The Black Sails of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 97 Yellow Croaker

Everyone fell silent and looked into the distance.

On the southern sea, a ship's light slowly approached.

Lin Qian pointed behind her, and the fleet slowly retreated along the cliff.

The ship was moving very slowly, heading straight towards the fleet.

“It’s a sentry boat from the garrison!” Lei Sanxiang whispered.

"Don't rush, let's take a look first," Lin Qian replied.

After a long while, the ship came closer. It was a two-masted sand barge. This type of ship has a flat bottom and a shallow draft, allowing it to pass through shallow waters. Therefore, it is often used to travel on inland rivers near the sea and is also a type of ship commonly used for patrols in garrisons.

"Captain, this sentry ship is heading straight for us," one of the crew members said.

Indeed, the sand barges were getting closer and closer, heading straight for the fleet.

Lei Sanxiang: "It must have been that pee just now that alerted them to something."

Lin Qian: "Keep calm."

At this moment, Chen Jiao sniffed and asked, "Can you smell anything?"

Lei Sanxiang complained, "It all smells like Lu Zhou's urine! Don't smell it, it's bad luck!"

"No, that's not right." Lin Qian sniffed. "It smells delicious, like fried fish."

Lei Sanxiang took a deep sniff: "Now that you mention it, it does seem to have a fragrance."

Lü Zhou: "Why can't I smell it?"

Lei Sanxiang: "Brother Lü, step back. Your arrival has made the whole place smell like filth."

"Oh." Lü Zhou sighed and quietly took two steps back.

At this moment, the sand barge drew closer, and the fragrance became increasingly pronounced.

This tastes a hundred times better than stewed meat; it's fragrant, fresh, and has a slightly fishy flavor.

The smell alone was enough to make one's mouth water, and on the deck, there was a sound of people swallowing their saliva.

Lin Qian could already smell it; it smelled like fried yellow croaker.

The sea off Zhejiang is a major production area for yellow croaker.

Select a dozen or so plump and tender wild yellow croakers, clean them, heat some fragrant lard in a pot, and put the yellow croakers in. As the hot oil hits the fish, they sizzle and release thick smoke.

The more golden and crispy the yellow croaker is fried, the stronger its smoky aroma becomes, which can travel far on the wind. When one family fries fish, the whole village can smell the aroma and eat an extra two ounces of rice.

Frying yellow croaker is very oily, so even in Zhejiang, where it's produced, most families only make it once a year, usually during festivals.

It was late at night, and everyone was starving. When they suddenly smelled the fried yellow croaker, they couldn't resist anymore.

If it weren't for the helmsman's orders, I would have swum to that ship to satisfy my craving.

Zheng Zhilong: "Everyone, get ready. When this sand barge enters the river, we'll follow it from a distance and go in together."

Lei Sanxiang suddenly realized: "Brother Yiguan, you're the one who found this fishing boat?"

Zheng Zhilong smiled and said, "That's right."

Lei Sanxiang gave Zheng Zhilong a thumbs up: "Great."

Zheng Zhilong: "Third Brother, you're too early to celebrate. The real show is yet to come."

After a long while, the sand barge gradually sailed to the north bank of the Lingjiang River, then turned left and sailed into the river close to the north bank.

Before long, shouts could be heard coming from the North Bank Garrison.

"who?"

"Sailing at night takes a lot of courage!"

Then the shouting subsided, and after a long while, the voices came again.

"Oh, since you're delivering goods to the Lin residence, then come in."

From the cliffs on the north bank, came the creaking sound of a winch turning.

After a long while, the sound of water could be heard coming from the surface of the Lingjiang River, which must have been the river-blocking cable falling into the water.

"Brother Yi Guan, shouldn't we be going?" Lei Sanxiang asked. Zheng Zhilong: "No rush."

A moment later, commotion was heard coming from the garrison.

"Dock at the shore, stop for inspection..."

Zheng Zhilong said, "Captain, it's time to go."

Lin Qian waved forward, and the bird boat slowly left the cliff and sailed into the Lingjiang River. The other six boats followed closely behind the lead boat, sailing in a single file.

The fleet slowly sailed into the space between the two mountains, where a wide river came into view, with the two banks more than two miles apart.

On each side of the cliffs, a huge stone pillar extends out; these are the river-locking pillars, with giant cables as thick as an arm wrapped around them, and a giant chain hanging from the cables.

The iron cable on the south bank was suspended high above the river surface, while the iron cable on the north bank had already been lowered.

Due to the weight of the iron chain itself, the river-blocking cable that was in the middle of the river was also submerged in the water.

On the far north bank, the fishing boat was slowly approaching the shore for inspection, and a dense cluster of torches, numbering over a hundred people, had already gathered there.

Zheng Zhilong said, "Captain, let's cross the river."

Lin Qian nodded and ordered the helmsman to head into the river.

The bird boat has a shallow draft, just enough to pass over the iron chains in the river.

Tonight, a bright moon shines, making the banks of the Lingjiang River exceptionally clear.

They passed right under the noses of the garrisons on both the north and south banks of the sea without any obstruction, making everyone on the boat break out in a cold sweat.

It was fine for the soldiers of the South Bank Garrison to feast on wine and meat, but the soldiers of the North Bank Garrison would gather on the shore with torches. If anyone even glanced at the river, they would be exposed.

No one spoke on the bird boat; everyone lowered their bodies, their muscles tense.

Downstream of the Lingjiang River, the current is gentle, and the helmsman at the stern rowes frantically, making the bird-shaped boats speed like arrows released from a bow.

Soon they arrived at the river-blocking cable.

Lin Qian looked towards the river-blocking cable.

Under the moonlight, the chains were as thick as an adult's wrist, covered with many shellfish and barnacles, entwined with a large amount of aquatic plants, while the rest of the chains revealed a thick layer of reddish-brown rust.

The joints of the iron rings were mostly rusted, and the thinnest part was only two fingers wide.

The river-blocking cable quickly passed, and after that point, the terrain gradually became flatter, and the fishing boat was moored on a shallow beach ahead.

More and more torches gathered around, numbering as many as one or two hundred.

As they drew closer to the fishing boat, everyone held their breath and waited with bated breath.

A sound could be heard coming from the shallows.

"Bullshit! What Lin family, what chartered boat, what procurement? It's all just empty talk. What wealthy family makes purchases in the middle of the night?"

"Sir, stop arguing with this old man. Let the brothers board the ship and search it!"

Upon hearing this, hundreds of torchbearers around cheered.

"Don't try to deny it. You broke into Haimenwei at night, which is a serious crime. You've already tied him up!"

A commotion arose in the shallows, and the boat owner could be vaguely seen being held down by the arms and taken off the boat.

"Brothers, move all the items from the ship to the camp, set up an iron pot and heat the oil, and we'll inspect them carefully together!"

"it is good!"

The north bank erupted in thunderous cheers.

At that moment, Lin Qian's boat happened to pass by the fishing boat and saw the boat owner being taken off the boat and pinned to the ground. A soldier stabbed him in the back of the heart, and blood stained the river red.

The soldiers poked the boat owner's body a few more times to confirm that he was dead. They wiped their knives with the body's clothes, took out the money from the body's clothes and put it in their pockets. They also cut off the body's ears and threw the body into the Lingjiang River.

There were too many soldiers on board, and they accidentally knocked over the oil pot used for frying fish, filling the air with the rich aroma of yellow croaker.

In the blinding light of the torches, a soldier who had just boarded the boat stopped and stared at the river with a puzzled expression.

Several dark figures seemed to swim across the river.

"Stop! There seems to be something in the river!"

(End of this chapter)