usatvline Chapter 41 Catching Fish in the Wei River
Chapter 41 Catching Fish in the Wei River
In March, spring returns to the earth, and all things revive.
On the banks of the Wei River.
The willows along the riverbank have turned green, and several anglers sit on the side, holding fishing rods and staring intently at the river.
The river water temperature has risen somewhat.
Li Chengqian, Princess Gaoyang, and Chengxin and their entourage arrived at the riverbank.
Li Chengqian looked up and saw green mountains and clear waters, a picturesque scene.
He thought to himself how wonderful it would be if he could be as leisurely as those anglers.
He might be envied by the world for his power, status, and background, but doesn't he also envy the leisure and freedom of others? When he has nothing to do, he can go here to catch a few fish and take them home, and the whole family can gather around the stove to cook and eat them. Isn't that a kind of happiness?
"Brother, I heard that Jiang Ziya once fished here?" Princess Gaoyang asked excitedly.
"yes."
"I also heard that he used a straight hook when fishing."
"That's one of those sayings."
"But can you catch fish with a straight hook?"
Li Chengqian laughed: "There are two people in history who are famous for fishing. One is Jiang Shang, and the other is Han Xin."
"Oh, Han Xin also went fishing?"
"Yes, Han Xin fished to fill his stomach. Before he became successful, Han Xin was poor and miserable, and he couldn't even get enough to eat. He stayed at a friend's house, but after a while, his friend's wife started to have a problem with Han Xin."
So every morning, they would get up early and eat in bed, and by the time Han Xin came to eat, the pots and pans would already be washed.
Han Xin naturally understood their meaning; they were clearly trying to get rid of him, they just didn't say it outright.
Princess Gaoyang found it intriguing: "This family is really something else, eating their meal in bed. Han Xin had such a great reputation in history, was he really that miserable back then?"
"Yes, many people are in bad circumstances before they achieve fame and success."
As the saying goes, "Even a hero can be driven to ruin by a penny."
"So, how is Jiang Ziya doing?"
Li Chengqian gazed at the river: "Back then, Jiang Ziya's situation wasn't much better. In some ways, he was even worse off than Han Xin."
Han Xin was given important responsibilities at a very young age, while Jiang Ziya was still penniless at the age of seventy.
It is said that he has worked in many trades, including as a small vendor.
He went to sell flour, but a strong wind blew it all away.
He went to sell vegetables, and when he saw people who were even poorer, he gave them the vegetables to them.
He went to herd the pigs, but he was so engrossed in reading that the pigs disappeared in the blink of an eye.
……
His string of misfortunes could fill three days and three nights.
Upon hearing this, Princess Gaoyang laughed so hard she bent over: "Jiang Ziya is really quite stupid."
"He heard that Ji Chang was a very wise ruler and that he was about to pass through this place, so he wanted to go and seek refuge with him."
However, on the one hand, Jiang Ziya was so old and a scholar that he felt embarrassed to go directly to King Wen of Zhou out of consideration for his reputation.
On the other hand, he had not yet had any private contact with Ji Chang and did not know what kind of person King Wen of Zhou was.
So he fished there, deliberately using a straight hook, in order to attract King Wen of Zhou's attention.
Sure enough, King Wen of Zhou arrived.
King Wen of Zhou heard from his men that there was an old man fishing by the Wei River, and that he was using a straight hook, which piqued his curiosity. Upon inquiring, he learned that the old man was none other than Jiang Ziya.
Although Jiang Ziya was not successful in his career, he was well-known for his wisdom.
After King Wen of Zhou and Jiang Ziya struck up a conversation, King Wen was captivated by Jiang Ziya's talent and wisdom, and immediately appointed Jiang Ziya as his military advisor.
"So, in that case, Jiang Ziya could be considered a job seeker."
"Yes, Han Xin's job search was much more complicated than his."
He first served under Xiang Yu, but was not given important responsibilities and was only a halberd bearer.
He made several suggestions to Xiang Liang and Xiang Yu, but they were not adopted.
Later, he fled to join Liu Bang, but he unintentionally committed a crime that led to the execution of thirteen people, all of whom were to be beheaded. The heads of the other twelve had already been cut off, and it seemed his turn was about to be chopped off…
"Ah? Han Xin is dead just like that?" Princess Gaoyang asked in surprise.
Fortunately, Xiahou Ying arrived in time. Han Xintian sighed, "Why does the King of Han want to seize the world and kill brave men?" Xiahou Ying felt that he was different from ordinary people, so he saved him. After talking with him, he felt that he was a talented man and recommended him to Liu Bang. However, Liu Bang did not value him and only made him a grain supply officer.
