Dongyang ship had just rushed out of the water village blockade array, it was already at dawn, the four wild scattered weak cyan light, making the lake and mountain forest that had been hidden for a night all showed up in a dark silhouette like cut paper, at this time, a large fire suddenly broke out in the direction of Shanglinli, the flames burned the southwestern corner of the morning sky to a deep red.

  Lin Tie, Lin Tingli, Lin Zonghai, Lin Mengde and others were shocked. Shanglinli is the foundation of the Lin family, and this fire was strange. According to the power of Hongze Pu's water stronghold, they should not have been able to spare troops to attack Shanglinli. Moreover, when they escorted Qin Chengbo to Luoyang Lake last night, there were still over 300 militia men from Shanglinli and over 100 knife and bowmen from Shiliang County, how could it be so easy for others to succeed? However, looking at the timing of the fire in Shanglinli, it was clear that another group of people were waiting for the water stronghold forces on the Luoyang Lake side to succeed before launching a surprise attack in coordination with Shanglinli.

  Shen Rong's arrow hit Zha in the chest, causing him to fall into a coma. The ship was not convenient for rescue, so they could only put him in the cabin and have someone take care of him. Liang Zuoren was also injured and did not have the energy to participate in the discussion again. Lin Fu then allowed Lin Zonghai to board the ship. After all, Lin Tingli was on the ship, and under these circumstances, the local militia would tend to follow Lin Tingli's command. It was meaningless for Lin Fu to stop Lin Zonghai from boarding the ship again.

  Lin Tingli is the fifth-grade judge of Dongyang Prefecture, Shen Rong is unconscious, and all major events in Dongyang Prefecture are naturally presided over by him. Not only do the local brave men listen to his command, but also the remaining 150 or so cavalry and infantrymen of Dongyang Prefecture look up to him as their leader.

  In addition, Dongyang Township's gentry, Liu Weizhong, had served as a fifth-grade official in the Ministry of War before his retirement and return to his hometown. He was considered a renowned scholar in Dongyang Prefecture. When encountering enemies, he remained on the tower ship and fortunately did not suffer any injuries. After bringing Liu Weizhong aboard and exchanging pleasantries, they discovered that he was actually Liu Xilin's uncle. The Liu family was not a prominent clan in Dongyang, and Liu Weizhong had spent his entire career in officialdom before retiring as a fifth-grade official in the Ministry of War, without any hereditary privileges for his descendants. It wasn't until Liu Xilin's generation that he failed to excel in his studies but instead showed talent in martial arts, joining the Dongyang Prefecture military and becoming a military officer. Liu Weizhong had worked in the Ministry of War for many years and had some connections with the military, having served under Qin Chengbo. Therefore, when it came to selecting candidates for the position of Eastern City Guard, Qin Chengbo spoke up on behalf of Liu Xilin.

  Liang Zuoren was unable to participate in the discussion, so Lu Dongyang, who was the eighth-grade instructor of Shiliang County, naturally took charge of the major and minor affairs of Shiliang County on his behalf.

  Apart from the Dongyang officials, Lin Tie also saved many members of the Qin family, including the second son, youngest son, eldest grandson, eldest granddaughter, wives and concubines of Qin Chengbo, daughters-in-law, maidservants, female servants, as well as nearly a hundred clerks, attendants, and their families who followed Qin Chengbo to Jiangning. However, compared to the thousands-strong procession that left Jiangning with Qin Chengbo, the Qin family's defeat this time cannot be described as desolate. Nearly a hundred direct relatives of Qin Chengbo, including wives and concubines, were either killed or captured. The nearly 500 attendants who had been privately raised by the Qin family over the years were almost all killed or wounded. A large amount of gold, silver, and treasure that they carried with them on their journey north fell into enemy hands. Although the Qin family still has some strength in Zhongli County, it is severely weakened, especially after Qin Chengbo's death, making it difficult for the Qin family to regain its former glory.

  Lin Xuan invited Lin Tingli, Liu Weizhong, Lu Dongyang, and Lin Zonghai to the top deck of the stern cabin for a meeting. Lin Mengde was not qualified to participate in the discussion because he had no official position or title. The defeat at Luo Yang Lake was already settled, and it was certain that Shanglinli would also encounter an enemy ambush. The direction of Shi Liang County City was still calm, but the case of General Qin Chengbo being killed at Luo Yang Lake would shock the court in a short time. The Hongze Pu water gangs would immediately start recruiting soldiers and buying horses to take action. As for what to do next, Lin Xuan couldn't make a decision alone, so he had to respect the opinions of Lin Tingli, Liu Weizhong, Lu Dongyang, and others.

