Dongting Lake is divided into two lakes, the east and west. The eastern part is connected to the Xiangjiang River and the Yangtze River, while the western part is joined by the Yuanjiang River and the Lishui River. It is only slightly larger than Poyang Lake.
Dongting Lake flows into and out of the Yangtze River and is dotted with islands. Government soldiers occupied the East Dongting Lake in the Xiangjiang River basin, where merchants traveled back and forth, while the bandit army and fishermen were distributed in the West Dongting Lake, where they engaged in fishing and woodcutting and formed their own independent community.
The sky is high and the clouds are light. A bright moon is shining in the sky. The waves in the center of the lake are sparkling like thousands of silver lights. On the largest island in West Dongting Lake, there are many people.
Shenlong Island is the lair of the Dongting Lake pirates. The island is very large and originally there were more than a dozen fishermen who took refuge here. After being occupied by Lin Wen, it was renamed Shenlong Island, and Shuanglong Hall was built to control the waters of Dongting Lake.
"How can this be possible? This little Liu Qi is going too far!"
A roar was heard from the Shuanglong Hall. A man with thick eyebrows and big eyes, and a scar on his lilac face, was Zhou Xiong, the sea monster.
The government has issued notices everywhere today, offering a reward of 100,000 coins for the heads of the two Dongting dragons. If they are captured at the same time, the reward will be 300,000 coins. There are also quite a few rewards for the other heads of the big and small Touling.
A dozen bandit leaders in the hall lowered their heads, their faces flickering under the burning torches, and no one knew what they were thinking.
"My dear brother, Liu Qi is trying to sow discord among us and divide us brothers!"
On the commander's seat, an elegant man in his thirties, with three strands of beard and a deep gaze, sighed. He was none other than the leader of the Dongting bandits, the two-headed dragon Lin Wen.
"If we had known this would happen, we shouldn't have hijacked that official ship!" Zhou Xiong stamped his feet in anger. "We didn't gain any benefit, but instead brought disaster upon ourselves."
Lin Wen shook his head slightly and sighed, "Liu Qi had already issued an order to tour the south a few days ago. The Jingzhou navy decided to train in Dongting Lake. Regardless of whether we hijacked the official ship this time or not, we have a fight."
Zhou Xiong gritted his teeth, clenched his fist and said, "Since Liu Qi won't let us live in peace, then we have to fight!"
Lin Wen read the official notice again, took a deep breath, and said slowly: "You should send someone to look after Zhou's mother and son. Maybe it will be useful."
"I don't want to see that kid again. If you don't want to kill him, just send someone to watch over him."
Speaking of the hostages, Zhou Xiong was even more furious. The kidnapped guy actually talked to him about his relatives, saying that they were all from the Lingling Zhou family. It was not in line with the ethics of the underworld for brothers to kill each other.
Lin Wen laughed and said, "Brother, you have taken a fancy to that lady and want to take her as your inner chamberlain, so why do you have such an attitude?"
"Let's not talk about it!" Zhou Xiong waved his hands. "It's just my bad luck. Anyway, I don't want to see this mother and son again!"
When Zhou Xiong learned that the two were orphans and a widow, and seeing that the lady was beautiful and virtuous, he wanted to take her in as his own wife. After all, they were all family, so remarrying wouldn't be a big deal.
Zhou Buzhi also discussed seniority with him, and after all the calculations, he found out that he was of the same generation as Zhou Chao, making himself the nephew of that boy. It was simply outrageous.
If his family tree had not been destroyed in the war, Zhou Xiong would have definitely gotten to the bottom of it.
Facing a powerful enemy, Lin Wen did not want to be distracted by these trivial matters, and asked: "Liu Qi made a stunning move, defeating 300,000 Cao troops in Nanyang and capturing Generals Cao Ren and Xiahou Dun alive. This shows that he must be capable. Now his navy has entered Dongting Lake and issued a notice to confuse the people. We are in danger. What good strategies do you have to deal with the enemy?"
"Liu Qi is just relying on the geographical advantage!" Zhou Xiong sneered, "Even if he is good at land warfare, he will definitely not be as good as us in naval warfare. At worst, we can share Dongting Lake. They are in the east and we are in the west. It has nothing to do with each other."
