After traveling day and night for two days, Xu Ziling finally arrived at Dajiang, which he had not seen for a long time.
Surprisingly, there were no sails or boats on the wide river, but the river was rolling in endlessly from west to east. Although it was a big river like the Yangtze River, Xu Ziling was of course not in a hurry, but he was in no hurry to cross the river and headed upstream, hoping to find a shorter river. Narrow places save energy.
The afterglow of the setting sun under the western mountains makes the river water colorful and beautiful, giving it a sad and beautiful look.
After turning a corner, about four or five miles upstream, a ferry suddenly appeared. There were nine medium-sized sailing boats moored along the shore, flying the flag of the Yangtze River Alliance.
Xu Ziling became curious and secretly wondered if the Yangtze Alliance was not an alliance headed by Zheng Shuming, with the three factions of Qingjiang, Cangwu, Tiandong, Jiangnanhui, and Mingyang Gang as the backbone? Why did they gather here?
In the blink of an eye, he ran for more than two miles, passed through a sparse forest and wild trees, climbed to a hill, and had a panoramic view of the activities on the Yangtze River connecting the ferry.
The earth gradually darkened, and none of the nine sailboats had their lights on, giving off a mysterious atmosphere.
Suddenly, a large boat came out of the bend in the river and arrived at the upper reaches.
When Xu Ziling calmed down and took a look, he was suddenly shocked because this ship was by no means unfamiliar to him. He and Kou Zhong had spent some time together, and it was the ship owned by Yun Yuzhen, the leader of the Jukun Gang.
A very inappropriate feeling arose in his heart.
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Kou Zhong sat on his horse and looked at the desolate plains, forests and rolling hills under the stars and moon from a high place.
Xuanyong and Jiao Hongjin were on the left and behind, and behind them were more than a dozen generals, most of whom were from the Luoma Gang.
When the news of Ren Ren's tragic death in the Chunguang Incident spread, Brother Ku heard the news and hurriedly fled towards the sea, hoping that he could return to the sea quickly before being intercepted by Kou Zhong.
Unexpectedly, Kou Zhong was so confident that Luo Qifei, who was good at reconnaissance, posted sentries along the route and accurately grasped the direction of his withdrawal. He allowed him to flee for two days and two nights, and then concentrated his troops on the road that this lonely army must pass.
With the sound of hoofbeats, Luo Qifei rode through the sparse forest down the slope to Kou Zhongma and reported: The enemy finally couldn't bear to rest and eat on a hill ten miles away so that the war horses could rest and eat water and grass.
Kou Zhong's eyes flashed with cold light and he said in a deep voice: Based on Qifei's guess, are these Khitan dog thieves still capable of fighting?
Luo Qifei replied: Although the Khitan dog thieves are frightened birds, they have always endured hardships and endured hardships. Even if they panic and run for their lives, they still disperse without chaos.
Kou Zhongtou praised: What Qi Fei said is true. This time, although we have an advantage in numbers and morale due to our familiarity with the terrain, we are sure of victory. But we can only calculate how to maximize the results and minimize our casualties.
Jiao Hongjin pointed with his horsewhip at a stretch of high mountains ten miles behind and said: "The only way to reach the sea is Feiying Gorge. We only need to lay an ambush there to ensure that Brother Ku's entire army can be wiped out."
Kou Zhong smiled and said: Brother Ku may not be smart, but he is by no means stupid. He has rich marching experience and should know where the dangerous areas are.
Luo Qifei said: "Young Marshal Ming Cha Ku Ge and his group had the energy to walk an extra ten miles, but they stopped to rest at this time. Naturally, they need to explore the geographical situation clearly before deciding whether they should go through the gorge or take a detour."
Xuanyong frowned and said: If they take a detour because of their speed, they can easily leave us behind, then the villages and towns along the coast will suffer.
Kou Zhong shook his head and said: They won't take a detour because they can walk quickly and they won't waste time. Let's do a two-pronged approach. Instead of deploying a single soldier in Feiying Gorge, we will only bluff behind them and pretend to be pursuers. The scene made them He ran for his life in a hurry without getting enough rest.
