Inspecting the cargo barge

A continuous trail of blood. The entire crew of that official ship were villains! Xu Qi'an was taken aback.

But he did not make a hasty judgment, because the canal was often plagued by bandits, and these officials might have just repelled bandits who were trying to plunder.

"What kind of ship is that? Why is it different from ours?" Xu Qi'an asked his colleague casually as the official ship drew closer.

There were many experienced veterans present, and after identifying it, they replied, "That's a pontoon boat. Judging from the flag, it seems to be from Yuzhou."

A barge is a large, flat-bottomed vessel, mostly used for transporting goods.

Xu Qi'an said "Oh," and with a slight flicker in his eyes, continued to ask, "Are there any river bandits near Yuzhou?"

Song Tingfeng chuckled and put his hand on Xu Qi'an's shoulder, "It's only half a day's journey from here to the Yuzhou border crossing. Have you ever seen anyone robbing people on the way to the yamen?"

"Then there's no problem." Xu Qi'an nodded, his tone as if he had confirmed something.

"What's alright?"

"Gaining merit is no problem." He glanced at Song Tingfeng, and seeing that the two ships were about to pass each other, he quickly said, "Tingfeng, go back to the cabin immediately and find Jiang Jinluo. Tell him it's urgent."

He then glanced at the seven or eight gong players on the deck and said in a deep voice, "There's something wrong with that ship. Follow me."

After saying that, he shouted at the pontoon boat to the side, "Stop!"

The sound rolled and echoed across the river.

The officials on the pontoon completely ignored them, pretending not to hear. Some boatmen even quietly adjusted the angle of the sails, tilting the pontoon away from the official boat where the Nightwatchers was located.

At this moment, the other gongs also realized that something was wrong. Before they could speak, they saw Xu Qi'an brace himself against the railing, and the deck beneath his feet snapped with a "crack." He shot out like a cannonball.

In an instant, it traversed a distance of tens of meters and landed steadily on the deck of the pontoon.

"Click."

The sound of the deck breaking was incessant. Seven or eight men with gongs leaped up one after another, relying on their exaggerated jumping power and surging energy to also jump onto the pontoon.

Upon seeing the group of gongs "invading" the barge, the expressions of the officials on the deck changed slightly, and they quietly pressed down on the hilts of their swords at their waists.

"My lords." A bearded man, dressed in the uniform of a government official, wearing a tall hat and black boots, rushed out of the cabin.

He glanced around at the gongs on the deck, clasped his hands in greeting, and asked, "What brings you here?"

Xu Qi'an remained silent, carefully observing their micro-expressions and subtle movements. Zhu Guangxiao said in a deep voice:

What government office do you belong to?

"I am the head constable of the canal transport office, escorting a shipment of iron ore to the capital," the bearded man replied. Their uniforms, embroidered with wave patterns, were indeed those of the canal transport office.

Yuzhou is rich in iron ore. Salt and iron are both vital to the nation, which, in layman's terms, are strategic resources and major sources of revenue.

The gong-wielders were not surprised by this and turned to look at Xu Qi'an, wondering why he had suddenly intercepted the ship.

Xu Qi'an narrowed his eyes and noticed a detail: so far, the barge was still sailing and had not dropped anchor.

"Guangxiao, stop the boat," Xu Qi'an said in a deep voice.

Zhu Guangxiao immediately went to the stern and kicked the huge, heavy anchor into the water, and the pontoon slowly rose to its feet.

When his taciturn colleague returned, Xu Qi'an questioned him, "Why didn't you stop the ship just now?"

The bearded man looked troubled and said in a low voice, "Please wait a moment, gentlemen."

He returned to the cabin, and after a moment, folded several silver notes, discreetly handed them over, and said with a forced smile:

"This humble servant knows that no matter where one is, whenever one sees the officials of the Nightwatchers's office, one must be respectful. I was ignorant just now and tried to get away with it; I deserve to die. Please forgive me, sirs."

Xu Qi'an glanced at them; they were all fifty-tael silver notes, totaling about three hundred taels.

Did he think we were stopping the ships to accept bribes? The night Nightwatchers present realized what was happening and were both angry and amused.

Although Nightwatchers weren't exactly clean, they weren't exactly ruthless either. However, their reputation was indeed very bad, thanks to the Nightwatchers officials' daily mudslinging, portraying Nightwatchers as Wei Yuan's henchmen, committing heinous acts of persecuting loyal officials and embezzling public funds.

Scholars are best at using their pens to attack people's hearts and minds.

"Ningyan." Zhu Guangxiao frowned and turned his gaze to Xu Qi'an.

Including him, the other gongs did not believe that Xu Qi'an had stopped the barge for money. This guy who would kill a gong for a woman he had no connection with was someone whose character was commendable, regardless of whether he was likable or not.

The bearded man felt a pang of anxiety as no one took the silver note. He didn't think there was anything wrong with his response, but it seemed the Nightwatchers weren't buying it.

"Take me to the cabin." Xu Qi'an stepped forward and stared at the bearded man.

At this moment, Xu Qi'an stood in front of all the gongs, his right hand casually behind his back, and quickly made a hand gesture.

The gestures were subtle and discreet, but the gong players behind him quietly tensed up.

This gesture is the professional sign language used by the Nightwatchers watchmen's office, meaning: prepare to act.