It was only after Han Xin acquired this identity that he was able to meet Xiao He.
Xiao He greatly admired his military talent and recommended him to Liu Bang.
Liu Bang, however, thought Han Xin was just a greenhorn who was already given an official position but was still not satisfied, so he ignored him.
Han Xin served under Liu Bang for a time, but seeing no hope of promotion, he fled Liu Bang's camp on a bright moonlit night.
Princess Gaoyang felt deeply sorry: "Did Han Xin really leave Liu Bang like this?"
"When Xiao He heard that Han Xin had escaped, he didn't even have time to say goodbye to Liu Bang before he mounted a fast horse and chased after Han Xin. This is the famous story of Xiao He chasing Han Xin under the moon."
Someone reported to Liu Bang that Xiao He had fled. Liu Bang believed it to be true, and he was both saddened and furious.
Finally, Xiao He brought Han Xin back.
Xiao He came to see Liu Bang.
Liu Bang questioned him: "Why did you run away?"
Xiao He said, "I'm not running away; I'm chasing after someone who's trying to run away."
Liu Bang said, "So many people are fleeing, and you're not chasing after them, so why are you only chasing Han Xin?"
Xiao He said, "Those people are all insignificant. Han Xin is a peerless strategist. If the King of Han wants to conquer the world, he must make good use of Han Xin."
It was on Xiao He's recommendation that Han Xin was appointed Grand General.
Princess Gaoyang smiled: "I never imagined that two fishermen could have such different fates. Fortunately, Han Xin eventually got his wish and became a great general."
"You can tell a person's level of character from this."
If one day in the future I can also leisurely fish here, then my life will not have been in vain.
Just then, a "splash" was heard, and Mizuki had taken off his outer clothes and jumped into the water.
Then watch as he moves with ease, performing various actions in the water, sometimes diving to the bottom, sometimes surfacing, and swimming at a truly rapid speed.
He called out from the water, "Your Highness, Princess, aren't you going to learn to swim and dive? Come on down!"
"Okay."
Li Chengqian and Princess Gaoyang both went into the water.
Chengxin stood on the riverbank, his sharp eyes scanning the surroundings.
Shuiji explained in detail to Li Liaozaiqian and Princess Gaoyang the various techniques of swimming and diving, including how to breathe underwater.
The original owner of Li Chengqian liked fitness and swimming and had a certain foundation. He knew a little bit of things like breaststroke, backstroke and freestyle. With a little guidance from Shuiji, he was able to learn them quickly by analogy.
Princess Gaoyang, however, was not so lucky. She choked on several mouthfuls of water in the river and finally, she stumbled ashore, sat on the bank, and vomited for a long time, thinking that being in the water and on land were completely different experiences.
She never wanted to learn to swim or scuba dive again; those things didn't seem very fun.
Li Chengqian practiced in the river for more than an hour. Although he couldn't swim as fast as Shui Jishe, he was still doing quite well.
"Your Highness, you are the fastest learner of swimming and diving I have ever seen," Mizuki praised, giving a thumbs up.
"It's not that I learn quickly, it's that you teach well," Li Chengqian said, before flipping over and diving underwater.
The deeper Li Chengqian dived, the more bone-chilling the river water felt. However, he wanted to challenge himself and see how long he could stay in the water.
For about fifteen minutes, Li Chengqian still did not show his face.
Both Chengxin and Princess Gaoyang on the riverbank were getting a little anxious.
"Your Highness!"
"Brother!"
They shouted.
A moment later, Li Chengqian emerged from the water, clutching a fish in his right hand, weighing about four or five pounds.
Princess Gaoyang jumped up excitedly: "Brother, you're amazing! We'll have grilled fish for lunch today!"
"One fish isn't enough. Let me catch a few more," Li Chengqian said, throwing the fish onto the shore.
Mizukishi said, "If you can catch fish, why can't I?"
With that, they both dived back into the water.
At that moment, a small boat drifted downstream with the wind.
A man stood at the bow of the boat, wearing a straw raincoat and a bamboo hat. A light veil covered his face, obscuring his features.
He held a fishing rod in his left hand and a fishing net in his right, singing a fisherman's song: "White-haired fishermen and woodcutters on the riverbank, accustomed to watching the autumn moon and spring breeze..."
He cast his net into the river, but caught not a single fish.
When the small boat approached, Li Chengqian and Shui Jishe dived into the water, but had not yet surfaced.
The fisherman said cheerfully, "Watch me cast my net again. This time, I'm sure I'll catch a big fish."
With a pair of eyes fixed on the fisherman, Chengxin shouted, "We're training here. Quickly steer your boat away!"
"This Wei River isn't yours, why can't I catch fish?"
