The next morning after meeting Wei Xihe, Yin Chengyu led his men to Dagukou to inspect the coastal defense.

Wan Youliang and Guan Haishan accompanied him.

After a bumpy ride for half a day, they arrived at Dagukou. After Yin Chengyu took a formal look around, he suggested going to the beach.

These words hit the mark exactly what Wan Youliang and the other two thought. After pretending to persuade them, they accompanied Yin Chengyu out of the city gate and headed towards the coastal defense line.

Dayan has always had a maritime ban policy, and now that the Grand Canal is open, pirates are rampant on the sea, and cargo ships mostly use inland rivers for transportation, so the sea has gradually become sluggish. The coastal defense line is even more desolate, with rugged rocks everywhere.

Yin Chengyu pretended to walk around for a while, but in fact he was waiting for Wan Youliang's next move.

After about two quarters of an hour of sea breeze, we heard the sound of drums from the drum tower. Soldiers on horseback hurried out of the city to report the news, shouting from a distance: "Report! Pirates are coming!"

Guan Haishan looked surprised: "What's going on?!"

"Pirates have landed in the southwest sea area, with two 500-ton warships!"

The soldier who brought the news was panting, and his face showed a look of panic that didn't seem fake.

"Order your men to prepare to meet the enemy! I'll be back immediately!" Guan Haishan asked the soldiers to go back and report the news first, then turned to Yin Chengyu and said, "The pirates have suddenly attacked, so we will escort His Royal Highness the Crown Prince back to the city first."

Yin Chengyu shook his head and said, "The pirates landed in the southwest sea area, which is very far from here. The war is urgent. General Guan should go to resist the enemy first."

Guan Haishan hesitated for a moment, then stopped refusing and immediately rode back to the city.

"Let's go back and take a look." Because of the pirate attack, Yin Chengyu had no interest in wandering around anymore, so he led his men back to the city.

When I returned to the city, I saw chaos everywhere. People were rushing home with their heads down, which showed how vicious the pirates were.

"Do those pirates often come into the city to rob?" Yin Chengyu's face darkened. Regardless of whether Guan Haishan's arrangement today was true or false, the reactions of these people were real.

If he had not suffered before, he would not have fled in such panic when he heard the drumbeats.

Wan Youliang sighed and said, "The pirates are fierce and cunning. Although General Guan has done his best to strengthen the defense, it is inevitable that they will be defeated sometimes... and those pirates are very cunning. They often disguise themselves as ordinary people to sneak into the city to burn, kill and rob. It is really difficult to guard against them."

Yin Chengyu frowned upon hearing this, and said with some concern, "General Guan is going to the southwest sea area to fight the enemy, so the defenses in the city must be empty. Isn't that an opportunity for the pirates to take advantage of it?" He turned around and told Xue Shu, "Go to the guard post and transfer the soldiers from the four guard camps. The defenses in the city need to be strengthened."

Xue Shu responded and immediately rode to the guard post to mobilize troops.

Wan Youliang didn't expect Yin Chengyu to be so cooperative. He sent the guards away without waiting for him to think of a way to get rid of them.

He scanned the guards around Yin Chengyu and found that there were only about ten of them.

Wan Youliang glanced around secretly, and when he saw the green cloth tied on the window of a house on the right, he put his hands behind his back and made a gesture.

Yin Chengyu seemed to be unaware of this and said to Wan Youliang, "Let's go back to the government office and wait for news."

Wan Youliang responded by waiting for him to get on the carriage before he got on the sedan chair. However, he winked at the coachman, who deliberately slowed down his pace, and the sedan chair and the carriage gradually distanced themselves from each other.

Inside the carriage, Yin Chengyu leaned against the window, lifted a corner of the curtain, and observed the situation outside.

Zheng Duobao, who was serving beside him, was unaware of the plan and became anxious: "The pirates are vicious and your highness's safety cannot be compromised. Why not let Supervisor Xue escort your highness back first?"

As he was talking, he remembered that Zhao Lin was nowhere to be seen: "Why is Commander Zhao not here today?"

Yin Chengyu gestured to him to keep quiet and said with a smile, "They will be here soon, don't worry."

