Looking at the warriors who were chasing and killing on the shore, Hu Le's expression was cold, and he said in a deep voice: "The sky is getting darker, let's leave immediately!" Unexpectedly, people from the Qi army also appeared here. Xu Yangcheng of Xinqiao Town, as Lao Li said, is not credible! We immediately made a new move to the east, preparing to join the Li family in Donglou Town. ”

Xu Wenle said in a deep voice: "General, what's the matter?" Is there any problem? Could it be that the Qi army will attack the Li family? ”

Hu Le shook his head and said, "No, their Li family is not so easy to be raided. In addition, if the Qi army on the opposite side wants to find out our information related to the Li family, it will need to go until tomorrow at the earliest. However, since the Qi army has come, we have to make some preparations in advance, just in case. As a lieutenant, you should know that nothing can be completely controlled by one person. If you prepare a little early, your chances will be one more percent. ”

"These bastards, too, are too bold, aren't they afraid that our rebel army will let his ship sink in the lake forever? Aren't you afraid of the revenge of our righteous army? Someone said hatefully. Being ambushed by someone, no one will be in a good mood.

Hu Le said in a deep voice: "Because they have found another backer, they don't worry about us at all." ”

"The general is saying that the people of the Xu family are doing this because they have already taken refuge in the Qi army? With someone like the Xu family, it is almost the same to cooperate with the Qi army, will they really take refuge in the Qi army? On the water, our Jieyi army is much stronger than their Qi army. Xu Wenle said in a muffled voice.

"These people in ambush are using the standard weapons of the Qi army, that is to say, they are the people of the Qi army. If the Xu family does this, even if they are hostile to us, if they don't defect to the Qi army, they will not be able to deal with the retaliation of our Jieyi army. ”

"What now? Just do it? When have we ever suffered such a loss? General, if you don't give them some color, I'm afraid that I = our mission of persuasion to surrender, and there will be no way to continue in the future, and even, General, your safety cannot be guaranteed. This Xu family must be punished accordingly, not only to retaliate for today's betrayal and ambush, but more importantly, we need to give other bandit leaders a model and let them know the consequences of ambushing the generals of our Jieyi Army," Xu Wenle said in a condensed voice.

Hu Le laughed and said in a deep voice: "Yes, being able to analyze it like this also means that you can now become a qualified captain." Let's evacuate first, join the Li family, gather the surrounding soldiers and horses, and contact the Shadow Guard, we need to know any information about the Xu family. Ambush us? They will regret it. ”

Hu Le didn't stay on the lake too much, and after the danger was removed, he left quickly. Under the leadership of Li Xingyan, Hu Le and others did not return to Donglou Town. Instead, it converges in a mountain col in the northwest of Donglou Town, near the lake.

"Your Li family is quite good at picking a place, surrounded by mountains on both sides, facing the lake on one side, and the only exit is also blocked by you. Coupled with the reeds at the exit, it is not easy for people outside to discover this place, and even if they do, with your situation here, they are not afraid at all. As Li Xingyan entered another nest of the Li family, Hu Le couldn't help but sigh.

Li Xingyan smiled and didn't speak, obviously, he was also very satisfied with this.

The relocation of the Li family was simpler than Hu Le expected, and by the time Hu Le entered the water bandit's lair, Li Mingjie and the others had already arrived here.

"It seems that Brother Li, you have anticipated what happened to us?" Seeing that Li Mingjie was not surprised at all when he heard what he said, Hu Le couldn't help but smile and said.

