This is already the thirteenth day of the Taihu Lake bandits, and Shen Mo and Qi Jiguang have divided the more than 50 islands in the lake into eighteen areas, one by one, step by step, and have forced the gang of traitors to less than one-fifth of a section of water.

It's just that this Taihu Lake is really big, so they can't fight quickly, having said that, under the premise of only 3,000 troops, they can complete such a tactical action, the entire Ming Dynasty dare not say, I am afraid that the entire southeast, only Qi Jiguang can do it.

Shen Mo has seen many Ming troops, and he knows a lot of generals, but he has never seen any of them, and he is more ruthless than Qi Jiguang in leading troops - he has seen with his own eyes for more than half a month, Qi Jiguang's soldiers are completely in a terrifying military discipline net, except for the first offense, they can be exempted from punishment, and if they make a slight mistake in ordinary times, they will be tied up, and the military stick will be twenty to one hundred. Soldiers were not allowed to sing before going to bed; It is forbidden to incite nostalgia; It is even forbidden to prohibit all entertainment except for 'edutainment' songs, war songs, and martial arts!

Once, after dinner, when he had nothing to do, silence suddenly arose, and he wanted to teach the sergeants to sing "Little Grass", but he was also rejected by Qi Jiguang with righteous words, on the grounds that the sound of glamour was harmful to morale. Fortunately, Shen Mo can also sing "Loyal to the Country", so that he will not lose face.

If the military regulations in peacetime are strict, then the military laws in battle are even more cruel. Qi Jiguang's army had the death penalty everywhere in battle, and almost all those who showed fear were executed; Gross negligence is also executed. Not only did they make mistakes and they were beheaded, but they were even executed for dereliction of duty. For example, in the military formation, the Pak Dao soldiers are responsible for protecting the bird soldiers one by one, and if the latter is killed, the former will be executed to pay for his life.

Shen Mo originally thought that the role of the death penalty was mainly to intimidate, at least in this kind of 'drizzle' banditry, it would not be used.

But he was wrong, and just a few days ago, during a clean-up battle, a soldier fired a bird gun in a way that did not follow the tutorial, resulting in the bird gun blowing up. Qi Jiguang ordered someone to behead him on the spot...... And his captain, because of his friendship with his fellow villagers, did not want to denounce him, and was also executed along with the prisoners.

The two heads fell to the ground, making the silence who was accustomed to seeing blood and death can't help but feel cold all over his body - the harshness of the Qi family's military law is really the only thing seen in the Ming Dynasty!

However, he had to admit that it was precisely this cruel military law that made the soldiers, who were accustomed to slacking off and running away, re-understand what discipline and what an army is. In addition, it cultivates a fear of officers, making it easier to command when fighting. I have to admit that only the resolute and ruthless Qi Jiguang has the courage to reverse the decadent atmosphere that has gradually formed over the past 100 years.

Of course, he couldn't imagine that General Qi, who terrified the officers and soldiers, saw Wang like a mouse seeing a cat? Although it is said that 'brine points tofu, one thing drops one thing', but he is obviously a hundred steel, how can he turn it into a finger wrapping softness?

Whenever he wanted to explore this issue with General Qi, Qi Jiguang would awkwardly bypass the topic, and he was really forced to do nothing, so General Qi said: "I'm not afraid of her, I'm letting her." Saying that, Cangcang sighed and said, "I'm ashamed of her......"

Shen Mo patted him on the shoulder and asked softly, "The child is about to be born, right?" ”

"It should be this month," Qi Jiguang cheered up and said, "It's just right for the bandits to go back." ”

"When you go back, sit down and have a good talk," said silently: "If you give birth to the baby and don't go home, my sister-in-law will probably be completely sad." ”

Qi Jiguang nodded heavily and said, "I also have this intention." ”

Qi Jiguang's anxious mood was perfectly transmitted to his subordinates, and they worked hard to beat up their horses, and it took only two days to surround the gang of traitors on a small island, and they launched a general attack just waiting for dawn.

