Chapter 352 - 292, Jianghu Affairs
At midnight, Lushun Port remained brightly lit.
Smuggling ships that couldn’t enter the port during the day waited offshore. At night, the sailors hung up rows of lanterns, making the port as bright as day.
There is a particular method to hanging lanterns.
On normal days, official vessels would hang three lanterns in a row, called "Three Lanterns in a Row." These ships usually entered the port during the day and left at night, coming and going freely.
Smuggling ships had to hang lanterns according to the daily notices. Someone would row a small boat to inform each ship and collect protection fees, giving the code for the night. Hanging the correct lanterns allowed them to enter the port, known as "Water Duty Lanterns."
When Old Yao’s two-masted ship entered the port, dozens of smuggling ships were sailing out. Like ghosts, they came silently and left silently.
The sailors on the ship raised the sails with bare chests, and surprisingly, there were crossbows set up on the ship, though it wasn’t clear who they were meant for.
Zhu Yunxi stood on the deck, silently watching those large ships even removing their ’ship copper plates,’ and the engravings under the mast were obscured.
Old Yao stood on the deck with a calm expression, saying, "These are all smuggling merchant ships from the Ning Dynasty, half returning to Yingkou, half to Qidong."