Zhan Guocheng pondered for a moment and nodded, "It's a good thing that Lord Ou is ready to assist the imperial court in exterminating the water bandits, and Lord Liu Jing and Liu are helpless against the water bandits in the Han River and the Yangtze River basin. Sending naval forces to encircle and suppress them many times has achieved twice the result with half the effort, and even the entire imperial court naval army has been wiped out. Liu Jing hid from the emperor to report the good news and not the bad news, but if the water bandits were not eliminated, the emperor would know sooner or later, and he would not be able to eat and leave at that time. ”

Ou Lingtian's heart moved, and Zhan Guocheng's words made him find a reason to negotiate with Liu Jing. This information is too important, and Liu Jing's breakthrough may be here. The salt industry and the iron industry are the economic lifeblood of the country, and Liu Jing did not dare to hide Zhu Di's nonsense, but the profits of the salt industry are too great, and Liu Jing will never spit it out lightly, so he must be trying to solve the problem of water bandits. Here's your chance.

Dance with the wolf and see who is more cunning and ferocious, and whoever has the initiative.

Shiyan's navy has been initially formed, there are more than a dozen warships, the largest is the Cangshan ship, there are five, and the rest are the fire dragon ship and the red dragon ship. There are more than 500 sailors. Zhan Guocheng said: "The largest ship of the Ming Army's naval division is the Dafu ship, with three towers, a wide bottom, a high head and tail, and can accommodate 100 people, but its draft is too deep, and its maneuverability is not good. Haicang ships are a little better, but they are all sea ships, which are not suitable for fighting in rivers and lakes. So we used a slightly smaller Cangshan boat. The combat capability is very strong, but the Shiyan Water Division has just been established, and several battles with the water bandits have been fruitless. The emperor was very dissatisfied with this. ”

Ou Lingtian did not answer, the combat effectiveness of the water bandits is very strong, and the water bandits have been active in the land of Suzhou, Hangzhou and Wuzhong since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. During the Three Kingdoms period, many generals of Wu were born from water bandits, and although the courts of successive dynasties repeatedly attacked and suppressed, they all had little effect, and the water bandits were like weeds in the field, and a stubble grew after cutting. The only difference between them and officers and soldiers is that one fights for his life and the other fights for survival. The laws of the Ming Dynasty were extremely harsh on water bandits, and if they were caught, they would rather die than give in. The brutality of the battle. The water bandits often fight to the last person and do not surrender, and the Ming army's sailors are invincible.

Moreover, the bandits are very hidden, they often lurk in the reeds on the shore, and when the merchant ships suddenly rush out, dozens of fast boats surround them in all directions, and the bandits cover their faces with turbans, holding broadswords, spears, bows and arrows, shouting that they will kill without their lives, which is terrifying. Merchant ships were unarmed, only slaughtered. The official ships carrying salt were escorted by soldiers. Seeing this, my legs were scared and weak. There are also brave people who fight with the water bandits, killing them together, but they are outnumbered, and the water bandits are cruel, killing people and killing people, and the blood is flowing like a river.

Zhan Guocheng said to Ou Lingtian: "The recent battle with Wu Laoba, the biggest water bandit in the Yangtze River, was very dramatic. The Shiyan Naval Division dispatched two Cangshan ships and five fire dragon ships and red dragon ships, with more than 200 sailors, and skillfully set traps to successfully lead Wu Laoba into the encirclement. But Wu Laoba released a signal flare, and the water bandits almost poured out. The number of personnel reached as many as 1,000 people, and the naval army surrounded in turn. Liang Binyi, the overseer of the Water Division, was stupid, and as a result, they negotiated twice and withdrew their troops. Although there was no battle, Shiyan Sailor had palpitations when he mentioned Wu Laoba.

Ou Lingtian asked, "What is the origin of Liang Binyi, the Overseer of the Water Division?"

"He turned out to be a naval officer who came from the Yuan Army, and he had a hand in naval training, but he lacked the courage to fight. I can't blame him last time I escaped. If you fight hard, the whole army may be annihilated, and it will be even more difficult for me to explain it to the imperial court. Zhan Guocheng said helplessly.

Ou Lingtian nodded in understanding, and the water bandit Wu Laoba. He remembered the name.

When saying goodbye, Ou Lingtian said to Zhan Guocheng: "General Zhan, you also know that Liu Jing from Dongchang has been secretly monitoring me, and the emperor will soon know about our meeting." But today I am just a routine visit as a prefect, and I will not cause trouble to the general. In the future, we will leave the contact to Miss Shen. By the way, her name is Shen Sirui, the daughter of my brother Shen Yunhe. ”

Zhan Guocheng was in awe, clasped his hands into fists and said to Shen Sirui: "I have heard about Shen's predecessors, who are heroic and tenacious, and would rather die than give in. It is big husband, too. Worthy of my respect. Since Miss Shen is the descendant of Shen's predecessors, I should treat each other more politely, if anyone in my Shiyan garrison dares to be disrespectful to Miss Shen, I will make others fall to the ground. ”

Shen Sirui glanced at Zhan Guocheng with a smile, and replied with a slightly red face: "The general is brave and heroic, and it will all be taken care of by the general in the future, Sirui is polite." ”

Zhan Guocheng hurriedly saluted, and his eyes were fixed on the beautiful and upright woman in front of him, and he suddenly felt envious.

Ou Lingtian laughed meaningfully.

