Delta wing

  Liu Ziguang and his group rushed over to ask, and it turned out that not long after they left, several masked men on horseback came running and threw a few torches onto the thatched hut. Afraid that the grass house would not be easy to ignite after the rain, they even poured a bucket of oil. The small boat by the lake was also sunk. The mother and daughter desperately tried to stop them, but they were no match for several strong men. After the masked men left, they went to fetch water from the lake to put out the fire, but it was completely useless. They could only watch as their home was burned to ashes. The neighbors had all gone out to work, and by the time everyone saw the flames and rushed over, it was too late.

  It must be the evil slave of the Ma family who did it. Everyone is outraged, but now that the arsonist has escaped, even if they were caught and punished severely, it would be pointless. The priority now is to take care of the mother and daughter. Liu Ziguang handed over 200 taels of silver to Zeng Cheng, and after declining for half a day, the desperate mother and daughter finally accepted it. As night had already fallen, everyone didn't have the mood to stay for dinner, so they distributed the rice and other goods to nearby fishing families, comforted Zeng's mother and daughter with a few words, and bid farewell. The Zeng family mother and daughter could only temporarily spend the night on a small boat at their neighbor's house, and wait until the next day to make further plans.

  Liu Ziguang and his group left in a huff. If it weren't for the fixed time to rush to the capital, they would have liked to run to Huaiyin County to find Ma's family and get an explanation. Of course, in Liu Ziguang's dictionary, getting an explanation meant setting fire to Ma's house and burning it to ashes, only then would they be even.

  When I come back, I'll go to Huaiyin County and visit your Ma family again. Liu Ziguang thought viciously. There are too many injustices in this world, as long as I see them and can do something about it, I will definitely seek justice.

  Everyone returned to the boat, hastily ate dinner and went to bed, a silent night.

  The next day, the ship set off early, adding coal to its boiler, and steamed past the prosperous city of Yangzhou without stopping. It sailed upstream along the Yangtze River towards the capital, Beijing. The passengers stood at the ship's rail, gazing out at the vast expanse of the river, their emotions stirred by memories of the past. In those days, the Qing army had marched into the heartland like a hot knife through butter, all the way to the Yangtze River, where they were finally halted by the armies of the southern provinces that had come to rescue the emperor. Taking advantage of the enemy's lack of familiarity with water warfare, the Qing forces launched a surprise attack on the rebels while they were still crossing the river, inflicting a crushing defeat. The rebels then counterattacked and marched north, recovering much of the lost territory in northern Jiangsu province. However, due to internal power struggles and court intrigues, the northern campaign stalled in Shandong province, with both sides engaging in a series of battles that went back and forth, causing frequent wars and unrest in the central plains region, leaving the people destitute. It was during this chaotic period that Tiechang Ironworks rose to prominence, thanks to the cleverness of its old owner and the bravery of his brothers, who became powerful figures in their own right amidst the turmoil.

  The ship sailed along the Yangtze River and was preparing to enter Nanjing from the Water West Gate.

  Walking to the north of Nanjing, near the riverbank, the captain called Liu Ziguang out to see the scenery. On the south bank of the Yangtze River, there is a famous Swallow Rock on the precipice of Zhongshan Mountain. The rock face is steep and overhanging on three sides - north, northeast, and northwest - with only the south side connected to the riverbank. Because the peak rises abruptly above the river, with three sides facing the air, it appears like a swallow spreading its wings about to fly, hence the name. Zhongshan Mountain is twenty zhang high, connecting to the riverbank in the south, while the other three sides are surrounded by water, making the terrain extremely treacherous. Swallow Rock controls the Yangtze River, with a perilous terrain, and turbulent waves crashing against the rock below, making it an important crossing point of the Yangtze River and a strategic military location. It is known to people as the first rock of the ten-thousand-li-long Yangtze River.