Li Mingjie smiled bitterly: "That's because we have suffered losses in his hands, in the past, there were more than five water bandits in this land within a radius of hundreds of miles, but now there are only two of us left, and the most important reason is this Xu family." Among the other three, two were swallowed by Xu Ji, and one was forced to take refuge in us. You must know that the leaders of the two water bandits who were annexed by the Xu family were all guests of the Xu family in the past, and they even swore brothers with the head of the Xu family. ”

"At the beginning of his operation, he had a deep connection with the Qi Military Mansion. Now that the general wants to send people to persuade him to surrender, he will naturally not abandon his current relationship with the Qi State and instead join the Jieyi Army. ”

"By the way, General, what are we going to do next? Evacuate or not? ”

"Evacuate? Evacuation is a must, but we need to put down the Xu family's nest first. They have the audacity to attack us, and we can't stop there. If we let it go, the Qi army will definitely use this Xu family as an example to subdue other water bandits. Therefore, we need to tell everyone that there is only one way to die against our righteous army. Hu Le said coldly.

"By the way, I wonder how many people you have here who can go to war?" Hu Le asked.

"More than 800 people have killed people and seen blood. However, the Xu family has nearly 2,000 water bandits in the lair of the tidal flat bay in the northwest of Xinqiao Town. We're not their opponents. Li Mingjie said slightly but worriedly.

"Don't worry, here, we also have people, although not many, but there is no problem in pulling out three hundred people. In addition, we will also prepare a batch of strong bows and crossbows to surprise the opponent, and we will definitely succeed. Hu Le said in a deep voice, "Tomorrow I will have someone to gather our people to act, which requires your Li family to send someone to take them here." And those weapons, too, need to be transported. ”

"The general can rest assured, Li will fully cooperate with the general."

The Xu family, after the ambush failed, the people sent by the Qi army didn't care too much, the only thing was a little regret. They all thought that the people sent by the Jieyi Army to persuade them to surrender had fled, and the Qi army did not have a water division on Taihu Lake, so they did not continue the pursuit. However, the Xu family's water bandits were a little worried, this time they attacked the people sent by the Jieyi Army's sailors to persuade them to surrender, and Xu Yangcheng, the leader of the Xu family's water bandits, was also afraid.

However, on the one hand, the people sent by the Qi army were busy persuading other water bandits, and on the other hand, they were tracking down the task of the Jieyi Army's sailors who came to Wuxing County this time, so they didn't pay too much attention to the thoughts of Xu Yangcheng and the others. However, Xu Yangcheng was given the post of captain of the Qi Army's water division, that is to say, he is almost the same level as the local county order. In addition, he was also given some armor and equipment, so that he could train his subordinates and wait for orders in the future.

Seeing that the Qi army didn't pay attention to the people who escaped and were persuaded to surrender by the sailors of the Jieyi Army, Xu Yangcheng secretly scolded the Qi army for making a mess but ignored it. On the one hand, he ordered his subordinates to begin to assemble in the lair to beware of the retaliation of the Jieyi army.

The officials of the Qi army found out that they had investigated and dealt with the purpose of the people who had been persuaded to surrender by the sailors of the Jieyi Army to come to Wuxing County, and they also investigated and dealt with the collusion between the powerful forces of the Li family in Donglou Town and the sailors of the Jieyi Army. However, even if they ordered Wuxing County to arrest the relevant people of the Li family in Donglou Town overnight, it was still not as fast as the Li family, and when they arrived, the Li family in Donglou Town was only an empty mansion.

In the past few days, Hu Le also transported more than 300 subordinates to the Li family's entrenchment at night through fishing boats. In addition, the people of the Shadow Division also began to pay attention to the Qi army operating in Wu County, who was responsible for recruiting the personnel of the water bandits. For several days, Hu Le did not leave, but began to train soldiers in the valley where the Li family was entrenched. Although the Qi army did not pursue Hu Le and the others, they knew through the Shadow Guard Hu Le that in the northern part of Wuxing County, there were many fishing boats and merchant ships coming and going from time to time, and their purpose was actually the news of Hu Le and the Li family.

Of course, if Hu Le and the Li family want to leave, the people of the Qi army will definitely not be able to stop them. However, Hu Le wanted to remove the Xu family, because the strength in their hands had already affected the activities of the Jieyi Army's sailors on this front. In addition, because the Li family is here, there are not only 800 capable warriors, but also thousands of old and weak women and children and some craftsmen, once evacuated, the Qi army will inevitably let the Xu family pursue, and there will be casualties in the south.

