6
The two men, each with their own thoughts, returned to the village, rested for half a day, and finally waited for the Lin family's people.
There were only eight people coming this time, all young men, led by Lin Meng.
After seeing this, Li Niu laughed in his heart: It seems that the Lin family is really out of people, not even an experienced veteran, how can they fight with me?
However, Li Niu pretended to be serious on the surface and said to Lin Meng, "Ah Meng, your father is a good man. I have always admired him. The Lin family is in trouble now. If you need our help, just ask!"
These words sounded sincere and heroic, and Lin Meng was somewhat moved by them. However, he still remembered his responsibilities. After respectfully thanking Li Niu, he said, "Uncles, if the villagers don't go out to sea, they won't be able to survive. But there are pirates on the sea, and it's too dangerous to go out to sea alone, so I want to find some companions to go out to sea with us. Our three villages all have ships, and if we move together, we can look after each other..."
Before Lin Meng finished speaking, Li Niu frowned. "There are so many pirates out there, what can three ships do? My dear nephew, you've encountered pirates before, don't you understand?"
Li Niu was tall and spoke with great authority. An ordinary person might have been frightened, but Lin Meng didn't back down. Instead, he nodded and said, "Uncle Li is right. It's not safe to rely on us alone. However, now that we have Cheng Xi'en's guidance, the situation is different!"
After saying that, Lin Meng bowed to the young man beside him and introduced him, "This is Lord Cheng Xien, our village's savior. He killed five pirates and saved us when we were attacked before. Without him, our ship would never have returned, and I might have been buried in the sea. Lord Cheng Xien has been teaching us the methods of naval warfare these days. With him around, we are more confident in dealing with pirates!"
Li Niu's eyes widened when he heard this. He had just been secretly observing the young man and thought he was handsome with fair skin, completely different from ordinary fishermen.
He had originally thought this was a wealthy young master, but he hadn't expected him to be the Lin family's benefactor? Could he kill five pirates?
Li Niu was suspicious, but refused to admit defeat. He said in a gruff voice, "Boy, are you confused? How can such a skinny kid kill someone? With his tiny body, I'm afraid he can't even beat me!"
The words were full of provocation, but they weren't entirely without reason. One was a burly man, the other a skinny teenager; it seemed clear who was stronger.
Lin Meng was a little angry when he heard this, but Cheng Xi raised her hand to stop him. She glanced at Li Niu indifferently and said calmly: "I can't beat you, but I can kill you."
The voice was not loud and the tone was very calm, but the pair of black eyes revealed a cold murderous intent that made people shudder.
Li Niu's heart tightened, realizing something was amiss. He was an old sailor who had seen many pirates, and this murderous aura was all too familiar to him.
More importantly, Lin Meng was still injured, while Cheng Xi was completely unscathed, with only some bruises on his face. How powerful was he to be able to escape unscathed from the melee?
Although Li Niu looked reckless, he was no fool among those who had been sailing at sea for years. He knew that what he had said just now was a bit out of line, so he stopped talking and turned to look at Sun Erlang.
Sun Erlang remained expressionless, staring at Cheng Xi for a long time before he slowly said, "Grain will be collected in more than two months, and the government will definitely come to collect taxes. Even if we train now, we may not have enough time. Brother Cheng, are you confident?"
Cheng Xi smiled and said, "I started training the Lin family's son half a month ago. If you two don't believe me, why not pull him out for a competition?"
In addition to Lin Meng and Cheng Xi, six young people from Linjia Village also came. Sun Erlang looked at them and nodded: "Okay."
These words were so bland, how could there be any momentum in them? Li Niu immediately responded, "Since you're here, my boys can also join the battle and compete!"
In terms of combat effectiveness, the young men of the Li family were the strongest among the three villages, so they naturally wouldn't stand idly by. As long as Cheng Xi's arrogance was thwarted, Lin Meng would naturally give in, and things would be easier.
But what if the other party wins? A thought flashed through Li Niu's mind, and he gritted his teeth. If this guy really has some skills, it's not impossible to sit down and talk.
They were clearly here to negotiate, but they started fighting as soon as they met. The people from both families were a little surprised, but the young people from the Lin family were ready to fight, full of enthusiasm.
Although they had only been studying with their benefactor for about ten days, they felt they had learned a lot and had even practiced a few times on the boat. Now it was finally time to show off their skills, how could they not be excited?
Cheng Xi didn't say much, but just said to the young people of the Lin family: "None of you have actually been on a ship, so you can't be considered sailors. The people of the Li and Sun families are experienced veterans, figures of your fathers' generation. So, your goal is not to defeat them, but to defend your own ship!"
The other young men of the Lin family listened and nodded in understanding. Although they had only trained with Cheng Xi for a dozen days, they had already learned a lot, and now was the time to show it.
Lin Hu quickly reacted and said, "Your Excellency is right. We will definitely guard the deck well."
He expressed his loyalty, and the others, unwilling to lag behind, joined in the shouting. After these days of desperate training, even the dullest ones had a vague sense that they were learning something that would be passed down through the family.
Moreover, this benefactor looked a little weak, but he never slacked off. Every time he trained with them, he got blisters on his hands and bruises on his body. He was actually more fearless of hardship than them.
Who now remembers that this is a woman? They only regard her as their master and obey her every word.
