documents issued by Kyoto, please check them out. Hearing that it was an official of the Jingzhou branch, the bearded man's daze turned into surprise, and the flood flooded down the Dragon King Temple, making a big joke! I am not familiar with the Jingzhou branch office.The big bearded man probably couldn't understand the official document, and he stretched out his hand to block it if he didn't accept it, with an unnatural expression: The people you brought from the capital.There are many ministers, and I don't know many of them. We had to bring more manpower. All the imperial envoys sent to Beijing had to recruit a large number of people to protect the inside and outside, to guard against assassins inside and against mobs outside.oh!Are you not from the Wuchang branch? I am from the Huangzhou Branch. What is your surname? Surname Long, Xinglong's Long, Long Sihai oops!You are a world-renowned blood fiend, Mr. Long Si Hailong, I am sorry and disrespectful.Gui Jianchou received the documents and said happily: The imperial envoy employs a total of 18 capable and famous masters who have shaken the Jianghu. What master celebrity?People call us eighteen demons.Blood Demon Long Sihai sneered: You can go, please pay respects to the Chuan Feng Guan. thanks!What happened to those people?Gui Jianchou hung the paper bag on his shoulder and pointed to the crowd not far away. When he uttered the nickname of Gorefiend, the expressions of the young man and the girl with swords over there all changed, and their expressions were obviously shocked. Investigate traitors and collect taxes according to the rules.Gorefiend said: Whoever carries a sword must be cross-examined Why bother!Uncle Long.Gui Jianchou said calmly: Imperial envoys from all over the world hire guards at high prices, and heroes from all over the world are proud to serve as imperial envoys. After all, this is a good way to get ahead, fame and fortune.They may be people who went to the Imperial Commissioner's Mansion to seek refuge. You are blocking their way to join. Will you have a grudge when you meet in the future? Although there are many people who seek refuge, there are also many people who conspire to assassinate imperial envoys, so we have to guard against them.The Gorefiend glanced fiercely at the crowd over there: Mr. Chen's mansion, Huguang, has only been three years, and there have been twelve assassination accidents successively, and there have also been eight assassination accidents in Wuchang, Hankou Town, Huangzhou, Xiangyang, Xiangtan and other places. Assassins inspire tax protesters to magnify accidents.Therefore, it is necessary to prevent problems before they happen. oh!I remembered that the civil uprising in Huangzhou happened in the first month of the lunar year. At that time, Uncle Long was there? I brought people from Wuchang and successfully suppressed Well, Uncle Long is also afraid of assassins You don't provoke me.The Gorefiend yelled in displeasure. hehe!How dare I?The ghost smiled sadly: If there is no assassin in peace, can the imperial envoy hire guards? According to the rules, tax is drawn on their luggage, three draws and one draw.The Gorefiend roared angrily at the crowd over there: Anyone with a murder weapon will be fined one hundred taels of silver.No money, strip them naked, send them out. hehe!Uncle Long, don't be angry, be careful that your stomach hurts.With a playful smile on his face, the ghost gestured to the boatman to push the boat into the water quickly. Gorefiend jumped off the boat and strode toward the crowd. The boatman hurriedly pushed the boat into the water, stretched out a few feet, hoisted the sail and slipped away upstream. The tax supervisor Chen Fengchen Yan Wang, or Chen Demon King, visited Huguang Jingzhou to open the mansion in February of the previous year. The imperial envoy mansion was built in Jingzhou and Wuchang. More than 20 tax supervision sub-offices have been added in various places, and checkpoints have been set up all over the place. The goods and passengers' belongings, including luggage and sundries, will be assessed and taxed in three ways.In the past, the tax was one out of ten.If there is no money to pay, that is, to confiscate the price. Then there are large-scale mining, killing officials, robbing, kidnapping women, taking people into slavery, killing civilians indiscriminately, and ransacking homes. Externally, even in front of King Chu, the king of Huguang, this imperial eunuch blatantly claimed to be a thousand years old. As a result, in Huguang, there are almost no legitimate business travelers on the roads, and there are few cargo ships