I am Emperor Shizu of Song

Chapter 2 If you didn't sink it, why did you save it?

As Zhao Zicheng shouted, everyone looked at him.

Murong Yan also realized that he had just simplified the matter, and his opinion of Zhao Zicheng changed slightly.

Unexpectedly, this scholar is not timid at all, and he will help and give advice at critical moments.

"Brother Zhao, since you have thought of it, is there any way to solve it?" Murong Yan was not cunning and asked directly when he thought of it.

Yang Zhi also looked at him expectantly.

"There may be a way. Let me think about it carefully." Zhao Zicheng couldn't finish his words right away, so he delayed for a while and thought quickly in his mind.

I definitely cannot take out the picture I just drew immediately.

Wouldn't that make it seem like you've been deliberately keeping evidence and have been on guard against being scammed?
Even if you want to give advice, you have to pretend that it is a spur-of-the-moment idea that you just thought of.

It’s like a locksmith who can open a lock in seconds but still takes five minutes to make the customer feel that the unlocking fee is worth it.

Everyone did not suspect anything and just looked at Zhao Zicheng eagerly, waiting for him to make a move.

Manager Duan turned around and pretended to look at the lake. No one could tell what expression was on his face.

Zhao Zicheng pretended to want to make a move, but in fact he was thinking:
"Based on my previous observations, the boat's sinking process is quite suspicious. They say it was caused by overloading and instability, but the posture when it entered the water did not seem to be capsizing. Duan Ming also said that he was obstructing the salvage operation. There is a possibility that he is suspicious. If my positioning method is exposed, he will be wary, which will cause more trouble.
It would be best to come up with another trick as a deception and double insurance. Anyway, now that I have so many people cooperating with me, I don’t necessarily need to rely on the drawing method…”

As he thought about it, Zhao Zicheng finally had an idea and said, "I have a plan, but I need your help."

Yang Zhi immediately rushed to say: "This is all our fault. Master Zhao, please send us as we please!"

Zhao Zicheng gave the order without hesitation:
"First, throw the anchor down to measure the water depth, then cut the excess rope and tie it to the large wooden barrels nearby, then throw the barrels down as well.

Well, if there is vermilion lacquer on the boat, we can paint the barrel a striking color. When we come back next time, we can just salvage the barrel according to its location."

Anchor stones are ancient ship anchors. Zhao Zi claimed that using them as counterweights and connecting them to the floating barrels with ropes was like creating an anchor mine on site, so the positioning effect would naturally be excellent.

In later generations until World War I, the navies of various countries laid mines in this way, so it is easy to imagine.

After everyone figured it out, their eyes lit up and they showed admiration.

"Master Zhao is truly resourceful, coming up with such a brilliant idea on such short notice! Once the anchor stone sinks to the bottom, the barrel will become like a fishing float, naturally unable to drift away. You truly are a student of the Imperial Academy!"

After saying this, Yang Zhi personally took the lead in throwing the anchor into the water. The other sailors also followed his orders and divided the work. They also carefully ensured that the wooden barrel was tied tightly and would not come loose.

Only Duan Ming trembled slightly, turned his face away, and clenched his fists tightly.

……

After a while, Yang Zhi made the "floating barrel anchor mine" and the ship set sail again.

It’s five or six miles by water and it takes about half an hour to get there.

Bored along the way, Murong Yan took the opportunity to apologize to Zhao Zicheng:

"Just now I misunderstood that Brother Zhao was timid and cowardly, but I didn't expect that at the critical moment, I still had to rely on Brother Zhao's wisdom."

Zhao Zicheng didn't take it to heart: "Everyone has a first time. I envy your chivalrous spirit."

Murong Yan already trusted him more: "Brother Zhao, have you encountered many treacherous people before? That's why you are so cautious?"

Zhao Zi said, "We must be on guard against others, no matter how this shipwreck is ultimately classified. As long as the Taihu stone is lost, Zhu Jie will most likely force the wealthy to pay compensation. Will he even talk to you about the law?"
Although I was just a passerby on the boat, I didn't want to give Zhu Jie an opportunity to attack me, so this can be considered as a good deed."

Murong Yan had never been bullied before, so he felt quite scared after hearing this.

Zhu Jie didn't care how the things were lost. He only cared that the emperor's garden construction would not be affected.

