(Updated two chapters, seeking red tickets; there is still one chapter ahead, don't forget; seeking red tickets!)

  Lin Tie held Gu Wu Chen's golden tooth plate, led Hao Cang Hai and more than 40 guards riding horses from Ji Yang County to the south for over 60 miles, seeing the vast and endless sparkling waves on the north shore of Taihu Lake, also seeing nearly a hundred warships of both sides fighting together on the lake surface.

  "Xiao Tao has been hiding for nearly two months, and now he's actually lured out by Sha Fei Xiong from his old nest at the last moment!" Ao Canghai dismounted, took off his helmet, and stood on the lake embankment with Lin Fu to observe the battlefield over a thousand steps away, saying this with hatred.

  The slanting sun was pouring its golden light into the lake, and the rippling waves were shining with a golden glow. The blood color that had seeped into the water was especially vibrant.

  Lin Xiang was eager to die early, but the main force of Ninghai Town's water army, which fought fiercely with Donghai bandits in this lake, was the largest reliance on the coastal provinces at this time. If Ninghai Town's water army suffered too much damage in this battle, Jiangdong Prefecture would have no power to suppress the Donghai bandits on the water surface except for Jiangning Water Camp.

  Hongze Pu Liu An'er's department is also focused on the fishing people uprising, with stronger water warfare capabilities. Lin Xie has been advising Gu Wu Chen to be vigilant about the Xia family's tactics of creating a diversion in the east and attacking in the west. However, if the Ninghai Town naval forces lose this battle, even if they know that the Xia family is using the tactic of creating a diversion in the east and attacking in the west, they will still have to withdraw troops from the western front to make up for the insufficient defense of the eastern coastal prefectures and counties.

  When Lin was tied up in Jiuyang County, he was still wearing his official robe. At this time, the official robe had been removed and a green armor was worn on a pasteboard shirt. He asked someone to bring pen and ink, and according to the saddle, wrote down the fact that Ninghai Town's naval forces and Donghai Town had already engaged in battle on paper, and sent someone back to Jiuyang to ask Gu Wuduan and Jiuyang County to make defensive preparations. Once the navy was defeated, this Donghai bandit would likely take advantage of the situation to attack Jiuyang County City.

  "If the situation in Huozhou goes as badly as you predicted and we lose another game, I'm afraid the situation in Jiangdong will be dire..." Ao Canghai frowned, looking at the distant battlefield with concern.

  Lin Xianlong let out a deep sigh, the Zha family's determination was sincere, and their strategies were ingenious. The Jiangdong Prefecture and the two departments below it were at odds with each other, mutually restraining one another. As one side rose, the other fell, how could they possibly be defeated? He had to consider the practical consequences of Ninghai Town's naval forces suffering a crushing defeat this time, and what kind of serious impact it would have on the deployment of Changshan Island and Xisha Island.

  Ninghai Town's naval forces have been used to shrinking their heads like a turtle, but the main force has not been damaged. The East Sea bandits still pose a threat, and the East Sea bandits also dare not launch an all-out attack on one city or land. Now Lin Xie must consider that the West Sand Island may face thousands or even more East Sea bandits directly landing on the island to threaten it.

  As Ninghai Town's naval warships were gradually unable to withstand the attack and intended to retreat into Donglai River, Lin Fu and Ao Canghai, as well as other Wu soldiers, also mounted their horses and retreated to a distant place. The pirate ship that Dong Hai was riding on did not slow down its attacking rhythm due to the approaching nightfall, and charged straight into the naval fleet.

  The sunset sank into the horizon, dozens of warships were set on fire, and the raging flames illuminated the surface of the Donglai River estuary as bright as day. Those struggling and crazy figures in the firelight, as well as their screams, seemed to be the most real phantoms on the lake surface.

  After half of the night, the naval warships were defeated. Xiao Tao's command ship was the first to retreat from the battlefield and flee north. His naval warships also fled in a disorderly manner. Two large winged ships even collided violently at the river mouth due to competition for waterway, one ship capsized, and the other ship's bow was crushed, causing water to rush into the cabin, making the naval warships behind even more chaotic.

  Lin Xian saw that the defeat of the naval forces in Ninghai Town was irretrievable, and he rode with Ao Canghai and other soldiers to Jieyang County to join Gu Wu.

  *********

  Hurry back to Ji Yang, Lin Xie climbed up the south gate tower of the county city to look for Wu Chen.

