Just as the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi and the Governor of Guangdong were arguing over whether to rescue Chaozhou, the attack and defense of Chaozhou City had ended with the government army's initial victory.

In fact, the government troops on the top of the city did not fire a single shot, and the cannons they fired were also too far off target, causing almost no casualties. It can be seen that firing cannons is a big deal, and without scientific learning, it is impossible to fire cannons well!

So learn the postures well, comrades!

The casualties caused by the defenders to the pirates of the Golden Tooth Tribe were basically caused by the explosion... When the civil engineering team demolished the houses, they deliberately left some adobe houses and buried thousands of kilograms of gunpowder - when the pirates came ashore to avoid the artillery fire, they would naturally run behind these remaining houses. The rangers hiding in the caves could ignite the fuse and give them a wake-up call!

The plan was very clever and the effect was quite good, more than a dozen pirates were killed on the spot and hundreds were injured. Big Gold Tooth was immediately overwhelmed, and before he could even stand firmly, he retreated back to the ship with his remaining troops.

Seeing this, the soldiers and civilians on the city wall burst into thunderous cheers, as if they had won a great victory. Although they were just spectators, at least their fear of the pirates was swept away.

The only problem is that this consumes too much gunpowder. If it happened in the cities in the south of the Yangtze River, the entire city’s stockpile would be used up in one go.

But people in the north might not believe it, but the wealthy people in Chaozhou City donated a total of 80,000 kilograms of gunpowder, which was enough for the imperial court to launch a medium-sized war.

Considering that they must have hidden weapons at home, it is not an exaggeration to say that Chaozhou City is an arsenal. So these thousands of kilograms are just a drop in the bucket, and the loss is affordable.

In addition, the ordnance group also collected saltpeter and sulfur throughout the city, and mobilized women, the elderly and children to donate the topsoil from their toilets, pig pens and stables to make saltpeter on site and prepare more gunpowder.

The leadership center for defending the city knew very well that given the poor training level of the soldiers and civilians on the city, only by using as much gunpowder and firearms as possible and attacking from a high position could they inflict enough casualties on the enemy and make them retreat.

The ordnance team even made some copycat, larger versions of the Thunderbolt Fireball. They filled wooden barrels with gunpowder, nails, and broken porcelain pieces, ready to light them and throw them down when the pirates attacked the city...

In a word, let the explosions and artillery fire be more violent!

~~

On the other side of the city, people were filled with joy as they celebrated their first victory, but on this side of the river, the atmosphere in Zeng Yiben's fleet was much more depressing.

After comforting the sad-looking Da Jin Ya, Zeng Yiben said to the crowd, "Da Jin Ya has already found out the strength of the government troops, so we have achieved our goal today. It's getting late, so go back to your boats and rest. We will fight again tomorrow."

The sea lords nodded in agreement and said goodbye and left.

Seeing their backs as if they had been pardoned, Da Jin Ya said angrily: "These cowards don't want to suffer any loss at all."

"It's human nature, don't worry about it." Zeng Yiben was very open-minded and said calmly: "We have fought with the government troops for so many years, haven't you seen it? Every time they attack, they claim to have tens of thousands of troops, but in fact most of the troops are just waving flags and shouting to boost momentum. In fact, those governors and generals can only rely on their own soldiers and confidants, and those thousands of troops fight desperately. Otherwise, how can we always win with fewer people?"

"Haha, that's true." Da Jin Ya felt very happy, and the depression of losing troops and generals also dissipated unconsciously. "Then why not bring those burdens, and save some money."

"That's because you are short-sighted. Elite troops are important, but people who wave the flags and cheer are equally indispensable." Zeng Yiben shook his head. It was enough to appease his subordinates. Was he really going to pass on to him all the treasures he had learned over the years?

He stopped talking and lowered his voice, "Tonight I will send another death squad to sneak under the city in the dark and steal the city at four o'clock."

"Really?" Da Jin Ya's expression was shocked. He quickly covered his mouth and asked in a muffled voice, "Boss, are you sure?"

"Of course." Zeng Yiben smiled proudly and would not tell him at this moment that he had an insider.

The boss must always maintain a sense of mystery. When you have no secrets at all in front of your subordinates, you are not far from being betrayed.

"Then let me lead the team!" Big Gold Teeth was encouraged and said, "I will get back the place we had during the day!"

"No, you have something else to do. I'll send Night Owl to take the men there." Zeng Yiben said, "He is used to committing crimes at night and has more experience than you."

"Oh." Da Jin Ya had no choice but to nod and agreed, then asked, "What does the boss want me to do?"

"You go to Chaoyang." Zeng Yiben took the dry tobacco that his men had packed. The sea merchants in Fujian and Guangdong have been exposed to tobacco for many years, and none of them dislike it.

Unlike most of his peers who like to smoke water pipes, Zeng Yiben likes to smoke dry tobacco. He moisturizes and presses various sun-dried tobacco into slices and shreds, then puts them into the pipe, lights them up and takes a puff, which is very addictive!

Moreover, the long pipe was also a symbol of his status. In Zeng Yiben's fleet, no one's pipe could be longer than his.

