Pei Gai was well aware of the truth of "soldiers are noble and fast", so as soon as he took down those dock fort masters, he urgently summoned four battalion commanders to come over to discuss, assign tasks, and order them to set off immediately to attack all the dock forts in the county. Because although the servants of the lord of the dock fort were also surrounded and taken outside the government office, after all, there were quite a few of them who could fight, and when the battle was fought, it was inevitable that there would be noise, even if troops were sent to cut off the nearby traffic in advance, there might be news leaked.

You must know that those dock castle owners have arranged a lot of bright and dark eyeliner in the county, and they also have a lot of contacts with several big families in the city, even if they don't let idlers out of the city for the time being, they are afraid that if someone sees the clue and sneaks out of the city from some unknown secret passage to report the news, the raid will inevitably be hindered at that time. Therefore, it is necessary to hurry up and take them by surprise.

However, even the army trained by Zu Ti in these years is not the same as that of later generations, and the operational efficiency is simply outrageously dull in the eyes of Pei Gai, a traverser. The order had been issued before noon, but it was not until late afternoon that the three teams drove out of the city in a mighty manner - at this time, Pei Caidu had already intercepted Bian Yan, and the two were about to return to Huaiyin County.

Gao Le's "martial arts battalion" was out of the West Gate, and first went to attack Hanxiwu Fort; Liu Yetang's "Lifeng Camp" and Zhen Sui's "Fire Robbery Camp" went out of the east gate and went straight to Huaisiwu Fort. From Huaiyin County to Huaisiwu Fort, the straight-line distance is only more than ten miles, but on the way, you must first go around in a circle and cross the Huaishui. Pei had already ordered most of the ships on the patrol to go over to meet the troops, but just after arriving at the ferry, they received an order from Bian Yan to turn to the north of the city to help the displaced people who had withdrawn from Yishan......

In this way, it was delayed for a long time, causing Liu Yetang and Zhen to sigh with Wanghuai, although they were so anxious that they stomped their feet, but they couldn't think about it. Finally, when the fleet drove back, it was already dusk, and then hurriedly boarded the boat to cross the Huaishui, and it was already dark......

According to Liu Yetang's idea, then he could only set up camp for the time being, and wait for the next day's dawn to attack Huaisiwu Fort. But Zhen Sui objected vigorously, he said: "This place is less than ten miles away from Wubao, how can we wait for us to settle down in the village, how can we not be noticed by them?" And they will have one night to arrange, waiting for tomorrow morning to go, where is the chance of winning? ”

Liu Yetang tilted his head slightly, and his mouth turned back: "With this treasure here, are you still afraid of taking the Dock Fort?" Of course, he was referring to Chen Fen, the master of the dock fort who was following behind him with his hands tied behind his back and his head down.

Zhen Sui chirped: "What's the use of this guy? You must know that he still has a brother in the dock fort! If you can't take the dock fort as soon as possible, what will happen when Hu Qi arrives? ”

Since the fleet that transported them to the Huai River had returned, it naturally also brought the news that the Yishan refugees had crossed to the south. It is said that the team of displaced people has been stretched for more than ten miles, and the last tail has been bitten by Zhiqu Liu, and it is estimated that at dusk at the latest, Hu Qi will drive to the north bank, facing Huaiyin City across the water. Because they could not find a sufficient number of ships, and there were patrol boats on the river, and there were flint forts on the south bank, the Hu army could not wade across, so perhaps to the east, or to the west, they would find another place to cross—if they were to the west, they would have to cross Surabaya first, and they would arrive at Huaisiwu Fort at noon at the latest.

This is still the most optimistic judgment taken into account that Hu Qi was not necessarily familiar with the geography of the Huaishui Valley, and was unlikely to march overnight, and that if he wanted to cross Si, he would have to spend time looking for a place where the water flow was gentler. Maybe they are strong and high, and they will be able to reach the vicinity of Huaisiwu Fort at dawn tomorrow!

Zhen Sui said that if this is the case, then not only will we not be able to take the dock fort, but we may also have to win a decisive victory with the Hu army in the plains. According to the news from the county seat, the number of Hu troops is not less than ours, and all of them are cavalry...... Will you win this battle? I don't have faith......

Besides, if Huaisiwu Fort is under the command of Jian Chen, it is directly lowered, and the two converge into one place, then let's not talk about fighting, even if you successfully escape, the difficulty coefficient is quite large.

Liu Yetang couldn't help frowning and stomping his feet - "Huaisi has Chen Jian, it's really an outlier!" ”

Why is it an outlier? Because of the eleven dock forts in the county, only Huaisi has such a "No. 2 person". The rest of the Dock Castles are very loosely organized, and the power is only in the hands of the Dock Castle Master, and there is no other person who is too powerful to oppose him. I also know that those dock castle owners are not from big families, and their own political authority in the local area is very low, so in order to gather all aspects of strength and unify the enemy, the dock castle lord must monopolize power, and will never share power with others.

