Looking north towards the rivers and mountains

Rewind a few days. In the vast darkness of night, a defeated army, demoralized and disheartened, dared not linger in Lianhaimen Port. Instead, they sailed upstream into the territory of Huangyan Prefecture.

If the governor, Taibuhua, hadn't been inspecting the border and immediately sent people to take them in, this defeated army would probably have retreated all the way back to the capital, causing a huge uproar and panic throughout the region.

Of course, even so, the news could no longer be kept secret. Tai Buhua sent messengers to report to the city while simultaneously gathering able-bodied men to take in more and more defeated soldiers.

"Which unit are you from? Who are the commanders of a thousand and ten thousand?"

"Is there anything to eat?" one of the defeated soldiers pleaded. "Let me eat something first, and I'll have the strength to reply later."

"What about food?"

"They threw it away during the retreat, leaving only a little dry food. By the time they reached Dongzhenshan Island, they had run out of food."

Why did you throw it away?

"To run faster."

Which part?

"The coastal ten thousand households government."

Such questions rang out everywhere. A moment later, minor officials and inspectors from Huangyan Prefecture came to report.

Tai Buhua listened patiently for a long time and finally understood what had happened.

In late July, because Fang Guozhen suffered repeated defeats and lost several islands in succession, the Vice Minister of State Affairs, Duerzhiban, was in high spirits and believed that the bandits were already terrified, so he launched a full-scale pursuit.

During the pursuit, they did win several battles, but the bandits often fled at breakneck speed, and there were only a handful of boats, with no more than ten casualties. Some people raised doubts, but Duoerzhiban believed that this was a sign that the bandits were afraid of the emperor's wrath and were disintegrating on their own. So he increased the speed of the pursuit and finally arrived at the waters off Wuhumen in Fujian at the end of July.

There were many islands and reefs there, with complex hydrology and topography, but after hearing that Fang Guozhen was entrenched in the island group, Duoerzhiban ordered an attack, giving Fang Guozhen no chance to escape.

As the commander, Duoerzhiban took the lead, personally leading more than a thousand elite men on a boat assault, charging at the forefront.

Just as the royal army was charging into the island group, their formation was scattered and disorganized due to the pursuit of Fang Guozhen, making it impossible for them to coordinate with each other. Suddenly, a dense swarm of pirate ships emerged from all directions, cutting the royal army in half and leaving them in a predicament where they could not defend themselves from both ends.

In the fierce battle, Duo'er was captured, and his elite force of over a thousand men was wiped out.

Upon seeing the commander's flag fall, the royal army suffered a complete rout, and the ships scattered and fled.

In the chaos, countless ships sank on reefs or ran aground. Many surrendered after being surrounded by the enemy. More were caught up by the enemy's swift ships during their retreat, either dying or surrendering. In the end, very few managed to escape back.

After hearing this, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment, and then their faces turned ashen.

With the navy suffering such a heavy blow, can it still defend the sea frontier?

"How are the casualties in the three naval divisions?" Tai Buhua asked, calming himself down.

"We don't know." The men who went to ask all shook their heads, clearly because the fleeing soldiers had run too fast and were unaware of what was happening behind them.

"Ask again," Tai Buhua said irritably.

After saying this, when no one was paying attention, he summoned a trusted minor official and secretly instructed him to go into the city and, after nightfall, move his family, valuables, and money to a country house for temporary refuge. If things went wrong, he was to retreat elsewhere; in short, he was to make preparations in advance.

The clerk understood and quickly left.

Of course, he wouldn't just focus on moving the Darughachi's family; what about himself and his relatives and friends? Obviously, he needed to inform them as well, but he had to instruct them not to spread the word outside. Causing unrest and discord in a crisis could cost him his head.

Tai Buhua stayed by the river to gather the defeated soldiers, while instructing the prefect to conscript another batch of able-bodied men to repair the city defenses, stockpile weapons, and prepare for a battle with the rebel army.

Haimen Port is deserted and cannot be defended. Huangyan Prefecture cannot be lost easily.

News of the royal army's defeat spread very quickly.

On the fifth day of the eighth lunar month, Li Daweng, who was living in seclusion in the countryside, had already received word of the news.

Without hesitation, he immediately packed up his valuables and family and retreated towards Hangzhou, leaving only his eldest son Li Gao and nephew Huang Jing with him. That evening, some of his old comrades also received the news and came to ask for advice.

"It's over!" Li Daweng slapped his thigh in anger, saying, "I never expected the government troops to be so useless. The three naval forces from Jiangyin, Changqiao, and the coast were all gathered together, yet they were still defeated by Fang Guozhen."

"Duo'er is so muddle-headed! How did she end up at the Five Tiger Gate with Fang Guozhen? He often went there to sell smuggled salt. He knows the geography well, where the water is deep and where it is shallow, where there are reefs and where it is unobstructed. He even knows when the tide comes in and how high it is..." Huangyan pirate Song Dayang sighed, "What an idiot! With generals like these, the Great Yuan Dynasty really won't last long."

Huang Jing couldn't help but ask, "How many men and ships did the government troops lose?"

Li Da Weng remained silent for a moment, then said, "Although it can't be said that they were all sent away at once, given the terrain of the Five Tigers Gate, I estimate that not many people could have returned. At most, a few hundred people and a few dozen boats, no more than a thousand."

Everyone was horrified.

