When he heard that Li Daozong's three thousand soldiers and horses had crossed the river, Xiao Rui's heart froze, and the difficulty doubled in an instant.
"It's a pity that the fifth brother hasn't returned yet. He must have crossed the river to chase him. Alas, if the fifth brother is here, he can try to rescue Prime Minister Wei." Xiao Rui said with emotion.
Fang Er patted his chest and said, "Brother Xiao, isn't it just to save people? I'll do the same if I go, and I guarantee to save people."
you?
Pull me down, you are a young person who has no experience in the world, but you still save people? I am afraid that someone will capture it as soon as it reaches the border of Xiangyang. Don't think that you are invincible because of your martial arts skills. How can I deal with you? Something about anesthesia.
"For today's plan, we can only use a drag formula. Shopkeeper Song, quickly send people to bypass Jingxiang, take this token of honor and send eight hundred miles to the capital... Wait, I'm afraid the capital will be too late, go to Luoyang Move troops to quell the chaos. The person guarding Luoyang is General Cheng Zhijie, he knows the importance."
The shopkeeper next to him gave a military salute and said, "Your order!"
Xiao Changle said anxiously: "Brother-in-law, what about us? We can't just wait, right? What if we can't last long on Dongting Lake... Then the Lai brothers are both loyal and heroic good people. It would be a pity if they died at the hands of the treacherous rebels. ”
Xiao Rui gritted his teeth and said: "Of course we can't just wait. Now there is almost a helpless army on Dongting Lake. The Dongting Water Village is the turtle caught in the urn. It will be a matter of time before it is breached. So we have to help."
help?
Shopkeeper Song panicked, "Master Marquis, you must not do this. A group of water bandits are not worthy of your own risk. You have given them enough face by trying your best to rescue them outside. Now Jingxiang Navy is red-eyed and hungry." Wolf, even Prime Minister Wei dares to put him under house arrest, it won’t help if you go.”
Xiao Rui glared and scolded: "Confused! Is this for personal reasons? Helping the imperial court suppress the rebellion is a state matter. The rescue of the Dongting water bandits is not only because they are friends with me, but also because they are also common people of the Tang Dynasty. I am As the champion of the Tang Dynasty, Hou has the responsibility to protect the people."
The shopkeeper cried: "I know that Mr. Hou is working hard, but no matter what, you should not put yourself in danger."
"Everyone knows the relationship between Prime Minister Wei and you. Now that the Jingxiang navy is using Prime Minister Wei's name to suppress bandits, the Dongting water bandits must think it is your intention, and they must be hating you."
"If the Jingxiang Navy knew that you had come to the Jingxiang realm, they would treat you as an enemy. For you, the Jingxiang realm at this time is a mountain of swords and a sea of fire. You must not take any risks..."
"Your Highness the little princess, General Fang, you two should advise the Marquis quickly!"
hiss……
At first, they didn't think much about it, but upon hearing the shopkeeper's analysis, both Xiao Changle and Fang Er fell silent and looked at Xiao Rui expectantly.
Xiao Rui shook his head firmly and said: "Now Jingxiang is almost a pool of stagnant water with no solution. If we don't find a chance to take action, not only will the Dongting water bandits be unjustly convicted, but even Prime Minister Wei's life will be lost, so no matter what, I cannot stay out of this matter."
"How can a man be frightened to death if he has never been beaten to death?"
"Don't try to persuade me anymore, I've made up my mind. Changle and Yiai come with me, and we'll go to Dongting Water Village to explore together."
"Song, shopkeeper, ordered all the forces belonging to the Xiao family in Jingxiang territory to light fires everywhere to create chaos, burn food and grass, and pretend to be bandits. Even if you assassinate high-ranking officials in Jingxiang, you are allowed to do whatever you want... You must delay the attack of the Jingxiang Navy. All offense.”
Seeing that they could not shake Xiao Rui, the three of them could only bite the bullet and accept the military order.
"Brother Xiao, where is Prime Minister Wei? Aren't we going to rescue him?" Fang Er was still concerned about this matter.
Xiao Rui sneered: "As long as the Dongting Water Village is not completely captured, Prime Minister Wei will be safe for the time being, so we must find a way to help them."
"Shopkeeper Song has asked someone to secretly prepare a small boat. We will go into Dongting Lake at night to find out what's going on."
…
Besides, after crossing the river, Li Daozong and others were responsible for opening the way for Xiao Rui, so they did not go far after crossing the river. They set up camp only a day's walk from the river bank, and sent scouts to pay attention to the river bank from time to time. Once the Marquis and Xiao Rui were discovered, After the princess and others crossed the river, the army continued to advance.
But two days later, let alone the Marquis and the little princess, there were no ordinary private ferry boats on the river. The scout reported this strange thing, and Li Daozong became alert.
"This is the summer flood season soon. Merchants and people are all busy. There should be an endless stream of ferries on the river. How come there is no ferry boat? Have you ever asked about it?"
The Scout Hui reported: "Reporting to the prince, we visited and many people kept it secret and did not dare to discuss it. However, some people mentioned that the Jingxiang Navy was suppressing bandits and temporarily closed the river to prevent water bandits from infiltrating the people and escaping."
Li Daozong scolded: "Confused! It's just a suppression of bandits, how can it delay the national economy and people's livelihood? Is Xu Datong of the Jingxiang Navy a drunkard? Doesn't he know the rules of the court?"
"No wonder I didn't catch up with the Marquis after waiting for two days. It turned out that he had blocked the river. The Marquis had no boat to cross the river, so of course he couldn't cross."
"Come here, tell Xu Daguo, the commander of the Jingxiang Navy, to come here quickly. I want to teach him a lesson in person!"
As everyone knows, during the two days when Li Daozong was stationed after crossing the river, the Jingxiang Navy was also in panic.
I originally wanted to discover an exposed hidden danger in time, do a favor early, help them arrange to cross the river, send away Li Daozong, the dragon crossing the river, and then be able to annihilate the Dongting water bandits with peace of mind. But who would have thought that Li Daozong would camp on the same spot after crossing the river? You haven't moved yet, are you not leaving?
In what way were we exposed?
Xu Datong called Liu Xi, the deputy general who ferried Li Daozong, and asked angrily: "Is it because your hands and feet are dirty and Li Daozong saw something?"
Lieutenant General Liu Xi was confused, "The general has never shown any flaws. The King of Jiangxia even expressed his gratitude to us for ferrying us and asked the general to give the general a message. He must go to his house when he goes to Chang'an in the future."
oh? That said, it really doesn't sound like he was exposed.
"But why are they camping where they are? They must have discovered something else. Li Daozong is a famous general in the clan. He has three thousand soldiers in his hands. That is a serious problem for us and must be guarded against. In this way, you can visit again and see What is the purpose of their encampment?”
Before Liu Xi could set off, Li Daozong's accountable general arrived.
Hearing that the King of Jiangxia had summoned Xu Datong, Xu Datong didn't know the reason, so he didn't dare to go rashly. He could only be excused by saying that Xu Datong, the Jingxiang navy commander, was busy with official duties at the front and was never in the camp, so he couldn't go to visit him. Lieutenant General Liu Xi followed.
Liu Xi cursed secretly in his heart, "If I'm asked to do such a job as a scapegoat, why don't you do it?" What if Li Daozong has an ambush?
Little did he know that Xu Datong's arrangement was the most reasonable. Let an unimportant deputy general go deep into the enemy camp. Even if there were any unexpected events, the Jingxiang Navy would be able to deal with it quickly.
Moreover, with the deputy general gone, Li Daozong seemed to have insufficient strength, so even if it was an ambush, he would not take action.
