GBP Chapter 62 Distress
Chapter 62 Distress
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After Kong Youde and Li Jiucheng launched their rebellion, the situation deteriorated to such an extent in just one month, something that the court officials never expected, and also caught Shandong officials at all levels off guard.
Liu Ye never expected that his miscalculation of the timing of the mutiny would lead him into an extremely passive situation—from the day of the mutiny, the entire city of Dengzhou was under martial law, the port was also blocked, and the Yuanhang ship had been transferred back to Lingao, so he couldn't leave even if he wanted to—he was trapped in Huangxian.
Liu Ye had considered using Sun Yuanhua's connections to get a ship and travel by sea back to Lingao, but at the moment, Dengzhou City was inaccessible. He feared that he would be killed as a spy for the rebels as soon as he arrived, all because of his Liaodong accent.
What he didn't know was that even if he managed to sneak into the city, Sun Yuanhua was already overwhelmed with problems and wouldn't have time to meet with him. The Liaodong troops he had personally trained had rebelled, and he not only had to mobilize troops to suppress the rebellion, but he also had to deal with impeachments from high-ranking officials in the court.
Sun Yuanhua belonged to the faction of Grand Secretary Zhou Yanru, while Wen Tiren, also a Grand Secretary, had long coveted the position and was constantly seeking opportunities to attack and impeach him. This rebellion provided Wen Tiren with an excellent opportunity. If he could remove Sun Yuanhua from power, Zhou Yanru would lose an important local official, significantly weakening his power. Then, he could advise Emperor Chongzhen to accuse Zhou Yanru of "misjudging people," and given Chongzhen's temperament, there was a high probability that Zhou would be dismissed from his position as Grand Secretary. Given the current state of the Grand Secretaries, Wen Tiren was practically the only suitable successor.
Liu Ye was not very clear about these political struggles. Now, the sea route from Dengzhou was blocked, and the land route was even more impossible. At present, the rebel army was heading straight for Dengzhou, and the government troops in various places were also frequently mobilizing and deploying, running around in all directions. If they were not careful, they would be caught in the crossfire and either be killed or taken hostage by the rebels, or be mistakenly killed by the government troops.
Since his transmigration, he had never encountered such a helpless situation. Knowing the general trend of history and mastering advanced technology were all useless in the midst of the chaos of war. Even with his guards by his side, a few hundred men caught between tens of thousands of rebels and government troops were like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.
Several guards escorted the coal-carrying fleet back to Lingao, leaving Liu Ye with only Lin San and a dozen or so veteran guards. He said to Lin San, "Lin San, do you dare to take a gamble with me? If we can't get through to Dengzhou, how about we find a boat at the dock in Huang County to go out to sea?"
Lin San nodded: "My life was given to me by the master. I will follow whatever the master tells me to do."
Huangxian is also a coastal area, but because Dengzhou has a more developed maritime transport system, there are no decent wharves here, and very few ships come and go; usually, only a few fishing boats are seen. Because a rebellion has also broken out in Dongjiang Town, attempting to coordinate with Kong Youde, the Dengzhou government has ordered the control of civilian boats along the coast to prevent the two rebel forces from communicating.
Setting sail from Huang County at this moment is just a gamble, hoping that under the control of the government, there will be a few fish that have escaped the net on the fishing boats, and I will be able to run into them.
This wasn't a well-thought-out plan, but Liu Ye couldn't think of a better way. They couldn't get into Dengzhou, and staying in Huangxian was tantamount to waiting to die—it was the only route the rebels could take back to Dengzhou, and Liu Ye didn't think he had any ability to survive against the brutal rebels.
The group made their way to the beach, only to find the sea surging with waves and not a single plank of wood in sight. Liu Ye felt a chill run through him. No matter how he calculated, he hadn't escaped the mutiny. Was he truly doomed?
Just then, Lin San, with his excellent eyesight, suddenly shouted, "Master, look! There's a boat!"
Liu Ye looked up and saw a black dot on the horizon, moving towards the shore. As the dot drew closer, he could see it was a small, somewhat dilapidated boat, a common sight in the area. Normally, he would have given such a small sampan no thought, but in times of crisis, it was a lifeline.
He felt a surge of excitement; there was always a way out. No matter what method he used—threats or bribes—he had to get this ship to take him away from Shandong.
The boat bobbed gently in the waves, slowly making its way to the shore. Huangxian County doesn't have a proper dock; a large rocky outcrop stands out in the sea, blocking the sea breeze, and a flat sandy beach in the inner bay is where the boats moor.
Before the boat had even come to a complete stop, Liu Ye and the others surrounded it. An old man at the bow, who was rowing, stared at them in horror.
"Don't panic, old man. We want to go out to sea, but Dengzhou is under martial law, so we can only try our luck here. As long as you get us out of Dengzhou, this silver is yours."
Seeing that it was just an old man, and that none of them knew how to sail, Liu Ye decided to try diplomacy first, rather than directly brandishing his knife, for fear of frightening the old man. He handed him a silver ingot instead.
The old man was a little dazzled by the fifty-tael silver ingot. He had never seen such a large silver ingot before. He swallowed several times and reached out his hand tremblingly to take it.
Liu Ye calmly withdrew his hand: "Uncle, you have to send us out to sea before this money is yours."
At that moment, a very faint "Eh" came from the cabin. The sound was so soft that Liu Ye didn't hear it, but Lin San did.
Lin San was born a bandit, but he had keen senses and an innate intuition for danger. He felt a sense of danger instantly spread throughout his body, and his muscles tensed up naturally. This feeling was very similar to the feeling he had when he encountered tigers and leopards while hunting. So he quietly reached for the bow that was wrapped up on his back.
A corner of the cabin curtain was lifted by a hand. The hand had slender fingers and fair skin, clearly not the kind of hand one would expect from someone who spends their days at sea exposed to the elements. It was a woman's hand, and one that belonged to a woman who never lifted a finger.
Liu Ye also sensed something was wrong. On the desolate coast, a dilapidated boat, and a woman who shouldn't be in this scene—it all looked rather eerie.
Lin San was untying the cotton cloth wrapped around the bow and quiver. To avoid causing unnecessary trouble, the bow was wrapped tightly so that it wouldn't be seen by the government officials—in the Ming Dynasty, commoners could carry knives, but bows and crossbows were strictly prohibited.
If time could turn back, Lin San would definitely have drawn his bow and arrow the moment he saw the ship, but there are no "what ifs" in this world. As if to confirm his intuition, a white figure flew out of the cabin and rushed straight at Liu Ye.
Liu Ye was stunned for a moment. Without any foreplay, the plot went straight to the climax. Before he could react, the white figure, which seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, was in front of him. One hand went around his neck, grabbed the back of his collar, and then the figure lifted off the ground and into the air.