"Take me to check it out," Xu Qi'an requested.

"Okay, please go ahead." The bearded man readily agreed.

They agreed too readily, didn't they? Normally, they shouldn't have protested by saying, "The canal transport is not under the Nightwatchers."

Hmm, or maybe he's just a coward. Xu Qi'an pondered, leading his colleagues and the bearded man into the cabin, then down the narrow stairs to the lower deck.

One by one, the bearded man lit the candles and led the Nightwatchers to inspect the ore boxes filled with minerals.

A gong-wielder grabbed a handful of fine iron ore fragments and clicked his tongue, saying, "These are all high-quality iron ore, screened."

The bearded man chuckled a few times in response.

The man with the gong calmly dropped the iron ore, nudged Xu Qi'an in the waist with his scabbard, and gave him a meaningful look.

Xu Qi'an said, "Continue the inspection."

He walked to the side with the gong and asked in a low voice, "What's wrong?"

Tongluo lowered his voice. "The ore has been ground too finely; the quality is too superior."

Xu Qi'an didn't understand. "This is being transported to the capital, what's the problem?"

Tongluo glanced at the crowd not far away, then looked away and said in a low voice, "A few years ago, I investigated a corruption case in the Ministry of Works that was related to iron ore. The ore was calculated by weight, not quality."

"In order to seize profits and line their own pockets, officials will mix crushed stones or inferior iron ore into the iron ore to increase the quantity. As long as they keep it within a certain limit, there will be no problem."

"In other words, the iron ore here is of exceptionally high quality, "Xu Qi'an nodded.

After the inspection, nothing was found to be amiss, and everyone returned to their cabins. Xu Qi'an then made another request. "Let me see your documents."

The bearded man obediently retrieved the document issued by the Grand Canal Transport Office. After confirming its accuracy, Xu Qi'an asked, "Did you encounter any problems along the way?"

"How could that be? We just left Yuzhou," said the bearded man.

Ha, then explain what you mean by the green light above your head. No, the blood-red light?

As Xu Qi'an walked, he observed the cabin, accompanied by a bearded man who answered all his questions with unusually kind manner.

When they arrived at the kitchen, four cooks sat on small wooden stools, silently watching Xu Qi'an and the others.

The kitchen baskets were filled with seasonal vegetables, which looked quite fresh.

Xu Qi'an laughed, "Now my eyes light up at the sight of vegetable leaves. We ate fish on the boat for days, and it was all so fishy and awful."

He glanced at the four cooks and said, "Right?"

One of the cooks glanced at the bearded man, their eyes met, and they understood each other perfectly. He gave a humble smile and said, "Yes, the fish in the river inevitably have a muddy taste. It's normal for you, sir, to not be used to it. People like us who make a living on the water all year round are used to it."

"Oh, you don't know how to remove the fishy smell." Xu Qi'an nodded with a smile.

Hmm? The four cooks sensed something strange in Xu Qi'an's meaningful smile.

The bearded man did the same, tentatively asking, "Sir."

Before he could speak, the gong-wielding man slapped him from below, causing his teeth to collide and a mouthful of broken teeth to fly out.

Immediately afterwards, the gong-wielder pounded his chest twice with incredible speed, the force of the blows tearing through his back and ripping his clothes.

The bearded man was punched and sent flying, crashing into the wall before collapsing limply to the ground.

Xu Qi'an had suddenly made his move, stopped paying attention to him, turned around and swept his leg, breaking the ribs of one of the cooks. Then, with the strength and speed of a martial artist, he smashed the sternums of the remaining three cooks.

The entire process takes no more than five seconds.

Nevertheless, the fight inside the kitchen still attracted the attention of both sides outside.

Xu Qi'an shouted, "Take down everyone on the ship, but leave no survivors."

Having already received the hand signal, the gong-wielders reacted swiftly and struck without hesitation, knocking over one boatman and official after another.

For Nightwatchers watchmen whose average Qi Refining Realm is Qi Refining, subduing a group of fairly skilled clerks is not much more difficult than Xu Qi'an beating up Xu Lingyin.

At this moment, Xu Qi'an sensed a powerful aura descending on the deck. To ensure the bearded man could escape by jumping into the water, he grabbed him and carried him out of the cabin to the deck.

Jiang Luzhong frowned, gazing at him in silence.

Xu Qi'an turned his head to look in the direction of his official ship and found that Governor Zhang had also been alerted and was standing on the deck looking in this direction with a solemn expression.

This pontoon is also an official vessel, belonging to the Yuzhou government. Xu Qi'an's actions are no different from those of a river bandit. Without a plausible reason, this matter will be difficult to handle.

"What are you doing?" Jiang Luzhong asked, glancing at the bushy beard in Xu Qi'an's hand.

He recognized it immediately as the uniform of the canal transport office.

"There's something wrong with this ship, but it's hard to say exactly what it is," Xu Qi'an explained.

"This is a barge belonging to the Yuzhou Canal Transport Office, carrying iron ore?" Jiang Luzhong asked.

"Um."

Jiang Luzhong nodded and said in a deep voice, "How did you discover that there was something wrong with it?"

P. S.: Happy Children's Day in advance everyone! With our passion for gaming, shouldn't we celebrate June 1st? And with our lives dedicated to being single since birth, shouldn't we celebrate June 1st?

PS: Thanks to "mustlin" for the generous donation.