Chapter 50: First Encounter with White Pole

  In the 700-li-long Yangtze River Three Gorges, both banks are mountainous with no flat land. The dense rocks and steep cliffs block out the sky and sun, and not even a ray of sunlight can be seen except at noon. It's autumn and winter now, and the slightly yellow river water rushes down, forming swirling whirlpools along the shore. Between the two mountains on the shore, you often see emerald green deep pools reflecting the colors of the surrounding mountains, with lush trees, steep peaks, and luxuriant grasses, truly making people reluctant to leave.

  In the turbulent river waters, there were actually several fishing boats scattered about, fishing there. Throughout the entire valley, apart from the howling of monkeys, was their joyful singing voices. Everyone sang:

  Guest from afar!

  Brothers, yo!

  After passing through the Three Gorges, you should get off the boat and take a break.

  Take a break and rest your feet.

  Don't boast about how beautiful our hometown is

  The oranges of the Three Gorges are numerous

  Tangerines are plentiful

  And then I heard a man singing:

  Many words are many troubles, oranges on the tree are numerous, if you pass under the tree, beware of being hit by them.

  The crowd sang in unison:

  The slope stretches as far as the eye can see, with green hills above and a river below, where the water flows endlessly.

  The joyful singing echoed through the canyon, fully showcasing the local specialty: oranges. The men finished their song and burst into laughter, but as they laughed, they couldn't laugh anymore. They saw more than 20 boats rushing downstream at high speed, about to collide with them. On the leading boat stood a helmsman, shouting "Make way... make way..."

  The fishermen were frightened, using all their strength to row the wooden oars and move the fishing boat towards the shore. Immediately after, more than 20 boats whizzed by, startling the fishermen out of their wits. If they had collided with the ships in a place where the current was rapid, they would have fallen into the water and nine out of ten would have lost their lives! The fishermen watched as the fleet sailed away, cursing loudly, but there was nothing they could do - those were big ships, and if they had collided, they would have been the ones to suffer.

  A man emerged from the cabin of the leading ship in the distant fleet, gazing at the layered mountains and listening to the incessant calls of the gibbons, sighed: "Indeed, our light boat has already passed through the countless mountains."

  This man is Yang Mengxuan, the Ming Dynasty's touring general, who was ordered by Qin Liangyu, the pillar country's light and luckiest great husband, the Sichuan general soldier, to lead 500 white pole soldiers to the capital to guard under Qin's wing, and escorted a large amount of luggage and grain. The logistics system of the Ming Dynasty is really strange, generals such as Qin Wing-ming, Ma Xianglin, Zhang Fengyi and others are stationed in Yu Pass or the capital, but the luggage and grain are handled by the Shizhu Proclamation Office, which travels thousands of miles through the Three Gorges, across the Jingjiang River to Yangzi River, and then enters the Grand Canal to reach the capital, a long way that makes people headache just thinking about it.

  "How much longer until we reach Yiling?" Yang Mengxuan had been impatient on the boat, constantly asking when they would arrive at Yiling. Once on land, he could sleep well and even have beautiful women to accompany him - who wouldn't look forward to that?

  "Report to the general, we can arrive at Yiling by this afternoon!" said the helmsman, also revealing a smile. These boatmen were only responsible for transporting the White Stick soldiers and supplies to Yiling, after arriving in Yiling they could return to Shizhu, and Yang Mengxuan would be in charge of commanding the next step of boats and boatmen at the Yiling Thousand Households Office.

  This answer greatly encouraged Yang Mengxuan. The last time he passed through Yiling was in the second year of Tianqi, when Yang Mengxuan had narrowly escaped with his life from the Battle of Hunhe and was promoted to General-in-Chief. When he returned to Shizhu, he stayed in Yiling for half a month, and the prosperous streets and passionate courtesans left him with unforgettable memories.

  White Jingzhou, the commander of the Yi Ling Thousand Households, had received an order to prepare boats and boatmen in Yi Ling to assist Yang Mengxuan in transporting supplies. This order made White Jingzhou anxious, as boats were not a problem - the Thousand Households had them - but boatmen were a big issue. Due to Lin Chunhong's massive expansion of the Yangtze River transportation, almost all the skilled boatmen had become his employees, and White Jingzhou couldn't find suitable boatmen anywhere. Holding the official document, White Jingzhou went to see Peng Xin, only to be rebuffed by Peng with the excuse that all the boatmen were in Baili Zhou. This made White Jingzhou even more furious - he had seen with his own eyes that the docks of Yi Ling warehouses were bustling with boats coming and going, so how could there possibly be a shortage of boatmen?

  "Damn it, I've been had! That stupid Yang Mengxuan was supposed to take care of Lin Chunhong for me!"

  Bai Jingzhou felt relieved and happy in his heart, sweeping away the depression of this period. He immediately prepared a large number of rituals and gifts, trying to shift the disaster eastward.

