Dongting Lake is divided into east and west lakes. The east is connected to the Xiangjiang River and the Yangtze River, and the west is joined by the Yuanjiang River and the Lishui River. It is only larger than Poyang Lake.
Dongting handles large rivers and is dotted with islands in the lake. Officers and soldiers occupy the east Dongting in the Xiangjiang River basin, where merchants and merchants come and go, while bandits and fishermen are located in the west Dongting, where fishing and woodworking are traded, forming a unified system of its own.
The sky is high and the clouds are light, and a bright moon shines in the sky. The waves in the center of the lake are sparkling like thousands of silver lights. On the largest island in West Dongting, there are like weaving figures.
Shenlong Island is the lair of Dongting water thieves. This island is very vast. Originally, more than a dozen fishermen families took refuge here. After it was occupied by Lin Wen, it was renamed Shenlong Island and Shuanglong Hall was built to control the waters of Dongting Lake.
"This is unreasonable, Liu Qi's child is bullying others too much!"
A roar came from the Shuanglong Hall, and a man with thick eyebrows and big eyes, with a scar on his lavender face, was Zhou Xiong, the sea dragon.
The government published notices everywhere today, offering a reward of 100,000 yuan for the heads of the two dragons in Dongting. If they were caught at the same time, the reward would be 300,000 yuan. There were also many bounties in other Xiaotou Ridge.
The dozen or so bandit leaders in the hall all lowered their heads, their faces flickering under the burning torches, wondering what they were thinking.
"My dear brother, this is Liu Qi's plan to divide the brothers!"
On top of the commander's position, an elegant man in his thirties sighed with emotion. He had three strands of beard and deep eyes. He was the leader of the Dongting bandits, the two-headed Jiao Linwen.
"If I had known this, I shouldn't have robbed that official ship!" Zhou Xiong stomped his feet angrily, "We didn't get any benefits, but instead brought disaster."
Lin Wen shook his head slightly and sighed: "Liu Qi sent an order to patrol the south a few days ago. The Jingzhou navy decided to train in Dongting Lake. Regardless of whether the official ship is hijacked this time or not, we will have a fight."
Zhou Xiong gritted his teeth, clenched his fists and said, "Since Liu Qi won't let us live in peace, let's fight!"
Lin Wen read the official list again, took a deep breath, and said slowly: "Zhou's mother and son, you need to send someone to watch over them, maybe they will be useful."
"I don't want to see that kid again. If you don't want to kill him, just send someone to watch over him."
Speaking of the hostages, Zhou Xiong became even more angry. The kid who kidnapped actually talked about his relatives with him. They were all members of the Lingling Zhou family, and they were killing each other. This was not in line with the moral principles of the world.
Lin Wen laughed and said, "Didn't my dear brother take a fancy to that lady and want to make her his wife? Why do you have such an attitude?"
"Don't mention it!" Zhou Xiong waved his hand, "I'm unlucky. Anyway, I don't want to see this mother and son again!"
Zhou Xiong learned that the two were orphans and widowed. Seeing that the lady was beautiful and virtuous, he wanted to take her as his wife. They were all a family anyway, so remarrying would be nothing.
Zhou Buyi discussed seniority with him again, and after much calculation, he was actually the same generation as Zhou Dynasty, and he became that boy's nephew. It was simply unreasonable.
If his family tree hadn't been destroyed in the war, Zhou Xiong would have gone to get to the bottom of it.
Lin Wen didn't want to be distracted by such trivial matters and asked, "Liu Qi made a stunning success. He defeated 300,000 Cao troops in Nanyang and captured generals Cao Ren and Xiahou Dun alive. This shows that this person must be capable. Now his naval forces are stationed in Dongting Lake. He also published articles to confuse people's minds. We are in danger, do you have any good strategies to deal with the enemy?"
"Liu Qi is just relying on the geographical advantage!" Zhou Xiong sneered: "Even if he is good at land warfare, he will definitely not be as good as us at water warfare. At worst, we will share Dongting Lake. They are in the east and we are in the west. They are irrelevant."
