Chapter 9: Water Bandits (Part 1)
Now the salt boat was moving at a low speed in a tributary, with dense trees in the river bend in the distance. More than 30 brothers were practicing breathing exercises facing the rising sun.
It has been almost a year since Zhang Xuanning came to this world.
The mother in his memory had taught him the three levels of foundation and elementary mental skills. After a year of practice, he not only cultivated back to the first level according to his memory, but also reorganized all the martial arts he had learned. Although what he learned was only the basics, the techniques were profound and went straight to the essence. Therefore, after integrating it, he referred to the superficial mental skills in the sword manual given by the gang leader, and adapted a set of basic mental skills according to the principles of the mental skills, which was more than enough.
Although these teenagers have passed the golden period of laying the foundation, they have not yet completely left the teenage stage, and their learning progress is still relatively fast.
At this time, the sound of oars was heard, and a fishing boat was passing by not far from the river bend. It looked so quiet and peaceful that it was hard to imagine that the world was torn apart and wars were ongoing at that time.
"Master, why is the speed so slow? Only half sail?" After the morning exercises, Gui Xiliang stepped forward and asked.
"The reason is very simple. You guys are really not strong enough. This shipload of salt is not considered a fortune in this area. So we don't know if the big gangs will attack us. We can still deal with sporadic small thieves, but once we leave the coastal areas and enter the inland, the price of salt will increase by one cent for every mile we advance. In this way, a shipload of salt is equivalent to half a shipload of silver, and more people will pay attention to it. If I don't give you some time to practice, can handle it all at once?" Zhang Xuanning looked down on him and said, "Besides, although we have learned some ship operation and accumulated some experience when we came here, we are novices after all. It's okay when the ship is empty, but now that the ship is full, we still need to learn more to avoid any problems."
After hearing this, everyone on the boat suddenly realized what was going on, and they began to wield swords and guns, practicing in groups on the deck. The people on the passing fishing boats couldn't help but laugh, because wouldn't it be a joke for a group of teenagers to practice on a boat?
Of course, the people on the boat ignored it until dusk, when the salt ship entered a secluded place in the river bend. Everyone cooked and ate something, then started their evening practice and prepared to go to bed.
But at this moment, the sound of war drums was heard, and the brothers took out their knives and rushed out of the cabin. Zhang Xuan looked intently and found a ship rushing towards them. The ship was narrow and pointed, and its maneuverability was better than his salt ship.
In the setting sun, there were more than twenty people standing on the other side's deck. Some of them were holding bows and arrows, and some were holding fishing rods and other tools to lock the ship. A flag with the word "Gao" written on it was flying on the boat.
Zhang Xuanning frowned. He was familiar with The Twin Dragons of the Tang Dynasty. After a little thought, he remembered it.
"Who are these guys? I tell my brothers to get ready!" Gui Xiliang drew his knife.
"No, the enemy has bows and arrows. Tell the brothers to retreat to the cabin to hide from the arrows." Zhang Xuanning smiled and said happily: "I will handle everything. Before the battle, we use drums, flags, and formations. We look like a small army."
Gui Xiliang was very confused, but still said: "Yes, Xiangzhu!"
All the gangsters retreated back to the cabin, only Zhang Xuanning stood on the deck. Not long after, two "bang! bang" sounds were heard, and the boat came closer. The thieves rushed forward, but they also saw Zhang Xuanning, who was leisurely and holding a long knife.
The leader was a big man with eyes like copper bells, long hair draped over his shoulders, a full beard, and a very ferocious appearance. Two short tasseled spears about five feet long were hung crosswise on his back. More than twenty pirates on board followed behind him, and there was actually some discipline in their actions.
"Gao Zhandao, you were originally soldiers, right? In February of the seventh year of Daye, the emperor issued an edict to attack Goryeo. You were recruited to Zhuo County and followed the army to Pyongyang, the capital of Goryeo. However, this expedition was a victory at first but then a defeat. The army you were in was ambushed and defeated, and only more than 2,700 people were able to return to Liaodong. In the ninth year of Daye, the emperor launched the second expedition to Goryeo. Yang Xuangan rebelled, and you were among them. Yang Xuangan was defeated and died, and you fled back to Kunling, only to find out that your entire family had been beheaded. That's why you became pirates here!" Zhang Xuanning said leisurely.
It was at least two years later that Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong came out of seclusion. Their first batch of subordinates were this group of pirates. But by that time, after several years of development, they had new members joining them. The second leader was Niu Fengyi and the third leader was Zha Jie. They also had more than 200 people under their command and three boats. But now, considering the time, they are still small bandits who had just settled down and there were no new members joining!
After his origins were exposed, Gao Zhandao tightly grasped his two guns, his eyes flashing coldly, and said coldly: "Who are you? Government officials?"
Zhang Xuanning laughed and said, "Government? If I were the government, would I still waste my time talking to you? Besides, the government won't waste time on you little pirates. Otherwise, do you think you can live this long?"
Gao Zhandao slowly took off the two guns on his back and said in a deep voice: "Then why did you lure us here?"
Zhang Xuanning still sneered and said, "Deception? Do you think you are worth it? It's true that you are deserters of the army, but you don't know real martial arts. Who would care about you? Don't ask me why I know you. I am enough to deal with you. Gao Zhannu, let me be frank. Since you boarded the ship to rob, you must pay the price. Do you want to rush in and die, or surrender immediately?"
The pirates immediately started to curse, but Gao Zhandao shook his hand and strode over: "If you want us to surrender, let me see how much you are worth first."
Zhang Xuanning sneered. After breaking through the first layer of internal force, he had gained martial powers beyond ordinary people. He pounced forward fiercely, "Puff! Puff! Puff!" He struck Gao Zhandao with several swords, each of which hit Gao Zhandao's vital points. Although Gao Zhandao had not learned the real internal martial arts, his military combat moves and superficial internal energy training were also practical. He retreated several steps and barely blocked three swords, but that trace of internal force still rushed up along the weapon, and his face turned pale as paper.
The soldiers immediately rushed forward, forming a simple military encirclement, blocking Gao Zhandao one after another, but no one dared to step forward and take action.
Zhang Xuanning stood with his sword across his body, looking relaxed, but in fact, he felt that a quarter of his internal strength had been lost. He immediately realized that his martial arts were still too shallow, and he was far from reaching the realm of endless internal energy. There was no way he could really enter the army formation and play a role.
Gao Zhandao snorted coldly, recovered his breath, and tightly grasped his two guns, asking: "What do you want?"
There are masters in this world. Of course, he knows in the army that if he encounters a master, he can only use crowd tactics to tire out, drag down, and hack the opponent to death. But now he has only twenty people. If he fights hard, maybe the opponent will be fine, but all of his people will die.
Moreover, behind the cabin, there are more than 20 people faintly visible. Although the people behind are all teenagers and may not have the fighting power of this person, they are also no trivial matter.
"I am the leader of the Yangzhou Xiangkouxiang Gang of the Bamboo Flower Gang. This time I am going to the inland with contraband salt, and I am short of manpower. If you surrender, you can all be given a bamboo. Otherwise, I will have no choice but to kill you." Zhang Xuanning revealed murderous intent. This was not false, but he really intended to do so.
After a pause, he continued, "Moreover, in this chaotic world, if you follow the Bamboo Flower Gang, you will have a chance to take revenge on the official who killed you."