  Gu Wudu and the officials of Jiyang County as well as the military commanders were all on the city gate tower, their eyes fixed intently on the southeast direction.

  By the side of Ji Yang Zhi County Meng Xin Shi stood an old man in a green robe. Lin Xie had never met Chen Xi Yan before, but he saw that Gu Wu Chen and he were far apart, with his face covered and pretending not to see him. Lin Xie also knew that this old man in the green robe was Chen Xi Yan, who had returned to Ji Yang after the Qu family bandit case and lived in seclusion.

  Ninghai Town's naval forces have fallen into the trap set by the Donghai bandits. If the naval forces are defeated, there is no place within a hundred miles that is safer than Jiyang County City. Lin Tie had someone send a message back, and the civilians near the county city who received the news all fled to the city. Chen Xixian appeared on the gate tower, not at all unexpected.

  The night in the countryside was as black as ink, with only a large expanse of flames extending from the mouth of the Donglai River into Taihu Lake. Without needing Lin Xuan to explain, Gu Wu Chen and the others also knew what the outcome would be.

  Lin Tie returned the toothplate to Gu Wu Chen and said: "The naval forces have been defeated, and the only way to avoid being completely annihilated is to escape from Donglai River into Yangzi River; without the threat of the naval forces on our sides and rear, the East Sea bandits will surely attack the county city after entering Jiyang Lake..."

  "Are you really so sure?" Chen Xiyin had seen Lin Xie climb up to the city gate tower early on, and when he heard him make such a statement, he couldn't help but interject.

  Lin Xie didn't respond to Chen Xiyan's words, her eyes fixed on Gu Wudu, waiting for him to make a decision.

  Chen Xiyu's body trembled with rage, as the leader of the Wu Party and former Minister of Revenue, he was ignored by a rude and arrogant young man, how could he have endured such humiliation? He turned his head to look outside the city, knowing that at this time, he couldn't even bother to deal with someone like Lin Xie.

  Gu Wu frowned, and Chen Xiyin's reaction was also ignored. In Lin's previous letter, he mentioned that the scale of the Donghai pirates in the northern part of Lake Taihu had reached 3,000 to 4,000 people. If Ninghai Town's naval forces wanted to keep their warships safe, they could only flee north into the Yangzi River and not abandon their ships to enter Jiyang City. The relief troops that were supposed to rescue Jiyang were all more than a hundred miles away.

  "How much longer will the East Sea bandits arrive outside Ji Yang City?" Meng Xinsi also didn't care about taking care of Old Minister Chen Xiyan's face, and walked over to ask Lin Fu. There were not many people on this city gate tower who knew military affairs, and Lin Fu had just returned from the front lines, so he could only ask these questions to Lin Fu.

  "The naval forces have almost no organized resistance or delay, and in about an hour, the Donghai bandits will pour into Jiyang Lake..." Lin Fu said, "After entering Jiyang Lake, it's hard to say how long they can delay before landing, the key is to see how many naval ships mistakenly enter Jiyang Lake..."

  Meng Xinshi saw that Ning Haizhen was being so badly defeated by Lin Xie, and he couldn't comment on anything. The defeat of the naval forces was a fact that happened right before his eyes. He looked at Gu Wudu and said: "Lord Gu, since you are the superior here, how do we defend Jiyang? It's up to you to make the decision."

  Ninghai Town's naval forces were defeated by the Donghai bandits, and even if they retreated to Jiyang, they would still be in disarray. Apart from over a hundred swordsmen and archers, as well as the more than 200 Chen family private soldiers brought by Chen Xiyi to assist in defense, the main force in Jiyang was the more than 400 mounted troops who followed Gu Wudun to Jiyang. Meng Xinshi was worried that Gu Wudun would lead the mounted troops to flee far away.

  Facing the surging tide of over 3,000 Donghai bandits, Ji Yang relied solely on a few hundred miscellaneous soldiers and temporarily organized militia to hold out until reinforcements arrived, an extremely difficult task.

  Gu Wudu smiled and said: "With Minister Chen present, how could it be my turn to give orders?"

  Gu Wudu couldn't abandon Jiyang at this time, unless he didn't want to mix in official circles anymore. Besides, with so many troops and the temporarily organized militia, he was confident that he could hold onto Jiyang.

  Chen Xiyu knew that this was not the time to argue, and stiffly said polite words: "Lord Gu is being polite, whether Jiyang can be defended depends on Lord Gu."

