Fuck! No way to survive.
Seeing that there were also Clippers surrounding him from behind, Shen Yichen couldn't help but yell.
I don’t know who I have offended, and why they are willing to hunt me down with such great force? What kind of grudge is this?
Shen Yichen didn't know who the people on the speedboat behind him were, and thought they were in cahoots with the Jingkou Gang.
The members of the Jingkou gang also had no idea why several speedboats suddenly appeared, and their faces were full of confusion.
Could it be that Pan Zhao was worried and found another group of people as a backup?
But the problem is that this is a weak scholar who is powerless. Is it necessary to be so cautious?
With just the dozen or so people from Jingkou Gang, it would not be easy to capture the three people on the sparrow boat. If they did not consider that they were only threatening but not killing them, it would have been more efficient to use two slashes.
"Niu, get ready to dive!"
Shen Yichen has recovered from his initial surprise. He can't stretch out in a small place like the Quechuan. Even if he has powerful fist and foot skills, he can't stop the opponent's swords and guns, not to mention that he doesn't have any.
The canal is not wide. If you dive into the water and hold your breath, you can swim directly to the shore.
Although landing on the shore could not change the situation of being outnumbered by the enemy, at least we were out of the encirclement, and if we could distance ourselves, we might be able to create a one-on-one situation. If that didn't work, we could run away if we had good physical strength, and it would just depend on who was better at long-distance running.
It must be said that Shen Yichen's previous bad behavior did at least bring him one benefit, which was that he could swim, and he was very good at it.
If he were like other students who study hard, not working hard and not knowing the difference between grains, he would not even have the chance to escape.
Without Shen Yichen's call, Ah Niu reacted at this moment. He immediately put away the dagger, and he and the boatman each picked up an oar, forming a horn to delay some time and let Shen Yichen run first.
After all, compared to a dagger, a paddle is at least an inch longer and an inch stronger.
"You guys go together!"
Shen Yichen looked at Aniu and the other man and saw that they were unmoved, and urged them loudly while tearing off his robe.
This set of long shirt was used to support the appearance during long journeys. Now that it can no longer support the appearance, the efficiency of running away is far less than that of the tight-fitting short shirt.
"Brother Chen, jump quickly, you can't run away if you're surrounded!"
Seeing that Shen Yichen hadn't jumped into the water yet, Aniu became a little anxious. If he delayed any longer, the speedboats behind would surround him, and it would be useless to delay time.
"Don't run away, find a way to talk to them!"
Faced with this situation where he was surrounded by enemies on all sides, Shen Yichen took a deep breath and calmed himself down.
Now there are wolves in front and tigers behind. Even if he escapes to the shore, he is alone, wet and unfamiliar with the place. It is undoubtedly a pipe dream to escape from the pursuit of the local water gang.
Moreover, Shen Yichen didn't want to watch Ah Niu and the boatman die in vain . What price could the other party offer? Even if he brought out Chengguogong Zhu Yong, he would have to offer a higher price for his life!
"Brother Chen, go away!"
When Aniu heard that Shen Yichen was actually planning to stay for negotiations, he shouted anxiously.
Before leaving, my mother specifically reminded me that Shen Yichen was the top three winners in the Little Three Imperial Examination and came from a noble family, so no matter what happened, his safety must be guaranteed.
If something happened , how could I explain to my mother and Shen Yichen's mother?
At this extremely urgent moment, the speedboats coming from behind did not slow down to surround Shen Yichen's boat, but rushed straight forward and collided with the first few speedboats.
Seeing this scene, Shen Yichen was a little confused. Could it be that a gang that has been making a living on the water for years would make such a low-level mistake in controlling the boat?
The members of the Jingkou gang on the other side thought that the other party was a "friendly force" and surrounded Shen Yichen, but they never expected that the other party would rush straight at them. Under the huge impact, people and horses were thrown to the ground in an instant, and there was a lot of shouting and cursing!
"You bastard, can you sail a boat? How could you hit something like this?"
"What kind of useless people did Zhao Tongpan find? They can't even sail a boat, so how can they do anything?"
"They definitely don't make a living on the water. Could they be a gang on the shore of Zhenjiang?"
"Damn it! After I finish this, I will definitely give them a good beating!"
The Jingkou gang members helped each other to stand up and were ready to have a good argument with the other party.
What they saw instead was a group of muscular men rushing out of the other ship, holding steel knives and looking fierce. After jumping over, they swung their knives at them without saying a word.
"Who are you? We are Zhao Tongpan's men!"
"Damn, your mother has mistaken you for the wrong person. The scholar is on the boat."
“Ah~~~~ Help!”
Soon, the shouting and cursing were replaced by screams and wails.
It's not that there were no people in the Jingkou Gang who dared to fight back. After all, they were not very good at making a living on the water, so they would have been killed long ago. It's just that the strong man on the opposite side was too cruel, killing without blinking an eye. He was completely different from ordinary gangs, just like a border army that had been fighting all year round.
