Linghu Xuan laughed and said: "I neither want the general to die in my hands nor to die under the general's sword." After a slight pause, he asked: "The general is determined to return to Liaodong? If this is really the case, I
I’m not forcing you to stay.” He shouted, “Here comes someone!”
Someone opened the door and stood outside with hands down.
"Prepare a boat and prepare water and food." Linghu Xuan ordered.
The visitor agreed and retreated.
"Do you really want me to leave?" Zhou Lie was a little stunned.
"General Zhou, I will prepare a boat for you, which can accommodate about ten people." Linghu Xuan said: "In addition to the general and three followers, Jiang Tu can also go back with you. You have arranged eighteen people on this boat.
In addition, there are about ten people on that merchant ship, including the four of you, and it cannot accommodate them at one time. You can take as many people as you can, and I will arrange for the rest to return as soon as possible. By the way, three of them were injured.
But his life is not in danger, and he can almost recover after a few days of rest, so they will go back a few days later."
Zhou Lie was surprised and said: "Linghu Xuan, you... what exactly did you do on this ship?"
"If we talk about manipulation, you must have acted first." Linghu Xuan said with a smile: "There are people arranged by you on both ships. In fact, we already knew everything about them on the day they boarded the ship."
Zhou Lie frowned and said: "They boarded the ship in the name of employment and dressed up as sailors. You...?"
"Boarding?" Linghu Xuan sighed softly: "Doesn't General Zhou still understand who the two merchant ships hired by Mr. Wang belong to?"
Zhou Lie's body trembled and he suddenly understood.
"Liaodong asked the two shopkeepers to continue purchasing goods in Hangzhou and made a desperate move. At that time, of course we knew that Liaodong had sent officials to Hangzhou." Linghu Xuan chewed the beans and said with a smile: "Since
In this way, there will be no surprises in everything after that. Three ships were captured at sea, and even the merchant ships of Hangzhou Hushentang met with such an end. How can anyone in the Hangzhou Boat Club dare to continue to go to sea? "
Zhou Lie sighed: "So Wang Heng hired two ships from you."
"Actually, things went very smoothly." Linghu Xuan said: "Of course Mr. Wang didn't know that I was the owner behind these two ships. Of course, the sailors on the ships were also our people. He secretly hired a group of bodyguards in Hangzhou, both to
There are actually not as many sailors as you imagine in Hangzhou who are familiar with water and are brave enough to fight. Moreover... Mr. Jiang from the Tiger God Hall in Hangzhou has a good relationship with me. Mr. Jiang and I get drunk twice every year.
, he even often goes to Taihu Lake to stay for a few days, and only very few people know about this...!"
Zhou Lie changed his color in shock and said in surprise: "You...it turns out...!" Suddenly something occurred to him and he frowned and said: "Since the Taihu Pirates and the Tiger God Hall have a personal relationship, why did you rob them last time?
Tiger God Hall's ship...?" At this point, his voice stopped suddenly, and a chill ran down his back. He vaguely understood something, and sighed: "I understand, it turns out...it turns out that from a
It was a trap from the beginning.”
"oh?"
"When the Qian family and Wanqi family hired merchant ships at Hushentang in Hangzhou, you set a trap." Zhou Lie said with a bitter smile: "You hired the ships to those two families, and then sent people to wait for the merchant ships to pass by at sea.
The robbery seemed tense, but in the end no one died on either side, only the man named Qiao...!"
"Tiger God Hall Qiao Siluo." Linghu Xuan reminded: "Brother Qiao is Mr. Jiang's confidant, and he is also one of the few people who knows that I have a relationship with Mr. Jiang. Brother Qiao has great loyalty and plans, and he is involved in it.
, in order to win your trust, he originally wanted to sacrifice an arm, but we insisted on only needing two fingers." He sighed: "For the smooth implementation of the plan, Brother Qiao sacrificed a lot."
"Two fingers are exchanged for three warships and hundreds of lives of the Liaodong Navy. That is worth more than gold." Zhou Lie mocked: "You deliberately put on a show for those two idiots to make them believe that the merchant ship was indeed captured by pirates.
Loot."
Linghu Xuan smiled and said: "In fact, it is difficult for anyone to doubt it. If Liaodong doesn't believe it, how can it be a trick to lure the snake out of its hole? The merchant ship was robbed, and Wang Xingchao will definitely not sit idly by and ignore it. He must
To ensure the smooth flow of maritime trade, we must find a way to solve this problem." Looking at Zhou Lie, he said: "And the only person who can solve the problem can only be General Zhou."
"Your purpose is to lure out the Liaodong Navy?"
"If the so-called pirates are not dealt with, Liaodong will have trouble sleeping and eating." Linghu Xuan said: "In the same way, if General Zhou's Liaodong navy is not dealt with, it will be a big problem for us. You set a trap to lure the snake out of its hole.
, to use two merchant ships to lure us out and then hunt them down, we can naturally use the trick and let the general's warship show up on its own."
Zhou Lie shook his head, looking sad.
At this time, he finally understood that he originally thought that the Liaodong navy was a hunter who wanted to prey on prey, but in the end the hunter became the prey.
The plans on the Liaodong side were all planned by Linghu Xuan. From a certain point of view, Linghu Xuan was the player in this chess game, but there was no one in the Liaodong side who could play the chess game. Neither Wang Xingchao nor himself could play the game.
Just become a pawn on Linghu Xuan's chessboard.