"Five days have passed, and we have not found any news of Hu Le, the general of the Jieyi Army, and in addition, there is no news of Hu Le's return from the Jieyi Army Water Division in the southwest of Wu County. It seems that they must have gone somewhere else to persuade the bandits. In the county government of Wuxing County, Yan Mingfeng, the person in charge of persuading and recruiting water bandits, said coldly. He was stationed in Shen Tuxiong, Suzhou Prefecture in the northwest of Wu County, and was one of the people in charge of recruiting bandits in Taihu Lake.

This time, he came here and learned that the sailors of the Jieyi Army had also sent people to persuade him to surrender, so he wanted to take down the opponent. It's a pity that the water bandits are water bandits after all, and the ambush can't be achieved, so the other party runs away. It seems that Yan Mingfeng ignored the Xu family's fear of retaliation from the Jieyi Army's sailors, but in fact, he had already arranged for the Wuxing County garrison to be ready for a counterattack. It's a pity that the other party has no intention of retaliating at all.

"My lord, it seems that because this is the territory of our army, the Jieyi army knows the difficulty of action, so they did not send people here. After all, the Xu family's nest is in Wuxing County, not on the island in Taihu Lake like the last time. If the rebel army wants to retaliate, it must land. If they go ashore, where will they have our advantage? ”

Yan Mingfeng sighed and said: "What you said is not unreasonable, forget it, we have been delayed here for five days, and we can't delay it any longer." Let's go to Xiaoleishan Island, where there are still water bandits waiting for us to go to Zhao'an. The Jieyi Army has surpassed us above the Sailor Division, and we can't continue to let them go on like this. ”

Yan Mingfeng and the others sent by the Qi army left, and the counterattack prepared by Wuxing County was also withdrawn, and these news were naturally inspected by the Shadow Guard and reported to Hu Le. Although it was not known that the people sent by the Qi army were in Wuxing County to the west, it was enough for Hu Le to make corresponding preparations by probing their traces and the movement of the Wuxing County garrison.

"General, are you going to act?" Xu Wenle saw that Li Mingjie and the others were all summoned, and couldn't help but ask in a deep voice. After staying here for a few days, Xu Wenle couldn't bear it anymore.

Hu Le glanced at everyone, including four or five people from the Li family, and three or four people from the Jieyi Army's sailors, all of whom were officers here. After five days, the 800 brave men of the Li family were also organized as official soldiers, and some people of the Li family were awarded as officials, and together with the instructors of the Jieyi Army, these 800 people were officially organized.

"It's time to act, being ambushed by this bastard of the Xu family, how can we swallow our anger! Captain Li, are the ministries ready? You know, the next thing is the official battle, and your Li family's water team has now become the regular army of our righteous army, so the habits and situations of the past can no longer appear, and everything must be based on military law. Looking at Li Mingjie, Hu Le asked in a condensed voice.

Li Mingjie knew that this was Hu Le formally asking himself if the Li family could accept the military regulations and military laws of the Jieyi Army. Li Mingjie, who had no other thoughts in his heart, immediately said in a deep voice: "The general can rest assured, all the departments have been prepared, and the general will never be disappointed, and there will never be any other situation." ”

"Very good, let all the soldiers and soldiers be ready to go, after nightfall tonight, we will take action, the target, the Xu family manor in the beach bay, that is, the lair of the Xu family bandits."

Late at night, Hu Le's armed merchant ship with dozens of large and small ships sailed silently on the calm lake in the night. Taihu Lake at night is extraordinarily deep, if it weren't for the occasional dim light on other boats, it can be said that on the vast lake, it is completely impossible to see the five fingers. Even so, unless you stand on the edge of the deck, you don't want to see the long fleet of dozens of ships on the mighty lake.

Because the Xu family has a water-village wharf in the tidal flat, dozens of big ships were used. Otherwise, it would only take a dozen large ships to transport these soldiers to their destination.

