The night covers the sky, and the stars and moon are hidden.

Under the darkness of the night, above the calm protective face, there was neither moonlight nor starlight. It was really like being unable to see even your fingers.

Only a few large ships moored on the shore had their lights on, dispersing the darkness within a few feet, and the water could still be vaguely seen. Above the water, the sparkling fire reflected in the water rippled with the waves.

The brightly lit ship is like a beacon, announcing its position to the surroundings.

A few miles away, in a remote reed marsh, more than twenty rays of fire gradually swayed out of the reed marsh and gathered in one place.

On the shore, three torches suddenly lit up on the small boat that had been waiting for a long time. More than 20 small boats quickly approached and soon gathered in one place.

"Brother!" A muscular man dressed in a strong suit respectfully shouted to the leader, a man with a muscular back and a muscular face, a leopard head and eyes, a ferocious face, and a sword in his hand.

"How is the situation?" the man with the leopard head and ring eyes who was called his brother asked angrily.

The man dressed as Lifu said: "Those fat sheep are parked two miles away. I have inquired clearly. The first few ships are Changping ships, coming from Bianjing, transporting oil and oil from the north."

There are skins and medicinal materials, and there is also an official ship of unknown origin, but my brother who inquired about the information said that this official ship also came from Bianjing, and there seemed to be many female dependents on board."

"Official family members?" The eyes of the man with a leopard head and ringed eyes lit up, and his tone became a little rough.

The man dressed in Lifu nodded and said: "I heard from the brother who inquired about the news that he seemed to be going back to the south to visit his relatives. He was afraid that the road would be uneven, so he went with the Changping ship!"

"It's a beautiful idea!" The man with the leopard head and ring eyes snorted coldly, and continued to ask: "Where is the distribution of the guards on the ship?"

"The situation on the official ship is still unclear. Our brothers can't get on board and can't find out the specific situation. The manpower on the first few ships is about the same. There are about a dozen guards with weapons and twenty or thirty strong men.

Many of them are from Caobang, and they all have two sticks on their hands, so I'm afraid they won't be easy to chew."

"It's not easy to chew?" The man with the leopard's head and ring eyes snorted coldly and said sternly: "Let's pick out the ones that are not easy to chew! Don't pay attention to the official ship for now. Find a few brothers to keep an eye on it first. Let's take care of those few first.

We’ll take down all the cargo ships, and then we’ll deal with the officials and their families.”

"Not far from the shore is the command camp. Remember, we must fight quickly and don't delay it for too long!"

How much property can there be on an official ship filled with female dependents? It is nothing more than some gold and silver jewelry. The most attractive ones are the official dependents and the young female envoys. However, in the eyes of this group of water thieves, a group of

How much of a threat can the female family members pose? As long as they take care of the guards and the men on the cargo ship ahead, then those official family members and envoys will still be in their pocket.

There is a gentle breeze on the river. It is autumn now, and the lake surface is slightly cool at night.

The night is dark and windy, which is the time for murder and arson.

The brightness of candlelight is far inferior to that of incandescent lamps, let alone those searchlights. The visibility on the lake is too low, and the visible distance is only a few feet. However, in the eyes of the water thieves, everyone on the boat is undoubtedly alive.

target.

The water thieves put out their torches early, and took speedboats, quietly approaching several large ships in the pitch-black night.

"Huh?" On the cargo ship, a guard vaguely felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't figure it out when he looked around. Just as he was scratching his head in confusion, the sound of breaking through the air suddenly sounded. Before he could react,

Several feather arrows were stuck in his body.

"The water thieves are coming!" The night guards on the boat immediately beat gongs and drums and shouted loudly to warn.

"Kill!" Before he could finish his words, countless torches lit up around the ship, and a dozen soft bows used for hunting shot out more than a dozen arrows. A leopard-headed man with eyes in his hand, holding a simple knife, stood tall.

At the bow of the clipper, when the clipper was still three or four feet away from the big ship, he jumped onto the side of the ship. The sword in his hand fell hard like it was splitting the Huashan Mountain, and he killed a knife-wielding guard with one blow.

.

Seeing the bravery of their leader, the water pirates howled like wild beasts one by one, put down the wooden planks connecting the small boat and the big ship to act as a plank bridge, brandished their long knives, held up torches, and rushed towards the big ship crazily.

There are a few people of Yi Yu's generation who run business all the year round, and the guards they hire are all experienced in killing people and seeing blood, and fighting with thieves. Even if they picked up weapons and organized a manpower to resist, it would only take a moment.

, the cry of killing, the howl of pain, and the sound of the collision of weapons continued to spread in the silent night sky.

On the Sheng family's ship, the northernmost of the five ships, just as Minglan heard the shouts of killing coming from ahead, Wang Erxi had already walked up from the cabin with a knife.

"Girl, the thief has a bow and arrow. It's dangerous up there. Girl, it's better to go to the cabin and take shelter!" Wang Erxi said directly.

"It doesn't matter!" Minglan shook her head and said, "Xiao Tao, you go down first with Dan Ju, and remember to bring up all my slingshots!"

"Slave, go now!" Xiao Tao bowed and hurriedly supported Danju, who looked a little pale next to him.

"Girl!" Danju looked at Minglan worriedly.

Minglan smiled and comforted: "Don't worry, Brother Wang has made arrangements in advance. I will be fine. You go back to the cabin first and restrain the female servants from leaving the cabin. They are all hiding and are not allowed to leave."

Voice."

"Let me tell you, this group of water thieves kills without blinking an eye. If anyone disobeys the command and messes up, don't blame me for being merciless."

As she spoke, Ming Lan seemed to lose a bit of her usual amiability and become a bit more majestic. Wang Erxi beside her couldn't help but nod her head.

