Chapter 138

Wound medicine is in short supply everywhere now. Even among allies, it is common to compete for resources.

The transportation of medicine to the south must be done secretly.

Jiang Yanyi is now the largest shareholder of the porcelain kiln, so he took some inferior porcelain to make up the number and transported medicine under the pretext of transporting porcelain to the south for business.

Going by land is more dangerous than by water. They can meet refugees along the way, and their whereabouts will be exposed.

On the water, they only need to beware of bandits. After boarding the ship in Yuzhou, they can go directly to Hengzhou.

An Yongyuan was afraid that Jiang Yanyi would encounter any accidents on the way, so he assigned 3,000 troops to her.

From Xizhou to Yuzhou is the jurisdiction of Fengshuo. The journey was smooth. It took only one day and one night to reach Yuzhou. Before entering the city, they met the army sent by Chu Chengmao to meet them.

After Chu Changping went to the capital, Chu Chengmao was in charge of guarding Yuzhou.

He grew up in the army and could easily get along with the lowest-level soldiers. Especially when he defended Yuzhou City under the heavy cavalry attack of the court, he had a life-and-death friendship with many soldiers. Now the Yuzhou army is very supportive of Chu Chengmao.

His theory of military management is different from Chu Changping's. Chu Changping has a long military career and has previous military achievements. The soldiers under him naturally respect Chu Changping.

Chu Chengmao naturally cannot follow Chu Changping's military management method. He has little experience. If he wants to manage the army like Chu Changping, he may be accused of pretending.

Taming an army does not mean that the soldiers will obey orders like puppets after receiving the military order. There are many people who obey in words but not in their hearts.

You have to show your courage so that soldiers will be willing to follow you at the risk of their lives.

Chu Chengmao wanted to pull out a group of personal soldiers who would obey his orders completely, so that he would have someone to use when he expanded his power in the future.

After Jiang Yanyi was taken to the City Lord's Mansion, Chu Chengmao got the news and rushed over. He scolded her with a dark face the whole time: "What a joke! Do you know what the situation is now?"

Jiang Yanyi straightened her back and lowered her head slightly, like a student being scolded, "I know."

Chu Chengmao said with a headache: "You came to the south if you knew that?"

Jiang Yanyi sighed: "Thousands of soldiers are waiting for medicinal materials to save their lives, where can I sit still?"

There was a shortage of medicine in Yuzhou before, and many Chu Chengmao had seen soldiers die from wounds, so after Jiang Yanyi said this, he was silent for a moment and said, "Fighting is a man's job, you girls should stay at home. And if your current identity is leaked, you will be a living target, right?"

Although the capital was besieged, there were still many prefectures that refused to defect, claiming that as long as the Daxuan royal family was still there, they would still be Daxuan's subjects.

These were often loyal officials who never oppressed the people when they were officials and were supported by the local people. They should first persuade them to surrender and only attack when they had to. But Feng Shuo was now restrained by foreign enemies and could not spare the energy to pacify these prefectures.

In addition, Fan Wei's power was also a threat.

When the various nobles came to form an alliance, Fan Wei also wanted to serve under Feng Shuo, but the Fan family did a lot of things that angered the heavens and the people, and now they still rely on plundering the people's blood and sweat to supply military supplies. Feng Shuo showed no mercy and said in front of the various nobles that "I will not associate with the Fan family 's rats."

Fan Wei has been resentful since then. Although he dared not confront Feng Shuo head-on, he had to make secret moves.

If he knew that Jiang Yanyi was personally escorting the medicine south, I'm afraid he would rob at all costs.

"I have considered what you said, second brother." Jiang Yanyi looked at Chu Chengmao with a calm expression: "Another caravan will arrive in Yuzhou City later, and I hope my brother will help to meet them then."

Another caravan?

Chu Chengmao frowned, and quickly figured out the key. He

was afraid that the medicines that Jiang Yanyi personally escorted were not the medicines at all.

He was surprised: "You are using yourself as a cover to attract all forces, but the medicines are actually transported by someone else?"

Jiang Yanyi nodded: "I can only think of this way. There is no wall that is impenetrable. If I do nothing, there is only a 30% chance that this batch of medicines can be delivered to Hengzhou. If I take a risk, there is still a 70% chance. Second brother, you are also in the army, you should know that the army of the prince is in urgent need of these medicines."

It was summer, and Jiang Yanyi felt like he was living in a steamer every day in Xizhou, let alone the weather in the south?

