After nightfall, fireflies flitted among the reeds by the canal, the chirping of cicadas mixed with the croaking of frogs, swaying in the gentle breeze. Water, embankments, rice paddies, short trees, the military camp pitched by the docks and the docked ships, the spreading lights, nearby vendors selling their wares, not yet returned, a small shed by the field with a fire lit, tables and chairs set out, inviting lavishly dressed individuals to sit and eat, occasionally seeing bonfires spreading and dancing, it was like a farmhouse for experiencing life in later generations.

The summer weather was already hot, and most of the people entering and leaving the docks were fanning themselves. Those dining on the large ships often couldn't stand the stuffiness of the cabins and moved their tables and chairs to the ship's rails. Only when the river breeze blew in gusts, and the weather was slightly cooler, could you hear cheers up and down. The vast majority of people came out to enjoy the breeze and cool off. Even the Liangshan bandits, imprisoned on one side of the dock, with injuries ranging from light to severe, couldn't help but relax their bodies in the cages, showing a little vitality.

The series of events from last night until now had indeed brought a slight atmosphere of solemnity to the entire fleet, but its overall impact was limited. The easy resolution of the previous battle at Hongze Lake had already made everyone overjoyed and full of praise. In this latest incident, although the previous night had indeed brought a sense of immediate threat to many dignitaries on board, the subsequent encirclement and killing of the Liangshan bandits, along with the capture of more than forty people, finally diluted the tension again.

For many "second-generation" with status and background on the ship, this journey could already be seen as a high-authenticity, highly impactful escort experience. There was danger, but no one was hurt. Now, it seemed that the enemies were just paper tigers. And having personally experienced these things, they would have more to talk about with others in the future.

It was foreseeable that once these large ships arrived in Bianliang, the story of how they repelled the bandits twice would be widely talked about. The purpose of their trip to the capital was to visit, lobby, and win over people during the birthday celebrations, and this experience provided them with an excellent opportunity.

Therefore, although still worried that more bandits might come, even those who left the dock only casually walked along the nearby fields and embankments, eating something. Most people still slightly followed the rules, only moving within the perimeter, not adding more trouble to the accompanying army - of course, this was only in relation to the level of trouble they usually caused.

In the bright lights of the main ship, people were discussing the Liangshan bandits who overestimated themselves, and also talking about the bandits who would have their legs broken and be left to bake to death the next day. For most people, it was exciting, but a few indeed thought it was too cruel, or began to point out that Chen Jingu, without the approval of the yamen or the filing of records, had the right to make such a decision. Among them, a smaller number of people tended to think that the people of Liangshan were indeed good fellows who robbed the rich to help the poor, and it was a pity that they were being killed like this - Zhou Pei walked through the crowd, noting down all those with such thoughts.

It was not unimaginable that those on the "rich" side would sympathize with these heroes who robbed the rich. At this time, those traveling north on the ship were mostly wealthy second and third generations, with all sorts of romantic ideas in their heads, even yearning for the freedom of the Robin Hood figures, and hating their own families' "heartlessness." There were also those who, after seeing the miserable conditions of the injured in the cages, felt sympathy for them, mostly women. Of course, at this time, there was no concept of human rights, so few people would suggest that a doctor should go and treat the prisoners.

Of the forty-three people captured, thirty-nine were lackeys. It could be said that the situation at this time was extremely miserable. Those with minor injuries were ignored, and those with serious injuries were only given a little treatment before being left to fend for themselves. After a day of high temperatures, the wounds began to fester, with flies coming and going, looking extremely gruesome. Therefore, during the time for cooling off on the ship's rails after dinner, when Yuan Jin'er decided to go down and see the captured people, Ning Yi still spoke up to stop her.

"Don't go, it's not pretty, you'll feel sorry for them, and you'll feel bad."

"I won't feel sorry for those people." Jin'er, who was about to pull Yunzhu off the boat, raised her chin and then said, "Would you feel sorry for them?"

Ning Yi smiled on the ship's rail, "It's all projection of fear, it doesn't seem like much to think about now, but... their heads are broken, their hands and feet are broken, bones, blood, and flesh are exposed, flies are buzzing on them, they are crying and shouting, kowtowing on the ground, you will still think they are very miserable. I've seen it, and I don't feel very comfortable either."