Back at his general's mansion, Ou Lingtian called Xu Yi, the "prodigal son of the rivers and lakes", to ask about the water bandit Wu Laoba. Xu Yi replied: "Wu Laoba, we have dealt with each other before, and I still have to call him second uncle." ”

Ou Lingtian was not surprised, most of the warriors walking on the rivers and lakes had the habit of making friends, and the footprints of Xu Yi, the "prodigal son of the rivers and lakes", almost collapsed all over the north and south of the river, and he was very famous in the rivers and lakes. Xu Yi told Ou Lingtian and said: "This Wu Laoba's real name is Wu Dong, and he is the eighth in the family, so he is also called Wu Laoba." Their parents gave birth to eight brothers and sisters, and their family was poor and could not make ends meet. Fortunately, Wu Dong's father, Wu Genfa, is a famous fisherman on the Yangtze River. As early as the Ming Dynasty, the Yangtze River anchovy, the Yellow River carp, the Songjiang perch, and the Taihu Lake whitebait were called the four famous fish in China. The Yangtze River anchovy is also known as the first of the three precious river freshness of the Yangtze River, belongs to the migratory fish, the meat is delicate and delicious, the fat is rich, and has a high medicinal value, and it becomes a tribute to the palace. Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang liked it the most, and every year at the beginning of the fifth lunar month, the imperial court sent someone to collect the Yangtze River shad, and the time could last for about 20 days, which showed its preciousness. When it came to Ming Chengzu, Zhu Di was the same. Wu Genfa is good at catching crucian carp in the Yangtze River, he is also an old boatman, sailing on the Yangtze River for decades, the water is more and the water is less, the waves are high and the waves are low, the bends are big and the bends are small, and the load is more and less.

The Three Gorges of the Yangtze River is known as the danger of the world, and there is a wonderful description in Li Daoyuan's "Notes on the Book of Water": in the Three Gorges for 700 miles, there are mountains on both sides of the river, there is no place for a little, heavy rocks are stacked, and the sky is hidden. The Tang Dynasty poet Du Fu came to the Yangtze River to look at the endless Yangtze River, surging and rolling. I couldn't help but feel emotional, and wrote "Ascending": The wind is urgent, the sky is high, the ape is howling, and the white bird flies back. The boundless falling trees are falling, and the Yangtze River is rolling. Boatmen walk through the great rivers and valleys every day, fighting the wind and waves against the rocks, whirlpools and dangerous shoals that treat passing ships as grass and mustard, and temper their lives.

The old boatman described the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River as saying, "Qingtan and Discharge Beach are not considered beaches, and Kongling is the ghost gate." "The danger of the Three Gorges and the hideous beauty of the Three Gorges have reached the extreme here. Whenever the river rises in summer, the floodplain shows its most violent personality, and the rolling tidal currents with a speed of up to 6 meters per second seem to pour down from the sky, surging and unstoppable. The beached ship is as fragile as a straw in the stormy seas. "The snow waves are like thunder and collapse, and the blue sky falls with a bang", which describes this kind of earth-shattering scene.

Whenever the crucian carp migrates in the Yangtze River, officials force fishermen to go out of the river to fish, regardless of the high winds and waves, and the waves are turbulent. The boat that entered the gorge was careless, and the ship was destroyed and killed in an instant. Countless fishermen have died in the Yangtze River. Three of Wu Genfa's eight children died in the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River, and their bones were gone. The reason is that the Yangtze crucian carp he caught is the largest and fattest, and it is the highest grade of tribute. The local officials forced people to die and did not pay for their lives, Wu Genfa took the risk to get out of the boat, and the eldest and third and fifth were either swept away by the river, or they were killed and the mouth of the evil fish. The Yangtze River not only has dangerous shoals and reefs, but also vicious fish such as giant turtles, dragons, and walking dragons, which can swallow the whole person in one bite with a big mouth, which is miserable.

Wu Dong is Wu Genfa's last son, and the remaining four daughters died halfway through and married two of them. But Wu Dong was born not afraid of water, the whole "white strip in the waves", touching fish and driving boats, when he was young, he fought with a river carpon weighing dozens of pounds in the river, and finally subdued it, which is a good story. Wu Genfa sighed and said, "Children and grandchildren have their own children and grandchildren, let him go." ”

Wu Genfa did not die in the Yangtze River in the end, but died in the prison of the government, because he failed to complete the amount set by the government, and quarreled with the officers and soldiers for a few words. was sentenced to be pulled out by water bandits and beheaded. Wu Dong also became a water slave of the government, and he worked hard for many years to fish and drive boats, but he also practiced his skills and made countless friends in the rivers and lakes. That year, the Yangtze River was flooded, and the white waves were surging. The government also forced him to go out to catch crucian carp in the Yangtze River, and he died nine times for life. Wu Dong couldn't bear it anymore, so he rose up, killed the officials who forced his father to death, and became a water bandit in the Three Gorges, specializing in robbing official ships and killing the rich to help the poor. Gradually became the climate, and the water bandits under them developed to nearly 1,000 people, all of whom came and went freely in the water, and their skills were extraordinary, and the Ming army sailors were their opponents.

After hearing this, Ou Lingtian nodded and said: "Since ancient times, officials have forced the people to rebel, it seems that this Wu Laoba is also a sufferer, he robs the rich and helps the poor, and does not kill innocents indiscriminately, I like such a man." Brother Xu, since you are familiar with him, can you contact him, I want to meet him. ”

"The prodigal son of the rivers and lakes" Xu Yi shook his head again and again: "Brother Ou, you are now the prefect of Shiyan personally sealed by the emperor, Wu Dong regards the court officials as enemies, and countless officers and soldiers have died under him. I'm afraid that if you go, there will be more luck than lucky. ”

Ou Lingtian shook his head: "I know who I am, and I believe that Wu Laoba has also heard of it." He won't do anything to me. If you don't enter the tiger's den, you have to use the biggest water bandit in the rivers and lakes if you want to control Liu Jing. (To be continued......)