The 18th year of the Da Yong reign: The beginning of the story involves rescuing revolutionaries.

Wang Zhi chuckled to himself upon hearing this. This man had been rambling on for so long, but all he wanted was a roujiamo (Chinese hamburger). What a complicated situation!

Looking down, he saw Wang Lingguan cautiously guarding his food, which amused him even more. He reached out and patted the little girl's arm: "Give me the bundle."

"Oh." Wang Lingguan reluctantly untied the bundle.

Wang Zhi untied the bundle and took out a white flour roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) wrapped in oil paper. The aroma immediately filled the air. The man stared at it intently, his eyes practically popping out of his head. He kept swallowing his saliva, and anyone who didn't know better would think he hadn't eaten meat for three days.

Wang Zhi handed over the entire oil paper, saying, "Eat up, eat up." He hadn't listened to so much news for nothing.

These days, a silver dollar can afford a decent banquet, and this roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) only cost forty copper coins. Without the sesame oil, it would be much cheaper.

The Great Yong Dynasty currently uses a mix of silver dollars, silver, copper coins, and silver notes.

"You gave it all to me?" The man seemed incredulous as he took it with both hands and hurriedly began to devour it.

After swallowing two large mouthfuls, he mumbled, "I know about firearms."

"Firearms?" Wang Zhi's eyes flickered.

"Yes, my ancestors were in the Firearms Battalion of the Crafts Bureau. Later, by chance, they were released from their craftsmanship. After that, several generations of my family didn't touch this thing. But I've started working on it again with the help of the blueprints drawn by my great-grandfather." The man leaned closer and spoke softly while eating.

It didn't sound like bragging, so Wang Zhi made a mental note of it: "May I ask your name, sir?"

"Zhang Dafa." The man didn't hesitate.

Just as he finished speaking, the cargo ship rocked violently, as if it had been hit by a huge wave.

Zhang Dafa was caught off guard and dropped the shredded chicken in his hand on the ground. Feeling sorry for it, he quickly picked it up and stuffed it into his mouth.

Wang Zhi, already wary, pulled Wang Lingguan toward the warehouse door.

He needs to see what's going on.

The travelers on deck were seen running in panic towards the cargo hold.

A group of guards stood ready, each carrying a machete. Wang Zhi looked over and his heart sank; they were passing through Shibawu.

The cargo ship had been struck from the side by a speedboat.

Immediately following, a series of whooshing sounds rang out as iron claw ropes hooked onto the side of the boat.

"Quickly, quickly, cut the rope, break the lock." The guard leader was a middle-aged man with a solid physique. He was said to be a first-grade martial artist, over thirty-five years old. He would never be able to enter the realm of a commoner in this lifetime, so he would just peacefully escort cargo ships, earn some money, and raise his nephews and nieces.

The guards of this cargo ship were all fierce and brave; they rushed to the side of the ship and fought fiercely with the pirates.

But the bandits were fierce and desperate, and before long, one bandit after another boarded the deck.

The guard leader secretly groaned. Wasn't it agreed that the leader of the Eighteen Villages had robbed the official goods and ordered everyone to stay put to avoid trouble?

They didn't bring any more powerful experts with them when they set off.

What bad luck that they ran into each other again.

"Where is your leader? I am Jin Dao Qian Shun. We are a cargo ship of the Southwest United Chamber of Commerce. We have paid plenty of tolls before. Why do you have to do this short-sighted thing and make things so difficult for us?" The guard leader slashed a bandit to the ground with his sword and shouted into the air.

Hearing the deafening sounds of battle ahead, Wang Lingguan hid tightly behind Wang Zhi, peeking out with only one eye peeking out from behind.

Suddenly, a dark shadow appeared in mid-air and rapidly enlarged, stomping onto the deck with a thud.

"Hahahaha, Grandpa can rob whoever he wants, I don't care about any chamber of commerce or anything like that." The newcomer was fat and big-eared, wearing a white short shirt in the cold weather, his chest exposed, carrying a long-handled axe, and his legs were as thick as pig legs.

"Fathead Fish Hong Tiedan!" Guard leader Qian Shun shouted through gritted teeth.

I recognized the person at a glance.

It was the leader of the bandits who occupied these eighteen villages, the big boss.

"It's your grandpa." Fathead Fish didn't take the other party seriously at all. He swung his long-handled axe in mid-air in a circle, making a great show of it. His men immediately became more energetic, as if they had been injected with chicken blood.

Qian Shun knew he couldn't defeat the leader, who possessed the strength of a commoner, so he tried to negotiate, saying, "How can the leader let our cargo ship pass? Perhaps he could carve out a path for us?"

"We, the members of the Southwest United Chamber of Commerce, are businessmen, not government officials. Instead of fighting and killing each other, let's settle the money."

"Qian Shun, you don't need to waste your breath anymore. You're unlucky to have taken this job. I'll take the whole ship. I'll take all the men and leave the women for the second-in-command and the brothers to choose from." Fathead Fish Hong Tiedan said smugly.

His men let out another strange cry.

The leader's words made Wang Zhi frown slightly. He had initially thought that the leader knew he was coming to the ship for revenge, after all, Bald Hawk had died at his hands.

But then he found it strange. The second-in-command, Bald Hawk, had just died. How could the bandits of the Eighteen Docks be so well-informed?

Now that he hears that the other party is going to choose a woman for the second-in-command, it confirms that Fatty Fish is unaware that his brother is already dead.

It seems that after hiding for so long, with only bandits under his command, he couldn't stand the loneliness and, seeing that the government was too weak to do anything, he couldn't help but take action.

Fathead Fish's words were so loud they shook the surrounding area, and everyone in the warehouse was so frightened they were like quails.

Seeing that there was no room for negotiation, the guard Qian Shun had no choice but to resort to a desperate measure. He shouted, "I know there are other experts on this ship. Anyone with guts should answer me. Our only chance of survival is to join forces and kill this fathead fish. Otherwise, none of us will be safe."

Qian Shun wasn't sure if a group of first-grade martial artists could kill a mere commoner martial artist, but it was the only solution he could think of.

Unfortunately, after he spoke, the ship fell silent, and no one responded.

Enraged, Qian Shun cursed inwardly, saying, "Iron Fist Zhang Henhu, Iron Legs Water-Floating Zhang Mo... I know you're on the boat."

These people originally wanted to hide, but Qian Shun called out names, just like the King of Hell writing wreaths on the Book of Life and Death. Whoever was called had a dark face like the bottom of a boiler.

Fathead Fish didn't stop Qian Shun at all. Instead, he grinned and said to a fair-skinned man next to him, "Strategist, have you made a note of this? These are all the people on the boat. We can't let a single one escape."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a series of splashes were heard as people began to fall into the water, like dumplings being dropped into boiling water. It was clear that someone was trying to abandon ship and escape.

Inside the warehouse, Zhang Dafa, who had previously eaten one of Wang Zhi's steamed buns, suddenly reappeared. He secretly tugged at Wang Zhi's sleeve and whispered, "Brother, I think you're a good person. Come with me into the water. I'm an excellent swimmer, I'll take you."

"They can't escape. That fathead fish has already ordered his men to go into the water to chase them. Aren't those water bandits even better swimmers?" Wang Zhi shook his head. Before Zhang Dafa could argue, he turned around, looked down at Wang Lingguan's panicked eyes, and said, "Girl, go hide behind the door and don't run around. I'll kill someone and come back."