Three black arrows and four featherless crossbow bolts shot out from the cabin door, hitting five soldiers who were unable to dodge. This unexpected turn of events left everyone stunned, and the noisy bow of the ship suddenly fell silent. The soldiers who had been trying to hijack the ship and rob the women were all frozen in shock, until one of them, who had been shot through the neck by a crossbow bolt, clutched at his neck in disbelief and let out a despairing cry as he fell over, shattering the silence once again.

  "Bandits, you dare to kill our officers and soldiers! This is rebellion!" Some people had not yet come to their senses, looking at the five companions who fell to the ground with arrows, hot blood rushing to their heads, picking up their weapons and rushing forward, "Kill them without mercy!"

  "Kill without mercy!"

  "Theyre water bandits!" someone suddenly realized, shouting to alert their companions. "They have hard bows and crossbows!" How could the ordinary rich familys boat guards possibly carry such powerful weapons? Just as they were warning each other, two more arrows shot out, hitting the chest and abdomen of the officer who was in the lead, causing him to twist and fall with a thud.

  The other officers and soldiers did not dare to launch a strong attack, sticking to the sides of the cabin door. Someone shouted loudly: "Windows! Windows! Go in through the windows!" Calling on their companions to pry open the windows and rush in. The flower window was pried open, but what greeted them were several bamboo spears with cold iron tips thrusting out; when they opened their eyes to look, the people holding the bamboo spears and long spears were all the young boys who had been standing at the bow of the ship earlier, and they thought they were just servants. The left side of the ships hull was a place where there was no room for evasion, and due to being too careless and not wearing armor, three bamboo spear tips pierced into their own chest and abdomen.

  In the blink of an eye, eight subordinates died, and the leading school lieutenant was furious, but he also knew that a strong attack would not work. He shouted for people to retreat, ordered them to take bows and crossbows from the cabin, and had someone next to him take a long spear to stab the boat. He was still thinking about those two watery beauties, temporarily suppressing his anger and not ordering a fire attack. Even if he had ordered a fire attack, it would have been useless. Just as he was telling people to fetch bows and crossbows, an unusual sound came from behind him. When he turned around, Zhou Pu jumped onto the ship with a short knife in his mouth and a strange knife in his hand. Zhou Pus clothes were dripping with water, and when he saw the leading school lieutenant turn around in surprise, he smiled gloomily: "Zhang Biao, didnt expect you to have today, did you?" The strange knife slashed across, cutting the face of the leading school lieutenant Zhang Biao, who still had a look of surprise, into two halves.

  The officers and soldiers suddenly found that more than a dozen enemies had climbed up from the other side of the water to the official ship. They crowded at the bow, wanting to rush onto the boat, with enemies on both sides. The official ship and the boat were still hooked together by their own iron hooks, and they couldnt retreat even if they wanted to. At this moment, the enemy had someone hiding on the top of the boats canopy, shooting arrows with strong bows and crossbows. They were squeezed in a narrow space, wanting to kneel down to beg for mercy, but were met with a gun thrusting forward. In less than the time it takes to burn an incense stick, nearly thirty officers and soldiers on the official ship and those who had fallen into the water were killed.

  Lin tied his waist knife, he had cut off the hem of his silk shirt for convenience, and the deck was sticky with bloodstains. He didnt mind, standing there talking to Qin Chengzu: "Please ask Mr. Qin to have the brothers clean up the bodies and put them in the cabin, then tow the official boat to the reed marsh and sink it. Its good to let the government detect a few days later... after that, we can notify the U-boat on patrol to return..."

  Lin Ties plan was well thought out, and Qin Chengzu couldnt add anything to it. He instructed people to do so; at this moment, Zhou Pu brought the four people who were being held captive from the cabin, the first man was tortured to the point of being inhuman, and with the support of two brothers, he barely didnt fall. He was originally happy to have saved his brother and regained a new life, but when he saw Fu Qinghe standing at the bow of the boat, his face changed slightly: "You coward, what are you doing here?"

  "Zi Ang, without Gao Ye, we cant save you." Qin Chengzu said.

  "Its been ten years since we last met, Brother Cao. Are you still resentful of me for leaving without saying goodbye back then?" Fu Qinghe walked over and supported the man as they boarded the boat.

  Cao Ziang didnt know the details and it wasnt convenient for him to make a move, so he awkwardly let Fu Qinghe support him onto the boat.

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  The official ship was sunk in the shallow waters of the reed marsh, the water was very shallow, and most of the cabins above the deck were exposed on the surface. The main mast was cut off, and this reed marsh is very deep. If no one had trespassed, its likely that no one would have discovered that an official ship had been sunk here until after spring. More than 20 corpses were stripped naked and thrown into the cabins. Not to mention those leather armors, chain mails, long spears, waist knives and other armor, the uniforms of the constabulary and military officers are sometimes very useful things, even the horizontal sail used by the official ship was dismantled.

  Qin Chengzu and his men have been living by the sword all these years, robbing government offices with a focus on being clean. They only now realize that in front of Lin Xuan, they are truly small sorcerers meeting a great one. If not for fear of running out of time, Lin Xuan even considered dismantling and taking away the planks of the official ship.

  Most of the bandits were old acquaintances of Fu Qinghe, led by Qin Chengzu, Zhou Pu, Wu Qi and Cao Zikang, one of the four people rescued today, as well as Feng Peipei.

  At night, they did not rush to transfer and hid in the reeds. In the cabin, a candle was lit, surrounded by several people, discussing the route after.

  Cao Ziang was tortured enough, and from time to time he would cough violently, with a sickly flush on his face. He didnt go to rest, but instead let someone support him as he came in. He already knew about the ordeal of rescuing people from the shipwreck, and when he came in, he first gave Lin Xuan a fist salute: "Great kindness doesnt need to be thanked, if theres ever a need for Ziangs help in the future, please just give me a word, Master Tan."

