98

Ling Yan escaped with great risk, taking with him only a few nephews and some female relatives. Protected by more than 20 servants, he ran several miles in one breath.

The mules and horses pulling the cart were panting with exhaustion, but Ling Yan still felt the fear in his heart. He glanced anxiously behind him, and when he saw that there were no pursuers, he ordered the cart to stop.

"Uncle, what should we do?" a yellow-haired boy asked in a crying voice.

Who wouldn't be panicked after losing their home? Everyone was at a loss, terrified.

The Ling family was considered to be the dominant family in Dongmen, so who would have thought that they would encounter such a tragedy?

Ling Yan shouted angrily, "Why are you panicking? The boss is still out with his troops. Go find him and take back the village!"

Now Ling Yan also figured it out. That group of people were sent by the Red Flag Gang. They probably found out about their plan long ago, and there might be an insider, so they took advantage of the empty East Gate to launch a sneak attack.

The only solution now is to call Ling Yue back as soon as possible. Apart from anything else, he still has hundreds of soldiers at his disposal. If he joins forces with several other families, he should be able to drive away those evil thieves!

However, this matter cannot be made public. The Ling family is now facing internal and external troubles. If people knew that the village had been destroyed, the entire coalition might collapse immediately.

The salt merchants all bully the weak and fear the strong. If someone sees their weakness and takes advantage of them, wouldn’t that be troublesome?

After thinking for a moment, he called his youngest son over and said, "Go find your eldest brother and explain the situation clearly. Don't make it public, or you'll disrupt the morale of the troops."

The boy hesitated for a moment and asked, "Dad, why don't we go to the garrison to ask for help first? We have a good relationship with Lord Liu..."

Ling Yan glared at him, "You're so stupid! We've occupied so many salt fields over the years, the commander has long been displeased with us. Now that we're in trouble, how could he possibly send troops to help? The only way we can gain a foothold in Dongmen is if we take back the village ourselves!"

There are too many things involved here, and the Red Flag Gang is ruthless. They actually mobilized so many elite soldiers and attacked them when they were caught off guard.

This is what it means to "attack while the enemy must rescue." The plan against the Red Flag Gang is doomed. If things go wrong, they will be devoured by wolves and tigers, leaving no trace.

Now is definitely not the time to ask for help. We must also be on guard against bad intentions from someone in the coalition forces, so we must be cautious.

After giving her son a few more careful instructions, Ling Yan let him set off quickly.

After sending away a few more guards, he didn't dare stay any longer and decided to go to his in-laws' house to take shelter, hoping Ling Yue would quickly bring back his troops to help him...

…

Standing in front of the dock, Ling Yue's face was dark and looked like he hadn't slept well for several days.

He really hadn't slept well these past few days. He tried every possible way and tried his best, but this damn camp was still like a turtle shell, with nowhere to start!

Ling Yue had previously made a shield out of wooden boards, thinking it would be of some use. However, after he was able to block the rain of arrows, the enemy started throwing flaming oil cans.

How could a wooden shield stop a fire attack? Luckily, due to the lack of oil tanks, the Ling family's elite troops rushed to the city, but before they could even stand firm, the rolling logs arrived...

Ling Yue couldn't believe that such a small camp could pull off such a tactic. This was even harder than attacking a county town! They were all salt merchants, and none of them had any idea how to attack a city. Finally, someone suggested using the strategy of wearing out the enemy troops and launching a surprise attack at night.

As a result, when the night attack came, the Red Flag Gang's camp was like a hedgehog, with tighter defenses than during the day. Because it was dark and they couldn't see clearly, their own losses were even greater.

Ling Yue had no choice but to call a halt. If he didn't stop, the morale of the coalition forces would be completely lost!

In this way, three days were wasted. I don’t know if it was because they were too confident in their own camp, but Luoling Island did not show any signs of sending a fleet to provide support. Now they are in a difficult situation.

Alas, if I had known this would happen, I shouldn’t have meddled in other people’s business. Wouldn’t it have been enough to just surround but not attack as planned?

Now the Ling family has lost more than 30 people. Even though Ling Yue brought a lot of people this time, he still felt a little painful.

We also have to appease those small salt merchants who have suffered heavy losses. It really doesn't make it worth it.

However, it is too late to worry now. The key is how to deal with the next step.

Although the wealthy families in Dongning wanted to supply food and fodder, the supplies were delayed. It was not known whether they were afraid of being involved in the war or if they had encountered some other trouble.

If the Red Flag Gang's fleet delayed for a few more days, what would they do if they ran out of food? How about sending some men to urge for more food?

