Chapter 251: Despair, the matter is over

On the water, two ships slowly approached each other.

The people on the bows of both sides had their own plans in mind, and the people hiding in the cabins at the back were watching covetously.

The merchant stood at the bow, looking towards this side, ready to die.

The same was true for the woman holding the baby, but at this moment her eyes were filled with confusion, because she was about to return to a den of tigers and wolves, and also because of her missing son.

When the distance between the two ships was less than 5 meters.

Changqing clenched his hands behind his back into fists.

Afterwards, no earth-shaking shouts were heard, only a "creak" sound was heard, and the originally closed door suddenly opened, followed by a sound of orderly footsteps, and three teams of black-clad guards ran out of the cabin. Each team had six people, with steady steps, and each carrying a long springboard made of three springboards.

It all happened silently, and with Changqing and his personal guards in front blocking the way, the pirates on the opposite boat could not see what was going on for a moment.

On the pirate boat.

The big boss raised his head slightly and looked at the nearby ship with a look of joy on his face.

The men who had pretended to escape just now have all returned to the boat and have prepared the gangplank. They are just waiting for the other side to lower the gangplank first. Once the people reach the center, he can immediately send people rush over.

To catch a thief, you must first catch the leader. This saying is even more appropriate when applied to robbery by water bandits. As long as one person gets on the other side's boat, and others follow suit, the other side will be like fish on the chopping board, ready to be slaughtered at will!

As for whether I am worried that the other side will do the same...

I'm a pirate, and the tactics of changing homes don't work on me!

Three feet inside the boat.

The excitement on the boss's face could not be suppressed. He seemed to have seen the future of wealth and prosperity beckoning to him, with a beautiful wife and concubines, grandchildren to play with, and a "master"...

On the boat, after roughly calculating that a few days would be enough, Changqing immediately turned sideways together with the guards who were blocking the view, and made way for three paths through the crowd for the long gangway to pass through.

The team carrying the long springboard stepped out.

Without any hesitation, as soon as he reached the bow, the guard at the front, with cotton balls on his shoulders, immediately lowered his body and held the front end of the gangway with his hands.

At the same time, the guards in the middle moved forward quickly, cooperating with the guards in the back row to push the long springboard forward.

When the long springboard was raised to a certain height, the guards in the back row immediately walked forward and pushed it.

I saw three dark shadows suddenly hanging high above the deck of the ship. Under the bright moonlight, the shadows fell on the pirate ship.

"What do they mean? Are they thinking we can't get on their boat fast enough, so they help us?" A low laugh came from the pirates' boat. Some of the pirates thought that the "fat sheep" on the opposite boat was really a clever guy. Not only was he not alert, but he also helped to be killed.

The boss and the legal advisor frowned deeply.

Such a long springboard, it was obviously specially assembled, longer than the springboards used by the pirates like himself!
Who can I talk to to explain this?

Which good guy has such a long gangway on his boat?

Both of them felt a strong sense of uneasiness in their hearts at the same time!
"Dangdang!"

"Dangdang!"

"Dangdang!"

However, before the two could react, they heard three sounds of gangways hitting the boat at almost the same time.

Then, looking up, I saw shadowy figures on the opposite side, hungry black shadows rushing towards me on the springboard!

Looking down from a high place, the weapon in his hand flashed with a sharp cold light!

No, are you the pirates or are we the pirates?
Why did you start fighting first?
Seeing this, the boss felt that something was wrong and immediately started to order the pirates to shake the springboard to shake the enemies coming from the stepping stone down.

As a result, when the people on the other side rushed halfway, the springboard could not shake.

"Stop shaking, you can't move! There are so many people up there, and there's someone holding it up over there!"

The master also began to get angry and simply stopped pretending and shouted loudly:
"Everyone, show your skills, get on the springboard, and fight them!"

Damn, these wealthy people are really deep-minded!
Before I could even make a move, they had already taken the lead.

Then I won’t pretend anymore, I’m going to show my cards, I’m a pirate, I’m going to start resisting!

It may seem a little strange, but as a pirate, I am really fighting a springboard defense battle!
Defend, don't attack!
The pirates immediately heard the call and climbed onto the springboard enthusiastically.

It's not that they are too brave to be defeated, but in their eyes, these guards are just little chickens who have never seen blood. If they are scared and bleed a little, their fighting power will be half crippled.

