The bandit army besieging the ancient ferry dock was led by Gaojia Village’s old acquaintance, Bu Zhan Ni.
However, it wasn’t Bu Zhan Ni himself, but rather the captain of his fifth squad, Old Zhang Fei. After Bu Zhan Ni led his followers into Shanxi with Wang Jiayin, his eight squads still operated independently as before, rarely gathering together.
This fifth squad traveled south along the eastern bank of the Yellow River until they reached Puzhou. Seeing Puzhou City was large with high walls, they dared not attack it. They skirted the city and ca upon a dock that looked easy to capture.
Old Zhang Fei gave the order, and they began the siege of the ancient ferry dock at the Yellow River.
Old Zhang Fei lived up to his na—sowhat old, nearly fifty, with dark skin and a thick beard, appearing quite rough and rugged. That was why he had nad himself Old Zhang Fei.
The bandit army under his command numbered neither few nor many—three thousand.
This was a massive force for such a small dock.
The rchants, fishern, and farrs inside the dock quickly grabbed weapons, resisting desperately.
Interestingly, the dock had the highest concentration of rchants. Since rchants traveled widely, they often carried light armants; each could muster a group of attendants or hired guards, much like Xing Honglang had her forty-two salt smugglers.
These n were highly combative, seasoned from constant clashes with various bandits, far surpassing ordinary farrs in skill.
Thus, despite their much smaller numbers, they held off Old Zhang Fei for a very, very long ti.
This angered Old Zhang Fei, driving him into a frenzy! He ordered his n to redouble their assault.
Inside the dock stood a middle-aged man dressed in rchant clothing, slightly plump with a deeply worried expression. His na was Iron Bird Flies, a nickna, not his real na.
For he wasn’t a legitimate rchant; he was a salt smuggler.
Salt smugglers had long thrived in Puzhou, Shanxi, as it was a major inland salt-producing region. An ancient text, Zi Bu Yu: Puzhou Salt Smugglers, recounted stories of these smugglers.
Of course, it never ntioned Xing Honglang of Yongji, as she was fabricated by a eunuch.
Iron Bird Flies had twenty enforcers; two were already dead, six injured, leaving only twelve on their feet, desperately shooting arrows at the bandits from behind the fence.
But Iron Bird Flies knew they couldn’t hold out.
The bandit army was too nurous—a full three thousand. Even excluding the elderly and weak, won and children, over a thousand were combat-ready. Yet this tiny dock had only several hundred defenders; defeat was inevitable.
Behind them lay the surging Yellow River. The dock had small fishing boats at its edge, but when the bandits ca, people scrambled to sail them away, leaving those behind no escape route.
Fighting with their backs against the river, they could only fight for their lives.
Iron Bird Flies roared at his n: “Kill! Kill! Fight like hell! Even if we die, take more of them down with us!”
His twelve n shot frenzied volleys at the bandits, but the bandits closed in relentlessly.
Just then, a wounded man lying at Iron Bird Flies’ feet gasped weakly: “Leader… leader… look at the river…”
Iron Bird Flies replied: “Bandits are about to overrun the dock! No ti!”
The man summoned all his strength: “Look… upon the river…”
Iron Bird Flies finally sensed sothing amiss. He quickly turned, glancing at the river.
Far to the north on the water, a boat approached. It remained distant, yet its silhouette was visible from such a distance, signaling its enormous size.
Squinting, he saw it had a tall cabin, resembling an official navy warship.
“The officials’ navy?” Iron Bird Flies exclaid joyfully: “They’ve co for bandit suppression!”
But the mont those words left his mouth, sothing felt profoundly wrong.
If the imperial fleet were to co, it ought to co from the southeast. How could it possibly arrive from the north?
No, no—the direction isn’t the point. After all, I’m a salt smuggler, a villain the authorities want to catch and behead. What joy is there in that?
Bandits ahead and officials behind—either way, I’m a dead man now.
anwhile, Xing Honglang on the prow was also surveying the ancient ferry dock. She differed from Iron Bird Flies; not only could she see with her eyes, but she also had a telescope.
Pulling out a single-barreled telescope from her shirt, she took one glance at the ancient ferry dock and went pale: “Dammit! Bandits are attacking the ancient ferry dock!”
Her subordinate Old Zhu moved closer. “Damn those bandits, causing trouble at our ho turf! The ancient ferry dock is where we made our first fortunes.”
Xing Honglang nodded. “Exactly! I’ll be damned—I saw an old familiar face there, too—always ssing with our deals!”
Old Zhu: “ssing with us? Ah! Iron Bird Flies!”
Xing Honglang chuckled darkly. “The very sa dummy. That jerk kept playing gas to undercut , costing many a profit.”
Old Zhu burst out laughing. “So what now? Just watch him get slaughtered by the bandits?”
Xing Honglang gave him a sharp knock on the head. “Shut it! Am I, Xing Honglang of Yongji, really that kind? Though that crew often screws us over, we’re still folks from the sa trade and hotown—surviving off the sa common trade. How can we stand idle when comrades face danger? Besides, the dock is full of old friends too!”
Old Zhu: “Then we fight?”
“Fight!”
Xing Honglang turned to the Bai Family Fortress water troops. “Brothers of Bai Family Fortress, prepare for war. The ancient ferry dock must be saved.”
The crew instantly roared in excitent. “Hurrah!”
“Artilleryn, move it!”
“Thought I wouldn’t get to fire cannons on this trial voyage. Never imagined the chance’d co so quick.”
“Practicing on targets ain’t half as fun as shooting at real people.”
“Whoa, man—d’you hear yourself? That’s grim.”
The Bai Family Fortress water troops bantered relentlessly as they poured into the ship’s hold to ready the cannons.
These soldiers had trained for a long ti and could load, aim, and fire with ease—but practice was still worlds apart from combat. The mont they learned they’d be fighting bandits, they were thrown into disarray, blundering in every way.
“Mother of rcy—calm down, calm down!” roared the captain, a veteran and close aide of Bai Yuan himself. “Don’t load both sides simultaneously—dummies! Load one side first! Only the eastern cannons can fire right now—load those!”
Realizing their mistake, the artilleryn scrambled to the east side. The ship tilted under their weight, terrifying them into rushing back to the other side to balance it out.
Twenty probationary water troops from Heyang County huddled trembling, unsure where to hide.
The captain sneered at their cowardice. “Stop your piss-poor trembling! Where are your harp-quivers? Draw them! Bolt them! Be ready to shoot!”
anwhile, Xing Honglang’s forty-two salt smugglers stood rigid, hands gripping waist knives, eyes coldly trained ashore. They were ready to leap overboard and cut down enemies at any mont.
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