Chapter 252 Chapter 12 Flywheel Fighting Ship

When Xu Ziling returned to Luzhu Hall, he greeted him happily and said, "Master Luo and Brother Xiliang are talking in the inner hall, you." Xu Ziling patted him on the shoulder and said in a low voice, "I need to talk to Qifei first, and I'll see them later." Xing Rong hurriedly led the way. After Xu Ziling saw Luo Qifei, he went to the inner hall to meet Luo Feng and Gui Xiliang, before he sat down, Luo Feng said cheerfully, "So it's you, Ziling, so I don't worry." Xu Ziling was stunned and embarrassed. He didn't understand why Gui Xiliang believed in Luo Feng so much. Gui Xiliang explained: "Uncle Feng has always taken care of me and Xiaorong the most. You can hide it from anyone, but you must never hide it from him." Luo Feng said: "Li Zitong What do you have to say?"

Xu Ziling came back to his senses and said with a smile: "Of course it's a grand and touching speech. The two sides formed an alliance to resist the enemy. But we were also prepared to cooperate with him, so we hit it off right away." Luo Feng frowned and said, "Li Zitong is not a man of his word, Ziling, you have to be careful." Xing Rong said: "Then waiting is like seeking skin from a tiger." Xu Ziling didn't dare to miss too much, and said in a low voice: "We are also prepared for this. Don't worry." Luo Feng frowned and said, "Ziling, come and tell me why Kou Zhong boasted that Xiliang could defeat Du Chen's coalition forces, and now he is making a big fuss about Shao Lingzhou and teaching Xiliang how to step down?"

Xu Ziling was a little relieved, knowing that Gui Xiliang did not come up with a comprehensive plan, nodded and said: "That's why I came to understand the situation, maybe I need Uncle Feng's great help." Luo Feng was stunned for a long time, then sighed: "The current gang struggle has become a struggle between Li Zitong and Kou Zhong, Shao Lingzhou really made a mistake today." Xu Ziling was puzzled, "Does he want to be the leader of the clan?" Xing Rong snorted coldly: "Of course it's nothing to worry about. The problem is that Xiao Zhong and you have established a high prestige in the gang, and with the backing of the Song Clan, he dare not act rashly for fear of offending you and the Song Clan." Fight back. Until now, with Li Zitong as a big backer, he can be proud."

Xu Ziling asked: "Which side is Hall Master Shen on?" Luo Feng showed a strange look, and said slowly: "If he hadn't nodded, why would I sit here and listen to you talking, worrying about you?" The three of them were stunned. Luo Feng sighed: "In fact, this is a dispute between the young faction and the elder faction. Originally, the young faction was not an opponent at all, but because of the support of you, Kou Zhong and Ziling, the whole situation has been reversed. Except for Shao Lingzhou's direct descendants, all the younger generation Yi Xiliang and Xiao Rong are leading the way, because you represent a new and enterprising force with lofty goals. After seeing this, Mr. Shen and I were even more afraid that the Bamboo Flower Gang would be torn apart, so we split up and tried to calm down the fighting. Alas! Shao Lingzhou actually voted for Li Zitong, which made things worse to the point of no return, what should we do in the future? I am afraid no one will know."

After a pause, he continued: "Shao Lingzhou's worst step was to praise the arrogant and arrogant Mai Yunfei as the head of the hall, which made me and Mr. Shen feel that he not only likes to use private individuals, but also is short-sighted and doesn't understand the direction of people's hearts." Taking over the booth, he said, "Do you understand now?" Gui Xiliang said with difficulty breathing: "So that's how it is." Xu Ziling nodded and said: "The matter has indeed reached an irreparable situation. Currently Shao Lingzhou is completely on the side of Li Zitong. We can only continue to deal with each other until the other side collapses."

Luo Fengdao: "I shouldn't stay here for too long, if there is any new news, please let me know immediately." After Luo Feng left, the three of you looked at me, and all of them felt emotions that they didn't know where to start. Finally, Xing Rong got up and said: "The more I think about these things, the more annoying I get. How about we relive our childhood dreams and go out for a night walk outside, so that we don't get drunk?" As night falls, the lights are first released, and the colorful lights of Dananmen Street complement each other. The day market ends and the night market continues. It really feels like day and night.In addition, the famous Satin Street and other alleys intersect with it, and restaurants and pavilions are densely distributed. It is worthy of being called the world's fireworks resort, and the continuous wars seem to have no effect on it.

On the brightly lit long street, there are crowds of people rushing to and fro, and there are various playthings and commodities in the shops, which make people dizzy. The three of them turned back into the gangsters they used to be in Yangzhou, pushing and hugging each other, scrambling to be the first in the flow of people, moving around. Xu Ziling was surprised and said: "It seems to be more prosperous than before!" Xing Rong said with a smile: "When the Hunjun is dead, he will prosper." Gui Xiliang squeezed into the middle of the two, hugged their shoulders from left to right, and said happily: "You came in time. Whenever the Jianghuai soldiers or Jiangnan soldiers retreated, merchants from all over the world would flood into Jiangdu City to do business. There are hundreds of ships coming from all over, otherwise it would be so lively."

