Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 317 I must be more useful than my sister!
Shuangyu Island, General's Mansion,
All of Wang Shun's staff who stayed on the island were overwhelmed by the current situation.

The people in the hall looked at each other in dead silence, and their morale had dropped to its lowest point.

The servant had freshly brewed tea, placed it on a brocade tray, walked to the front of the hall, and placed a cup in front of each person.

Everyone picked up their teacups and sipped them gently to calm their emotions, but for a moment, there was also sighing everywhere.

A moment later, a curse suddenly rang out in the hall, "Bah, what's that taste? Is it for people to drink if it's so bitter? Is it soaked in sea water?"

A Japanese warrior angrily knocked over the teacup, which fell to the ground, splashing tea everywhere and the fragrance filled the air.

Of course there was no problem with tea, but the warrior, faced with such an unfavorable battle situation, could not find an outlet to vent his emotions. After seeing that the servant was a Dachang man, he became even more determined to make things difficult for him, so he took advantage of the situation.

The servant didn't understand Japanese, but he could read the expression on his face. He knelt on the ground and apologized repeatedly, trembling.

The aide Fujiwara no Saki, who was sitting above, could not bear to watch this scene and could not help but say, "This is not a dead end. Can you all be more obedient? If you have the strength, you can use it for the next breakout."

Everyone calmed down the warrior who had caused the trouble, and there was nothing to argue about.

They were used to being powerful on the sea and had never encountered such a strong opponent.

The only defeat was the last time when they set an ambush in Cangzhou to kill Marquis An Jing. Until now, the Japanese still don't know what happened on that day.

All 400 elite soldiers who left the island were killed, and no one was able to escape.

The current situation may be even more serious than it was then, but they still don't know who their opponent is.

They had suffered from suppression by Dachang’s government troops before, but they had received the news in advance before the Dachang government troops went out to sea. This time they were really caught off guard and unprepared. Even half of the troops left the island for Suzhou.

Everyone just hoped that the news here could be passed to Suzhou, so that the troops that had left the island could return and break the siege.

"Sir, we have already heard the news that the person who brought the army to the island is Marquis Anjing."

The faces of the people who came into the hall to report were very ugly, and when they heard the title of Marquis An Jing, everyone looked dazed.

"Marquis Anjing hid his soldiers in the cargo ship, and I don't know where he found an envoy from our country. The envoy was of noble status, and the people guarding the shore certainly didn't dare to check the cargo ship in detail. As night was approaching, they were all slack, which allowed Marquis Anjing to take advantage of this opportunity."

"At present, the soldiers on the other island have gathered here and are fighting with the defenders left by Marquis An Jing on the shore. In the alleys, the defenders outside the general's mansion are also fighting, but the situation is slightly unfavorable, and they have retreated to various strongholds."

"Marquis An Jing is personally leading about a thousand men to guard the general's mansion, waiting for an opportunity to break in."

The warriors knocked on the table and said, "Marquis An Jing doesn't take us seriously. There are at least 1,500 soldiers here, and we are ronin warriors. How can he surround us with only 1,000 people?"

The art of war says, if you have ten of them, surround them; if you have five of them, attack them; if you have twice as many of them, divide them; if you are the enemy, you can fight them; if they are fewer than you, you can escape; if you are not as good as them, you can avoid them.

As a result, Marquis Anjing trapped them in the mansion with only a small number of troops, and they were unable to move out. It was like a trapped beast, which was really humiliating for them.

While everyone was furious, Fujiwara no Saki had a more terrifying guess, "What did you say? The one leading the troops here is Marquis Anjing? Shouldn't Marquis Anjing be guarding Suzhou?"

"If An Jinghou is here, who is Wang Shun trying to kill?"

Everyone's eyes widened in shock, realizing something was amiss, and no one was able to speak.

If Marquis Anjing is here, there is only one reason, the Battle of Suzhou is also a trap, and it was a trap set by Marquis Anjing from the beginning to the end.

Fujiwara no Saki immediately ordered: "Seal this news and don't let the soldiers know. If they knew that we have no external support, they would definitely lose the will to fight, and we would have no chance of survival."

