The water village ships swarmed up, trying to separate the Dongyang number from the building ship that Qin Chengbo was riding on, avoiding the two large ships from joining forces and supporting each other. Lin Xuan saw the water village ships layered and did not make the Dongyang number force its way, letting Qin Chengbo's building ship attract more firepower instead.

  After the Loucun ship retreated to the south of Luoyang Lake, it attracted many water strongholds and ships to this narrow waters, and the pressure on Dongyang also increased sharply. Fortunately, Lin Zonghai led two fast-paddle ships of Xiangyong and two fast-paddle ships of Dongyang Prefecture's cavalry, which did not leave Dongyang alone to rescue Loucun ship, but fought and retreated together with Dongyang, actually taking the external pressure for Dongyang, and Lin and his men only needed to be careful of the arrows shot from a distance on the deck.

  Lin Xuan stood on the deck, observing the battle situation. Zhou Pu and two guards were closely guarding him, preventing any stray arrows from hitting him. Lin Xuan looked at the tower ship that Qin Chengbo, Shen Rong, and others were on, which was now struggling to enter the river mouth. However, the four Mongol warships of the Hongze Pu water bandits had firmly grasped the tower ship with their hooks, and the four warships were tightly connected to the tower ship. The hundreds of lake bandits from the Hongze Pu water bandit's base were using the four warships as a bridge, constantly attacking the tower ship. The bandits were poorly equipped, almost no one wore armor, and they were barefoot and shirtless, holding knives and charging towards the tower ship with great bravery. Many more ships were also inserting themselves into the gaps, throwing hooks, lime, arrows, torches, oil cans, and other objects to aid in the battle. The air was filled with the smell of feces, and the bandits were using everything at their disposal to take down the tower ship, even splashing filth onto it. If this were a regular army or garrison, they would have collapsed under such a fierce attack from the water bandits. However, the hundreds of elite soldiers on the tower ship were either Qin Chengbo's private guards or Wu Feng's bodyguards, and their fighting spirit was strong. Their equipment and training were also not something that ordinary lake bandits could match. Moreover, it was nighttime, and everyone could only rely on the tower ship as their last resort, with no place to escape in the middle of the river except to fight to the death. On the other hand, Qin Chengbo had also offered a large reward, promising an additional 100 taels of silver to each person who managed to break through the encirclement. This had stimulated the guards and private soldiers to fight even more bravely. At present, the bandits' casualties far exceeded those of the tower ship's defenders, but the bandits were too numerous, and it was still unclear whether they would show any signs of exhaustion.

  "As long as we enter the Shiliang River, it's fine, and we can't kill all these bandits!" Shi Liang County instructor Lu Dongyang knew a bit about military affairs. He saw that the slow-moving Lou ship finally entered the Shiliang River. The narrow river channel could limit the mobility of the water village ships, and instead allowed the Lou ship to regain some disadvantage. "Lin, sir, with this good opportunity, we should rush forward and follow General Fu Guo out of the siege. After arriving at Shanglinli for some repairs, we will launch a counterattack and give that rebel bandit a severe lesson..."

  "Lord Lu's words are indeed correct!" If Lin Xie hadn't already known that there were a large number of water bandit ships hidden in the dark night ahead, Lu Dongyang's suggestion would have had some reason to it. As Lin Xie arranged for someone to communicate with Lin Zonghai, asking them to prepare and make a joint breakthrough towards the Hejiazui direction, he also sent a lantern signal to the Lou ship, warning them to beware of the ambush ahead.

  The fierce battle on this side, the Shuizhai ship lurking in the stone beam river channel has been waiting patiently for the Qin City Lord's ship to take the initiative to fall into the trap. Lin Xuan also secretly felt that the leader of the Hongze Pu water village was not simple, but the Dongyang number had never encountered the main force of the lake thief, so there was no face-to-face opportunity with the water village leader.

  *********

  Qin Chengbo, Shen Rong, Lin Tingli, Liang Zuoren and many other officials of the Qin government were in the "Feilu" on the second floor of the Lou Boat. They couldn't understand the lantern signal sent by the Dongyang number, so someone explained it to them.

  "What? There may be ambushes in the river ahead?" Liang Zuoren's face suddenly turned ugly, he had just thought that rushing into Shiliang River would turn the situation around, but unexpectedly there might still be ambushes ahead. He looked at Qin Chengbo with surprise and uncertainty, waiting for General Qin Chengbo to make a decision.

