Collect and vote for me!

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  For the next three days, Fu Qinghe ventured into the dense forest on the island to explore the terrain and search for water sources. Lin Xie taught the young men how to join the bamboo spear array with strange knives and waist knives in simple coordination.

  Eight guards were killed, six were captured and two were taken prisoner. Lin Xie obtained eight mid-to-long-range weapons, including a halberd, a scimitar, a double-headed spear, and a waist knife; as well as two strong bows. The two bows had great bow force, and even Lin Xie could only barely draw them four or five times. Fu Qinghe said that if he wanted to practice archery, it would be best to start with a five-dan bow; in the military, those who can use a one-stone strong bow well can at least become a low-ranking martial officer of the ninth rank.

  It can be imagined that these eight guards should be the elite of Ninghai Military Town, at least with low-level military officer status. Otherwise, even if they were Xiang Taoyuans personal soldiers, they would not have had the freedom to choose their own weapons in the military camp - perhaps Xiang Taoyuan really intended to send an elite team to this sea area to play the role of pirates and reap unimaginable profits.

  Fu Qinghe returned to the camp on the fourth day and found that Lin Xie had divided the 16 oldest boys into two groups, each with eight people. Each group had four bamboo spears, four medium-length swords, and two small shields made of woven fine bamboo strips. The shields were covered with leather cut from two damaged leather armors, making them rough but practical.

  Other younger boys were holding short bamboo spears about six feet long.

  Fu Qinghe returned, his body exhausted. The island was not large, but the dense jungle had almost erased the trails that the islanders had previously walked on. He had been walking on the island for three days, and the injuries he had sustained had not yet healed. His hardships were imaginable. In front of the grass shed, he did not see Lin Xie or anyone else, but Chen Enze, Hu Qiao Zhong, and Hu Qiao Guan, three young men, led a group of people in practicing simple formations on an open field. Watching them practice, although they were not yet proficient, the young men had bold and sharp spirits, with a hint of long and short, spear and shield combined military array meaning. Fu Qinghe did not find it unexpected, Lin Xie did not seem like someone who practiced martial arts, but in the past few days, hiding on the ship, ambushing and rescuing people, the tactical skills he had shown, Fu Qinghe could only sigh that he was inferior. Moreover, the way Lin Xie taught the young men to cultivate their courage before practicing martial arts also broadened his horizons.

  The six corpses and the bamboo stakes were already gone, and it was only after asking that I learned that Lin Zou had them dragged to a deep part of the forest and buried before he returned. It was still September, and the weather was still warm and cold, so it wasnt suitable for the corpses to be exposed in the air for too long.

  Fu Bo is back...

  Fu Qinghe turned around to see Xiao Man walking quickly towards him, Lin Xie barefoot behind him, his pants rolled up to his knees, holding two bamboo spears in his hand. He walked over and threw the bamboo spears on the ground, asking Fu Qinghe: "Master Fu, was a water source found in the forest? Can we retreat there tonight?"

  Fu Qinghe saw the two young men behind Lin, each holding several white-scaled big-bellied sea fish in their hands. He didnt rush to talk about retreating into the forest, but smiled and said: "Can you still teach them how to catch fish at sea?"

  "With such a big consumption, its impossible without meat." Lin said.

  "But Lin brother forced us to eat raw fish." Xiaoman finally got the opportunity to tattle, and with sharp teeth and tongue, she sold out Lin.

  Lin sighed in his heart: This kid doesnt know how expensive it is to eat raw fish slices in the future, and now hes still picky.

  When the officers and soldiers left, they left some dried meat, but only enough for eight guards to eat for a few days. Moreover, the officers did not plan to raise the meat tickets to be fat and plump, and the remaining dry food and water were very limited. Fu Qinghe entered the forest to explore the terrain and instructed these young people to think of ways to give them enough food, which was Lins responsibility. They didnt dare to make a fire, and during the day, they would let someone climb up to the top of the big tree on the front slope to keep watch, fearing that pirate ships might approach during the day; apart from dry rations, they could only eat raw food. There were many shellfish such as clams on the beach, and collecting them was convenient, but Lin didnt dare let everyone eat this raw; although there was no mustard, eating raw fish slices with sea salt was harmless and could also save freshwater. For these few days, Lin had to spend a lot of time taking the young people to the shallow waters of the small bay to catch fish.