  Perched on the mountain, Swallow Rock is the best place to enjoy the scenery of the Yangtze River. Climbing to the top of the rock, looking at the rolling river, vast and majestic, with waves glistening in the sunlight, and sails dotting the horizon. The boatman, pretending to be elegant, explained to Liu Ziguang that after the founding emperor settled in Nanjing, he had once visited Swallow Rock incognito and left a poem: "Swallow Rock is like a giant dipper, with the rainbow as its handle; the curved moon at the horizon is like a hook. How many pounds of mountains and rivers can I weigh?" The rainbow serves as the handle, the curved moon as the hook, and Swallow Rock as the dipper, wanting to weigh the world - what an extraordinary spirit! It's no wonder that it was our founding emperor who opened up this country. Later, scholars and poets from all over came to Swallow Rock to recite poems and compose couplets. It can be said that it is one of the most popular places for scholars in Nanjing to visit.

  Liu Ziguang nodded, and out of the corner of his eye saw that the Peng sisters had also come out to enjoy the view. He racked his brains trying to recall a poem about the Yangtze River, but unfortunately Su Dongpo's "Recalling Antiquity at Red Cliff" was all that came to mind, and for a while he couldn't think of any other famous lines, which was a pity given the scenery.

  However, Liu Ziguang, with his sharp eyes, soon discovered something interesting. He pointed to the top of Swallow Rock and asked the captain, "Do famous scholars still need to carry a large kite when reciting poetry?" Everyone followed his direction and looked over, and indeed saw several figures on the rock, one of whom was carrying a huge triangular kite. Several people stood there as if observing something, then the triangular kite retreated a few steps and disappeared from view.

  、

  "What are they doing?" Peng Jingwei pulled her sister's sleeve and asked, but this time even the knowledgeable Peng Jingrong was a bit bewildered, could it be...

  "Fly man." Liu Ziguang and Peng Jingrong said this word together, as soon as the words fell, a figure suddenly rushed out from Yanzi Rock, suspended under a large triangular kite, heading straight for the Yangtze River. The big kite flew out of Yanzi Rock, swirling in the air, with someone below shouting happily, causing all the boatmen on the Yangtze River to look at him.

  Motionless triangular wings, I didn't expect the physical education of the Ming people to be so advanced. Liu Ziguang was shocked, and everyone on the ship was even more shocked. People could actually fly like birds, which really overturned all their previous notions. Everyone stared at the big kite, and there were cheers on the river surface. The captain sent someone to quickly bring over a few binoculars for Liu Ziguang and his companions to use.

  Through the telescope, it can be seen that the large kite is made of a dense fabric material, and the frame is made of an unknown material. Several straight lines fix the entire kite in place. The person below has their hands and feet on the frame, wearing tight-fitting clothing, with a glass eye mask on their face. There are several ropes beside the person, occasionally pulling one, seemingly controlling the flight direction. Very professional! I wonder if there's any for sale in the capital city, must get one to play with. This thing is a high-end club toy in the 21st century, expensive, ordinary people can't afford it. Liu Ziguang thought while looking.

  The kite flew over the boat of Liu Ziguang and others, and the flying man was still waving at them with a smile. Peng Jingwei jumped happily in response, shouting: "It's fun, I want to play too."

  Suddenly a gust of wind blew, and the big kite in the sky turned over several times. One wing was blown off by the wind, seemingly out of control, starting to spin wildly. The flying man also became busy and flustered, finally falling into the river amidst the cries of surprise from the crowd on the shore. The kite had no buoyancy and sank after a few bobs on the water surface. The flying man also disappeared in the river.

  Liu Ziguang and their boat were closest to the kite that had fallen into the water. Liu Ziguang shouted loudly, "Quickly dive in and rescue people!" Several sailors on the boat who knew how to swim jumped into the river without even taking off their clothes. Peng Jingwei also shouted, "Don't forget to pull the kite up too!"