And as everyone knows, when the flower and stone tax was levied, the stones themselves were actually not expensive. The key was that Zhu Jie took the opportunity to create trouble by making up excuses.

For example, if you like someone's rockery, there's nothing wrong with just digging it up.

But he refused to do so, and instead used the excuse that it was "too big to move" to raze the entire garden to the ground.

Those wealthy families did not want to ruin their families, so they had to pay a large sum of money to avoid disaster.

In addition, Jiangnan has been particularly corrupt since ancient times, and there were also unscrupulous businessmen who took the initiative to bribe and instigate Zhu Jie to demolish his competitors' homes.

Zhu Zhen took advantage of both sides and became rich enough to rival a country in just a few years.

After realizing this, Murong Yan no longer dared to take it lightly. He decided to gather enough sailors and large ships as soon as he got ashore, report to the authorities and cooperate with them to salvage the cargo from the sunken ship and put an end to the matter.

Zhao Zi said he would strike while the iron was hot and gave him another idea:
"Since you are so thoughtful, after we get ashore, in addition to preparing a large boat and manpower, you can also prepare hundreds of large empty barrels, as well as sufficient hemp ropes and stones.

I have a way to increase the salvage speed several times. I can't explain the details at the moment, so just prepare."

Murong Yan quickly agreed.

After Zhao Zicheng finished explaining everything to him, he went to talk to Yang Zhi quietly for a few words, wanting to know if there was any other cargo on the sunken ship.

Yang Zhi naturally told everything he knew. He said there were dozens of heavy boxes on the ship, all sealed and locked, and only Duan Ming knew what was inside.

Yang Zhi also knew that in addition to Zhu Zhen, there was another owner of the goods, Huang Shang, an official from Fujian and the governor of Fuzhou. He also worked for the emperor and supervised the sending of some things to Tokyo.

Yang Zhi set sail late because he had to wait for the goods from the prefect of Fuzhou to be loaded onto the ship and taken along.

Zhao Zi said that he hadn't heard anything suspicious yet, so he just wrote down these clues for now.

……

Less than half an hour later, the boat arrived at the dock of Yanziwu Town, west of Gusu City. Murong Yan attached great importance to it. As soon as he got ashore, he ordered Fatty Deng to go home quickly to mobilize the crew on the boat, and also to prepare the tools and equipment that Zhao Zicheng wanted.

Yang Zhi had to go to the county immediately to report the incident to the authorities and try to have it classified as an "accident."

As an aside, if Zhao Zicheng had not appeared, Yang Zhi would have chosen to resign and run away. Half a year later, he would have passed by Liangshanpo and fought with Lin Chong, who was looking for a token of his loyalty.

Murong Yan hesitated whether he should go to testify in person with Yang Zhi, so he asked Zhao Zicheng to help him make a decision.

But before they could come to a conclusion, a group of soldiers suddenly appeared in the distance, rushing towards the dock. Behind them were several carriages and a guard of honor of civil officials, making a considerable noise.

The crowd on the dock was immediately in chaos, and everyone was shocked and said:
"It's the ceremonial guard of the Yingfeng Bureau!"

"A ship came back earlier saying they saw the Hua Shi Gang ship sink on the lake early this morning. I didn't expect it to alert the Yingfeng Bureau so quickly!"

"Zhu Zhen really came in person! How important must the cargo be this time?"

As the crowd suppressed their exclamations, a carriage stopped at the dock and a middle-aged man with an immortal look slowly got out with a stern expression.

Zhao Zicheng observed his appearance and thought to himself, "Is this Zhu Zhen? He doesn't look like a villain. Yes, I heard that Cai Jing and Tong Guan weren't ugly either. It seems that to serve as a flatterer under the painter emperor, one has to be handsome."

Zhu Zhen, accompanied by his guards, glanced around the dock. Because Yang Zhi's green face was too eye-catching, he saw it from a distance and walked towards Yang Zhi.

Yang Zhi hurried over to bow and apologize:

"I, Yang Zhi, greet you, Lord Zhu! My ship sank this morning on Lake Tai, and I lost my cargo. I've actually alarmed you, Lord Zhu. I'm really..."

Zhu Zhen took a deep breath and asked bitterly, "Where's Duan Ming? Where's that bastard? Did you drown him?"