  Xiao Man has been following everyone to eat sashimi these days, and its been quite enjoyable. When she sees Fu Qinghe return, she cant help but throw a tantrum. Lin Xuan only then remembers that she is still a 14-year-old little girl, and its really hard on her.

  Fu Qinghe burst out laughing and said: "If it werent for worrying about the government soldiers, everyone would be able to survive well on this island..."

  Lin Ge knew that Fu Qinghe was just joking, even without the threat of government soldiers, this place is directly opposite the estuary of the Yangtze River, it can be said that it is the main sea route for pirates from the East China Sea to invade inland, this small island is more suitable as a pirates foothold than those sandy islands and sandbars. How could he and Fu Qinghe bring two or three dozen young people survive here? Playing Robinson Crusoe is not played like this, the most likely outcome is either being wiped out by passing pirates from the East China Sea or being forced to join them.

  However, nothing is absolute, and there have been rumors that the Dongming House has secretly colluded with the Eastern Sea Pirates. If the rumor is true, then during this period when the Dongming House is negotiating surrender to the imperial court, the activities of the Eastern Sea Pirates would naturally be restrained; Lin Xie thought that this was probably the reason why they had not seen any pirates passing by on their five-day stay on the small island.

  But if you want to stand firm in this world, you still have to come ashore.

  Lin Xie would not forget his identity as a juren, although he did not aspire to further take the imperial examination to become a jinshi. As a juren, he already had the qualifications to be an official, and although he could only hold a minor position, it was a good starting point.

  "Has Fu Bo returned?" Su Mei walked over from a thatched hut, wearing coarse linen clothes and with her hair tied up in a bun. Although she wasnt dressed as a man, it was hard to conceal her beauty. "Is there a hiding place in the woods?"

  Xiao Man led the two young men towards the thatched hut, while Fu Qinghe took a bamboo stick and squatted down with Lin Xie and Su Mei at the edge of the arena, drawing out the terrain he had been scouting for the past three days on the sandy ground and explaining it to them in detail.

  The small path behind the thatched cottage leads directly to the depths of the island forest, but it has not been walked on for many years and is covered with wild leaves and even some sections are overgrown with shrubs. Fu Qinghe had to use a lot of effort to clear this path.

  The entire island is about five miles long from north to south and three miles wide from east to west, making it an extremely small island in the vast ocean. The terrain is highest in the southeast, with a cliff that Fu Qinghe roughly measured to be around 25-26 zhang (about 82-85 feet) high from the top of the cliff to the beach below, which is the highest point on the entire island. When Lin Xie and Fu Qinghe landed on the island, their view was blocked by trees and the slope, so they didnt see the cliff on the other side. Fu Qinghe also found signs of human activity on the cliff and the back slope, which dated back to a very long time ago, indicating that pirates who had come to the island in recent times had not explored deep into the forest.

  There is only this isolated island floating on the sea, with dense forests and deep rocks. Except for a large number of seabirds that make it their habitat, there are no other wild beasts. Fu Qinghe didnt see even a rabbit in three days; nor did he see snakes or mice, and its unclear whether its because of the abundance of seabirds.

  Fu Qinghe did not find any natural water sources such as springs on the island. Deep in the forest, there was a small pond that stored some rainwater, which was enough for the thirty or so people to drink.

  "Except for that place, I didnt see any ponds elsewhere, which is also related to the islands terrain being too flat. The rainwater cant be retained, and theres more rain in the summer and autumn seasons. In the spring and winter dry seasons, not many people can live on this island..." Fu Qinghe said, "To the southeast of the pond is a stone slope, very flat. Looking at the weather, it wont rain for the next two days, and it wont be too cold either. Wed better retreat there tonight."

  Lin Tie looked at Fu Qinghes topographic map drawn on the sandy beach. Although this island is a rocky island, it also has parts where seawater accumulates and forms land, and its area is quite large. The real rocky dry island is only a small part in the southeast of the island, which rises high. The entire terrain is not conducive to forming large ponds that can accumulate rainwater. No wonder pirates dont consider these as fixed footholds, making a living at sea, water sources are the most important thing.

  "Lets go in now," said Lin Xie.

  "What about those two people? Are they going to bring Linzi as well?" Su Mei asked. "Cant we make them listen to us?"

  "What makes them listen to us? Just because we dont kill them? These are far from enough. When the Ninghai Town officials and soldiers come to the island again, they will definitely betray us at the first opportunity," Lin said as he stood up, "Can those two people still stay?"