She had been in a military camp before and had seen how crowded the tents and beds for the wounded were. If the wounds were not treated and it was a hot summer day, it would be easy to get infected. If an epidemic broke out, that would be the worst.

Minghan was invading with the strength of an entire country, while Daxuan was fragmented. No matter how powerful Feng Shuo was in using the army, the army could not keep up with the various internal needs and it was afraid that it would not last long.

Now there is no shortage of money and food, and it all depends on the gold and silver in the imperial tombs of the previous dynasty.

Chu Chengmao frowned and asked after thinking for a moment, "Which caravan went by land?"

Jiang Yanyi shook her head, "It was also by water."

An Yongyuan did not dare to be careless when she went south this time, and let her bring 3,000 soldiers and horses. Although it could guarantee her safety to a certain extent, it was still a bit ostentatious.

If she took the water route and people guessed that her side was just a cover, they would definitely think that the people who really transported the herbs took the land route and would go to the land route to set up defenses.

Jiang Yanyi did the opposite and let the caravan transporting the herbs follow behind her.

She led a large group of people to clear the way, and they took all the risks first. Moreover, even if the caravan transporting the herbs encountered an accident, she could turn around and provide support immediately.

Chu Chengmao knocked her on the head directly: "You lead people to clear the way, and there is a caravan following you closely. Do you think everyone else is a fool?"

Jiang Yanyi covered her head and grimaced in pain: "I'm not as stupid as you think. That caravan didn't follow me, but followed the Liu family's cargo ship."

Chu Chengmao asked: "Liu family?"

"It's the Liu family, which has the largest rouge business in the Jiangnan area." Jiang Yanyi rubbed his forehead and said, "There is a leader named Zhao in the Huotou Camp of the Xizhou Camp. His nephew is the son-in-law of the Liu family. He is now helping to manage the Liu family's transportation. I have communicated with them before going south. The Liu family's cargo ship comes to the dock in Yuzhou every three months to purchase goods. The most recent purchase was these few days. I asked Yang Xiubing to pretend to be a caravan selling spices and bring medicinal materials to the Liu family's ship. There are several caravans that come to deliver spices to the Liu family, and no one will notice."

After hearing what Jiang Yanyi said, Chu Chengmao had to admit that this strategy was indeed feasible.

He asked his last worry: "The Liu family imports so much goods. If they are targeted by pirates, won't the medicinal materials be gone?"

"The second master of the Liu family is a member of the Canal Gang. For so many years, the Liu family's cargo ships have never been robbed." Jiang Yanyi said.

The pirates rely on their ability to swim to make a living. The government officials want to catch them, but once they go to the river, they are at a disadvantage.

Only the Canal Gang members are also good at swimming, so compared to the government officials, the pirates are more afraid of the Canal Gang and will not easily provoke the Canal Gang.

Chu Chengmao finally said nothing more.

Jiang Yanyi, however, recalled the rumors he had heard after entering the city, and asked him with a gossipy look on his face, "I heard that the Lord of Xing'an County is negotiating a marriage with the Prince of An?"

Chu Chengmao's brows were wrinkled so much that they could pinch a fly to death, "That idiot? He was scolded by Prince An, and in a rage he went to the front line, where he was nearly trampled to death under the horses' hooves. Yang Zheng rescued him."

Jiang Yanyi noticed the change in Chu Chengmao's attitude towards Yang Zheng, and looking at his tightly wrinkled brows, he smiled teasingly, "That... It really is a rumor."

Chu Chengmao had never suffered a loss in verbal disputes, and immediately asked: "Did you come south to do business, or did you listen to people's gossip all the way?"

Jiang Yanyi coughed twice: "I have business to do tomorrow morning, I'll go downstairs to rest first."

After leaving Jiang Yanyi, Chu Chengmao went to inspect the military camp. When training the new recruits, he saw that the new recruits were practicing shooting, and they seemed to be not very motivated. In the end, he punished each of them to run five laps around the military camp, and the new recruits complained bitterly.

Even the personal guards who followed Chu Chengmao noticed his abnormality and asked in a low voice: "General, are you still angry with the third lady?"

This personal guard was left to him by Chu Changping, so he naturally knew some things about the Chu family.

However, when Jiang Yanyi talked to Chu Chengmao about the plan to transport the medicine, he dismissed the servants. The guards were unaware of it and only thought that Chu Chengmao was worried about Jiang Yanyi's safety.