Yang Zhi looked around quickly and found that Duan Duguan was gone, although he was there just now.

"Could it be that he fled for fear of punishment?" Yang Zhi couldn't help but feel anxious.

Fortunately, not long after, just when Zhu Zhen was about to lose his temper, Duan Ming suddenly emerged from the crowd and hurriedly knelt in front of Zhu Zhen:
"Forgive me, sir! I fell into the water and caught a cold. After I got ashore, I suffered from severe abdominal pain, which is why I was late in welcoming you!

"It's my fault for not knowing how to operate the ship. After we set sail today, the heavy cargo on board became unstable under the swaying wind and waves, and eventually tilted and capsized! Not only was the cargo lost, but several sailors also drowned. I am truly guilty!"

Duan Ming spoke eloquently and clearly, and he mentioned all the key points in just a few sentences.

When Zhu Zhen heard that he took the responsibility and that he was one of their own, his resentment subsided a little.

The ship was carrying an entire rockery. If such heavy cargo was tilted to one side, it would likely capsize.

He saw Yang Zhi was confused and couldn't even explain the cause of the accident. He couldn't help but get angry and kicked Yang Zhi in the face:
"Duan Ming is the accountant, and you need to be careful when sailing! Why would the Palace Marshal's Office send someone as incompetent as you to do this job if you didn't even notice the cargo wasn't properly loaded?"

Yang Zhi was a martial arts expert, but he didn't dare to resist at all.

He was from Shanxi, couldn't swim, and didn't know anything about boats, so he had no way of refutating. He could only take a few kicks to calm Zhu Jie down.

Zhu Jie was obviously still not satisfied and continued to scold:

"Poor in literature, rich in martial arts. I heard that you have some wealth. Since the flower and stone embassy has been lost, I will confiscate your property first, and then investigate the rest carefully!

Duan Ming, you have to pay your share too! If it’s not enough, find another way for me!”

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone around gasped.

This Zhu Yingfeng is indeed ruthless! No wonder he can blow the Jiangnan sky three feet high.

Yang Zhi also felt dizzy. There was no time for hesitation. He said quickly, "Please give me a chance! Allow me to salvage the lost treasure! I have already asked someone to prepare a ship and sailors."

Duan Ming, who was standing by, also took the opportunity to say, "Please show some mercy, sir! This incident cannot be entirely blamed on Envoy Yang; it was all an accident.

Our boat was already heavy and clumsy, and we had to turn the rudder urgently to avoid an oncoming boat on the lake, which exacerbated the tilt and caused it to sink!

Zhu Zhen was originally still angry, but after hearing what Duan Ming said, his eyes suddenly brightened up.

"Oh? Who dares to stop the imperial court's flower and stone transport ships? They must be some arrogant and arrogant tyrants, right?"

When Zhu Zhen asked this question, he had already thought of ten thousand ways to make the other party bankrupt.

Duan Ming had served him for many years, so he naturally knew how to cooperate. He immediately passed on the message:

"Please be merciful, sir. The other party didn't hit us. We flipped over on our own. Moreover, the other party is a well-known philanthropist in this county, the Murong family of Yanziwu. After we sank, their young master even rescued us. I really can't repay evil with kindness!"

Zhu Zhen was a local and of course knew the wealthy people in Suzhou. He was overjoyed when he heard this.

Yang Zhi, who was standing by, was not very good at speaking and did not know how to refute Duan Ming. After hearing this, he finally understood that Duan Ming was encouraging Zhu Zhen to implicate innocent people.

Yang Zhi quickly protested, "Sir, don't listen to Duan Ming's nonsense! We didn't try to avoid others at the time; we were the ones who sank.

Duan Ming, how could you frame your savior! Are you even human? Besides, Master Murong has already agreed to help us salvage the body!

Zhu Jie was very clear-headed. He certainly knew that what Duan Ming said might not be true, but all he wanted was an excuse.

Seeing that Yang Zhi was trying to ruin his plans, Zhu Zhen immediately kicked Yang Zhi to the ground:

"If you didn't flip over to avoid him, why would he save you?"

"Beast!" Murong Yan almost exploded with anger when he heard this, and subconsciously touched the sword at his waist.

"Calm down! Things haven't reached that point yet!" Fortunately, Zhao Zicheng, who was standing by, had foresight and grabbed him.

(End of this chapter)