Jiao Hongjin said in astonishment: Then where should we intercept them?
Kou Zhong said decisively: "Just outside the mouth of the gorge, brother Ku has just relaxed his mood. Both men and horses are equally angry. Let's give him a head-on attack and attack from both sides. As long as we drive them into the gorge, we will be able to win this battle." Gain complete victory.
Then he smiled and said: How can I, Kou Zhong, show off my abilities if I don’t capture Brother Ku alive? ＊＊＊
The lights of the giant Kun were extinguished and it slowly approached.
When Yunzhen's ship approached one of the Yangtze Alliance warships, the distance between the two ships narrowed to about 3 feet, and a dozen people jumped up and landed on Yunzhen's ship.
At this time, Xu Ziling had just poked his head out of the water, reached out and grabbed the hull of the boat, and his five fingers were embedded into the solid wooden wall, and they stayed there.
The Jukun moved away from the river bank, turned around, and other warships set sail one after another to follow.
The deck was heavily guarded. Even with Xu Ziling's skill, he was not sure he could sneak into the cabin without concealing the enemy's eyes and ears, so he couldn't take the risk.
He put his ear against the wall of the ship and his hearing sensitivity immediately increased exponentially. He could hear the footsteps and words of everyone in the ship and even the heavy breathing and the unusual noises like breaking waves.
Xu Ziling closed his eyes and searched for the target in this world purely composed of sounds. When he heard the familiar voices of Zheng Shuming and Yun Yuzhen, he naturally filtered out other sounds. If his eyes were focused on a certain object, there would be other scenes. It will become blurry.
They should have entered the cabin. Because Xu Ziling was familiar with the Jukun, he could easily picture in his mind the scene of them sitting down in the hall as guests and hosts, while Yunzhen's confidant Yunzhi served the guests with fragrant tea. It's all like seeing it.
After a few sentences, Yun Yuzhen turned to the main topic and said: On this trip, Degui Lian and I, Daliang, have formed an alliance to work together and the time for Zhu Can and Zhu Mei's father and daughter to be conferred is not far away.
Xu Ziling suddenly realized that Zhu Can, who claimed to be the King of Garuda, and his female poisonous spider Zhu Mei, who had always relied on their power to do all kinds of evil, inevitably threatened the existence of the Yangtze River Alliance, so they had to seek refuge with Xiao Xian, whose power gradually expanded from the south of the Yangtze River to the north of the Yangtze River. The Garuda Kingdom is attached to fight against Zhu Can and his daughter. Yunyu is the real person who pulls the strings. Maybe it was negotiated in Luoyang.
He secretly thought that it would be okay if he didn't listen to such things. When he was about to leave, Zheng Shuming said: The Yun Gang mainly uses the power of the alliance to eliminate the traitors in the gang. Of course, the matter is very serious. Can you give us clear instructions so that we can do our best?
Xu Ziling was shocked and immediately realized that Bu Tianzhi was at a disadvantage in the struggle with Yunzhen and was in danger.
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The sound of hoofbeats carried through the canyon became louder and louder, making the already tense atmosphere even more solemn.
Kou Zhong, who was hiding in a dense forest growing on a hillside, was surprisingly calm because the entire battlefield was under his control, and everything was at his mercy, without exception.
Although he had talked to Xu Ziling before about war being like a game, he had never truly experienced the strange feeling of that kind of game until tonight.
From the appointment of generals to the recruitment, selection and formation of soldiers, from training, flags and drums, reconnaissance, communications, equipment to formation, marching, setting up camps, defending cities, and the use of siege tactics, he has the ability to compete with others. a feeling of.
The goal is to be the final winner.
Luo Qifei next to him shouted: Here it comes!
Kou Zhong watched coldly as the Khitan horse thieves appeared at the mouth of the gorge and galloped up the ancient road outside the gorge mouth.
As Kou Zhong expected, after nearly ten miles of hasty galloping like a lost dog and passing through a dangerous canyon, the enemy was already at the end of its powerful crossbow, and its energy was obviously slowing down.
