When the four armed ships of the prison guards left the island, Qu's scouts hiding at the river mouth to observe the situation only when the plan to lure the snake out of the cave was successful, they rode horses quickly to Jiuyong Bridge to inform Qu Wuming.

  Qu Wu Ming hid in the river mouth of Jiu Yang River and Jin Chuan River, south of Jiuyang Bridge. He received news that the battle was fierce at the river mouth, with dozens of pirate ships outside the dock being set on fire by Lin Xie's men, who had thrown oil onto them. The raging flames lit up the sky in the direction of the river mouth, making the glazed lamps on the corner towers and the prison island lighthouse seem dull in comparison.

  The bandits led by Lin Tie killed them off guard, and no one thought of sending a message to Qu Wu Ming; Qu Wu Ming saw the situation on this side of the river and thought that the bandits were about to succeed.

  In Qu Wu Ming's view, as long as they successfully lure the Snake out of its hole and annihilate it in the narrow waters between the prison island and the river mouth before dawn, there will be no more threatening forces or bandits to hinder the Qu family's actions, and the river mouth will be at the mercy of the Qu family.

  There are still two hours before dawn, Qu Wu Yang immediately made a decisive move and set out. Three fast sculls carrying more than 200 men from the Quyang Town Patrol Department's knife and bow troops, as well as private soldiers of the Qu family, set out to "rescue" the river mouth.

  It is necessary to "rescue" the river mouth before the Eastern City Patrol cavalry deploys, in order to collect more evidence unfavorable to Gu Wu Chen and Lin Xie.

  ***********

  On the west side of the riverbank dock, the dark and turbulent waters of the Chongjiang River were shrouded in darkness. The battle at the river mouth had spread from the water to the shore, and Lin Xie's troops were unstoppable, both on land and in the water. The bandits were unable to organize any effective counterattack, and it was clear that the tide of the battle had already been decided. Even if he led nearly two hundred elite warriors from his family into the fray, it would be difficult to reverse the course of the battle.

  Xue Fei Hu was somewhat disheartened and didn't have the mind to continue hiding here to watch the battle, also to prevent Lin Xie from defeating the bandit ship and then concentrating his forces to deal with them.

  "Lin Tie's greedy heart wants to encircle all the rebels who have landed on the shore..." Du Rong said.

  Following Du Rong's pointing direction, Xue Feihu and Song Jia saw Zhao Hu leading four armed ships to pursue the fleeing pirate ship. However, looking at the combat range of the four armed ships, it was actually blocking the entrance of the Jin River channel, so the 400-500 pirates who had landed on the riverbank could no longer escape by water.

  "Lin Xie is trying to obtain evidence of Qu's family involvement in this matter." Qin Zitan said.

  The various bandits were invited by Qu's family, which is a well-known fact to everyone. Although the Qu family has not yet sent private soldiers on a large scale to directly participate in the attack on the river mouth, there must be someone among the bandits who was sent by the Qu family to temporarily unite the bandits from different water strongholds and attack the river mouth.

  In order to make the timing of the raid on the river mouth completely under the control of Qu, the people secretly sent by Qu will not be in the minority. Only by capturing these people can we obtain evidence of Qu's involvement in the crime.

  When the perpetrator wants to wash away their guilt, it won't be so easy anymore.

  Since Lin Xuan has made up his mind to encircle the group of bandits on the shore, he won't be able to spare any hands to take care of this place. Xia Fei Hu doesn't need to rush to leave, and of course, he also doesn't dare to provoke them when Lin Xuan's power is at its peak; they want Lin Xuan to grasp some handles to send to Li Zhuo's hands, and they will regret it too late.

  At this time, Xia Fei Hu and others saw the gates of two enclosed houses close to the riverbank open, and more than a hundred militiamen holding bamboo spears, single knives, and even iron pitchforks poured out.

  The combat effectiveness of these civilian warriors in independent attacks on the enemy was weak, but after Lin Xuan led the Wu soldiers to defeat the bandits, they assisted in blocking roads, capturing fleeing thieves, and quickly controlling the river mouth situation, making up for Lin Xuan's insufficient manpower. This allowed Lin Xuan to lead his 400 Wu soldiers ashore to concentrate their forces on attacking the remaining bandits who were resisting or escaping in groups. Many civilian warriors also climbed onto the earthen walls of the surrounding houses, using hunting bows and throwing spears to shoot and kill the bandits hiding in the alleys below.