The fisherman continued to cast his net.
Although Chengxin was good at land-based skills, he couldn't swim.
As the fisherman pulled in his net, he muttered to himself, "Wow, this net is quite heavy. Looks like this fish is pretty big."
As the fishing net was continuously pulled in, everyone could see clearly that the fisherman had indeed caught a large fish, weighing about ten kilograms, but there was also a person hanging on the edge of the net.
The person who grabbed the fishing net in the water was none other than Mizukishi.
All that could be heard was Shuiji shouting, "Who the hell is so shameless as to cast a net over my head and almost catch me? I caught this fish first, so it's mine!"
The fisherman was also furious: "So you're a Turkic Tartar, how dare you curse me?"
The fish belongs to whoever's net it's in; how can it belong to you?
"Who can prove you caught it in the water? If you really caught it, how come it's in my net? You're clearly being unreasonable. You damned Tartar!"
"Who the hell are you calling a Tartar?"
"I was talking about you, so what?"
"I'll drown you!"
The two argued for a while, and then Shuiji was about to fight the fisherman.
However, no one expected that two sailors were hiding under that small boat.
They quickly swam across the water, drew their daggers, and stabbed at Mizuki.
Mizuki's attention was completely focused on the fisherman; he had no idea that there was someone else underwater.
A sailor approached Mizuki and plunged his dagger into Mizuki's abdomen.
Mizuki was about to drag the fisherman into the water and shovel him half full, but he was completely unaware of what was happening underwater.
Just as Mizuki was about to be stabbed, the dagger stopped abruptly just an inch away from her abdomen.
It turned out that the sailor's wrist had been grabbed, and the person who grabbed his wrist was none other than Li Chengqian.
Li Chengqian had no idea what was happening up there, but he was underwater and could see clearly that two sailors were heading straight for Shuijishe and were carrying weapons. Li Chengqian knew something was wrong, so he quickly swam over and grabbed the man's wrist.
At this moment, the two sailors bypassed Shui Jishe and attempted to assassinate Li Chengqian.
Soon, the water turned red, surging upwards and staining the river red.
Everyone who saw this was greatly shocked.
Then the fisherman flicked his fishing rod, and it turned into a long spear.
He dropped the fishing net, gripped the spear tightly with both hands, and thrust it fiercely into the water.
Chengxin, Princess Gaoyang, and nine other Turks all saw it.
"Mujishe, prepare your bows and arrows, shoot that fisherman! The rest of you, follow me into the water to rescue His Highness." Chengxin was in a panic at this moment and forgot that he couldn't swim.
"Yeah! I knew he wasn't a good person a long time ago."
Muji agreed, nocked an arrow, and prepared to shoot the fisherman.
At that moment, the fishermen sitting on the riverbank suddenly stood up, each of them drawing sharp blades from their robes and rushing towards Chengxin, Mujishe, and the others.
A chaotic battle broke out on the riverbank. Before Muji could even fire his arrow, he was slashed on the arm, and blood stained his clothes.
"Tujishe, hurry and protect the princess!" Chengxin shouted.
"promise!"
Princess Gaoyang had never seen such a bloody scene before, and it was completely accidental. She was so frightened that she trembled with fear. However, she remained calm and said to everyone, "Don't worry about me. You must ensure the safety of my brother."
The strongman Tujishe stood in front of Princess Gaoyang and said, "Princess, don't be afraid. With me here, no one can hurt you."
People often talk about heroes saving beauties, and although he can hardly be considered a hero, he still wants to show off his power at this moment.
Sure enough, a fisherman rushed over, only to be kicked to the ground by Tokichi: "You're still too green to fight me!"
On the water, the fisherman kept stabbing at Shuijishe with a large gun.
Shuiji was in the water and had no weapons, so he was at a disadvantage.
He dodged left and right, completely passive, and it looked like he was about to suffer a loss.
"Watch me end your life with one shot!"
Just as the fisherman was about to raise his gun to stab the boat again, he suddenly felt the boat rocking violently, as if it were about to capsize at any moment.
It turned out that Li Chengqian had already killed the two sailors underwater and had swum to the bottom of the ship to rock it.
This is the first time Li Chengqian has killed someone since he transmigrated here.
Two bodies floated on the water.
When everyone saw that it wasn't Li Chengqian, they were relieved.
The fisherman, seeing that the two sailors were dead, knew that the opportunity to fight had been lost.
He quickly shouted to the anglers on the riverbank, "Get out of here!"
Then, he hoisted the sail and drifted downstream.
When the "fishermen" on the river saw that the sailor was dead and that the fisherman was only concerned with making his own escape, they all ran away.
However, one of them was captured alive.