  The second floor cabin was filled with oil-filled pottery jars and torches thrown by the lake thieves, burning several times. Qin Chengbo's eyebrows and hair were burned off, his general's robe was burned to more than half, and his body was also hanging with several injuries. The corner of his eyebrow was broken by a stone and bleeding, and his face was very difficult to look at. At the beginning of the water battle, there were nearly 500 guards on the Lou ship. At this time, only half of them could hold weapons to defend against the enemy. Qin's fleet had 22 ships, but now only one ship followed the breakout to Shiliang River, and there were less than 40 servants and guards who could stand up on the ship. When Qin's fleet set out from Jiangning, there were more than 1,300 people, including family members, servants, attendants, and hired guards. At this time, the servants and family members on other ships either fell into the river and drowned, or were killed, or were captured by the lake thieves. The two ships still had less than 600 people left. How could Qin Chengbo have a good face?

  Qin Chengbo gazed out at the distant Dongyang ship, where only a few wind lanterns were lit. From afar, he could only make out the outline of the boat and couldn't discern who was Lin Xuan in the vague shadows. He spat a mouthful of bloody phlegm onto the deck and cursed: "This guy is absolutely not a good person! If I escape this calamity, I will definitely not let him off lightly - his words can only be trusted three-tenths, for now we can only break through to the south..."

  Qin Chengbo, although greedy and lustful, cannot be considered incompetent. Previously, he had signaled several times for Lin Xie to lead the Dongyang ship to rendezvous, but the Dongyang ship was repeatedly repelled by the water village ships before it could even enter within 200 steps of the Lou Chuan.

  Qin Chengbo knew that if Lin Xueruo could get the Dongyang ship to break through and join forces with Lou Chuan, he would be able to share a lot of pressure. With two large ships in the Luoyang Lake having absolute superiority supporting each other, and several fast paddle ships shuttling back and forth, the key was that the Dongyang ship and four fast paddle ships still had more than 400 elite soldiers who could join the battle. The troops were concentrated in one place, and Qin Chengbo even had the confidence to turn the water fortress's ship formation around and break through the encirclement again.

  Qin Chengbo's face was stern, his right hand holding a knife and his left hand holding a sign, sitting in the middle of the cabin. The wooden doors and windows on all four walls of the cabin, which were prone to catching fire, had already been removed. More than ten armored soldiers guarded him around. His eyes stared intently at the direction of Dongyang Hao, he was also worried that there might be ambushes ahead, if Dongyang Hao came over with full force and merged with him now, he would be willing to give Lin Xuan half of the gold and silver on this ship. However, since the outbreak of the chaotic battle, Dongyang Hao had been keeping a distance from the center of the battlefield, except for sending four fast-rowing ships to provide support, it had never shown any intention of launching a fierce attack to merge with or support him.

  In Qin Chengbo's view, Lin Xie was completely a lucky and cunning person. At this time, he had completely forgotten the humiliation of Lin Xie at Shanglin Ferry and only hoped that Lin Xie would come to join forces and mutually support each other to break through the siege. Apart from sending lantern signals, Qin Chengbo even sent someone to secretly sneak onto the Dongyang ship to negotiate with Lin Xie and promised heavy rewards. As long as they could cooperate to break out of the encirclement, not only would he recommend Lin Xie for promotion by three ranks, but also promise him countless beautiful women, gold, silver, and treasures. However, Lin Xie did not respond at all, and the Dongyang ship remained on the periphery. Without the support of the Dongyang ship, the other four fast ships could not rush over. Moreover, the water fortress's forces took the capture of the Lou ship as their core target, and tactically only blocked the Dongyang ship outside the center of the battlefield. Qin Chengbo was anxious and furious, and he wished he could chop Lin Xie into minced meat with a knife. If it weren't for seeing that the Dongyang ship and the water fortress ships were fighting fiercely, Qin Chengbo would have suspected that Lin Xie had colluded with the Hongze Pu water fortress forces long ago.

  As for Lin Xie's approach of preserving his strength on the battlefield, Qin Chengbo hated it but could do nothing about it. Moreover, Lin Xie didn't even have the responsibility or obligation to escort him, and afterwards, Qin Chengbo couldn't even find a way to hold him accountable for his crimes.

  Qin Chengbo did not dare to stop the boat and go ashore, there was still more than an hour before dawn, it was the darkest time of day. At this time, abandoning the boat and going ashore, perhaps he could escape alone without a problem, but how many of his wives, concubines, beautiful maidservants, and children would survive, that's hard to say.

  Lin Tingli had a rough idea of Lin Xuzong's character since the incident with Lin Mou last year, and he knew that Lin Mou was not a good person, let alone a kind one. Seeing Qin Chengbo's flustered appearance, he sighed inwardly: "If only I had known today, why bother back then?" If Qin Chengbo had shown some respect to Lin Mou and let him come aboard this building ship to escort him, wouldn't Lin Mou be here now, worried that Dongyang Number One wouldn't come to their rescue? But at the time, he looked down on him, and now he's eager for someone to save his life.

