Zhao Xun's department, before arriving in Anqiu County, Gaomi Prefecture, received a report from Tanma that Anqiu County had been taken by the Ninth Prefecture. When Zhao Xun heard this, he was taken aback. The ninth government is to attack Gaomi Mansion through Beihai Mansion in Qingzhou, and it should be taken Chang'an and Ping'an counties, how can it take Anqiu to the east?

After entering Anqiu County and converging with the Ninth Mansion, Zhao Xun met the generals of the Ninth Mansion. After inquiry, I learned that a few days ago, when the Ninth Prefecture was attacking Ping'an County, all the guards in Xiami, Anqiu, Chang'an, Ping'an, and all the territories were evacuated and left the southern part of Gaomi Province.

Hearing the report of the Ninth Mansion, Zhao Xun and Wei Dong looked at each other, and Zhao Xun couldn't help but sigh: "This Tang Xian is decisive, clean and neat, and throws the undefendable four southern counties to us, and concentrates his forces with the north." ”

Wei Dongdao: "Is he going to fight our army to the death in the four northern counties?" Although it is connected to Donglai Province and it is convenient for the movement of the guard army, Lingzhou Mansion in the south of Donglai Province is now in the hands of our army, and he cannot afford not to guard against it. In this way, he will find himself in a two-sided situation. ”

"Leave him alone, send an order to the whole army, move north, and enter Xiami County to see Tang Xian's reaction." Zhao Xun said disapprerovingly. Whether it is war or peace, now the initiative is in their own hands, what to fear. It's just that Tang Xian gathered forty or fifty thousand troops in Donglai Mansion and Gaomi Mansion, and he fought hard, and the casualties must be not small.

…………

The armies on the road and ground were fighting, either defending or attacking. In the sea area east of Qingzhou, there are also sailors busy.

The intention of the Xiaoguo Army will cut off the supply of the Qingzhou Guards and the outside world. The supply on the road is very well blocked, and now Qingzhou and the place that is surrounded on all sides, not to mention the Qingzhou Guard. The rest is the waterway, and the eastern part of Qingzhou is a vast sea, and the guards can buy supplies for people to transport. The task of the Qingzhou Navy is naturally to intercept passing merchant ships.

Because at the beginning of the war, the Xiaoguo Army had organized a large-scale blockade, but because it was the Qingzhou Navy in the north of Qingzhou and the Wei Army in the south, the effect was not obvious. Now that the Qingzhou Navy is located in the south and the Guards in the north, it is natural for the Navy to intercept all the merchant ships that may supply supplies to the Guards. Don't underestimate businessmen, no treacherous businessmen, these people dare to do things that lose their heads for the sake of profit, not to mention ignoring the rules of the Xiaoguo Army. The Qingzhou Navy Army, which was originally stationed in Donghai Port in Donglin County, has now also gotten rid of the affairs of transportation for the army and has begun to strengthen the blockade of the sea area.

According to the rough information collected from other merchants before, there are dozens or hundreds of merchant ships passing through the eastern waters of Qingzhou every day, coming and going from the south to the north. The merchant ships in Youzhou and Jizhou in the north are supervised by the Youzhou Navy, and the merchant ships in the south and north are in charge of the Qingzhou Navy, so that the guards in the middle will not be supplied by the outside world.

It is easy to say that the Qingzhou Navy wants to block them, but in fact, it is easier to do it seriously. The surface of the water is different from the land, there are no fast horses, there are no flying pigeons, and it is very difficult to transmit information between ships. Even if a sentinel ship finds a target and wants to gather other ships, it will be very difficult. There is no radio on these ships for long-distance communication. In the vastness of the sea, it is difficult to communicate with each other, and for this reason, other ships can only be summoned with the sound of earth-shattering explosions.

The sea area is so large, there are a lot of exchanges, but in the boundless sea, it is really not a simple matter to intercept it, and it is even more difficult for merchant ships to deliberately dodge.

After receiving Zhao Xun's military order, after building a military port in Donglin County, some of the sailors assisted in the construction, and some of them took boats to carry out activities at sea, which lasted every few days. For three or four days in a row, the rest did not yield anything, except for some normal merchant ships.

