The ace special forces who dominated the Sui dynasty's late period

  Before Liu Ziqing could respond, Changsun Wuji muttered to himself: "Fourteen or fifteen laborers died for every zhang of the canal, and dead bodies were transported in carts, lining the roads. The Tongjiqu Canal was built with human lives!"

  Zhang San was busy at the stern, Guanyin and the maids were still in the cabin, and only Liu Ziqiu could hear this. However, Gao Jiong, He Ruoye and others had just been executed for the crime of "slander against the imperial court", he dared to make a big fuss here, and indeed lived up to his name "Wu Ji".

  Liu Ziqiu was moved by the boldness of his grandson, Liu Zhongyuan, and admired that he could care about state affairs at such a young age. He couldn't help but ask: "May I ask, sir, if there were no Tongji Canal and Hangou, how many days would it take to travel from Jiangdu to Luoyang?"

  Chang Sun Wuji did not expect Liu Ziqiu to take his words, and was momentarily stunned. He then said: "If there were no fast horses, it would be more than a month."

  Liu Ziqiu slightly adjusted the direction of the boat and said, "At our current speed, can we reach Luoyang within ten days?"

  Chang Sun Wuji pondered for a moment: "When I came, I traveled for nine days. However..."

  "The speed of the journey is secondary." Liu Ziqiu retracted his long pole and continued, "The transportation of goods saves time and effort, and the cost of water transport is not even two-tenths of that of horse-drawn carriages. The court can save a large sum of silver every year just by transporting taxes, grain rations, and salt. The people and merchants can also benefit from it."

  Chang Sun Wuji thought for a moment, then suddenly nodded and said: "It also makes some sense. It seems that these common people are still dying in vain."

  But Liu Ziqiu shook his head and said, "It's not entirely true. Everything can't be seen from one side. Look, the imperial court is like a boat, and the people are like water. Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it. Repairing the canal is a good thing, but if it excessively drains the people's strength, it will have the opposite effect."

  Chang Sun Wuji had always regarded Liu Ziqiu as a martial artist with extraordinary skills, but he didn't expect him to say such things. He couldn't help but look at him in a new light and hastily cupped his hands, saying: "May I ask your esteemed surname and given name?"

  When leaving Jiangdu, Liu Ziqiu saved Guanyin. Although Zhangsun Wuji was grateful in his heart, he only planned to give him more rewards when the time came, and didn't take him seriously at all, not even asking for his name.

  Unlike when facing Yuan Tiangao, Liu Ziqiu was still very willing to make friends with this famous minister in history, and hurriedly leaned the bamboo pole on his shoulder, returning the courtesy: "I dare not, I am Liu Ziqiu!"

  "The fall of a single leaf can tell that it is autumn." Duke Zong nodded and said, "Good name! Brother, you are indeed an extraordinary person."

  Liu Ziqiu smiled and said: "What kind of name would a country person take? Because he was the eldest son in the family, and was born in autumn, so he was called Ziqiu."

  At this point, Liu Ziqiu couldn't help but think of his parents and family. Since the day he enlisted at the age of 17, he had been training and executing missions without ever returning home once. Now that he was here, the hope of going back home seemed even more remote.

  Liu Ziqiu suddenly felt a little heartbroken, and looked up towards the front. In front of him, a passenger ship was about to turn, and a handsome young man stood at the stern with his hands behind his back, gazing in this direction.

  Only Zhang San was heard shouting at the stern of the boat: "Big cow, row quickly!"

  The water flow in this area is very slow, with many bends, making it difficult to sail. Large ships have to rely on towing, while small boats rely entirely on poles and oars. Just now, Liu Ziqiu was talking and forgot to pole, so the boat slowed down.

  Liu Ziqiu's long pole poked rapidly, the boat turned a bend, and it was now farther away from the boat in front.

  Suddenly, a crisp bell rang out, and a large net emerged from the water's surface, blocking their path. The boat couldn't stop its momentum and crashed straight into the net.