More than 1,000 'traitors' huddled on this nameless island and trembled, they have been driven by the officials and soldiers to flee in all directions like lost dogs these days, and finally reached a situation where there is no escape, and only then do they understand a truth...... It turns out that rebellion is not a fight, it will attract the government to chase and kill endlessly.

Now they were all in a hurry, looking pitifully at their king, former Ming official Lu Douyin. As everyone knows, King Lu is 10,000 times more depressed than them...... You say I'm idle, why do I have to go up to the pole to do this errand? It's good now, but the merit is not established, and he has become a thief. He knows very well that in "Da Ming Law", he has always killed all the rebels and rebels without mercy, and this life is completely over, even if he is lucky enough to go back alive, he will be beheaded by the imperial court, and his whole family will be exiled.

Aren't these widows full of food? Even if he was slaughtered at that time, it would be considered a martyrdom, much stronger than the one who is destined to be stinky for 10,000 years now! As soon as he thought of this, Lu Douyin hated these traitors to death, especially that inauthentic Tuesday, pointed at him and said loudly: "There is a wrongdoer, a debtor, he has to make me the king, what are you watching me do!" Seeing that everyone's eyes were focused on Tuesday, he continued to complain: "All these words, all the orders I have given, are all from his instructions! You should settle accounts with him! ”

Unexpectedly, Lu Douyin, who has always been cowardly, would suddenly erupt, and a trace of panic flashed on Tuesday's face and said: "What I said, you are the king, we are the subordinates, how can the subordinates control the king." ”

"Why not?" Lu Douyin sneered: "Cao Ying is one!" You obviously want to learn from him, set up a puppet in front, and hide behind the scenes! ”

The crowd was impressed by this statement and asked Tuesday, "Why are you doing this?!" Without waiting for Tuesday to answer, Lu Douyin said loudly: "Obviously, he wants to use us people to achieve his own ulterior ......" In fact, he didn't know anything at all, but he was used to playing official, and everything he said made people listen to it, as if it was really like that, but if you take a closer look, you will find that it is not bullshit.

I had never been an official that Tuesday, and I was too nervous, so I was very sensitive, and I shouted: "Go die!" Then he flew up with a kick, which hit Lu Douyin's heart, and when he held back the second half of his words, he was like a kite with a broken string, flying out of the distance.

The anti-thieves didn't let it go now, and suddenly surrounded Tuesday with a sound, not for Lu Douyin, who was lying on the ground and convulsing and was about to die, but they were convinced that this guy was indeed a ghost!

Tuesday's accomplices rushed to protect him in the middle and confront these 'traitors'...... Like all desperate gangsters, they also fell into a frenzy, and the two sides first scolded each other, and I don't know who said, 'Take Tuesday to the officer, and we will surely avoid death.'" These words were like sparks thrown into a powder keg, and they detonated the emotions of both sides at once! A crazy brawl begins!

They fought so devotedly, completely desperate, and they didn't care about each other, as if they wanted to vent all the fears, worries, unwillingness, and resentment they had been these days!

Qi Jiguang, who was on the boat in the distance, saw this scene clearly through the clairvoyant mirror, although he didn't know what to do, he would never miss this God-given opportunity! With a wave of the commanding flag, the attack was launched in advance.

In the beautiful dawn of Taihu Lake, dozens of warships broke the waves and rushed out of the morning fog and approached this small island from all directions.

When those traitors who had fought to the death on the island suddenly realized that the situation was not right, the Ming army's warships were already close to the shallows, and the soldiers disembarked and waded into the water and began to land!

The traitors woke up from a dream, stopped the fight, and rushed over in a swarm, wanting to take advantage of the Ming army's unstable foothold to defeat them.