Seeing that everyone had calmed down, Cheng Xi finally felt relieved and cooperated with Sun Erlang to set up the arena.
Once the fight was confirmed, Li Niu became interested. He wasn't the landlord, nor the initiator, so why would he need to worry about the arrangements? Nevertheless, he casually followed along, carefully examining this "battlefield."
It is called a battlefield, but in fact it is more like two ships, with high sidewalls built with discarded wood, and the gap between them is only three feet.
Are we going to board the ship and fight?
Li Niu was an old seafarer. Even before the arrival of General Zhenhai, he had robbed merchant ships several times with his father and brothers. How could he not know the tricks? How could this group of young men really defeat them?
Without saying anything, Li Niu said first: "Boy, you are so arrogant, why don't you let me learn from you first?"
The two had faced each other once before, but they hadn't really fought. However, Li Niu hadn't forgotten the frustration he felt. Besides, if Sun Er won first, wouldn't he have to fight the Sun family again?
Facing this man's provocation, Cheng Xi simply said, "Lin Meng and I will not be on the field. Six people will fight. Whoever seizes the opponent's deck or defeats all enemies will win."
Li Niu immediately realized that this was an attempt to restrain him so that he would have no excuse to play.
However, Li Niu didn't take this cunning idea to heart. He snorted and said, "Six people is six people. Let you guys broaden your horizons!"
Soon, both sides took up their positions on the makeshift "battlefield".
Li Niu selected the six most capable young men and whispered, "When the battle begins, you must board the enemy ship as soon as possible. Don't delay!"
Since "seizing the deck" counts as a victory, it means this group has a plan. They can't fall behind; they have to seize the initiative first!
After giving the order, Li Niu proudly put his hands behind his back and watched the two sides take their positions behind the bulwarks. At the sound of a gong, the Li family members were the first to grab the springboards and wooden sticks, shouting and rushing forward.
How far apart were the two ships? If he was fast enough, he could leap over like a tiger descending a mountain!
As soon as the fight started, the young men from the Li family ran into trouble. As soon as they stepped onto the springboard, several long sticks simultaneously extended from the wooden wall and poked the two men who had just stepped onto the springboard down.
Li Niu's face suddenly turned grim. Even if there was only sand below, this was already a lost cause. In a real naval battle, if you fell off the gangplank, you would fall into the sea, and it would be difficult to climb back on board. How would you have the energy to fight again? He hadn't expected that the elite troops he brought with him would be defeated so quickly.
The Li family members also found that the defense near the springboard was too tight, so they changed their strategies and jumped over the sidewall directly. Even if there were not many people, they were hard to defend against.
Suddenly, two of them broke through the encirclement and rushed onto the opponent's deck. However, in the blink of an eye, four wooden sticks hit them and the two were pinned to the ground.
Li Niu's face was completely black. How long had it been since they were completely wiped out? He had brought with him the elite soldiers on board, yet they didn't even have a chance to fight back. How could it be possible?!
Li Niu was so angry that he didn't say anything. But Sun Erlang beside him said, "Can we compete again?"
Cheng Xi nodded: "Okay."
Several guys from the Li family were driven out and replaced by people from the Sun family.
Li Niu didn't even look at the group of dejected subordinates, but instead stared at the bulwark in front of him. Could it be that Sun Er had a way to break the deadlock?
However, unexpectedly, the Sun family did not choose to fight, let alone seize the deck. Both sides just stretched out their sticks and swung them, not even able to touch anyone, let alone hurt anyone.
Li Niu was getting impatient and said angrily, "What's this? We can't even tell who's winning after fighting for an hour!"
Sun Er remained silent, but Cheng Xi responded calmly: "Without long-range weapons, it will only be a draw."
"Are you kidding me?" Li Niu flew into a rage, even rolling up his sleeves. He didn't care whether he was going to kill him or not. Today, he was going to give this pretty boy a beating!
But Cheng Xi asked again: "Why did you go to sea?"
"Of course it's trafficking..." Li Niu's roar stopped abruptly.
Li Niu was stunned for a moment, then he understood what Cheng Xi meant. They were going out to sea to transport goods, and as long as they could hold the deck, the pirates would not succeed.
Seeing him speechless, Cheng Xi continued, "There aren't many pirate ships in large groups on the sea. As long as we form a fleet of three ships and go through drills, it won't be a problem to repel an equal number of enemy ships."
The sea is vast, unlike land, and there are no fixed shipping lanes. Therefore, pirates often attack in scattered groups, rarely launching large-scale sieges.
Li Niu swallowed his saliva and said, "After just a few training sessions, you're going to repel the pirates with just a stick?"
Cheng Xi explained: "It's not just the stick. You have to learn to use the hook, sickle, spear, and javelin. You also have to add lookout towers and set up flags on the ship. Only then can you resist powerful enemies."
She said it simply, but the meaning behind her words made Li Niu and Sun Erlang silent. It sounded a bit like the training of officers and soldiers. Could it really be practiced?
Sun Erlang also nodded in agreement and asked, "Have you really only trained these people for half a month?"
Cheng Xi nodded: "Next, we will conduct actual combat exercises at sea, and all three ships will participate."
Li Niu and Sun Erlang looked at each other and felt a little shaken.
Perhaps, this Cheng Xi can really lead them to resist the threat of pirates.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