Chu Chengmao glared at the guards: "Why should I be angry with her?"

He picked up the pen to write something, but soon put it down. He was annoyed for a long time and said with an uncomfortable look: "Go and ask if Feng Junan's dog-skin plaster has been sticking to Xing'an County Lord recently."

"Ah?" The guards were confused.

Chu Chengmao picked up a book and threw it on the shoulder of his personal guard, saying in embarrassment, "What? I told you to go!"

The personal guard quickly said, "General, you forgot that the county lord of Xing'an Marquis and Commandant Yao went to inspect the river together. Prince Feng can't ride a horse and has been in Yuzhou City."

Chu Chengmao only then realized that Yang Zheng was not in Yuzhou City. His face just relaxed, but immediately darkened again: "Did Yao Yuntang go with her?"

If the Prince of An was a straw bag, Yao Yuntang, although born in a poor family, was indeed a handsome young general with better kung fu than good looks.

Now that he was told that it was the Prince of An who went to inspect the river with Yang Zheng, Chu Chengmao might feel a little relieved.

But the guard nodded very honestly and vigorously: "It's Captain Yao."

Chu Chengmao: "..."

Jiang Yanyi rested in Yuzhou for a day to prevent the accompanying guards from getting seasick. Jiang Yanyi bought a lot of plums, and moved all the jars of pickled cabbage that she brought all the way from Xizhou to Yuzhou onto the ship.

Sour food can relieve seasickness. July and August are the seasons when plums are on the market. Jiang Yanyi was afraid that she would not be able to buy enough plums in Yuzhou, or that she would buy too many and let them go bad on the ship, so she pickled more than a dozen large jars of pickled radishes in advance.

When she boarded the ship the next day, Chu Chengmao wanted to give her another thousand guards, but the dozen large ships were already full and could not accommodate so many people.

Chu Chengmao looked at the full ship's cabin of pickled cabbage jars, and his expression was indescribable: "You brought a boatload of pickled radishes with you to the south. Are you worried that the King of Liaoning will have no vegetables to eat in Hengzhou?"

Jiang Yanyi threw him a noble and cold look: "This is to prevent the accompanying soldiers from getting seasick and unable to eat."

In the end, Chu Chengmao only found a maid who was very good at swimming for her.

Jiang Yanyi could swim, but her original body could not. Knowing that Chu Chengmao was worried about her, she accepted the maid without refusing.

The maid's surname was Chen, and her original name had only one word "Yu". It is said that her family relied on fishing for generations, so they gave her this name. Jiang Yanyi named her "Chen Yu", which was a homonym of her original name.

The heat was unbearable. Jiang Yanyi was sweating profusely when she was riding in a carriage before. Now she was riding a boat, feeling the river breeze all the way, which was quite pleasant. Even looking at those annoying accounts made her feel much calmer.

She went south for more than just the purpose of transporting medicinal materials. Whether it was the noodle shop or Ruyilou, several branches in the south had heavy losses on their accounts, and they were not in war-torn areas.

Jiang Yanyi planned to conduct an on-site inspection on the way back to see whether there was a problem with the management method or whether the person in charge of the branch Zhongshun had made false accounts for his own benefit.

Riding a boat was indeed the most convenient and fastest way to travel in this era. The boat traveled through the green mountains and clear waters. Before dark, it had already passed through three states and six prefectures. Jiang Yanyi also experienced the feeling of "returning to Jiangling in one day after a thousand miles" as described by Mr. Taibai.

However, more than half of the accompanying guards fell down due to seasickness and could not eat. They had to eat plums and pickled radishes to relieve the pain.

There was nothing wrong during the day, but they were afraid of being attacked at night.

At night, Jiang Yanyi simply did not sleep and was always alert to the outside.

Huo Jianjia, Chenyu and Aunt Guo were all in the room with her. Huo Jianjia was also seasick and looked a little listless.

Nothing happened after staring all night. The next day, before Jiang Yanyi went to sleep, he divided the guards who were not seasick into two groups, and patrolled alternately day and night to leave time for rest so that they would not be exhausted later.

At night, Jiang Yanyi was not sleepy because he had rested during the day. She was cautious and did not stay in her room. Instead, she took Huo Jianjia, Chenyu and Auntie Guo to the bottom warehouse.

They kept watch until the fourth watch, but there was still no movement on the river. Everyone relaxed their vigilance a little, and the boat suddenly shook at this time.