"Oh?" Jin'er looked at him for a long time, Yunzhu blinked, seeming a little surprised, and Xiaochan showed an expression of "So the son-in-law is like this too," but then thought it should be.

"But... you'll still feel happy, right?"

"A little of both." Ning Yi blew the wind, holding the railing and laughing, "There's no such thing as a completely heinous villain, people are like that, their suffering and begging will make you feel pitiful, some people say that they are forced, and you may even feel empathy. But in the end, it depends on what they did. When they are strong and powerful, and not caught, they go into other people's homes to burn, kill, and loot. If there's enough time, they'll grab women... the ones who do those things are ultimately these people. I know you won't feel sorry for them, but seeing those wounds will still make you nauseous, it's an instinct, why make yourself uncomfortable?"

His gaze lingered on Yunzhu and the others, and in the end, he didn't say what would happen if the other party caught women. In fact, the several incidents of this kind that occurred on the day the Su family was invaded were later forcibly suppressed by Ning Yi, and not publicized, just hoping to give the survivors a way out. However, during the preparation to go north, one of Su Tan'er's aunts hanged herself. Xiaochan knew about this, but Yunzhu and Jin'er had never heard of it.

However, after Ning Yi said these words, they gave up the idea of ​​going to watch the prisoners. But Yunzhu asked after a moment: "I heard them say that these prisoners have been caught, and if they are to be sentenced to beheading or something, it is necessary to go through the yamen for trial and submit it to the relevant yamen for record. If they are really killed, General Chen and Liheng, will you be blamed?"

Ning Yi shook his head: "That's what they say, but there are special circumstances. This time, the birthday goods are going north, and it just happened to encounter a turbulent situation. I don't know how many people are eyeing this batch of goods. If we keep escorting them to the capital, it may cause the Liangshan people to take risks and attack the birthday goods again, or even bring the problem to Bianliang. This time, the empress dowager's birthday, the pressure from all sides is great, and it's better to do less than more. Kill the people, even if they hold grudges, they will go back to Liangshan to take revenge. These things, saying that the general is outside and the military orders are not obeyed, can still be understood."

After Ning Yi finished speaking, he smiled at Yunzhu. In fact, Yunzhu was not really interested in this matter, but after hearing what others said, she was worried, but she heard Ning Yi say again: "Of course, if someone wants to pick a bone, there will still be trouble. But no matter what, we can no longer give the Liangshan people who ran away any hope or idea of ​​rescuing people. For the birthday goods, for the young masters on the ship, and for the safety of Bianliang during the birthday celebrations, it is all like this."

Jin'er thought for a while, and said: "Then you can't stop people from wanting to come and rescue people..."

"I can, because I'm faster than them."

"Then why don't you kill them tonight?"

"Hehe..." Ning Yi laughed, "You'll know after tonight."

While speaking, the wind blew in gusts, a cool night. Everyone cooled off on the boat for a while, and most of them were the accompanying accountants, stewards, or families big and small. When the children ran around, the atmosphere on the boat was rendered lively. Then, as the night deepened, the atmosphere on the boat calmed down with the receding heat. Ning Yi and others returned to their rooms, and the maids or concubines brought cold water to wash up before going to sleep. Different cabins had different scenes, some whispering, some chatting with laughter, and some men and women quietly snuggling together, letting the tranquility of the time spent together dispel the irritability in their hearts.

During this time, a few figures hid in the reeds by the riverbed in the distance, watching everything gradually calming down here, and there were also whispered conversations between them.

"...No matter what, acting rashly, with the strength of our few people, will not work. That Ning Liheng must have made all kinds of preparations. We can only go north all the way and find...a chance to turn the tables..."

"How can we go north all the way? They are going to kill people tomorrow. If the legs of the magistrate and the others are broken, what can we do if we rescue them? Brother Zhu, you can wait, but I can't..."

"Brother Yan." Zhu Wu held Yan Qing's shoulder in front. "This will not work."

"But Brother Yan is right, we can't wait any longer." Zhang Shun opened his mouth.

