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"The Red Flag Gang is actually coming to kill us?" Lu An became excited when he heard this.
He was just worrying about how to lure out the enemy's fleet, but he didn't expect that they would abandon Luoling Island to fight them. Isn't this a godsend opportunity?
A confidant beside him said anxiously, "There are ten ships coming this time. I'm afraid it will be difficult to deal with them. Should we leave the island early and hide on the shore first?"
Lu An said, "What I want is for them to leave the island! It doesn't matter if a few people die or a few boats are lost, but Luoling Island must not be lost! Those people probably don't know the benefits and risks of this island, so they are so reckless. We must seize this opportunity!"
In fact, occupying Luoling Island was not only to prevent the second young master from heading north, but more importantly to provide a resting place for the Lu family fleet.
Once an ocean-going ship sets sail, it becomes difficult to contact it. The originally arranged supply point becomes an enemy camp. Isn't this like throwing meat into the mouth of a wolf?
As long as we can recapture the island, the higher-ups won't blame us. We'll surely be able to wait for reinforcements if we hold on for a while, and rebuilding our gang will be a piece of cake by then.
After hearing what he said, the confidant understood: "The gang leader wants to contain the enemy ship?"
"That's right. Send six boats to meet the enemy, with fewer men aboard. Let them keep the enemy at a distance and hold them off for two or three days. We will take the majority of our forces and head straight for Luoling Island!"
If we squeeze the two boats together, it won't be a problem to squeeze in more than 300 people. The distance is not far anyway, and we can reach the destination in a day.
Once these people arrived on the island, they became serious soldiers. For them to recapture an empty camp would be a piece of cake, right?
The confidant was a little worried: "But if we capture the camp, what will we do if the Red Flag Gang's fleet returns? We may not be able to hold it!"
Lu An chuckled, "Isn't the Red Flag Gang's main camp on the shore? How many troops can they be willing to waste for an island? Besides, if the Second Young Master can give, can't the Mistress give too? If we promise them huge benefits, they might just turn against us. Anyway, those evil thieves from the Green Phoenix Gang have already left, so there's always room for negotiation."
This immediately made the confidants breathe a sigh of relief, nodding their heads repeatedly. Without further delay, everyone immediately began to make arrangements.
…
"Chief Yan, Wuyuan Island is ahead." The first mate said to Yan Yuan on the two-masted flagship.
The two islands were only a day's sail away, and it didn't take much effort to get there.
Wuyuan Island was much smaller than Luoling Island, and lacked a good harbor, so the pirate ships anchored at sea could be seen from afar. This situation was like a narrow encounter, and whether it was a fight or flight, they should have acted quickly. However, the ships seemed to have not seen them and remained motionless.
"Why is there no movement? Is this a trap?" The first mate's heart tightened.
Yan Yuan said, "How can we lure the enemy so far? Let's go up and take a look."
Led by the flagship, the ten ships rushed straight forward. When the pirate ships saw that they were getting closer, they turned their heads and fled at high speed.
Seeing this, Yan Yuan knew he was right and ordered, "Let Lin Hu leave the team and proceed according to the plan."
Following the flag signal, the two ships commanded by Lin Hu broke away from the fleet and made a gesture to go ashore, while the other ships closely caught up with the six enemy ships.
Seeing the Red Flag Gang's ships split up, with two heading for the island, the leader breathed a sigh of relief and shouted, "The enemy has taken the bait! We must hold them captive and flee towards the salt fields in two days. Then we'll be able to escape!"
This was also arranged by the second in command. In fact, there were no guards left on the island, let alone any property, but the enemy sent two ships there, obviously thinking that they were defenseless and wanted to raid the camp on the island.
If they find something's not right, they'll probably chase them even harder. As long as they can hold them off for two or three days, their mission will be accomplished. Then they can head to the salt fields and disperse. There are official ships there, so the Red Flag Gang's fleet probably won't dare to chase too closely.
After we have avoided the storm, we will go to Luoling Island to reunite. By then, we will have occupied the island and have eight ships, so we will be able to fight.
With confidence, the six boats raced even harder. With few people on board and little ballast, they would have already set sail if they weren't afraid of running too fast and losing the enemy's chance. But now, they were sailing at such a leisurely pace, and the enemy was still chasing them closely. So why should they be nervous at all?
They chased each other for a full hour, and then the fleet behind suddenly stopped. The largest brigantine changed direction and wanted to return.
Oh no, could they have found out?
If they rushed back, wouldn’t they catch the Second in Command and his men in the act? The little leader immediately became anxious and shouted, “Stop the boat! Stop the boat and take a look!”