  Lin tied up his hands and let the young men in the field stop practicing simple killing, and let Chen Enze lead two people to bring out the bearded man and the thin-faced Han. The young men saw that they were going to deal with the two captives, all surrounded, even the small barbarian who was cutting fish meat in the grass shed ran out to watch.

  Although they were not intentionally tortured, the lack of food and water, as well as their untreated wounds, had taken a toll on the two robust men in just three or four days. Lin Tie ordered Chen Enze to bring them forward and asked: "Do you two have anything else to say?"

  "You killed my grandfather, and he will come back to avenge himself after eighteen years." The thin-faced man also knew that the final moment had arrived, and the people in front of them would not let them live. He mustered up his spirit to say a few bold words.

  Lin Xie sighed and said, "You really have no creativity. Whats the difference between this and Grandpa is still a good man after 18 years? He pushed the men with beards and thin faces forward, cut open the ropes that bound them with his knife, and said, "Dont say any heroic words. I and Master Fu dont have any deep grudges against you, so why would we kill you? Its just that these young people wont let you live, and we cant persuade them. Now Im untying you, if you have the ability to escape into the forest and wait for your companions to arrive on the island, then you can consider yourselves lucky!"

  The thin-faced man and the man with a goatee were stunned, not understanding what Lin Xie meant. It wasnt until they saw the group of young men surrounding them, armed with bamboo spears and medium-length weapons, that they suddenly understood.

  The thin-faced mans mind was deep and complex, still hoping to have a chance to survive. The bearded man burst into a loud scolding: "Damn your ancestors for eighteen generations! Want to kill or cut, let the horse come over and it will be done, can these little rascals play with me?" He and the thin-faced man had been tortured to exhaustion, both wounds on his body began to fester. How could he escape into the forest surrounded by these young men? In his heart, he was also puzzled: these young men were still lambs waiting to be slaughtered four or five days ago, but in just four or five short days, looking at their eyes, they seemed to have the courage and determination to kill?

  Lin Zhancai didnt care how angrily the whiskered man scolded, and said to Chen Enze and the other young men: "You two groups, each kill one person..." He then picked up two bamboo spears and threw them at the thin-faced man and the whiskered man, saying: "You also dont have the qualifications to complain about heaven and blame others, escape with your lives!"

  Fu Qinghe took the strong bow off his back and held it in his hand. Although he had been tortured by the thin-faced man and the whiskered man for four or five days, and was seriously injured, a martial artist would always have some strength left when facing death. He feared that the young men would be at a disadvantage, so he took two arrows in his hand, ready to respond at any moment, and protected the younger boys behind him, lest they be taken hostage and forced to surrender.

  When he saw the whiskered man and the thin-faced man being surrounded and killed by two groups of boys at the edge of the forest, Fu Qinghe thought to himself that they were no longer a burden, although their actual combat strength was still limited. As Lin Xie walked over, he sighed and said, "Even if the God of War were alive, it would be nothing more than this."

  "Lin Xuan has been tied up," Lin Xuan said humbly, turning his head to look at the young men and saying to Fu Qinghe, "Its them who have encountered great difficulties, stronger than I imagined..." Previously, Lin Xuan had read a few military books, but the "Military Saint" in Fu Qinghes mouth was not referring to Sun Wu, the famous military strategist of the Spring and Autumn period, but rather Su Zhenyuan, a renowned general who assisted the founding emperor of this dynasty. Lin Xuan didnt dare compare himself to Su Zhenyuan, and what he could teach these young men were only some minor, tactical things - just his own experiences from years of being a soldier, modified for their benefit. As for what real cold-weapon warfare looked like, only the few military books Lin Xuan had read before gave him a rough idea, which was clearly not enough to be proud of.

  Those two corpses were dragged by Chen Enze and other young men to a deep place in the forest for burial. Lin Fu and Fu Qinghe led the young men to prepare for withdrawal. At dusk, when Fu Qinghe led the young men and Su Mei, Xiao Man, and two women entered the mountain forest, Lin Fu and Chen Enze, Hu Qiao, and Hu Jiaoguan, three young men, stayed behind to clean up, gathering broken branches and leaves to cover up the small path leading into the forest as much as possible.

  Those thatched cottages stood alone on the grassland outside the forest, under the cold and quiet sunset. The thatch on the roof of the cottage was blown by the strong wind, a few white seagulls perched on the top of the cottage, facing the sunset and crying out, as if nothing had happened here.