After everyone agreed, someone couldn't help but ask, "Sir, do you think there is anything else we can do?"

Under such circumstances, Fujiwara no Saki, as Wang Shun's top aide, could not think of any way to escape.

He sighed deeply and said, "Now our troops are less than 1,500, which should be around 1,000, which is equal to the troops under An Jinghou. Forcing a breakout is not a good idea."

"But Marquis Anjing has come a long way to the island, and the food and grass he brings may not be sufficient. Now we just need to stay in the mansion and prevent it from being attacked."

"There are not only our belongings on the island, but also goods smuggled by various Southeast families and Zhejiang merchants. If these are investigated, their situation will definitely not be good."

"In that case, they are also warming themselves on the hot pot right now. They will definitely seek help from the court as soon as possible and put pressure on Marquis Anjing who rashly sent out the army."

"Moreover, even if he is ambushed, General Wang may not be able to escape unscathed. The most powerful person is now involved with us, so there is no reason why General Wang cannot come back."

These words actually calmed everyone's nervous mood, and were indeed more convincing than the blockade news that had been blurted out before.

Everyone left unhappily, but they did get an answer that allowed them to rest well at night.

……

Early the next morning,

In front of Yue Ling's house, one hundred households knocked on the door and asked inside: "My Lord, we have found several places with lush vegetation, and you have to identify them."

A moment later, the door opened from the inside, and Yue Ling came out wearing a long robe. He responded, "Thank you for your hard work. Let the brothers who have been busy all night go down and rest. Get enough energy. The day of the last battle will not be too long."

"Yes."

Under the guidance of the centurion, Yue Ling led a small team to start identifying them one by one, and the centurions also watched and learned from Yue Ling.

Although they had listened to Yue Ling's explanation of the theory before and thought it was very feasible, when they actually carried out the order, they found that the place was difficult to identify.

After all, it is on an island, there are many places with lush vegetation, and the land is naturally moist, so it is difficult to tell the difference.

Digging a well is not an easy task, let alone cutting off the flow and diverting the canal.

If the digging is not a secret canal, all the previous efforts will be wasted and it will be a waste of time and effort.

Everyone was silent, waiting for Yue Ling's next instruction. After Yue Ling turned around a few places, he finally stopped at an open space in a house on the west side of the general's mansion.

The centurions hurried forward and asked, "My Lord, is this the place?"

Yue Ling squatted down and touched a handful of grass that was growing well, and asked with a smile: "Come and see what kind of grass this is?"

The centurions were knowledgeable. One of them answered, "Rush. My family used it as a wick before, so it's called rush."

Rush looks like an ordinary weed, slender and green like leeks, but it grows in clumps everywhere, and is crooked, so it cannot be said to have any special features.

Yue Ling continued: "Yes, can you see what's special about the rushes here?"

The centurions watched it carefully again, but they all shook their heads.

"I hope the Marquis can give me some advice."

Yue Ling stood up and said, "The growth of rushes tends to follow the tide, and the rushes here almost all grow in one direction. There is a high probability that there will be underground canals between them."

"Try digging here first, dig ten feet deep."

Everyone was delighted and immediately went around looking for farm tools and started digging on the spot.

Yue Ling stood nearby and breathed a sigh of relief. He did not sleep well that night.

At the right time, someone else came to report: "My Lord, the Xue family has counted several warehouses and loaded them onto ships this morning to avoid the war."

Yue Ling nodded and said, "You are quite proactive in doing things. Let's go."

"We also found this in the room where the Xue brothers and sisters stayed."

As he spoke, the visitor handed over another note.

Yue Ling frowned and unfolded it. The handwriting was beautiful and the strokes were delicate. It was definitely not written by Xue Ke.

"I should have left when the Marquis found this letter. After chatting with the Marquis last night, I have already seen the light. I am really lucky to be able to come here and see the Marquis."

"To be honest, I have been troubled by my engagement. Whenever I think about getting married, I can't sleep all night."

"Yesterday, I slept well, all thanks to the Marquis. The next time we meet, I will let the Marquis see that I am no worse than my sister and can do more for him."

