The leader of the water was speechless for a while, Zhao Xingde looked down at Lu Mingyu and sighed: "Lu Zhuangshi, you get up first and untie the rope for us." "Ahh Lu Mingyu raised his head, his face was full of frustration, and he slapped his forehead with his palm, "Damn, damn!" He hurriedly stood up, took out the short dagger on his waist, cut the rope for Zhao Xingde first, hesitated slightly, looked at Zhao Xingde, and then continued to untie the other people. Because the action was too fast, the others didn't have time to stop it, even if they had doubts in their hearts, they didn't dare to stop it abruptly.

"Brother Lu, these people are unknown, don't let go of the official and military spies!" A water servant said urgently.

"What is the unknown source!" Lu Mingyu said sharply, "This is Mr. Zhao Yuanzhi, I am fortunate to be in person, why don't I come and see you soon!" ”

As he spoke, he kept holding a short dagger in his hand, cutting the ropes that bound Du Fujiao and the others one by one. The sergeants were confused by this pretension, and as soon as their hands and feet were free, they gathered around Zhao Xingde, looking at the group of thieves with vigilant faces.

The water cowards were shocked, and some people turned their heads and said, "Zhao Xingde? "Zhao Xingde, who scolded the Liao thief and the traitor?" "Mr. Yuanzhi who wants the imperial court to reduce the endowment?" "Is it really Mr. Yuanzhi?" "Didn't he die at the hands of the Khitans?" There are even people who expect Ai Ai to say: "He, he, Mr. Yuan Zhi, he is the former military advisor of the Holy Sect who announced to the world by the Fang Sect Master's holy oracle?" Looking at Zhao Xingde and the others, the eyes also changed from hatred and disdain at the beginning, to three points of admiration, three points of suspicion, and all the rest were shocked and incredulous.

"I haven't come here yet!" Seeing that his subordinates hesitated, Lu Mingyu couldn't help urging sharply, "Heaven Killing Star, come and Mr. Yuanzhi to make amends!" ”

Xia Mao'er saw the leader greeting her, and stepped forward with an unhappy face. Xia Mao'er has always been fierce, and it was his idea to intercept this merchant ship. Although Xia Mao'er has heard of Yuanzhi's name, Zhao Xingde is a real person in front, and he is not a character who can call the wind and rain, scatter beans into soldiers, and have three heads and six arms, so he is a little unconvinced in his heart. As he stepped forward, he said secretly: "It's better to be famous than to meet, Brother Lu is oily." When I knocked him to the ground and made a big ugly appearance, he didn't have the face to make a gesture anymore, and he was arrogant and bowed down to his brothers. He changed his mind, his eyes showed a slight fierce light, he lowered his head, as if listening to Lu Mingyu's words, and walked in front of Zhao Xingde in an orderly manner.

Lu Mingyu saw that Xia Mao'er was honest and said that he was obedient, Zhao Xingde saw that his eyes flickered, he lowered his head and was secretly vigilant in his heart. Sure enough, Xia Mao'er walked up to Zhao Xingde with a dull head, without any warning, and suddenly pounced towards Zhao Xingde, holding his shoulders with both hands, thinking that he could throw Zhao Xingde to the ground with just one pull. Lu Mingyu's face changed suddenly, but he was four or five steps away, and he couldn't stop it. Fortunately, Zhao Xingde was prepared, his body did not retreat but advanced, the palm of his right hand slammed Xia Mao'er's cheek, how amazing the strength of the three-stone bow was, Xia Mao'er was knocked to the ground by this blow, he couldn't sneak attack, and before he came back to his senses, Zhao Xingde took a step forward and stepped on his neck. These two times became hasty, and the rabbit rose and fell, all between the lightning and the fire.

