The State of Yu is located in the southwest of Mianzhou, bordering Huaiyou to the north and Nanhua to the east. Among the six southeastern countries, its national power is also the weakest. After years of melee, the northern territory was continuously eroded, and Duke Xiu Jingwen of the State of Yu had to order the abandonment of Feiyun Gorge.
In this natural moat, we retreated to the hilly area south of Zuihua Pond and defended it.
Fortunately, the terrain of Mianzhou is high in the south and low in the north. The hilly area in the south is densely covered with swamps and miasma, so it is named Bai Mi Ling. Because of this, Nanhua only attacked the Huanshui and Lingxi areas and was unable to continue westward. Yu State
He was finally able to survive and temporarily escaped a disaster that would destroy the country.
But the war on land has subsided, but the sea has become unstable again. On this day, in a small fishing village at the mouth of the Mek River, the men of "Taohai" had just returned home. From a distance, they saw nothing below the sea level.
Without warning, a huge pure black sail was raised.
The mother of one of the young fishermen stood at the door of the adobe house, calling him by his nickname loudly: "Ah Yi, tie up the boat and go home for dinner as soon as possible. The food is already cold!"
"I understand, mother. But there is a big ship coming from the sea. I wonder if it is a merchant from the Kingdom of Fu!"
Ah Yi turned around and answered, but the work in his hands did not stop.
The Fu Kingdom in his mouth is located in the northwest of the Yu Kingdom, and the two countries are separated by a high mountain called Suli. However, the rocks on Suli Mountain are so rugged that even blue sheep have difficulty climbing over them, even if there is a rich side on the other side of the mountain.
The capital of the neighboring country is Yunzhi, and trade between the two countries is mostly connected by sea.
The merchant ships of the Fu State never had a deep draft, so they could go north along the Laishui River, a tributary of the upper reaches of the Mekong River, to Baitan, the capital of the Yu State. According to common practice, most of their purchases were copper and iron ore from the Mianzhong Plateau.
However, since Yu State ceded the mineral-rich Miazhong Plateau to Nanhua, its economy has been struggling to rely on the fishery on the southern coast. And the merchant ships buying ore have not been here for a long time.
Because of Ah Yi's loud shouting, more and more villagers on the shore noticed the arrival of the big boat. The sun set in the west, reflecting a red sparkling spot on the sea, and the silhouette of the boat seemed to come from the sun.
The fishermen who sailed out gradually revealed their true appearance under the suspicious gazes of the fishermen.
However, the incoming ship was quite different from the previous merchant ships from the Fu Kingdom. Not only was it completely black, it also lacked the skylark brocade sails that the villagers were familiar with.
"Ah Yi! What are you doing standing there stupidly? Finally, a boat came from the country of Fu. Let's quickly pick up a few of the fish caught today that are good-looking and exchange them for some money. I can give my family more money.
Some rice noodles would be good too!”
The mother's voice sounded again, and she walked out of the house with a face full of hope. After all, life in the fishing village has been difficult for a long time, and now it is really a joyful thing to have outsiders visit.
Unexpectedly, the young man turned around and waved his arms vigorously, with a look of horror on his face: "The sea is not a merchant ship sent by Yunzhi Mo's family! Mother, go back quickly, I'm afraid it's not Nanhua's army that is attacking from the sea!"
Hearing what her son said, the woman suddenly felt an ominous premonition. But before she could finish her words, there was a loud "boom" on the sea.
The sound was like the thunder that sounded above the clouds when a storm was about to break out. It seemed far away, but it seemed to be close in front of you, which made people panic. The rest of the people in the fishing village also raised their heads, but in the dark
Under the purple sky, where can you find the shadow of half a rain cloud?
But with that roar, a bright fire suddenly flashed out from the black ship that was still between the sea and the sky. In the blink of an eye, the young man standing on the beach clearly saw a black object.
It quickly approached close to the sea and flew straight towards the front of its adobe house!
"Mom, get out of here!"
Ah Yi turned his head, shouting with despair. It turned out that the attacking object was a black iron ball the size of a sand bowl! There was just a "bang" sound, and the iron ball directly hit the frail old woman to death.
It flew up from the ground, and even the ball crashed through the dilapidated house door, and then brought a large piece of earth wall that was not even strong at all.
"mother!"
The young man's eyes turned red instantly, and he clenched his fists and ran towards his home. However, the iron ball had already run over his mother's chest and abdomen. The old woman's thin body was broken on the spot in the broken earth.
Two pieces were cut off, and her flesh and blood were blurred. Before Ah Yi could rush back to her side, she had already vomited blood and breathed out. And her wide eyes were filled with the fear and confusion at the moment of death.
.
The deadly thunder did not stop there. After the successive loud noises, more than a dozen iron balls volleyed into the sky. In the blink of an eye, several more mud houses were added to the shore, and no one hiding in them was spared.
The fishermen were so frightened by the scene in front of them that they did not dare to run anymore, and they gave up resistance so easily.
The black ship steered with the wind and dropped anchor in the shallow bay in a blink of an eye. Then several small boats were lowered from the ship, and the fully armed soldiers rowed long oars amidst the uniform drumbeats and quickly boarded the shore.
