On May 17, the 10th year of Chongzhen (Note 1), Wuhu dock. Lu Xianfeng poked his head out of the cabin of a tanker. The river breeze blew away the sultry heat in the cabin. He took a deep breath on the deck.
He took a deep breath and sat on the deck beside the ship. It was pitch dark on the Wuhu Pier, with one person on each end of the ship.
Watchman, the light of the lantern was fluttering like fireflies in the night. There was a sound of thin ropes behind him, and more than twenty people came to the deck. It was very quiet on the shore, with the occasional barking of dogs, and everyone was silent in the darkness.
The ship's hull swayed gently, and the river water lapped at the steps of the pier.
There was a slight buzzing sound on the boat. "For the last time, when you see the light signal, go ashore again and follow the high light in front. The target of the raid is the Luo Jiao's nunnery. There are three exits. The first team, the second team assaults the main entrance, and the third team two
The troops block the gates, the sentry troops clear the roads, and the reserve troops guard the gates.
"It was difficult to see the person speaking in the darkness, but Lu Xianfeng knew that he was the deputy commander of the Marine Warfare Department. He was lean and dark-haired. Marines drilled near the river bank every day. They were shirtless a lot, and they were basically dark, but this
The deputy commander is far superior
Even if I look at it during the day, I can only see two white eyes. After the Susong victory, I heard that a division of marines was going to be expanded. This deputy commander is almost definitely the new commander. Because his corps commander captured the sweeper alive.
, Lu Xianfeng has benefited from Tang Ershuan, so he should be promoted to the banner commander, and now he needs to expand
Editor, you can strive for the rank of 100 generals. Coming to Anqing through this lottery is an opportunity to make meritorious deeds. Lu Xianfeng has never been to Wuhu, and he doesn’t understand why he wanted to raid a group of porters late at night, but he knew that the Anqing Cao Gang some time ago
Going down the river, the number of people gradually reached 300 in three days, accepting jobs at low prices at the dock, and interacting with the local people.
There were many fights among the porters. The deputy commander's voice had already reached his side, "There are quite a few river gangsters among this group of people, and they have done a lot of killing and stealing goods on the river. Today we are meeting to discuss how to start an uprising in Wuhu and respond to the rogue bandits. It is inconvenient for our garrison camp to send troops."
, send us quietly. So
Since none of you are from the Anqing garrison camp, the garrison camp will not recognize you if you are arrested. You can only say that you are from the Anqing Caogang. After leaving Wuhu, no one is allowed to mention it again.
Treated as a leak of military intelligence."
After he finished speaking, he stopped talking, and everyone crouched in the darkness waiting for the signal from the shore. Lu Xianfeng himself worked as a porter at the dock. These people basically lived on the poverty line, and their daily labor and money were basically just enough to support their families. One day
Without business, the whole family will go hungry, so they are usually afraid of the government, but they are quite brave in private fights, often killing people for dozens of pennies. Many of the leaders are river gangsters, robbing passing ships on the river.
, in terms of individual combat power, he is no worse than an old bandit, so Lu Xianfeng does not dare to be careless.
. After groping around and checking the equipment again, the deputy commander arranged for him to lead the sentry team, which were elites selected from each bureau. They were responsible for clearing out possible attackers along the way. Lu Xianfeng brought a waist knife and stabbed it in the back.
A throwing ax. Marines usually use it to cut cables and wood. It is also suitable for killing people. In addition to the commonly used leather armor, they are also equipped with auxiliary armor. The rest of the people are fully armed. The weapons are mainly waist knives, boring palladium and long sticks. Each person
There is a shield, according to the deputy commander
According to the information introduced, the porters had a small number of knives, mainly sticks and poles. This shield was used to protect against sticks.
After waiting for about a quarter of an hour, a lantern was lit on the second floor in the middle of the pier, and three circles were drawn in succession. The deputy commander gave orders in a low voice, and everyone filed down the boat along the gangplank, and a boat next to them also got off.