Not only are there many shops along the street, but also there are vendors setting up stalls closely corresponding to the shops. They buy and sell a wide variety of goods, ranging from daily necessities, decorations, fortune-telling, brushes, inkstones, calligraphy and paintings, and peddlers peddling along the street. Pushing a trolley, or carrying a load on top of a plate, each doing his best, yelling loudly, attracting customers, all wanting to sell snacks, paper-cut patterns, five-color flower thread and other snacks and crafts. That kind of lively scene is hard to clean the ears and dazzles the eyes.

Arriving at the bazaar where Aunt Zhen once set up a stall selling steamed buns, it was a different scene, everywhere there were stalls in the east and stalls in the west setting up performers, storytellers, pretenders, playing puppets, and performing martial arts, attracting thousands of people. The audience who came to visit had a fiery atmosphere, full of drunkenness, dreams and death, and the taste of enjoying themselves in time during the war. The three of you play with me, and I play with you. Amidst the laughter, they came to Liuxiang, which is no less lively than Dananmen Street. Although it is called an "alley", it is only one-third narrower than Dananmen Street, and it is also full of traffic, and there are endless tourists looking for fragrances.

The biggest feature of Willow Lane is the series of red gauze lanterns stretching on both sides, which are the natural signs in front of the brothel, attracting people of all colors to come in and out. Including the madam girl, in order to make the business flourish under the fierce competition, she has every trick to solicit customers in front of the door, Yingying Yanyan, winking and laughing, adding infinite spring to the flower street. Although Xu Ziling doesn't like to visit brothels, but because of revisiting old places, he also finds it very interesting. While pointing and pointing, he came to the door of Tianxiang Tower unconsciously. The man who guarded the door saw three people coming, and greeted him respectfully: "Mr. Gui and Mr. Xing please!"