  Lin Tie thoroughly gained the upper hand in numbers against the thieves who had landed. Xia Fei Hu and his men were hiding below the riverbank, only able to see the situation near the riverbank. The thieves who had escaped to the edge of the river saw their retreat cut off, except for a few people who resolutely jumped into the water to escape, most of them surrendered and Ren Min Yong tied them up with ropes.

  Due to the flow of water, most of the fleeing pirate ships escaped downstream from the Jiang'an Wharf, escaping into the waters east of the river mouth. Dozens of militiamen boarded the fast warships moored at the Jiang'an Wharf and began searching for pirates who had fallen into the water.

  Although he couldn't see what was going on inside the river mouth, seeing that Min Yong and others had come out to collect the spoils of war, Xia Fei Hu knew that Lin Xie had already taken control of the situation at the river mouth.

  ************

  Hiding in the dark to observe the battle at the river mouth is not just a fantasy of the Flying Tiger family. In the vast waters northwest of Prison Island, a lone boat drifted with the waves. Yuan Jinseng, disguised as a fisherman, sat at the bow of the boat and looked at the situation at the river mouth, which had already been decided. He said to the middle-aged man standing behind him: "Father, you said how long it would take for the imperial edict promoting Gu Wuduan to Provincial Inspector to be issued in Jiangning?"

  A middle-aged man gazed out at the direction of the river mouth where flames had erupted, his brow furrowed in silence.

  The master of the side hall, Fan Ding, said: "I suppose we'll have to wait and see how long Jia Pengyu will drag on before he's willing to submit his resignation."

  "It's also unavoidable for Jia Pengyu," the middle-aged man said slowly, "I'm afraid Chu Dang will take the opportunity to persuade the emperor to let Gu Wu Chen command the war in Hongze Pu..."

  Once the name of Governor-general was given to Gu Wu-dun for military affairs, it actually gave Gu Wu-dun special privileges in some aspects with the name of Provincial Governor to control the Ministry of War and the Headquarters.

  Li Du initially also served as the Vice Censor-in-Chief of Jiangxi Province to oversee the war against Dongming, and later as an envoy to oversee military and civil affairs in Dongming Prefecture. Fortunately, the Xiqin Party was weak in the court, Chen Xinbo's position was precarious, and the Emperor was also wary of Li Zhuo, so Li Zhuo let the Chu Party squeeze him into Jiangning to become the shackled Secretary of War for Jiangning Garrison and concurrently Governor of Jiangning.

  No matter what, Jiangning and Jiangdong Prefecture's local forces absolutely did not want Gu Wu Chen to become a powerful figure like Li Zhuo Shi.

  "Gu Wudu may not have enough experience," said Yuan Jingsheng, "but to prevent any unexpected events, it's best to persuade the Emperor to send other officials from the Chu Party to Jiangning to supervise the war. Who knows, we might see internal conflicts within the Chu Party."

  "Your plan is feasible, Young Master," said Fan Ding.

  "Let's see, Lin Xie has just controlled the situation at the river mouth, but it doesn't necessarily mean he can really grasp the handle to restrain Chen Xiyan," said the middle-aged man.

  "We'd better go back first," said Fan Ding. "We can't see the specific situation at the river mouth, let's wait for the scout to return and report tomorrow."

  Fan Ding also secretly clenched his fists at the time, when Lin Xie was tied up and framed as a threat to ransom himself. He had also been enraged. However, at that time, the East City case broke out, and Gu Wu Chen took advantage of it to completely suppress Wang Xueshan, the prefect of Jiangning Prefecture, so Fan Ding could not tolerate it. Now it seems that no one in Jiangning can erase Lin Xie without leaving a trace. Fan Ding thought to himself that if he couldn't bear to take action against He Kou, his plan might not be more thorough than Qu's family.

  *****************

  From the pirates' attack on the river mouth from the dock, Sun Jingxuan and his daughter Sun Wenyue have been squatting on the ridge of the bamboo hall to observe the situation. They saw Lin Xie lead the soldiers to take advantage of the pirates' half-crossing time to take a boat to cut off the rear route and defeat the pirates who were crowded at the dock. They also saw Lin Xie lead the soldiers to occupy the dock. After more than 100 thieves gathered on the dock were defeated, the 400 soldiers who landed from the dock divided into two teams of sharp soldiers along the south and north streets, and the back street pierced and killed each other.

  Each route has more than 60 vanguard, among them are over 10 Mo Dao and Gunmen, over 10 strange long gun warriors, nearly 20 knife shield hands, and nearly 20 archers. They advance in a crisscross pattern. The leaders are Zhou Pu, who wears a red helmet and green armor and wields a Mo Dao, and Ao Canghai, who wears a red helmet and green armor and wields dual halberds.

