Looking north towards the rivers and mountains

Chapter 323 Keep a Low Profile

The fleet was very large, with four shallow-hulled boats alone, two of which were newly purchased.

In the past period, Shengye Trading Company purchased three shallow-sailed boats from seafarers in Taicang, four sea-drilling boats from Jiading Prefecture, and four canal boats from Liujiagang, spending a total of more than 600 ingots.

Huangtian Trading Company purchased four more seagoing vessels, the Zuanfeng Haiqiu, from the seafarers of Changshu Jiangyin Qianhu Office for 172 ingots, increasing its fleet to eight ships and its transport capacity to 3600 shi. In comparison, Shengye Trading Company now owns 30 ships. Excluding the large ocean-going vessels Majia and Mayi that have already established trade routes, the remaining 28 ships have a total transport capacity of over 12900 shi.

This capacity is already quite astonishing, and the fact that it's registered under a single individual's name makes it even more eye-catching.

It's important to understand that many of the big bosses at sea don't own many ships themselves. They rely on their prestige and influence, which means they call on other smaller bosses with ships and men to join them and work together on big projects.

Shao Shuyi took a different approach: he bought his own boats and recruited more and more unemployed seafarers each year to operate them, thereby increasing his influence. He also recruited a few key members into Shengye Trading Company and Huangtian Trading Company to receive salaries and become formal members of the organizations.

The four shallow-water boats that arrived this time were managed by Hou Tai, Zang Hanyi, Han'er, and a man named Wang Shengye from Banjing, Taicang. After the four large boats, two Yellow River cargo ships also came along.

The ship's managers were two brothers, Ma Daquan and Ma Dahua, recruited by Kong Tie. They were from Gutang, Taicang, and were said to be cousins ​​of Ma, Kong Tie's betrothed.

Four shallow boats were anchored far away on the river.

A moment later, the brothers Ma Daquan and Dahua, driving their Yellow River cargo boats, slowly approached from the left and right, and moored on both sides of the pier.

The two brothers disembarked immediately and, upon seeing Liang Taishi surrounded by Bian Yuanheng and others, bowed and scraped as they approached to greet him. "Master Liang."

"Lord Liang."

Liang Tai hummed in agreement, slightly displeased. Considering their identities, he reluctantly offered a suggestion: "You two were quite skilled at navigating the boat to shore and gave proper instructions. You're clearly used to sailing. Why be so attentive? Enough talk, let's load the cargo."

The two brothers were momentarily speechless, but quickly recovered and exclaimed, "Good! Good!"

Before long, the boatmen on the Kunjia and Kunyi ships, along with the captured craftsmen, began loading goods onto the Yellow River cargo ships.

Twenty-four large carts may sound like a lot, but in reality, they wouldn't even fill the cargo holds of Kunjia and Kunyi. This is because the two boats together have a carrying capacity of 554 shi (a unit of dry measure), which already exceeds the total cargo capacity of twenty-four large carts. Moreover, they only require a dozen or so shovelfuls of water, making the overall cost only a fraction of that of transporting by cart, and the speed is much faster. While everyone was unloading the cargo, a small plank was lowered from Pingjia boat, and several people rowed over.

Leading the group was Yu Yuan, dressed in an inconspicuous gray cloth short coat, with a short knife neatly tucked into his waistband, which was quite unexpected.

"Buddha's tooth." Approaching the pier, he nimbly leaped onto it, looking at the crowds of people carrying goods, and exclaimed in surprise, "Only this much?" "You brought so many ships, all for cargo?" Liang Tai turned his gaze away from him and said, "Unless we completely occupy Changzhou City and transport all the grain and other bulky goods away, we won't need so many ships. Brother's appetite is no less than mine."

Yu Yuan's gaze swept over the cargo and then over the people before he finally said, "It's a good thing we brought so many boats, otherwise it would have been unbearably crowded."

Liang Tai nodded.

