With the rise of my family, I can summon the Daoist Soldiers' Nest.

Just as the armies of Chen and Lin were making intensive preparations to enter Qinghe County, Gongchang Prefecture, to suppress the river bandits.

On a wide river in Qinghe County, countless small boats, like dense duckweed, are quietly moored.

The boat was divided into three groups of men. If any commoners from Qinghe County were to encounter them, they would probably be terrified. The leaders of these three groups were none other than the three most wanted bandits on the county town walls.

Blackwater Village Chief, Black Dragon Elder Luo Heizi

Meng Lang, the chieftain of Bawangtan and the Demon of the Sinking Waves.

Blood Lake Bay Blood Wolf Lord Han Feng.

Among them, Meng Lang and Han Feng were bandit leaders in Qinghe County in their early years.

Since the former lord lost power and his stronghold was destroyed, the people were displaced and cut off from their livelihood. They took the opportunity to seize the town and gradually expanded to more than two thousand people.

Blackwater Village was initially similar to them, repeatedly besieged and suppressed by the government and lords, with only a hundred or so people.

Until six years ago, the original chieftain was killed, and Luo Heizi, the third leader at the time, took over and quickly expanded, becoming the largest river bandit gang in Qinghe County.

At this moment, the three stood at the bow of the boat, but the atmosphere was far from harmonious.

"Old Luo, did you invite us here today to compensate us for the merchant ship you stole a few days ago?" Meng Lang of Bawangtan spoke first, his tone barbed.

"Yes, Luo the Old Ghost, you seized my town and killed my brothers last time. We haven't settled that blood debt yet!" Han Feng from Blood Lake Bay stared at him fiercely, his eyes flashing with cold light.

Luo Heizi grinned, unconcerned: "Those are minor matters. I invited you two here today for a major matter that requires our cooperation."

"What could possibly be worth our involvement?" Meng Lang frowned.

"How about we attack the county town together? Is it big enough? There are tons of supplies inside, enough to feed us for years. Interested?"

Meng Lang scoffed, "No interest. We can manage small skirmishes, but if we really take over the county town, the imperial court will definitely get serious, and then we won't even have anywhere to hide."

"What if the imperial court is already serious?" Luo Heizi's tone turned somber. "I received news that the lord of Qingyang Prefecture next door is sending a large army to suppress bandits in various counties of Gongchang Prefecture, with Qinghe County being a key target."

"Lord of Qingyang Prefecture? We have no grudges against each other in the past or present, so why are you besieging us?" Meng Lang asked, his face full of disbelief.

Han Feng pondered for a moment and said, "I've also heard some rumors, but I didn't take them seriously. Since you say so, Old Ghost Luo, it might actually be true."

"So what? We've done this before. They just dive into the waterways and get through." Meng Lang said nonchalantly.

"This time is different." Luo Heizi's eyes were sharp. "The lords are not those scattered soldiers in their mansions, and I heard that the imperial court has issued a death order."

"Then what do you suggest we do? We can't beat them, we can't escape them, let's just break up!" Meng Lang shouted impatiently.

Luo Heizi lowered his voice: "So I want to join forces with the two of you to make the first move."

Let's attack the county town together. First, we can plunder its supplies, which will be very lucrative.

Secondly, it's for the ships in the county dock. The out-of-town lord has come from afar to wipe us out, and he'll definitely need these ships. If we burn them before they do, no matter how many soldiers or warriors they have, they won't be able to move an inch.

Meng Lang's eyes lit up, and he slapped his thigh and laughed loudly, "Great idea! Everyone says you, Old Ghost Luo, are resourceful and clever. No wonder you were able to get rid of Xiaofengke and become the chieftain yourself. Alright, let's do it!"

Upon hearing this, Luo Heizi stared at Meng Lang, his face darkening: "Fine, then we'll attack Qinghe County together three nights from now, burning the boats and cutting off the road!"

The Qinghe River flows from west to east, like a jade belt passing through the city, and the county seat of Qinghe was built along the river.