Brother Ku's usual tactic is to come and go like the wind. If he can't be beaten, he will slip away and teach others not to touch his tail. His ability to traverse Shandong has a lot to do with the Wolf King Mi Fang, who is familiar with the geography and customs.
Coming to this unfamiliar place, Brother Ku was waiting for a blind man, and Mi Fang was the blind man who led the way.
Mi Fang's death forced Brother Ku to retreat along the old path with no other option, and he fell into Kou Zhong's dragnet.
At this time, most of the horse thieves had walked out of the canyon. Suddenly, more than ten riders in front stumbled and fell to the ground.
The newly recruited Luoma gang members who were ambushing the Young Marshal's Army on both sides shouted in unison. As the war drums beat loudly, the archers in the forest on both sides simultaneously shot away the people but not the people. The Khitan horse thieves fell to the ground one after another and became a mess.
The spearmen formed an orderly formation and were divided into four groups from both sides to kill each group of 500 people. In one fell swoop, the enemy was smashed into pieces and cut into pieces, unable to see each other.
The archers who were lying in ambush at the mouth of the gorge were raining arrows towards the exit, forcing some of the enemy cavalry who had not yet left the gorge to flee back into the gorge.
Kou Zhongzhi knew it was time to give a loud shout and lead two hundred fine cavalry to rush out of the dense forest and kill the enemy head-on.
No matter how powerful the Khitan horse thieves were and how clever their equestrian skills were, after two days of struggling and being newly defeated, the morale of the newly defeated division was extremely low. In this situation, surrounded by enemies on all sides, they finally lost the ability to fight back and fled in all directions.
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Xu Ziling listened carefully. Yun Yuzhen snorted coldly: "The establishment of a gang is about benevolence, justice and integrity. Now Bu Tianzhi is liaising with foreign enemies and conspiring to rebel against the gang without caring about integrity. It is a waste of time for me to take care of him all these years."
It's hard work to be promoted to a deputy under me. He's so sorry and I can't forgive him in any way.
A deep male voice said: Gang Leader Yun, why should we feel sorry for such traitors? Bu Tianzhi is about to be executed. We have followed Gang Leader Yun's words and lured him to Caizi Lake with a big deal as bait. We will then use warships and speedboats to surround him and ensure that he is surrounded by warships and speedboats.
He wants to sink the fish in the cheap water to the bottom of the river.
Zheng Shuming lowered his voice and said: Does Bu Tianzhi know that Gang Leader Yun is doubting him?
Yun Yuzhen said calmly: Of course I won't let him know that I also deliberately entrusted him with important tasks to make him think that I still trust him as much as before. This time I deliberately did not mobilize my close associates and let Guilian deal with him, which made him completely unsuspecting.
.The most important thing is that my hands and feet are clean and no one is left alive. Then I can take advantage of Bu Tianzhi's remaining party members to be completely unprepared and eliminate them one by one to avoid endless troubles.
Zheng Shuming said: Gang Leader Yun, don't worry, this is just a trivial matter. As long as we can make money for us to board the ship, Bu Tianzhi and his people can't even think that even half of them will slip through the net.
When Xu Ziling heard this, he secretly shed a cold sweat and shouted that he was lucky. If he had not encountered this incident at the right time, Bu Tianzhi's life would have been in danger.
The fleet suddenly slowed down and turned towards a tributary on the right, heading northward against the current.
The destination is of course Caizi Lake, where Yun Yuzhen wanted to kill himself.
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Kou Zhong, surrounded by Xuanyong, Jiao Hongjin, Luo Qifei and other generals, inspected the aftermath of the battlefield under his military power.
This group of Khitan horse thieves who had been wreaking havoc for many years was finally wiped out. In addition to nearly 800 well-bred Khitan horses and countless bows and arrows, the spoils also included a batch of 3,000 taels of gold. However, this wealth was enough to rebuild half of Pengcheng.
Kou Zhong was not as happy as he expected.
Although this was not the first time he had witnessed the scene across the country, the battle this time was his own creation.
His current reaction was purely a direct reaction to the scene of death around him.
Kou Zhong stopped his horse and stared at the three Khitan horse thieves twisted on the ground in extremely unnatural postures. There was another horse not far away from the cold and stiff bodies.