The people on the boat who were originally a little sleepy woke up instantly.

The night was dark, and the river was foggy again. It was impossible to see what was happening in the distance. The wind lantern hanging in front of the cabin was swaying, casting a dim yellow light.

After setting off fireworks to warn the rest of the ships, seven or eight large ships also set off fireworks. Obviously, something unusual happened there.

The guards stood on the edge of the deck, holding torches and crossbows, staring vigilantly at the water.

From the bottom of the seemingly normal river, several iron hooks suddenly appeared and were firmly nailed to the side of the ship. Black shadows emerged from the water, holding crossbows in their hands. When they shot the sailors and guards on the ship with crossbows, other black shadows climbed onto the ship by the tendon ropes tied to the iron hooks.

The scene was panicked for a while, and the deck was in chaos for a while.

Jiang Yanyi also heard the sound of fireworks exploding outside in the bottom warehouse. She tightly grasped the small crossbow that Feng Shuo made for her and forced herself to stay calm: "The hijackers should not be pirates. The pirates can't tell so many people from hijacking seven or eight ships at the same time."

Moreover, the pirates did not dare to provoke her easily just because they saw the huge momentum of more than ten boats traveling with her.

It was very likely that a certain force was looking for which boats had hidden medicinal herbs.

Aunt Guo soon thought of this point. If the other party could not find the medicinal herbs, they would dig deep into the ground to capture Jiang Yanyi. She said, "Boss, I'm afraid they are here with bad intentions. You and Chenyu should drive the boat away first!"

Chenyu was a girl with a dark complexion and was very capable. She immediately said, "I'll go and launch the boat."

Jiang Yanyi said, "Where are we now?"

"Danzhou is under the jurisdiction of Prince Xinyang." Aunt Guo said.

Although Prince Xinyang had formed an alliance with Feng Shuo, he had previously colluded with Fan Wei and was definitely not a good person.

In this case, the people who came to rob the ship should not be the people of Prince Xinyang. No matter how greedy he is, he will not be stupid enough to make a move in his own territory, otherwise Feng Shuo will definitely use him as a sacrifice.

Someone wants to throw this black pot to him, and Prince Xinyang will definitely not be happy to bear it.

Jiang Yanyi immediately said: "Let all the ships dock!"

The guards she brought on the river were not good at water battles. Due to their disadvantage, they would have a better chance of winning after docking, and they could also seek protection from Prince Xinyang.

Aunt Guo was obviously not at ease with Prince Xinyang, and said: "Boss, he is a profit-seeking villain!"

Jiang Yanyi said: "I will leave with Chenyu in a small boat. As long as I don't fall into the hands of Prince Xinyang, he can't threaten the prince. All ships must dock, and the soldiers who follow us south will have a chance to survive."

Aunt Guo understood what Jiang Yanyi meant and passed the message on immediately.

However, there was a fierce fight on the deck, and the boatman at the helm was in a mess. It was dark and the direction was unclear. Some big ships even collided with each other.

After Chenyu rowed the small boat to the big ship, Jiang Yanyi changed into a servant's clothes, and then under the protection of Huo Jianjia and Aunt Guo, he tried his best to avoid the assassins and sneaked onto the small boat from the stern.

After Huo Jianjia got on the boat, she helped Jiang Yanyi up. Jiang Yanyi reached out to pull Aunt Guo, but Aunt Guo said, "I'm very heavy, and I'll be a burden if I get on the boat. I'm relieved that Jianjia is protecting you."

"Auntie!" Jiang Yanyi panicked and stubbornly reached out to pull Aunt Guo.

Aunt Guo took a step back and said to Chenyu, "Hurry up and take the boss away!"

Chenyu used a pole to gain leverage on the big boat, and the boat floated far away in an instant.

Aunt Guo knew that it was dark and chaotic, and the boats in the distance couldn't see the road clearly. After sending Jiang Yanyi away, she took people back to the cabin to get several barrels of kerosene and poured them on the boat. After lighting the big boat with torches, she jumped into the river before the fire completely engulfed the boat.

The surface of the river was instantly illuminated by the fire. Those who could swim took those who couldn't swim to the shore, and the remaining boats came to the shore one after another. The fire also attracted the garrison troops on the shore. Seeing

this situation, the black-clothed men who attacked at night did not dare to go ashore, and they just desperately drove away a few big boats that they had not had time to search.