  Who would have thought that Yang Mengxuan obviously looked down on Cheng Yi and didn't give Bai Jingzhou any face. He glared at Bai Jingzhou, who was half-kneeling in front of him, and slammed his hand on the table, saying: "The soldiers at Yu Guan are all fighting desperately, if because of your incompetence, they can't eat or wear warm clothes for winter, what crime should you be guilty of?"

  Bai Jingzhou was so frightened that his whole body trembled, and he changed from half-kneeling to full kneeling. He bowed his head and said: "General, please calm your anger. It's just that Lin Chunhong was too arrogant, grasped all the sailors, and even used weapons to injure me, a subordinate official. I had no choice!"

  Yang Mengxuan looked down on these idle and incompetent Wei army officers, he snorted in anger and threatened: "I don't care what your reason is, if my troops can't depart within three days, you'll be the one to blame! Get out of here, stop blocking my way!"

  Bai Jingzhou didn't even know how he left, his face was pale with anger towards Lin Chunhong. He walked around in circles in his study for half a day before suddenly shouting: "Damn it! This time I'll make sure you don't die well!" After that, he immediately ordered his servants to send the high-quality Japanese sword he had treasured for a long time to Yang Mengxuan, and also took out 100 taels of silver to order his servants to book Cui Yu'er's accompaniment at Chunxiang Building. Cui Yu'er was extremely popular, and booking her required a large amount of cash in advance.

  Yang Mengxuan received the Japanese sword and couldn't bear to put it down. He smiled and accepted it, and also agreed to the request for a late-night banquet.

  Yang Mengxuan had not taken his eyes off Cui Yu'er since he saw her, completely forgetting to drink and leaving Bai Jingzhou behind. After seeing that things were settled, Bai Jingzhou found an excuse to look for other girls to have fun with, leaving Yang Mengxuan and Cui Yu'er alone in the room.

  In Yang Mengxuan's eyes, singing and dancing, playing cuju, and playing the zither were all trivial matters. The only thing that could attract him was Cui Yu'er's slender figure and beautiful face. After a few cups of wine, he hugged Cui Yu'er and spoke nonsense: "Little beauty, follow the general, eat delicious food and drink spicy wine, I guarantee you will lack nothing."

  Cui Yu'er handled such situations with ease, and in a soft voice said: "General, you have many beauties, where would you lack a little girl like me? I'm afraid that once you've had your fill of me, you'll cast me aside." After speaking, she didn't forget to remove Yang Mengxue's right hand from her shoulder.

  Cui Yuer's sweet and gentle voice was like a silver bell, making Yang Mengxuan even more infatuated. His right hand began to caress Cui Yuer's hairpin again, as he vowed: "Little fox spirit, how many men should you enthrall? How can General tolerate neglecting you?"

  After finishing, his right hand reached into Cui Yu'er's white neck and gently stroked it. Cui Yu'er acted as if nothing was wrong, slowly stood up, picked up the wine jug, filled a cup with wine, and handed it to Yang Mengxuan's mouth, saying softly: "General, drink this cup of wine, and I'll believe what you say!"

  Yang Mengxuan was overjoyed, took the wine cup, drank it in one gulp, then hugged Cui Yu'er's waist and put his mouth to her ear, saying: "How about it? Did you believe me, little beauty?"

  Cui Yu'er saw Yang Mengxuan drink wine, but he was still sober, and she secretly felt bitter. Normally, people like him would be drunk by her with various excuses, and she would have completed her task. But this guy's alcohol tolerance is amazing! Cui Yu'er collected her thoughts, grasped Yang Mengxuan's right hand with both hands, and gently stroked it to prevent him from further exploring her bosom.

  Cui Yu'er's resistance not only failed to stop Yang Mengxuan's indecent behavior, but instead stirred up his male hormones. He stood up, picked Cui Yu'er up by the waist and put her in his own arms, wanting to go further, but also couldn't help stumbling a few steps. Only then did Cui Yu'er feel at ease, turned her head around, stroked Yang Mengxuan's face with her jade-like hands, and said: "General, do you know? Mom said that I'm not allowed out the door unless it's for three thousand taels of silver!"

  "Haha, you think three thousand taels of silver can keep the little beauty? I'll take the three thousand taels to that old geezer tomorrow!"

  Cui Yuer shook her head like a rattle drum, indicating disbelief.

  Yang Mengxuan's man had his self-esteem belittled, put down Cui Yu'er and was busy swearing oaths.

  Cui Yuer shook her head as before and said: "Many men used to be like that, but the next day they were gone!" After finishing speaking, she picked up her wine glass.

  Yang Mengxuan snatched the wine cup and filled it himself, saying: "Will you believe me if I drink this cup of wine?"

