On Xiao Rui's side on the south bank, after waiting for several days without news about Li Daozong and Li Junxian, Xiao Rui has lost his patience. The advantage lies with the Jingxiang Navy. One more day of delay will put the Dongting Water Village in danger.
On a bright moonlit night with few stars, Xiao Rui used a small boat to quietly sail into Dongting Lake. Xiao Changle, Fang Yiai, the boatman, and Xiao Rui all changed into gray linen clothes and entered Dongting Lake. After that, it seemed to be integrated with the entire lake, and it was difficult to spot such a small boat in the distance.
"Brother-in-law, when you go into the water at night, how can you find the direction of Dongting Water Village on this vast lake without lights to guide you?" Xiao Changle was very puzzled.
Xiao Rui chuckled, flipped his right hand, and like a magic trick, he turned out to be a miniature Sinan.
"Just rely on it!"
Si Nan?
Several people on the boat were puzzled. Although Sinan could point out the direction, this thing would always be a guide. If we could not determine the direction of Dongting Water Village, if we deviated even by half a minute, we might go astray by more than ten miles.
Xiao Rui smiled confidently: "Don't worry, Yiai and I have lived in Dongting Water Village for a few days. I have carefully observed the location of the water village, and it's pretty good."
With that said, Xiao Rui embedded Simon in the bow of the ship, and then carved an arrow symbol on the bow. It can be seen in the moonlight. At this time, the arrow coincides with the direction of Simon's bucket handle.
After patting the capable boatman, Xiao Rui said, "Okay, just concentrate on rowing and keep Simon and the arrow together."
The boatman exclaimed: "This method is exquisite, worthy of the Marquis. We also know about this Si Nan, but we never thought it could be used on the boat."
"Haha, you are a member of our Xiao Family Chamber of Commerce, so I won't hide anything from you. After this errand is done, I will leave this Simon to you as a souvenir. You will need it when traveling in the future." Xiao Rui's words , which made the boatman's body tremble with excitement, and his waving hands sped up by three minutes.
Half an hour later, the dark warship could be seen in the distance. Xiao Rui signaled the boatman to stop and observe it from a distance.
Xiao Changle asked in confusion: "Why does it feel like the island in the middle of the lake is so big?"
puff……
Fang Er almost fell into the water with laughter, "It's not that the island in the middle of the lake has become bigger and can't be seen clearly at night. The black shadows in the distance are all warships. You don't have the skills to improve your eyesight, so you can't see colors at night. "
All warships? Oh My God! Xiao Changle opened his mouth wide.
Xiao Rui said with a gloomy face: "What an iron wall! This Jingxiang navy is really generous. It spent a huge price to surround the island in the middle of Dongting Lake. This is to trap them to death."
Fang Er worriedly said: "Brother Xiao, what should we do? The island in the middle of the lake is surrounded by people. We can't get close at all, let alone sneak in to help. Is there any way to rescue it?"
After thinking for a long time, Xiao Rui shook his head and said, "Let's go and row back. There is no chance tonight. We will think of a solution when we go back."
Fortunately, they chose to turn back, otherwise they would really have missed Li Junxian.
The next morning, Li Junxian, who was crossing the river to look for him, was seen by people from the Xiao Family Chamber of Commerce, and then quietly led to see Xiao Rui.
"Sir, I finally found you."
"Fifth brother, I thought you crossed the river to chase the emperor's uncle, but I didn't expect you to come back. Originally, I was worried about how to break the situation this time, but it will be much easier if you come back." Compared to Li Junxian, Xiao Rui obviously More surprise.
Li Junxian solemnly performed a military salute, "Fortunately, the general has fulfilled his mission and successfully crossed the river to catch up with the prince. Now the prince is stationed on the other side with three thousand troops and horses, please give me the prince's orders!"
"Okay, okay, this way, we can use more power. Tell me about the situation along the way." Xiao Rui pulled Li Junxian to sit down.
The two of them were basically inseparable from each other's intelligence.
"Sir, we have crossed the river several times in the past two days under the pretext of looking for people. The defense on the river has actually increased. Apparently they have gradually become suspicious and sent people to monitor the prince's troops. What should we do next? , please give the order, Master."
Xiao Rui muttered: "If we want to break the siege of Dongting, the emperor's uncle's three thousand soldiers and horses can be used as a containment. At the critical moment, they can be forced to send troops back for reinforcements and reduce the pressure on Dongting Lake. In this way, the Lai brothers who are besieged in the lake can There’s a chance to break through.”