Xu Ziling yelled "Wait a minute", pulling the two of them back two steps, and said with a wry smile: "There are drinking places everywhere, don't go to the kiln to drink!" Xing Rong and Gui Xiliang were amused by him, they picked him up from left to right, and ran straight into the courtyard. Someone led the way up the stairs, and took the three of them to a luxurious wing overlooking the night on both sides of the old city river through the window. The pretty maid put down the wine, bowls and chopsticks, and after serving the snacks, she exited the room under Gui Xiliang's order. Xing Rong smiled as he poured wine for the two of them, and sighed: "I think back then we used to look at the gate of the Tianxiang Building and admire the sea, envious of everyone who was qualified to step over the threshold. Now we can sit in the most gorgeous wing of the building and drink heavily." , God really treats us well.” Gui Xiliang held up the wine to persuade him to drink, and said with a big laugh: "Life is like a dream, life is so long, you know the nature of alcohol when you come here, and you will be relieved when you get drunk. Tonight we three brothers will have a good drink." Xu Ziling's "Floating life is like a dream, how much is life" aroused his mourning for Susu, and the sadness came from it, and he drank it all in one gulp. Gui Xiliang and Xing Rong sat on the table, clapping their hands and screaming strangely. Xu Ziling shook his head and said, "You two boys must have come here late at night to mess around!" Xing Rong pretended to be mysterious and leaned into his ear and said: "Jing Man and You Xing are two girls who are said to be heavenly fragrances, and they are beautiful in Jiangdu. Anyone who has never heard them play the piano and sing is not considered to have been to Yangzhou. Fortunately, you two The brothers still have a bit of face, and I especially ask Madam Yuling to arrange for them to take some time to sing two ditties of his mother, to ensure that your eyes and ears are equally blessed." Gui Xiliang also lowered his voice on the other side and said: "The worst thing is that you have to pretend to be a hero with a scarred face, otherwise our young master Xu's original handsome face may be able to impress other girls' hearts, and join hands with Mr. Xu in Wushan to spend the Spring Festival together Mile! Bing!" When the two laughed wildly, the ring ring made a sound. Gui Xiliang and Xing Rong cheered up and shouted "Come here" together. After Kou Zhong and Chen Changlin inspected a long section of the canal, they rushed back to the city and stayed at the restaurant late. After chatting a few words, the topic turned back to the water battle. Kou Zhong asked: "Is there any way to block the waterway?" Chen Changlin frowned and said: "That's just setting up various obstacles in the waterway to prevent the passage of ships, such as setting up wooden fences, pointed pillars, or irons on the bottom of the water. But such measures can only have temporary effects. Passive, once detected by the other party, the other party can plan to destroy it, so no one can really lock the river and seal the river." Kou Zhong remembered that when he went down to Jingling by boat, the Jianghuai army cut him off with a knife across the river, and he said happily: "This is it, I am most afraid that Li Zitong will block my back, making it difficult for our sailors." Returning to the north." Chen Changlin said: "But the method of locking the river, if coordinated properly, can indeed achieve miraculous effects, and should not be ignored." Kou Zhong couldn't help but said, "Unexpectedly, brother Changlin is so good at water warfare besides maritime trade." Chen Changlin smiled and said: "To do trade, you must first guard against thieves on the sea, even the old Sui navy who is no different from pirates. How can you do this if you are not good at it? Merchant ships that walk the sea are also warships. Strictly speaking Said, water warfare in the river is not my specialty, I am good at naval warfare." Thinking of the naval battle, Kou Zhong still had lingering fears, and said: "The naval battle is indeed very different from the river battle." Chen Changlin nodded and said: "The battle of the sea depends entirely on the strength of the wind. If the wind is not smooth, even if it is separated by dozens of miles, it is like thousands of miles. It is difficult to come in ten days." Kou Zhong pondered: "If we can control the coast, not only can we transport our troops quickly, but we can also stop the enemy's navy." Chen Changlin shook his head and said: "That's impossible! Finding the enemy in the sea is a veritable search for a needle in a haystack. Besides, if the fleet is allowed to cruise the sea all day long, once it encounters a storm, the entire army will be wiped out. Therefore, when the sea battle is the first day, There is no battle without wind, no battle with strong wind. The hurricane is approaching, the sandy road is unfamiliar, the thieves are outnumbered, and there is no anchorage in front of us, so do not fight. Even in battle, courage is useless, and all are shot with arrows and rocks. Alas! It is a hundred times more difficult to hit an enemy ship than it is on a river. If I chase with the wind, the thief will also flee with the wind. There is no ambush to lay down, and no danger to choke. I can destroy one or two ships. Fortunately, it is not easy to dominate the vast sea." Kou Zhong's eyes lit up and he said: "Brother Changlin really knows the way of water warfare, hey! If you land from the sea to attack the enemy, wouldn't the enemy be unable to intercept it?" Chen Changlin said confidently: "If I design the route, I will ensure that the enemy can't even touch our shadow. If I can accurately grasp the rise and fall of the wind and tide when landing, it will be even more effective." Kou Zhong laughed and said: "That makes sense! I have been worrying about how to secretly send Brother Chang Lin's thousands of soldiers to Jiangdu. Although Uncle Zhi seems quite sure, I always know that Old Du is powerful. If it’s not good, it won’t be a good plan. Now, Brother Chang Lin’s trick of Sea Raiders will solve all problems.” Chen Changlin stood up abruptly, and said, "I'm going to discuss with Uncle Zhi immediately, and I'm going to stop the fleet coming to Liangdu tonight. This plan is sure to be foolproof." Kou Zhong tugged at him and said, "Can you grab Shen Faxing's merchant ships and warships on the way back? You are so familiar with his navy, as long as the ships go out to sea, the other party will have nothing to do. It will save us a lot of effort." Chen Changlin said: "If you can catch people by surprise, you should be able to do it, but you can only steal seven or eight boats at most, but the risk you take is very high, it seems unreasonable." Kou Zhongdao: "Then we have to give up the idea of ​​being corrupt and ready-made. Brother Chang Lin, sit down first and let the younger brother show you something." Chen Changlin sat down again, and took the secret book handed over by Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong whispered: "Please turn to page one hundred and one." Chen Changlin turned to the page according to his words, and said in astonishment, "What kind of ship is this?" Kou Zhong pointed to the pattern in the secret book and said proudly: "This is called a flywheel warship. It uses the reaction force produced by water to push the boat forward, which is more labor-saving and effective than using oars. Even when there is no wind, it can travel hundreds of miles a day. , is a kind of boat equipped with 'wheels', the left and right chords are placed under the wheels to stimulate the water, the wind and waves are surging, and it is as fast as a sail mat, which is easy to manufacture and durable." Then he pointed to the text under the pattern and said: "Read these few sentences. Flywheel warships are equipped with four wheels, each with eight oars. Four people mediate and travel thousands of miles a day. Thousands of miles are of course an exaggeration. Let me make a discount. It’s not bad to be able to travel hundreds of miles a day.” Chen Changlin said movedly, "Who thought of this." Kou Zhong continued to read: "Use the wheel to stimulate the water, put people in the front and back, the bicycle advances and retreats, up, down, and down, turning around like flying, the enemy can only look at each other in amazement." Kou Zhong said lightly: "It's Master Lu Miaozi, have you heard of it?" Chen Changlin sighed and said: "Of course I heard it, the boy is convinced, I will immediately modify it according to the plan, and hide it under the belly of the ship. With such a group of wheeled warships, don't the world's waterways let us run wild?"