on the river. The cargo ships are all in collusion with the minions of the tax station, as well as the tyrants of the rivers and lakes, blatantly smuggled, and even put on the banner of the tax supervisory office to pass unimpeded.No one dared to control the officials and security personnel from all over the country. Even the patrolmen hid in the yamen to eat idle food, so as not to be beaten to death by the imperial tax bureaucrats. The head of the imperial envoy's minions, openly known as the guard, was hired by a lot of money to serve as a vicious and vicious master in the universe. Huguang people called eighteen of the most terrifying people eighteen demons. In fact, the real professional titles are all called Shui Ding. Blood Demon Long Sihai is one of the Eighteen Demons.Friends in the rivers and lakes all know that among the eleven seniors of the older generation.Half of the masters' martial arts are not as good as this blood demon.It is said that Rongchang, the mad sword ranked number one among the Eleven Masters, would not be able to kill the blood demon within a hundred moves, whether it is true remains to be proved. Almost all the imperial eunuchs and eunuchs sent by the Wanli Emperor to all parts of the world acted in unison. They were ordered by the emperor to treat the subjects of the world as pigs and dogs, and desperately searched for gold and silver treasures. Kill or drive away the upright officials who do not obey orders, search for the property of the people, abuse and kill the people all over the world, mine gold and silver, dig ancient tombs to get buried treasures, and transport the gold and silver from the official treasury to the Imperial Palace in Kyoto. The methods of torture, murder and adultery are unprecedentedly brutal.The history of skinning, cramping, fragmentation, fragmentation, and collective massacres of villages and towns is full of blood, which is openly recorded in the annals of history and announced to the world. It is a hundred times more tyrannical than Qin Shihuang.Therefore, the evil cause of the country's subjugation was planted. More than 20 years after the death of this bastard emperor, the Ming Dynasty collapsed, and the descendants of the Zhu family's royal family, the rebellious people and the Manchus were almost wiped out. Those lonesome ministers who hold high the banner of anti-Qing and Ming Dynasty cannot get the support of the general public at all. The emperor's idea was actually very simple. Officials from all over the world don't send gold and silver to the court, which is not enough for the emperor to spend. These officials are nothing.Simply, send eunuchs to various places to search for all the gold and silver in the world, even dig out the underground gold and silver mines; dig out the gold and silver treasures buried in the tombs of the rich in ancient times.As for how many people will die because of this, it is irrelevant, anyway, the world belongs to his Zhu family dynasty, and he can do whatever he likes. Among the eighteen demons of the Huguang Imperial Commissioner and Taxation Office, the blood demon is not the cruelest one, and he is quite heroic. Agitated by ghosts, he renounced the crime of carrying weapons in his anger. Assassins, go assassinate and die. Later, in the last civil uprising in Jingzhou, the Eighteen Heroes from southern Hunan invaded the imperial envoy’s mansion, and sixteen of the eighteen demons died. Only two demons, the blood demon and the green-faced demon Qu Yiming, escaped among the mob. The ship set sail in a hurry, escaped the snare, and it was already dusk.The flood was raging, and the small passenger boat could not withstand the risk of night sailing, so it had to dock early and berth for the night, and could no longer sail. Master Zhao, we must land earlier.The boatman who was standing in front of the cabin with ghosts and sorrows said with a worried face: a sudden wave may turn the boat upside down, and the small ones can't afford the risk. This seems to be Laozhou.Gui Jianchou pointed to the continent on the right. It is already ten miles away from the continent that was moored before. Looking downstream, the continent can be seen faintly, but no other ships are moored. The two boats that were last punished had followed about five or six miles behind.The three sentinel boats of the tax inspectorate may have been twenty miles downstream! Yes, it is also called Laozhou or Yanjiazhou.said the boatman. Then it is not far from Wuxue Town! Looking upstream to the left bank, in the twilight, you can vaguely see the shape of the hills and the blurred outline of the village on