"What are you going to Chaoyang for?" Da Jin Ya quickly took out a fire starter, blew it and lit it for the boss.

Zeng Yiben started smoking and coughed twice after a while, "The boss hasn't replied yet, I feel uneasy."

The 'last one' he mentioned was Lin Daoqian. Back then, Zeng and Lin were brothers in the gang of the great sea lord Wu Ping. Lin Daoqian was the youngest at that time, so he was called 'the last one' by Zeng.

Now, things have changed, Wu Ping has long been executed, and his original gang has also fallen apart. Zeng Yiben, who inherited his largest force, was once powerful and feared by the world, but under the joint suppression of the government troops of Fujian and Guangdong provinces, he has become a dog without a home, and his situation has been declining. On the other hand, his little brother is doing very well, and he has successfully accepted the amnesty, and has his own troops in Chaoyang County, which makes people jealous...

Although Zeng Yiben was unwilling to admit it, he knew in his heart that his current power could not compare with Lin Daoquan, so he had to gather so many sea lords together to prevent that ruthless boy from having evil intentions and cutting off his retreat - Chaoyang is not far from Chaozhou City, as long as Lin Daoquan can quickly send a fleet to the north, block the outlet of Hanjiang River, trap him in the river, and prevent him from returning to the sea.

Therefore, for this expedition, Zeng Yiben specially prepared generous gifts and sent people to Chaoyang, inviting Lin Daoquan to go to Chaozhou City to make a fortune together.

But Lin Daoquan is now an official and has many concerns. He has been reluctant to respond and obviously does not want to get involved in this mess.

Zeng Yiben was not surprised by this. In fact, he had never thought that Lin Daoqian would accept the invitation, and he did not want that boy to steal his limelight. But the other party's status and geographical location were there, so he still had to show the right attitude.

"But he didn't return the gift, so I think there's still a chance." said Big Gold Teeth.

The difference between sea lords and bandits is that one keeps their word and does what they say if they receive a gift, while the other is completely shameless and will do whatever it takes to be despicable.

This is not because the sea masters are highly conscious, but the sea in this era is no longer the natural barrier that separated countries as it used to be. On the contrary, the ocean has become a link for trade between countries with its incomparable transportation advantages. Maritime trade must be based on credit. A party without credit can only be excluded from maritime trade and has no choice but to become a pirate.

Although the sea masters are all pirates, maritime trade is the long-term plan, so they all attach great importance to their reputation among their peers and will not easily go back on their words.

"But since he doesn't reply, I feel uneasy." Zeng Yiben exhaled a thick cloud of smoke and said, "It's not far from here, so why don't you go over there and ask him in person whether he is coming or not."

"What if he can't come?" asked Big Gold Teeth.

"It doesn't matter if he doesn't come. As long as he helps us keep an eye on the road ahead, we'll give him 20% of whatever we get this time, regardless of whether it's gold or white goods." Zeng Yiben gritted his teeth and said, "But if he's willing to help, I'm willing to split the profits with him 50-50, or even 60% for him and 40% for me."

"So many?" Big Gold Tooth was unhappy. Although he hadn't gotten the things yet, he could feel sad in advance.

"The situation is a bit tricky this time. You can't catch a wolf without sacrificing a lamb." Yiben said, "The most important thing right now is that we can't mess up this big show. Otherwise, we will never be able to survive on the sea."

"Besides, I have been too obedient in the past two years, so the government troops concentrated their firepower on me." Zeng Yiben spat and said, "No matter what he thinks, we have to put the blame on him. Only then will our lives be easier."

"I understand." Big Gold Teeth was finally convinced and stepped back to prepare to leave.

Zeng Yiben stood alone on the forecastle, smoking a pipe fiercely. The strong stench of the smoke could have smoked everyone at the stern.

In fact, he hated Lin Daoquan more than anyone else, because he already knew that the reason why he had suffered such terrible defeats in the previous times was largely due to that Lin's tip-off.

Zeng Yiben knew very well that Lin Daoqian was playing a trick of borrowing a knife to kill someone, and wanted to use the government troops to eliminate him. Sooner or later, he would make that guy pay double for all these old debts.

However, things have their priorities, and now is not the time to fall out, so we have to continue to maintain our superficial brotherhood and just hope that he doesn't stab us in the back.

~~

That afternoon, Da Jin Ya left the fleet with the gifts and headed for Chaoyang on a small boat.

At three o'clock in the morning, Zeng Yiben's suicide squad, which had been well-rested, set out. Under the cover of night, they quietly rowed their boats to the west bank of the Han River, then abandoned their boats and landed, quietly moving towards the southern city wall.

According to the agreement, the insider would try to distract the government troops guarding that section of the city wall, and drop a rope there to help the suicide squad climb up the city.

When the death squad reached the agreed location, they heard silence on the city wall, which was in stark contrast to the noise on the nearby city walls.

After the secret signal was exchanged, several long ropes slowly dropped from the city.

The suicide squad members were overjoyed and climbed up the knotted rope ladder!

ps. Chapter 3 is here. I did what I said. I am so sleepy. I hope school starts soon...