Zheng Duobao had served him for so many years and was very familiar with him. Seeing his confident smile, he immediately realized that there might be some plan that he didn't know about. So he persuaded himself to calm down and poured tea for him calmly.

The carriage was traveling on the empty streets, its wheels making rumbling sounds as they pressed over the ground.

The inner city of Dagukou is not very big. After turning two streets, you can reach the government office.

But just as the carriage turned the corner, a small group of pirates with shaved heads rushed towards them with knives raised.

"There are pirates! Be on guard!" The accompanying guards immediately surrounded the carriage and protected it behind them.

The pirates who were approaching saw the luxurious carriage, cried out in confusion, and then rushed forward excitedly with their swords in hand.

There were about seventy or eighty pirates in this group, but Yin Chengyu only had a dozen guards.

At the beginning, they were still able to hold on, but after two rounds, they gradually began to lose the upper hand.

A particularly brave pirate crossed the guard line in the chaos and threw his knife straight at the carriage.

The spinning long sword was stuck in the wall of the carriage, with most of the blade embedded in it.

Yin Chengyu looked at the trembling blade in front of him and was about to lift the curtain to signal for action when he heard even more intense shouts and screams outside.

He opened the curtain of the carriage and saw Xue Shu, without waiting for his order, had already led the soldiers of the Four Guards Battalion to attack.

During this trip to Tianjin, Yin Chengyu brought a total of 500 soldiers. In addition to the 50 people who stayed in the inn, there were 450 people stationed in the guard station.

After learning of Wan Youliang's conspiracy, Yin Chengyu ordered Zhao Lin to secretly go to the guard post to mobilize troops and set up an ambush when he went to Dagukou today. At that time, Wan Youliang and Guan Haishan were accompanying him, and the news from the guard post could not reach them in time.

More than 400 soldiers versus 70 or 80 pirates, the outcome is already decided.

Yin Chengyu ordered Zheng Duobao to raise the curtain of the carriage and sit inside to watch the battle.

Xue Shu and Zhao Lin divided into two groups and surrounded the pirates who realized that something was wrong and wanted to escape. Zhao Lin led his soldiers to kill the enemy, but Xue Shu snatched the long sword of the pirates on the opposite side, holding a sword in each hand, and killed from the outside to the center.

He stood in front of the carriage, panting, and looked up to meet Yin Chengyu's eyes.

He scanned the man carefully, and after confirming that he was okay, he said in a hoarse voice: "I am sorry that your Highness was frightened by your delay in coming to the rescue."

At this time, Yin Chengyu did not scold him for disobeying orders and acting on his own. He just nodded and said, "Leave a few alive." He looked back and warned, "Don't let Wan Youliang escape."

"yes."

Xue Shu threw away the knife with a rolled blade in his hand and pulled out the heavy sword that was stuck on the wall of the carriage.

He searched the crowd with his eyes, and after locking onto the pirate with the knife, he approached step by step with the knife in hand.

Before the pirate realized the danger, Xue Shu had already killed him.

Xue Shu held the knife in his hand, bent down and picked up the head that had rolled to the side, and looked behind for Wan Youliang with a sinister look.

Wan Youliang was in a state of confusion at this time, and he vaguely felt that something was wrong.

The pirates they arranged were not what Xue Shu had said, but were just to scare the prince. They also wanted to make the prince suffer so that he would have to leave Tianjin.

According to the agreement, Xue Shu should have come to rescue the driver by now, but when he heard the fierce shouting in front of him, he felt something was wrong.

Xue Shu should have just killed a few people for show, and then let them go. Why does it sound like he is serious now?

Wan Youliang wanted to go down and take a look, but he was afraid that the pirates might accidentally hurt him. Just as he was hesitating, he heard several screams of pain from outside. Wan Youliang was startled and suddenly opened the curtain, and saw Xue Shu.

The four sedan chair drivers had already fallen to the ground. Xue Shu held the pirate's head with the tip of his knife and smiled at him, "Master Wan."

Wan Youliang looked at him calmly, his face turning pale: "Supervisor Xue, what are you doing..."

Xue Shu did not explain. He stabbed him in the leg, causing him to howl like a slaughtered pig. Then he raised his hand and dragged the man out of the sedan chair, throwing him to his subordinates beside him: "Take him back."

