twin moon

Chapter 52 Scene [-] Undercurrent [-]

Yu State is located in the southwest of Mianzhou, adjacent to Huaiyou in the north and Nanhua in the east.Among the six countries in the southeast, its national strength is also the weakest.After years of melee, the northern territory was constantly eroded, and Xiu Jingwen, the Duke of Yu, had to give up the natural barrier of Feiyun Gorge and retreat to the hilly area south of Zuihuatan to defend it.

Fortunately, the terrain of Mianzhou is higher in the south and lower in the north, and the southern hilly area is densely covered with swamps, and there is a lot of miasma in it, so it is named Baimias Hill.Because of this, Nanhua could no longer continue westward after only attacking the Huanshui and Lingxi areas, and the Yu Kingdom was finally able to linger on, temporarily avoiding a disaster of annihilation.

But the flames of war on land were extinguished, but the sea became unstable again.One day, in a small fishing village at the estuary of the Mekong River, the men of "Taohai" had just returned home when they saw a huge pure black sail rising below the sea level without warning.

The mother of one of the young fishermen stood at the door of the adobe house, calling out his baby name loudly: "Ah Yi, fasten the boat and go home for dinner, the food is cold!"

"Understood, mother. But there is a big ship coming at sea, I wonder if it is a businessman from Fu country!"

Ah Yi turned around and replied, but the work in his hand did not stop.

The state of Fu he mentioned is located in the northwest of the state of Yu, and the two countries are separated by a high mountain called Suli.However, the strange rocks on Suli Mountain are so rugged that even blue sheep are difficult to climb and cross. Even though the other side of the mountain is Yunzhi, the capital of the wealthy neighboring country, the trade between the two countries is mostly connected by sea.

The merchant ships of the Fu Kingdom have never had a deep draft, but they can go all the way northward along the Laishui River, a tributary of the upper reaches of the Mekong River, and arrive at Baitan, the capital of the Kingdom of Yu.According to the usual practice, most of the things he buys are copper and iron ore from the Mianzhong Plateau.However, since Yu State ceded the mineral-rich Mianzhong Plateau to Nanhua, its economy can only rely on the fishing industry in the southern coast to support it.And those merchant ships that bought ore hadn't been here for a long time.

Because of Ah Yi's loud shouts, more and more villagers on the shore also noticed the arrival of the big boat.As the sun set in the west, there was a red sparkling spot on the sea surface, and the silhouette of the boat seemed to sail out of the sun, gradually revealing its true face under the suspicious eyes of the fishermen.

However, the incoming ship was quite different from the previous merchant ships from the Fu Kingdom, not only was it completely dark, but it also did not hang the skylark brocade sails that the villagers were familiar with.

"Ah Yi! What are you still standing there for? After all, a boat from the country of Fu arrived. Quickly pick up a few good-looking fish caught today and exchange them for some coins. Some rice noodles are also good!"

The mother's voice sounded again, and she walked out of the house full of hope.After all, life in the fishing village has been difficult for a long time, and now it is really a happy thing to have outsiders visit.

Unexpectedly, the young man turned around and waved his arms vigorously, his face full of horror: "The sea is not a merchant ship sent by Mr. Yun Zhimo! Mother, go back quickly, I am afraid it is not Nanhua's army who attacked from the sea!"

Hearing what her son said, an ominous premonition suddenly surged in the woman's heart.But before the words fell, there was a loud "boom" on the sea.

The sound was like the thunder that exploded above the clouds when the storm was about to rise.It seems to be far away, but it seems to be close in front of you, which makes people flustered.The rest of the people in the fishing village also raised their heads one after another, but under the lavender sky, where can they find the shadow of half a rain cloud?
But with that bang, a bright flame flashed faintly on the black ship that was still located between the sea and the sky.In the blink of an eye, the young man standing on the beach clearly saw a black object approaching the sea surface, flying straight towards his adobe house!
"Mom, get out of here!"

Ah Yi turned his head away, his voice was full of despair.It turned out that the attacking object was a black iron ball the size of a sand bowl!With a "bang", the iron ball directly lifted the frail old woman from the ground, smashed through the dilapidated door with the ball, and then brought a large piece of earth wall that was not considered strong.

"mother!"

The young man's eyes turned red instantly, and he clenched his fists and ran towards the house.However, the iron ball had already run over his mother's chest and abdomen.In the shattered soil, the old woman's emaciated body was broken in two on the spot, bloody and bloody.Before Ah Yi rushed back to her side, he vomited blood and swallowed his breath.And his wide-open eyes were full of fear and bewilderment at the moment of death.

The deadly thunder did not stop there.After one after another of loud noises, more than a dozen iron balls volleyed into the air, and several earthen huts were added on the shore in the blink of an eye, and no one hiding in them was spared.The fishermen were frightened by the sight in front of them, and they dared not run any longer, so they easily gave up their resistance completely.

The black boat ruddered with the wind, and dropped anchor in the shallow bay in a blink of an eye.Then a few small boats were lowered from the ship, and heavily armed soldiers rowed long oars to the sound of uniform drums, and quickly boarded the shore.

