The pre-war negotiations broke up unhappily, and the fighting soon began.
The battle situation can only be described as tragic.
Corpses sank to the bottom of the lake one after another, and the blood quickly stained the lake surface red.
One warship after another was scuttled by water thieves. Once the soldiers fell into the water, they would soon be dragged under the water by the water thieves, but before they died, they would definitely drag their enemies with them to be buried with them.
Even if you bite it with your teeth, you still have to tear off a piece of flesh from the water thief.
The water thieves had never seen such a ferocious battle. Many of them were frightened and could not move forward in fear.
The soldiers were fearless and became more courageous as they fought.
However, we were outnumbered, and the water thieves became cunning again. They stopped attacking directly and turned to underwater combat, sinking warships one by one.
"Dog officer, quickly put down your weapons and surrender, then hand over the plundered wealth, make the masters happy, and then let me wait for a way out!" A bearded man holding a long knife stood on the mast of the warship and pointed towards him from a distance. Zhao Quan shouted.
Zhao Quan sneered and said: "Ignorant water thief, open your dog eyes and see clearly. Is there a coward in Yancheng Erlang who is timid in fighting so far?
I tell you, the battle for Yancheng soldiers is only victory and death. Today, you will either be destroyed by you or we will destroy you. "
When the bearded man heard Zhao Quan's words, his eyes twitched and his face looked a little ugly.
As Zhao Quan said, so far in the battle, he has indeed not seen a single soldier fighting timidly. This is very different from the group of Tuozhou officers and soldiers he knew who were greedy for life and afraid of death. The Yancheng soldiers in front of him who were not good at water warfare were all fierce. Not afraid of death.
This is completely different from what the adult from Tuozhou said.
Who looks helplessly at the vast lake, who is so skinny and sick that he has no fighting ability, who will obediently flee back to the south with his tail between his legs after just two battles, what—
Damn it, they're all lies.
This is clearly an elite combat force with rich combat experience, amazing combat effectiveness, and a fighting spirit that will fight to the death.
The feeling tells bearded men that they have most likely messed with someone they shouldn't.
It's really not cost-effective to provoke such an enemy for a little food.
But there was nothing they could do. If it weren't for the coercion and inducement of the master in Tuozhou, the eighteen water thieves would not dare to join forces to rob an official grain team guarded by 10,000 cavalry. Moreover, they alone would not be able to rob Loot such a food team.
In the end, the bulk was taken away, leaving only a fraction for them to divide among the eighteen families. Now they have to bear all the anger of the other party, and they feel unspeakably aggrieved and angry.
Seeing that Zhao Quan refused to surrender and had no intention of retreating, as if he was really going to fight to the death today, the bearded man suddenly felt like he was riding a tiger.
Is it possible that these tens of thousands of Yancheng soldiers are really going to be wiped out on Wangyuan Lake?
While the bearded man was hesitating, a small boat leaned against the large ship, and a man dressed as a water thief climbed up.
If a careful person sees this person, he will know at a glance that he is definitely not a water thief, because this person has fair skin and thin flesh. Although he is wearing the clothes of a water thief, he does not look like a water thief at all.
The man walked straight to the mast and coughed loudly.
When the bearded man saw him, he immediately jumped down from the mast and asked in a low voice: "I wonder what your instructions are?"
"My lord, I want you to go all out and leave no one alive. After the battle, quickly pack your bags and go home to farm. You can hide for two or three years and wait for the news to pass before coming back."
"As you command!"
The man turned around and left without saying another word.
The bearded man smiled bitterly and shook his head. Knowing that it was a point of no return, he issued an order to attack with all his strength.
At the same time, the heads of the other seven naval forces also received the same order, and they all made the same decision as the bearded man.
Because the tens of thousands of officers and soldiers in front of them were destroyed, they would still have a chance to survive if they hid. But if you don't follow that adult's order, I'm afraid there's only one way to die.
After a cup of tea, the water thief's offensive suddenly became fierce.
"Sir, withdraw."
"It's too late to withdraw now. If we wait a little longer, I'm afraid we won't even have the chance to retreat." The adjutant whispered in Zhao Quan's ear.
Zhao Quan's eyes were about to burst, and he sighed and said: "I underestimated the water war. Damn it, if this was on land, I would have wiped them out long ago. Send the order, retreat!"
