Chapter 116 General
The endless sea and sky are connected in a line, and the salty sea breeze blows in your face.
A fleet of three multi-masted sailing ships is docked at the pier. The masts stand like guns, and the deck reflects the dazzling sunlight. The sailors climb up and down along the masts and cables, making the final preparations for sailing. During the inspection, shouts came and went, rising into the clouds.
The porters staggered onto the cargo ship carrying large buckets of water and supplies. The door of the warehouse was open, and the chief accountant was loudly counting the goods in the cabin. They were all ready-made clothes and metal daily necessities. These are the two most famous products of Rhine City. , very popular throughout Rand and even half of Middle-earth.
“Come on board.”
“Sail for inspection.”
"Add coal, the steam engine starts."
"Unmoor."
Black smoke billows from the stern, the propeller stirs up pale water, the gangplank is retracted, and the sailors at the top of the mast keep semaphoring. Echoing each other, the three large ships slowly left the long bridge and began to move slowly with the waves.
"Get ready to go..."
"Woo~~~"
The long horn was interrupted, and a carriage came galloping in the distance, causing the pedestrians on the pier to scream in surprise, and at the same time Seven or eight small boats came up from all around, blocking the way of the three ships just before the big ship left the long bridge and entered the waterway.
"Stop the ship and accept inspection."
The small boat waved a flag, then forced the big ship to stop, and re-extended the gangplank. Several rampaging carriages just stopped by the long bridge, and a group of local lords' navy rushed up He walked onto the deck of the flagship, followed by several mysterious black-clothed priests.
Of course Lynch and Rick Knights led the knights of the church to catch up, and mobilized the garrison at the port through regular channels, forcing the fleet to stop at the last moment.
If this allowed them to leave the harbor, it would be impossible to catch up with them. Now seeing the three ships stopped, Lin Qi, who put on the robe of the Night Priest, breathed a sigh of relief.
“What’s going on, what’s going on.”
The captain in a bright red coat hurried over and was stunned when he saw the people on the deck. Then he piled up on the leading naval officer. He strode forward with a smile, stretched out his hands to hold the officer's hand eagerly, and three Friedman gold coins slipped into the officer's hand like magic.
"Now that we suspect there are prohibited goods on your ship, shut down the steam engine immediately and undergo inspection."
The officer pushed the captain's hand away with a serious look and winked at the priests behind him.
"Sir, what's going on? We are all registered legal cargo ships. The fleet of the Business Daily Chamber of Commerce is a loyal citizen of the kingdom. It is absolutely impossible for us to transport prohibited goods." Captain He said with a mournful face, "Look, our cables have been untied, and the chickens sacrificed to the God of the Sea have been killed. If we stop the ship again, it will be like a curse that we will encounter a shipwreck when we go out."
"That's your own business. Who asked you to transport contraband? Now open all the cabin doors and wait for the search. After the search confirms that there is no contraband, you will naturally be allowed to leave."
"Sir, this is illegal, isn't it? "The captain also darkened his face, "Our ship has already left the shore, which means it has left Rand's territory. You can only conduct random inspections on board the ship in the territorial waters, and you have no right to conduct a thorough search."
"You. Do you still know the law? The lord's order is the law, stop talking nonsense and hurry up, or you will be executed on the spot for disobedience."
The officer snorted with a stern face, and the soldiers behind him immediately stepped forward neatly, their rifle butts resting on the deck at the same time, full of momentum and pressure.
“Wait.”
The captain was a little too calm. Lynch realized that something was wrong and wanted to remind the officer aloud, but... “Click, click, click.”
Dazzling flashes of light flashed continuously in the darkness below the deck, and then more than ten people emerged from the deck, followed by several workers carrying cameras. When the workers moved the camera to the deck and set it up again, there was another burst of snapping photos. More than a dozen people, both men and women, most of them wearing light jackets and shoes, holding pens and papers in their hands, lowered their heads to write notes. With.
"Donald, there's no need to be angry with them." Then, a middle-aged man in formal clothes walked out slowly with a cane. He was somewhat similar to the description of the captured smuggler. He should be Jefferson. , he bowed slightly towards the soldiers and priests, squinting his eyes and smiling sinisterly, "It just so happens that there are reporters from all the influential newspapers in the Rhineland. Sirs, please show the momentum of our Rhineland soldiers."
reporter?
Most people’s faces changed.
Of course it will be easy to deal with if no one sees it. If one or two media are present, they can also start a quarrel afterwards. But if all the media in the city are present, it will be a disaster of public opinion. The question is how did these reporters appear?
"Haha, in ten days it will be the birthday of King Friedmann and the Queen Mother. She is the aunt of His Majesty Rudolf II. As His Majesty's loyal subjects, of course everyone is interested in reporting on this event. Our chamber of commerce happens to have a ship. He invited his colleagues from Rhine to set out together." The philistine man smiled, "What, sirs, do you have any objections to us newspaper reporters? Or do you insist on violating Rand's laws and forcibly searching the entire ship?"
He was actually defeated by an army.
The officer leading the team looked embarrassed and glanced at Knight Rick secretly, but Rick also felt a little troubled at this time.
These reporters were Jefferson's safety measure. No wonder he set sail leisurely with the fleet and was escorted by representatives of the city's media. It was much safer than him escaping in a hurry.
"Hahaha, sirs, are you still going to delay our travel time? We are not as leisurely as you, every minute is precious and cannot be wasted, hahaha."
< br>Rick only felt that he was in a dilemma. Now of course he could ignore the reporters and cameras on the ship, forcibly detain everyone, and then search the entire ship. Judging from Jefferson's performance, he was 80% sure that the thing was in his hands.
However, the cost of doing so is also quite serious. Even if something is finally found, it will trigger a storm of public opinion. At that time, other churches will definitely be willing to step on it, and ultimately the reputation of the entire church may be affected. And if you don't find something, it will be even more troublesome. You will become the laughing stock of all Rand. Even if the church wants to protect itself, it will definitely be punished.
“Sirs, we are discussing reporting matters, and we really don’t have time to have fun with you. If you don’t plan to forcibly search the entire ship in violation of the law, please push the gangplank back from below, our journalist friends. I never like to come into contact with you, and I...heh, I don't like to see your faces, so please leave."
"You..."
The officer leading the team clenched his fists, but looked at the reporters around him and took a step back involuntarily. And Knight Rick also had an ugly face. With his strength, he could easily kill everyone present, but he could only hold back his anger and helplessly face Jefferson's cold smile.
Do you know that he is a prisoner, but you want to see him get away so proudly?
“I just heard what you said. According to Rand law, ships can also be randomly inspected in territorial waters?”
Lynch pulled the hood of his robe. The sound was not loud, but it could be heard by most people on the ship.
"Yes." A glimmer of hope rose in Rick's heart, "Each ship has the right to randomly inspect three to five key cabins."
"That's easy." Lynch slowly said Walking up to Jefferson, looking at his smiling face, he asked softly, "Sir, what makes you think that I can't sense the things my goddess throws at all?"
Jefferson's smile froze, and he crossed his arms and took a half step back.
"Do you think I can find the stolen goods you've hidden, Mr. Jefferson? Now, General."
(End of Chapter)