One of them is that after being hit by an arrow in his vest, he fell off his horse and his head was immersed in a pool of blood that had condensed into ocher black. Under the rays of the morning light, the skin that was originally full of life showed a disgusting indigo color.
Xuan Yong could only wait patiently when he saw his body staring blankly at the ground.
Kou Zhong smiled bitterly and said: Are you surprised that just now I never thought or thought that they were human beings? But now that I see them hiding in the wilderness, I suddenly remember that they are human beings like me. They have their families, and their relatives even look forward to their return to Khitan every day and care about them. their wives and children.
Xuanyong said in a deep voice: Young Marshal will soon get used to all this. On the battlefield, either you die or I die. It doesn't matter if you are soft-hearted!
Kou Zhong sighed: I'm not soft-hearted. Even if I had to do the whole thing over again, I would still kill half of these vicious people without mercy. It's just that people are not grass and trees, and there will always be some feelings.
At this time, my subordinates came to report that Brother Ku could not be found.
Kou Zhong snorted coldly: "His fortune is good! After packing up, we immediately rushed back to Xiapi. The next target is Donghai County, Li Zitong's hometown!"
All the generals responded in unison.
Kou Zhong urged his horse to go. Suddenly, he just wanted to be as far away from the battlefield as possible!
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Caizi Lake is far smaller in area than Chao Lake not far to the east and its shape is very irregular, but the beauty of the scenery is beyond Xu Ziling's expectation.
At this time, he transferred from the Yunyuzhen Jukun to Zheng Shuming's warship and hid under the bottom of one of the boats hanging on the hull to enjoy the scenery of the lake with clear water, white waves and green reflections.
The warships of the Jukun and the Yangtze River Alliance respectively sailed to the hiding place where the ships were scheduled to be surrounded and intercepted. Only Zheng Shuming, a handsome ship full of masters, was left to go to the appointment of Divination Tianzhi.
The shadow of the sail on the lake is as graceful as a mirror.
The green mountains on the shore blend into the clear lake water, making it difficult to tell whether the lake is dyeing the mountains green or the mountains are dyeing the lake water green. In addition, the hazy mist rippling on the lake surface makes it even more suspicious. It seems like a mistake. Then he broke into the fairyland on earth, which is usually inaccessible.
After half an hour, the boat gradually slowed down.
Xu Ziling took a deep breath and his inner energy was transmitted through the hull of the boat into the sling.
The sling was shattered inch by inch.
When the boat fell into the lake, Xu Ziling flipped into the boat.
Peng!
The boat landed on the lake and only sank a few feet before regaining its balance under the skillful control of Xu Ziling's feet.
The enemy ship shouted, but it was too late.
The oars were raised and driven into the water again, and the boat passed in front of the mother ship like an arrow.
Tianzhi's warship is slowly approaching.
Xu Ziling stood upright in the wind and looked around while steering the boat.
The tranquil lake surface is calm, the mountains and lakes reflect the clear water, the smoke is flowing, and the gentle breeze makes people's minds open, their ears and eyes refreshed, and their spirit refreshed.
Zheng Shuming's exclamation came from the deck of the warship that was thrown back more than twenty feet, and he shouted: Xu Ziling!
Xu Ziling replied without looking back: Master Zheng, let's go! Isn't the killing in the rivers and lakes not enough? What's the benefit to the Yangtze River Alliance of forming an irresolvable grudge and getting involved in the struggle of other gangs?
Ignoring her anymore, he rushed towards Bu Tianzhi's sailboat.
He was almost certain that Zheng Shuming would end up retreating. Even if the Yangtze River Alliance had the ability to kill him, Xu Ziling would have to pay a heavy price and make a strong enemy like Kou Zhong that almost no one dares to offend. How could the Yangtze River Alliance afford it? rise.
Moreover, the appearance of Xu Ziling made her confess to Yun Yuzhen that she suddenly regretted it.
After losing the support of the Yangtze River Alliance, Yun Yuzhen had no other choice but to flee.
This storm is bound to end just like this.
But the battle with Xiao Mian and Xiang Yushan has just begun.