But it was too late, and I saw that the Ming army who got off the ship was not in a hurry to advance, but formed a formation on the spot - a group of eleven people, the captain was in the center, and there were wolf soldiers, pikemen, spearmen, Pu knife soldiers, and bird soldiers on both sides! They were armed with different weapons, forming five lines of attack that coordinated and covered each other, exactly the same as the 'secret tactics' of the Silent Guards!

In fact, this formation, which Qi Jiguang called the 'Mandarin Duck Array', was originally the same thing as Shen Mo's, both from Tang Shunzhi's book "Wu", even if it was slightly different, it was just that the two of them made some adjustments according to the actual situation.

For example, the silent wolf soldier holds a wolf whizzard like an iron broom in his hand; The musketeers used multiple bursts of fire, and they could also be used as 'palladium' for nail rakes and beating people; while the wolf soldiers of the Qi family army were holding bamboo with iron drills at the top, and the musketeers were also holding ordinary bird guns, which were much simpler than the weapons of the silent soldiers.

But they are superior in numbers, disciplined, and a slight gap in equipment, which is really insignificant. At the beginning, with more than 60 guards, Shen Mo was able to stop more than 500 true widows; Now there are hundreds of Qi family troops, and it is naturally easy to deal with these thieves.

The battle soon turned into a game of cat and mouse, and the traitors were routed on all fronts. Qi Jiguang waved the flag, and the eleven mandarin duck arrays disintegrated into two three-talent arrays and one five-element array. The soldiers chased the fleeing traitors and put them to death - because this was the only chance for the tortured almost perverted Qi family army to vent their anger, and because each head was worth two taels of silver...... There is no way, the traitor's combat effectiveness is too poor, and Qi Jiguang will not give him any more money.

Looking at the battle situation in front of him, which had evolved into a massacre, Shen Mo really didn't admit it, approached Qi Jiguang and said softly: "Brother Yuan Jing, do you think it's time to stop?" ”

Qi Jiguang shook his head slowly and said, "No officer will order his subordinates to stop when they are grabbing the fruits of victory." "The meaning is very clear, brothers are messing with me, this is the time when they don't get the first rank, who wants to mess with me?

Silent and speechless, he is a scholar after all, and he doesn't like this kind of naked slaughter, but he also believes that Qi Jiguang's choice is definitely correct. Therefore, he could not say anything to stop him, so he had to look away from the situation on the island.

"Report to Lord Lu and General, Lord Lu has found it." A lieutenant hurriedly boarded the ship to report.

"Tell him to come to me." As soon as he heard this guy who 'didn't succeed enough and failed more than enough', Shen Mo became angry.

"This ......" the lieutenant was puzzled: "Master Lu is seriously injured and is dying, and the brothers dare not move him." ”

"Oh......" Shen Mo felt a little sad to hear that nasty guy was dying.

"There's one more thing," the lieutenant muttered, "he said he wanted to see your lordship." ”

He was silent for a moment, then nodded, "Take me to him." ”

The captain looked at Qi Jiguang again, and Qi Jiguang saw that the battle on the island was coming to an end, so he ordered: "Protect your lordship." ”

"Yes." The lieutenant obeyed, "Your Excellency, please come with me." ”

On the muddy beach on the shore, Shen Mo saw Lu Douyin lying on the ground softly, he was covered in mud, and he couldn't see any wounds or blood, but listening to his wheezing sound of breathing in and out, he knew that this person could not live.

"Lord Lu, Lord Prefect is here." The captain gave a report and stepped aside.

Hearing this, Lu Douyin raised his eyelids with difficulty, and sure enough, he saw the man who completely changed his fate.

Looking at each other, Shen Mo saw from his cloudy eyes that he was attached to life and unwilling to die, his heart softened, and he squatted down and said, "Lu ...... My lord, if you have any unfulfilled wishes, you can tell me. ”

Lu Douyin's throat rattled, and he spit out a mouthful of dirty blood, and then said with a little ease: "I...... Not a traitor, they forced me...... I am the king...... Life is a person of the Ming Dynasty, and death is the ghost of the Ming Dynasty. "The fact that he was captured by a traitor to become a king is no longer news, and now he is in a hurry to clear it up, just because he is afraid that he will bring disaster to his wife and disgrace the family.