It was only then that the young man named A Yi finally saw clearly the appearance of this group of invading enemies - he saw that they were all wearing black leather armor and a ferocious sea snake mask on their heads. They were obviously not the army of any vassal state.
, but he is well-trained and murderous, making people's hair stand on end.
After landing, the soldiers immediately formed a formation and surrounded the more than a hundred people who had survived in the fishing village. A man dressed as a general walked through the team and walked up to the fishermen. There was no mask on his face at the moment.
The mask looks like he has just reached his age, but the iron-green face reveals a ruthlessness that is rare even for adults. The two eyes are so wide that they almost protrude, just like the evil spirits from ancient times.
Like an animal, he carefully looked at everyone:
"Is everyone alive here?"
The tears in Ah Yi's eyes had long been replaced by anger. He didn't even care about the broad-backed saber on the opponent's back, which was as thick as an arm. He waved his fists and rushed out of the crowd:
"Give my mother's life back!"
But the young general just glanced at him sideways, keeping his hands behind his back, and dodged easily.
Ah Yi immediately turned around and wanted to entangle him again, but suddenly he felt something was caught under his feet. Before he could react, an irresistible force hit him from bottom to top, causing him to lose his balance and fall heavily.
He fell to the sand and was severely stepped on by his opponent's boots.
"Bold pirate, how dare you attack General Yu! Capture him, cut off his hands and feet, and throw them into the sea to feed the fish!"
A captain rushed over and was about to use the knife. However, the general beside him stopped him on the spot:
"Get back! The population in this village is not large, and everyone is the labor force we are in short supply at the moment. There is so much work to do in the fortress, and it is just used to feed the fish. Is his position up to you?
Are you going to replace me?"
That young general was none other than Yu Li, who served in the Benhai camp of Ye State. In the past three years, he had risen through the ranks and had become a commander who could lead a ship to sea alone. He was worshiped as General Pinghai.
However, right now, the way he and the soldiers around him were dressed had nothing to do with Ye Guo Zhou Division.
There was an indescribable sternness in Yu Li's tone, which frightened the captain so much that he didn't dare to say anything anymore. On the contrary, an old man with gray beard among the fishermen, seeing that he could spare Ah Yi's life,
He boldly stepped forward and asked:
"From the general's accent, he sounds a bit like a native of Ye. However, there has never been any grudge between Ye and Yu, let alone war. This village is also full of poor people who make a living by fishing. You guys
——Could it be a misunderstanding?”
"Are you the leader of this village?" Yu Li did not answer the other party's question, but lifted his foot to release the young man who fell on the ground, and walked slowly to the old man, "I came here today because of your village
It's in a remote location, so it's definitely not a misunderstanding. I just wonder, old man, can you do me a favor?"
"Is there any need for help, general unknown? He is too old and too comatose to be able to——"
Seeing that the other party's tone had softened, Rizheng immediately bowed his hands and planned to continue the fight. However, what no one expected was that the young general who had scolded his men not to hurt anyone a moment ago suddenly pulled out his back.
saber on.
I saw a flash of cold light on the beach, and the old man's nose was cut off from his face without any bias!
"Old man, when you're not told to speak, don't say a word! If any of you dares to say another false word, I will have his tongue cut out!"
Although Yu Li's voice was not loud, his cruel actions scared the villagers into silence on the spot. They just allowed the soldiers to tie their hands and feet tightly with finger-thick hemp ropes. Even Satomasa, who had just had his nose pinched,
, he just knelt on the ground, letting the blood flow from the wound, but did not dare to say another word.
"Select all the men over fifteen years old and under fifty years old into one team. Then put the good-looking women into another team. After signing in, take the boat back to Hailing Island!"
The young general continued to order.
"What should we do with the remaining ones?" the captain on the side lowered his head and asked again.
"Do you still need to ask me? The remaining ones are all old, weak, sick and disabled. Taking them back to the island will only waste food!" Yu Li glared at the other party, "I miss you for the first time.
I don’t blame you, general, when I go to sea. Remember, we went to sea this time to catch Dinnu, not to hire a master. No useless person will be left alive, do you understand?"
"The general will get the order!"
The captain responded with a trembling voice, stretched out his hand to straighten the slightly crooked sea snake mask on his head, and then waved to the soldiers who gathered on the beach like black ants.
The villagers had already tied their limbs. Even if they saw their loved ones being killed in front of them, they could no longer put up any resistance. They could only let out bursts of heart-rending cries and wailings that resounded throughout the sea.
null.
The sky was getting dark, and piles of bonfires were set up on the beach. The soldiers threw a few irons into the fire, which burned red. The middle-aged men who were selected to survive were all burned with one iron on their faces.
The symbol of a curled up sea snake. And those selected women were stripped naked and became sexual playthings begging for mercy under the soldiers' crotches.
In the sea breeze, there was a smell of sweat and burnt flesh. Yu Li sat by the fire, squinting his eyes as if appreciating what was happening in front of him, with a faint smile on his face, and he seemed to be talking to himself
He whispered like he was talking to himself:
"With the addition of these Din slaves captured today, Zhenlan Fortress should be completed ahead of schedule! Father, I wonder if you are satisfied with my efforts?"