Besides, when fighting on the springboard, even if you can’t win, you can just jump into the water with a knife in your hand!

When the time comes for the boss and the lawyer to divide the cake, they can at least earn some meat and goods by virtue of the knife wound.

So all at once, the bandits climbed onto the three springboards one after another.

But an accident happened at this time.

It turned out that the middle-aged rich businessman took advantage of everyone's attention on the gangway and slipped to the stern at some point, and wanted to release all the sampans.

Fortunately, there was someone guarding the sampan at all times, and he immediately chopped the rich businessman in the chest with a knife.

Seeing that he had already fallen to the ground, blood gushed out and dyed his whole body red, he was muttering:

"I have not fulfilled my wish, so I can only comfort my ancestors with my death!"

Then his neck fell and there was no sound.

The big boss suppressed his fear and sneered:

"I thought he was some kind of hero, but it turns out he's nothing but a worthless person."

But when he turned around, he heard the sound of "splash" falling into the water behind him. The boss looked back and saw that there were suddenly three more door panels on the three diving boards!

The people on the opposite boat pushed against the door panel and pushed their side directly into the water.

"How can this be! This is not a martial ethics!"

The boss was so angry that his teeth were itching. Not only did the opponent launch a war without declaring war, but he also showed no martial ethics and used door panels. He was truly unfilial!
"Give me the springboard!"

The boss said with a fierce look on his face:

"I want to see how they come here to die!"

On the springboard.

Changqing and his personal guards marched forward against the door panels, and soon reached the opposite bow.

Looking at the pirates surrounding the boat opposite, he was not panicked at all.

As soon as his hand loosened, the door panel fell into the water.

He then reached behind him with one hand and someone behind him passed him a longbow. He reached for the quiver at his waist and felt an arrow in his hand.

He half-crouched, revealing the ten personal guards holding longbows behind him.

They all half-squatted with their hands opened like a full moon.

In an instant, thirty-one longbows were arranged in three rows and aimed at everyone on the boat.

The scene suddenly froze.

The originally restless pirates suddenly quieted down, staring blankly at the guards with bows on the springboard.

There are thirty-one longbowmen on the opposite side?

Changqing did not give the bandits a chance to find cover.

The reason why he didn't shoot the arrow on the boat was probably here.

It is difficult to aim when shooting arrows from a distance at night, and it is easy to be blocked by cover. But now it is different. We are so close that everyone is a good target.

Besides, there is no need to be afraid even if we rush forward under a hail of arrows.

Who says archers are not good at swordsmanship?
With the long sword at his waist, he becomes an elite infantryman!
There's no need to draw the bow, shoot the arrow, or aim, just shoot it straight into the crowd.

"Ah~!"

"Help, Boss!"

"Master, where does the plan come from?"

"..."

After two rounds of salvos, the space in front of the springboard was suddenly empty.

A group of pirates without any shelter immediately ran away crying for their parents, and began to push each other as they ran into the cabin.

Some clever ones began to hunch their heads and move towards the sampan.

I can’t beat him, I really can’t beat him!
The boss and the master rushed to the place where the sampans were stored with their heads in their hands, trying to slip away in the chaos, and there was strong resentment in their eyes.

They were dispersed before they even had a fight.

It’s not that our army is incompetent, it’s that the enemy is too cunning!
How can there be such a person?

The principle of making a great effort at first but then declining is particularly evident among a mob.

With their momentum, they even dared to dethrone the emperor.

Once the momentum is gone, it will be easier to catch than a pig.

What we can’t do today is to keep the green mountains alive so that we won’t have to worry about having firewood.

While running away at the same time, the boss and the master glared at each other from time to time.

Boss: You have a great idea!

Master: I told you not to be greedy!

In short, you can't take the blame, otherwise it will affect your reputation in the future.

At this moment, both of them wanted to put a name on the other side so that they could identify the culprit in the future.

The Boss: This master is useful, but I’m afraid he won’t be of any use in the future.

Master: Hey, finding a strong man is urgent!

But when the two came to the place where the sampan was placed, they were stunned!

All the sampans are gone!
The two of them couldn't help but look towards the side of the boat where the sampan was tied, and saw blood stains and handprints all over the hemp ropes, the source of which was the middle-aged man lying cross-legged next to it.