Li Junxian nodded, "In this case, we should turn against them directly, and take advantage of their empty water stronghold to make a surprise attack on the water stronghold, forcing the Jingxiang Navy to return for reinforcements."
Xiao Rui shook his head and said: "No, not yet, Prime Minister Wei is still in their hands. According to reliable information, Prime Minister Wei was put under house arrest in Xiangyang City by them, and under the banner of Prime Minister Wei's imperial envoy, they suppressed bandits, and the people in Jingxiang area were all covered. Even the people in Dongting Water Village will misunderstand me and think that I asked the imperial court to come and suppress the bandits."
Li Junxian said in surprise: "No way, the Lai brothers don't seem to be fools, and they won't believe so easily the Jingxiang Navy's alienation plan."
Xiao Rui smiled, "Of course it's not just a divorce plan, but they used Prime Minister Wei as a cover. Everyone knows that Prime Minister Wei Xuancheng is my father-in-law, Xiao Rui."
hiss……
What a vicious mind.
Xiao Rui's eyes were sharp and he said: "For the current plan, our first step should be to rescue Prime Minister Wei quietly, and then expose Jingxiang Navy's conspiracy. As long as they remove their lies and the court's orders, Jingxiang can If the navy continues to besiege and cause chaos, it will no longer be a navy of the imperial court, and it will become a rebellion in the blink of an eye."
"A mere naval force? They are not even as good as the miscellaneous soldiers who came ashore. Our three thousand soldiers and horses captured their camp, and then killed the culprits in the name of the court, quelled the chaos and eliminated the traitors. By then, the siege of Dongting would naturally be lifted. "
Li Junxian praised: "Wonderful! Master, with one word, he outlines and leads. It is indeed time to defeat the enemy in this way. Then let's go to Xiangyang to save people now?"
Xiao Rui shook his head and said: "No, I don't worry about the Dongting Lake Island. Now the Jingxiang Navy is besieging it. Once the lake island is lost, even if we destroy the Jingxiang Navy, it will be of no use. So we must Be prepared, you go to Xiangyang to rescue people, Yiai and I will stay here and be on guard against any changes at any time."
"By the way, take Chang Le with you. This girl is known as the best poison master in the world. With her working with you, it's easy to rescue people quietly."
Li Junxian advised: "Sir, please forgive me for speaking so bluntly. Although the Dongting water bandits are of great use, the most important thing is your safety, sir. With you here, even if there are no Dongting water bandits, you can build a better country for the Tang Dynasty." A powerful navy.”
"Now that the river is blocked, your identity cannot be exposed. The water is different from the land. Without warships, we are almost useless. So you should come with me to rescue people. After rescuing Prime Minister Wei, we gave the imperial court an order. We are not afraid of the Jingxiang navy causing chaos."
"If you stay here and intervene in the war, if something happens...how will you explain to your majesty and the princess?"
Xiao Rui smiled, "Haha, although I have lost all my martial arts skills, I am not incapable of restraining a chicken. I still don't look down on the mere Jingxiang Navy. Fifth brother, don't worry and save people. After saving people, Just go and join the emperor's uncle, and three thousand soldiers and horses will temporarily act as guards for Prime Minister Wei, and also take over the law enforcement power, and let Prime Minister Wei raise the flag to put down the rebellion."
"In addition, I have sent people to Luoyang to ask for help. I believe that in a few days, the Luoyang garrison will go south to support. Zhang Liang, the governor of Luoyang, and General Cheng, who is in charge of the Luoyang Cavalry Camp this year, will bring people over, so you There is no need to worry about my safety.”
"The more than 20,000 regular soldiers of the Jingxiang Navy are not bandits. They are our common people of the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, we will not kill them if we can. We only need to kill the chief culprits."
"Talents are rare. I stay here not only for the Dongting water bandits, but also for the ordinary soldiers of the Jingxiang Navy."
"Go on, Fifth Brother, if you rescue people as soon as possible, there won't be any danger on my side."
Li Junxian couldn't stand it, so he could only nod with tears in his eyes. Before leaving, he repeatedly told Fang Er to protect Mr. Hou.
Xiao Changle also reluctantly said goodbye to Xiao Rui, and threatened: "When this matter is over, our agreement will continue. Jingxiang is still a long way from Chang'an."