Although helpless and unwilling, there is nothing we can do. We cannot let the soldiers fight to the death knowing that they are invincible.
"Guan Gu, you can't leave today!"
"Let me sink them all into the lake to feed the fish!"
"Lean in! Come in!"
The water thieves went crazy, either directly steering the big ship to ram the official ship, or throwing iron ropes, hooks and sickles to catch it. At the same time, a large number of water thieves jumped into the water with chisels, dived into the bottom of the ship and worked hard to carve the ship.
The water thief's madness made Zhao Quan and other generals turn pale.
In the past three days, they caught the water thieves off guard. Their successive victories made them think that water battles were nothing more than that. However, the battle in front of them made them realize the dangers of water battles. This was a battle completely different from land battles.
One by one, the pirate ships collided with each other, and the hooks of the iron cables were hooked up. The warships were pierced and slowly sank -
Water thieves are like sideburns, biting and refusing to let go.
"Ha ha--"
Zhao Quan glanced at the battlefield with a pair of red eyes, suddenly looked up to the sky and laughed, shouting: "You guys, if the thieves won't let us retreat, then let's kill them!"
"Anyway, I won't be able to see the people of Yannan when I go back, so why don't I just throw this useless piece of skin into the lake and feed it to the fishes!"
"kill!"
The brutality of the battle escalated again, and both sides were furious.
The soldiers suffered heavy casualties, and the water thieves suffered even worse casualties.
But there are many water thieves.
"Guan Gu, it's just a little food, just throw it away. Why is it like this?!"
"Are you happy with the killing like this?"
"ah?!"
A water pirate leader saw that the power he had worked so hard for decades was destroyed in one day, and that he would have to leave Wangyuan Lake and hide in the next few years. He was almost furious and roared angrily at Zhao Quan.
"Haha, it's just a little food!"
"Thieves, do you know that just because you robbed this food, millions and even more poor people in Yannan will starve to death."
"Are you robbing food? What you are robbing are the lives of Yannan people!"
"Just wait, hundreds of thousands of troops from Yancheng will come and kill you soon. I guarantee with my head that each of you will pay the most painful price for your stupid behavior!"
"Boys, kill! Let these young men see the iron-blooded style of our Yancheng men and kill their courage!"
Zhao Quan roared while killing like crazy.
"cut!"
"Alarmist!"
"Even if Yancheng's hundreds of thousands of troops really come to kill, they will have to go back in despair with their tail between their legs."
The leader of the water thieves sneered disdainfully and did not believe Zhao Quan's words at all.
They have never been to the Southern Territory and have no idea what kind of disasters the Southern Territory has experienced. Naturally, they don't know how important food is to the people in the Southern Territory.
"It seems that we are bound to die on Wangyuan Lake today. Before we die, can you please let us know who has robbed our food?" The major who suspected that the food robber was someone else shouted loudly. asked.
"You're dead, why do you know so much?" the leader of the water thieves shouted.
"Ha, it seems there is really someone else!" the major sneered. Although the leader of the water thieves did not answer his question, he was telling him in disguise that someone was indeed instigating the water thieves to steal food from behind.
He rolled his eyes and asked, "I can guess it even if you don't tell me. It must be Guang Jingshuo, the envoy of Tuozhou, who ordered you."
"You - how did you know?!" A leader of water thieves who knew no tricks asked with a changed expression.
The major was stunned when he heard this.
He just casually announced the name of a high-ranking official to see the reaction of the water thief leader. If the water thief leader didn't respond, he would go on to talk about Tuozhou Futai. If there was still no reaction, he would talk about other high-ranking officials. Unexpectedly, As soon as I opened my mouth, I accidentally found the real person behind the scenes.
"Guang Jingshuo in a dog's day!"
"This thief must be a big tooth spy!"
Zhao Quan cursed loudly. He couldn't believe that Guang Jingshuo would do this for money, so his first reaction was that Guang Jingshuo was a spy disguised as Da Ya and wanted to harm the people in the south.
On the shore of Wangyuan Lake, in a secluded location, Guang Jingshuo was sitting in a sedan, with a corner of the car curtain open, looking at the fierce battle on the lake far away through the gap.
His face was extremely ugly, because the current situation was completely beyond his expectation.