Several pirate ships stopped and watched from afar as the fleet changed its formation, leaving only four ships facing each other from a distance. The remaining four ships, including the flagship, slowly changed their course and were really going back.
The two boats that landed on the island just now haven't returned yet, and now four more are leaving. If we go back to intercept them, how will the second-in-command and his men be alive?
Several pirate ships panicked, but the little leader calmed them down and shouted, "We can't let them get away! We must entangle those four ships first. If we can take them down, we'll take them down. If we can't, we'll make them come back for rescue!"
Anyway, the enemy didn't know how many people were on their ships. Six ships against four, he didn't believe that this group of people would leave a small number of troops alone. Once a battle broke out, they would definitely have to return to support!
The situation immediately turned around, and several pirate ships rushed towards the four remaining ships.
Standing at the bow, Zhong Daliang's forehead was covered with sweat. "Dad, they're really coming! Can we hold on?"
The four ships that were left behind were the four new ones. Although there were quite a few people on each ship, they had not completed their training. Even if they were combined, they could not stop the enemy ships!
Zhong Ping looked nervous, but not panicked. "We definitely can't hold on. Didn't Chief Yan tell us to flee west? I told you the bandits won't really fight, they're just pretending."
Having said that, it was still terrifying to see several pirate ships surrounding us.
Without the flagship in the center of command, the four ships immediately fell into chaos, scrambling to flee backwards. Not to mention the formation, perhaps because they were afraid of being surrounded, even the direction of their escape was a little off, and they were even further away from their flagship.
The leader of the pirate ship was now excited: "The Red Flag Gang isn't that bad! Hurry up and give chase. Wait for the big ship to come back and rescue us!"
They relied on their speed and were not afraid of being caught up. As long as they could disrupt the Red Flag Gang's plan and slow them down, it would be enough! Seeing that the four boats in front of them were about to be defeated, what were they waiting for?
So the ones who were chasing became the ones who were fleeing, and the ones who were fleeing turned around and pursued them. The flagship of the Red Flag Gang, which was preparing to retreat, seemed to have discovered something was wrong and hurriedly turned the bow to try to rescue them.
But turning at sea is not so easy. By the time they finally turned the boat around, the other side had already gone a long way away.
Looking at the four boats that were getting closer and closer, a greedy look appeared on the little leader's face. These boats were really useless. If they dared to stop and resist for a while, reinforcements might come. But they were in a panic and even their formation was scattered.
Should he catch up to the slower one and eat it first? However, greed surged in his heart, and he still remembered the Second In Command's instructions: don't fight lightly, and the key is to hold the opponent back.
However, now that the positions have been reversed, it feels quite good to watch the other party flee in embarrassment. The little leader did not stop his men, letting them shout and whistle to their heart's content and blow the horns loudly.
The more this happened, the more panicked the four ships became, as if they were frightened out of their wits.
The pirates on the ship were even more excited. If they hadn't been stopped by several captains, they would have rushed up and started fighting.
They chased each other like this for more than half an hour. Seeing that they had circled around and returned to Wuyuan Island, Yan Yuan finally breathed a sigh of relief and shouted, "Change the formation, spread out in a goose-shaped formation, and hoist the sails!"
The flags suddenly changed, and the three boats following beside them immediately raised their sails, changing from a pagoda-shaped fish formation to a fan-shaped goose formation, spreading out like a pocket.
On the other side of Wuyuan Island, masts slowly emerged from behind the hidden rocks. They were the two boats that had pretended to land earlier. Who could have guessed that they had already circled the island and hidden behind the western reefs?
Seeing that the ambush troops were already in place, Yan Yuan smiled coldly: "Beat the drums."
The sound of drums was mighty and powerful, like waves in the sea.
The four ships that had been fleeing in a panic just now all stopped. Although they were a little crooked and out of formation, they undoubtedly blocked the way ahead.
Behind them, six ships on the east and west sides had already sounded the drums of war and were rushing towards this side.
"Oh no!" The little leader's face changed drastically. He no longer cared about being excited and looked at the ships that were surrounding him in fear.
When was this ambush set up? Those ships could actually accelerate and travel so fast! Was he being tricked?
"Hurry, blow the horn and disperse, let's rush out! Go to the place with fewer boats!" the little leader shouted.
There were four ships in front and behind, but only two to the west. Was there any need to ask which direction to break out? There weren't many people on their ship to begin with. If they were surrounded, it would be the end of them. What else could they do but flee?
Seeing the pirate ship turning and preparing to come towards him, Lin Hu shouted to the auxiliary soldiers who had been standing at the bow early, "If you want to be transferred to the main force, fight hard for me and don't bring disgrace to the Red Flag Gang!"
