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The enemy camp was right in front of him, and he had only a solitary boat to rely on. It was truly terrifying and unsettling. Captain Wang was beginning to regret it. If Xu Xianrong hadn't known what was good for him and offended them, wouldn't he have died in vain? Alas, if he had just withdrawn, it would have been much better. Now, with all the commotion, even he couldn't rest in peace.
Just as he was getting nervous, someone suddenly called out, "Captain, is that Lieutenant General Xu?"
Captain Wang hurriedly looked and saw a small boat floating over. The person standing on it was none other than Xu Xianrong.
"So soon?!" Captain Wang was overjoyed. The fact that someone had returned safely meant there hadn't been a falling out. However, as the boat approached and he saw Xu Xianrong's expression, he became flustered again. Wasn't the Xu guy incredibly bold and unyielding? How could he have returned so pale and distraught after just one trip? Could he have suffered some kind of humiliation?
I don’t know if he was really injured, but Xu Xianrong staggered when he boarded the official ship.
Captain Wang didn't dare delay and quickly stepped forward to ask, "Brother Xu, what's going on? Did those thieves say anything cruel?"
The word "thieves" now sounded rather harsh to Xu Xianrong. Composing himself, he shook his head and said, "Nothing, they just don't want to surrender."
Hearing this, Captain Wang was not surprised at all. He just quickly ordered the people around him, "Hurry up, turn back first and report this to the commander-in-chief."
The negotiations had failed, and he was still in enemy territory. Who knew what might happen? Besides, he didn't get on board this time, so whatever happened would be Xu Xianrong's fault. He just had to figure out how to report it to the Marshal.
Xu Xianrong didn't care about the other party's thoughts. He staggered to the mast and sat down.
This meeting was like a dream, which made him feel shaken and at a loss.
Unfortunately, this was not a dream... Looking at the fleet of ships covered with red flags, Xu Xianrong slowly closed his eyes.
Because of Captain Wang's urging, the return journey was much faster than the coming journey. After returning to the commander's ship and seeing Wang Ling, Captain Wang hurriedly cleared himself of the blame. The bandits didn't want to see him at all and only allowed the man named Xu to get on board. Wasn't it because of the commander's order that he was unable to keep up?
However, Wang Ling looked at Xu Xianrong with a strange look in his eyes. He asked coldly, "Commander Xu, why did they only let you get on the boat? You saw the leader of the Red Flag Gang. What did they say?"
Looking at the other party's suspicious expression, Xu Xianrong suddenly understood one thing: why Miss Qiu only let him board the boat alone.
This was also part of the psychological warfare. He really met the leader of the Red Flag Gang, but that person was Qiu Yuehua, the real orphan of the Qiu family. As an old subordinate of General Qiu, he could not deny himself in any way.
After a long silence, Xu Xianrong finally said, "The leader of the Red Flag Gang is none other than Miss Qiu, and she is unwilling to submit to the imperial court."
"What?!" Wang Ling was shocked. The leader of the Red Flag Gang was a woman, the legendary Miss Qiu? This, this was too unbelievable, right?
The next moment, Wang Ling's expression suddenly changed: "So you only met Miss Qiu and came back without talking about anything?"
They certainly talked, a lot, but unfortunately, they didn't get along. Xu Xianrong had no interest in telling anyone else about this, and said coldly, "She said that the general's promise doesn't count."
Isn't this just pointing at his nose and scolding him? Wang Ling was immediately furious and slammed the table fiercely: "As expected of the descendant of a traitor!"
This insult was directed at General Qiu, but at this moment, Xu Xianrong didn't care. No matter how much he disliked Qiu Yuehua's extreme words, one thing was true: General Qiu's reputation after his death would be judged by history.
Seeing him look at his nose and his heart, not wanting to say a word, Wang Ling was extremely angry. But at this point, getting angry was useless. The key was how to deal with this group of brutal and cunning bandits.
It would be great if someone could lead a single army to hold off the Red Flag Gang and allow them to retreat slowly. Wang Ling couldn't help but look at Xu Xianrong, but the next moment, he snorted inwardly. This guy went to the enemy ship alone, and who knows what they discussed. If he was given the rear guard, he might surrender to the enemy.
No! Wang Ling was startled and shouted, "I sent you to the enemy camp to persuade them to surrender, but you ignored the envoy and secretly colluded with the bandits. Come, suppress him first and keep him under guard!"
A man like Xu Xianrong, apart from other things, does have the ability to lead troops. If he is not locked up, who knows what kind of chaos he will cause during the war. If there is an internal and external attack, it will be impossible to guard against, and his life will be in danger.
Someone immediately rushed forward, and this time, Xu Xianrong didn't even try to dodge. He was pinned down and taken back to his original cage. After figuring out Miss Qiu's purpose for letting him board the ship alone, he had anticipated this outcome. If he couldn't be used, he would naturally be his enemy. What friendship could there be? He had considered severing ties with those who had sided with the bandits, and didn't they feel the same way about him?