"Liu Qi is a relative of the Han Dynasty and is determined to support the imperial court. Even if we don't fight him, officials and bandits cannot coexist since ancient times. How can Liu Qi allow us to establish ourselves in Dongting Lake?"
Lin Wen narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at the words on the notice. Even he felt a dull pain in his heart, not to mention those minions and the people.
In order to make it understandable to everyone, the notice was written extremely bluntly: Once a thief, always a thief.
Everyone in the world is ashamed of being a thief, which will definitely bring trouble to future generations, and their descendants will never be able to hold their heads up.
If he could mend his ways and make amends for his sins, Liu Qi would forgive his past mistakes. Not only would he divide his land among them, but he would also re-register his household registration and would not pursue his past actions.
The notice also stated Liu Qi's determination at the end. In order to protect the peace of Dongting, Changsha and even Jingzhou, any bandits in the territory who were stubborn and unrepentant would not be tolerated and would be eradicated.
This notice uses both soft and hard tactics, appealing to both reason and emotion, and a fierce battle is inevitable.
Zhou Xiong clenched his fist and roared, "If Liu Qi doesn't give us a way to live, the worst that can happen is that we fight to the death. In eighteen years, I will be a hero again!"
"Good man..." Lin Wen laughed at himself and ordered: "In any case, we must strengthen patrols and guard against officers and soldiers. The Jingzhou navy has been trained for many years and should not be underestimated."
"If we defeat the Jingzhou navy, won't we become famous?" Zhou Xiong laughed and said, "This battle will make the reputation of the Dongting Twin Dragons spread throughout the world."
"Go!" Lin Wen nodded. "Wangyue Island needs to increase its military strength and send more patrol boats to patrol. Soldiers must not be allowed to enter West Dongting Lake."
"Don't worry, big brother. This time our Lingjiao ship will show its power." Zhou Xiong strode away with high spirits.
Lin Wen walked to the door of the hall, only to see the moon and stars dim. A gust of night wind blew, and his complicated mood seemed to become a little clearer.
Having been a thief for many years and seeing the fate of his uncle Ou Xing, he had long been confused about his fate and future.
Just as it was said in the notice, even if he dominated Dongting Lake in his life, he could not get rid of the word "thief" and he didn't even have a wife until now.
Lin Wen prides himself on being a hero and a righteous man, and is unwilling to rob people by force. But which girl would be willing to marry a bandit
To want to achieve great achievements, leave a name for oneself, and have one's wife and children be honored as described in the books is simply a daydream.
After reading the books of sages for many years, the higher his knowledge became, the more inferior and humiliated he felt, let alone his grand ambitions.
However, the most important thing right now is to demonstrate one's own strength and test Liu Qi's ability.
A wise bird chooses the right tree to roost in. What is the point of serving a leader who is not wise
Zhou Xiong rushed back to Wangyue Mountain overnight and summoned all the leaders to repair the ships and prepare weapons in order to compete with the officers and soldiers.
Wangyue Island is surrounded by vast waters. Standing at the highest point on the island, you can see everything that is happening. Not to mention ships, even a bird flying by can be seen clearly.
Lin Wen instructed to be on guard against the officers and soldiers, but Zhou Xiong did not care. Instead, he expected Liu Qi to send troops to give him a warning first, and those notices would naturally be useless.
Over the years, officers and soldiers have been dispatched many times, and Cai Mao has long wanted to eliminate them, but he has always failed. All the ships sank before they reached Wangyue Island.
This area of water has already been heavily defended, with countless sentries and secret spies. Some are hidden in the islands, some are on high ground, and there are even spies among the fishermen.
In addition, Wangyue Mountain is also very dangerous. The island is extremely high and is constantly impacted by wind and waves. The rocks are smooth and steep, and the only two ports have been built into water fortresses and are heavily guarded.
Since the officers and soldiers could not capture Wangyue Island, they dared not rashly enter West Dongting Lake. If they took a detour, the Lingjiao Ship and the Guisha Team would make the officers and soldiers pay a heavy price.
Two years ago, Cai Mao divided his troops in the same way, and three thousand officers and soldiers died in the lake. They never dared to come here again. Liu Qi was ignorant of the danger and would make sure that he was buried in the belly of the fish.