It wasn't until the fifth day that the Qingzhou Navy discovered a fleet of ships, which was far away from Qingzhou, rowing a large circle to the north. Thousands of miles of blue waves, the naval warships swept over the calm water, bringing up layers of ripples. Five Qingzhou naval warships quickly sailed towards the target from all directions, like a pack of hungry wolves pounced on the tiger. Their target is four large sea ships from the north and south.

All ships from the south to the sea need to pay taxes in Lingzhou Prefecture, which is equivalent to customs. After payment, a small flag with a number at all times and a tax bill corresponding to the flag number are issued. Merchant ships heading from the north to the south need to go through similar procedures at the sea before they can enter the sea, and at the same time, they are protected by the navy in the sea area.

But these four sea ships, after seeing the patrol ship of the Xiaoguo Army, not only did not stop, but fled by the way. The three-masted patrol ship immediately released the earth-shattering thunder to call the surrounding warships in pursuit. In just half an hour, four three-masted and three-story warships came behind these four sea ships.

In order to prevent them from scattering and fleeing, at first, the navy did not chase them very quickly. On the masts of these four large merchant ships, all of them are hoisted with the Canglong flag of Yan Kingdom. Their waterline was so deep that the waves almost hit the deck of the merchant ship. At a glance, you can see that their ships, the load has been extended to the limit.

On the Yanyun, Li Yin, the captain of the light car, raised the monocular made by the Xiaoguo military craftsman and observed the other party from a distance. The target seen through the monoculars is clear, and even the panic of the sailors above can be seen clearly. This is a ship with temporary ground weapons, it seems that it is definitely not an ordinary merchant ship, but the sailors on it did not have a unified command after discovering the Xiaoguo Army warship, and they must not be professional combat sailors.

Obviously, the first transaction of the Qingzhou Water Army is about to open. Li Yin put down the telescope and gave a signal to speed up the pursuit. The flag bearer kept waving the flag, informing the other ships around him to prepare to speed up. At the same time, a sky-shattering thunder was released, notifying the battleships in front to intercept.

Almost silently, two of the battleships, suddenly accelerating, quickly and quietly plugged in from both sides, sandwiching the four merchant ships on the left and right. The two battleships were equipped with the latest large crossbows and a trebuchet, and the murderous aura of the saber rattling could be felt even from the far lake by the people on the four merchant ships. On the masts of these two warships, there are also large Xiaoguo army battle flags, if these four merchant ships have not realized that the Xiaoguo army is going to attack them, it is a fool.

Sure enough, the four merchant ships from the south sensed that something was wrong, and subconsciously accelerated their speed, wanting to get rid of the interception of the Xiaoguo warships, but their load was too large, the waterline was very deep, and it was very difficult to accelerate. In a few moments, two warships blocked their way from the front, and the naval flags on the battleships issued an order to stop the ship immediately. Only then did these four sea ships understand that the speed maintained by the other party before was not to catch up, but to call friends.

It was a merchant ship that made a quick decision, and immediately turned around slowly, making a big bend in the sea, trying to flee in the easterly direction. However, at this moment, in the eastern sky, several hazy shadows of warships appeared in front of them, coming towards them. You don't need to look at it, the flame unicorn flag hanging on the warship told everyone, the warship of the Qingzhou Navy at that time. A moment later, three three-masted battleships lined up and intercepted in front, telling them unequivocally that the road was impassable. Finally, in desperation, the four merchant ships slowly slowed down.

Naval warships approached them from all sides, and at the same time, in front of them, a huge warship suddenly appeared in their field of vision. This battleship is more than 20 zhang long, more than 10 zhang high, and has six masts, each of which is 15 meters high. Around the battleship, there are also guardrails like women's walls. This is the five-story ship of the Xiaoguo Army, which is divided into five layers, and is the most powerful warship today.

From a distance, you can clearly see the trebuchets and large crossbow machines on the deck of the ship. Everyone on the merchant ship has quietly changed color, this is the real giant warship! In Yangzhou, such a battleship, they also know. Fortunately, they did not brazenly use the ship's weapons to return fire, otherwise they might have sunk to the bottom of the sea.