  Gu Wu Chen waited for Meng Xin Shi and Chen Xi Yan to say these words, otherwise in front of Chen Xi Yan, he really didn't find it convenient to take over the defense of Ji Yang County. He asked Lin Fu: "What do you think is the way to defend Ji Yang?"

  "Ji Yang cannot be defended to the death," Lin Xie said, "I ask your lordship to give me 400 cavalrymen to command. I will lead them to move outside the city and wait for the Donghai bandits to come..."

  "It's too dangerous to go out of the city, defending Jianyang City is what matters most. With Lord Gu and Chancellor Chen here, whether it's a desperate defense or a clever one, Jianyang City will be safe." Meng Xinsi was shocked in his heart, even if Lin Xie didn't take advantage of the situation to escape, if the 400 guards led by Gu Wudust were defeated by the Donghai bandits outside the city, Jianyang's greatest reliance would be gone. He quickly dissuaded Lin Xie from his idea of going out of the city.

  Lin Xian's lips were pursed as he waited for Gu Wu Chen to make a decision. Because Gu Wu Chen and Chen Xi Yan were in Ji Yang City, he wanted to lead some of the troops to move their camp outside the city.

  "...Chen Xiyin heard that Lin Xie was going to lead the troops out of the city, turned his head to look at him, saw his eyes were firm and resolute, his expression calm and composed, not like a false request, his mouth opened for a moment, wanting to say something, but in the end didn't say it."

  Chen Xiyu always had more vision than Meng Xinshi, he knew that relying on so many troops to defend the city of Jiyang County was relatively stable, but the East Sea bandits saw that Jiyang County City was difficult to attack, and as long as a small number of troops were used to block the four gates of the county city, they could divide their troops to raid the countryside of Jiyang County. At that time, Jiyang County would suffer unprecedented disaster. Chen Xifang, although he hated Gu Wudeng and Lin Xuanzi to the bone, also did not want to see his hometown being ravaged by the pirates.

  Lin Xuan's troops moved to the outskirts of the city, although it was extremely dangerous, but also effectively prevented the Donghai bandits from dividing their forces and sweeping through the countryside; as long as Lin Xuan's army did not annihilate the Donghai bandits, Jianyang County would not have too much pressure.

  Chen Xiyin knew that Lin Xuan was still taking the blame for his master Gu Wudeng, and if Gu Wudeng were in Jiyang with a large army, he would not have allowed the countryside to be ravaged by the East Sea bandits. This would have been an indelible stain on his career. But Lin Xuan had taken great risks and ultimately made great contributions to Jiyang. Chen Xiyin now felt that he had previously gone too far in calling Lin Xuan a "pig servant".

  "Are you sure?" Gu Wu Chen asked Lin Xuan with a serious expression.

  "Defend the city and fight, not independently without support. Although there is no absolute guarantee, but Ji Yang absolutely cannot become a danger that affects the overall situation of Jiangdong!" Lin Xie said.

  Gu Wu Chen and Lin Xuan had thoroughly discussed the situation in Jiangdong in Chongzhou, so Gu Wu Chen knew what Lin Xuan meant by saying this.

  Lin You led the troops to move out of the city, not only to avoid the bandits from Donghai sweeping through the countryside of Jiyang, but more importantly, if they were to defend the city of Jiyang alone, the garrison in Pingjiang Prefecture would inevitably rush to rescue them due to the responsibility of Gu Wu and Chen Xiyi being killed in Jiyang. The possibility of defeating the bandits one by one is quite high. Liu An'er's troops, who had been dormant for a long time, might also take advantage of the situation at Hongze Pu, and at that time, the situation in Jiangdong would likely collapse completely, making it difficult to recover.

  The collapse of the entire situation due to one person's safety, Gu Wu Chen's official career has also reached its end.

  "I'm counting on you!" Gu Wu Chen patted Lin Xuan's shoulder, glancing at Shi Yuan, Zhao Qin Min and Yang Pu beside him. At this critical moment, only Lin Xuan could truly bear the weight of responsibility.

  The situation in Jiangdong is collapsing, and Changshan Island and Xishan Island, which are still weak and lack a deep foundation, cannot survive on their own. The risk of leading troops out of the city to fight is even greater, and Lin Tie will also have to take responsibility for it. He chuckled lightly and said: "I'll trouble you, sir, and Yang Shu to instruct the people below a few words, so that they won't disobey after leaving the city. Once outside the city, if anyone's hands or feet are soft, my knife won't be soft."

  "I'm going out with you." Yang Pu said calmly.