"Brother Wang, have everything been arranged?" Minglan turned around and asked Wang Erxi.

Wang Erxi cupped his hands and said: "Don't worry, girl, our brothers are all ready. I also asked the servants of the Sheng family to take weapons and help them on the side."

"Brother Wang has been walking on the water all year round. He is well-informed and has dealt with water thieves. Brother Wang has full control over how to arrange it." Minglan understood that although she had read a lot of military books and was somewhat smart, she had never

Having experienced this kind of thing, instead of giving random orders, it would be better to leave it to Wang Erxi to make the decision.

This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! And to be honest, Minglan was really nervous when she met bandits for the first time.

As soon as Minglan finished speaking, seven or eight men with long bows and quivers on their backs went up to the top deck and quickly occupied favorable positions around them. They faced the sides of the ship on both sides where it was easy to board the ship, and were alert to the surroundings.

These guards carry soft bows used for hunting, and the bow power is not very strong. Naturally they will not be of much use if they face the regular army with all the armor, but they are enough to face ordinary water thieves and bandits.

Compared with the wild beasts in the mountains and forests, there is no difference.

After a while, Xiaotao also walked up carrying a long stick, Minglan's slingshot and a box of stones.

Minglan skillfully attached the rubber band to the slingshot made of copper and iron, tried to aim it, then picked up the telescope and looked at the chaotic situation ahead with some eagerness.

Suddenly there was a loud noise, and then there was a burst of fire. Among the four ships of the Changping, the oil-filled ship at the front exploded directly. The raging fire destroyed the entire ship in just a moment.

Everything burned, and the blazing fire dispelled the darkness nearby. In the sea of ​​​​fire, you could still see figures struggling constantly, scrambling one by one, and jumping into the lake like dumplings.

Seeing this scene, Xiao Tao and Ming Lan both turned pale.

Xiaotao held the long stick in her hand tightly and stood beside Minglan, not moving an inch, like a female Vajra.

However, the shouts of killing in front of them did not stop at all, but intensified. After a while, several small boats approached Minglan's ship.

"Brother Wang! They are coming!" Minglan quickly reminded Wang Erxi next to her.

"Don't worry, girl, brothers are all experienced and know what to do!" Sure enough, before Wang Erxi finished speaking, several guards on the top deck had already taken out the arrows from their quivers and put them on their bows, vigilantly.

Looking around the ship, he was ready to pull away at any time.

On the decks of the second and third floors, the remaining guards and servants stood tall and strong, holding simple shields made of several layers of wooden boards. Behind them were two long sharpened bamboo poles, one on the left and one on the right.

On the wooden shield, if a thief comes to the side of the ship, just poke the bamboo pole out to greet him.

Behind them are the master guards holding long and short swords.

After a while, several small boats stopped by the side of the ship. The guards on the deck did not show up directly, but hid out of their sight. There were only eight shields, two by two, erected on the side of the ship on both sides.

Both ends.

Seven or eight water thieves swarmed and boarded the side of the ship first, heading for the deck. When they got closer and saw the shield clearly, two sharpened bamboo poles were thrust straight towards them.

The side of the boat was narrow, and seven or eight people were crowded together. Wherever there was room to dodge, two water thieves were immediately caught. When the bamboo pole was pulled back, they fell into the water.

Before the water thieves could react, the long bamboo pole they pulled back was thrust out again.

"No, they were already prepared!"

But before they could react, the bamboo pole hit the two unlucky guys again. At the same time, a boatload of water pirates boarded the starboard side of the big ship.

But the water thief is not a vegetarian. He was hit several times in succession and after several of his companions were stabbed to death. Even though they were holding the corpses of their companions, they worked together to push against the wooden shield. There was one brave man who was not afraid of death.

, after being pierced by the bamboo pole, he directly grabbed the bamboo pole and did not give the people behind the wood escape a chance to pull it back. He grabbed the bamboo pole and jumped into the water. After a tug, the remaining water thieves immediately rushed in with their swords.

Up.

At the same time, he yelled, "The idea is tough," and called for support. Immediately, several more boats came closer.

"Xing Laosan, can you do it? Even the female relatives can't handle it!" The people on the boat were still joking, not realizing the seriousness of the matter at all.

But before they could get close to the side of the ship, the archers waiting on the upper deck had already aimed their bows and arrows at them.

Wang Erxi's eyes narrowed slightly, and he was holding a long bow. He drew the bow half full, stringed the arrow, shouted "square arrow", and the arrow in his hand flew out from the string, hitting a small water pirate leader on the boat.

.

More than a dozen soft bows were fired at the same time. The water thieves on the boat never imagined that the guards on the boat would have bows and arrows. Now that they were on the boat, they became living targets.

Those with bows immediately took out their bows and arrows, nocked arrows on the strings, and prepared to fight back. However, the archers on the boat had already targeted those with bows. Before they could draw their bows and fire their arrows, the arrows flew straight towards them.

.

In a moment, only four or five feather arrows shot back scatteredly. Wang Erxi directly started the killing mode. He held a long bow and opened the bow to the full moon. The arrows shot out like meteors. In a moment, seven or eight people fell to his arrows.

Down.

Minglan took the slingshot, took out the stones from the brocade box, and aimed at the water pirates on the boat. The stones roared and tore through the air and flew away. Due to the material, the power of the slingshot was limited. Although it could not kill anyone,

But it can also make people's skin and flesh bruise and cause endless pain.

Moreover, if it hits vulnerable locations such as the eyes, nose, ears, temples and throat, it is also very lethal.

After a while, four or five water thieves were knocked out of the water by Minglan.
To be continued...