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The small thug saw Luo Tieshan standing outside the door, stopped, and said hurriedly: "Boss, it's bad, the soldiers are coming, only three miles away from here."
"What did you say? The soldiers are coming? What are those guys watching on the road doing? Are they all going to die?" Luo Tieshan pushed the woman in his arms away, grabbed the thug, and shouted at him harshly.
Along the way, Luo Tieshan had sent many people out to inquire about the situation. Yesterday, there was intelligence that Lord Tang and his men were playing with women in a brothel in the county town. How come they suddenly appeared in front of his lair now, and no one noticed them along the way? This made Luo Tieshan a little unbelievable.
"Boss, it's true. I didn't lie to you. There really are soldiers coming." The henchman was so frightened by Luo Tieshan's shout that he trembled all over and his teeth were chattering.
"Hmph, you are all good-for-nothings. You didn't even know the officers and soldiers were coming. Why don't you hurry up and call everyone to gather? Damn it, this Tang guy actually came." Luo Tieshan pushed the henchman away and pointed at one of his guards and shouted.
Xu Yuan sighed again in his heart, thinking that you, Luo Tieshan, call others good-for-nothings, but aren't you a good-for-nothing yourself? That Lord Tang is a good official, and his way of making money is so surprising, how could he be incompetent.
"Boss, the soldiers have already arrived at our door. I'm afraid we won't be able to escape easily this time. Have you made a decision whether to fight or surrender?" Xu Yuanyi asked desperately. He knew very well that the soldiers were coming with great momentum and their strength was several times that of his side. If they fought, they would surely be in great danger.
"Bah, what's there to be afraid of? With the character of the officers and soldiers, what combat effectiveness can they have? All of my men are heroes. Why surrender? Just wait for the officers and soldiers to chop off my head. I'm not saying that you scholars are just coming up with some crooked ideas. When it comes to real action, you all become weak. If you hadn't followed me for several years and were loyal to me, I would have chopped you off long ago." Luo Tieshan couldn't help but say "Pah" when he saw Xu Yuanyu asking him this, which obviously meant to surrender.
Seeing Luo Tieshan's attitude, Xu Yuan knew that the boss was unwilling to surrender. He thought to himself that the water fort was doomed this time. Judging from the actions of the officers and soldiers, they were obviously preparing to take cover and had been planning for some time. But Luo Tieshan was a water bandit and he foolishly thought that others would not beat him. If he followed him again, even if he could escape this time, he would be doomed sooner or later.
With other thoughts in mind, Xu Yuanyi no longer wanted to say anything. When Luo Tieshan left, he did not follow the others to the Juyi Hall to gather, but went to his own residence, packed up the things he needed to take, and left the place along a small path with a few trusted men. In any case, he was unwilling to accompany Luo Tieshan to die, because he still had a deep hatred to avenge, so how could he die so easily.
Thinking of his hatred, Xu Yuanyi's heart was filled with hatred again. For several years, he had been doing nothing and was getting further and further away from the goal of revenge. The hatred of his father's murder and his wife's abduction was in vain for him to be a man. If he could not avenge himself, how could he live in this world with a face?
When Xu Yuanxiu was about to get on the boat, he couldn't help but look back at the place where he had stayed for several years. The scenes of the past few years were still fresh in his mind, as if they happened yesterday. Tears fell from his eyes in the wind. He had no choice but to become a pirate, and he had been incompatible with these pirates for several years. After all, most of these people were generous men. After all, how could Xu Yuanxiu not develop feelings for them over the years.
Is it really right for me to run away like this? Xu Yuanyu couldn't help asking himself in his heart. He raised his head to take a look at the misty lake. He hesitated. On one hand, there was the deep hatred and on the other hand, there was the brotherhood. It was so difficult to decide which to do.
"There is some money in this bag. Take it and find a place to live a good life." Xu Yuanyu finally slowly took off the bag he was carrying and handed it to his trusted subordinates.
"Fourth Boss, what's wrong with you?" The confidant holding the bag looked at Xu Yuanyu hesitantly and asked in a daze.