After Jiang Yanyi followed Chenyu and Huo Jianjia in a small boat and walked away, they found a secluded place on the shore to stay. They waited

until the next day when the Liu family's cargo ship passed by, and then they boarded the ship again.

Jiang Yanyi learned that after Aunt Guo went ashore last night, she found a maid of similar stature to pretend to be herself, and after King Xinyang came over, she told King Xinyang about the matter, making King Xinyang mistakenly believe that he had hostages in his hands, and successfully asked for accommodation for the accompanying soldiers. Jiang Yanyi was not only amused but also relieved to know that they were all safe.

Yang Xiu and Bing Shao were escorting the Liu family's cargo ship. Yang Xiu said, "Last night, several large ships on the river went to Jingcheng. I think they were the ones that were robbed. Jingcheng is Fan Wei's territory. The ship was robbed by the Fan family!"

Jiang Yanyi was extremely tired after being frightened all night. She said, "Spread the news that the Fan family robbed the medicinal materials we were transporting to Hengzhou."

Even if Fan Wei knew that he robbed an empty ship, she was on a grand trip and encountered danger. Outsiders would not think so. They would only think that Fan Wei was making excuses. Even if

the various nobles had the courage to covet Feng Shuo's things, they would not have the courage to rob them openly.

Fan Wei's situation is different. I'm afraid that in the days to come, Fan Wei will be attacked by various princes in turn.

Yang Xiu and Bing Shao thought that Jiang Yanyi would be angry at Fan Wei's wolfish ambitions. After listening to Jiang Yanyi's words, they suddenly felt that it was a pity for their boss not to go to Feng Shuo to be a counselor.

Jiang Yanyi slept soundly, and when he woke up, he arrived in Hengzhou.

Although Hengzhou was in the midst of war, as soon as he got off the boat and saw the houses on the street, Jiang Yanyi knew that this was undoubtedly a prosperous place.

Except for a few more prosperous streets in Xizhou City, most of the houses in the city are built of loess.

Hengzhou looked gray tiles and white walls at a glance, and the streets were paved with neat bluestone slabs, which was pleasing to the eye. The medicinal herbs were unloaded from the boat and loaded into more than a dozen horse-drawn

carriages. Jiang Yanyi personally took the herbs to the military camp, intending to give Feng Shuo a surprise. However, when he arrived at the military camp, he found out that Feng Shuo was not in the army, but had gone to survey the terrain with a team of light cavalry. Han Tuo received Jiang Yanyi. Seeing that Jiang Yanyi brought so many medicinal herbs, his eyes turned red, and he saluted Jiang Yanyi: "Han, on behalf of the 80,000 men of Hengzhou, would like to thank Miss Chu." The generals standing behind him also saluted in unison: "Thank you, Miss Chu!" This was the salute they would perform when they met the generals in the army. The deep voice sounded like the rumbling sound of a war drum, shaking Jiang Yanyi's heart and chest. At the same time, an indescribable emotion surged up, and his eyes were inexplicably a little sour. Before coming here, Jiang Yanyi just wanted to do her best to deliver the herbs. After she really stood here, she was extremely grateful that she had brought all the herbs. Now that she was here, Jiang Yanyi naturally wanted to see Feng Shuo. She was unfamiliar with Hengzhou and had no place to stay, so Han Tuo temporarily arranged Jiang Yanyi in Feng Shuo's tent and asked her to wait for Feng Shuo to come back. The resting area and meeting area in Feng Shuo's military tent were separated by a tent cloth. Jiang Yanyi was afraid that Feng Shuo would be accompanied by other generals when he came back, so she waited in the resting area behind the military tent. After waiting for a while, she successfully fell asleep again. It was already three o'clock in the morning when Feng Shuo returned to the Hengzhou military camp. He had no time to take off his armor. After giving instructions to several generals who had rushed to the tent, he finally found time to pour himself a cup of cold tea to quench his thirst. As soon as the tea sipped, Feng Shuo's eyes changed. He had planned to give instructions on other things, but he couldn't wait any longer. After dismissing several generals, even Xing Yao, who had just returned from the Huotou Camp with food, was ruthlessly blocked outside by the guards at the door: "The prince said that no one is allowed to enter the tent."

Xing Yao was holding the tray, confused.

In the big tent, Feng Shuo, who had just walked to the curtain of the inner room, had already grasped the curtain with his hand, but he was afraid to open it, and his hand even trembled slightly unconsciously.