Zhao Xingde stepped on Xia Mao'er's neck, and Lu Mingyu said, "Stop!" Just when he shouted, he saw that Xia Mao'er was defeated, his throat was trampled under Zhao Xingde's feet, his face was flushed, and he almost held his breath. Lu Mingyu hurriedly changed his words: "Be merciful at your feet!" Although Xia Mao'er is a little reckless, she is not a traitor. Please spare him his life. The other leaders of the water bandits also gathered around, and some of them pleaded, "Please have mercy, sir." Spare his life! Although no one dared to do it anymore, Du Blowing Horn and they also nervously protected Zhao Xingde in it.

Seeing this, Zhao Xingde put his feet back. Xia Mao'er got up from the ground, coughed twice, and looked at Zhao Xingde with fear in her eyes. Xia Mao'er was hit by that heavy blow, and the force was so great, only he knew. From just now to now, my mind is still dizzy. If Zhao Xingde hadn't slapped him in the face with his palm, but hammered him with his fist, he would probably have broken the bridge of his nose immediately. So Lu Mingyu sharply instructed him, "Don't make amends to Mr. Yuanzhi yet!" Xia Mao'er didn't dare to disobey anymore, came over the rules, and kowtowed to Zhao Xingde to make amends. Zhao Xingde didn't care either, and forgave him for the crime of sneak attack. At this time, Xia Mao'er's mind was a little clearer, and he muttered in his heart: "It turns out that he is not a weak scholar. ”

Xia Mao'er is known for her bravery among the water warriors, and she came to see Zhao Xingde convincingly. The other people also put away their other thoughts, the people in the green forest respect strength, and the eyes that looked at Zhao Xingde at this moment were a little more convinced. Zhao Xingde is also not bowed down, he is only willing to see each other, and everyone is overjoyed to see that he is approachable and not unattainable. Zhao Xingde is famous all over the rivers and lakes, and his whereabouts are ethereal. To be able to meet him, and even call him a brother, even in the hearts of many water thieves, he secretly said that he was lucky. also witnessed Zhao Xingde knocking over Xia Mao'er in one face, which is also a big news, enough for them to brag to others for a long time. Lu Mingyu even ordered a feast, and he personally accompanied Zhao Xingde back to the nearby Zongzhai on the same boat. As for the businessmen who were hijacked on the same boat, they entrusted Zhao Xingde's blessing, and the water cowards made a gesture to intimidate, and even let the boat and people go.

Since the defeat of Fang La, the water in the area of Dongting Lake has not been completely cut off. Previously, Wang Yan's army defeated Fang La, and by the way, exterminated the bandits in the southeast. There is only one point, because most of the troops in the southeast camp are northerners and are not accustomed to water warfare, so the embers of water thieves have not been extinguished. After that, the imperial court changed commanders, and Liu Yanqing was busy appointing henchmen, crowding out Wang Yan's subordinates, and having the selfishness of playing with self-respect. As a result, the power of the Dongting Water Bandits gradually recovered, and many bandits who could not live in peace on land came to join the gang. After the army of the southeast and west camps went north, and the news of the Liao army's imminent invasion of the south came, the southeast prefecture and county fell into chaos, and the Dongting Lake Shui Kou was even more powerful.

Lu Mingyu is the leader of the thirteen water banks in Dongting Lake, with dozens of large and small leaders under his command, more than 5,000 Ding Zhuang in the thirteen villages, and tens of thousands of people, including the old and weak women and children. And he is only one of the big stocks in the Dongting Water Bandit, and there are two or three other giants who are similar to him. Lu Mingyu's mind was meticulous and built the general village on the lakeside in a place where the grass and mud were dense. In spring and summer, when the water rises, the aquatic plants also rise wildly, and if there is no guide, it is almost impossible to enter the waterway. In autumn and winter, when the aquatic plants decay, the water around the village recedes, and the mud is patchy, and the official and military ships are very easy to run aground. Ding Zhuang in the village also cultivates acres of land in spring and summer, and in autumn and winter, he specializes in war defense, while plundering the villages of the prefecture and county, known as the road to the sky, and on the other hand, the official army takes advantage of the shallow water to attack the cottage.