The county town has two city gates: one is a common land city gate, which is sturdy with bricks and stones and is no different from other county towns;

The other gate was a sluice gate, spanning the river. It consisted of heavy iron railings and massive wooden gates. Normally, it was open to facilitate the entry and exit of ships within the city, while when closed, it could block enemies on the river.

The sluice gate and the land gate form a strategic alliance, serving as the lifeline for the county's flood control.

The night was as dark as ink, and the river surface was rippled by the hazy moonlight and sparse fishing lights. Three groups of river bandits' boats quietly approached the county town.

The Blackwater Village fleet led the way, with menacing black dragon flags flying at the bows; the boats from Overlord Beach and Blood Lake Bay followed closely behind, their flags fluttering in the night wind.

Meng Lang and Han Feng stood at the bow of the boat, their eyes fixed on the sluice gate ahead, each plotting how to break through it.

The sluice gate is sturdy and cannot be breached in a short time by brute force alone. If it were to be forced through, it would surely alert the entire city's garrison.

Just as the two were deep in thought, a heavy, turning sound of machinery suddenly came from the direction of the sluice gate in the distance.

The gate slowly rose!

The two men exchanged a sudden glance, their eyes flashing with surprise. They hadn't expected that Blackwater Village had an inside man who could open the sluice gate without anyone noticing.

The boats from Heishui Village seized the opportunity, their oars moving in unison, and hurtled towards the sluice gate like arrows released from a bow.

The city's defenders quickly noticed the anomaly and saw a large number of boats coming downstream. Immediately, alarm bells rang, and several rockets, trailing fiery tails, roared out, drawing crimson trajectories across the night sky and shooting straight at the river.

At the same time, the war drums on the city wall suddenly resounded, awakening the sleeping guards.

A troop of elite guards, swords and shields in hand, rushed toward the sluice gate, intending to close it again before the bandit ships could flood in.

However, when the guards rushed closer, they saw that more than a dozen soldiers guarding the gate had fallen into pools of blood, their limbs twisted, clearly killed instantly.

What's even more chilling is that three men in black stood silently beside the corpse, their tight-fitting clothes clinging to their bodies, their faces covered by masks, revealing only their cold, slit-like eyes.

"Enemy attack!" the third-rate martial artist leading the group roared, and seven or eight other second-rate martial artists and more than twenty guards immediately formed a battle formation and charged forward.

The three men in black showed no fear; one wielded a knife, one a stick, and one a sword. In a flash, they charged into the formation.

The blade flashed like a bolt of lightning, the staff gleamed like a mountain, and the sword energy slithered like a serpent; these three deadly forces intertwined to form a web of death.

The third-rate martial artist had just raised his sword to meet the attack when he was struck hard by the man in black wielding a staff, sending him flying and crashing to the ground, blood gushing from his mouth.

"Oh no, it's a second-rate martial artist!" a guard exclaimed in alarm.

Before the exclamation could even finish, the others were caught off guard and fell one after another in the lightning-fast battle, their blood quickly staining the stone slabs of the gate.

Taking advantage of the destruction of the garrison at the sluice gate, the ships of Blackwater Village filed in, their bows reaching the base of the city wall.

The bandits abandoned their boats and leaped onto the stone steps, engaging in close combat with the city guards who had rushed to the scene after hearing the news.

Shouts of battle, the clash of weapons, and screams of agony erupted on the riverbank and city walls, the firelight and bloodstains casting flickering shadows on the water's surface.

Seeing this, the fleets from Bawangtan and Xuehuwan followed without hesitation into the sluice gate. The bandits rushed ashore, joining forces with the Blackwater Village troops to form a torrent that surged into the city streets.

In the chaos, several bandits climbed onto the land city gate, used their knives to break the inner bolt, and forcefully pushed open the heavy wooden door.

The city gates have fallen!

Some of the bandits immediately poured in through the land gates and rushed straight to the main roads inside the city.

Although some residents and militiamen who remained were awakened by the drumbeats and hastily assembled to come to their aid, it was too late.

The bandits surged into the city like a tidal wave, setting fire to houses and smashing open warehouses. In a short time, the entire county was engulfed in flames and carnage.

Qinghe County was captured.