Because it was the beginning of the month, there was not the slightest moonlight in the sky, and all the starlight was gone. In addition, it is now autumn, so in the night, the climate is still a little cool, slightly cold. The autumn breeze sweeps across the lake, bringing a deep coolness. The river wind blows the sails on the mast, making a creaking sound, reminding everyone on the boat that if you accidentally fall into the water, it will be a very serious consequence, because you can't see the surrounding situation, and if you fall, it is rescue, and you need to toss for a while. The hard-working sailors worked the mast to adjust the angle of the sails to increase the speed of the ship as much as possible.

Although it was late at night, Hu Le and the others were still in good spirits, and they were all in the cabin of the flag, repeatedly discussing the next plan of action. From the outside, it looks very dimly lit, but inside the cabin it is very bright. From time to time, the autumn breeze shines through the cracks in the cabin. Causes the fire to keep jumping. In the flickering firelight, the faces of the three people all appeared mature and cold, full of the unique taste of iron-blooded men.

Since he was promoted to the general of the Jieyi Army, Hu Le did not appear arrogant, but appeared more modest and cautious, which made him feel very good in the Jieyi Army. In addition, Hu Le is also secretly learning some knowledge about arranging troops. Hu Le was born as a water bandit, but he knew very well that being a general was not a simple honor, but that he had to bear greater responsibilities than he had before as the leader of the water bandits, and he had to be responsible for the lives of more people. Because he often consulted Gu Shan, the commander of the Jieyi Army, and others, Gu Shan and others also had an excellent sense of Hu Le.

Gu Shan and the others came from the Royal Academy, and they were also ordinary non-commissioned officers and low-ranking officers in the past, and it was precisely because of their studious learning that they had the day they came out today, so they also liked those hard-working people. Although Hu Le was almost ten years older than Gu Shan, Gu Shan did not despise the other party because of his age.

Being cautious before the war, seriously thinking about his every step of the plan, and being brave and resolute in wartime has also become Hu Le's habit. No plan is ever perfect. Your own carefulness is the basis for ensuring victory.

Hu Le and the others looked at the sky outside from time to time, silently thinking about the upcoming battle for a while, carefully deducing various emergencies that might occur, and then studying the emergency measures that should be taken in various emergencies.

Tidal flat bay is located in the western part of the town of Xinqiao, and although the name has a tidal flat, this is not a beach place. The tidal flat bay is sunken inward with a gap, forming a small inner lake. And the Xu family's water village is here. The recess is where the Xu family's boats are parked, and at the exit, there is a wooden fence of the water village to block it. Outside the southeast of the water village, there is the Xu family manor, that is, the place where the Xu family water bandits rest.

"If this place is left to the government, it would be a good sailor camp, but unfortunately, here, there has been no formed sailor. But it's okay, if the Qi army has a sailor here, I'm afraid there will be nothing to do with us. However, the place where the Xu family bandit ships docked is not easy to solve. Hu Le looked at the simple sand table in a deep voice and said. This simple sand table is based on the information that Shadow Guard and the Li family have said.

"General, it seems that the terrain here is favorable to the other party, but after all, the water bandits are water bandits, not the soldiers of the water masters. Therefore, when there is no work to do now, except for a few patrol and duty bandits, the rest are resting in this Xu family manor, and they will never stay in the water army camp like the sailors. The water bandits are not soldiers who pay attention to military rules and military laws, they care about enjoyment. The general had seen the old divisions below me before, and where would they be as orderly as the sailors and sergeants. Li Mingjie said with a smile.

When Li Mingjie said this, Hu Le couldn't help but be stunned, and said with a smile: "I forgot, I am also from a water bandit, and I know no less about the habits of water bandits than you." If you say that, it's a lot easier. I now completely see my opponents as sailors, and I have forgotten that they are now nothing more than water bandits. Even if they are recruited by the Qi army and given armor and equipment, they are always water bandits without training, and they will not become water troops. ”