  The situation in Shanglinli is unclear, and both Liu Weizhong and Lu Dongyang suggested anchoring the ship to take a shortcut to Shiliang County. The Dongyang government still has more than 700 cavalry and infantry stationed in Shiliang County. If they can join forces, there will be over 1,300 people. They all hope to hold out in Shiliang County until reinforcements arrive.

  Lin Xuan naturally wanted to hurry back to Shanglin, where Yan Rong, Zhao Hu, Sun Jing Tang and others were still staying. He was worried about their safety and said: "The sky is still dark, we have been fighting all night and are very tired. We need to eat something on the boat and rest for a while before we can go back to the county on foot without horses. What if we encounter ambushes on the way? The soldiers are fine, but there are nearly 100 rowers and over 100 members of Qin's family who escaped from danger. If they get off the boat in disarray, it will be a disaster. I think it would be better to kill the bandits at Shanglin and then take the boat back to the county quickly!" Even if Shanglin was attacked, the bandits who ambushed Shanglin would not have expected them to escape from Luoyang Lake so quickly. Lin Xuan decided to hurry back to Shanglin by boat. He invited Lin Tingli, Liu Weizhong, Lu Dongyang, Lin Zonghai and others to come to the top deck to discuss matters without stopping the boat.

  Rushing to Shanglinli, they can still rest on the boat for one or two hours. Moreover, the main force here is nearly three hundred villagers from Shanglinli, and it's unlikely that these villagers would abandon Shanglinli and go to Shiliang County.

  Liu Weizhong and Lu Dongyang both looked at Lin Tingli, who was not only the person in charge of the Lin family but also the one who could take charge of the current situation in Dongyang Prefecture. Lin Tingli furrowed his brow, and from a public perspective, he should prioritize stabilizing the situation in Dongyang as his top priority, go to Shiliang County to grasp the 700 cavalrymen there and immediately dispatch troops to eliminate the Hongze Pu water bandits' forces. However, it was impossible for him to abandon Linli Village without consideration. The 300 village braves were all looking at this side with eager eyes; how could he take these 300 village braves to Shiliang County?

  "I and Lord Lu will go ashore directly to Shiliang County, taking the Dongyang cavalry with us," Lin Tingli said, looking at Lin Fu. "The officials of Dongyang who are unwilling to follow us can stay on the boat and take care of the Qin family together. I'll leave 300 militiamen with you, and let Zonghai go with me to Shiliang County..."

  Shen Rong's life hangs by a thread, and if he can be saved in time, it will be difficult to control the situation even for a short period of time. Moreover, Shen Rong still has to bear the blame for the death of General Fu at Luoyang Lake; Lin Tingli only needs to handle this matter properly now, and taking over as the prefect of Dongyang to lead the suppression of the Hongze Pu water bandits in the south is a natural course of events.

  At this time, Lin Tingli was not worried that Lin Fu could compete with him for the right to the tribe, and let Lin Zonghai stay by his side to take him to Shiliang County. He handed over the militia to Lin Fu's command, hoping that Lin Fu would be able to handle all the changes in Linli Village decisively. At this time, he no longer underestimated Lin Fu's abilities and intentions. The Luyang Lake incident and the simultaneous attack on Linli Village were both a great crisis and a great opportunity for the Lin family. Lin Tingli knew that to overcome the crisis and seize the opportunity, he could not bind Lin Fu's hands and feet at this critical moment.

  Dividing the troops was also a helpless move. Lin Xie didn't hesitate anymore and didn't need to stop the boat. He used ropes to send Lin Tingli, Lu Dongyang, Lin Zonghai and others to the fast sculling ship of the cavalry. Liu Weizhong and other officials were afraid that going to Lin's house would be unpredictable and thought it safer to go to Shiliang County City instead. More than a dozen people got on the fast sculling ship, and Shen Rong and Liang Zuoren, who were seriously injured and unconscious, were also handed over to them to take away together.

  Undo the mooring ropes of those two fast sculling boats, and Dongyang No. moved even faster. Lin Fu led 300 militiamen and more than 100 survivors from Qin's mansion to kill their way into Shanglinli. Lin Mengde and other militia leaders such as Zhao Qing-shan, Lin Jiyuan, Chen Shouyan were very anxious, but along the way, they didn't see any bandits fleeing northward. On the contrary, Lin Fu felt relieved, indicating that although Shanglinli was attacked, it had not been completely lost.

  Shanglinli is a town, not a fortress, but the Lin family's mansion was built more solidly than ordinary fortresses. If there's one place in Shanglinli that hasn't fallen into enemy hands, it should be the Lin family's mansion. The bandits' sneak attack on Shanglinli wouldn't have much significance if they couldn't take down the Lin family's mansion. This is probably why the fire started more than an hour ago but the bandits haven't fled north yet.

