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It's already the fourth day, when will the messenger come back?!
Far away at the East Gate, Zhao Pu was unusually restless.
He had sent messengers to the Red Flag Gang's camp several times before, and they always returned within two or three days. This time, he had given them detailed instructions, but the messenger hadn't returned yet. Could it be that Gang Leader Cheng didn't trust him? That wasn't right. With such a major event, other insiders would surely have reported it. The information he sent wasn't foolproof, but it was meticulous and thorough, on par with others. With the intelligence of those people, it was impossible for them not to see it.
But after hearing such great news, if not asking him to cooperate, he should at least reply as soon as possible so that he can prepare. Detaining the messenger and not returning would only shake people's hearts and arouse suspicion.
However, Zhao Pu did not dare to act rashly because he had countless doubts in his heart.
The Ling family has left about a hundred people to guard the east gate. If any family makes any unusual moves, they might take the opportunity to eliminate them.
He is an insider, so he should keep his tail between his legs and avoid falling into trouble.
I waited anxiously for another day, and when it was completely dark, the boy who delivered the letter came back in a hurry.
Zhao Pu hadn't even gone to bed yet, so he immediately called someone over. "What's going on? Why are you back so late this time? Does the gang leader have any instructions?"
The boy said excitedly, "Uncle, I came back with the Red Flag Gang, which is why we're late. They're resting in the woods outside the village now, and asked me to invite you over!"
Zhao Pu stood up immediately and asked in a low voice, "How many people are here?"
"More than 200 people, I heard they are all elite soldiers." The messenger replied immediately.
Zhao Pu gasped. The Ling family brought more than 20 ships and about a thousand people to attack. If they were not careful, their nest would be destroyed.
Who would have thought that Gang Leader Cheng would actually dare to mobilize 200 elite soldiers and go to the East Gate to cause trouble. What courage does he have!
"Let's go! Take me there quickly!" Without hesitation, Zhao Pu immediately led a few confidants and left the village at night.
Because they were all salt-making villages, there were many trees near the east gate, and the forest in Zhaojia Village was particularly dense. Before they reached the edge of the forest, someone flashed out from behind the trees and shouted in a low voice, "Who is it?!"
The messenger boy quickly said, "It's my uncle who's here."
After looking Zhao Pu and the others up and down, the scout turned sideways and let them in.
It was already late, but there was no bonfire in the forest. There were only a few dim torches, which were impossible to see clearly unless you got closer.
However, this temporary camp was not set up hastily. There were three layers of sentries inside and outside.
Maybe they had just set up camp, and the soldiers were still resting on the ground, some of them were munching on dry food, but there was not even a whisper.
Shocked by this military discipline, Zhao Pu became even more alert. He quickly came to the center of the camp and saw a man turn around and say to him, "Brother Zhao is here?"
"Chief Li!" Zhao Pu was so shocked that he almost couldn't hold back his voice. Isn't this the leader of the Red Flag Gang? Why did he come to the East Gate in person?
"Why, didn't you expect me to come?" Li Niu was quite pleased with himself after scaring someone. He chuckled, "It's all because of that Ling who walked too slowly that I was two days late. Brother Zhao must have been waiting anxiously."
Zhao Pu also realized what was going on and quickly said, "Since it's the gang leader's arrangement, what's the big deal if I wait a few more days? Chief Li brought his troops here this time, is he trying to disrupt the situation and force the Ling family to withdraw their troops and send reinforcements?"
This kid is quite clever, but Li Niu shook his head: "The gang leader ordered me to take down the Ling family."
Zhao Pu was shocked. With just these two hundred men, they wanted to attack the Ling family? He said anxiously, "The Ling family has left behind a hundred combat soldiers and hundreds of salt farmers. They are well-prepared. Chief Li, you must not underestimate the enemy!"
Li Niu snorted, "Untrained men are just a mob. Even if they're brave enough to fight and kill, they're no match for disciplined soldiers. I trained these two hundred men myself. They should have no problem dealing with a few thieves."
Hearing his confidence, Zhao Pu was reluctant to refute him directly. After a moment's thought, he said, "Even if we can win, we can't occupy it. The Ling family's ship is still outside. If we really turn back to help, I'm afraid it will be difficult to deal with."
Li Niu glanced at him and said, "Are you worried about being implicated if you send troops? Don't worry, you don't need to do anything this time. Just keep the salt merchants you know well at bay."
Zhao Pu hadn't expected that such a rough-looking fellow could see through his thoughts, but at this moment he couldn't argue. Zhao Pu immediately said, "Since the boy has joined the Red Flag Gang, he is naturally thinking about the gang wholeheartedly. It's just that we are few in number now, so we can't act rashly..."