It's different if there is a family in charge. For example, if Wenxi County, Hedong County, also has a dock fort, it will inevitably take the Pei family as its core, and the cohesion within the family is relatively strong. The landlords of the Shu nationality lacked this advantage, especially the families of the landlords themselves were not prosperous enough, and it was difficult to temporarily elect a new leader with prestige among a dozen or dozens of people.

There is only Huaisi Wubao, Chen Jian is a natural second-in-command, if his brother is not there, he can stay in the post of the head office, and no one dares to object.

Therefore, Zhen Sui tried his best to advocate marching at night, and strive to solve the Huaisiwu Fort tonight, otherwise there will be endless troubles. Liu Yetang was still hesitating: "Attacking the enemy at night is a taboo for soldiers......"

In those years, the soldiers were generally malnourished, many of them had night blindness, and at night they could not see the road ahead even with torches, so the army rarely moved at night - and more importantly, due to this factor, there was no special training for night marching and combat. It's not that you can't march at night, but it's easy to get lost; It's not that it can't fight at night, but its combat effectiveness is bound to be greatly reduced.

Zhen Sui pouted and said, "Seven or eight miles ahead, where will you get lost?" Although our army is not good at night fighting, can the people in the dock fort fight at night? Left and right will be discovered by them, and there is no need to sneak, with great fanfare, carrying torches to Keye. If you are too timid to go, the master will lead my 'fire robbery camp' to go alone!" ”

Liu Yetang said with a smile: "You said the word 'master' again, aren't you afraid that I will order you to turn around and return to the city immediately and go to the governor to ask for guilt?" Touching his beard and thinking about it, although this trip is mainly based on himself, after all, Zhen Sui is from Pei Jianshi's subordinates, which is considered a private person, and it is inconvenient to offend ...... That's it, wait until tomorrow morning to march again, it is indeed quite dangerous, in this case, it is better to take risks tonight, even if it fails, it is still too late to quickly withdraw to the county seat, so as not to encounter the Hu army head-on.

So he ordered the soldiers to rest for a while, then lit torches, and continued to march towards Huaisiwu Fort. Less than ten miles away, even if the soldiers took the hands of their companions and stumbled forward, they only walked in a quarter of an hour, and when they arrived at the dock fort, they saw that the gate of the fort was closed, and there was a flash of fire on the wall.

Liu Yetang asked Pei Lin to call the door, and Pei Lin had just walked to the gate of the fort when he heard a familiar voice shouting, "It turned out to be Guijie." I don't know what you came here at night and brought so many soldiers, what is it for? It was Jian Chen's voice.

Pei Lin raised his hand and called: "There is a warning signal during the day, Hu Cai is coming, so the king sent troops to help defend Huaisiwu Fort." The second brother quickly opened the door and let me in. ”

Originally, as long as Chen Jian was deceived into opening the door, then the task could be easily completed, who thought that Chen Jian shook his head again and again: "I am afraid that there will not be enough soldiers and horses in the fort, please camp outside the fort for the time being." "He is not stupid, if Pei Lin only led a dozen or dozens of people to come, of course he had to open the door quickly to welcome in, but with so many soldiers, who knows if they have good intentions or bad intentions? Even if they really came to help defend the fort, since they were included, then the drinking water and forage would inevitably have to be tí gòng by us - God knows how much it would cost? If the two sides get into a fight, I can't beat it.

You must know that although Huaisi Wubao can produce 2,000 victorious soldiers, after all, the main body is not a full-time soldier, but a peasant soldier from the four townships. There are only four or five hundred people guarding the fort all the year round, and even if all the men in the fort are pulled out, there are less than a thousand.

Pei Lin said: "That's the case, and open the door and let me in." He originally thought that as long as the fort gate was opened, the county soldiers would be able to rush in, but who thought that Chen Jian immediately ordered: "Put down the hanging basket and let Jun Guijie in." ”

Pei Lin couldn't think about it, so he had to retreat and discuss with Liu Yetang and Zhen Sui. Zhen Sui glared and said, "It's hard to earn this fort with a little trick - how did the governor order it when he left?" Thou shalt do as it is planned. ”

So Liu Yetang ordered someone to push Chen Fen over, shine it with a torch, and show it to Jian Chen. Chen Jian looked at it fixedly, couldn't help but be surprised, and hurriedly asked, "Why is the eldest brother like this?" Chen Fen still had a cloth ball stuffed in his mouth, and he couldn't speak, so he heard Pei Lin shouting: "Brother Ru offended the envoy, so the envoy ordered him to be arrested." Hurry up and open the dock door, or you'll cut your brother in two! ”

There was a commotion and panic on the dock fort, and Jian Chen hurriedly ordered his cronies to restrain everyone, and then demanded: "And Yun Mou talks to my brother." "I'll have to hear what my brother has to say.