Before Ling Yue could make up her mind, an unexpected messenger disrupted her entire plan.

"What did you say? The Red Flag Gang attacked our village!" Ling Yue almost jumped up, staring at his younger brother and saying sternly, "Didn't I leave people for you? We have so many salt farmers at home, how could we be attacked just one day?"

The younger brother of the Ling family said with a sad face, "Brother, the enemy came so suddenly this time that we were completely caught off guard. Those two hundred plus men must have been elite soldiers. They breached the outer wall in a flash. The salt farmers were even bewitched and rebelled on the battlefield. It was only thanks to my father that he risked his life to get us out..."

Ling Yue's face turned pale and she whispered, "We've fallen into a trap!"

No wonder the Red Flag Gang has been hiding in the camp. They must have sent out elite troops early on, waiting to take advantage of the opportunity.

There weren't many people in the camp, so how could they mount a decent offensive? It was because they didn't dare to fight head-on and retreated hastily several times that they didn't see through the treacherous plot.

Now that my house has been occupied, what's the point of attacking this camp?!

The younger brother of the Ling family hurriedly said, "Father told you not to make any noise and to withdraw your troops immediately. If it's too late, those remaining salt merchants will get angry and it will be difficult to deal with them."

How could Ling Yue not know this? But if they wanted to retreat now, what excuse could they give? Other families had contributed manpower and suffered casualties, and now they were withdrawing with nothing to show for it? There had to be a reason, right? If those people were to learn of the Ling family's plight, their morale would surely be instantly shattered!

After circling around for a dozen times, Ling Yue finally gritted her teeth and said, "I'm afraid we can't keep the Ling family's attack a secret. Since they'll find out sooner or later, it's better to tell them that the Red Flag Gang has divided its forces to attack the East Gate, so that everyone will be in danger."

This is also the best way. Although it will damage the reputation of the Ling family, everyone has the desire to protect themselves.

Some small households brought their entire families out this time, leaving only a few people to guard the place.

When you heard that the Red Flag Gang had raided the East Gate, weren't you anxious and hurried back?

He immediately asked, "When you came, did other families send anyone?"

"I ran here as soon as my house was attacked. Others probably didn't have time to leave yet!" Little Brother Ling said hurriedly.

Ling Yue immediately made the decision: "Gather all the leaders now and make things clear!"

We can't delay any longer. A messenger from another company might arrive in the evening.

When he finds out that the Ling family has been taken over by someone, his morale will be greatly crushed. If someone with ulterior motives takes advantage of his illness to kill him, he will be doomed!

Having made up his mind, Ling Yue immediately called everyone together and said straight to the point, "Everyone, things have changed. I'm afraid there's a traitor at the East Gate who's colluding with the Red Flag Gang and is trying to lure in an invasion while we're out!"

As soon as he finished speaking, there was an uproar below.

"How could this be? Who is such a traitor?!"

"Did the Red Flag Gang really send troops to attack the East Gate? Oh, I was wondering why they didn't leave the camp to fight!"

"We have to go back quickly! There aren't many people left at home..."

Seeing everyone panicking, Ling Yue felt a little relieved and quickly said, "My family saw the situation was bad and immediately sent a younger brother to pass on the message. There's no need to panic. I heard they only sent around 200 people. We just need to hurry back."

Two hundred people wasn't a small number, but it wasn't too many either. Some people were relieved, while others became even more anxious. "Manager Ling, is your information accurate? Who is colluding with the bandits?"

Ling Yue's face was stern. "We can't let ourselves get distracted now. Every family has sent troops, so we must unite against this enemy. Those who haven't sent troops are the root of the trouble. Once we defeat the bandits, we must thoroughly investigate and seek justice for everyone!"

The meaning of this statement is very clear, which is to encourage everyone to deal with those salt merchants who did not send troops.

Hearing this, many people's eyes lit up. After such a trip, they didn't get any benefits, but suffered a lot. Of course, they had to make up for it elsewhere! It didn't matter whether those who didn't send troops were really collaborating with the bandits. As long as there was a reason, with so many people, if they couldn't take down the Red Flag Gang, how could they not take down a few neighbors?

With a consensus, things became easier. Each family began to gather their men and prepare to board the ship for the return trip.

Standing on the wall of the camp, Cheng Xi looked at the turbulent enemy camp and smiled slightly: "It seems that A Niu has succeeded. It's time for us to attack."

Tian Yu moved his lips and finally said, "A trapped beast will still fight. You have to be careful."

Is he worried about getting into danger leading the troops himself? Cheng Xi smiled and shook his head: "I've experienced more dangerous situations than this. Don't worry, Danhui, just supervise the battle from the top of the city."