"If you trust me, we can only wait." Compared to before, Zhu Wu's expression had a bit of determination this time. "They released such news just to make us unable to wait and only be able to throw ourselves into the trap... We can only bet that he doesn't dare to do this."

"How do we bet?"

"No matter who it is, the death penalty must first be tried by the yamen, sent to the Golden Palace for the emperor to review, and filed before the execution in autumn. If there is anyone who decides before the memorial is sent, they will be exiled two thousand miles away. They don't dare to do this kind of thing, they are just saying it to scare people!"

His words made the other two stunned: "If..."

"And even if that Ning Liheng is a madman, this matter is not only related to him, but also to Chen Jingu on the boat. If the matter is suppressed, a large group of people will have to take the blame, and they can't afford to take the blame for this kind of thing. Ning Liheng's identity as a live-in son-in-law, no matter how thick the relationship, others will not stand with him on this matter. He can't decide with one word, and the people can't be killed. Brother Yan, if he really wants to kill people, why doesn't he start today and wait until tomorrow? He is waiting for us to come and see, and if you are impulsive, you will really fall into his trap!"

"...But...what if he is really that kind of madman..."

"We can only bet."

Everyone was silent for a moment, and Zhang Shun said: "Brother Zhu is right, we can only bet. Then what do we do next? Brother Zhu, you say."

Zhu Wu looked at the dock over there and swallowed: "Stare at them, there is no other way. They go north, and we go north. Brother Yan, you are familiar with how many people are on the boat. See if there are any loopholes to exploit. These people all have status and status, and it is impossible for Ning Liheng to control them. These are opportunities. Find Ning Liheng's weaknesses and see how he acts... We don't have any clever methods now, we can only slowly find a way to break the situation. I have thought about it, there are still three or five days of journey to Bianliang, we follow, and there are two places where we can do some testing..."

He paused: "His identity is ultimately a big problem. No matter how much he has done before, when he wants his subordinates to do tedious work, some people will always be dissatisfied. They are in the open, and we are in the dark. This is our only advantage. These days, he will make his subordinates be extra vigilant and guard against all aspects. We can only let the brothers who return to Shandong try their best to expose their whereabouts and tell them that we have already left. Ning Liheng will not believe it, but his subordinates will definitely have loopholes to exploit... The people in the imperial court are used to doing things sloppily, and I don't believe they can really keep their minds tight all day long and spend time with us..."

Since he was prepared to compete with Ning Yi, he had already thought about the advantages and disadvantages of each other in this half-day, and also calculated the possible ways to break the situation. Even if it is not a very clear plan at this time, the reasoning is still clear. The three of them squatted here for a long time, and Zhu Wu had already analyzed it almost, and at this time the night wind was already getting stronger, the surroundings were dim, and suddenly, a small detail on the boat attracted Yan Qing's attention, and he whispered: "Look."

Among the three, Zhu Wu was good at planning and had a clear reasoning, but Yan Qing was meticulous and had the fastest reaction. What he saw was a slight flicker of fire on the ship. At this time, they were far apart, and the three of them could not see what was going on, but gradually approached, and at a certain moment, they suddenly saw a black shadow jump down from the side of the ship.

The three of them were taken aback. No matter how they thought about it, they didn't expect such a scene to happen. When they saw a few black shadows coming down one after another, and then disappearing into the darkness, Yan Qing already thought of a prison break and was about to go to meet them, but Zhu Wu held him down: "Wait, this is not impossible, but it is very suspicious. Let's take a look and see... Besides, Brother Yan, you can't do anything if you go..."

What he said made sense. The main reason was that the latter sentence made sense, so Yan Qing held back his mood. However, just after a while, they heard a gong ringing suddenly on the boat, and someone shouted: "The prisoners have escaped! The prisoners have escaped!" The whole small dock suddenly exploded.

At this time, many people had successively escaped from one side of the dock. Obviously, the people who escaped from the big ship then went to rescue the Liangshan brothers who were locked in the cages next to them. But perhaps only half of them were rescued before they were discovered, and in the blink of an eye, they were fighting. Only a dozen or twenty people ran away, and they did not dare to linger in the battle. They翻 out that head and tried to escape, but a few people were still shot to death by arrows.