  The bow of the boat rose high, and Zhangsun Wuji fell to the deck with a "slap". If it weren't for Liu Ziqiu's quick reaction in stretching out his pole to block him, he would have slid straight into the river. The cabin was filled with the shrill cries of Guanyin and the maidservants.

  The handsome young man on the boat was anxious all over his face, with his mouth wide open, shouting something.

  This handsome young man was none other than Gao Xiuer in disguise. Since practicing the two internal skills of opening and closing his eyes and looking left and right, Gao Xiuer's eyesight had greatly increased, and he had already seen Liu Ziqiu talking to Zhangsun Wuji at the bow of the boat.

  Gao Xian was a high-ranking official, and his family had many talented individuals, including masters of disguise. Gao Xiuer was clever from a young age and quickly grasped things. Her disguising skills were so good that even Liu Ziqiu, who came from a special forces background, didn't suspect anything until they had been together for a month. For her, dressing up as a man was child's play, and Liu Ziqiu was far away, how could he possibly recognize her?

  Gao Xiuer saw Liu Ziqiu's sedan chair being attacked, and hastily called out to the boatmen to come and rescue them. The boatmen saw that things were not going well, and how could they be willing to listen? The little boat was rowed even faster, and flew away like a bird.

  On this side of the boat, Zhang San shouted loudly at the back of the boat: "Beware of thieves! Retreat quickly!"

  "Ding ding dang" a loud noise, another big net blocked their way from behind, they had no way to retreat.

  On the east bank, someone shouted from an unknown location: "You people on that boat, listen! Come ashore quickly!"

  On the boat, there was a flurry of panic, but Liu Ziqiu remained exceptionally calm. He cupped his hands and bowed towards the shore, saying: "I am Yu Hang Niu Da, paying respects to Brother Sān!"

  Liu Ziqiu didn't know what Duan Ergou looked like, but he had read the Romance of Sui and Tang and knew that Duan Xiongxin was the leader of the thirteen provinces' green forest heroes, a chivalrous man. Liu Ziqiu thought to try to get close to him, hoping the other side would give him some face.

  "What's with 'Single Second Brother' and 'Single Big Brother'? I don't know any of them!" The man on the shore sneered, "Quickly send over the woman and your valuables, and I'll let you pass!"

  No need to give face, but this tone clearly didn't put Shanhe in his eyes, could it be that the records of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms are false?

  "Not good!" Liu Ziqiu was in a daze, suddenly saw a string of bubbles emerging from the water surface, and hastily shouted out loud, took a leap, and jumped into the water.

  At this time, Guanyin had already crawled out of the cabin and walked to Changsun Wuji's side, saying: "Brother, I'm scared."

  Chang Sun Wuji suppressed the fear in his heart, forcing himself to calm down, and said: "It's okay, the official soldiers patrolling the canal will arrive soon."

  Guanyin suddenly pointed to one side of the small boat: "Brother, look quickly!"

  Only a patch of bloody foam appeared on the left side of the water, slowly spreading with the waves, and blooming into a magnificent red flower.

  Chang Sun Wuji hastily covered Guanyin's eyes: "Little sister, go into the cabin."

  Guanyin's maid said stubbornly: "I won't go!"

  "Ah!" Zhang San also let out a cry of surprise. In the stern of the boat, more bloodstained water rose up again.

  "Whoosh", the ship's right side splashed with water, Liu Ziqiu was covered in blood, poked his head out, waving a few things that looked like short swords in his hand, and shouted towards the shore: "Good fellow, thanks! I just happened to be short of handy tools!"

  The shore transmitted a few whistling sounds, and then there was no more movement. Liu Ziqiu strove to move forward, the thing in his hand waving continuously, cutting off the rope. With a "whooshing" sound, the fishing net sank into the water, the surface of the water returned to calmness again, and the blood color around it gradually faded away.

  "Big Brother Niu, you've lost again this time." Zhang San wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, "But why didn't they stop the ship in front?"