Wang Heng placed Liaodong sailors on two merchant ships, thinking that they would not be easily discovered among the sailors. However, except for these sailors, the others were all Linghu Xuan's people. Even a fool could spot a few rat droppings in a bag of white rice.
.
Thinking of this, Zhou Lie even felt his face getting hot.
This is simply embarrassing.
Of course he now knows that before entering the kerosene area, the merchant ship's fire suddenly went out, and then faint sounds of fighting were heard. This was not a fight between the merchant ship and the enemy ship, but the sailors on the merchant ship waiting for the opportunity to subdue the Liaodong sailors on the ship.
Naturally, the sailors were unwilling to surrender, and the two sides started fighting.
Although the sailors were brave, everyone in the ship was an enemy. Naturally, they were outnumbered and were subdued.
Afterwards, in order to reinforce Jiang Tu and others on the merchant ship, the warship was led into the sea area where fire oil was sprinkled. The other party used the southeast wind to use the fire attack strategy, which led to the naval army's defeat.
Knowing the cause and effect, Wang Heng was speechless.
From the beginning to the end, the other side has made careful arrangements. How can the navy be invincible?
"Island Master, the boat is ready and can be used at any time." His subordinates came over and reported outside the door.
Linghu Xuan nodded, waved his hand to leave, and then asked Zhou Lie: "General, would you like to think about it again?"
"What to consider?"
"I'm thinking about the safety of the general." Linghu Xuan sighed: "I know that the general is upright and honest, and he is incompatible with the generals of the Liaodong Army. Moreover, because of his forthright opinions, he has even offended some of them." He paused.
After a pause, he picked up the wine jar, filled Zhou Lie's glass with wine again, and said, "The general suffered heavy losses this time. If he goes back, I wonder...?"
"Do you think they will advise the general to punish me for my defeat?" Zhou Lie didn't care, and said: "Since we are defeated, it will naturally be handled by the general. How can I care about life and death?"
Linghu Xuan thought for a while and then said: "In that case, the general will go back first. I will also arrange for your soldiers to return as soon as possible. However, in this fire, many brothers must have been buried in the sea. The two armies are fighting, and you will live and die. This is not
It’s a matter of solutions. But for the brothers who are burned, we will treat them here, general, don’t worry.”
"What did you say?" Zhou Lie said in surprise: "You...you mean...?"
"Although the fire is huge, the fuel on the sea is limited and it won't burn for long." Linghu Xuan explained: "The general's soldiers are all good at water. There should be many who can dive to avoid the fire...!"
He stood up slowly and said: "There is a boat waiting nearby. I have already given instructions and will try my best to rescue him."
Zhou Lie was startled for a moment. Of course he knew that there would be no mercy when the two armies were fighting. The navy was a prodigal tonight. If it were the other way around, the navy officers and soldiers would definitely not show mercy to the enemy.
Water and fire are ruthless. He thought that after the fire, the pirates who were ambushing around the fire scene would definitely come out again and kill all the surviving officers and soldiers who fell into the water. In the end, he did not dare to be burned to death by the fire, drowned by the water, or drowned by the sea.
If the bandits were to kill him, few of the hundreds of elite sailor brothers would survive.
But after hearing Linghu Xuan's words, hope arose in his heart.
Although he was used to seeing life and death, and knew that a lot of people would die when the two armies were fighting, he felt a little excited when he thought that those brothers still had hope of survival, and asked: "Linghu Xuan, you... did you seriously order the rescue?
them?"
"Perhaps they are the ones who will resist the Bohai Sea Army in the future. Why not save them?" Linghu Xuandao said: "The purpose of burning the warships is to weaken the Liaodong Army. Saving them is for the Tang Dynasty. This is not a contradiction." He raised his hand and said: "General.
Since you’re leaving, I’ll see you off, please!”
Zhou Lie looked at Linghu Xuan with a complicated expression, hesitated for a moment, and finally took the lead to leave the cabin.
When the two arrived on the stern deck, they saw many people waiting. In addition to the three subordinates who had followed Zhou Lie out of the fire scene before, there were also Jiang Tu and other sailors who had been subdued by the sailors on the ship. At this time, they saw Zhou Lie.
When Jiang Tu appeared, Jiang Tu and the sailors behind him knelt on the ground.
"General, you are in a humble position... you are in a humble position and incompetent...!" Jiang Tu had obviously learned about the situation from the three generals and said guiltily.
Seeing that Jiang Tu and others were fine, Zhou Lie couldn't help but look back, only to find that Linghu Xuan did not follow him out of the cabin and was nowhere to be seen.
"General Zhou, the ship has been prepared. There is dry food and water on board, which is enough for your needs." A sailor came forward and said.
Zhou Lie nodded slightly and ordered to Jiang Tu: "You pick six people to go with us first. The rest don't have to worry, we will arrange for them to return to Liaodong." After thinking for a moment, he turned back towards the cabin and cupped his hands: "
Linghu Xuan, I will remember this favor, and if I capture you in the future, I will spare your life."
Inside the cabin, a faint smile appeared on Linghu Xuan's lips. He walked to a small window in the cabin, put his hands behind his back, and looked into the distance.
After a while, a subordinate came in and said respectfully: "Island Master, they have left. Are you really going to let them go like this?"
Linghu Xuan didn't say anything, he just looked out the window with deep eyes. Those eyes seemed to pass through the night and penetrate everything.