  Lin Tie stood up and returned the courtesy, then sat down and said: "Tan Zong is my pseudonym. I didnt want personal matters to implicate my family, so I hope Mr. Qin and Master Cao can understand. I am from Dongyang Shiliang County, and in private, you can just call me Lin Tie..."

  "Zi Ang was called Cao Er Dan at home, he wasnt afraid of implicating his family members, but he thought the name Cao Er Dan sounded too unpleasant, and it was embarrassing to show off those two eggs every day." Zhou Pu chuckled.

  Everyone laughed along with him, and no one minded that Lin Xuan had used a pseudonym earlier. They also knew that Lin Xuan meant to keep his identity known only to the people present.

  Cao Zikang ignored Zhou Pu, coughed twice, and didnt respond to him. He had a grudge against Fu Qinghe for leaving without saying goodbye ten years ago. However, this time he came to rescue him, and Fu Qinghe also made great efforts. Cao sat down and nodded at Fu Qinghe, although it was a bit stiff, but it counted as putting aside their past grievances.

  Cao Ziang sat down and asked Qin Chengzu: "Whats our next move?"

  "Go back, and kill Chen Hansan!" Feng Pei Pei shouted without hesitation, her eyes firmly determined, as if Chen Hansan was standing in front of her, she would pounce on him and bite him.

  In the mountainous area of the upper reaches of the Huai River, there were many groups of horse bandits. Some made a living by plundering ordinary people, while others considered themselves to be chivalrous and only robbed the rich to help the poor. Qin Chengzus group of bandits was somewhat special. At first glance, they seemed to simply not care about the government and did not disturb the common people or pretend to be heroes who righted wrongs. For over a decade, they had been roaming around the Huai River area, only targeting government officials. Although their numbers were small, their reputation was extremely large.

  Lin Xie now knows that Chen Han San Yuan is the leader of another group of Huai Shang Liu Ma Zei. In the spring, Chen Han San led his troops to surrender to the government and became a deputy captain of the Huai Shang Xun Tou Ying (a sixth-grade military officer). The rebellion of Chen Han San caused a drastic change in the situation of the struggle between the Huai Shang Liu Ma bandits and the government. Within a few months, many famous Huai Shang Liu Ma bandits were successively eliminated. Chen Han San, relying on the heads of other Liu Ma bandits, has been promoted to the Left Camp Commander of the Xun Tou Si, Captain of the Cavalry, and holds the position of a sixth-grade military officer.

  Feng Peipei was the young widow of Zhang Hengjiang, one of the three leaders of the Huaiyang bandits. Chen Hansan, who shared a common bond with her late husband as fellow outlaws, had not allowed his men to mistreat her. Among the four captured people, she had suffered relatively little torture. After being rescued from prison and resting for a while, she regained some of her spirit. Despite this, Feng Peipeis hatred towards Chen Hansan did not dissipate in the slightest. Her husband had died in battle at Jiangling, leaving her a widow at just twenty-two years old.

  "Chen Hansan must be killed," said Qin Chengzu. "The timing is not right now, and we cannot let our brothers sacrifice in vain again."

  Chen Han San led a force of nearly two thousand men, and it can be imagined that for a long time to come, he will continue to lead his troops in the Huai region to eliminate the remnants of the bandits. To kill him would not be easy. Even if someone were to rescue him, the situation before them would still be difficult. The more than two hundred brothers from their heyday had been reduced to just over forty after being besieged, and half of those were wounded or disabled. And then there were the family members hiding in the deep mountains and old forests who needed to be brought out and resettled... Thinking of all this, Qin Cheng Zus heart was filled with pain, regret, and hatred. Gnashing his teeth, he said: "For now, the most pressing matter is to find a safe place for our brothers to recover from their wounds. As for avenging ourselves, we can wait ten years if need be..."

  "Now everywhere is plagued by bandits, and new armies are being formed to deal with the severity of the situation. Where can we find a safe place?" Cao Ziang said, "Originally, we could have gone to join the family of Jin Anxiu, but now theres rumors that the Xi family wants to surrender to the imperial court, it seems we cant go there either."

  Lin Xie and Fu Qinghe exchanged a glance, the second son of the Sha family was still busy with important matters but didnt forget to send someone to kidnap her, its really not worth waiting for, there were some things that they also couldnt explicitly tell Qin Chengzu and the others.

  "When we were in Huai, I heard that someone was going to start a rebellion in Shaanxi. Shall we go to Shaanxi?" said Zhou Pu.

  "Lao Ba and the others are all hiding in Xinpu, from Xinpu to Shaanxi, its a detour of several thousand miles, how can we borrow a way to get around?" Qin Chengzu thought of the difficulties, his eyebrows furrowed, and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes deepened. If it were just them, going to Shaanxi would be convenient, but with more than 20 old, weak, and injured people, if theyre not careful, itll be too late for regrets."

  Lin Xian was initially thought to refer to the later Shaanxi Province, but upon closer consideration it is not. Lin Xian was in the central plains between Hangu Pass and Tong Pass, at the junction of Shanxi, Shaanxi and Henan provinces.

  Lin Xian looked at Qin Chengzus expression and thought that he should be worried that the Shaanxi uprising would not succeed, but did not want to dampen Zhou Pus enthusiasm.

  Lin Xie knew he was an outsider, and being allowed to listen in on their discussion was already a great sign of trust. He also kept his distance and didnt interrupt or speak out of turn. Fu Qinghe furrowed his brow in deep thought, seeing the crowd sighing and shaking their heads in frustration, hesitated for a moment before finally speaking up: "Why not go to the East Sea?"

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  P.S: Collect and red tickets are welcome