the shore. Can't make it, Mr. Zhao.The boatman smiled wryly: Besides, there is an inspection department in Wuxue Town, so there must be a sub-station for the tax supervisory office. There is no need to take the risk of storms and rush to Wuxue Town.Gui Jianchou really doesn't want to deal with the evil spirits of the tax bureau anymore, lest the trick of pretending to be an official family member be exposed: go to the island!Really can't take the risk. OKThe boatman felt relieved: there are folk houses on the island, and it is more convenient to settle down in the houses. The bow of the boat turned and headed towards the shore of the continent two miles away. The two passenger ships downstream also seemed to show signs of docking. The houses on the island are not safe.Gui Jianchou refused to settle down with his family members in a private house: water thieves come and go at night, along the islands and islands are all water thieves' activity areas, and when dozens of water thieves just come to gather and share the spoils, I can't take care of them.On the ship, I can close the cabin to hide and defend temporarily, but it is difficult for me to take care of it in a private house. That's right.The boatman nodded. The lamp ball swayed and the torches were peeled off, illuminating the beach brightly, and the torches made of waste bamboo cables burned more and more vigorously. Nine big men in blue clothes and soap boots who were dressed as patrol officers blocked the passenger boat which was half-grounded on the beach. The patrolmen have chains around their waists, single knives, and ropes, and in their hands are iron rods shaped like a ruler, which are used to chop off the bones of criminals' arms. People come out of the deck quickly to check the private goods.One of the three men on the deck, with a voice like thunder: We are the patrolling officers of the Wuxue Inspection Department, and we want to check the people and goods on board, get up quickly. There was a loud bang, and the closed hatch was kicked as if it was about to collapse. The four boatmen, with disheveled clothes, rushed out of the rear cabin first, and staggered out of the deck along the left and right outer skins, panicking. Father-in-law, the youngest one is the owner of the passenger ship, frightened and humbly reporting: Is there any cargo on board? Shut up!Step aside.The patrolman waved his hand impatiently: "Anyway, we have to investigate, let's talk about it after we find out." The hatch opened, and the well-dressed Guijian Shou Zhao got out. oh!Ship check?He doesn't seem to know what's going on: we're Not many people said, everyone came out and went ashore.The policeman forbade him to say more, and pointed to the springboard behind: No matter who you are, disobedient arrests will be brought to justice, let's go! Like a wolf like a tiger, how can you tell the difference?It is located in a remote place, even if the emperor came to visit, it would be very easy to destroy the body and traces if something happened, and the emperor's prestige would not be able to intimidate him. At worst, he would kill the emperor and flee to the end of the world, or take the opportunity to rise up. Rebellion in this kind of place is very unfortunate. Men, women, old and children were all driven off the beach, guarded by two patrols, and the other patrols formed a group of two and searched the bilges of cabins and bilges. There are two cabins in the middle cabin, how can the cargo be piled up in the accommodation for passengers?Some are just sleeping bags. The two patrolmen who entered the cabin to search did not intend to look at the cargo at all, and even only glanced at the miscellaneous bedding, and did not search and pull it out. One of them took out a small green cloth bag from the pouch.With five fingers retracted and grasped, the paper pouch inside the bag was shattered, and then stuffed into a hidden place in the corner of the ship to hide, the two left the cabin and went to check another cabin. The leading patrol only questioned the male and female passengers a little, and it was easy to see that the story was false, and they were not serious. They probably thought that there was not much money to be made, so they didn't work hard. Without private goods, how can there be oil and water. Soon, the patrolmen left, came and went in a hurry, disappeared in the mixed forest on the island, and left empty-handed, worthy of respect and trust. Ghost Jianchou was full of doubts, watched the fire go away, couldn't help frowning and pondering, feeling suspicious, but couldn't figure it out. What surprised him the most was