Chapter 124: Send silver to ransom and annihilate the water bandits

After Zhang Zhimu and the others went ashore in advance, in order not to attract attention, they lived separately in three inns outside Yangzhou. After Li Jing disguised, she returned to the Yangzhou branch of Yaogang.

Ouyang He, who was anxious, saw Li Jing's casual clothes, and knew that Zhang Zhimu and they were back, and they had arranged it quietly, so he hurriedly said: "Li Jing, take me to see Mr. Zhang!" ”

"Don't worry, Mr. Ouyang, you better change your outfit. We walked through the back door. Li Jing said.

"Oops! You see, I'm confused. After Ouyang He finished speaking, he changed into civilian clothes, didn't even say anything to the people in the branch, and followed Li Jing to leave the Yangzhou branch through the back door and came to the inn where Zhang Zhimu lived.

"Mr. Zhang, I'm ashamed! I have a lot of baggage. Ouyang He felt very uneasy when he saw it, "I'm really careless." A little should be done for their safety. ”

"Don't do that! Mr. Ouyang. How can I blame you for this? Zhang Zhimu said, "We are all a little careless." To tell you the truth, even if you give them the people you brought with you, I'm afraid it's hard to keep them safe. Our opponent this time is definitely prepared. The arrangements they made and the ransom they shouted out were not the actions of ordinary bandits. ”

After everyone returned to the guest room and sat down, Ouyang He said, "These people are very experienced, and their contact person has always been the shipmaker of this little red jade and the ship they hired. Every time they contacted the boatman's location, someone temporarily notified him, and he was usually on the water, and there was no way to track him. It seems that they are well prepared. My idea is that we will give them the money and redeem the people. We insist on seeing people and giving money, otherwise we will not see anyone after we have paid money. This million taels of silver was not a decimal, and it was not easy for them to carry it away. ”

Li Mao said: "Since we occupied Wuluo Island, there is a group of bandits in Hongze Lake that has developed rapidly, and it is said that there are thousands of people. Now the officers and soldiers do not suppress bandits, and they are also rampant, but they have never touched our boats. In particular, judging from this approach, it doesn't look like it was done by water bandits. Because, in general, the bandits are for the silver, and they will shout out a proper amount, and the lion will not open his mouth like this. I'm afraid that our other opponents will intervene in this matter. Then the chances of us redeeming people are too small. Also, the average bandit would rather go against the officials and soldiers than directly against us, and they all know how powerful we are. ”

Ouyang He said: "Now we have to make preparations with both hands. One is that we are ready to exchange silver for people. In addition, I have sent someone to inform the team from Wuluo Island to be on standby in Huai'an. Fan Chengkun also has a company of marines on his side. There are still three ships here in Huai'an, and I didn't let them go back to Yaogang, and they are all on standby. Our people here in Yangzhou have also spread out, so that everyone can find out the news together. After Li Jing's people came back, they discussed with Li Gongzi how to go out to explore the situation outside. ”

"The feature of this side is that the water network extends in all directions. From Xiao Hongyu, it is possible to go in any direction where they were robbed. We really don't know where to start now, so I'll take it one step at a time. Li Mao said, "But what is certain is that this time it was definitely not done by a small group of bandits." I'll go find the people in the green forest right away. However, there is little news possible. Because whoever does it will keep the news tightly sealed. ”

Zhang Zhimu said: "Mr. Ouyang's arrangement is already very thorough. Let's do as he says. ”

"Mr. Zhang, you are still waiting for news here. Mr. Ouyang and Li Jing and I went back quietly and arranged to exchange money with them. Li Mao said.

The person who robbed Xiao Hongyu and them made Li Mao guess that it was really the water bandits in Hongze Lake. These water bandits in Hongze Lake are not ordinary water bandits, and several of their leaders are former generals of the official army. After they failed in the battle with Li Zicheng, they were afraid that they would be punished when they returned, so they led the defeated army, seized the lair of the water bandits in Hongze Lake, and established themselves as kings. They all have experience in managing the army, and they quickly integrated the water bandits on several islands, and slowly there were more than 1,000 people and horses. The water bandits in this lake live in the wind and waves all the year round, and they are strong by nature. There are official generals as leaders, and they are also very supportive. Because they are more organized, they can often go out and do some big deals. Because of the official and military backgrounds of these leaders, they also easily bribed officials at all levels, so they also developed rapidly.

Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong were optimistic about this force, and they both sent people to prepare to incorporate this team. But these leaders are used to being uncles here, and they don't want to be managed by others anymore, so they don't agree. These bandits are all people with brains, they never go against the official army, and they will never provoke merchants like the kiln gangren.

But suddenly, someone came to find them, saying that Zhang Dongjia from Yaogang was coming to Yangzhou, Huai'an. wanted them to help kill the owner, and promised that the silver after the matter was completed was 500,000 taels.

Five hundred thousand taels of silver is a great temptation for anyone. After researching it, the leaders felt that they could not earn the money, and if they did, they would not be able to spend it, so they refused. Soon, however, they were contacted and asked to kidnap a few people. If the kidnapping is successful, they will be paid 300,000 taels of silver.

These leaders, who don't know what kind of people they want to kidnap, can get 300,000 taels of silver. When I asked, I found out that it was Xiao Hongyu, the actor who wanted to kidnap the kiln. They knew it wasn't an easy deal, but 300,000 taels of silver was too tempting. They thought that if things were done cleanly and no one found out, they would be able to get the money done, so they decided to take a risk.

According to the information provided by their employers, they came to Yangzhou in advance, ambushed Xiao Hongyu and them on the way back, and robbed Xiao Hongyu and them.

This time it was their second leader who led the team, and they only learned when they arrived in Yangzhou that the Yaogang people were going to hold the opening ceremony of the shopping mall here.

Although they didn't get a chance to see Little Ruby's performance, they heard it from the sidelines. So they knew that this little red jade was definitely not an ordinary drama. Therefore, after they robbed Xiao Hongyu, the second master changed his mind and told the boat family to ask the kiln man to pay one million taels of silver to ransom him.

What they didn't expect was that the kiln people really promised to pay one million taels of silver to ransom people. This matter, but this gang of bandits don't know what to do. One million taels of silver turned out to be a casual remark of the second master, and they didn't expect the kiln people to agree to come down. They also felt that the reputation of the little red jade tied up this time was too great, and it was from the kiln, and they were ready to negotiate the price with their employer. I never thought I would get a million taels of silver. After discussing it, these leaders felt that they had promised a million taels of silver. But they also understood that even if they really got a million taels of silver, it would be troublesome, and the kiln people would not let them go, even if the people in the green forest knew that they had so much silver, they would also think about them. They decided that if they really got the money, they would immediately abandon the cottage and go incognito in a place where no one knew them, and hide for a few years.

But what these bandit leaders didn't expect was that the news that they asked the kiln gang people for a ransom of one million taels of silver was known to their employers. They came and persuaded them that they had little chance of getting a million taels of silver, and that they were willing to pay 500,000 taels of silver to take them away.

The bandit leaders hesitated again. However, the result of their discussion was to keep doing nothing, and if they could get one million taels of silver from the kiln people, they would immediately hide and not get it, and then come back and ask for their five hundred thousand taels of silver. The deadline for payment of the silver is coming to the kiln. But whoever takes the money, he must run away at once. Because there is no good result in messing with the kiln gangsters, someone will know about this sooner or later.

Since Xiao Hongyu's worth is too high, these bandits did not neglect them. Little Hongyu and the others were taken to a small island in Hongze Lake, where they were served with delicious food and drink every day. The second leader had to cover his face in order to see Xiao Hongyu, afraid of being recognized.

There was only one day left before the time to hand over the silver, and the leaders decided to send someone to negotiate directly with the kiln gang people to determine the matter of handing over the silver.