  The steamship made an emergency stop, dropped a small boat, and the sailors occasionally floated to the surface to breathe before diving down again. Finally, after everyone on board waited anxiously, they fished out the kite flyer from the water, pulled him into the small boat, and then sent him up to the deck of the large ship. The sailors continued to salvage the big kite.

  The flying man had been submerged in the river for some time, his belly was swollen, and it seemed he had swallowed a lot of water. The captain personally came to rescue him. First, he checked the flying man's mouth and nose to see if there was any mud or debris, then the captain knelt down with one leg bent, placed the flying man's abdomen on his thigh, held the flying man's head with one hand, turned his mouth downward, and pressed his back with the other hand, forcing out the river water from the flying man's belly.

  The water in his belly was squeezed out, but the flying man was still unconscious. The captain checked his breath and shook his head, saying: "He's gone."

  Just now still jumping around, the flying man who was circling in the sky actually drowned to death, it's really a pity. Such a person can't die easily, Liu Ziguang is very unwilling, no breath can do artificial respiration! In short, we must think of ways to save people.

  He beckoned a tall and sturdy groom over, this guy was tall and strong, a westerner, loyal and brave, but most importantly, he had big lungs.

  "You, pinch his nose, support his chin, mouth to mouth resuscitation, blow a breath, release the nose for a moment, I'll help you press his chest." Liu Ziguang ordered Ma Bing.

  Ma Bian executed the order without hesitation, let alone mouth-to-mouth to a man, even blowing air to an old sow, as long as it was General Liu's command, he would absolutely execute it. No ambiguity!

  Put the flying man in a supine position on his back, Ma Bi knelt beside him, pinching the flying man's nose and supporting his chin, took a deep breath, then puckered up his stinky mouth that had never been brushed, and blew air into his mouth. After blowing one breath, he moved his mouth away and released his hand from pinching the nose. Liu Ziguang pressed the flying man's chest on the other side to help him breathe out. According to Liu Ziguang's command, they shouted "one, two, three" every time they did it once, maintaining a frequency of once every three seconds. They repeated this regularly for several minutes, then accelerated their speed, and finally discovered with surprise that the flying man was breathing.

  The surrounding sailors had never seen such a rescue method, and they were amazed. Liu Ziguang saw that the flying man was soaked all over, his body temperature very low, so he ordered people to send him into the cabin, take off his wet clothes, cover him with a quilt, and have the kitchen make some ginger soup for him to drink.

  The flying man was breathing but still unconscious and was carried away by the sailors.

  At this time, the big kite was also salvaged, and everyone's attention turned to it. The frame of the kite was made of fine steel bars and tough bamboo, with the main part being made of extremely dense silk. Thin steel wires were twisted into a rope, one end fixed on a central rod-like thing on the kite, and the other end fixed at various points on the kite, pulling the entire kite tight to form a solid whole. Below were two bamboo frames, the front serving as a handle and control bar, and the back for footrests. However, the overall structure was still unable to withstand the turbulent airflow, so one side was broken off by strong winds.

  What a wonderful idea! Everyone exclaimed in surprise, stroking the large kite with a pious heart. "We can draw it and replicate it when we get back." Peng Jingrong said, apparently the eldest sister also didn't have the concept of intellectual property rights, but this was indeed a good method, after all, the eldest sister was the best at drawing, so Peng Jingwei immediately ordered Yuhuan Qiu Xiang to bring charcoal pen and paper.

  Qiu Xiang responded and went down to the cabin. A sailor came out of the cabin at this time and reported to Liu Ziguang: "General, the person who fell into the water has woken up. Let me go invite the benefactor who saved his life to see him."

  No way, I saved his life and he doesn't even come to see me, instead he makes me disembark to meet him. Who does this flying man think he is? Liu Ziguang thought in surprise.

  A huge airship with many triangular wings hanging underneath. At the sound of an order, countless parachutists descend from the sky, isn't it very cool?