The Emperor Reigns Them All Volume 2 Pinglu- Chapter 127 Robbery

This was a cargo s.h.i.+p that looked very ordinary. It wasn't big with no more than ten meters from head to tail. Mostly because it had been used for many years, the cabin was very old, but it was very clean and looked comfortable.

A young man in a black robe walked out of the cabin. He was in his twenties and tall with an imposing appearance. He looked around for a moment on the bow and said to the person who kept guarding on the bow, "When Huang Chao occupied Yunzhou, and did he ransack a lot of cargo s.h.i.+ps on the Yellow River?"

"The rebels lived by plunder. Whether w.a.n.g Xianzhi or Huang Chao, they plundered a place like locusts every time. At the beginning of the year, Huang Chao led the military to capture Yunzhou. Most of the cargo s.h.i.+ps in a radius of 50 kilometers of Yunzhou were ransacked."

The speaker was a woman with fine features. She was about the same age as the man in a black robe. She wore a navy suit, and her dynamic figure was fully outlined. She wasn't extremely beautiful, but she was gentle and quiet, like a pretty girl brought up in a humble family.

She continued, "The Changhe Gang infiltrated downstream of the Yellow River last year, so its force and scale were still small. Therefore, the losses were also limited... The nearest big stronghold of the Changhe Gang is in Bianzhou."

The black-robed young man nodded and stared at the river. "In recent years, the rebels of w.a.n.g Xianzhi and Huang Chao mainly carried out activities between the Yellow River and the Huaihe River. The basin of these two rivers is wealthy, and pulsing the crisscross riverways and the main way of the ca.n.a.l, it's really a rich place."

The woman thought for a while and looked worried. "The convenient channels play an important part in the connection between Pinglu and the Central Plains. The rebels flee between the two rivers, which is unfavorable for your plans. Not to mention other things, it's very difficult for the imperial court to deliver goods safely."

The black-robed young man smiled and didn't care. "It doesn't matter. They won't be here much longer. They're going south."

"Going south?" The woman was skeptical.

The black-robed man firmly nodded.

The black-robed man was Li Ye who was on his way to Pinglu to take office, while the woman was Liu Zhiyan, the Big Master of the Changhe Gang. Her Changhe Gang had already controlled the Wei River basin. Now through the Yellow River channels, it infiltrated the east into the Central Plains.

Li Ye didn't explain Liu Zhiyan's doubts. He remembered very clearly that w.a.n.g Xianzhi would soon die on the battlefield, and then Huang Chao would fight to the Yangtze River basin. He would have been fighting south to the Pearl River basin. He would conserve strength and store up energy in the south for two years. Then he would go north again, which was the time for him to attack straight to Chang'an.

As the commissioner of Pinglu, Li Ye commanded the east of Mount Tai to fight against Huang Chao. But in fact, when he departed Chang'an, Huang Chao's troops had already evacuated Yunzhou and fought south to attack Songzhou, the interior of the Central Plains. But Huang Chao didn't intend to march against Ziqing.

If the rebels lost their mobility, they would be surrounded and annihilated by the official army. Huang Chao knew this truth very well, so he didn't stay in one place for long. The rebels attacked cities just in order to ransack wealth, capture strong men, and strengthen themselves.

Li Ye didn't feel sorry that he didn't encounter Huang Chao. Instead, it was a part of his plan.

Pinglu Army was arrogant and valiant and they were always unruly. They were only slightly better than the three va.s.sal states in Hebei. Commissioners were often expelled by them. Secondly, the Penglai Taoist sect was here, so the force of Jianghu expended within the jurisdiction in these years. They allied with the powerful and n.o.ble families in the states and counties to develop a large number of Taoist disciples, appearing faint signs of being out of control.

w.a.n.g Xianzhi and Huang Chao caused chaos in the Central Plains, so the imperial court ordered the army of the Central Plains and nearby states to fight, but only Pinglu didn't obey the edict.

Li Ye needed to solve these problems first if he wanted to command Pinglu successfully, otherwise, if he went to war with the Pinglu Army in a rush, needless to say, they wouldn't listen to him, and moreover, he would stir up trouble for himself when on the battlefield.

Although Pinglu was chaotic, it was good and it could be called the land of foundation building. In the situation that the three va.s.sal states in Hebei couldn't be dealt with and the terrain of the va.s.sal states in Huainan was rough, Pinglu was the best choice if Li Ye didn't take office in Guanzhong.