  Shen Rong did not suspect that Lin Fu and the Hong Ze Pu water stronghold had any connection, but his hatred for Lin Fu was no less than Qin Cheng Bo's. If it weren't for Lin Fu insisting on escorting Qin Cheng Bo out of Dongyang Prefecture, he should have been mobilizing troops in Shiliang County to rescue Qin Cheng Bo instead of being trapped with him in the enemy's formation.

  ****************

  A warship was anchored on the left side of the lake, near the shore. Wu Shi Yi, the master of Fuling Lake Water Village, stood at the bow of the ship. Sun Ganzi, a bearded man who had appeared with him at Ye Ren Du a few days ago, was also there. They were standing beside a young man in his mid-thirties, looking anxiously towards the Lou Chuan and Dong Yang Hao. This young man was Liu An Er, the master of the 21-house alliance of Hong Ze Pu Water Village.

  Liu An'er, originally named Liu Jingguo, was from Liu Town, Xuzhou. He made a living by selling saddles and horse reins in his early years, earning him the nickname "Liu Jian'er". Later, he called himself Liu An'er. Years ago, he had already gathered crowds to start an uprising several times in Hongze Pu, although he was later suppressed, exiled to Youbei, and repeatedly made military achievements to become a military officer. In the Chen Tang Yi War, government troops were defeated by the Donghu people, and Liu An'er led his followers to escape back to Hongze Pu. With the help of his uncle Yang Quan, he secretly settled in Liu Family Fortress, Xuzhou, and expanded his forces. At the end of last year, the Huai'an Prefecture increased the fishing tax and donation in Hongze Pu to collect military expenses, triggering a large-scale anti-donation movement. Liu An'er took this opportunity to unite with the water village forces in Hongze Pu to plan another uprising.

  "This Lin Xiuzai doesn't seem to be a simple person, he actually figured out that we have an ambush in the Shiliang River..." Wu Shiye had been caught by the Huainan Prefecture's river patrol as a young man and had worked as a boatman for several years, so he understood the lantern signals and knew what the signals between the Dongyang ship and the Lou ship meant.

  "Even if they knew we had set up an ambush in front, would they still retreat to Luoyang Lake?" Liu An'er said, his expression was not relaxed either. He did not expect Qin Chengbo's Lou ship to be so tough, causing them such heavy casualties. Later, he really needed to prepare a few large ships. Then he said, "Next it's our turn..."

  "Great master, in the final battle we just need to go up and take charge. There are many things that still require your leadership." Wu Shi Yu exhorted.

  "Enough blood has been shed tonight, many brothers didn't even have a good knife and yet they charged forward to fight, how can I hide behind and reap the benefits?" Liu An'er had his men help him put on his armor, picked up his broadsword, waved his hand and gave the order for this last reserved Mengchong warship to charge towards Qin Chengbo's Lou ship.

  The hijacking of the Qin family's fleet is to seize the wealth and resources collected by the Qin family to recruit soldiers and expand their power. It can be inferred that Qin Chengbo will hide most of his gold, silver, and treasures on the luxurious ship he is riding in. Moreover, by intercepting or capturing officials such as Shen Rong, Lin Tingli, and Liang Zuoren, at least one month will be gained for the Eastern Yang Prefecture to organize an effective counterattack and siege, allowing the various water strongholds to recruit soldiers and horses and gain time. The luxurious ship must be captured at all costs.

  *********

  And regardless of Lin's warning, the building ship had already advanced into Shiliang River, and there was no reason to return to Luoyang Lake to be surrounded by the water village ships. They could only charge forward with a hard scalp. The Shiliang River was shrouded in the dark night, with only the faint reflection of the weak ripples on the water. The distant shore and river surface were indistinguishable, and Qin Chengbo also did not have extra boats to scout ahead, unable to explore the reality of the darkness ahead, they could only take it one step at a time.

  They fought and retreated south for a few miles, but didn't see any ambushes. It was hard not to let out a sigh of relief. After all, the fierce battle on this side hadn't slowed down at all. Even if there were ambushes, they wouldn't be of much use. Qin Chengbo and others on the boat couldn't help but think that Lin Xie was worrying about nothing.

  Finally, the hook on the two Mongol warships was cut off, and the two ships were shaken off. It felt like the wind had picked up, and Qin Chengbo stretched out his hand to feel it, and it was indeed a northeast wind. He was so excited that he burst out laughing: "Heaven is not destroying me! Heaven is not destroying me!" The reason why the Lou ship was trapped in Luoyang Lake for so long was because the wind direction was not favorable, making it impossible to sail back with the help of the wind. Now that the northeast wind had picked up, even if the two Mongol warships were still attached, Qin Chengbo was confident that he could use the wind to drag them out of the water and annihilate them separately from the rest of the fleet.

