"Quick, Yi Ai, send the order for our people to beat the drums! I heard that there are no shouts of killing from the island in the middle of the lake. I hope it's not too late."
Not long after, the thunderous drumbeats penetrated the thick fog and rippled along with the waves on the lake. Soon the drumbeats reached the island. Like a thunder in the dark night, it instantly broke the silent night sky. The lights on the island in the center of the lake were lit, and countless ships around them shouted loudly.
The ones who were most surprised were the Jingxiang Navy team who had just landed on the island.
Xu Datong said angrily: "What's going on? Everything is obviously going well, why were we exposed as soon as we landed on the island?"
"Commander, could it be that the internal agents have rebelled? They have opened their pockets on the island and are waiting for us to get in?"
"Impossible! It's impossible for the insider to rebel."
"Commander, I hear the sound of drums coming from the lake. Did something happen to the warship? Could it be that someone discovered our maneuver?"
"Hmph, it's such a thick fog and the visibility is less than ten feet. We are all in small boats. How did they find out? No matter, now that we have landed on the island, there is no way back. Follow me to fight in and sweep away the enemy's lair. Once we capture the bandit leader, everything will be fine!"
This man is calm in the face of danger and has unique vision. He is worthy of being a person who can lead the Jingxiang Navy.
kill!
The shouts of death added another level of electric tension to the already chaotic scene.
On the warship around the island in the middle of the lake, the leader, Lai Ji, was sending people to find out the source of the drum sound. This sudden drum sound? Could it be that the navy surrounding us outside is playing some trick?
But before he could understand the sound of the drums, he heard shouts of death coming from the direction of his home island in the middle of the lake.
"No! Jingxiang Navy used the sound of drums as bait to sneak into the island. Come back quickly!"
"Brother, this is impossible. Our warships are no less than theirs. Every one of their big ships is being watched by us. Why did they break through the defense line and kill the island?" the deputy general beside him asked in confusion.
Lai Ji said in a deep voice: "This heavy fog has helped them... No, even if it is heavy fog, they cannot sneak into the island silently. We have always set up warning posts."
hiss……
"Who is on duty tonight?" Lai Ji suddenly had a terrible guess.
"Report, the second master is on duty tonight."
"Second Master? How is this possible? He is the veteran who followed us to build the water village..."
Although Laiji couldn't believe it, he couldn't care less at this moment. Most of the troops were on the ship for defense, and the island was empty of guards. Although there is a camp entrance, if there is an internal response, someone will definitely open the camp inside to respond. By then, everyone on the island will be in danger...
"Return to the rescue quickly!" With an order, the boats in the water village around the island in the center of the lake turned around and docked. Countless bandit soldiers gathered together, twisted into a rope and rushed towards the gate of the water village.
When Xiao Rui, who was beating the drum, heard the shouts of killing, his brows furrowed deeper and deeper. It seems that the commander of the Jingxiang Navy is going to make a desperate move?
Alas, it's only because we arrived a step late that the other party had already landed on the island.
"Yi Ai, come closer!"
Fang Er said excitedly: "Brother Xiao, do we also have to go to the island to fight? Haha, that's great. The water battle cannot be extended. Now that they are all on the island, I can subdue both of them by myself."
Xiao Rui patted Fang Er on the back of the head, "What are you thinking about? You know how many masters there are on the island in the middle of the lake. Can you withstand a swarm of them? Although the Jingxiang Navy has limited land warfare capabilities, it still has 20,000 troops. You Can you stop it?"
"As we got closer, I used my inner strength to spread throughout the island in the middle of the lake, and said: Xiao Rui is coming to help, and ordered the Jingxiang Navy to withdraw its troops quickly, otherwise it will be punished as treason!"
Fang Er asked in confusion: "Brother Xiao, aren't they already rebellious?"
Xiao Rui smiled and said: "The imperial document has not been issued yet. We need to persuade both sides. I don't know if this can scare Commander Jingxiang Navy. If I don't work in the Navy tomorrow, haha, the battle situation tonight will be very difficult for us." It’s hard to intervene.”
At this moment, Xiao Rui couldn't help feeling that manpower was sometimes scarce.
Although he is famous all over the world and is the top dignitary of the Tang Dynasty, he needs money and soldiers, but in this foreign land and above the water, it seems that he can't have any influence. They are all areas in which he is not good at.
Hou Xiaorui, the champion of the Tang Dynasty, led his troops here. The Jingxiang navy quickly withdrew its troops and returned to the ship, otherwise it would be punished as treason!
Hou Xiaorui, the champion of the Tang Dynasty, led his troops here. The Jingxiang navy quickly withdrew its troops and returned to the ship, otherwise it would be punished as treason!