Twenty or more than forty people came to the pier and arranged into a formation skillfully. Lu Xianfeng stood at the head of the team. A high lamp in front lit up. Lu Xianfeng followed the deputy to the high lamp and raised the lamp.
He is a tall man and looks like a porter, and
A person leading the way, he was carrying a lantern alone and looked quite calm. Although Wuhu was a prosperous commercial city on the river, it was not until the Wanli period that the city wall was built. The city wall is five miles and the wall is three feet high. Because it was first built.
There is a wall behind the city, so there is a lack of planning inside and outside the city. The streets are narrow, winding, and dead.
Hutongs can be found everywhere. As an outsider, if there is no one to guide you in the dark, you will never be able to find the gathering place of Wuhu Caobang.
The man carrying the lantern whispered to the deputy commander, "The stewards of several gangs are discussing matters in the nunnery."
He had a Wuhu accent. Lu Xianfeng took a look at the man by the lantern light. He had knife marks on his face. He was probably a local Jiang disciple. Perhaps he was a member of the local Cao Gang in Wuhu, and somehow he sided with the Anqing Cao Gang. With
At this time, the situation along the river was similar. There were four sects of Luo Jiao itself, and there were two in the Jiangnan area. Although the porters at the Wuhu dock all worshiped Luo Zu, they did not have a unified organization and were divided into several small gangs fighting each other, with many mixed among them.
Young disciple Jiang. This time the Anqing Cao Gang came in large numbers, and several small gangs were ready to gather together. They were discussing this matter in the nunnery today.
The deputy general waved his hand, and everyone followed behind the high lights, walking quietly through the streets in the darkness without anyone making a sound, just like during their night battle training.
Several dogs barked in the streets, and Lu Xianfeng paid attention to his surroundings. Although he was fully armed, he was still a little nervous walking in unfamiliar streets late at night.
Gao Deng went all the way east and turned a corner to the south, and met the watchman who was turning around. Lu Xianfeng raised his hand and waved downwards. The brigade following behind him immediately stopped moving forward and was completely hidden in the darkness.
The watchman was stunned for a moment when he saw the high lamps and lanterns. The curfew was aimed at ordinary people. On weekdays, there were often docks and big officials going out at night, all showing off with lanterns. Due to the obstruction of the lights, the watchman could not see the hidden people.
He lowered his head and walked away silently, intending to pretend he didn't see the crowd behind him. As soon as he passed by the high lights, two figures suddenly appeared in the darkness, and he covered them with a big hand.
His mouth was then pressed to the ground.
The watchman was so distraught that his hands and feet were dancing wildly, and then he heard the man say, "Don't make a sound if you want to live."
The watchman lay on the ground gasping for breath. Lu Xianfeng called one of his men and asked him to watch the watchman. After standing up, he paused for a moment and took the watchman's clapper and lantern. The team continued to move forward.
After wandering around the winding streets for a while, Gao Deng stopped at an intersection again. The man carrying the lantern looked around at the entrance of the alley, hurriedly covered the lantern with a black cloth, returned to the deputy general manager and said, "There's something ahead of us."
look
There were four of them on the road, but they were not there when I came to check just now."
"How far is it from the nunnery?"
"One hundred steps." The deputy commander looked back at Lu Xianfeng. They had not expected that there would be Luka in advance, because they somewhat despised the Caogang. Who knew they could still be so vigilant, but Lu Xianfeng did not
I'm very worried. I also have to deal with Fu Lu on weekdays.
Military training.
The deputy general looked over and saw two dim lanterns placed on the street ahead. There were several figures beside them. There was also a crisp slapping sound, probably from swatting mosquitoes.
Lu Xianfeng looked at it carefully for a while and then said in a low voice, "There is also a gong. If you knock it, you can definitely hear it from a hundred paces away, so you can't attack directly."
This street is a straight road. There is nowhere to hide from the intersection. It is easy to be discovered even at night. The deputy general turned to the guide and asked, "Is there any other way?"
"You have to go back to the river the way you came, and then go around."
The deputy general said in a low voice, "I'm afraid the people in the nunnery will escape when I go around. What if there are people watching the road on the other side."