The one who came with the original boatman is a lord who is not afraid of heaven and earth, and since this person dares to come, he doesn't care about death. However, he spoke very politely, and when he saw Ouyang He, he said: "I am on the order of our head of the house to talk to you about handing over the money and releasing people." ”

Ouyang He said: "Don't worry, we have prepared the silver." Our condition is that we pay money when we see people, but our people must have no problems. ”

"We know the rules, don't worry, there will be no hair. We hope that tomorrow we will load the money on the ship, and I will take you to hand over the money and receive the men. "Someone said.

"You see, this is not a small amount of silver, and it cannot fit in a ship." Ouyang He tentatively.

"It doesn't matter. You can transport the silver to Huai'an first. Just change to a larger boat there, and I'll go with you myself to get there. This person's words made Ouyang He feel a spectrum in his heart.

"Alright! Tonight I will have the money loaded onto the ship, and tomorrow I will send with you to ransom you. Ouyang He said.

"Good! I'll be at the dock early tomorrow morning. But I have something to say. If you don't keep your word, you'll never get to see your people again. "It's very sophisticated.

That night, Fan Chengkun and Mu Yi took people to Huai'an first.

Early the next morning, Li Mao and Li Jing followed yesterday's visitor, roughly checked the silver on the boat, and then went to Huai'an by boat together.

When he arrived in Huai'an, according to the request of the visitor, he exchanged all the silver for a large ship, and the man was to set sail immediately.

Li Jing said: "Wait, this friend, when we get to the place, we will see people, and we will hand over this ship to you." But how do our people come back? Is it possible to bring another boat with you? ”

The man thought for a moment and said, "Take a boat with you." ”

Li Mao and Li Jing took people to ride the silver boat with this person, and Mu Yi took people on another boat. They went out of Huai'an, entered the Yellow River and entered the Huai River, and walked for a day until they came to an entrance to Hongze Lake.

The person who came to contact him, whistled. There were many boats sailing out of the reeds all around.

Li Jing snorted and said, "What a friend, I want to be hard." You don't want any more money? ”

"Don't get me wrong, friend! We follow the rules, you can rest assured that there is nothing to do. Your guys will be over in a moment. The visitor quickly explained that he didn't want any more accidents here.

At this time, Mu Yi's ship also came over.

Sure enough, when the other party saw that there was no danger, he rowed out another small boat. Li Mao took out the binoculars, and saw that it was indeed Xiaohong and them on the boat. Wait for their boat to come closer. Li Jing said, "You have inspected our silver, and I will go over and test our people." ”

This person smiled and said, "This hero, dare to ask, which one are you?" It seems that you know a lot about the Tao. ”

"Don't talk nonsense! Hurry up and send a small boat over. Li Jing said: "Friends on the rivers and lakes call me 'God Ape', you should also have a name and surname!" ”

"Oops! You are the 'God Ape' Li Jing, disrespectful and disrespectful. But I don't dare to say anything about my cheap name today. I immediately called the boat over. It seems that Li Jing's reputation still makes this person very jealous, he immediately called over a small boat, Li Jing took a small boat to Xiao Hongyu and Liu Ban Owner's boat, and asked, "Liu Ban Master, are you all right?" ”

Liu Banzhu and Xiao Hongyu, when they saw that Li Jing was coming, they knew that the people from Yaogang had come to save them, and what they were most afraid of in the past few days was that the family didn't know that something had happened. They believe that as long as the family knows that something happened to them, they will definitely save them.

Class Master Liu and Xiao Hongyu both shouted, "It's okay." We're fine. ”

"Then don't panic. We'll go back together in a moment. After saying that, Li Jing returned to the silver boat and said, "Let our people come over!" We'll get on the other boat together, and then you guys take the boat away, you see? Li Jing said to the person who came to exchange.

The man looked around at his own boat, thought it would not be a big deal, and said, "All right! Then with a wave of his hand, the boat that Xiao Hongyu and the others were on rowed over and came to Li Jing and their boat. Li Mao led them to another boat.

Li Jing was the last to come, and when she left the silver-loaded ship, Li Jing said, "I'm leaving, don't you want to tell me your name?" Maybe when I kill you, I'll give you a good time. ”

This person was also unambiguous, and said: "Li Jing, do you think I am a person who is afraid of death? I'm also telling you, you don't have a chance to find us. ”

After Li Jing passed, Mu Yi gestured with his eyes. Li Jing also nodded. As soon as Li Mao waved his hand, their ship pulled up the sails and walked back. Just out of Hongze Lake to the Huai River. Fan Chengkun and their three warships and the flat-bottomed boat on Wuluo Island were already waiting here.