"May the Marquis return victoriously and in good health. Baoqin respectfully presents this."

The image of Xue Baoqin, a playful little girl, came to life on the paper. Yue Ling smiled and shook his head, put the letter paper in his arms, looked at the people beside him, and also touched the pickaxe and walked over.

"My Lord, you just need to take a rest. Let us do the rough work."

When the soldiers saw that the Marquis was about to take action himself, they became a little panicked and hurried to stop him.

To them, the Marquis is not only a superior, a commander-in-chief, but also the benefactor of the entire Cangzhou. They join the army not just to make achievements, but to make achievements under the Marquis of Anjing. The difference between the two is very important to them.

Yue Ling shook his head and said, "Don't you know that when Cangzhou City was being renovated, I often went to the construction site? The new city walls are now being built with bricks I built into the walls, and the rice fields outside the city still have rice seedlings I planted. It's just digging the ground, it's nothing."

After all, Yue Ling always led the charge in battle, so no one could say anything.

In this way, the efficiency of digging was improved. Even Marquis Anjing took off his cloak and rolled up his sleeves to dig the ground. Who could relax?

After digging ten feet deep, there was still no movement below. Yue Ling touched the excavated soil and then put it to his nose and smelled it.

"How is it, Lord? Do you want to continue digging?"

Yue Ling nodded, "At most half a meter. If there is no canal yet, there is no need to dig."

"As ordered."

Yue Ling stared at the pit with a frown while holding a pickaxe. From early morning to noon, two shifts of fifty people each took turns digging the ground. The entire house had been dug beyond recognition and the courtyard wall had been pushed aside.

They continued working for another two hours. When it was almost time for lunch, someone below suddenly shouted, "Listen! There's the sound of water!"

This shout immediately caused everyone to stop their construction and wield their pickaxes and shovels, and the sound of water became more obvious.

Yue Ling shouted, "Be careful, if water comes out, divert it to the lower east side."

The water pressure of the underground spring is quite high. Once it is dug through, it will definitely quickly fill the current pool.

With another shovelful of digging, the soil was quickly soaked, visibly, and water gushed out from underground.

Everyone cheered and rejoiced, "We dug it through! We dug it through!"

Yue Ling also smiled and said, "Okay, the big thing has been decided."

In the afternoon, people started cooking and smoke rose from the general's mansion. There was not much firewood left in the mansion, and it was unknown how many days the firewood could last.

The cook in the kitchen scrubbed the bottom of the pot, put firewood into the stove, and prepared hot meals for those important people. When he went out to fetch water, he was shocked to find that the spring was not emitting much water.

The sound of dripping is not as much as his pee.

This made the cook rub his eyes, thinking that he had fallen asleep.

This is underground spring water, how could it suddenly disappear?

There are thousands of people in the mansion, and there are several springs like this. Could it be that only this one has no water?

But before the cook could go out to confirm, a warrior rushed in.

"The spring outside is dry, how is yours?"

“Also… also gone.”

"what!"

The warrior touched the stone-enclosed pool, and found that even the urine had stopped flowing, only a few drops were dripping. He could not help but slam the bricks in anger, saying angrily: "How could such a strange thing happen? There are powerful enemies outside, and the water supply in the mansion has been cut off. How can we guard the gate?"

In the hall, when Fujiwara no Saki learned the news of the water shortage, he could no longer remain calm.

"No water?"

We can survive for a few more days without food, but we really cannot survive without water.

Not to mention holding out for three days, even if one day passes, civil strife will break out in this mansion and no fighting power will be formed.

At this moment, another soldier came down from the wall and reported: "Sir, we saw a house in the west with water coming out continuously, and now it has flowed to a distance of thirty steps away from our wall."

Fujiwara no Saki suddenly realized that it was Marquis Anjing who had cut off their water supply. Regardless of what magical means Marquis Anjing used to find the source of the underground spring, the news that the water supply in the mansion was cut off by someone could no longer be blocked.

This is even more terrible than the fact that it was Marquis Anjing who besieged them.