Could it be that there was a special guard beside Shen Yichen? Did Duke Cheng value this maid's son so much?
Perhaps these members of the Jingkou Gang never dreamed that they would encounter such a group of ruthless people and even lose their lives after just taking on a dirty job of threatening and intimidating scholars.
Blood splattered, and a few drops even fell on Shen Yichen's face along with the river breeze. Smelling the faint smell of blood in the air, Shen Yichen's face turned pale, and his fingers trembled slightly.
To be honest, Shen Yichen had never seen such a bloody scene in his entire life. When a living person died tragically in front of him, the psychological impact brought about by the death was completely different from the feeling he had seen on TV.
At first, Shen Yichen was thinking about causing trouble for the local gangs. Since there was no deep hatred, the other party was just looking for money.
Since there is a price for making money, there is a high probability that you can negotiate a way out if you have a good conversation.
This group of inexplicable strong men are much more brutal than the Jingkou gang. They are here to kill people. I'm afraid there won't even be a chance for negotiation.
Who on earth have I offended that must be put to death?
Soon the wailing and screaming gradually subsided, and more than a dozen people from the Jingkou Gang fell down one after another. The river water around the boat was dyed blood red.
At this time, a sturdy man covered in blood jumped onto Shen Yichen's boat. The bloody smell of killing was overwhelming, making people feel extremely uncomfortable.
It was the first time for Ah Niu to see such a scene, and he couldn't help shaking even when holding the oar. However, when he saw someone jump on the boat, he immediately stood in front of Shen Yichen.
I have to say, after all, they are friends who grew up together. Even if we have less contact in the meantime, they are indeed reliable at critical moments.
The sturdy man who jumped onto the boat took a look at Shen Yichen, and instead of attacking him as he had imagined, he saluted and said, "Captain Shen, don't panic. I'm Ye Zongliu, a miner from Zhejiang, and I'm here to protect you."
Ye Zongliu?
When Shen Yichen heard this name alone, he had no impression at all, and he didn't know who the other person was or why he wanted to protect him.
However, after hearing the word "Zhejiang miner", Shen Yichen instantly remembered one thing. Wasn't the leader of the Zhejiang peasant uprising that took place in the ninth year of Zhengtong in the Ming Dynasty a miner named Ye Zongliu?
Could it be that the sturdy man in front of me is the leader of the uprising in history?
But the problem is, even if the other person is the same person, why would he help me? It seems like they have nothing to do with me.
Besides, to be honest, although Shen Yichen could understand the peasant uprisings during the Zhengtong period and even sympathized with their plight, he did not want to have too close contact with them at this time.
You have to know that this is not the end of the Ming Dynasty when the country was falling apart and there was no law. The central government of the Zhengtong Dynasty still had strong authority. Rebellion was equivalent to treason, which was a serious crime punishable by the execution of nine generations of the clan. No matter if you were a comrade or not, as long as you were implicated, Duke Cheng would not be able to protect himself.
Don't just be rescued and given a chance to live, but be labeled a traitor there, that would be a real injustice and no way to redress it.
"Heh, Mr. Shen seems to have a lot of concerns?"
Perhaps seeing the wariness in Shen Yichen's heart, Ye Zongliu felt a little disappointed.
I thought that the young scholar praised by Master Bian was so courageous and had a bright future, but I didn't expect that he was so timid in the end.
Now that he has just been rescued, he is afraid that he will be implicated. Master Bian is planning to rely on this kind of person to help find a way to survive in the future. It would be good if he is not sold out by him and only takes the credit.
Feeling the change in Ye Zongliu's tone, Shen Yichen showed a self-deprecating expression on his face. He just thought too much when he first heard about the leader of the peasant army.
As for something like turning against someone just after he had saved him, for fear of being implicated, he couldn't do that.
So he clasped his hands and said, "Although I am cautious by nature, I am not a coward. I would like to thank Chief Ye for saving my life."
After saying this, Shen Yichen bowed deeply. No matter what the other person's identity or background was, at least he saved his life, which meant he owed him a huge favor.
Being grateful and repaying kindness is the nature of being a human being!
Chief Ye?
After hearing this title, Ye Zongliu instantly understood why his master Bian He valued this young man so much.
Just from a name, Shen Yichen really figured out his identity.
At the same time, this also means that Shen Yichen is not the kind of literati who only knows how to read books of sages. He knows the situation in the world very well and has even heard of what happened in the mines far away in Zhejiang.
You have to know that in ancient times there were no information channels like today, such as television and the Internet. For a scholar to be able to read widely and know everything about the world is a very terrifying ability.
Ye Zongliu's guess was indeed an overestimation of Shen Yichen. On the eve of the outbreak of the miners' uprising in the ninth year of Zhengtong, even the upper echelons of Yingtian Prefecture could not have any news, let alone Shen Yichen.
The reason why we can determine that they are the same person is that we are standing from the God's perspective of history, because they have the same name, the same place and the same occupation. So many similarities cannot be accidental, and it is very easy to determine their identity.