With several hundred people, if those four shallow-hulled boats were replaced with giant sea breams, the cabins would probably burst and they wouldn't be able to move. Luckily, they were shallow-hulled boats, so carrying several hundred people was only slightly cramped.

"Lower all the small boats on ships like Pingjia, and pick up the elderly, women, and children first. You're just sitting around doing nothing anyway." Liang Tai turned to look south and said, "I'm worried that things might get complicated if we delay. It's best to load people onto the boats and get them away as soon as possible."

"Okay, I'll arrange it right away." Yu Yuan knew the importance of the matter and immediately began to take action.

Near the dock, soldiers patrolled the area, not daring to relax their vigilance.

Some of the artisans and their families were herded onto the grass in the middle and waited quietly.

They were exhausted and nervous. Some fell asleep leaning against their bundles, some held their children and whispered soothing words, some stared blankly at the river, and some had wandering eyes, as if searching for a chance to escape—perhaps their last chance.

The sound of horses' hooves could be heard in the distance.

The two knights dismounted and hid behind a grove of trees, constantly peering in their direction.

When Liang Tai learned of this, he remained unmoved and ordered the situation to be calmed down.

Herbs, ironware, timber, and silk were unloaded from the truck, carried onto the gangplank, and stacked into the ship's hold, packaged and bundled.

By midday, the waterline of the Kunjia and Kunyi boats had already submerged the red paint on their sides.

Yu Yuan, who was in charge of organizing, looked around and arranged for some of the artisans and their families to board the two boats before ordering the two boats to sail downstream and make room for the berths.

Before long, the Pingyi and Pingji ships approached and began to board.

They would fill a cabin as a family unit, then seal it with a chest-high wooden plank and assign a boatman to monitor it.

The process of boarding people was much faster than unloading goods. By mid-afternoon, everyone gathered at the dock had disappeared, dispersing onto the four shallow-hulled boats. Liang Tai was the last to board. He stood on the dock, taking one last look at the way he had come.

The official road was deserted, with a few figures moving in the distance. It was unclear whether they were local villagers or archers from the patrol office, but that didn't matter anymore. "Set sail," he ordered.

The mooring ropes were untied, the sails were raised, and the two ships, Pingjia and Pinggeng, left the dock one after the other and came to the river.

A river breeze blew by, carrying the fishy smell of water and the chill of late autumn.

Liang Tai stood on the boat, watching the harbor grow smaller and smaller until it gradually became a blurry gray dot on the shore.

That night, the six ships arrived at the small, dedicated dock at the northwest end of Matuosha, where they unloaded cargo and disembarked overnight.

By noon on the fourth day of the lunar new year, everything had finally settled down.

Shao Shuyi rushed back from Huangtian Port in such a hurry that he didn't even wait for Shengye or Huangtian Trading Company to provide a boat. Instead, he borrowed two fishing boats directly from Shi Laosan's family, who often delivered fish, and carried himself and his entourage back.

Liang Tai immediately stepped forward to report the incident and confessed his unauthorized actions, requesting punishment.

Li Fu, Bian Yuanheng, Gao Daqiang, Jiang Sanbao, Yu Yuan, and others watched silently from the side.

Shao Shuyi didn't rush to speak, but first asked Yu Yuan, "Have Mother Tiger and the others returned?"

"The ship passed by yesterday, and they should still be on their way to find people soon," Yu Yuan replied.

Shao Shuyi nodded, then looked at Yang Xunchang, who had come with him, and took his hand, saying, "Yang She, how is your father?" "He's so worried at home that he can't eat," Yang Xunchang sighed. "He's spent a thousand shi of rice and eight hundred ingots of paper money, and I don't know when it will end." "Don't worry, coming here is the right thing to do," Shao Shuyi said. "A little loss can be made up for in the future."

Yang Xunchang responded, feeling slightly relieved. Although he didn't know how to make up for it, since that was the case, there must be some hope. Next, Shao Shuyi went to Master Zhou, who was standing at the back, and said with a smile, "Old Master Zhou, we meet again."