Zhang Shun and Yan Qing immediately wanted to go to rescue them, but Zhu Wu just wanted to hold them back to see the situation. In fact, he also knew in his heart that even if Ning Yi was good at planning, it did not mean that he could train a group of imperial soldiers into elites. No matter how good the plan is, it is common for subordinates to have loopholes. Then they heard someone shout in the night: "Catch them! Lu Junyi has escaped!" He suddenly felt relieved: "No problem, let's go and meet them!" Even if he was shocked by such good luck, the suspicion had already decreased.

During the chase, Zhang Shun asked in a low voice why he knew there was no problem now. Zhu Wu said: "Lu magistrate is our second leader. Since the imperial court knows his name, they must also know his status. As long as he is caught, it will be a great achievement that is a foregone conclusion. No one wants to use magistrate Lu as bait... It's just that we have to be more careful next time and be sure to be cautious."

What he said was the right thing, Zhang Shun nodded and rushed up along the way. In the night, the soldiers and generals near the dock chased out to encircle and intercept them. But there really was Lu Junyi among those who escaped, and several leaders were also masters, and even those lackeys were all elites. A few more people were killed along the way, but then Lu Junyi and others still rushed into the night, and Yan Qing and others had already prepared a few horses in one place, and then caught up to lead the escape.

The Xuzhou troops that were mobilized when they encircled the Liangshan people before could not come at this time. Even if there were more than 300 sailors on the ship, even if they had a certain amount of combat power, they could only divide one or two hundred to chase and kill. When Lu Junyi and others rushed into the night and gradually widened the distance, it was like a dragon returning to the sea, and they could no longer use the advantage of thousands of troops to sweep across. But this time, the soldiers and generals under Chen Jingu also knew that if they could not catch up, they would have made a big mistake, and they almost bit them to death for two hours. Lu Junyi, Yan Qing and others finally really widened the distance from them.

At this time, it was already early morning, and everyone was still running all the way. On the way, Zhu Wu asked about what happened, and he learned that the reason why they escaped this time was because of Jin Maohu Yan Shun. Yan Shun has some martial arts skills, but he is not very outstanding on Liangshan. Perhaps everyone on the boat saw that Lu Junyi had been caught, and their attention was mostly focused on him, but they did not know that Yan Shun had some tricks when he was in the world. After being captured, he seized a small opportunity to secretly get half a piece of thick iron wire, and later gradually pried open the locks. He did not find a chance to escape until late at night. Along the way, he rescued Chen Da and Zheng Tianshou, and then rescued Lu Junyi. It was really God bless Liangshan, so there was the scene later.

The four of them were all masters, and they knocked down more than a dozen people along the way without attracting attention. They originally wanted to rescue all the captured brothers, but later they were discovered, and now it is already the best result. A few people talked about this matter, and the morale of the team was greatly boosted, and they naturally did not stop for a moment, and quickly fled.

Although they had survived a disaster and were happy in their hearts, they had already suffered a big loss from Ning Yi, and they did not dare to stay any longer. Along the way, they also paid special attention to whether there were any pursuers coming from behind. These people were all veterans of the world, and they were extra careful at this time. After nearly an hour, they twisted and turned and finally met with Lu Fang, Sun Xin, and dozens of survivors who had moved to another place.

This time, they did not dare to celebrate anymore. After the meeting, they quickly began to transfer. After running for more than ten miles, it was the relatively lively area of ​​Xuzhou, and it was difficult to find a safe place to hide. Thinking that they were already a little far away, and after doing some reconnaissance and precautions, they finally stopped. At this time, everyone who had been fighting and fleeing with all kinds of injuries and strained nerves for two days had reached the edge of physical exhaustion.

They had been running for their lives all the way, overdrafting a lot, but the distance from that dock was already very far. At this time, it was the darkest time before dawn, and after a while, there would probably be crows and dogs barking in the distance, and the sky would turn white. Everyone found a hunter's hut in the complex mountains, which was still considered a sparsely populated place. At this time, Lu Fang and others who had been resting in the afternoon went out to stand guard, and Zhu Wu and others were finally able to breathe a sigh of relief and began to talk and celebrate.