Huang Chao's going south gave Li Ye an opportunity to reorganize Pinglu. He had to control Pinglu firmly in his own hands before Huang Chao would go north. In this way, he would be able to perform when Huang Chao broke through Chang'an and all the va.s.sal states rescued the emperor.

"Your Highness, Yunzhou has just ended the war and it isn't peaceful, so I'm afraid that it won't be safe for so many our cargo s.h.i.+ps to head east. It's too noticeable," Liu Zhiyan said suddenly.

The river at their feet was called Ji River, and its flow was large and steady, connecting Pinglu and the interior of the Central Plains. It ran east parallel to the Yellow River, only about 50 kilometers apart (the intervals were different), and joined the Bohai Sea finally. But the lower reaches of the Yellow River didn't pa.s.s through Pinglu, so the contact and the material transport between Pinglu and the Central Plains mainly relied on Ji River.

Li Ye had a placid smile. "It's good to be peaceless. We'll have things to do when it's peaceless. Don't forget the purpose that I ask you to bring over the Changhe Gang this time."

Liu Zhiyan blinked and looked at Li Ye curiously, in a puzzle. "Control Ji River."

Li Ye said, "We have already pa.s.sed Daye River, and then we will enter the boundary of Qizhou. If there're a large group of river bandits in Ji River, they will only be the force of Qizhou."

Qizhou, later known as Jinan, was now under the jurisdiction of Pinglu.

Li Ye was looking far with his hands clasped behind his back, not saying much.

Subduing Pinglu should start from subduing the force of Jianghu in Pinglu.

A group of more than ten cargo s.h.i.+ps, loaded with valuable commercial goods, sailed to Qizhou. There were only more than twenty guards with knives, except the boatman, on more than ten cargo s.h.i.+ps, which was a huge temptation.

Li Ye waited for someone to take the bait.

On the morning of this day, the river was thick with fog. Li Ye sat in the cabin and played chess with Li Zhen. He was so bad at chess that he was tortured by the latter. When Li Ye was frowning in thought and struggling, Liu Zhiyan lifted the curtain, looking inside, and said to Li Ye, "Your Highness, there's a robbery."

"There is a robbery in the river?" Li Zhen was stunned.

Li Ye beamed, so he threw the chess and stood up. He was overjoyed. "Why not? It's convenient to rob in the river because you can't change course, which is more convenient than on the ground."

He was bored for having nothing to do all the way, so he was eager to take action.

When he came to the bow, Li Ye saw a big shadow like a giant beast appeared in the thick fog. Using the cultivation power, he quickly saw that a number of modified cargo s.h.i.+ps lay across the river, blocking the way of the Changhe Gang in a very bossy way.

A 2.6-meter tall strong man wore an eyepatch and a short gown, his muscles as strong as hills. Carrying a big knife like a door plank, he stood on the bow of a three-meter-high s.h.i.+p in a majestic look, surrounded by a crowd of followers. He lifted his chin to see Li Ye and the others appear on the bow.

"This river and this road are under my control, so if you want to go through, leave behind your money!"

The 2.6-meter tall strong man shouted as loudly as thunder, full of momentum. As he spoke, he swung his machete around and struck it hard on the river. Immediately, white Knife Qi fell to hit out a spring on the river, showing the absolute deterrent force of a pract.i.tioner.

"Good, good! It's good lines, just like the script." Li Ye was happy. Seeing spray splas.h.i.+ng on the bow, he couldn't help but applaud. "The character is also good, powerful and domineering!"

Liu Zhiyan couldn't help laughing and she glanced at Li Ye weirdly. She thought that Your Highness wasn't always so high and mighty and that it was funny for him to have such a childlike disposition.

"Your Highness, what should we do?" Liu Zhiyan slanted her head slightly to ask in a low voice.

"Don't call me Your Highness. Don't expose my ident.i.ty. Call me childe." Li Ye grinned. "You're the Big Master of the Changhe Gang, so you go to negotiate with them. There is only one principle."

"What principle?"

"Show your fear!"

Liu Zhiyan rolled her eyes secretly. She coughed to clear her throat and stepped forward in two steps. She cupped her hands and said seriously, "I, I'm Liu Xiaoxiao, the Big Master of the Xiaohe Gang. Who, who is in the front? Please tell me your name!"