After transferring Xiao Hongyu and Liu Banzhu to the warship, Li Mao said, "They can't run far, let's go!" ”

Fan Chengkun commanded the other two warships, increased their horsepower, and sailed towards Hongze Lake.

At this time, the bandits are celebrating on the silver boat. The leaders of all their sizes came out this time, because they had never seen a million taels of silver in their lives. When they came to the silver ship and saw that the silver had really arrived, they immediately ordered them to hurry back to the cottage, fearing that they would have a long night and many dreams here.

But as their boat walked, it became felt that it was getting slower and slower. When I looked at it, I realized that the boat was leaking. The draft is getting deeper and deeper, and the silver is too heavy. They knew that they had been deceived, and that the money was real, but it was also true that they would not be able to transport it. The chief commanded: "Hurry up and carry the silver to another ship." ”

Just as their other ships approached and were about to carry the silver, they suddenly heard a "boom" sound, and several smoking warships appeared in the distance. They understood that they had been calculated by the kiln workers.

These bandits from the official army and the army can only fight to talk about it when they see what has happened so far. Ignoring the silver ship, they organized other ships and began to fire at the warships in Yaogang.

The wind and waves in this lake are much smaller than those on the sea, and the water bandits' cannons pose little threat to the warships of Yaogang, but the direct shooting of the infantry guns on the Yaogang warships is like hitting a target, almost one cannon at a time. The wooden boats could withstand the shells. A dozen or so slightly larger bandit boats were soon reduced to broken wood on the lake. The boats had just thought they were lucky, and they were not uncommon to hit them with cannons, but soon, the rain of bullets from the heavy machine guns on the ships made them lose their luck.

This time, the only people who felt fortunate were the sailors on this sinking ship loaded with silver. They knew that the kiln men were reluctant to sink the silver-laden ship.

Looking at the warship approaching, several bandit leaders wanted to jump off the ship and escape, but they were afraid of the heavy machine guns of others, and the target of that guy in the water was simply terrible.

These leaders felt that their martial arts were still good, and they could compare and compare, and they all took out their own blades.

But the soldiers on the ship who came over had never seen the guy in their hands.

Li Jing was the first to jump onto the silver-laden ship, and there was a guy who wanted to show his martial prowess and loyalty in front of their leader. jumped over with a single knife, Li Jing didn't be polite to him, raised his hand and shot him in the head, with a "snap", a blood flower splashed on this guy's head, and he fell down after a hole.

At this moment, the remaining leaders were suppressed. The big leader swallowed his saliva and said, "Hero, today we admit it." Are you one-on-one or what to do? You say. ”

Li Jing raised her hand and hit this guy in the leg with a "snap", and said, "If you don't want Ma Shan to die, you will kneel." Don't be a hero here. ”

Seeing that a few guys were still dying to save face, Li Jing raised her hand and was about to shoot again. As a result, these former bandit leaders all "pounced" and knelt down. Those minions who follow the bastard don't understand, how can these murderous leaders kneel down for people? There was no way, so they had to kneel down.

Li Jing said: "Tie up! ”

A few people came over, and they tied them all up. There was something strange about these people who were tied up, and after they were tied up, no one paid attention to them. Those people were all standing by the side of the boat and watching. Don't know what's going on?

After a while, cheers were heard from below the boat, and everyone on board joined in with the joy.

Li Jing turned around at this time and asked, "Which of you is in charge?" ”

The man who had just been robbed said, "I am." ”

"Ou! Good news for you, our men just plugged up this leaky boat. Don't worry. The ship could not be sunk. Li Jing said.

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Five-line scores, oscillating circuits, caesarean sections. Guo Shoujing made alloy cannons, and Guan Hanqing created "Journey to the West". --Progress of "Memories of the Southern Song Dynasty".