Lu Mingyu took out all the good wine in the village, and he personally accompanied Zhao Xingde and others with several leaders of the water village. After a few rounds of pushing and changing cups, after the wine was hot, Lu Mingyu looked at Xingde, suddenly burst into tears, pointed to the scar on his forehead and said: "Don't hide it from Mr. Yuanzhi, this is the mark left by Mingyu ten years ago because of the assassination of the posting case. Back then, he was strong and didn't want to be so wronged and ashamed, so he had to entangle a group of like-minded brothers and fall into the grass," he sighed and said, "Over the years, in the name of doing the right thing for heaven, although I have killed some traitors, but because of the necessity of livelihood, the blood of innocent people has also been stained on my hands, and it is too late to regret it." He was drunk and speechless, and the faces of the other village owners were a little embarrassed. In front of Zhao Xingde, there was a feeling of self-pity.

Zhao Xingde saw the pain in his eyes, and he also felt empathy, and comforted: "The national disaster is at the head, and the Khitan soldiers and horses are about to go south. Brother Lu should cheer up, even if there was something wrong in the past, in the future, he will kill more Liao Kou on the battlefield, and wash it clean with the blood of Khitan thieves. As soon as his words fell, Lu Mingyu's eyes revealed a glimmer of light, he put the wine bowl on the table, and said loudly: "If Mr. Zhao establishes a banner of righteousness, rejects Hu Lu in the north, and hangs the people upside down, Lu is willing to swear to the death, although he will not give up." Seeing this, how could the leaders of the water village next to them not comprehend, and shouted loudly: "I am willing to follow Mr. Zhao!" "We are willing to serve Mr. Zhao as the leader!"

There was a loud noise at the main table, which made the Juyi Hall suddenly quiet. Everyone in the village looked over here, some people were dumbfounded, some people were excited, and some whispered: "Are you going to be recruited?" "Mr. Zhao is a former military advisor of the Holy Sect, and Brother Lu wants to serve him as the master!" ", the dog emperor was taken down by the Liao thieves, I heard that Mr. Zhao is the clan, and the Lu League mainly supports Mr. as the emperor, we are all heroes!" "I heard that Mr. Zhao has six Ding Liujia divine arts, please ask the heavenly soldiers and generals to descend to earth." Du Blowhorn and other sergeants were secretly surprised. They exchanged glances with each other, and they didn't expect General Zhao's prestige in the Song Dynasty to be so loud, and even the robbers who met for the first time changed from evil to good and sacrificed their lives to obey each other.

Zhao Xingde looked at Lu Mingyu and the others, his face was full of sincerity, and there was no sense of fraud. These water cowards have never known him in his life, but they are just motivated by morality, so they are willing to follow with their lives, which really moved Zhao Xingde sincerely, he nodded, and said in a kind voice: "Since you strong men have the heart to serve the country, Zhao should do his best to achieve it." Now Mr. Chen Shaoyang and Yue Jiedu,......, the Zhenguo army, are training soldiers and horses in Ezhou, preparing to fight to the death with the Liao army.

Before he finished speaking, Lu Mingyu said eagerly: "Mr. Zhao doesn't dislike a certain class, he just pushes us to the national army in Ezhou Town." The other leaders of the water village also had disappointed expressions on their faces. Zhao Xingde originally thought that Chen Dong was an official of the imperial court, and Yue Fei was famous, so he used the two of them to accept these water cowards who were willing to serve the country, so as not to insult these strong men. Seeing this, I couldn't help but be stunned. At this time, someone from the water below also shouted: "Even if you are recruited, you won't be in the same place as Yue Diao'er!" ”

Lu Mingyu's face was a little embarrassed, and he explained in a low voice: "Mr. Zhao doesn't know, a few years ago, General Yue swept the southeast with Wang Jieshuai, which can be called no attack or take, no service and no obedience, and the prestige is famous, and everyone in the southeast knows it. It's just that the sword has no eyes, and in a fight, killing and injury are inevitable......" Speaking of this, Lu Mingyu hesitated for a moment, and then changed his words, "General Yue governs the army harshly, and the orders in the army are strict, and the brothers in the village may not be able to stand it." ”