"Let's go, let's go, leave here quickly, it's too late to leave, don't be a pirate anymore, find a place to live peacefully, if... if you still remember that we were brothers, burn some paper money for me on this lake when you have the chance." Xu Yuanyi smiled, patted the shoulders of several confidants, then turned around and walked towards the lake.
He wanted to be among those brothers, live and die with them, and go through fire and water together.
There are some things that you have to do even though you know they are wrong, otherwise you will have a guilty conscience for the rest of your life. There are some feelings that you don’t notice at ordinary times, but you will realize their importance to you only when the critical moment comes.
"Fourth Boss..." Several close confidants cried out miserably and knelt down in front of Xu Yuanyu's back.
Xu Yuanyi did not nod, with a faint smile on his face. The moment he turned around and walked away, it was as if a stone fell from his heart. The sky, the earth, the mountains and trees in front of him all made him feel familiar at this moment.
㟧
Tang Tong also put a lot of thought into this bandit suppression operation. In this era, the Ming Dynasty's navy was still very powerful, but the main force of the navy was already on the sea. In inland lakes like Taihu Lake, although there was a so-called navy, it had no combat effectiveness. Firstly, those ships had been repaired for many years, and there were only a few usable ships. Second, the hundreds of remaining navy had not been trained for many years and had long been reduced to fishermen.
Fortunately, after several months of sea training, the rogue army under Tang Tong could barely be considered a navy, at least much stronger than those fisherman-like navy, so Tang Tong only requisitioned the few usable ships.
After Tang Tong requisitioned those warships, he did not set off immediately, but let his men train on the ship and wait for an opportunity. Tang Tong knew that these pirates must have spies on the shore, so he deliberately indulged in wine and women in a brothel in a nearby county town to numb Naluo Tieshan's vigilance.
Tang Tong was not surprised that Luo Tieshan refused to surrender. These fierce bandits would not surrender unless they were at their wit's end. Even if they surrendered, they would not rest in peace. They would rebel again when given the chance, just like Zhang Xianzhong a few years later, who surrendered and then rebelled, rebelled and then surrendered again, and finally took the life of Emperor Chongzhen.
After waiting for a few days, there was finally a day with heavy fog on the lake. Tang Tong used the compass he made, took a few local guides, and led 1,600 men to set off in the middle of the night. In the early morning, he broke through the sentry post set up by Luo Tieshan and headed straight for Luo Tieshan's lair. When Luo Tieshan's men discovered them, they were only three miles away from Luo Tieshan's lair.
If Luo Tieshan escaped from another direction, Tang Tong's plan would still not be able to harm Luo Tieshan. However, Luo Tieshan himself was a brave man and did not take Tang Tong, the commander-in-chief who was only interested in making money, seriously. Because in his impression, the Ming army was just a bunch of long spears with a few powerless muskets, and they would never be the opponent of these battle-hardened men under his command. Luo Tieshan not only wanted to escape, but also wanted to seize the ships of these officers and soldiers.
When Luo Tieshan gathered several hundred of his men and prepared to set out to fight the officers and soldiers, he saw Xu Yuan coming back and said with some contempt: "Why are you here? I thought you had already escaped."
"Of course I have to come, because my brothers are all here." Xu Yuanyi said calmly, not caring about Luo Tieshan's attitude. Since he decided to come and decided to live and die with these brothers, what else is there to worry about.
"Well, although you scholars are a little nagging and unpleasant, since you are here, I won't say anything to you. We will still be brothers in the future." Luo Tieshan patted Xu Yuanyu's thin shoulders with his big palm and grinned.
"Brothers, the soldiers are coming, are you afraid?" Luo Tieshan shouted to his hundreds of men.
"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. With the boss here, we are not afraid no matter how many officers and soldiers come." The hundreds of pirates under Luo Tieshan shouted loudly. Although the voices were chaotic, their morale was high.
"Well, now follow me and seize the officers' and soldiers' boats and their silver." Luo Tieshan was delighted to see his men's high morale. He waved his hand and said, "Let's go!"
With Luo Tieshan's loud roar, everyone in the Juyi Hall left in an instant, leaving Xu Yuanyu standing alone in the hall. This scene seemed like a bustling scene that suddenly disappeared into thin air.
——I recommend Zhu Geliang’s "Sun and Moon", it is a very good book, you should take a look.
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