"The Jinting Lake water bandits are actually just a collective term, consisting of numerous small groups of water bandits who are not affiliated with each other and even fight for territory, property, and women..."
In the small cabin, Xu Ting was talking eloquently in front of a map.
The Xu family has been rooted in Kanazawa Mansion for more than ten years, so they naturally have this information.
"Most of these water bandits are refugees fleeing from various places. They gather on a certain lake island. They also cultivate land, but they mainly focus on robbery! Some have even built strongholds!"
In fact, due to resource, terrain, reclamation and other limitations, the scale of such a village is not large, with only more than a thousand people at most.
No matter how much, the ecology of the island in the lake and the proceeds from plundering will not be able to supply it, so it must be diverted.
"What we are going to attack this time are the water bandits on Heiguan Island. This group of bandits once robbed Heize County, killing twenty-seven people, and robbed a large household..."
Xu Ting frowned a little.
When water bandits come ashore, they naturally want to kill and loot. However, most of the big houses in the countryside have mansions with high doors and walls that can be broken. This shows that either the water bandits are brave or there are capable people inside.
"Someone, bring Hu San up!"
He clapped his hands, and two soldiers immediately stepped forward with one person between them.
This man had withered cheeks, looked haggard, and was dressed in rags. He was obviously the lowest of the poor.
Of course, the people present were all soldiers in the army. They immediately saw a trace of unruliness and ruthlessness in the man's eyes, as well as the fishy smell on his body, and his identity was immediately obvious.
"Water bandit?"
Several ministers looked at each other with joy on their faces.
"Haha... Yes, it's the water bandits, or the water bandits on Black Guan Island!"
Xu Ting touched the stainless steel ring on his hand and said casually: "Tell all the adults what you know and give them good guidance. Afterwards, you will receive a generous reward, and your previous case records will also be included." Just write it off! How about it?"
Although most water bandits are refugees, there are exceptions.
This Hu San was from Heize County, but he had committed a crime, had a criminal record, and was wanted. Naturally, he had no choice but to join the water bandits to make a living.
As soon as Xu Ting took office and found out about this, he immediately took control of his family and stayed there for a while, and he really captured Hu San.
With the handle in hand, Hu San didn't have any toughness at all. At this moment, he raised his head and his face became a little more lively: "My lord... is it true?"
"Hehe... Our young master is the son of the Fu Cheng family. Will he deceive you and be a cunning person?"
Before Xu Ting could speak, a soldier next to him sneered.
He is the eldest son in the family, and safety is a top priority. This group of soldiers are all top-notch warriors and are good at military formations. They are not wearing leather armor, but higher-grade chainmail.
This kind of armor is connected by iron rings. It is light and flexible, but its defensive power is higher than that of ordinary leather armor. It is very expensive to make. In the army, even ninth-grade deputy captains may not have it.
But here, everyone regards it as ordinary.
As a personal soldier of the general, you should be treated like this.
Just five of these people, with their armor and swords, might be able to kill a hundred people if they join forces!
Therefore, Xu Ting didn't have much worry at all about this rebellion.
However, strategic preparation is still needed and everything must be taken into consideration.
"Fu Cheng... Mr. Xu?"
Hu San took a breath: "Okay... I will believe you this time!"
There seemed to be fire in his eyes, and he said what he had told him before: "Our boss, named Lu Jia, is located in Heiguan Island. He has built a village with seven to eight hundred people and three boats! There are one hundred and twenty strong men. Classified as Twelve A... Also, I also know the waterway and can take you there!"
"Okay, take him down and give him food and wine!"
Xu Ting was very satisfied after hearing this.
Although there is a water map, the subtle work of grasping the direction must be done by experienced hands.
After all, there is no reference point on the lake. If there is no experienced hand at the helm, the slightest difference may lead to thousands of miles. This is the reason why the water bandits can get away with it so far.
…
As expected, Hu San was very cooperative and pointed out the waterway. One day later, a small island appeared in front of Xu Ting.
"Well, it looks very clean. It shouldn't be Snake Island or something like that..."
Xu Ting put up the awning with his hands, looked far into the distance, twitched his nose again, sniffed the air, and said with satisfaction.
There are no fewer than thousands of islands in Jinting Lake. Some islands are completely silent, while others have multiplied species and become a paradise for animals. It is said that there are only a few of them, all of which are covered with various snakes, which is very scary. , extremely dangerous.
Of course, the island in front of me doesn't look like it, and it doesn't have that special fishy smell.
"grown ups!"
At this time, several chiefs gathered around: "There are ships anchored on the other side of the island. So what Hu San said should be true. What should we do? Land secretly and go around to attack?"
"Wait a minute!"
Xu Ting frowned: "Send out spies first to see how many ships they have?"
At this time, a Taoist priest on the boat came into play.
A white bird flew up on his shoulder, circled in the sky, and then landed, chirping.
"Sir, it is indeed Sanjou!"
After a while, the Taoist priest immediately reported.
"Very good, I'll credit you!"
Xu Ting was overjoyed.