  Liu Ziqiu looked up and saw that the boat in front had already disappeared, and couldn't help but shake his head, saying: "I'm afraid it's your flag that caused the trouble."

  Zhang San spat and stretched out his hand to pull down the small flag with the words "Long Sun" written on it, throwing it into the cabin.

  The civilian ship's identity was restored, and the journey was indeed smooth. After a few more days, the small boat turned southwest and entered the Luo River. In the late afternoon, it finally arrived at the east of Luoyang City.

  On the dock, a sharp-eyed house slave had already spotted Zhangsun Wuji standing at the bow of the boat, waving his hand and shouting desperately: "Young master, young miss, over here, over here..."

  "We'll meet again!" Zhangsun Wuji nodded his head, didn't say another word, turned around and left, but Liu Ziqiu's name had already been firmly remembered by him.

  Guanyin carefully stepped onto the gangway with the support of the maid, and before disembarking, she turned back to wave her hand and said: "Big brother, remember the rubber ball you promised me."

  On the riverbank, Long Sun and his sister boarded a luxurious carriage, surrounded by a crowd of servants and maidservants, and left in a cloud of dust.

  "Ptui!" Zhang San spat in the direction of the distant Long Sun siblings, "Big Cow brother, what kind of people are these? You saved them twice and they didn't even give you a penny as a reward. The richer they get, the stingier they become!"

  Actually, Zhangsun Wuji already felt that Liu Ziqiu was not an ordinary person. Great kindness doesn't need to be thanked, and giving him money would be too common. However, when settling the boat fare earlier, he still gave Zhang thirty taels of silver more. This matter Zhang naturally wouldn't tell Liu Ziqiu.

  Liu Ziqiu knew that Zhangsun Wuji was not a petty person, and when he saved people, he didn't think about asking for compensation. He said calmly: "Zhang San, the guest took your boat, you naturally have to be responsible for the guest's safety. It's just doing one's duty, what compensation do you want?"

  Zhang San was speechless for a moment, but he didn't give up and said: "Big Brother Niu, if you don't have anywhere to go, why not follow me and keep working on the boat?"

  Running this waterway is lucrative, but danger lurks everywhere. If there's someone as formidable as Liu Ziqiu and familiar with a "Second Brother" type of helper, the benefits are self-evident. However, he never thought that such a powerful figure would be willing to serve as his deputy.

  Liu Ziqiu lightly tapped his right foot, picked up a long package from the bow of the boat, cupped his fists and said: "Thank you, Brother Zhang San, for your kindness. I still have to go to Luoyang City to find someone, so I'll take my leave!"

  What was hidden in the bundle were the spoils of war he had obtained from Tongji Canal, which was the exclusive weapon of the water bandits, and later evolved into Emei daggers. Liu Ziqing took a total of three, one of which was given to Changsun Wuji, and the other two he carried with him, planning to find some time to slightly modify them as a sharp tool for killing people in self-defense.

  Dongdu Luoyang is a great city, with an area of over 100 square miles and a population of over one million. The Luo River runs through the city from west to east, dividing it into two districts: south and north. The entire city of Luoyang consists of three parts: the palace city, the imperial city, and the outer city. The palace city is where the palaces are located, while the imperial city is where the government offices are situated. The outer city covers the largest area, with private residences for officials and common people's homes, crisscrossed by ten major streets that divide the entire city into 103 neighborhoods and three market districts: Fengdu, Datong, and Tongyuan. On the northeast side of the palace city stands the Hanguo City, which has over 400 granaries inside. To the west lies the Shanglin Western Garden, where a canal is built to divert water from the Luo River, forming a lake with three islands: Penglai, Fangzhang, and Yingzhou. Surrounding the canal are sixteen courtyards, each with a gate facing the canal, halls, pavilions, and towers that epitomize grandeur. The prosperity of Luoyang city is unparalleled in the world at that time.

  Liu Ziqiu stood outside the east gate of Luoyang, looking at this majestic city, but he was at a loss. Finding someone here would be like finding a needle in a haystack.