The guide stared at the two of them and said, "These people in charge are the best today. Gang Leader Jiang wants to take them all, so as not to kill too many people at the dock and make it difficult for the Yamen to deal with. If we can't get it tonight, we will get it next time."
I don’t know when it was.” The deputy general didn’t say anything. Lu Xianfeng knew that he was considering whether to make a surprise attack. Luka and the nunnery were a hundred steps apart. If it were daytime, he could rush there quickly and block people inside, but at night, the sight
Unclear, the soldiers are not familiar with the terrain,
If they fail to arrive in time, the people in the nunnery will escape, so these one hundred steps may affect the final success or failure. The dozens of marines behind are waiting quietly in the dark, and a dog in the yard next to him barks continuously.
Twice, the sound of people talking in the street in front seemed to attract their attention. If they came over, they would make a surprise attack.
Action may be in vain.
Lu Xianfeng raised his head and said to the deputy commander, "I'll come here as a watchman." The deputy commander nodded after thinking for a moment. Lu Xianfeng put down his waist knife, quickly took off his leather armor, and hid the throwing ax in his clothes.
The boss called two more soldiers to join the sentry team. Lu Xianfeng gave a few hurried instructions, then took out his clapper and lifted it up.
The lantern walked out of the alley.
He recalled the watchman's reaction just now, called at the entrance of the alley, then pretended to have just seen the road card over there, stopped his banger, and walked forward.
The light of the lantern gradually moved forward, and five marines sneaked out of the alley and approached quietly in the darkness behind the lantern. Several people from the Wuhu Cao Gang saw that it was Bangfu coming and threw two stones in this direction. Lu
Xianfeng hunched his back and walked close to the other side of the road, paying attention to the movements of those people from the corner of his eyes. The gong was placed at the feet of a person.
The man was sitting on a low bamboo stool, within easy reach of him. Lu Xianfeng had to get as close to him as possible. Luka was getting closer and closer, and his heartbeat gradually accelerated.
Finally passing Luka's position, Lu Xianfeng slowed down and heard a voice next to him, "Who..." Footsteps suddenly sounded, Lu Xianfeng turned around suddenly, took out the flying ax in his arms and rushed towards the bamboo bench.
The person on the stairs reacted very quickly. As soon as he saw the person rushing from behind, he reached for the gong, but he didn't notice at all that he was coming from the other side.
Lu Xianfeng rushed towards him. Lu Xianfeng swung the ax rapidly, and hit the side of the man's face with a bang. The powerful momentum caused the man to fall over, and the gong he had grabbed in his hand hit the man behind him with a thud.
On the door panel, the man shouted, Lu Xianfeng
He threw himself on the man and clamped his neck, and the shouting suddenly stopped.
Almost at the same time, the rushing soldiers threw the other three Cao gang members to the ground. Lu Xianfeng swung his ax and hit the head several times. The struggle and groans in the street lasted for a while, and then silence returned. Lu Xianfeng's face
A lot of blood was splashed on him. He took a moment to catch his breath. After checking a few other people, he raised his lantern and drew a circle towards the street intersection. The high lantern soon appeared at the intersection. The deputy chief rushed to Lu Xianfeng and patted him on the shoulder, saying, "
Good job, follow up
Road." Lu Xianfeng returned to the high light and came to an intersection. Twenty steps ahead was a nunnery. Two fires were burning in front of the door and people were walking around there. The guide nodded to the deputy general and indicated that this was the place.
, Lu Xianfeng breathed a sigh of relief,
The main task of the sentry team was completed, and the two teams behind them were just assisting the main attack team. The marines had completed the surprise attack, and they were all equipped with armor. No matter how powerful Jiang Tu was, they were no match.
The deputy commander asked about the locations of the other two gates, and after giving instructions to several captains, the Marines from the three main attacking teams got into formation. The deputy commander waved his hand, and dozens of marines swarmed out and swooped towards the nunnery.
...Note 1: There are two leap months in the tenth year of Chongzhen.