The North Feishui River flows from Mengcheng and converges into a large expanse of water at Zhengyi Village in the county. It then flows downstream into the Qinggou River in Lingbi. Lingbi is connected to the Huaihe River from the Maikou River in the south.
Lingbi is located at the junction of the Feishui and Huaihe River systems, with waterways crisscrossing both inside and outside the city.
The rich water systems have made this city prosperous, but they have also given rise to many bandits who make a living on the water.
Song Yinghuai and his companions traveled quickly. They passed through Lingbi City in less than half a day and continued on their way. It was almost dark when they finally stopped in Xinchang City, which was eighty li away from the capital.
At the same time, Han Fen's carrier pigeon flew into the place where Song Yinghuai was staying.
Seeing that Song Yinghuai remained calm after reading the letter, Ji Qian guessed that everything was fine in the rear. He couldn't help joking:
"I really envy Your Highness. You have someone on your mind!"
Song Yinghuai burned the letter paper under the candle and replied with a faint smile, "Having someone on your mind means having a weakness. What's there to envy?"
This was indeed the truth.
Just like last time when Caiyu was kidnapped by Sheng Jiangli on the mountain road, Song Yinghuai had no choice but to release the prisoner.
"But a life without any attachments seems meaningless," Ji Qian sighed. Then he asked, "Where are Lady Caiyu and the others now?"
"They are less than twenty li away from Lingbi," Song Yinghuai said, breathing a sigh of relief.
Once they entered the city, even if they encountered obstacles and couldn't move forward, there were still secret agents of the Jinyiwei and the county government soldiers in the city. Under such heavy protection, even if Sheng Jiangli had supernatural powers, he couldn't possibly kidnap Caiyu with just his three subordinates.
Suddenly, A Si, a spy of the Jinyiwei, appeared at the door in a hurry, looking hesitant to speak.
Ji Qian frowned and scolded, "What are you sneaking around for?"
A Si came in, looking anxious. "Boss, I just got the news that Lingbi City has suddenly been attacked by a large number of water bandits!"
"What?" Ji Qian was shocked. "Is the news accurate? We just passed by Lingbi City this morning, and everything was fine. How could this happen..."
He thought of Caiyu and her group who were about to arrive outside Lingbi City. His face turned even paler.
Just as he feared, how could the water bandits be so bold as to attack the city gate?
He looked at Song Yinghuai, feeling extremely uneasy.
Everyone knew that this was probably a trap!
Song Yinghuai's face darkened. He asked in a cold voice, "How many water bandits are there?"
A Si replied nervously, "I heard there are thousands of them. They also have a lot of gunpowder and cannons purchased from the Japanese pirates along the coast. The explosions outside the city are deafening. The general guarding Lingbi has already ordered the city gates to be closed, and no one is allowed to enter or leave the city!"
Ji Qian gasped.
Thousands of people! That was no less than an army!
How could there suddenly be so many water bandits attacking the city? Wasn't this an act of rebellion?
What should they do?
Song Yinghuai took a deep breath and said in a solemn voice, "How could there be no sign of thousands of water bandits on this route? Even if a regular army of thousands was marching, it couldn't possibly leave no trace. We just crossed the Feishui River this morning, and everything was peaceful..."
He concluded firmly, "Only a small group of water bandits, no more than a hundred in number, could act so quickly and secretly."
Once the number of people increased, it was impossible to hide their tracks.
"The news of thousands of people is just a bluff," he said.
"As for the cannons..." His eyes grew colder. "How could the water bandits in our Great Ye obtain firearms? What have the local officials around the Feishui River been doing? How could such prohibited items of the court be traded in the civilian market? Or... who authorized the outflow of these firearms?"
Ji Qian was stunned. His heart was pounding.
If Song Yinghuai's speculation was correct, the firearms flowing into the civilian market were either due to the ineffective supervision of the court officials or the deliberate action of the Crown Prince.
In order to prevent Song Yinghuai from entering the capital in time and make him violate the imperial edict, the Crown Prince actually dared to play with the lives of thousands of people!
Song Yinghuai stood up from his seat and said to Ji Qian, "I trouble Lord Ji to send someone quickly to send a signal flare to the Jinyiwei in Lingbi City, asking them to find a way to get out of the city."
Ji Qian bowed and immediately told A Si to make the arrangements.