Zhen Sui pulled out the cloth ball in Chen Fen's mouth, Chen Fen retched for a moment, and then shouted with a stalk on his neck: "I waited for the trap of that dog official, and I was taken down!" Xingguo must not open the dock ......" Before he could finish speaking, he had already been stabbed in the stomach by Zhen Sui with a hard punch, so he curled up and choked back the last few words - Zhen Sui immediately blocked his mouth with a cloth ball.

Pei Lin continued to drink and ordered Wubao to open the door. Chen Jian's eyes were so hateful that he shouted: "On the orders of my brother, I will never open the door!" If you dare to hurt a single hair of my brother, I will lead my troops to the city and take the life of the dog officer!" However, until this time, he didn't believe that the "dog official" in Chen Fen's mouth meant Pei Gai, and thought it was an order from Bian Yan...... Otherwise, it was Zu Ti who played a trick to secretly cross Chen Cang and sneaked back?

If that's the case, then I don't have the strength to attack the county seat at all...... No matter, let's put a few cruel words first, I hope the other party doesn't dare to hurt his brother easily.

Immediately, I heard an ugly-looking person beside Chen Fen shouting, "Who is afraid of you?" Tell you the truth, Brother Ru was captured by the master! If you really have the guts, you will open the door to find the master to duel, if you can pass the master's three moves, then let your brother go! ”

Chen Jiancai would not fall for Zhen Sui, he just scolded, but refused to order the door to be opened. The two of them exchanged words and swords, and the confrontation lasted for nearly dozens of rounds, Zhen was full of foul language, and Liu Yetang and Pei Lin next to him couldn't help but be dumbfounded, and Chen Jian on the other side was gradually defeated. Then Zhen Sui patted his chest and laughed: "Hahahaha, the master won!" Winning is winning, but it doesn't help, so I have to turn my head and say to Pei Lian: "It's your turn next." ”

Pei Lin scolded in his heart, so he had no choice but to step forward, take out a piece of paper from his arms, spread his hands, and began to chant aloud: "Chen Fen and Chen Jian brothers, ravaged the countryside, and the crime was monstrous, so I was ordered by the assassin to search for the two fangs." Whoever opens the door in the dock fort will be rewarded, and whoever captures Chen Jian to surrender will be rewarded. If you don't open the door, once the army enters the fort, there will be no good or bad, and there will be no chickens and dogs! ”

Of course, just verbal intimidation is bound to be useless, and the key is really listed below many crimes of the Chen brothers, such as colluding with bandits, bullying men and women, beating people's lives, and even kicking the widow's door, digging out household graves, bullying honest people, etc., no less than thirty or fifty articles, and most of them also have the name of the sufferer and the detailed process, which does not seem to be groundless.

Pei should have collected the bad deeds of the lord of the dock fort for more than a day. One is that he went to various construction sites to "collect style", pretending to chat, and loved to listen to all kinds of flying short and long, and when it was over, whether it was true or not, he wrote it all silently at night; Second, he sent Pei Lian, Pei Du and others to the various dock forts to ask for tribute, and these slaves were well treated, and between eating and drinking, he also inquired about a lot of information. If you want to say that among these dock fort owners, there can be no good people and gentlemen, all of them do many evils, and most of the small people controlled by the dock fort have enmity with them. Although there is a grudge, but because of its power, it depends on them to protect itself, so it does not dare to make trouble, but when chatting and complaining a few words, no one can stop it.

If there really is a dock lord who can control public opinion almost perfectly, Pei should have to come to the door in person to recruit - talent!

is like Liu Bang, the ancestor of the Han Dynasty, who bullied men and women in Pei County and did everything, which is also notorious. But only the wicked, in the troubled times can have the strength to ensure the safety of one party, so it can stand out, in order to survive, the common people are afraid of the power first, and then Huaide, they would rather follow the wicked than the gentleman.

Liu Kun is a gentleman, virtuous and unprestigious, so countless people are attached to him, but most of them will run away after staying for a few days. Xi Jian is different, although he recruits people with virtue and prestige, but once he is under his command, he must be strict with the order, punish if he has done so, and not be merciful, so as to ensure the safety of the mountain for a period of time.

As for the accusations of the various dock castle owners collected by Pei Cai, whether they are true or false, whether they are exaggerated or not, he doesn't care at all. Therefore, put these charges on Bian Yan, Bian Wangzhi shook his head again and again, and said that you have no evidence or evidence, how can you count? To punish them in this way is a big violation of the law of the country - the two quarreled about it, and Bian Yan was so angry that he hung up his crown and left......