It wasn't until this time that the young man named Ah Yi finally saw the appearance of this group of invading enemies—they were all dressed in black leather armor and a hideous sea snake mask, and they were obviously not troops from any vassal state However, he is well-trained, murderous, and makes the hair stand on end.

After landing, the soldiers immediately formed a formation, surrounding the more than a hundred people who survived the fishing village in the middle.A man dressed as a general walked through the line and approached the fishermen.Right now there is no mask on his face, and his appearance looks like he has just reached the crown age, but on that iron blue face, there is a fierceness that is hard to find even for adults.The two protruding eyes, like ancient beasts, scrutinized everyone carefully:

"Is everyone alive here?"

The tears in Ah Yi's eyes had long been replaced by anger, and he didn't even care about the broad-backed saber that was as thick as an arm on the opponent's back, and rushed out of the crowd waving his fists:
"You give back my mother's life!"

But the young general just glanced at him sideways, with his hands behind his back all the time, and easily dodged away.

Ah Yi immediately turned around and wanted to pester him again, but suddenly felt that something was caught under his feet.Before he could react, an irresistible force struck from bottom to top, causing him to lose his balance, and fell heavily on the sand, and was trampled under his feet by the opponent's combat boots.

"Bold pirates, how dare you attack General Yu! Take it for me, cut off your limbs and throw it into the sea to feed the fish!"

A school lieutenant rushed over and wanted to use a knife.But he was stopped on the spot by the general beside him:
"Retire! The population of this village is not large, and everyone is a labor force that we are short of right now. There is so much work to be done in the fortress, so I just use it to feed the fish. Is his position up to you? to replace?"

That young general was none other than Yu Li who served in the Benhai camp of Ye State.In the past three years, he has been on the rise, and he has become a commander who can lead the ship to sea alone, and his official is General Pinghai.

But right now, the clothes he and the soldiers around him have nothing to do with the boat master of Ye State.

There was an indescribable sternness in Yu Li's tone, which frightened the captain so much that he didn't dare to speak any more.On the contrary, it was an old man with gray beard among the fishermen, seeing that the other party was able to spare Ah Yi's life, he boldly stepped forward and asked:

"Judging from the general's accent, he looks a bit like a native of Ye country. However, there has never been any grudge between Ye and Yu, and there has never been a war. This village is also full of poor people who make a living by fishing. You guys —Could it be a misunderstanding?"

"Are you Lizheng in this village?" Yu Li didn't answer the other party's question, but lifted his foot to let go of the young man who fell on the ground, and walked slowly to the old man, "I'm waiting to come today because of your village It's not a misunderstanding because it's remote. I just don't know, can the old man do me a favor?"

"Is there anything the unknown general needs help with? I'm so old, I'm afraid I can't—"

Seeing that the other party's tone softened, Li Zheng immediately bowed his hands and planned to continue to deal with it.However, to everyone's surprise, the young general who had reprimanded his subordinates not to injure others a moment ago suddenly pulled out the saber on his back.

There was a flash of cold light on the beach, and the old man's nose was cut off from his face impartially!

"Old man, when you are not asked to speak, you don't say a single word! If anyone among you dares to speak nonsense again, this general will order someone to cut out his tongue!"

Although Yu Li's voice was not loud, the cruel actions frightened the villagers into silence on the spot, and he just let the soldiers tie their hands and feet together firmly with hemp ropes as thick as fingers.Even Li Zheng, who had just had his nose cut, just knelt on the ground, letting the wound bleed profusely, but he didn't dare to say another word.

"Select all the men who are over 15 years old and under 50 years old and form a team. Then put the beautiful women into another team. After registering, take the boat and send them back to Hailing Island!"

The young general continued to give orders.

"Then what should we do with the remaining people?" The captain on the side lowered his head and cupped his hands and asked again.

"Is there a need to ask me? The rest are old, weak, sick and disabled, and taking them back to the island will only waste food!" Yu Li gave the other party a hard look, "Nian you is the first time to follow I don’t blame you, General, when I go to sea. You remember, we went to sea this time to catch Ding Nu, not to hire a master. Useless people will not be left alive, understand?”

"The end will be ordered!"

The captain replied tremblingly, stretched out his hand to straighten the crooked sea snake mask on his head, and then waved to the soldiers gathered on the beach like black ants.

The villagers have already had their limbs tied up. Even if they saw their relatives being killed in front of them, they could no longer make any resistance. null.

The sky was getting dark, and piles of bonfires rose on the beach.The soldiers threw a few soldering irons into the fire, which burned red.The middle-aged men who were selected to survive were all branded with a curled sea snake mark on their faces one by one.And those women who were selected were stripped naked and became sexual playthings begging for mercy under the soldiers.

In the sea breeze, there was a smell of sweat and burnt flesh.Yu Li sat by the fire, squinting his eyes as if admiring everything that happened in front of him, with a faint smile on his face, and whispered as if talking to himself:
"With the addition of the Dingnu captured today, the Zhenlan Fortress should be completed ahead of schedule! Father, I wonder if you are satisfied with my efforts?"

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(End of this chapter)