Everyone's mouths felt dry after hearing this and they couldn't help licking their lips. For them, it might be difficult to hold on for the rest of the night.

At this moment, a warrior returned from outside with wet lips.

This little detail certainly outweighed everyone’s observations, and they regained hope, and quickly asked, “Do you know where there’s water?”

The warrior was the one who knocked over the teacup last night. He had extremely high requirements for the quality of tea. Since he could drink it, there must be spring water in the mansion.

The warrior's old face turned red and he also shook his head.

This made everyone angry and they grabbed him by the collar and started to beat him.

What time is it now? This kid actually dares to eat alone. Don’t even think about friendship.

Fujiwara no Sasaki stopped the noise and criticized: "Now is a time of crisis, how can you keep it to yourself?"

The warrior lowered his head in shame and stammered, "Just now I went to the kitchen, and the cook had just finished washing the pot. The water in the pot had not yet been poured out, so I drank a few sips."

Everyone laughed when they heard it, but after they stopped laughing they came to their senses and quickly ran out of the door and went straight to the kitchen.

Under such circumstances, Fujiwara no Saki knew that he could not defend the mansion.

Closing his eyes and sighing, Fujiwara no Sasaki had no choice but to lick his lips and told the people around him who were holding back, "Raise the white flag and surrender to An Jinghou. He will decide whether to kill you or plunder you. It's all up to him."

……

The underground canal was dug into a clear river. Within two hours, before it got dark, many white flags were hung on the walls of the general's mansion.

When a soldier noticed what happened, he immediately ran into the room and reported to Yue Ling.

The surrounding hundred households hurriedly advised, "My Lord, the Japanese are cunning and treacherous, we must be on guard. Even if you surrender, they may set an ambush in the mansion and fight to the death."

Yue Ling nodded. "That makes sense. We should shout outside the wall and ask them to send out the most senior people with their hands and feet tied, especially the aide whose name was mentioned before, Fujiwara Saki."

"As ordered."

Someone else suggested, "My Lord, we don't have enough food and grass. We might as well just kill them all. We can't afford to feed them if they stay."

Although Yue Ling did not believe that killing the surrendered was unlucky, he also had some plans.

"Since they can surrender, we can persuade other places on the island to surrender. Then we don't have to fight for every inch of land on this island. We can reduce losses and return to support as soon as possible. Why not do it?"

"Moreover, there are quite a few Japanese among this group of people. After they are escorted to the capital, Japan will certainly come to negotiate their repatriation. Over the years, the Japanese pirates have been cooperating with Silla and Jurchen to harass our Liaodong, and have also stopped paying tribute."

"Just this time, they will need to repay the tribute they paid over the years double, and they will also have to sign a treaty on how to pay the compensation in silver."

"The national treasury is in deficit now, and all kinds of income are good. Even if it can't make up for the deficit, it can at least solve the urgent problem."

"Let the Zhenhai Guard and Dinghai Guard send out ships to escort these people to the capital."

After hearing this, everyone had nothing to say and each led their troops to escort the Japanese.

But when they first landed on the island to fight, they never thought that they could capture hundreds or thousands of people. There were simply not enough shackles and chains. In the end, they could only improvise a long rope, tie everyone together, bound their hands, and led them out of the mansion.

Such a grand occasion made the soldiers standing around look a little dazed.

The arrogant Japanese were covered in dust and dirt and were led out of the mansion like cattle and sheep.

At this moment, the first aide, Fujiwara no Saki, was also brought to Yue Ling's tent and knelt on the ground.

After looking at the face of Marquis Anjing, his face trembled. He didn't expect that the famous Marquis Anjing in Dachang was just such a young boy.

He felt distressed when he thought that the Japanese pirates would have to face this insurmountable enemy for who knows how many years to come.

"Meet Marquis An Jing."

Yue Ling did not put on airs. He had his shackles removed and was given a stool.

Fujiwara no Saki was slightly surprised. The Japanese had once assassinated Marquis Ankyo, and it was rumored that Marquis Ankyo had always been ruthless towards the Japanese. He didn't understand why he would treat him like this, which could be considered as being courteous to a wise man.