  Cui Yu'er herself also held another wine cup, put it to her lips and took a sip, not saying a word, only gazing at Yang Mengxuan with a sorrowful and resentful look.

  Yang Mengxuan didn't say another word, and in one gulp, he downed the drink. Stammering, he said: "Now... you... do you believe me?" As soon as he finished speaking, his wine cup slipped from his grasp and shattered into pieces. He couldn't hold back and started vomiting violently.

  Cui Yu'er hastily stepped forward, using her own small fists to help Yang Mengxuan massage his back, and supported him as he sat down in the chair. She said softly: "The general is drunk, let's rest for a while."

  Yang Mengxuan suddenly fell asleep on the table, snoring softly. Cui Yuer shook him a few times and saw that Yang Mengxuan was really asleep, then began to tidy up the clothes and hairpins that Yang Mengxuan had messed up. She glanced at Yang Mengxuan with a slanted gaze, sighed, and muttered to herself: "Alas, when will such days come to an end?" After speaking, she went out the door. As for Yang Mengxuan, of course, there were others who served him.

  On the second day at noon, Yang Mengxuan led twenty guards to the Yi Ling warehouse with a menacing air. As soon as they arrived at the dock, they caused a commotion, and in the midst of the chaos, Yang Mengxuan drew his wooden sword from its scabbard, held it slantingly upwards, and shouted loudly: "By imperial order, all boats and boatmen are requisitioned! No one is allowed to move rashly, otherwise, they will be killed without mercy!"

  After finishing, he ordered the imperial guards to drive the boat workers ashore and gather them together. The imperial guards jumped onto the boats like monkeys, holding small flower guns and forcing each boat worker ashore. One of the boat workers saw that things were not going well, hastily untied the ropes, preparing to leave the dock. Yang Mengxuan shouted: "If anyone tries to escape, kill them on the spot!"

  As soon as the words fell, a sharp whistling sound was heard, and an arrow flew towards the boatman, hitting him right in the throat. The boatman let out a miserable cry, turned over and fell into the water, clearly unable to survive. Yang Mengxuan didn't even glance at the fallen boatman, but instead gave orders: "Take these boatmen back to camp, keep a close eye on them, leave ten men behind to guard the boats!"

  Having said that, he took a group of dejected and frightened sailors away.

  When Peng Xin received the news, he hurriedly brought thirty guards with Zhou Shiliang to see that Yang Mengxuan had already left. He ordered ten white pole soldiers to hand over their ships. The white pole soldiers didn't take the thirty or so people seriously at all. Ten men holding white poles and bows formed a triangular formation, warning Zhou Shiliang and others.

  Zhou Shiliang was furious and ordered the guards to form a phalanx and charge forward. The guards quickly formed a square formation, some holding long spears and others carrying sword shields, slowly advancing on the White Stick soldiers, creating an extremely oppressive atmosphere that made people feel an invisible pressure.

  The white rod soldiers didn't show any signs of panic, one of them waved his hand and several arrows flew towards the guard team. Although they were blocked by the knife shields, they still managed to startle the guard team, causing them to break out in a cold sweat. Zhou Shiliang immediately ordered an increase in charging speed, and the guard team accelerated their pace step by step. During this time, two people were finally hit by arrows and fell to the ground, letting out muffled groans. The formation of the guard team remained unaffected, and their speed continued to increase.

  The two teams were still about twenty steps apart, when the guy in the white rod army pressed his arm down, and the white rod army shouted in unison, accelerating towards the guard team with their white rods, the momentum of the ten-man charge was no different from that of the thirty-man guard team.

  In an instant, the white pole soldier's triangular formation arrowhead clashed with the guard's long gunner. The long gunner quickly retracted his spear and fiercely stabbed at the arrowhead. The arrowhead held tight to the white pole, using force to open up the long gun, then counterattacked with a powerful blow, causing the white pole to bend back and rebound with great force, striking the guard's long gunner in the arm. The long gunner let out a loud cry, retracted his spear, and attempted to fight again, but the arrowhead didn't give him another chance, stabbing him in the abdomen. The long gunner covered his belly and slowly fell to the ground. The two knife-shield soldiers beside him had too short of weapons and were unable to rescue him in time, so they furiously charged at the arrowhead, but the white pole soldier blocked their line of attack, using length against shortness, making the knife-shield soldiers no match for them. In the blink of an eye, blood flowed onto the battlefield.

  The white rod soldiers were the most powerful and bravest warriors in the army, growing more courageous with each battle. They pushed the vanguard guard to a state of panic. Zhou Shiliang was furious to find that his thirty-man guard could not withstand the ten white rod soldiers, who not only suffered heavy casualties but also retreated step by step under pressure from the white rod soldiers.