Li Ye rolled his eyes at Liu Zhiyan. What kind of name did she get? Xiaohe Gang? Was there a gang with such a weak name in the world?

The 2.6-meter tall man saw it was Liu Zhiyan that answer, so he immediately burst into laughter like hearing a joke. He pointed at Liu Zhiyan and laughed. "Why is it a woman? There're no men in your Xiaohe Gang, so let a woman be the Big Master? Bah! Xiaohe Gang, look at this name. You deserve to be a small potato!"

The followers behind him roared with laughter.

Liu Zhiyan narrowed her eyes slightly as she heard this.

The 2.6-meter tall man waved his hand and shouldered his machete again. He patted his chest loudly and said in a tone that he thought it was humorous, "I'm Master Wu, the Big Master of the Dahe Gang. You little woman, if you're clever, leave behind..."

He just wanted to say a "leave behind your money", but he saw that the Changhe Gang had more than ten cargo s.h.i.+ps with only more than twenty guards with knives and that the Big Master was a weak woman, so he rolled his eyes and smiled sinisterly. "Leave behind your s.h.i.+ps and get out of here quickly. If you act slowly, don't blame me for killing you!"

Speaking of this, the 2.6-meter tall man opened his eyes as wide as copper bells, showing an extremely ferocious look. He threatened, "To tell you the truth, my machete is a Rank 2 magic treasure, very powerful. What's more, it must consume blood every day, or it will be restless. Countless heroes in Jianghu died under my machete! I also tell you that my machete hasn't consumed blood for three days, so it's really hungry and thirsty! The last thing I tell you is that my machete likes the blood of the delicate woman most, so it can drain your blood in an instant to turn you into a very ugly dried corpse..."

"Mighty Master Wu!"

"Domineering Master Wu!"

The followers cheered loudly and were very excited.

The 2.6-meter tall man spattered with saliva and was so addicted to his own words. In the end, even Li Ye was surprised by this fellow's eloquence and thought that Jianghu was so big that it wasn't short of weirdos.

Liu Zhiyan gnashed her teeth, turning her head, and said to Li Ye, "This boor is too affected. Childe, I can't stand him anymore!"

Li Ye was very excited and joked. "Are you angry?"

Liu Zhiyan clenched her short knife and said word by word, "I don't usually get angry unless I can't help it!"

Li Ye replied, "Since you can't help it, you don't have to endure it. Go to kill him!"

"Thank you, childe!"

Liu Zhiyan had already jumped in the air as she said the last word. A pair of short knives came out of the sheaths at her waist and chopped down the 2.6-meter tall man from his head.

"How grumpy!" Li Ye sighed. "I dare not provoke the woman in Jianghu!"

The 2.6-meter tall man felt very surprised that Liu Zhiyan would take the initiative to fight, so he had to stop his eloquent performance. But Liu Zhiyan's thin figure couldn't make him fear at all. He smiled sinisterly. "Originally, I only wanted your goods. Now that you take the initiative, I will also catch you, and then I will enjoy the fun with you..."

The huge machete went round in his hand, s.h.i.+ning white light. He wielded it like a hammer towards Liu Zhiyan, as powerful as a thunderbolt. The howling wind was particularly harsh. "Get down!"

"Master Wu, be gentle. Don't beat too hard to the beauty!"

"Master Wu, you're awesome. Your attack is very powerful and terrifying!"

The followers laughed loudly.

But at the next moment, the followers stopped laughing suddenly, like being grabbed their necks. They opened their eyes wide and looked at the front, astonished and dumbfounded.

Two short knives. .h.i.t the machete, and they were so small that they would be ignored. But at that moment, the strong man, who spoke highly of himself, felt intense horror, the arrogant expression frozen on his face.

As a pract.i.tioner, the strong man realized in surprise and shock that this seemingly weak woman suddenly burst out the fierce strength of Level 2 Qi-refining, when they fought each other!

"Clank." The Rank 2 magic treasure of the 2.6-meter tall man was cut off by the double knives, flying out. Liu Zhiyan took the chance to jump to the air, turned around, and swung her leg to sweep fiercely at the man's face.

In the dull and loud sound, the 2.6-meter tall man with more than 100 kilograms let out a shrill scream and flew out the big s.h.i.+p, splas.h.i.+ng into the river!

Liu Zhiyan landed safely on the s.h.i.+p's side and stared at everyone coldly. "Who did you tell to be gentle?"