The Jinyiwei were all highly skilled. It wouldn't be difficult for them to get out of the city without opening the city gates.
However, it was hard to say whether they would meet Caiyu and her group after getting out of the city. After all, the signal flare couldn't convey such detailed instructions.
But it was always good if they could meet someone. After all, Han Fen was familiar with the Jinyiwei and could communicate with them.
Song Yinghuai stared fixedly at A Si's back, feeling extremely anxious.
Even if the number of the enemy was no more than a hundred, Han Fen and his group were even fewer. The number of Jinyiwei in Lingbi City could be counted on one hand.
He stood there for a while, then let out a long sigh and strode out of the door.
Ji Qian was shocked and quickly chased after him. "Your Highness, where are you going?"
Could it be that Song Yinghuai was going back to Lingbi?
Cold sweat broke out on Ji Qian's forehead. He rushed to catch up and tried to persuade him, "Your Highness, there are only two more days... just two days left..."
Song Yinghuai had already reached the outside of the door. He got on his horse and said calmly,
"Lord Ji, I trouble you to go to the camp of the general guarding Xinchang again and borrow fifty soldiers from him. Then catch up with me."
Ji Qian was struck by lightning. He didn't know whether he should persuade or agree.
Song Yinghuai continued, "Send someone to inform the magistrate of Xinchang that Lingbi in the front has been attacked by thousands of water bandits and is in danger of falling. After I and the fifty soldiers leave the city, ask him to raise the drawbridge, close the city gates, and issue a notice to recruit able-bodied men in the city to defend the city."
Xinchang was a small city with less than two hundred soldiers guarding it. After Song Yinghuai borrowed fifty soldiers, the defense would be weakened.
Song Yinghuai's order to the magistrate to recruit soldiers temporarily was a last resort.
Ji Qian agreed dizzily, but he was also very confused.
Wasn't it inferred that the number of the enemy was no more than a hundred?
Why spread the rumor of thousands of water bandits in the city?
Wouldn't it make the people in the city panic?
A cold smile appeared on Song Yinghuai's lips, and his eyes were filled with ice-cold determination.
If the Crown Prince wanted to bluff, he would play along and make the rumor even more widespread.
The more panicked the people were, the bigger the incident would become.
The news would reach the capital, which was only eighty li away, overnight. How could the high-ranking officials in the capital sit still?
An incident almost reaching the capital was equivalent to a rebellion.
This time, he would take down several people and use this opportunity to further prove the Crown Prince's misdeeds and his harm to the country and the people!
Since His Highness, the Prince of Yan, wanted to borrow soldiers and the Jinyiwei agent had come to the city defense camp in person, the general guarding Xinchang didn't dare to be negligent. He quickly selected fifty of the most powerful soldiers in the camp and sent them to the city gate.
In less than half an hour, Song Yinghuai saw the small army on the reviewing stand near the city gate.
He glanced at them coldly and frowned slightly.
Among these fifty people, there were tall and strong men over seven feet tall, young men with delicate features like scholars, and several middle-aged men in their forties.
They were a motley crew.
Ji Qian swallowed hard and looked embarrassed. "Your Highness, I personally selected them from the city defense camp. They are the best..."
The quality of these soldiers was beyond Song Yinghuai's expectation.
The Great Ye had only been established for more than thirty years, but he didn't expect the imperial army to be in such a state.
How could such soldiers fight against the Tartars?
If the feudal lords in various places really rebelled, the imperial army would surely be defeated.
Song Yinghuai took a deep breath and stood on the reviewing stand, saying,
"Those of you who have a sworn feud with the water bandits, stand on the right."
The water bandits in the Feishui River had been causing trouble for more than ten years. Several small cities around the river had been looted by the water bandits.
The people living in these small cities intermarried and did business with each other.
The soldiers in Xinchang's city defense camp were all related to each other through years of intermarriage.
Not long ago, a group of water bandits attacked a convoy of cargo ships on the river. Among the dead, there might be relatives of these soldiers.
Sure enough, more than ten people immediately stood on the right.
Song Yinghuai looked at the remaining thirty people and said, "Those who joined the army because of poverty stand on the left."
Another ten or so people stood on the left.
Song Yinghuai pointed at the remaining dozen or so people in the middle who looked like idle sons of noble families here for military training and said,
"The people in this team will go with me to Lingbi to suppress the bandits!"