Li Niu interrupted with a wave of his hand: "The Ling family won't be coming back, and even if they do, they won't have many soldiers left. The leader is still in the main camp, how can we let him escape? However, you are really not needed in this battle. You must find a way to persuade the families that didn't participate to surrender one by one, and then use your power to pressure the other salt merchants. Once I defeat the Ling family, it will be time to use them."
This, this is too reckless, right? Zhao Pu felt his face stiffen, not knowing whether to believe it or not. After a long silence, he whispered, "What about the guard post..."
"Don't worry about the guard post, the gang leader has already made arrangements." Li Niu said firmly, then narrowed his eyes: "Why, Brother Zhao, you don't trust us?"
Should he believe it? Looking at the sea tycoon who was already showing a murderous aura, Zhao Pu gritted his teeth and said, "Chief Li, you are joking. Since I have come to surrender, I have risked my entire fortune. How can I retreat?"
Li Niu finally relaxed his expression and patted Zhao Pu on the shoulder with a smile: "You are a smart boy. When you take charge of the salt fields in the future, we will be brothers who eat from the same trough. We must get close to each other."
This sounded like a joke, but it also pointed out one thing: as long as they did a good job, the Zhao family would be able to get this salt field, and he would become one of the real leaders of the Red Flag Gang.
A surge of blood rushed to his head, and Zhao Pu laughed heartily: "Then I will have to rely on my brother's support!"
All that effort, isn't it just for this little shiver? Now that everyone is here, we can only go all out and fight!
…
At daybreak, the Ling family's overseer was up and driving his salt farmers out onto the mudflats, scolding them as he went, "Do you think you can slack off while the master's away? If you don't produce enough salt these few days, I'll skin you alive! Hey, when we bring back the new slaves, be careful! Those who don't work hard will be thrown into the sea to feed the fish!"
His curses were harsh, but the salt farmers acted as if they didn't hear him. They all had blank faces and were busy carrying firewood and water.
Exposed to the scorching sun, soaked in brine all day, beaten and hungry from time to time, they don't ask for more, just want to have something to eat.
Besides, although the Ling family is mean, they are still much better than the corrupt officials in the garrison who eat people without leaving any bones. As long as you are willing to work hard, you can save your life.
Seeing that everyone started working diligently like ants again, the supervisor yawned and started thinking with his whip.
I don't know if there are any women in the Red Flag Gang. If they rob a hundred people, can these overseers also get some benefits? Hey, just thinking about it makes me itch...
As I was daydreaming, a shrill bell rang suddenly from a village in the distance.
Startled, the supervisor looked up in confusion. Isn't this thing used for warning? Why did it suddenly ring?
Just as I was beginning to wonder, I saw two boys running towards me, shouting, "Quick! Tell the salt farmers to grab their tongs and rakes! We're getting attacked!"
Who's attacking? The overseer was stunned. The Ling family had just assembled an army of over a thousand people. Who would be so bold as to touch the tiger's whiskers? Besides, this place wasn't far from the garrison. Aren't they afraid that the soldiers would send someone over?
However, the two guys who came over didn't give him time to think, and cursed angrily: "You son of a bitch, what are you waiting for? Go call someone!"
The supervisor was startled and quickly turned around and yelled at the salt farmers to grab their weapons and rush towards the village.
As a result, when the group of people arrived at the place in a chaotic manner, the village wall had been breached, and a group of black-clothed men, as fierce as tigers and wolves, were surrounding them and killing them.
The supervisor's legs were shaking. What was going on? Hadn't they just given the warning? How come they were already calling in?
Seeing the group of salt farmers rushing over, Ling Yan, the head of the Ling family, screamed, "Kill them all! Kill them all, and I'll reward you handsomely!"
He was almost going crazy. Where on earth did this group of people come from? When the village was surrounded before, Ling Yan thought it was just a group of passing bandits. Since there were few people at home, he didn't want to cause trouble and was ready to ask for money to send them away.
Unexpectedly, this group of fierce bandits rushed in without a word. The wall was more than ten feet high, and three or two people bent down to climb over it. The village gate was instantly lost. The soldiers he sent out couldn't even stop them, and were hacked to the ground in rows.
If it weren't for the fact that there were some streets and alleys in the village that were easy to defend and difficult to attack, they would have been razed to the ground in an instant.
Even so, more than half of the family soldiers had been killed. He was so anxious that his throat was smoking. Seeing the salt farmers coming, how could he still hold back? After all, there were more than 400 salt farmers. If a fight really broke out, would they be unable to stop these thieves?
The overseer also realized what was happening and turned around to curse, "What are you still standing there for? Kill them! The master said there's a reward!"
The group of salt farmers had never seen such a scene before. They rushed forward hesitantly, each holding their weapons in their hands.