  Zhou Shiliang was still relatively calm and hastily ordered the guard team to retreat while fighting. The white stick soldiers saw the guard team withdraw and did not pursue, but only adjusted their formation and silently stared at the retreating guard team. When the guard team retreated far away, they turned their heads towards the dock. Zhou Shiliang was both angry and anxious, so he ordered the guard team to bring back the wounded and the dead, return to the warehouse to defend it carefully, and immediately report to Zhou Wang. This battle injured eight brothers, and three more brothers died in battle, leaving Zhou Shiliang with a mouthful of pent-up anger that could not be vented.

  Zhijiang County Town Warehouse.

  Lin Chunhong was watching the workers busy building a warehouse, this warehouse scale is comparable to Jingzhou and Yiling warehouse, according to Lin Chunhong's idea, Zhijiang's warehouse will develop in the direction of large-scale transactions of cotton, cloth and grain. Zhijiang is a good place, located between Yiling and Jingzhou, and also connected to Dangyang in the north, and separated from Gong'an County by the BaLi Zhou River in the south, both water and land transportation are relatively convenient.

  Under the gaze of the big boss, the workers were in high spirits, one by one the wooden pillars were erected, truckloads of earth and stones were poured onto the roadbed, even the rhythmic shouts of the ramming men echoed loudly, shaking the sky.

  Using three-sheng soil to repair the road is also too luxurious, sand and loess are easy to solve, they are everywhere, but burning lime is a big expense. Lin Chunhong was preparing to use three-sheng soil on the roads in the warehouse, for this purpose, he even set up a lime kiln at Geheyan to burn lime. However, after calculating the cost, using three-sheng soil to repair the road is still cheaper than paving with green bricks. Those green bricks are suitable for people to walk on, but not suitable for heavy vehicles, and they will shatter in just a few days.

  The construction of the warehouse received unanimous support from Bao Zhetong and Tan Jixi, as Lin Chunhong promised that they had priority subscription rights. Some wealthy households also lingered around the warehouse every day, asking when the warehouse would open for subscription, hoping to get a priority right.

  When the construction of Zhijiang warehouse was in full swing, Lin Chunhong received a report from Zhou Feng. It turned out that Cui Yuer told Zhou Feng that Bai Jingzhou had recently been preparing to forcibly requisition ships and sailors in Yiling with a guerrilla general.

  Lin Chunhong had just finished reading Zhou Feng's letter when he saw Zhou Wang hastily rushing over. As soon as he saw Lin Chunhong, he said: "Yang Mengxuan's guerrilla troops seized the boats and sailors of Yiling, and killed four guards." After finishing speaking, he handed a document to Lin Chunhong.

  Lin Chunhong was shocked, took over the document and looked at it carefully, his anger brewing in his chest. Just as he was looking at it, Zhang Zhao also rushed over from Yidu to report on the same matter. Lin Chunhong's anger grew, he punched the table hard, the teacups on the table rattling loudly. He gritted his teeth and said: "The White Stick soldiers are too arrogant!"

  "We can't just let Yang Mengxuan off like this, he's a scoundrel!" Zhang Zhao said word by word.

  "What can we do to him? Five hundred white rod soldiers, we can't beat them no matter what, and they have official documents in their hands, occupying the reason. If things go wrong, we'll be doomed!" Zhou Wang analyzed calmly.

  "It's easy for him to do it, didn't they rob the boat? On land we can't do anything about it, but once on water, he'll definitely end up in the water feeding the turtles!" Zhang Zhao still showed his true colors as a water bandit, fully considering his own advantages.

  Zhou Wang said: "This won't do, this won't do. Yang Mengxuan is a court-appointed commander, and behind him stands Qin Zhongguo; the consequences will be difficult to deal with."

  ……

  Lin Chunhong was stunned, allowing Zhou Wang and Zhang Zhao to argue. He had long heard of the great reputation of Bai Ganbing, but he did not expect that Bai Ganbing's first killing move in Yiling would land on his head. It is not difficult to get rid of Yang Moxuan, what reaction will the court have? What reaction will Qin Zhongguo have? But allowing Yang Moxuan and Bai Jingzhou to bully him like this, this tone is hard to swallow! This will severely damage the reputation of the Lin Group and bring unfavorable influences to future business.

  Immediately afterwards, Peng Xin reported in writing that Yang Mengxuan not only robbed the boat but also looted all the goods on it.

  Zhou Wang and Zhang Zuo thought Lin Chunhong would be even more furious, but unexpectedly Lin Chunhong let out a long sigh and said: "Yang Mengxuan robbed the goods, this lawsuit can be taken to Chongzhen Laoer's place without fear, Zhang Zuo, plan carefully, we will vent our anger on the Yangtze River!"

  Having set the tone, the three men entered a private room to discuss how to settle this matter. It can be determined that there will be wind and clouds rising on the Yangtze River. To know what happens next, please listen to the next episode.