Shen Mo nodded, and said softly: "I know, after you were captured, you would rather die than give in, and spare no effort to provoke the anti-thieves to fight among themselves, and finally make them kill each other, which greatly helped the advance of the official army." ”

The expression on Lu Douyin's face was not so entangled, he breathed a long sigh of relief, looked at the blue sky with white clouds and said, "This is so beautiful, why didn't you notice it before?" "Apparently he's gone.

Shen Mo looked up at the sky, and didn't find anything special, so he heard Lu Douyin say again: "I have been busy chasing fame and fortune all my life, and now I am dying before I understand that the most valuable things in the world can be obtained without spending money." "For example, sunshine, family affection, and life...... Shen nodded silently, he admitted that his heartstrings were touched.

I heard Lu Douyin ask again: "If you ask me to give it to me...... Write an epitaph, will the adults agree? ”

In this situation, of course, silence can't refuse, even if it is a boast against his will, it is not a big deal.

"Do you know how you'll write?" Lu Douyin asked.

"This ......" said silently and softly: "I still have to think carefully, I have no idea for a while." ”

"Just tell me the truth." Lu Douyin said with a smile: "I have lived for forty years, and the first half of my life is proud, which can be regarded as a comedy; In the middle, Li Lingzhi was dizzy and calculated too much, so he lifted a stone and hit himself in the foot, and staged a living farce; In the end, I don't want to toss, I want to have a good time, who knows that creation makes people, but it has become a tragedy again......" said and was afraid of silence and disbelief, and said: "Whether you believe it or not, in fact, since last year, I don't plan to entangle with you anymore, on the one hand, I know that it is impossible to fight you, on the other hand, I am also reflecting, in fact, all kinds of unsatisfactory are my own fault...... If I hadn't put 'profit' first in everything I did, and I didn't hesitate to break my word, how could so many things have happened later......"

After saying a long paragraph, his vitality was finally exhausted, his face became like gold paper, and his voice was faint: "How good it would have been if I hadn't pushed that family business in the first place...... and then slowly closed his eyes.

Thinking that he was dead, his heart sank, and he reached out to try his snort, but saw Lu Douyin open his eyes again, grabbed his hand and said, "Ahem...... Please, please promise me. ”

"You say." Shen Mo did not break free, and said softly.

"Because she told you at the beginning, I broke off the father-daughter relationship with Wan'er, and she is now practicing in Hangzhou Shuiyun Nunnery." Lu Douyin grabbed Shen Mo's hand tightly and said, "Help me tell her that in my heart, she will always be my good daughter and has never changed." With the last of his strength, he uttered the last words of his life: "If possible, help me take care of her......" and then glared and passed away.

After sitting beside him for a long time, Shen Mo slowly stretched out his hand to look at him, raised his head, and said to Qi Jiguang, who was standing beside him at some point: "We have to cherish the people around us, who knows if a moment of anger will cause a lifetime of regret." ”

Qi Jiguang lowered his head heavily, and his eyes drifted to the east, where was Suzhou City, and his wife.

In fact, Shen Mo's words are not only for him, but also for himself, what he wants to do most now is to hurry back to Suzhou City and say to Ruohan, I'm sorry, I love you...... Carrying Lu Douyin's body onto the ship, Qi Jiguang began to gather his troops and prepare to leave for Suzhou.

At this moment, a speedboat rowed over, jumped a herald with a panicked look from it, found Qi Jiguang's general flag, hurried over, and whispered in his ear.

Qi Jiguang listened to the change in complexion, and finally returned to normal, and commanded in a deep voice: "Don't leak the news." The herald hastened.

"My lord," Qi Jiguang walked up to Shen Mo and said in a low voice, "We seem to have been tricked." ”

(To be continued)