"Boss, the salt farmers are here!" A personal soldier beside Li Niu shouted loudly.
Li Niu stretched his neck to take a look, then laughed excitedly, "The gang leader actually guessed it right. Shout it out loud!"
The personal guard received the order and was the first to speak: "There are no slaves in the Red Flag Gang. Everyone has food to eat and clothes to wear! Surrender and you will not be killed!"
"There are no slaves in the Red Flag Gang. Everyone has food to eat and clothes to wear!"
"Surrender and no killing! Surrender and no killing!"
More than 200 people formed a small formation, fighting and shouting loudly. The more they shouted, the more powerful the swords and spears in their hands became.
Because they weren't lying.
They were once bullied and enslaved, living a poor life with only one meal a day. However, the Red Flag Gang took them in, taught them martial arts, and fed them so that they could hold their heads high and support their parents, wives and children at home.
Just shouting out these words makes people's blood boil. They are all upright and brave men, and any thieves will turn into corpses and lie at their feet!
Thunderous shouts accompanied by fiery attacks swept towards the enemy.
Looking at this group of enemy soldiers with the same dark skin but strong bodies and imposing aura, the salt farmers stopped and many of them hesitantly put down the iron axes and rakes in their hands.
The overseer was furious and raised his whip, cursing, "They're all talking nonsense! Come on! The master said there's a big reward! Gold, silver, women, don't you want them?"
The people who were pointed at by the whip turned their eyes away woodenly, with no expectation or desire in their dark eyes.
They were not the "house dogs" who could follow the army to fight, but the slaves at the bottom who made fires, stirred pots, and carried salt. They had never seen gold or silver, and were not qualified to touch women. However, they had been whipped, starved, and insulted and bullied all day long.
They also want to have food to eat and clothes to wear...
The supervisor faltered at the terrifying gaze, his hands shaking. "You're rebelling! This is Ling Family territory, and the eldest son is leading thousands of soldiers. If you don't obey, I'll kill you when I get back!"
The supervisor, who looked like a ferocious god, was trembling.
A salt farmer suddenly roared, turned the iron axe and stabbed it hard.
How could a whip stop a sharpened iron rod? The supervisor screamed and fell to the ground, holding his stomach.
The bright red blood caught the eyes of many people. Some dropped what they were holding and turned around to run away. Some knelt on the ground, trembling and begging for mercy. Others, holding the iron tools they used every day, rushed towards those who bullied them every day.
Looking at the enemies that were thrown into chaos in the blink of an eye, Li Niu laughed heartily: "My men, kill them!"
…
By the time Zhao Pu arrived at Lingjia Village, everything was settled.
Zhao Pu was speechless as he stared at the blood all over the ground and the Ling family members tied up with ropes.
"How, how is this possible?" Did he lose his mind after a good night's sleep? In just half a day, the Ling family, this local tyrant, had his head chopped off and his entire clan wiped out?
Li Niu chuckled complacently: "I've already said that dealing with this kind of thing is not worth mentioning at all."
After seeing that kid Sun Er use the Mandarin Duck Formation, he had worked very hard to train his troops. Besides, he had carefully selected all the soldiers before sending them to the island. Wouldn't it be easy for him to seize a few good ones? Now, bringing them out to do something, it really made him feel refreshed!
Of course, this was also because the gang leader anticipated the enemy, but there was no need to tell Zhao Pu about this.
Zhao Pu was truly stunned by the news of the salt farmers turning against him. They were all salt farmers from the East Gate, so how could he not know the Ling family's strength? With only 200 people able to wipe out such a large village, what were the other salt merchants, big and small, to be compared to?
Li Niu didn't give him time to be dazed. He coughed and said, "Brother Zhao, I've taken care of this. The rest is up to you. As long as you can convince the other families and act according to the gang leader's plan, you will be the one who gets the most credit!"
Zhao Pu's eyes lit up! Before, he had to rely on words to persuade the enemy to surrender, but now he only needed to show his fists.
As for the salt merchants, they are all bullies who only bully the weak and fear the strong. The local tyrants have been swallowed up in one gulp. How can those small fish and shrimps not kneel down and beg for mercy and try to protect themselves?
With a fist clasp, Zhao Pu said, "Don't worry, brother. I'll take care of everything!"
Li Niu nodded in satisfaction, and smacked his lips with a hint of satisfaction: "Next, we'll see how fast those Ling family members move."
He deliberately held back, allowing many members of the Ling family to escape. Saving time in the war was secondary; the final act of conquering the hearts and minds was more important.
Oh, I don’t know what the camp is like now. If the gang leader leads the troops, I’m afraid they can kill to their heart’s content, right?
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