Tian Yu immediately shut up and said no more. Cheng Xi didn't wait for his answer and turned around and climbed down the wall.

Arriving at the high platform for selecting generals, Cheng Xi looked at the rows of soldiers holding spears and halberds, their faces full of anticipation, and raised his voice: "Chief Li has already led his troops to destroy the bandits' lair. Now they have lost their fighting spirit and just want to escape as soon as possible. We must go out and stop them to save more of the bandits' lives! I haven't let you fight on the city walls these days, just for today! Do you dare to fight?"

"dare!"

The shouts of the three hundred people were in unison. Although not earth-shattering, they were quite impressive.

Cheng Xi looked at these people and nodded with satisfaction.

Those who fought on the city walls these days were actually reserve auxiliary troops. The real elite were the more than one hundred people she brought and the more than two hundred soldiers left by Li Niu.

These three hundred men had suppressed their fighting spirit for several days in the face of the enemy attack, and now they were eager to fight. They also knew the specific plan and understood the enemy they were going to face.

Such soldiers are the most capable and daring to fight!

Without further hesitation, Cheng Xi drew the long sword from his waist and shouted an order: "The enemy is in front of us, we must advance and not retreat, and kill them without mercy!"

With a creaking sound, the camp gate slowly opened, and rows of soldiers holding spears filed out and lined up in front of the camp.

The noise was so loud that the salt merchants were immediately alarmed. They were all stunned when they saw the enemy suddenly coming out of the camp and forming a battle line.

Someone quickly asked, "Manager Ling, what's going on? Didn't they say the enemy's elite troops were attacking the east gate?"

Ling Yue was also startled, but the next moment, he reacted and gritted his teeth.

This is to delay them! As long as others know the current situation of the East Gate and know that his Ling family has been breached, this coalition that has been hard-won will fall apart.

But if they don't fight now, their people won't be able to get on the ship for a while. The dock is so narrow that if they are caught up, they will definitely be defeated!

What should I do?

"The enemy's elite troops are all at the east gate. They're just posturing because they see us trying to retreat. If they're frightened, it will only lead to a rout, giving the enemy an advantage. Better to fight and see if we can capture this main camp!" Ling Yue was determined to fight. At this point, there was no way back; he might as well fight head-on. A victory would not only allow him to capture the main camp, but it would also boost the morale of the coalition forces, and they would obey his orders.

By then, even if they knew that the Ling family was in trouble, they probably wouldn't dare to rebel.

If they flee without fighting, the Ling family's reputation will be ruined, and how can they lead this coalition army?

He spoke so firmly that it really gave some people the courage to give it a try.

After so many days of frustration, everyone must be feeling pissed. Rather than leaving now, it would be more satisfying to have a fight!

So the retreat was really stopped, and the five or six hundred allied forces on the shore reorganized and raised their weapons.

This is a field battle, no siege required. Without that damn longbow, how could they still be afraid of a bandit gang?

Seeing the enemy's reaction, Cheng Xi immediately ordered: "Beat the drums and attack."

The rumbling sound of drums rang out, and the three hundred people divided into three square formations and advanced forward together.

When they found that this group of enemies had left the range of the longbow defense, the salt smugglers could no longer hold back. They blew their horns and rushed forward with wild shouts!

On the top of the city wall, Tian Yu grabbed the bricks tightly, his knuckles turning blue and white.

Right below his sight, two teams, one black and one white, collided.

The enemy troops were indeed more numerous, more than twice their number, and they were advancing forward like crazy. However, the group of red-flag soldiers in black were not frightened by this situation.

They just raised their spears high in an orderly manner, stabbed, retracted, stepped forward, and continued to stab, like the surging waves, washing away the mud and sand layer by layer, leaving corpses all over the ground.

That was not quite like General Qiu's way of deploying troops, but it was sharper, more efficient, and more ruthless than an ordinary person.

The sound of the drum kept changing, which was a signal to the soldiers, letting them know which direction to advance and where the guns were pointing.

The person who supports them will never make a mistake.

In any major war, losing 30% of the troops is enough to cause a rout. The salt merchants did dare to fight, but as the death toll grew, they inevitably became timid.

The battle line was gradually torn apart, and the drumbeats changed. Sword and shield soldiers replaced spearmen, tearing the cracks even wider until they were broken through.

The enemy could no longer hold on and began to collapse.

Behind them is their own ship. As long as they turn around and escape, they can have a chance of survival. What else can stop those who are determined to survive?

Looking at the thieves jumping into the sea like dumplings, Tian Yu loosened his fingers and could no longer suppress the smile on his face.

They won, a great victory!