Chapter 386 Rain and Mist
"Boom..."
"Wow..."
No one expected that when everything seemed to be going so smoothly, a sudden rainstorm brought everything to an end.
When Zhang Dan led the troops to the edge of the mainland swamp, he saw the turbulent swamp water rising up, and all the small boats originally arranged by the sentinels on the reeds near the swamp were washed away from the shore.
Seeing the small boats dotted on the vast swamp, Zhang Dan's face turned pale.
Before, he was still hearing the words that he was going to destroy the Black Horse Thief, but now he could only look at it and sigh.
Is this operation really dead in the middle?
Zhang Dan's unwillingness fell into the eyes of Xun You who was standing next to him. He looked at Xu Jian, the general with his head lowered, and suddenly asked:
"Xu Sheng, how many boats do you have?"
Xu Jian understood what Xun You meant and said honestly:
"That's more than twenty. If it is full, it will only take a hundred people. But if these people go up, they will die. What's the use?"
Although Xu Jian was demoted as a general, he wanted to survive. His meaning is very direct, don't let us brothers do this, it will lead to death.
But Pan Zhang, who was standing next to Xun You, didn't mean what he meant. Pan Zhang's blood surged, he cupped his fists and asked for orders from the silent Zhang Dan:
"Captain, I am willing to lead a hundred of our elite troops ashore first. We have been preparing for this battle for so long, and now we are just on the verge of getting there. We must not give up."
Zhang Dan looked at the lake and sighed inwardly:
"Yes, it's just a little bit close. Once we give up this time, we will never have this opportunity again, and the enemy will be more cautious. By then, how much energy, money and food will it take to pacify it?"
Zhang Dan looked at the small boats on the surface and knew that these scattered boats would soon be discovered by patrolling thief boats. So the only chance now was to swoop ashore in this heavy rain.
After looking at the determined Pan Zhang, Zhang Dan finally made up his mind:
"Xiao Pan, you find a hundred people, bring armor, and board first. No matter what method you use, you must withstand it for at least half an hour. After half an hour, I will personally lead the second group of people to pick you up."
Pan Zhang clasped his fists and was about to go down to choose someone.
Suddenly remembering something, he turned around and said to Zhang Dan:
"Captain, you and I want to be together?"
Zhang Dan is curious but very generous:
"Whoever you want in the whole army will be given to you."
Pan Zhang shook his finger and pointed at one person, but it was the thief general Xu Jian who had just surrendered.
Xu Jian saw that these Taishan generals were all looking at her eagerly, how dare they say no.
……
The boat swayed lightly, paddling deep into the swamp in the heavy rain.
Before setting off, Pan Zhang took the rare opportunity of leading a hundred warriors to pray in the direction of Mount Tai, hoping that the Lord of Mount Tai would bless them for a successful battle.
As the Taishan Army and Taiping Road cut off, the army's beliefs moved closer and closer to the mysterious Taishan Mansion Lord. But Pan Zhang, who was a free-spirited person and never believed in ghosts and gods, rarely brought people to pray for him today.
Because this time Pan Zhang was not praying for himself, but for the hundreds of people behind him who were willing to share hardships, life and death with Pan Zhang.
When Pan Zhang was ready, he led his men to wade into the small boat, which contained some of the army's baggage and armor.
The thieves are not patrolling now because of the heavy rain, but they will definitely be found after the rain stops. So they have to land ashore as soon as possible, time is very tight,
Pan Zhang divided the hundred-man raiding party into three teams. He led forty people himself, and the other two generals led the rest.
That's right, Pan Zhang sent out all the elites in his camp this time, and every one of them was at least a general or above.
Pan Zhang said goodbye to his two generals:
"Perhaps this time is the last time we get together in this life. In this battle, you two will each lead a team of troops to cover my two wings. I don't care what method you use, in short, once I charge, no enemy will be allowed to enter from the two wings."
Looking at the determined eyes of the two generals, Pan Zhang smiled:
"This time, we lead a hundred people to attack the stronghold in a heavy rain. If we succeed, we will definitely leave our name in history. If we fail, I, Old Pan, will be buried here with you. But don't worry, the captain will definitely let these black horse thieves be buried with us. . It’s not a waste of time for us to be buried like this.”
After saying that, Pan Zhang picked up the Zhuangxing wine beside him and touched it with the two of them. Then he raised the bowl and shook it in respect of Zhang Dan, who was looking at them not far away, and then drank it all in one gulp.
The rain mixed with the wine stimulated Pan Zhang's taste buds and made him feel proud:
"Come with me, Lao Pan, and try to take a chance on this huge wealth."
