On the surging Jialing River, a large ship crawled slowly across the water.
Six narrow boats were scattered along both sides, frantically hacking at the hull.
On the big ship, the archers had already drawn arrows from their quivers.
Yet at that very moment, the river bandits raised shields and covered themselves completely.
The relentless “thump, thump, thump” of axes against the hull continued.
The guard captain burned with anxiety. He snatched a long spear from a nearby soldier and tried to stab the bandits below.
But the standard Imperial Guard spear was only about two metres long, while the deck stood more than three metres above the water. The spear could not reach.
In desperation, the captain gripped the spear tightly and hurled it downwards with all his strength.
Thud!
The spear pierced straight through a shield and pinned the bandit’s shoulder.
The bandit let out a scream and toppled into the river.
After two days of rain, the Jialing’s current was ferocious. The bandit surfaced twice, then vanished, swept away to who knew where.
The sound of axes paused because of this.
Before the captain could feel any relief, however, the bandits simultaneously lowered their shields, revealing the archers hiding beneath.
Many guards were still leaning over the rail to look down and were caught completely off guard.
Five or six were shot instantly in the eyes or forehead and died on the spot.
Three or four more took arrows to the mouth or ears and, by sheer luck, survived.
Every guard jerked their heads back in terror.
The captain himself broke into a cold sweat.
Had he not reacted quickly, he would have been hit too.
Seeing the guards raise their own bows, the bandits instantly lifted their shields again.
A second later, the hacking resumed, faster and more urgent than before.
“Courting death!”
The captain snarled, seized another spear, and hurled it.
Another bandit splashed into the water.
Inside the cabin, the Ninth Princess heard the commotion outside. She narrowed her eyes in thought for a moment, then stood and opened the door herself.
“Your Highness, what are you doing?” Qin’er panicked and threw herself in front of the princess. “The bandits are right beneath us. Stray arrows are flying everywhere. It is far too dangerous for you to go out now!”
“Look at the river. If they sink the ship, do you think any of us will survive?”
The Ninth Princess pushed Qin’er aside and stepped out onto the deck.
Qin’er hurried after her, eyes darting warily in all directions.
The two rounded a corner and saw the guard captain hurling another spear.
But spears were not the guards’ primary weapon, and they had brought few.
The spear the princess and Qin’er witnessed was the very last one.
After throwing it, the captain searched frantically for anything else he could throw.
He found nothing, and then jumped at the sight of the princess.
“Your Highness, why have you come out?”
The Ninth Princess ignored him. She too scanned the deck, searching for a way to fight the bandits.
Her expression, however, remained far calmer than the captain’s.
After sweeping her gaze around, she suddenly pointed at the mast. “Captain Qin, cut down the mast!”
“The mast?”
The captain slapped his thigh. “Of course! How did I not think of that?”
Spears could not reach the small boats, but the mast certainly could.
He immediately called several men over and set them hacking at the mast with their swords.
Crack!
The mast, thick as a rice bowl at its base, was severed clean from the bottom.
Without waiting for orders, four guards lifted the mast and carried it to the edge of the deck.
The base was as thick as a bowl, but the tip was only the width of a teacup.
The captain grasped the thinner end, directed his men to raise the heavy base, and shoved the whole mast downwards.
Like a pendulum, the mast swung and smashed into the first bandit boat.
Half the bandits on that boat were flung into the water, but the mast also stopped moving.
Masts were made from sturdy, heavy timber. Yet the captain, with terrifying strength, hauled it back up, aimed at a gap between two shields, and drove it downwards again.
Crunch!
The force of the falling mast, combined with the captain’s power, punched a gaping hole straight through the small boat.
The entire crew was swept into the river.
The captain had no time to see whether they drowned. He laboriously dragged the mast towards the second boat.
The bandit leader saw what he was doing and instantly ordered the second boat to retreat.
Helpless, the captain shifted the mast towards the third boat.
But just as he neared it, the third boat fled as well.
Meanwhile the second boat slipped back into position and resumed hacking.
“This won’t work either.”
The Ninth Princess frowned slightly and continued scanning the deck.
This time she found nothing useful.
She was growing anxious when Qin’er suddenly cried, “Your Highness, look over there! It looks like the banner of the Zhenyuan Escort Agency!”
“The Zhenyuan Escort Agency?”
The Ninth Princess looked upstream.
Everyone had been focused on the bandits and had failed to notice that another vessel had appeared on the river some time ago.
It was far larger than the princess’s ship, heavily laden with cargo, sitting deep in the water, and moving extremely slowly.
A black escort flag embroidered with the characters “Zhenyuan” snapped fiercely in the wind.
When ordinary merchants encountered river bandits or highway robbers, they usually paid the toll without resistance.
The Zhenyuan Escort Agency was different. It never compromised with bandits. When attacked, it answered with heavy crossbows.
If truly outmatched, they would abandon the cargo and flee, then return later with greater numbers.
When opening the market in the neighbouring commandery, they had once been blocked by several hundred bandits who killed two men from the Jinchuan Chamber of Commerce. Upon hearing the news, Zhang Liang had gathered two hundred escort masters, launched a fierce assault, destroyed the bandits’ stronghold, and hanged every last one at the foot of the mountain.
After that, ordinary bandits fled like mice at the sight of the Zhenyuan flag.
Most escort agencies took down their flags in the rain, but not Zhenyuan.
The flag was the mark of Zhenyuan!
Guan Zhuzi had kept this tradition. Whenever cargo was carried, the Zhenyuan flag flew proudly.
The effect was striking. Since the salt mine began operating, Guan Zhuzi had made several deliveries and never once encountered river bandits.
“Qin’er, we no longer need to worry.”
The Ninth Princess lifted her skirts, hurried back to the cabin, hastily wrote a letter on silk, and handed it to Qin’er. “Quick, shoot this onto the Zhenyuan ship!”
That heavily laden vessel was indeed under Guan Zhuzi’s command, carrying mineral salt bound for the Jinchuan ferry.
Guan Zhuzi and several escort masters stood on deck watching the fight between the bandits and the guards when an arrow suddenly whistled from afar and buried itself in the planks.
“I was only enjoying the spectacle. Why the hell are you shooting at me?”
Though the arrow had come from a distance, it still startled Guan Zhuzi. “I was going to save you, but since you shoot at me, you’re on your own!”