The flaming unicorn flags were all fluttering on the warships in front of and on the left and right, and everyone in the merchant ship naturally understood the identity and intention of the other party. In the face of this menacing situation, they can only be obedient.

The four merchant ships were finally completely forced to stop, and reluctantly stopped on the slightly rippling sea. The battleship Yanyun slowly approached and boarded the side of the opponent's ship, only to hear a whooshing, clattering sound, and several flying cymbals were vigorously thrown out and thrown onto the top of the merchant ship, hooking the deck guardrail of the merchant ship. The heavily armed sailors quickly jumped onto the other party's ship and brought all four merchant ships under control. All the people on the merchant ship were escorted to the deck. Maybe it's because the load is too much, when the Qingzhou water sergeant jumps over, the lake water keeps hitting the deck, as if it will sink at any time.

Li Yin put away the binoculars in his hand, walked slowly to the side of the ship, looked at the four merchant ships that were captured, and coldly judged the identities of these people.

The four merchant ships were armed, but they did not fight back, obviously they knew very well that it was undoubtedly self-defeating to use such improvised weapons to confront the warships of the Qingzhou Navy Army. Now that you are aware of this, you must not be an ordinary merchant ship. At the very least, you should know the new policy of the Qingzhou Navy in the eastern waters of Qingzhou.

The ship's armament was improvised, not pirated. But the other party refused to go to the seaport of Donglin County to pay taxes, that is, they did not want to go to Youzhou and Jizhou. Otherwise, when they get close to Youzhou and Jizhou, they will be confiscated by the Youzhou Navy Army, including sea vessels.

"Let the person in charge of the other party come over!" Li Yin said coldly. In short, these people are not good things, and the ships are either supplies for the guards or some contraband. For example, weapons, iron, and other items were transported privately to northern Zhuhu and Silla.

A moment later, a middle-aged man was brought to Li Yin, and seeing that although his expression was panicked, his eyes were extremely stable, and Li Yin knew that this guy was not simple.

Li Yin sneered and said gloomily, "Where did it come from?" ”

The middle-aged man with a clear face tried his best to calm down and said, "Yangzhou ......"

Li Yin shouted: "Yangzhou...... Where to go? ”

The middle-aged man replied, "Youzhou! ”

Li Yin said coldly: "Go to Youzhou? Why are there weapons such as crossbows on merchant ships? ”

"Afraid of pirates robbing ......"

Li Yin sneered: "So, you treat our warship as a pirate?" ”

The middle-aged man hurriedly said, "Don't you dare...... Don't dare ......"

"Don't dare?" Li Yin said in a gloomy voice: "Then why did you flee in a hurry when you saw our warship?" Also, let you stop the boat, you are good, and you are still running wild. Don't play tricks in front of me, or you'll go to the sea and be a water ghost. ”

The middle-aged man's face changed, and he said calmly: "How dare I play tricks in front of the general, I really didn't deceive the general!" Previously...... I just didn't see that you were a Xiaoguo warship for a while. ”

Li Yin pulled out the horizontal knife with a sigh, and the cold blade was close to his neck: "Do you really want to be a water ghost at the bottom of the sea?" ”

The coldness on the blade penetrated the bone marrow, and the middle-aged man didn't dare to say anything anymore, and said with difficulty for a long time: "No...... Don't want to! ”

Li Yin put away the knife and said coldly: "I don't want to, if I don't want to, just cooperate with me honestly and answer my questions, this captain doesn't have the patience to play with you." ”

The middle-aged man did not dare to say anything.

Han Liyin said again: "What's your name?" ”

The middle-aged man said, "Yang asked! ”

"Where did you come from?"

The middle-aged man didn't speak for a while, Li Yin was about to hold his hand on the hilt of the knife, and the middle-aged man said in a trembling voice: "Xuzhou! ”

"Where did you come from?" Li Yin asked in a lost voice.

"Xuzhou!" The middle-aged man was stunned and said astringently.

"Xuzhou Army! You are the fleet of the Xuzhou Army? Li Yin asked with squinted eyes. The right hand holding the handle of the knife couldn't help but tighten.

The middle-aged man smiled bitterly: "Yes......"

Li Yin was stunned for a moment, he understood, it seemed that this was a big deal and needed to be reported.