Master Zhou gave a wry smile.

"I told you not to leave so soon last time," Shao Shuyi said. "Now that your whole family is here, don't leave. As for the newcomers, please help persuade them. I want to allocate a piece of land on Matuosha to build houses for your hundred-plus families. You can settle down here in peace. Although it's desolate, we have enough to eat and wear, and there are no corrupt officials to deprive or beat us. We'll live comfortably. Please help persuade them."

What else could Master Zhou say? He could only clasp his hands in agreement.

Having been there once before, he didn't have much of a grudge against Ma Tuosha. If he wanted to have a good life in the future, he would still have to help out.

A sandbar isolated in the middle of a great river has nowhere to run.

After doing all this, Shao Shuyi approached Liang Tai and couldn't help but "reprimand" him, saying, "Buddha's Tooth, you were too reckless. Forcibly kidnapping someone, how are you any different from a bandit?"

Liang Tai bowed his head and said, "Brother Shao, I know I was wrong."

Shao Shuyi glared at him resentfully and said, "You've really gotten me into trouble this time. If word gets out, what will people think of me? What will the authorities think of me when they find out?"

Liang Tai remained silent.

Shao Shuyi sighed and said, "That's enough, that's enough. What's the use of saying all this now that the deed is done? Go home and rest. Don't worry about military affairs for now. Reflect on your actions."

"Yes," Liang Tai straightened up and replied.

We don't need to worry about "military affairs" anymore, but should we continue with the regular training of the farmhands and tenants? He had been in charge of that before, including the group under the female tiger.

If Brother Shao didn't say this couldn't be done, then it must be done.

Shao Shuyi then looked at Bian Yuanheng, Li Fu, Gao Daqiang, and Jiang Sanbao, and said, "You were acting under orders, so you will not be held responsible. But you must understand the gravity of the situation, and remember what happened today when you take on important responsibilities in the future."

"Yes," the four replied in unison.

"Starting today, send men to keep an eye on both docks," Shao Shuyi instructed. "Daqiang, you go to Yaqian Street. Sanbao, you stay here. Thoroughly inspect all boats entering and leaving the area. Don't let anyone escape, and don't let anyone of unknown identity come to inquire. As for the fishing boats of ordinary people, they are not included in this for now. Yushe, go to the head of Xiagao Village later and have him take a few chieftains to visit several fishing villages and find out about the fishermen. Don't let them do anything foolish."

"Yes," Yu Yuan replied.

After thinking for a moment, Shao Shuyi said, "Move all the families of the thirty porters who went out here to Ma Tuo Sha. There won't be any problems before the New Year. After that, keep things quiet and try to avoid anyone noticing this place. That's all, everyone disperse."

The group bowed and withdrew.

Shao Shuyi pulled Yu Yuan aside, and after a moment, he whispered, "I just bought a batch of high-quality timber, bricks, tiles, and stone from Jiangyin. They're parked at the dock, ready for building a house. Have someone take inventory of them and give them to Buddha Tooth to help him build a new house."

Yu Yuan had expected this, but he still couldn't help but say, "Brother, what was the point of your admonition just now? Wu Song and the others aren't stupid; they'll figure out where Buddha Tooth's new house came from in no time."

Shao Shuyi shook his head and said, "High-sounding words are still useful, even if everyone knows they're not entirely true. As long as you maintain that high-sounding facade, regardless of what happens in private, at least on the surface, it's clear what's right and what's wrong. This may seem unimportant, but it's actually very important."

Yu Yuan thought about it for a long time, but he didn't quite understand. However, there must be a reason why his brother said that. It was just that he lacked life experience and couldn't understand it yet. He would understand it in the future.

After bowing and taking his leave, he went straight to Gao Lizheng's house.

Shao Shuyi stood quietly for a while, pondering what to do next.