  Qin Chengbo immediately ordered the men to drive the lake thieves out of the boat and raise the giant sail at the rear of the boat. After such a long fight, it was a miracle that the wind sail had not been burned down by fire, but just as everyone thought they were about to escape, more than a dozen flat-bottomed boats came quietly from the dark depths ahead.

  " Ambush!" Qin Chengbo and the others suddenly realized that the hidden troops of Shuizhai had finally appeared. The dozen or so flat-bottomed boats were very short, and with the wind lanterns on the tower ships being extinguished in the fierce battle, the light that could be emitted from the tower ships was very weak. They looked down at the flat-bottomed boats from a height, only to see five or six people holding bamboo poles on each boat, paddling over, and there were no other people on the boats. Since all the arrows on the tower ships had been shot out, they could not stop the flat-bottomed boats from approaching, and could only wait for them to climb up and fight. As the flat-bottomed boats approached, Qin Chengbo's vision was blocked, and he couldn't see what the flat-bottomed boats were doing under the tower ships. He only heard the sound of knives and axes chopping, and Qin Chengbo was puzzled, but ordered the sails to be raised quickly, trying to collide with these flat-bottomed boats and open them up. Before long, flames rose from the bow and sides of the boats, illuminating everything, and Qin Chengbo realized that these flat-bottomed boats were loaded with oil-soaked straw, four or five flat-bottomed boats had been hooked under the tower ships and set on fire, while another ten flat-bottomed boats in front had formed a firewall. The big fire illuminated the night sky far and near, making it possible to see clearly that behind the firewall there were twenty or thirty more flat-bottomed boats waiting in formation, blocking the river channel tightly. At this time, a Mongol warship appeared from behind the tower ship, using its hook pole to grab onto the tower ship. This was Shuizhai's final general attack, with fire at the front and troops at the back.

  Qin Chengbo's face was ashen, and he said to Shen Rong, Lin Tingli and others: "Everyone, please wait for Qin to personally drive away these thieves." His words were filled with unspeakable sorrow and heroism. He couldn't wait for Lin Xiangru to arrive with his ships to rescue them, nor could he bear to abandon his wife, concubines, and children, so he had no choice but to put on his armor and go into battle himself.

  "We await General Fu's triumphant return after killing the bandits." Shen Rong, Lin Tingli and Liang Zuoren could only say this at the moment. They actually hoped that the Lou boat could reach the shore so that everyone could abandon ship and escape to safety, which would be a better chance of survival than staying on the boat.

  As Qin Chengbo was about to leave, Shen Rong grabbed Lin Tingli's sleeve and pulled him aside, asking in a low voice: "If we both fall into the water, will Lin Xie rescue us?"

  "The auxiliary general was killed at Luyang Lake, and someone must take responsibility for this...” Lin Tingli let out a faint sigh. At this moment, his life was hanging by a thread, and he didn't care about Shen Rong's schemes anymore. He also felt that even if he jumped into the river to escape and was rescued by Lin Fu onto the boat, Lin Fu wasn't doing it out of any familial or clan sentiment, but because he too needed someone to take responsibility for the auxiliary general's assassination at Luyang Lake and the chaos in Hongze Pu. In this way, Lin Fu, a minor ninth-rank scholar-official, would emerge from this incident with great merit and no fault."

  Shen Rong thought very highly of himself, but he didn't expect Lin Xie to be so cunning, making all the civil and military officials on the ship drink his bathwater. Shen Rong knew that this was the best opportunity for the Dongyang ship and the four fast sculling ships to break out of the encirclement in the final battle. Lin Xie would not miss it. They chose this moment to jump into the river, if Lin Xie came to rescue them, there would still be a few chances of survival; otherwise, relying on these few powerless civil officials to escape from the encirclement was extremely difficult.

  *************

  Lin Xian gazed at the battlefield ahead, knowing that the time to break through had arrived. Standing on the deck, he said to Lin Zonghai on the fast warship in front: "General Fu Guo can no longer be rescued, and we have all done our best. I'm sure General Fu Guo will not blame us even in the underworld. Grief is useless, what we should do is break through the siege, return and avenge General Fu Guo's blood feud. Whether we can break through depends on this one move, Uncle Zonghai, don't hesitate, look at the light pillar lit by the Dongyang ship, charge forward...

  Lin Zonghai won't go to rescue Qin Chengbo anymore, no matter how great the merit is, he needs to be alive to enjoy it. But he doesn't know what Lin Xuan means by "lantern light pillar". Just as he was hesitating, the lighthouse on the stern deck of Dongyang number suddenly lit up after a silent night, and at the river mouth, a bright moon seemed to rise, several people manipulated concave bronze mirrors to project the lantern light forward, amazingly illuminating the water surface 300 steps away, making it as clear as day, revealing the breakthrough route.