Facing the other party's surprised look, Yue Ling said frankly: "I don't hate smart people. You can choose to surrender. Although it is a great shame for your Bushido spirit, it is not a wrong choice after all."

"Years later, you will be glad you made the choice you made today."

Fujiwara Saki asked in astonishment: "You are not going to kill us?"

Yue Ling shook his head and said, "I am not a bloodthirsty person."

Fujiwara no Saki's eyelids jumped. He had heard that Marquis Anjing once defeated an army of 150,000 Northern Barbarians and chased them for ten miles, killing so many Northern Barbarians that their corpses blocked the Lugou River. Isn't this what you call nonsense?
But at the moment, he did not dare to complain, so he could only respond: "My Lord, that's a good idea."

Yue Ling added: "Hand over all your connections with the Southeastern family and your accounts with the Zhejiang merchants."

Fujiwara Saki nodded, "Understood."

Sighing inwardly, Fujiwara no Saki knew that for Marquis An Jing, this was just a matter of catching rabbits while killing others, and it was an easy thing to do.

Not only will all the wealth on the island be plundered by Marquis Anjing, but the aristocratic families and Zhejiang merchants will also have to suffer huge losses.

Seeing the other party's low mood, Yue Ling couldn't help but frown and said sternly: "Why? The Japanese have been plundering the land of Dachang for many years. How many people have suffered from unprovoked disasters, and how much wealth has been looted? Shouldn't I take it back?"

"Not only that, I will also ask Japan to compensate Dachang for the losses it has suffered over the years."

Fujiwara Saki nodded without saying a word.

Seeing that the other party had completely surrendered, Yue Ling said, "Write a letter and send it to the Hangzhou government office, saying that you and Watanabe have found a ship back to Japan, and ask him to go to Ningbo Prefecture to board the ship and escape from Dachang as soon as possible."

Only at this moment did Fujiwara Saki show a shocked expression again.

It turns out that Marquis An Jing is not only killing three birds with one stone, but also killing three birds with one stone. All the forces in the south of the Yangtze River will suffer a devastating disaster after this battle.

……

Suzhou Prefecture,
Wang Shun stationed his troops ten miles outside the city and connected with the Suzhou government office in a courtyard.

Fan Pengcheng, the prefect of Suzhou Prefecture, came with several personal guards to discuss the raid on the prefectural government with Wang Shun.

"General Wang, nice to meet you again. This time, the Prime Minister will rely on you for his important task."

As soon as he entered the door, Fan Pengcheng's skill of speaking differently to different people was triggered again. Wang Shun also greeted him with a smile. Seeing an acquaintance, he felt a little relieved from his inner anxiety.

"Thank you very much. We all have our own needs. I have no reason to refuse the price offered by the Prime Minister. Although we are pirates, we are also businessmen. As long as we can make money, what's wrong with killing a marquis?"

"Dachang has been unable to do anything to us for so many years, can they come to the island and destroy my lair?"

Wang Shun wanted to say that even if Emperor Longyou wanted to retaliate, he did not have the ability to do so. The Dachang navy was too weak and could not catch up with them on the sea.

But now he was also an official of Dachang, so he was given some face.

Zhao Hao stood beside Fan Pengcheng, narrowed his eyes slightly, and held his anger for the time being.

Fan Pengcheng continued to smile and said, "In Jiangnan, everyone knows the strength of the Shuangyu Island General's Mansion, so General Wang doesn't need to be too modest."

"This time, I have explained it to the general. It is not me who is in charge of the government office now, but the new number one scholar, Lord Su Moyun."

"So we need to sneak into the city and quickly end this matter."

The other party's openness won Wang Shun a little favor, but as a maritime overlord for many years, he was still very cautious in his heart, "Okay, where are the soldiers guarding the city?"

"It's all ready."

Wang Shun asked again, "Where is Marquis Anjing staying? If we can capture Marquis Anjing's family, once he fights to the death, wouldn't it be more convenient to threaten him with his family?"

Fan Pengcheng secretly glanced at Zhao Hao, fearing that he might suddenly attack and kill someone...

(End of this chapter)