The auxiliary soldiers who had just been qualified to board the ship all clenched their long swords and stared at the pirate ship in front of them like wolves that had been hungry for a long time.
It was just boarding and seizing the deck; they had done it before, not to mention they had practiced for ten days. Looking at those screaming guys, they looked like meat on a plate. As long as they could seize the ship and win this battle, they would become regular soldiers, swear an oath of blood like everyone else, and join the Red Flag Gang.
Isn’t such a powerful gang and such a powerful leader what they want?
The two boats, like the big ship behind them, hoisted their sails to full capacity and rushed towards the pirate ships.
…
After making a big circle, Lu An took the only two remaining boats and approached Luoling Island under the cover of night.
There wasn't even a moon in the sky tonight. If they weren't familiar with the terrain, how could they dare go ashore in the middle of the night? However, Lu An had been stationed on Luoling Island for half a year, and the helmsman was an old confidant. He was not afraid of reefs at all, so he took advantage of the darkness to reach the shore.
He had heard that when the Qingfeng Gang attacked Luoling Island, they launched a surprise attack in the middle of the night, causing chaos in the village and causing them to lose their composure. Now that he had over 300 people under his command, why not follow their example and learn from them?
Just as he thought, there were only a few half-burned and charred old boats parked on the shore. Perhaps because there were so many people following the fleet, there was not even a single person on guard.
However, Lu An did not relax his vigilance. He specifically chose a remote coast to stop the boat, and asked people to wade through the water and quietly reach the shore.
Before sending out his troops immediately, Lu An first selected thirty of his trusted followers and said to them, "Take a small boat and go around to the beach at the back. Then sneak into the village through the secret passage leading to the private harbor. If fighting breaks out in front, set fire and cause chaos in the village!"
This was also what he heard. There was inexplicable chaos in the village that day, and he was probably aware that spies had entered.
Although I don’t know whether the people on the island have discovered this secret passage, we still have to use it. Maybe we can save some lives.
The group of people took the order and immediately rowed to the other side of the island. This would take quite a while, and everyone had been crammed into the cabin all day, their arms and legs were stiff, and they needed a break.
After waiting for more than half an hour and seeing that everyone had recovered, Lu An ordered everyone to stand up and whispered, "The enemy fleet just left, and now we have a shortage of troops. This is a great opportunity to retake this island! As long as you win this battle, all the wealth in the village will be your reward, and you can enjoy the girls as well. If we have a new ship in the future, we will have to choose a captain and a leader. It all depends on your performance today!"
These words caused everyone to breathe heavily, their eyes shining. Lu An no longer hesitated and ordered, "Be quiet, let's go!"
A group of bandits immediately grabbed the branches, clenched their teeth, and without even lighting torches, they groped towards the village gate, one foot deep and one foot shallow.
These were all places he had lived in before, and he wouldn't get lost even with his eyes closed. However, when Lu An walked there again, he felt secretly frightened.
It was really too desolate outside the village gate. Most of the original huts had been burned down and many had been demolished. The place was in a mess and eerily quiet. It was like walking through a ghost village.
Just from the condition of this shed, it is not difficult to imagine the tragic scene during the night attack. Even if you have not experienced it personally, you can empathize with it now.
If he was like this, those who actually escaped from the island were already sweating profusely, walking with difficulty, and almost slowing down the team's progress.
Lu An thought to himself that something was wrong and immediately quickened his pace. Soon the village gate appeared before him.
It was still pitch black outside the village, and there were no sentries. Inside the village, a few torches were lit, but there was no sound of talking, and it was extremely deserted.
Lu An was immediately overjoyed. There were indeed not many people left in the village, and the outer wall had not been repaired. It was still the wooden fence that was more than one person high. If he wanted to climb over it, it would just be a matter of tiptoeing, right?
Without hesitation, he shouted, "The thief is right in front of us, charge!"
The loud roar cut through the night and excited the thieves who had been holding back for a long time. They all spat out the branches stuffed in their mouths, howled, and rushed forward with their knives in hand.
As long as we break through the village gate and recapture the village, shouldn’t we get all the rewards and women?
The dim lights in front of them tempted people to pay no attention to anything else. A few people with fast feet rushed out a hundred steps in a moment. They were about to reach the village gate in another fifty or sixty steps, but unexpectedly, they all stepped on empty air the next moment.
There were a few crisp "crackling" sounds, and some people screamed in pain, while others didn't even make a sound, and fell directly on the sharp spikes in front of them and died.
For a moment, there was a chorus of screams, but it was too dark and no one could see what was happening.
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