Li Guangcai saw that Cui Fu was also there, so he quickly stepped off the ship and followed her around to ask for warmth and comfort.
At this moment, Cui Xingzhou, Prince Huaiyang, walked over and disliked the sunshade umbrella held by Zhao Quan for Miantang. He reached out to take the large umbrella in his hand and covered Miantang properly under it.
Miantang gave him a sweet smile and looked at Cui Xingzhou’s sunburned cheekbones. Feeling heartbroken, she took out a small porcelain jar from her arms and dabbed the ointment inside with her fingertips on his face. “The last time I saw you having sunburn on your shoulders under the sun, I asked Servant Li to refine some oil and mix it with snow lotus powder to make an ointment that can relieve the burning pain. Don’t forget to apply it yourself.”
After these days of recuperation, Zhao Quan finally calmed down the heart that night.
However, looking at Miantang’s thoughtful and virtuous appearance, he still vaguely felt that his mind has been pulled by someone. The enviable beauty in front of him couldn’t match the female Shura of that day.
The most important advice he has given to his close friends these days was that he should not sleep too soundly at night, and no matter how good the relationship between husband and wife was, it cannot last forever. It was just that in other people’s houses, most couples argue, and the little lady will scratch them twice. But the one he married, if he makes a fuss, she might cut his head off with a sword.
Prince Huaiyang didn’t take it seriously and said with a smile on his face, “That’s even better. Then you can get what you want.”
But Zhao Jiayu’s head shook like a rattling drum. He has only now figured out why Cui Xingzhou never really annoyed him when his words were so excessive when he was obsessed.
Because Prince Huaiyang knew early on that not everyone could control the woman he married.
So now looking at the divine couple in front of him, Zhao Quan was less jealous and added a touch of sincere envy.
At this moment, lurking in the hidden forest, Takatsukasa saw this scene in his binoculars, and his heart was filled with turmoil.
He had only heard that Liu Miantang was the wife of Prince Huaiyang, but when he saw with his own eyes the love between Prince Huaiyang and his wife and saw her delicate figure being held in the arms of other men, his heart was extremely uncomfortable.
The few people walked deep into the camp, and he could no longer see their figures. He stubbornly held up his binoculars and looked at the carriage the princess consort was riding in when she arrived, with a hint of gloom in his eyes.
A Japanese man whispered, “General, we have been observing outside the naval camp for quite some time, and others have contacted the merchants on the black market to transport the food onto the ship. Do you think we should go now?”
Takatsukasa put down the binoculars and said, “Don’t worry, let the grain ships return first. We’ll stay here. Prince Huaiyang is working so hard to build the warships, and once he succeeds, it will be greatly detrimental to us. It’s even more important to inquire about the next move of Prince Huaiyang and the situation of the new warships before heading back.”
After a pause, he said again, “Let’s first find a place to rest and come over to camp at night. We must find the new warship and destroy it as much as possible.”
After finishing speaking, he got up and led a few people to a deserted hillside. He ate the rice balls he was carrying on the hillside and lay down in his clothes waiting for darkness.
At night, Takatsukasa took people to the water from a distance and swam outside the camp. Tonight, the moon was dim and the stars are sparse, which was very advantageous for them to enter the military camp.
The walls of the camp all reach directly to the bottom of the river, and neither above nor underwater can they pass through.
However, Takatsukasa brought out experienced water thieves this time. Several Japanese people took turns diving underwater and took out short blades specifically used for underwater. They cut a suitable round hole in the wood used to build the fortress wall, and several people smoothly entered the naval camp.
Takatsukasa quietly leaned out and observed the direction. He had carefully looked at them during the day, taking note of several possible places where warships could be built. After recognizing the path, he swam toward those places.
His luck was good, and when he found the second location, he found it to be a huge shipyard, where new warships were built. The shipyard was brightly lit, and from a distance, one could see three huge ship frames standing tall, with countless figures working inside, laying boards and building keels, all busy and joyful.
In fact, this warship was not entirely new, but it was transferred from Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and then adapted to naval warfare based on the old warship.
Looking at the deck extending from the three colossal ship racks, several Japanese people under Takatsukasa gasped for air.
Just looking at this ship frame, one can imagine how huge the modified warship was, enough to withstand strong winds and waves.
If they waited for these three main battleships to be repaired, even the State of Zhen marines who are not good at naval warfare can cross the strait obstacles and board the Kou Island.
If they were to enter a melee fighting with swords, these random ronins would not be the opponents of Cui Xingzhou’s troops!
Thinking of this, Takatsukasa was clear that they must not let them build the warship well.
Although the dock was large, the guards are also very tight. It can be said that there are five steps per post and ten steps per sentry, and several groups of soldiers can be seen patrolling back and forth. With these few people, whether they are advancing secretly or forcefully, it was impossible for them to enter the dock.
The original plan of Takatsukasa was to light the warship with fuel, which was considered a failure.
Takatsukasa carefully examined the other parts of the shipyard and saw an unimaginable huge collision angle shining with metal cold light under the light. The stone throwers were higher than the tallest buildings in the capital, and the high and deep iron armor protecting the ship’s hull was as high as the city wall. His heart beat fiercely without hesitation.