Although this Taoist priest did not practice many magical arts, he could understand the language of beasts. Although he only had an ordinary white bird, he was able to spy on him without any disadvantage. His father always valued him and treated him like a high-class guest.
At this time, he was sent out for his own sake.
This is the foundation of the family!
With these, as long as the commander is not too stupid, there is no reason to fail!
"How's it going? Sir, do you want a sneak attack?"
Several chiefs were eager to give it a try.
"What's the sneak attack?"
Xu Ting took a few steps and immediately made up his mind: "We have well-equipped soldiers, plenty of leather armor and weapons, and large iron-clad ships! What's even more unexpected is that there are only three broken ships on the opposite side. How can we be prepared? And... the terrain on the island is both difficult for you and me. It’s because I’m not familiar with it, so it’s really unwise to rely entirely on one person!”
"We are soldiers, they are thieves! What kind of plots and tricks do officers and soldiers need to use to fight against thieves? They just raise the flag and kill them... They only have these three boats. As long as they occupy the dock, where can they escape?"
Although this plan is simple, it uses upright soldiers to overwhelm people with overwhelming force, and it is full of a sense of ingenuity and inefficiency.
"In this first battle, I would rather win clumsily than lose accidentally. What I want to win is to be foolproof!"
In Xu Ting's heart, he said silently to himself.
"Promotion flag!"
"Speargun ready!"
"Speed up and rush over!"
…
After hearing this arrangement, the chief officer did not object.
After all, they also knew that this dock didn't have much strength at first glance, and there was no way it could be the opponent of a hundred of them.
What's more, there were patrolling soldiers and Taoist priests behind them.
This elite force alone is actually enough to complete the suppression.
Having mastered overwhelming strength will naturally boost morale.
"kill!"
Suddenly, two large iron boats approached menacingly, immediately alerting the dock.
Although it is said to be a pier, it is actually just a natural haven with some crude buildings that can barely accommodate ships.
Three very old fishing boats, which seemed to have undergone certain modifications, were lazily leaning against the shore. A large number of old fishermen climbed up and down, repairing the sails and cleaning the bottom of the boats.
At this time, they saw two ships rushing towards them. The flags on them were clearly government officials, and a commotion immediately began.
However, the operation of the boat is inconvenient. Even if the enemy has been sighted, it will not be possible to launch the fishing boat to meet the enemy in a moment, not to mention the lack of sailors.
Therefore, when Xu Ting rushed over, he saw that the three ships started to start at a loss, but it was difficult to even raise the sails, and a large number of sailors fled. He couldn't help laughing.
After all, they are bandits, the situation is unfavorable, and they are facing the government, so the first reaction is naturally to run.
If you really don't say anything and just go all out when you come up, you have a brain problem, or you are a dead soldier.
"Seize the ship, even if it sinks, we won't give them one!"
Xu Ting wanted to catch them all in one fell swoop and said immediately.
"The fish cannons are ready... to fire!"
As the distance got even closer, there was a roar, and an iron boat began to roar.
A fish cannon prepared on the bow of the ship is actually a crossbow. With a roar, a spear suddenly flew out.
boom!
On the opposite side, sawdust exploded, and the spears went straight through several water bandits, bringing with them a large amount of blood and panicked screams.
boom!
Another official ship also fired its cannon, but this time it missed the target and passed through the sail, leaving a big hole.
"Actually, this kind of ballistae is only useful for scaring people. It can only attack a stationary ship with this accuracy. What if it's in a stormy sea?"
Xu Ting looked at this scene and shook his head secretly: "Not to mention...bows and crossbows cannot be used on the water for a long time, otherwise they will be useless after getting wet..."
He seemed to be naturally adapted to the battlefield. At this time, he not only commanded calmly, but also had time to think about the shortcomings of his own arrangements.
"kill!"
After docking at the dock, the soldiers on the official ship immediately prepared to join the gang.
Because their ships are large and have high decks, they are condescending and take advantage of them.
"Archer!"
A commander roared angrily, and more than 20 archers bent their bows and fired arrows at the water bandits who were still holding weapons on the deck, and began to suppress them.
When there was an opening, the heavily armed officers and soldiers immediately seized the opportunity and began to join gangs to fight.
"The damned officers and soldiers are here. If you don't want your whole family to suffer, just fight with them!"
Among the water bandits, there was a brave man after all, and he stepped forward brandishing his sword.
"Form up, stab!"
The officers and soldiers stood still, formed a formation again, thrust out their spears together, and immediately pricked the man into a bloody gourd.
"Some courage, but that's it..."
Xu Ting looked at it and curled his lips indifferently.
The equipment of these water bandits is definitely not as good as our own, and some even use wooden spears, just like beggars.
Of course, the more important thing is that everyone is so skinny that it is difficult to eat enough every day.
Fighting with cold weapons, if you don't even have enough to eat, how can you have the strength to kill the enemy
Therefore, rebellions by disaster victims in past dynasties have rarely become widespread.
While he made a decision silently in his heart, he was no longer confused about the fate of these water bandits.