  Lin Xie was worried that if Hong Ze Pu's water stronghold succeeded in Luo Yang Hu, they would take advantage of the situation and attack Lin Li to capture the strategic location south of Hong Ze Pu. Therefore, he asked Zhao Hu and Gu Ying Jiao to be extremely careful. Zhao Hu's mother, wife, and two younger sisters all moved into the Lin family mansion to stay with Gu Ying Jiao. Zhao Hu brought ten guards to observe the situation at the west end of the village. If there was any sign of trouble, he would first bring his men to the Lin family mansion to join forces with Gu Ying Jiao. In addition, since Gu Ying Jiao took power, she had also recruited twenty or thirty servants and guards, plus other servants and attendants, who could defend the Lin family mansion for a period of time without any problems.

  In addition, the Xihe Association's Wu Pengchuan boat had already set sail with several new teas back to Jiangning, but Sun Jing Tang still brought many people and stayed in Shanglin. In case of any changes, if Sun Jing Tang and his men were not attacked by surprise, they would either drive their boats away or go find Zhao Hu to contact him. Lin Fu thought that Sun Jing Tang and the Xihe Association should also be fine. After all, the Xiangyong camp was located on the south bank of Shanglin Creek, and if bandits launched a surprise attack on Shanglinli, they would have to attack the Xiangyong camp first before they could do whatever they wanted in Shanglinli. Moreover, the more than 100 Shibin County knife and bowmen who were left behind by Liang Zuoren in Shanglinli yesterday didn't seem to be of much use, and might even follow along to loot.

  The boat arrived at Xiaolin, where they encountered villagers who had escaped from Shanglin. It was only then that they learned the group of bandits who launched a surprise attack on Shanglin were not numerous, but the exact number was unclear to the escaping villagers, with some saying 200-300 people and others saying 400-500 people. The key point is that no one expected this group of bandits to suddenly attack Shanglin. Caught off guard, the village militia suffered a great defeat, their camp was seized, and Lin Xuzong, the second son, was killed by the enemy with a single blow. The hundreds of knife-wielding soldiers on the north shore at Shanglin Ferry were also ineffective and fled after one strike. Only dozens of militiamen and villagers managed to escape in time and take refuge in the Lin family mansion to await reinforcements. Meanwhile, the bandits surrounded the Lin family mansion, burning, killing, and looting Shanglin, seemingly not in a hurry to launch a strong attack on the mansion.

  "Zhao Neng!" Lin Fu and Lin Mengde's hair stood on end when they heard this name, not because they were afraid of him, but because they never expected that this servant would become a major threat to the Lin family and bring about such a disaster. Lin Fu and Lin Mengde looked at each other, and it wasn't hard to guess what was going on.

  Last year, Lin Xie designed to shift the suspicion of Gu Wu Chen's assassination to Second Master Lin Xu Zong, forcing him to expel his privately raised 70-80 cavalrymen from Dongyang Prefecture to avoid implicating the Lin family in the case. At that time, Lin Xu Zong was afraid that these private soldiers would be uncontrollable after leaving Dongyang Prefecture, so he deliberately let Zhao Neng, who had been beaten and injured at the time, go with them to control this cavalry. These private soldiers were all outsiders bought by Lin Xu Zong with heavy money, and most of them were fugitives from their hometowns who could not settle down due to being wanted by the authorities for robbery and other crimes. In short, these private soldiers only listened to silver and were loyal to whoever gave them money. However, Lin Xie and Lin Meng De did not expect that Zhao Neng, a member of the Lin family born and raised, would be able to grasp this cavalry in half a year and even turn against the Lin family with ferocity.

  At this time, Lin could also judge that Zhao Neng led the private soldiers in the northwest mountainous area of Hongze Pu when they were flowing as bandits and should have colluded with the forces of Hongze Pu Water Fortress. Only then would they cooperate with Hongze Pu Water Fortress to launch a sneak attack on Lin's house. Zhao Neng was not in a hurry to capture Lin's mansion, he wanted to wait for the forces of Hongze Pu Water Fortress to win at Luoyang Lake and send troops over to attack Lin's mansion together, so as to minimize casualties. When Zhao Neng left Lin's house last year, only 70 or 80 private soldiers followed him. Although it is not clear how many people Zhao Neng brought back this time, there should be no less than 200 people. It is possible that Zhao Neng has completely won over the forces of Hongze Pu Water Fortress.

  The most advantageous thing now is that the Dongyang ship has not delayed for a moment, and Zhao Neng still does not know that 300 village warriors have already left the Luoyang Lake battlefield and are only less than ten miles away from Shanglin by water.

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  P.S: Seeking red tickets, brothers are also welcome to speak out in the book review area.

  Also wishing brothers a happy Mid-Autumn Festival.