Talking and further bandaging the wounded were also done in the dark. They did not dare to show any light. Yan Shun smiled and talked about the luck in the process of escaping, and also talked about the deflated face that Ning Yi had eaten this time.

"I really want to see what that guy looks like now..."

"In short, this time I return to Liangshan, the next stop will be Jiangning. I must avenge this revenge!"

"No need to say anything, let's go together."

"I will take him back to Liangshan and personally cut out his heart in front of the Juyi Hall to comfort the spirits of the brothers in heaven!"

"According to me..."

"Ah--"

While they were still talking, a scream suddenly tore through the night sky. Everyone suddenly jumped up from the ground. Although this hut was built of grass and wood, the windows were open, and something flew up in the night sky and fell towards this side.

That was light.

A rocket flew across the night sky and fell with a whizzing sound, sparsely piercing the wooden house, the lawn, and falling into the gaps in the trees.

The sound of weapons clashing was already coming from not far away. Lu Fang shouted over there: "Go! Go!"

Figures rushed out.

When a few people rushed out of the house, the surrounding area was already a chaotic battle that was pressing over. Judging from the number of rockets, there might not be thousands of people, but it was already above the dozens of Liangshan people, and what's more, the Liangshan people were already injured and exhausted soldiers.

Lu Fang waved his Fang Tian painted halberd and had already quickly retreated from the forest on that side, and then there was a loud bang, and blood burst out. Lu Fang's strength on Liangshan was already not weak, but he was already injured at this time, and he was hit by two arrows in the dark. He was fighting fiercely with people in a panic, but with that loud bang, he screamed miserably, and blood appeared on his back. Then he was swept by a spear again, and he staggered backwards. He could only use his Fang Tian painted halberd to try to support his body.

The figures of Ning Yi and others had already strode out from the darkness over there.

From the very beginning, the entire scene of the battle had erupted to the most intense level as soon as it came into contact. It was not as ironic as the last time with applause, but for the Liangshan people, it was almost like the overwhelming darkness. Ning Yi looked like he had not stopped from the beginning until he appeared in front of everyone at this time. He retracted the flintlock gun in his hand and was still moving forward, his face as cold as ice. This time, it was really a ruthless killing intent.

Lu Fang's stomach had probably been blown up over there, but he roared and supported his strength to rush forward again. Ning Yi strode over, waved his hands, grabbed the Fang Tian painted halberd that he wanted to wave, and the war knife in his other hand slammed into Lu Fang's chest with a bang. With this knife, the bones had already burst open, and then he reversed his knife and cut off Lu Fang's arm, and blood spilled into the sky. Lu Fang's body was kicked backwards by Qi Xinhang who arrived later.

"Ya ah--" Zhu Wu was furious and pulled out the double knives behind him.

On the other side, Ning Yi was also speaking, and his words came with the night: "'Little Marquis Wen' Lu Fang! 'Little Yuchi' Sun Xin! 'White Stripe in the Waves' Zhang Shun... You really didn't leave. They all say that you won't die if you don't do stupid things, why don't you understand!"

He strode over and grabbed Lu Fang's hair. In fact, Lu Fang was just relying on his last reflex to fall backwards. Although blood was still spraying, he was probably already dead. Halfway through the fall, he had already been dragged by Ning Yi with one hand, and then he reversed his knife again, with a puff, under the force of breaking through the six paths, he cut off his head. That head was thrown over by Ning Yi like a cannonball and smashed on the wall of the house next to everyone. Bang, it fell to the ground.

"Lu Junyi, Yan Qing, 'Divine Machine Military Advisor' Zhu Wu! What are you thinking? In the past half month, I have made more than two hundred plans and decisions for you scum..."

A Liangshan elite rushed over, and then his chest was pierced by a spear. Ning Yi kicked that corpse away and approached.

"...You are now less than a hundred miles away from me, how can you think your lives are safe!?"

**************

Originally, I wanted to code two chapters, but I thought I would post one chapter ^_^ (To be continued.) Vote for recommendations and monthly tickets, your support is my greatest motivation.)

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