The tall deputy was horrified: “You, you, this bitch, how dare you…”
Before he could finish, Shuangjiang unceremoniously grabbed him and threw him into the sea.
With a loud splash, the helmsman, already dizzy from being tossed, barely surfaced before the big man came crashing down on him.
“No!” the helmsman only had time to yell once before being knocked back underwater, and this time he did not come up again.
Seeing the helmsman vanish and the tall deputy floundering in the sea, the remaining two deputies were terrified and took a few steps back.
Shuangjiang looked at them and snorted, “Why aren’t you cursing? Are you out of words?”
The shorter deputy trembled as he spat, “You, you despicable scum will be struck by lightning sooner or later! When I return, I will definitely—ah!”
Shuangjiang kicked him, sending him flying backward over ten feet, crashing heavily onto the deck.
She followed up, grabbed his arm, and tossed him overboard like a toy. Water splashed, and screams rang out.
The only deputy left opened his mouth. He had planned to join in the cursing, but he always stammered when nervous, and he had been a step too slow to keep up.
“You, you, I, I I, I I I, I I I I…” The stammering deputy’s stutter grew worse, and he was drenched in cold sweat.
Seeing Shuangjiang’s stern face staring at him, he dropped to his knees with a thud: “D-d-d-don’t kill me, I-I-I-I-I beg you, great lady bandit, n-n-n-n-please…”
Shuangjiang frowned at this spineless coward. Just as she was about to kick him away too, Dong Si spoke up: “Enough. He’s just weak-willed. Tie him up instead.”
The effect of killing the chicken to scare the monkeys had been achieved; going too far would make them seem overly vicious. He needed to uphold the Lord’s image of being approachable to the people.
Shuangjiang nodded, her face cold. She had never planned to throw this man overboard, since he had knelt before even cursing.
Still, to prevent the rowers from Ze’a Commandery from causing trouble later, intimidation was necessary.
To be honest, putting on this act was exhausting. She was young, and she had to exaggerate every expression just to project a hint of fierceness.
There was a lot of skill involved—if she overdid it, her facial features would go wild, making her look sinister and twisted instead of imposing.
And “imposing” itself required precision: she had to strike a righteous tone, or else it would tarnish how the people viewed the Lord and the Jinyang Army.
The stammering deputy, who had narrowly escaped death, was quickly tied up. He let out a huge sigh of relief—being bound was much better than floundering in the sea like his companions. This was the first time he realized there were advantages to being a stutterer. He wasn’t even angry about being tied up; instead, he thanked the soldiers binding him with a fawning tone.
“Th-th-th-th-th-thank y-y-y-you…”
The soldier’s temple veins bulged. Unable to take it any longer, he threw a punch at the stammering deputy.
Thud.
The stammering deputy collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
The soldier breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, peace: “B-b-b-bound up!”
Stuttering was a sickness, and it had almost infected him. Thank goodness he knocked the guy out first, or he might have ended up saying three overlapping syllables of “bound.”
Everyone present: “…”
To be fair, they had all wanted to do the same. Listening to him was unbearable, like a cat scratching in their chests—they wanted to scratch something, almost as if they could pull the words out of his throat.
Dong Si smiled warmly and said, “Everyone, don’t be afraid. They wanted to go back, and we were just helping them—who knew they were such poor swimmers?”
The rowers from Ze’a Commandery lowered their heads. Helping them? That’s your excuse?
This was the middle of the sea—who could swim well enough to get back?
Seeing the vanished helmsman, the two still struggling in the water, and the unconscious stammering deputy on the deck, the rowers were struck dumb with fear. Too brutal.
Dong Si, as if oblivious to their expressions, continued, “If any of you want to go back, I won’t stop you. The sea is vast—we can send you off in whatever direction you like.”
He pointed at Shuangjiang: “This is our strong-woman general. She’ll give you a free toss for extra distance—no charge at all.”
The rowers quickly shook their heads: “No, no, we won’t even think about going back. We’ll keep sailing for you.”
Only then did Dong Si nod in satisfaction: “Good. Get back to work. We won’t mistreat you. Tonight, we’ll add meat to your meal and let you all taste it.”
The rowers’ eyes lit up. Although they hadn’t had meat at lunch, it had been the first full meal they’d eaten in years.
Many had even wept while eating.
For common folks struggling at the bottom of society, who they served didn’t matter much. What mattered was having enough to eat.
Dong Si looked at Guo Meng and Xiao He: “What are you standing around for? Go to the helm and steer the ship.”
Guo Meng and the others were still reeling from shock. It was their first time witnessing the Jinyang Army’s efficiency and ruthlessness up close.
They had also just learned that their destination was Daqing Commandery.
Seeing their nervousness, Dong Si reassured them, “Don’t be anxious. As long as you do your work honestly, the Lord won’t treat you unfairly.”
Guo Meng quickly nodded: “We’ll steer properly, rest assured.”
Jiang Jin had toured the Gefeng and finally arrived at the helm, where the steersman was Wang Liang.
Wang Liang, his two deputies, and several Jinyang Army sailors saw her and immediately called out, “Lord.”
Jiang Jin nodded and asked, “Do you know if there’s a suitable place to dock near Xunfeng Island?”
Wang Liang thought for a moment before answering, “Large ships can’t dock easily—they need sufficient water depth. There’s a Five Fingers Mountain to the northwest; we can anchor there.”
Jiang Jin’s face lit up: “Good. Then let’s head to Five Fingers Mountain.”
Recalling something, she asked, “Do you know if there’s fresh water near Five Fingers Mountain?”
Wang Liang nodded: “A few miles away, there’s a small waterfall with a stream flowing from it.”
Jiang Jin couldn’t help but appraise him: “Have you been to Xunfeng Island?”
Wang Liang smiled: “Our naval garrison isn’t too far from Xunfeng Island, so of course I’ve been there.”
Jiang Jin: “Are there any large sandy beaches on the island?”
Wang Liang quickly understood her intent and shook his head with a wry smile: “You’re thinking of making salt by sun-drying, aren’t you? Unfortunately, Xunfeng Island is mostly rocky cliffs with no big sandy beaches. You can’t salt-dry there.”
Jiang Jin wasn’t disappointed. She had already guessed as much.
Sun-drying salt wasn’t something you could do just because you had the sea.
Salt fields required flat, open beaches for salt-drying and salt pan layouts.
Ideally, the beaches should be muddy, since mud retains and absorbs salt better, increasing yield.
The climate should also be sunny with little rain.
Jiang Jin glanced at Wang Liang and noticed his remarkably positive mindset.
Then she thought of another question and asked, “Can the shipwrights who repair ships also build new ones?”