  Careful observation reveals that these two vanguard troops are divided into groups of five or six, with one soldier wielding a strange and long spear, one soldier wielding a guandao, two soldiers wielding shields and swords, and one archer. If the enemy in front puts up strong resistance, the long spearmen take the lead in charging forward, while the shield-bearing soldiers cover both sides, the guandao-wielding soldiers charge forward bravely behind the long spears, and the archers shoot down the bandits from behind. If there are any enemies who have infiltrated the formation alone, they are taken care of by the shield-bearing soldiers and archers with single swords, working together in high efficiency. The bandits cannot organize effective resistance or counterattacks, and the two vanguard troops quickly break through Nanbei Chang Street and Hou Street.

  The bandits who raided the river mouth were divided into several groups, each fighting on their own, and without occupying any advantageous defensive structures, they had no ability to organize a counterattack or resistance except to escape.

  The remaining two hundred or more bandits retreated towards the direction of Lin's new mansion, and along the way, all the scattered bandits abandoned their arms and surrendered to the ground. Those who resisted were beheaded without mercy, and later, the civilian militia bound the disarmed bandits tightly.

  Sun Jingxuan and Sun Wenyue, father and daughter, have been holding their breath all along, feeling that time has passed quickly. From the bandits landing on the shore and attacking the river mouth, Lin Xie ambushing the rear to now completely controlling the situation at the river mouth, it seems like the blink of an eye, but in fact, less than an hour has passed.

  At this moment, especially in the second half of the time, Lin Tie copied the back road, and the thieves who landed on the shore had not yet attacked any important buildings at the river mouth.

  Lin's new residence was quite close to the Bamboo Hall, and Sun Wenyue could clearly see Lin wearing scale armor, surrounded by his guards, climbing up the steps to observe the situation at the river mouth. He stretched out his left arm, allowing someone to bandage the wound on his left arm.

  At this moment, Lin Xie was indeed majestic and extraordinary, with an aura that was not ordinary. When his eyes turned in her direction, Sun Wenjuan's heart skipped a beat for no reason. Although she knew she was in the shadows and Lin Xie might not be able to see her, she still involuntarily turned her head away. The matter of Father faking illness made it impossible for the Western River Sect and Lin Xie to restore their previous relationship, but who would have thought that Lin Xie could set up such a huge trap to let the Qu family jump in blindly?

  The Lin family's new house also opened its doors, and Fu Qinghe, Zhao Qingshan and others who were guarding the new house came out to join forces with Lin Xuan. Zhao Qingshan led more than a hundred Lin family militiamen who had been defending the new house for nearly an hour to assist the Wu soldiers in attacking and sweeping away the remaining rebels at the river mouth.

  The northern escape route into Chao Tian Tang has been completely sealed off. Even if they jump from the high bank, there are civilian militia driving boats to catch and block them on the riverbank wharf outside. The west side is surrounded by houses, and the east side is the Jin Chuan River. Many thieves broke through the south wall and fled southward.

  Sun Jingxuan felt guilty about deceiving Lin Lian, but tonight he didn't slip away to Longcangpu in the south of the city, which was a way of making amends to both Lin Lian and Fu Qinghe.

  Sun Jingxuan ran the rivers and lakes, maintaining the livelihoods of over 2,000 followers. His face was thick-skinned, and he was about to climb down from the roof with a thick face to get close to Lin Lian and Fu Qinghe. However, just as he did, another alarm sounded from the corner tower. A lantern made of crystal glass cast its light onto the riverbank through a bronze mirror. Sun Jingxuan turned his head back, and saw three fast sculling boats had just docked at the pier. Qu Yang Town Patrol Officer Qu Wuming was standing at the bow of the boat.

  Sun Jingxuan was shocked, how could Qu's family not know that the defeat of the bandits at Shaiguo River was irreversible, and yet they still wanted to rush in headlong?

  The riverbank dock had Ao Cang Hai leading a team of sharp soldiers, pressing Qu Wu Yang and others on the riverbank dock, unable to land. Just then, Lin Fu put on his helmet again and led more than 100 soldiers to the riverbank dock.

  Sun Jingxuan's mind was filled with anxiety again, as Qu Wu Ming led the patrol troops of the Inspection Department. They could claim to have been ambushed at the river mouth and come to their aid in large numbers. What would Lin Xie do in response?

  *****************

  P.S: Looking for red envelopes (with money).