He felt that everything was done perfectly. Only when Zhao Quan arrived in Yancheng and unwrapped the sacks did he discover that the grain had been swapped. He never thought that Zhao Quan would find out so quickly.
He thought that Zhao Quan only had 10,000 cavalry, and he never thought that the drivers who drove the carriage were all elite soldiers.
He thought that Zhao Quan would be looking away and sighing, but he never thought that Zhao Quan was so murderous that he would go to the lake to kill the water thieves at the slightest disagreement.
He thought that Zhao Quan and the 40,000 soldiers under his command were weak on the water and would be beaten to pieces by the water thieves, and finally fled back to Yancheng in despair. He never thought that they would be so brave and good at fighting.
He thought——
He expected too much, but nothing turned out as he thought.
Just because he didn't know what this food meant to the current southern border.
Everyone knows that there has been a drought in the south for a year, but no one knows what the drought has done in the south. They are content with enjoying themselves and having no worries, but their understanding of the drought is too poor to imagine the horror caused by the drought. disaster.
Therefore, they do not understand how precious food is, and what it means that one mouthful of food can save one life.
Guang Jingshuo didn't know and didn't understand. He only knew that Zhao Quan and his 40,000 soldiers must be confessed in Wangyuan Lake, and then put all the blame on the water thieves, otherwise he, Guang Jingshuo, would die.
So he gave orders to the leaders of the various water thieves, ordering them to destroy Zhao Quan.
Looking at the circle of water thieves on the lake getting smaller and smaller, Guang Jingshuo raised his lips proudly, and at the same time a fierce light flashed in his eyes. He had already arranged his manpower, and when Zhao Quan was eliminated, they would be the leaders of the water thieves. Death date.
Except for the leader of the water thieves, no one knew that this matter had anything to do with him.
He can sit back and relax.
…
"General——"
Zhao Quan's adjutant was shot through the chest by a water thief with an arrow. He grinned with his blood-stained mouth and shouted angrily at Zhao Quan: "The last general has taken the first step!"
After saying that, he chopped down the two water thieves rushing in front of him with his sword, laughed twice, and fell on his back on the deck.
"You go first, I will kill you later!" Zhao Quan bared his teeth and smiled.
Once you are determined to die, you no longer have the fear of death.
Zhao Quan is like this, and so are the soldiers.
From beginning to end, no one was timid.
The leaders of the water thieves all saw it with hair on end. They saw clearly that there was no fear of death on the faces of these officers and soldiers, even though they were hacked to death with random knives. There was a sense of arrogance on their faces, which was a sign of contempt for them, the water thieves. Disdain from the bottom of my heart.
They felt that compared with these officers and soldiers, the officers and soldiers of Tuozhou were simply scum.
"I'll send you on your way!"
"Let you die with dignity!"
A water thief leader couldn't help but take action. He ran through the water with a sharp sword and rushed towards Zhao Quan's position.
"You're not worthy!" Zhao Quan snorted disdainfully, chopped down the water thief in front of him with his long sword, jumped out of the warship and faced him.
The two fought on the water for more than a hundred rounds. Zhao Quan was slightly better and chopped off the head of the water thief leader with one knife.
puff!
A silent arrow penetrated Zhao Quan's chest, only an inch away from his heart.
The one who shot the arrow was another water pirate leader.
With a sneer on his lips, he drew his bow and arrow again.
Zhao Quan coughed up blood in his mouth and wanted to rush over and kill this guy, but the strength in his body suddenly disappeared and he was exhausted. His body staggered forward, fell to the lake with a snap, and sank.
"Is this the end?"
"it's over!"
Zhao Quan asked and answered himself and closed his eyes reluctantly.
However, just when he was desperate, a force suddenly surged from underneath his body, supporting his body and pushing him out of the water.
Click——
A strange sound sounded in Zhao Quan's ears, a bit like the sound of exploding porcelain pieces, but if you listen carefully, it's not. Immediately afterwards, a biting cold air suddenly surged under his body, and his hands touched the hard coldness.
"ice?"
A word popped up in Zhao Quan's mind. He suddenly opened his heavy eyelids and climbed up with his arms supporting his body.
He glanced around and saw that the lake, which was dyed red with blood, was freezing at an extremely fast speed. The soldiers who were still breathing in the lake were all lifted out of the water like him, but the water thieves in the water were Sealed under the ice.