Fortunately, Wang Ling hadn't searched him. Xu Xianrong huddled in a corner, gently pressing his chest. He'd been so groggy when he'd left that he'd forgotten to return the suicide note to Yuehua, and she hadn't asked for it. At that moment, the tear-stained page lay pressed against his skin in his arms. Was this a backup plan left by Miss Qiu, or, as she'd said, simply "returning the property to its original owner"? Xu Xianrong couldn't guess, and he didn't want to.
Wang Ling was foolish, but he was right about one thing: if the Red Flag Gang became too powerful, the imperial court might actually try to recruit them again. And was his statement, "A mere general's promise doesn't count," just a cold sarcasm, or a bait thrown to those incompetent and cowardly court officials?
As long as there was a chance of amnesty, the imperial court wouldn't have utterly exterminated General Qiu's former subordinates. If he could return to Panyu safely, he would most likely be punished and exiled to the border. If he was less fortunate, he might even be wrongfully executed.
He was afraid that he would never see this sea again.
Leaning tiredly against the wall, Xu Xianrong closed his mouth and no longer paid attention to what was happening outside.
After dealing with a hidden danger, Wang Ling's situation remained unchanged. What's more, the enemy began to move and seemed to be about to attack. How could he overcome this obstacle and break out of the encirclement?
Wang Ling racked his brains for a long time before calling his men together. "The bandits are refusing to surrender and are blocking our way back. It would be extremely difficult to force our way through. Panyu is in urgent need, and we can't afford to delay. So, why not split our forces and take a detour?"
This, this is also possible? The generals below were once again stunned. They clearly had a large army under their control, so couldn't they just charge in full force? There would definitely be casualties, but it wouldn't necessarily mean they couldn't break through.
Wang Ling snorted coldly, noticing everyone's thoughts. "You want to fight head-on? Stupid! Right now, the various garrisons and even Panyu City are what we should be concerned about. If we get entangled by the enemy and drag it out for three to five days, the shore might be a scorched earth. Who will be able to take responsibility then? It's better to split our forces into two groups. After all, we have more ships. If the enemy also splits up, it will be difficult to stop us."
There was some truth to this, but someone trembled and said, "What if the enemy doesn't divide their forces? Their numbers are almost the same as ours."
Wang Ling sighed deeply: "If we don't split our forces, they can only stop one side of the army, and the other side can go back to rescue them first."
Could those who were stopped still survive? Some people's faces turned green, but Wang Ling waved his hand proudly: "I am willing to advance and retreat with you all. Both fleets should fly the command flag to make it difficult for the enemy to distinguish. If the bandits catch up with my troops, I will fight them to the death and buy you some time."
These words were truly well-spoken, and they did indeed boost the morale of the officers and men. After all, Panyu was truly in imminent danger. If they were accused of losing territory, no one would be in a good situation. If they divided their forces now, at least half of them could escape. If they all flew the flag of command, who knew whether the pirates would chase them or split up. This way, the government forces would have more ships, and their advantage would naturally be even greater.
With this spirit of shared hatred and solidarity, the troops immediately started to move. Wang Ling specially placed his own flagship in the left army. This ship was almost the same as the flagship, and both were flying the commander's flag, making it even more difficult to distinguish.
This arrangement seemed perfectly fair, even stating that they would advance and retreat alongside the soldiers. But how could Wang Ling not really give himself some leverage? His right army had more large ships and a good supply of cannons, providing some protection should they be caught by the bandits. Of course, the truly crucial issue was the route of the two armies' retreat, and he planned to take a risk and return via a detour. To the bandits, he, the commander of a large army, must be trying to take a shortcut. Perhaps they were mistaken?
Alas, there is no better way now, I can only give it a try.
Everything was ready, and the two teams did not stop, splitting into two from the center and heading in different directions. This surprising move was also seen by Cheng Xi and others.
"The government troops are really cowardly..." Even Li Niu sighed. With so many ships, wouldn't it be enough to just charge the battle line? Why split up the troops? Isn't that asking for trouble? But if the enemy makes a fool of himself, he won't.
"Boss, why don't we split up and chase them!" Li Niu immediately volunteered. Once the troops were divided, someone would have to lead the army, and it would be either him or Yan Yuan, and they would definitely have to fight for credit.
Cheng Xi shook his head: "No need to go to such trouble, let's just chase one side, we can't bite off more than we can chew."
If they split their forces, they would only have about fifty ships per team, making it nearly impossible to contain the enemy. If they didn't split their forces, they could easily swallow up half the enemy. Which side was more profitable was self-evident.
Li Niu felt a little regretful when he heard this, while Yan Yuan frowned: "Then which side should we chase? Both the left and right armies have raised the general's flag, and we don't know where Wang Ling is hiding."
Cheng Xi smiled slightly: "Why bother with so much? The one taking the shortcut will get closer to the coastline. It is reasonable to chase them. Just give it your all."
This was a clear sleight of hand, but so what if they fell for it? For a fool like Wang Ling, escaping wouldn't be a bad idea. Weakening the enemy wasn't just for battlefield use.
After hearing this order, everyone no longer hesitated, and the army moved together to chase the left army.
"Marshal, the enemy has really been fooled!"
Many people in the right army were delighted. Although their allies were in trouble, it was a good opportunity for them to escape! Standing at the bow, Wang Ling also breathed a sigh of relief, stroked his beard and laughed. In this way, his life was saved.
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