…
The echoing shouts, like huge waves in the sea, hit everyone's ears clearly, and both sides on the battlefield were stunned.
What's going on?
Didn’t the imperial court send imperial envoys to destroy us? Isn't the champion a member of the imperial court? Why come here now to order the Jingxiang Navy to withdraw its troops? The water bandits on the island in the middle of the lake were very puzzled.
Only the strategist Lai Heng who stood firm on the island saw through everything, "I have known for a long time that all this was done by Jingxiang Navy. It must have been the champion who got the news and brought people to support us."
"Military advisor, is there a scam? Wei Zheng, the imperial envoy who led the team to encircle and suppress us, but where is the father-in-law of the champion? Could they be playing a double act to trick us into relaxing our defense so that we can break through the island in the middle of the lake?" someone next to him asked cautiously. .
Lai Heng laughed and said: "With just our group of water bandits? Can we stop the champion of the Tang Dynasty? If they really want to deal with you and me, why do we need to use tactics? We'd better pray that Lord Hou will come to save us, otherwise , we really have no way out. Even if we are lucky enough to survive in the hands of the Jingxiang Navy today, the world is so vast that there is no place for us."
On the Jingxiang Navy side, Commander Xu Datong frowned and said: "Champion Hou Xiaorui? How come he appears here? And what a coincidence, he arrived at this time?"
"Commander, there are rumors that the champion Hou Xiaorui once passed by Dongting Lake and had a close relationship with the Lai brothers. At this time, he ordered us to withdraw. He obviously came to rescue the Lai brothers. Should we withdraw?"
"Commander, the champion Hou Xiaorui is famous all over the world and has never been defeated. Otherwise, we should retreat first..."
Xu Datong reprimanded: "Why are you panicking? So what if Xiao Rui is famous all over the world? He is the commander of the cavalry. This is on the water. How can we be afraid of him? We have all the warships in Jingxiang. How can he lead the troops?" Coming to help? If a warship appeared on the water, we would have received the news long ago. Obviously he is deceiving us, he is trying to scare us to withdraw our troops tomorrow. "
"You must know that the Wei Zheng we captured is his father-in-law. Wei Zheng knows our secret, and he must die. Therefore, we must not give Xiao Rui face. Without the imperial court's transfer order, you cannot transfer me Jing with your title of champion. Commander Xiang! Don't worry about him and continue fighting. There is no turning back now. Only by quelling the Dongting water bandits and then killing Wei Zheng to silence them will we have a way to survive!"
This is a decision made by their superiors. The problem is that the 20,000 soldiers and horses do not know the specific details, and the Dongting Navy is not monolithic. When many people heard Xiao Rui's name, they immediately stopped excitedly. The champion came and ordered to stop the attack. Who should we listen to?
"Sorry, Commander, many soldiers spontaneously listened to the champion's order and have begun to retreat. We, our attack has to be postponed. The water bandits have already begun to come ashore to return reinforcements..."
Xu Datong said angrily: "Damn it! I am the commander of the navy, why should they listen to Xiao Rui? Go and tell them that the Xiao Rui outside is fake..."
"No, Commander, it's too chaotic and I can't command it at all!"
Someone next to me persuaded: "Commander, why don't you go back and have a look. The champion is famous all over the world. Since he dares to bring people to help, he must be prepared. Haven't you always been wondering where the drum sound came from? Now it seems that it should be the champion. Xiao Rui’s men. It’s impossible to say that they really have a powerful navy.”
"It's absolutely impossible. The whole river is blocked by us." Xu Datong didn't believe it.
The man advised: "Commander, have you forgotten? Li Daozong, the king of Jiangxia, is stationed in Jiangbei. Most of us who stay in the camp are on guard against Li Daozong. The champion Hou Xiaorui is a strange person. He has the means to mobilize troops and generals. Strangely, if our warship is really captured by him, even if we capture the island in the middle of the lake, we will not be able to escape the blame!"
hiss……
Xu Datong was afraid. He remembered that Wei Zheng was still locked up in the cabin. If Xiao Rui really found Wei Zheng, he might die tonight.
"Retreat, retreat quickly! Get everyone back to the ship!"
As for the water stronghold, when they saw that the enemy had withdrawn, their subordinates immediately reported to the military advisor Lai Heng.
Lai Heng waved his hand, "Okay, you are worthy of being the Marquis! Come on, come with me to fight and capture the traitorous second master. The Jingxiang navy can leave, but the second master who betrayed the water village and cooperated inside and outside to lure the wolf into the house must not be let go!"