that the Wuxue Inspection Department's patrol officers dared to go to the barren island in the middle of the river to investigate the case at night. As far as he knew, the police on both sides of the river only dared to visit the islands in the middle of the river during the day.In the past two years, I didn't even come around during the day to hunt down thieves. There are suspicious signs, but no clue can be found. There will be patrols on the island tonight, so there will be no danger.The owner of the ship said happily, and stepped onto the plank to board the ship: at least there would be no water robbers. I hope so.His tone was not very optimistic: water thieves are certainly terrifying, but some Gongmen people are a hundred times more terrifying. Patrol is just one of Gongmen people, obviously he is not just alluding to patrol. Waking up suddenly in the chaos, he felt a chill in his heart.He was woken up by being splashed with water, and at the same time received heavy slaps on the cheeks. The lights were dazzling, and I was in a rather wide hall, with my hands tied behind my back. The tendon ropes were so tough that it was not easy to break free, let alone break them. The upper body was naked, but the lower body was finally left with trousers, barefoot, in a state of embarrassment, completely dressed for sleeping on a boat, obtained by being caught and tied up from the bed. It is quite civilized for a person who sleeps on a ship to wear only a pair of trousers. There were as many as eight people whose hands were tied and thrown in the center of the hall, one of them was his boatman, who was young and strong. He didn't know the others, they might have been passengers of other ships, and everyone was young and strong, which was the same feature.He is, of course, young and strong. There were more than a dozen big men guarding nearby, and three of them were familiar to him. That's right, they were three of the ship inspectors. Unfortunately, as expected, these people who claimed to be inspectors and arresters in Wuxue had problems, and he fell into the hands of these unknown people. How could it be brought from the sleeping place, tied to a dead pig? He was already suspicious and wary of the environment he was in, yet he was caught and tied up without knowing it, it was unbelievable! The two big men who splashed him awake rudely picked him up and forced him to sit up. Don't talk, don't move around, so as not to suffer.The big man let go and issued a warning in a deep voice. oops!You he exclaimed. He was immediately interrupted by another big man who stretched out his hand and slapped him. You can't be brave, a hero doesn't suffer from immediate losses. There is still some dizziness left in the mind, guessing based on experience, it should be caused by drugs that lose their minds, and they easily captured many people. How is the drug administered?It's the mystery of these fake or real patrols, and it can't be wrong. Try the rope that binds your hands behind your back, and feel a little more at ease. The binding rope is an ordinary tendon rope, but the person who binds it is an expert, and the binding is a straight winding instead of a twisted circle. It is wound four or five times without any gap. That is to say, it is impossible for his hands to move from his lower body to the front, and he has no skill and strength to resist. Although he did not wear a neck collar, it can still be regarded as a dead bond. Only those who practice cartilage skills can move the hands tied behind their backs from the feet to the front of the body. The hands are tied behind the back and all functions are lost. Of course, the art of cartilage does not mean that the bones can become soft, but that the softness of the muscles is several times more flexible than that of ordinary people.To practice this kind of skill, you must practice it every day without interruption, it is very hard, and you must start practicing it from an early age. Fortunately, the feet were not tied with ropes.這些劫持他的人，並沒有把擄來的八個年輕力壯大漢，看成身懷武功的人，所以僅背綑雙手。腳沒加限繩，仍可奔跑跳躍。 並非全然幸運，因為他已經察覺出某些地方不對，感覺出兇兆，有點不妙。 兇兆呈現在身軀反應遲鈍上，似乎手腳有麻木感。 一個苦練武功有成的人，身軀任何部位，反應皆極為靈敏。肌肉的觸覺尤其敏感，神動立呈反應，連氣流的變化也可以感覺出來，比視力聽覺更靈敏。而現在，他卻感到活動手腳竟然覺得力不從心。 憑他的經驗，他知道被人在身上動了手腳，要不是某段經脈被制經手法所制，便是被某種藥物所控，勾消了反抗的能力。 他碰上了精明難纏的人物，大事不妙。 他唯一可做的事，是定下心等待，等待情勢變化，等待機會逃走。而且，得花些心機弄清情勢，希望情勢不至於壞得不可收拾，不至於坐以待斃。 居然在他身上，加了雙重禁制，難道說，有人認出他的身分了？ 最近十年來，天災人禍頻傳，來勢洶洶，民不聊生。苛政猛於虎，天下每一角落，皆有鋌而走險的流民逃丁苟延殘喘。 紫禁城內那位萬曆皇帝，拼命大刮天下之財，成千上萬的大戶破家，成千上萬的百姓因繳不出稅而被殺，甚至屠村。 每一城鎮的監獄囚犯爆滿，每一年城鄉都有無數苦役犯做奴工。連皇都的刑場，也經常處決人犯，不受秋決的限制，反正任何時候皆可出人。 不甘聽天由命的年輕力壯人士，只要敢揮拳頭，會舞刀弄槍的人，皆相呼振臂而起，進入莽莽江湖謀生路，活一天算一天。 他這兩三年來，混出相當的局面，至少他自己覺得頗有成就感，而且相當寫意。