The middle-aged businessman was still conscious at this moment, coughing up blood. Obviously, he was pretending to be dead just now!
At this time, there was a sound of breaking water on the water surface, which came from the minions who were responsible for guarding the sampan.

At this moment, he was soaked all over, shivering constantly, and trembling:

"You are such a brave bastard, you actually pretended to be dead and knocked me into the water. Just wait, I will..."

As he spoke, his expression suddenly froze.

Seeing that his boss and his master had gloomy expressions, their eyes were bloodshot, and they looked like they wanted to kill him, he couldn't help but wonder:
"Boss, Master, why are you here?"

"Could it be that you got a treasure and want to take it back to the village?" The man looked delighted.

He was caught off guard and fell into the water. He took several gulps of cold river water and struggled for a long time before coming out. He didn't know what had happened on the boat.

"I'll take you, you straight thief!"

The big boss hated this servile scoundrel so much that he drew his knife and chopped the pirate who had just climbed out of the water back into the river.

"Damn it, you can't do anything good, but you can only do harm!"

The master also lost his temper and yelled at the pirates splashing in the water:
"You can't even handle a sampan, and you want to be rich. Go guard your wealth in the water from now on!"

The river water is icy cold at night. If you suddenly enter the water, hypothermia alone is enough to sink you into the river.

Now there is no sampan and the only way out is cut off.

"Haha, this is retribution!"

The middle-aged man was now in a state of revival, and he actually laughed out loud, saying:

"After all, this ship's wealth is not for you guys..."

"Puch!"

The master stabbed the middle-aged man's heart with a knife, and angrily cursed at the dead man's body:
"What a rotten and vulgar thing a dying man can say. Tell it to your dead son in the underworld!"

Facing death, the lawyer could no longer maintain his self-proclaimed scholarly demeanor. He scolded the middle-aged rich businessman and the bandits who were struggling to swim in the water. Fortunately, he had not lost his mind at this moment. Seeing that the burly boss had a gloomy face, he did not dare to point his spearhead at him.

But I also hated it in my heart.

I've advised you not to covet wealth and fame, but you still have the audacity to test it. You're courting death!
After venting his anger, he heard continuous wailing coming from the deck, as well as orderly and unfamiliar reports, and he knew that the situation was hopeless.

But it is impossible to surrender without any effort.

So the master said to the head master in a low voice:

"The only solution now is to risk my life!"

"With all the fanfare they've put up, the nobleman on that ship must be a royal relative or not. As long as we get on their ship and capture that nobleman, we can find a way out!"

The big boss frowned and said:

"But the gangway must be guarded..."

"Then swim across!"

The master was already furious:
"The two ships are not far apart. We can swim over to avoid hypothermia and death. When we get close to the ship, we can hook the grappling hook over the side and pull it up!"

The boss had no other choice but to agree.

He immediately worked with his master to gather the pirates here, a total of twenty people.

"Let's go. Success or failure depends on this one move!"

on the deck.

Changqing successfully boarded the ship with the help of his bow and arrow and drove all the bandits into the cabin.

He also looked at the sampan, and looking at the body of the middle-aged man, he couldn't help but sigh:
"He's a real good guy!"

"Come here, collect the body of this warrior."

"Yes!"

At this moment, sporadic bandits rushed out of the cabin from time to time, but these scattered numbers were naturally not worth mentioning in the face of the fierce and ferocious guards of the Marquis' Mansion. They could not even cause a commotion, and the situation disappeared in an instant.

More pirates hid in the cabin.

If we charge into the cabin, it will be a street fight between the enemy in the dark and us in the light, and there will definitely be casualties.

Chang Qing didn't want to cause more losses, but he also didn't want to let go of these pirates who were looking for death.

"Someone, bring the kerosene!"

While sending people to get kerosene, Changqing ordered his guards to block the doors on both sides with cargo, leaving only an exit wide enough for one person to pass through.

Soon, two large barrels of kerosene were brought in, one barrel poured out of each hatch.

"You are right, young master. You need to use your brain to do anything."

Chang Qing held a torch in his hand, looked at the dark cabin passage in front of him, shook his head and sighed:

"The water bandits are a disaster, and death is not a pity!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he threw the torch in his hand into the passage, and in an instant, a raging fire broke out in the cabin!
There were cries and shouts for mercy, and bright flames were reflected on the water on both sides of the boat.