After saying that, Pan Zhang took the lead in boarding the boat and paddled hard. After a while, the twenty small boats disappeared into the rain, leaving only Zhang Dan standing on the shore.
In the heavy rain, while rowing a boat, Pan Zhang said to the general Xu Jian beside him:
"You know the inside of the Black Horse Pirates' water village, right?"
Xu Jian nodded, knowing what Pan Zhang meant, but he couldn't help pouring cold water on Pan Zhang:
"The young general is indeed brave, but he is not a little cold water. Even if we know the location of the Zheng thief, we may not be able to attack it. Although most of the black horse thieves are deployed in other places, there are thousands of people in his water stronghold all year round. The water bandits are here, and with a hundred of us, we may not even be able to touch the village gate.”
Pan Zhang smiled, pointed at Xu Jian and said:
"Aren't you here? Don't tell me you can't open the door even if you shout?"
Xu Jian was silent.
Pan Zhang didn't speak, he just looked at this person with a smile, and the other four people in the boat also looked at him, and the atmosphere was very solemn.
After a while, Xu Jian bent down and said again:
"So what if I risk calling the door open? It's better to hide and wait for the people behind to come up together."
After hearing this, Pan Zhang lowered his head and said:
"You'll help me, right."
Xu Jian felt really uncomfortable.
As someone who had climbed up from the water bandits' den, he naturally knew what Pan Zhang was thinking. This person just wants to climb up. If you talk to him about the risk now, it will be the same as farting.
But what can Xu Jian do? He is just a surrender, and he is still alone in Pan Zhang's army. Can he say no?
The world is like this. You can't do it when you are a thief, and you still can't do it even if you join the Taishan Army.
In the end, Xu Jian nodded and agreed to take the risk with Pan Zhang.
The rain fell harder and harder, and more and more fog accumulated on the lake.
When Pan Zhang and other hundreds of people landed on Zexin Island alone, the archery tower on the island was quiet.
Pan Zhang and others took out the armor under the thatch, put it on each other, and then brought a layer of raincoat for themselves.
After gathering the forty people in his team, Pan Zhang took the lead in walking through the rain curtain in the direction pointed by Xu Jian.
Along the way, it was quiet except for the sound of footsteps and the sound of rain.
Pan Zhang's plan this time was very simple. He just needed to know where the thief Zheng was and then fight his way in.
And the plan went more smoothly than he expected.
With his team of forty people in the center and the other two teams of thirty people each on the flanks, the team moved very quickly and soon arrived at a silent water village.
In the mist, only a corner of the water stronghold was exposed, and the rest was hidden inside, like a lying giant beast with its huge mouth open waiting for Pan Zhang and others to enter and die.
At this point, Xu Jian, a thin and dark man, looked at Pan Zhang again. Seeing that this man's eyes were blood red, he knew his determination. So Xu Jian calmed down the fear in her heart and led the two of them to the front of the village.
Sure enough, before I could get closer, a voice came from the building opposite:
"Who's down there?"
The military discipline of the Black Horse Thieves is not good, otherwise they would not run away to hide from the rain as soon as it rained. So even if they knew someone was approaching from below, they would only inquire without shooting an arrow.
Xu Jian breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this. He was really afraid that he would be shot to death before he could say a word, but fortunately he still had a chance to open his mouth.
So Xu Jian vented all the anger along the way:
"Hot lady, you guys are soaking in the rain outside the lake, but you are hiding inside to enjoy the blessings. Open the door quickly, I have important military information and reports from the leader."
The soldiers upstairs looked closer and saw Xu Jian's face clearly. Some of them knew him and mocked:
"What kind of military situation can you have with a shabby guy outside? Hurry up and leave. You can't open the gate of this village if it's closed. Don't you know the rules?"
Xu Jian's eyes turned red and she cursed back:
"Blinding your dog eyes, Nai Gong will beat you to death when he comes in? What military information do I have? Let me tell you, Nai Gong discovered the traces of the Taishan bandits. If it hadn't been for this heavy rain, they might have killed them all the way to the edge of the river? Do you still dare not to open the door?”
The few people above were all panicked when they heard the news about the Taishan bandits. They all knew that the Taishan army outside the river was encircling and suppressing them at the moment, and they were not as confident as the leaders.
Because their family members outside Ze often told them some news about the Taishan Army.
This one said that his hometown had been divided into fields, and the other said that the wealthy man who had bullied his family had been punished. These messages were varied, but they all made these black horse thieves understand that the Taishan Army outside Zewai seemed to be different from the previous Han Army.
The watchtower guards, who now understood the seriousness, did not dare to delay any longer and began to open the stronghold.
But just when the wall was halfway open, the mist dissipated, revealing Pan Zhang and others behind.