At that time, when a person with great ambition encountered a powerful enemy, their fighting spirit ignited involuntarily in their hearts.
Suddenly, he saw several carpenters walking onto the invisible deck, pulling out their pipes towards the sea, puffing on their cigarettes to relieve fatigue while speaking.
Takatsukasa made a skilled Chinese-speaking subordinate sink and dive under their feet in the water to listen to what they were talking about. A carpenter said, “I’m afraid the rudder of the ship today won’t work. With such a huge hull and too much force on it, it will break after a few days of use. How should I tell the foreman tomorrow?” Another carpenter said, “It doesn’t matter if it works now. Master Xie will solve it.”
Another person said, “Master Xie? I’ve been hearing about it all these days, how come I don’t know?”
“Didn’t you stop working and go home to see your wife that day? This Master Xie is an expert in shipbuilding. It is said that he was an expert hired by Prince Huaiyang from the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions. That day, the Prince personally brought him to inspect. This master is an expert. He only walked up and down for a while and most of our previous work was abandoned. It is said that we will make changes after Master Xie completes the drawings.”
On hearing this, the other person spat fiercely into the water and said, “Why didn’t you say it earlier? It made me worried about how to report to the foreman.”
The person said, “Anyway, slow down on the work at hand, otherwise it would be useless too. I heard that Master Xie was a bit dissatisfied with the local conditions. After inspecting the warship that day, he fell ill. It will take about a few days to see the drawings.”
In the remaining time, they envied the hospitality that Prince Huaiyang had given to Master Xie, and after smoking their pipes, they returned to work.
Takatsukasa learned from their casual conversation that Master Xie was probably the expert hired by Prince Huaiyang to renovate the warship. Due to dissatisfaction with the local conditions, he was arranged by Prince Huaiyang to rest in a large mansion near the river.
Upon hearing this, Takatsukasa’s eyes lit up, and whispered to them to swim away from the dock.
In two months, it will be the season of continuous typhoons in the North Sea. As long as they can delay their warships from setting up masts, these semi-finished ship frames will be shattered in typhoon weather.
According to Shi Yikuan’s secret letter, the court was very dissatisfied with Cui Xingzhou’s frequent requests to allocate silver money to build warships. They believed that as long as he could hold onto the land in the North Sea, he should not have stirred up troops and engaged in naval warfare.
As long as his warship construction was not smooth and military funds are wasted in vain, the advisors of the Great Yan Dynasty will be enough for this prince to suffer!
Takatsukasa has decided to assassinate Master Xie.
Without the guidance of this shipbuilder, the new warship of Prince Huaiyang would have failed halfway, at least for a period of time. Even if Prince Huaiyang was lucky enough to escape the typhoon, he would have time to find a way to solve the problem of Prince Huaiyang and his warship.
So, Takatsukasa took the Japanese people swimming along the original path to the fortress wall and drilled out of the underwater circular hole.
The Japanese have been rampant in the local area for a long time, and naturally, they have also bought some local ruffians and other people as their eyes and ears.
So, after knowing the whereabouts of Master Xie, it was also easy to find his temporary residence.
Master Xie comes from a good background, and the people who used to be able to please him were not ordinary people. Therefore, the many requirements for resting here are much more meticulous than those of Prince Huaiyang.
Lord Su also broke his leg and wasted his saliva before persuading the local wealthy families to temporarily lend a decent courtyard to live in for Master Xie and his disciples.
On the way, he was craving some juicy food to relived the heat and ate some bad fruits. Master Xie has been having diarrhea for three consecutive days. At first, he thought that a few pairs of antidiarrheal drugs could stop it, but he didn’t expect that he became increasingly ill.
At this time, Cui Xingzhou couldn’t let the talented person he had finally hired lose his composure, so he asked Zhao Quan to personally diagnose his pulse.
Today, Prince Huaiyang was supposed to come with him, but unfortunately, the Imperial Household Department and the Military Department jointly sent people to investigate the accounts of the ship repair by Prince Huaiyang.
Prince Huaiyang couldn’t escape, so Liu Miantang took on his husband’s task and came to send some supplements to Master Xie as a token of the Prince’s kindness.
When getting off the carriage, Liu Miantang scanned the surrounding environment and couldn’t help but frown. She said to the chief guard who had been assigned by the prince to protect the courtyard of Master Xie, “Who chooses this mansion? These three sides are surrounded by water and ditches are all over. If anyone sneaks in from the water, we won’t be able to respond in time.”
The bodyguard also said with a bitter face, “Report back to the princess consort, it was Master Xie who chose it himself. I also told him that this mansion was not suitable and it was best to change it. However, Lord Su and Master Xie were both angry with me when I offer. It is said that Lord Su searched several times before and after, but Master Xie was not satisfied with it. It’s not easy for them to find this mansion pleasing. If I insist on changing, they can both tear me up.”
Zhao Quan joked on the side, “What’s the matter? Have you been studying feng shui recently and you’ve noticed the ferocious mansion here, princess consort?”
In the beginning, it was Liu Miantang who “pinched her fingers and calculated” that the return journey of Marquis Zhao would not be smooth, so he was invited to stay in the North Sea. Should it be that the female bandit leader repeats her old tricks and detain Master Xie again?
Ghost cloudd On WBICDPH Chapter 130