"Liu Qi is a clan member of the Han Dynasty and is determined to support the imperial court. Even if we don't fight with him, since ancient times, officials and bandits have been at odds with each other. How can Liu Qi allow us to stand on our own in Dongting Lake?"
Lin Wen narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at the sentence on the list. Even his heart ached, let alone the minions and the people.
In order for everyone to understand, the article is very straightforward: Once you are a thief, you will be a thief forever.
Everyone in the world is ashamed of being a thief, which will surely bring harm to future generations, who will never be able to hold their heads high.
If Liu Qi can correct his evil deeds and atone for his crimes, Liu Qi will not only divide the land, but also re-register his household registration, and will not be held accountable for his past affairs.
The final article also shows Liu Qi's determination. In order to protect the peace of Dongting, Changsha and even Jingzhou, if there are stubborn and evil-minded thieves in the territory, they will not tolerate them and will do their best to eradicate the evil.
This article uses both soft and hard tactics. It is based on reason and emotion. A fierce battle is inevitable.
Zhou Xiong clenched his fist and roared: "If Liu Qi doesn't give us a way to survive, the worst we can do is fight to the death, and I will be a good man again in eighteen years!"
"Hero..." Lin Wen laughed at himself and ordered: "No matter what, we need to strengthen patrols now to guard against officers and soldiers. The Jingzhou Navy has also been training for many years and should not be underestimated."
"If we defeat the Jingzhou navy, won't we become famous all over the world?" Zhou Xiong laughed and said, "This battle will spread the reputation of Dongting's twin dragons throughout the world."
"Go!" Lin Wen nodded, "Wangyue Island needs to increase its troops and send more sentinels to patrol. No officers and soldiers are allowed to enter the West Dongting."
"Brother, don't worry, our spiritual dragon boat will show off its power this time." Zhou Xiong strode away in high spirits.
Lin Wen walked to the door of the hall and saw a faint moon and stars. A gust of night wind blew, and his complicated mind seemed to have a little clarity.
Having been a thief for many years, and coupled with the fate of his uncle Ou Xing, he was already confused about his fate and future.
As mentioned in the list, even if he dominates Dongting in his life, he will never be able to get rid of the word "thief", and he still doesn't even have a wife.
Lin Wen regarded himself as a hero and a righteous man, and was unwilling to plunder by force, but whose daughter would be willing to marry a bandit?
It is simply a daydream to want to build a successful career, be famous for future generations, and have a wife and children as in the book.
Over the years, I have been familiar with the books of sages. The higher my knowledge of Lin Wen, the more I feel inferior and humiliated, let alone my ambition.
But the most important thing right now is to show his strength and test Liu Qi's abilities.
A good bird chooses a tree to roost in. If the owner is not clear, what is the use of taking advantage of it?
Zhou Xiong rushed back to Wangyue Mountain overnight and summoned the leaders to repair the ships and prepare weapons to compete with the officers and soldiers.
The waters surrounding Wangyue Island are open. From the highest point on the island, you can see everything moving and moving. Not to mention ships, even a bird flying by can be seen clearly.
Lin Wen told him to be on guard against officers and soldiers, but Zhou Xiong didn't care. Instead, he expected Liu Qi to send troops and give him a warning first, so those articles would naturally be useless.
Over the years, officers and soldiers have been dispatched many times. Cai Mao has long wanted to eliminate them, but they all failed and the ships sank before they reached Wangyue Island.
This area of water has already been heavily defended. There are numerous outposts and spies. Some are hidden in the islands, some are watching from high places, and even among the fishermen, they also have spies.
In addition, Wangyue Mountain is also very dangerous. The island is extremely high and is surrounded by wind and waves all year round. The rocks are smooth and steep. The only two ports have been built into water fortresses and have been heavily guarded.
The officers and soldiers could not attack Wangyue Island, so they did not dare to enter the West Dongting rashly. If they took a detour, the spirit dragon boat and the Kisame team would make the officers and soldiers pay a heavy price.
Two years ago, Cai Mao divided his troops like this. Three thousand officers and soldiers were buried in the lake, and they never dared to come again. Liu Qi didn't know whether to live or die, so he would be buried in the belly of a fish.