This battle between many and few was soon over. The pirates left a dozen alive, and the rest were killed on the spot.

Zhao Lin led his men to clean up the bodies and the streets, while Yin Chengyu listened to Xue Shuhui's report on the battle.

"We have sent people to investigate, and found out that the pirate attack was fake. Two 500-ton warships circled on the sea and then left." Xue Shu said.

"It seems that Guan Haishan has deep ties with the pirates." Yin Chengyu frowned, and when his eyes casually swept across the alley on the side, he unexpectedly discovered a small figure.

He paused and asked hesitantly, "Is that a child?"

The alley was just diagonally opposite Yin Chengyu, and only one step away from the street where the fighting had just taken place. If it were still a child, he would probably be frightened by the bloody scene of the fighting.

Thinking of the people running away, Yin Chengyu felt some compassion. He stood up and went to check, and found that it was indeed a thin boy: "I don't know whose child he is." He sighed, turned to Xue Shu and said: "Tell someone to take him back to the government office for the time being. If you can't find his family, send him to charity..."

Before he could finish his words, he heard Xue Shu suddenly shout "Be careful", then suddenly pushed him away and kicked the child out.

Yin Chengyu covered his cut arm and looked at the child in shock. He saw him lying on the ground with the dagger dropped aside. He turned his head and glared at him fiercely. Where was the innocence of a child on his face?

Xue Shu stepped forward, grabbed the child by the neck and lifted him up.

The child was no more than ten years old. He struggled in his hands like a chick and soon rolled his eyes because of difficulty breathing.

"Xue Shu!"

Yin Chengyu frowned, but finally spoke up to stop him: "Forget it, a child this old is probably being instigated by someone, just lock him up for now."

Xue Shu turned around to look at him, his eyes dark, but he finally let go and left the man to the guards who had rushed over.

He strode towards Yin Chengyu, lowered his head to check his wound, and when he saw that it was not too deep, his brows relaxed a little, but he said in a very hoarse voice: "I will bandage your Highness first, and we must hurry back to the government office to ask for a doctor."

After saying this, he took out a handkerchief from his pocket and bandaged his wound carefully.

Seeing his face full of regret, Yin Chengyu finally spoke: "It's just a minor injury, it's nothing serious. I've heard that some pirates would specifically adopt orphans and use these children to sneak into the city to gather information, but I didn't expect to encounter it today."

These pirates are not only rampant on the sea, but have also gradually infiltrated coastal states.

If this continues, it may be even more difficult to remove.

Yin Chengyu was worried, but he could only suppress it for the time being.

Because Yin Chengyu was attacked unexpectedly, the group immediately rushed back to the government office.

Zhao Lin stayed behind to deal with the aftermath and comfort the people, while Xue Shu sent the prisoners to the prison and detained and interrogated them separately.

Only Yin Chengyu was urged by Zheng Duobao to rest in a temporary room set up in the government office, and Zheng Duobao also invited a doctor to treat his injuries.

"It's just a minor injury."

Xue Shu discovered it in time. The kid was not a professional killer. The dagger only made a shallow cut on his forearm.

"With so much blood lost, how could it be just a minor injury?" Zheng Duobao was worried. He carefully untied the blood-stained handkerchief for him and urged the doctor to take a look.

Yin Chengyu really didn't want to listen to his nagging, so he could only lean on his arm and let the doctor treat his wound. His eyes fell to the side in boredom.

"Pick up that handkerchief and show it to me." Yin Chengyu suddenly noticed the handkerchief thrown in the basin and his eyes moved slightly.

Zheng Duobao didn't understand what was going on, so he picked up the blood-stained handkerchief and considerately spread it out for him to see clearly.

Yin Chengyu looked carefully at the corner of the handkerchief and indeed found the familiar dark pattern. He then asked Zheng Duobao to take a handkerchief he usually used for comparison. When the two handkerchiefs were put together, even the dark patterns were exactly the same.

——This is a handkerchief specially provided by the Textile Bureau according to his preferences.

How could Xue Shu have it?

The author has something to say:

Your Highness: Where did the handkerchief come from?

Your Highness: What have you done with my handkerchief?

Gou Gou: ...