The bandits in the cabin either jumped into the river or huddled together at the cabin door.

Soon, there was no sound in the cabin.

Under the Yangjialou boat.

With the burning ship reflected in his eyes, the boss, who had just put on the grappling hook, couldn't help swallowing, feeling filled with remorse.

Who is this strong man?
Wet and shivering, he climbed onto the stern of the boat.

There were twenty people when we set out, but now there are only thirteen left.

As pirates, they were all very good at swimming, but the river water was icy at night, and they had to get on the boat with hooks and ropes, so they were terrified and physically exhausted. The other seven men had weak arms, and they lost their strength and fell into the water when they were trying to get on the boat.

It can't float up anymore.

However, they had no time to mourn for their companions. The moment they stepped onto the plank, many bandits became cheered up.

Wealth and glory are just around the corner!

Entered the ship's palace.

The pirates looked like country bumpkins, and couldn't help but marvel at the magnificent decorations.

“It’s really a big fish!”

However, now is not the time to reap the fruits of victory. Everyone held their breath, gathered together and began to search the ship.

The doors were opened one after another, showing signs of people living there, but now there was no trace of them, obviously they had gone into hiding.

As they searched further inside, they gradually heard voices of conversation inside.

found it!
The pirates looked at each other and saw the joy in each other's hearts.

He moved forward quietly and finally reached a door.

There were whispers coming from inside.

After confirming that there was someone inside, the boss immediately kicked the door open, revealing the person talking inside, but his expression immediately became stunned.

He can still tell whether someone is a noble person or not.

There are no noble people in this room, they are all maids and old women!
No, not quite…

The boss turned his head again and saw four men in black standing in the four corners of the room. They were all dressed in tight clothes, with fierce light in their tiger eyes.

At this moment, he moved towards the door with a sharp knife in his hand.

After confirming through their eyes, the boss was now 100% sure that these four people were of the same group as the ones who had just attacked his boat!

At this moment, he heard noises coming from the doors on both sides of the corridor.

"squeak~"

After a noise, the doors on both sides opened, revealing six more men in black of the same appearance!
what's the situation?
Realizing that the thirteen of them had been surrounded by the ten men on the opposite side, and that many maids and servants were screaming in surprise, the head of the family immediately made up his mind, drew his sword and charged forward, screaming in surprise:
"Now the only way to survive is to fight to the death. Brothers, kill!"

The bandits knew that they could not retreat now, so they drew their swords and stepped forward.

The boss knew that his men needed courage at this moment.

He boasted of his extraordinary martial arts skills, and that he was invincible in his original team. Shangguan was also killed by him with a single blow. Now he should set a good example for his brothers by seeing blood, so he immediately chopped at the vanguard in front of him.

The blade is pointed at the lungs, and I just want to kill him with one blow.

It turned out that the leading guard didn't even use his knife. He just stepped back nimbly, slightly retracted his upper body, and dodged the tip of the knife. At the same time, while his remaining strength was still there, he grabbed his wrist with his left hand like an eagle claw, and used his right hand as a palm knife to chop down hard at the fingers holding the handle of the knife.

His wrists and fingers felt as if struck by lightning, and the boss was unable to hold the knife.

"Clang!"

With just one move, the knife in his hand fell to the ground.

Immediately afterwards, there were successive clanging sounds coming from behind. The boss looked back and saw long swords falling to the ground.

The boss was filled with despair, but he still roared to give himself courage and tried to pull his hand out. However, the strength he was so proud of was like an ant trying to shake a tree. The man opposite him still held his hand firmly and could not move at all.

At the same time, the sound just started and then stopped abruptly.

"There should be no blood on the boat. Pull them out."

All ambitions vanished in an instant.

The pirates had sackcloth stuffed in their mouths, their hands tied and they were forced to kneel in front of the deck, watching the ship on the opposite side sink to the bottom of the river.

"How dare you touch me!"

Chang Qing asked his guards to continue searching the boat to see if there were any fish that had escaped the net, while he looked at the pirates kneeling on the bow with a puzzled expression:

"What can I say about you? You have to use your brains. Do you have brains? Are you just imitating others' tricks?
It's really brainless!"

　Added for the beginning of the month!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)