The three naval forces even conscripted some civilian ships from Wenzhou, Zhou, Qingyuan, and Hangzhou, with an estimated total of around 15,000 men. At most, a thousand would have returned. What a crushing defeat!

Moreover, among those conscripted were some of Li Da Weng's men, but now none of them have been seen. It is unknown whether they are dead or have surrendered. Cai Luantou has recently surrendered, and Duo'er only dares not use his men, so they have escaped a disaster.

"Uncle, things have come to this, shouldn't we...?" Huang Jing asked in a low voice.

Upon hearing this, everyone held their breath.

"Indeed." Li Daweng sighed and said, "If Fang Guozhen returns to the prefecture, I'm afraid none of us will have a good ending."

That's not entirely wrong.

Fang Guozhen specifically asked for the heads of two people, one of whom was Li Daweng. Li Daweng was bound to die unless Fang Guozhen was magnanimous and forgave him. However, after his father died, he wore a mourning cap and said he wanted to kill Li Daweng. Could he take back his words?

Li Da Weng dared not think that way.

Now, there is only one way out.

"I intend to go to Hangzhou to take refuge temporarily. If I can't stay there either, I'll go to Jiangyin to join forces with Shao Shuyi. What do you all think?" Li Daweng asked, his gaze sweeping over his men.

The expressions on everyone's faces varied.

After hesitating for a moment, Song Dayang said, "Brother, Fang Guozhen probably won't let me go. I have no choice but to flee with you and our whole family." "What flee? That sounds so harsh." Li Daweng shook his head and said, "I'm just going to observe the situation. I might be able to return to the prefecture in the future." After saying this, which even he himself didn't quite believe, Li Daweng looked at the others and asked, "What about you?"

Someone met his gaze and said, "Brother, I'll go with you."

After much hesitation, someone finally sighed and said, "I...I'll go with you too."

Others avoided Li Da Weng's gaze and remained silent.

It goes without saying that these people think that Fang Guozhen will only retaliate against Li Daweng and will not make things difficult for his subordinates. Therefore, they are unwilling to leave Huangyan and want to stay and try their luck.

Li Da Weng did not insist. After everyone had expressed their opinions, he said, "Then let's prepare boats. If we can't find boats right away, we'll travel by land and meet up at our usual spot in Hangzhou. We'll make further plans then."

"Yes," everyone responded in unison.

Once the plan was decided, the operation began that very night.

Li Daweng was also a kind man; he even sent someone to inform Chen Tong and Cai Luantou.

Chen Tong was terrified and tried to flee on the spot. After calming down, he realized that there was still a short window of opportunity, so he began to frantically pack up his goods and ship them, while selling off his land, houses and shops at low prices to recoup as much capital as possible.

Cai Luantou and Fang Guozhen have a blood feud over the murder of his brother.

Upon hearing the news of the government navy's defeat, he cursed under his breath as useless and immediately ordered his key subordinates to gather at their usual dock with their families. The village head responsible for monitoring him came over to question him, but Cai Luantou stabbed him to death with a single blow, thus eliminating all further obstacles.

After a group of several hundred people hurriedly boarded the ships, they didn't care about the darkness. One ship after another left the port, heading north towards Changguo Prefecture and Qingyuan. Cai Luantou really had nowhere else to go.

His plan was to first stay temporarily at the manor of a familiar hero in Changguo Prefecture, and then recruit his old followers to return to their old ways and become pirates again.

Whether Fang Guozhen will let him go is anyone's guess.

Previously, the rebels were powerful, and Fang Guozhen might not have been able to defeat them. He was even more afraid that a mutually destructive battle would allow the government to reap the benefits. Now, the government's navy is finished, Fang Guozhen is at the height of his power at sea, and the rebels, having accepted amnesty, are at their lowest point in years. The balance of power has shifted, and they might very well be wiped out by Fang Guozhen.

It's perfectly normal for everyone to have their own choices.

On the sixth day of the eighth month, Li Daweng sent his nephew Huang Jing to Jiangyin to report to Shao Shuyi.

On the evening of the tenth, while Huang Jing was still on the road, Wu Heizi and Kong Tie had already sent people to Matuosha to meet Shao Shuyi, who had just finished the fourth naval exercise, and presented him with the news they had gathered from the Kunshan Prefecture government.

The message was brief, containing only news of the failure of the imperial army to encircle and suppress Fang Guozhen, and it was not very certain, only saying "possibly." However, Shao Shuyi believed it to be 80% true.

To be honest, Shao Shuyi knew that Fang Guozhen had accepted the imperial pardon in history, which was consistent with his understanding of Fang Guozhen's character and experience at this time. This person was indeed very likely to accept the imperial pardon.

However, it is unclear exactly when the offer of amnesty was accepted and what the process entailed.

This is similar to trading stocks or futures. You know that prices will rise in the long term, but there may be violent fluctuations in the short term that could wipe out your account and wipe you out before dawn.

The key question now is: Where are the people Lin Shanyi secretly sent back to the state, and what are they doing?

Shao Shuyi was very eager to get in touch with Fang Guozhen, which determined many things that followed.

Before that, he would naturally go back to Taicang and Liujiagang again.

With the defeat of the imperial army finally over, even if the government navy was not completely wiped out, it would be severely weakened. Having shed this constraint, Shao Shuyi no longer felt like he was being held back; he was now completely free.

Early on the morning of the 11th, the seafarers who were preparing to go out to transport goods received the news, took all their equipment, assembled at the dock, and the whole army headed to Liujiagang.