Chapter 26: Sounding the Alarm Bell

  The knight turned over and dismounted by the beach, rushing straight to Yang Bo. Yang Bo recognized that this was a military household who followed Xiao Moqiu to Andongwei.

  "Something's happened......" Yang Bo signaled silently and the team continued training as usual while walking past.

  "Sir," the soldier gasped for a few breaths, "Xiao Sir received news in Andong Wei today and had me rush back to inform you immediately."

  "Good job!"

  Yang Bo patted his shoulder and took another look at the sturdy horse: "Let's talk while we walk."

  "Yesterday, Lord Xiao went to the Pacification Office, but unexpectedly met General Yao, who was chatting and laughing with Pacification Officer Wang Da-kui. Lord Xiao feared that General Yao might be unfavorable to him, so he had me rush back on horseback."

  Yang Bo furrowed his brow upon hearing this. The other day, he had sent Yao Zongqi to Andongwei and waited for several days, but there was no news of the punishment document arriving. Yang Bo knew that something was amiss. Things in official circles were like this - a swift knife could cut through tangled hemp, leaving no lingering problems, but once things dragged on, there would definitely be repercussions.

  This is also helpless, Yang Bo came to this place with no foundation at all. The geographical location of Andong Weicheng is relatively important, and the Pacification Commission has always set up two fifth-grade pacifiers. Yang Bo had dealt with one, but unexpectedly, this Wang Da Kui made trouble.

  "Xiao Daren then paid his respects to Liu Daren, who didn't say much, only reminding him to get along well with General Yao after he left..." Jun Han continued.

  "Get along well?" Yang Bo's head buzzed, it seemed that the powerful person behind General Yao had made a move, this was to stuff General Yao's flag back and annoy him!

  Lenovo's previous few days Yao Debiao whole family ran away thing, Yang Bo felt a huge conspiracy is looming

  "Mr. Xiao said that this matter must have a hidden plot." Jun Han was busy petting the horses and only remembered Xiao Moqiu's reminder at last.

  "How much silver did it take to buy this horse?" Yang Bo was barefoot and didn't care about wearing shoes, couldn't think of a good solution, so he simply stopped thinking.

  "At one time in a hurry, Mr. Xiao spent more than 30 taels of silver to buy it." The military officer seemed to love this horse very much and kept stroking its back.

  "Thirty taels? Thirty is still too much?" Yang Bo widened his eyes, this Xiao Mo Yu was also a good-for-nothing "Damn it, the car can be bought, but I'm not raising him!"

  Want to raise a horse, need to match coarse feed, and also need someone to train specially. If Yang Bo's hand shakes, he will be worried. Fortunately, this soldier not only knows how to ride a horse but also takes care of it. Yang Bo quickly let him lead the horse away, and the cost of the feed was naturally borne by himself...

  Anyway, the days have to pass, Yang Bo came to the workshop, here are several large sheds temporarily built, those carpenters all gathered here, discussing according to the waterwheel sketch drawn by Yang Bo. Originally these workers suggested using ordinary carts would be enough, but Yang Bo vetoed their suggestion, later many salt pans had to be built on the slope, without a big bucket car it would definitely not work, however these workers were not familiar with the method of making bucket cars, Yang Bo spent several nights, finally drawing out papers that people could understand.

  The bottom of the waterwheel is made of sharpened wooden beams, which will stand upright on the sea at the right time. The wheel hub comes into contact with the sea surface and uses waves or storms to operate. The salt pans do not require a constant supply of fresh water. If a large amount of seawater needs to be injected, it can also be solved by using animal power to drive the turntable. The axle is made of a good hardwood, which cost a few more taels of silver. As for other stone grooves, installation and wood materials, no cost is required.

  Yang Bo saw the craftsman working diligently and was overjoyed. He walked back to the neighboring blacksmith, Liu Lao Lu, who immediately scowled upon seeing Yang Bo, having been caught slacking off and bragging.

  Yang Bo was too lazy to bother with him, his family members were already on the road, Xiao Mo had hired a cattle cart for them and given Liu Dama five taels of silver as a settlement fee. It's estimated that they will set off early tomorrow morning and be reunited as a family by evening.

  Liu old donkey led three military households to work on ironwork, according to his words, wanting to hammer wrought iron into iron pipes would take a very long time of water mill work, at least three months!

  Yang Bo knew he was intentionally slacking off and didn't expose him.

  The Great Ming had too many firearms, Yang Bo chose the bird gun with relatively larger power among these numerous and dazzling firearms. He knew that in later generations, there were still many remote places where this kind of weapon was used for hunting, his requirements were not high, as long as he could shoot a hundred meters, of course, from the current level, the bird gun made would definitely not work.

  As for subsequent improvements, he needs to have a sample first.

  "It's urgent but can't be rushed......" Yang Bo sighed, turned around and was about to leave, when suddenly a loud gong sound came from the direction of the sea-view room!

  Right!

  Yang Bo's face changed color, and he hurriedly ran towards the sea-view room...

  Soon, the sound of gongs also echoed in the village. Yang Bo rushed to the edge of the mound, panting, and several children were already waving at him.

  Yang Bo saw that these little kids would only go wild during the day, so he let them take on the responsibility of guarding the military fort, without pay. However, if they were caught slacking off by Yang Bo's arranged patrol personnel, they would have to forfeit their silver coins. As a result, these children sat in the fort every day reading books and occasionally glancing out at the sea. Now, the sound of alarm bells rang out, presumably because something unusual had been discovered on the sea surface.

  "Adult, adult"

  That guy called Big Cow has a loud voice: "Quickly come up and see, Er Ya has found a boat"

  Yang Bo climbed up the military fort, gazing out at the distant sea surface. On the blue vast ocean, there was a vague black shadow floating alone on the water's surface. Yang Bo's eyes were blurred, and it seemed that the black shadow had not moved from its original position.

  "Are you two coming to our place?" Yang Bo's eyesight wasn't very good, and the sea route near Majiatun was not the main one. There were rarely any Dengzhou naval ships or merchant ships passing by, most of what could be seen were some tattered small fishing boats, or... pirates!

  "Of course, I've been staring at it for a long time."

  The two men replied in unison, "This boat is huge, it's definitely not one of those small wooden boats or fishing boats."

  "This should be Sha Zhou" A voice suddenly sounded beside Yang Bo, startling him. Yang Bo turned his head and saw Han Xiao'er panting beside him.

  "Sand boat, is it a fishing boat?" Yang Bo didn't quite understand

  Han Yuer shook his head "Judging from the ship's shape, it should be..." Seeing Yang Bo's puzzled expression, he explained: "Most of the ships along the Shandong coast are Fuzhou ships. This type of sand boat is not very common. I heard that there are many in the Yangtze River estuary area. The ship is not big and should be a three-masted sand boat. The hull is low and flat, making it less likely to run aground on sandy shoals, hence its name 'sand boat'. Because of its shallow draft, it's also not afraid of wind and waves on the sea surface, and its speed is faster than that of Fuzhou ships..."

  Yang Bo widened his eyes, but all he saw was still a black shadow. He was very curious how Han Xiao could see the sails clearly. Had he himself suffered from some aftereffect of staring at computers too much in his previous life?

  "Sir, I'm afraid we need to make some preparations..." Han Yuer said slowly after a moment of silence.

  "Is it really pirates?!" Yang Bo's head buzzed with a sudden noise