The old gangster guarding the gate was startled and just asked:
"Who are you?"
Then the person was nailed to the ground with a halberd.
Pan Zhang, who was among the crowd, ran like a tiger in the rain, knocked open the gate of the camp, and when passing by the old bandit guarding the gate, he conveniently took away the halberd he had just thrown away.
As soon as Pan Zhang took action, the officials there who had been prepared for a long time also used their special weapons to kill the gatekeepers at targeted locations.
Because of the heavy rain, Taishan's army could not use their bows and crossbows, so they saw halberds, flying stones, and bones flying around all of a sudden.
The screams one after another were so inconspicuous amid the heavy rain and thunder.
Pan Zhang had just used the ring-shou knife to kill the last escaping thief, and wiped the blood-stained ring-shou knife on his sleeve and arm.
Looking at the still silent camp in the distance, Pan Zhang's eyes were fierce.
He ordered the two teams that followed:
"You will start killing randomly on both wings. In short, you will try to disrupt the place as much as possible. Then you will create chaos while shouting that the Taishan bandits are coming."
The two teams took the order, glanced at Pan Zhang again, and went about their business.
Pan Zhang took a deep breath again, turned over the edge of the knife, and said to everyone:
"Let's go get the dog head of Thief Zheng."
Everyone was silent and continued to walk through the rain.
There were rumbles of thunder in the sky from time to time, and the rain became heavier and heavier.
Pan Zhang, led by Lao Xu, entered all the way.
From time to time on the road, we encountered some water bandits looking around, but no one was suspicious of them.
The Dark Horse Thieves have expanded too quickly recently, and most of the team is made up of strangers. In addition, the team of thirty people is already the guard of each thief, so of course they are not suspicious.
But soon, the camp began to boil.
It was the two sides who began to make noises, saying that the Taishan bandits were coming.
At first, the water thieves in the tent still didn’t believe it? It's raining so heavily and there's a big swamp. Could it be that these Taishan thieves flew here? But the increasingly chaotic camp made people doubt that they might really be here to kill them.
So, there were some who stayed in the tent and didn't go anywhere, there were also brave water pirates who rushed out naked with a knife, and there were also smart ones who went to the central hall to report to the leader.
This also inspired Pan Zhang, who shouted:
"Don't block the road? Important military information."
After saying that, he kicked over someone who was in the way and ran on the muddy ground.
At this time, in the middle hall of the Black Horse Pirates, Zheng Fu was entertaining some local tycoons and temple blessings from nearby Daluze. When these people learned that Zheng Fu was getting louder and louder, they all came to visit him with drinks, chickens and ducks.
Zheng Fu also needs to continue to maintain relations with these local snakes, and is also hosting banquets to entertain them.
The rain outside isolated the inside and outside, making Zheng Fu and the others completely unaware of the chaos in the camp.
Just when Zheng Fu and others were drinking happily, a man covered in mud rushed in.
When Zheng Fu saw this person, he smiled and said to the rich people:
"Look, this is the hero of our Dark Horse Thief. In this water battle with other forces in Zene, he alone captured eight ships. Isn't he fierce?"
All the local tycoons were naturally flattering.
But this man was not happy at all. He walked quickly to Zheng Fu and said out of breath:
"There seems to be chaos outside. They say there are Taishan thieves coming to kill."
Zheng Fu turned his head and glanced at his confidants suspiciously, and whispered:
"Go and see if those Qinghe people are responsible."
The confidant nodded.
In fact, neither he nor Zheng Fu really believed in the envoys from the five counties of Hebei. These people were watched by special personnel when they ate, slept and pooped.
So he knew exactly what these people were doing behind Zheng Fu's back. In fact, he also knew what their plans were. They were planning to collude with his second son to take away Zheng Fu's position!
Huh, I, Zheng Fu, still looked down on me when I reached this position. If it weren't for the subsequent money and food, he would have thrown the dozen or so officials into the pond to feed the fish.
But now it seems that these people cannot be kept.
Over there, the fierce and brave confidant was about to leave, when suddenly there was a clanging sound outside the hall, and then he saw a group of armored soldiers rushing into the hall. Even the heavy rain could not wash away the blood on their armor.
Hanyong's confidant was startled, and knowing that something was wrong, he bent down, picked up a case, and smashed it against the soldier at the head.
But it didn't matter that a soldier on the other side suddenly threw himself over and hugged Han Yong's confidant.
The henchman was trying to stand up when a pair of strong iron hands grabbed his neck and was strangled to death by a standard guillotine.
It was only then that Zheng Fu opened his mouth and said:
"Who are you?"
(End of chapter)