Chapter 624: Both Land and Water Routes Are Blocked
The next morning, after a hearty meal, Bai Yuan led his contingent out.
During his time at Bai Family Fortress, he had served as a militia instructor, possessing a strong ability to organize people.
First, he divided the Gao Family Village Militia into two forces. One half took to the boats, heading north into the Yellow River, then circling along the river to the base of Eagle's Beak Mountain in Xiaolangdi.
The other half of the militia moved with the refugees, leading the way for over ten thousand displaced people, traveling by land to Eagle's Beak Mountain.
The straight-line distance from Hengshui Town to Eagle's Beak Mountain by land was only a dozen or so li.
However, this short distance lacked any official roads, consisting entirely of barren hills and wild terrain, making travel quite arduous. Fortunately, the Gao Family Village Militia led the advance, carving paths through mountains and building bridges over streams, literally forging a road for the common folk following behind.
The vast procession marched steadily towards Eagle's Beak Mountain...
Eagle's Beak Mountain, flanked by water on three sides—east, north, and west—offered expansive views, forming a peninsula with a total area of over 500 hectares.
Its coastline was winding, dotted with bays and peninsulas of varying sizes. To the north, within the Yellow River, lay the island of Danzhuyu, forming a large natural labyrinthine waterway.
This was the Yellow Turban Fortress!
It was originally built by the Yellow Turban rebels in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, only to be destroyed by government forces. Over successive dynasties, it was repeatedly destroyed, rebuilt, destroyed again, and rebuilt again. As long as river pirates existed, the Yellow Turban Fortress would endure.
The river pirate currently holed up in the Yellow Turban Fortress was none other than Capsizing Dragon, who had twice clashed with Bai Yuan and twice suffered a brutal beating.
He was the most powerful among the bandits of Xiaolangdi, occupying the prime location of Yellow Turban Fortress and commanding over two hundred bandit soldiers.
He usually divided his forces, with half guarding the fortress and the other half raiding merchant ships, fishermen, or riverside villagers. This time, the Yellow River's breach had expanded his range of operations, widening the territory where he could pillage and plunder.
At that moment, he had just woken up, sitting on a tiger-skin chair, his face a mask of displeasure.
Two consecutive beatings had severely damaged his prestige among the Xiaolangdi pirates.
After retreating yesterday, several pirate chiefs had sneered at him, clearly looking down on him. It was obvious that those fellows might not show him respect next time; they would challenge his leadership.
It was even highly probable they would lead their own men to seize Yellow Turban Fortress and claim his position as leader.
This made his teeth ache with hatred, fueling his resentment towards Bai Yuan even more.
As he was lost in thought, plotting his next move for revenge, a subordinate came forward to report: "Boss, this is bad! Those strange flatboats have arrived at Xiaolangdi. They're circling around this area, as if they're looking for us."
Capsizing Dragon's lips curled into a disdainful smile: "Looking for me? Ha! Do they really think we're that easy to find? How many times have the authorities come looking for us? Did they ever find us? Hahahaha! Even if they do find this fortress, we can just abandon it, hide in the nearby mountains, and rebuild it once the government troops leave."
His subordinates laughed.
Indeed, when had the Xiaolangdi pirates ever feared government naval encirclement? What could a few boats do against them?
They chuckled as they walked out of the fortress, pulling branches and leaves to cover the walls.
Such camouflage was sufficient. From the river, sight was limited; from a distance, it would only appear to be a patch of forest, completely concealing the fortress hidden within.
Soon, a flatboat sailed past the shoreline below the mountain.
Many Gao Family Village Militia sailors stood on the deck, meticulously scanning the mountainside. Yet, just as the pirates expected, they couldn't see the Yellow Turban Fortress at all.
Capsizing Dragon let out a cold snort: "The government soldiers can't find us, but we can find them anytime. This is called 'the enemy is in the light, I am in the dark'; we are invincible."
The pirates all laughed: "Boss even knows idioms!"
Capsizing Dragon retorted: "Knowing a few idioms is nothing. I'm a hundred times more formidable than those pedantic scholars who only know how to spout idioms."
"Achoo!" San Shier, working in Gao Family Village, suddenly sneezed: "Huh? Who's talking about me behind my back? Am I that popular? Hahahaha."
The flat cargo boat sailed away...
The pirates felt no pressure.
Before long, another flat cargo boat arrived, meticulously searching along the riverbank. It didn't take long for them to find several small sampans hidden in the reed marsh at the foot of the mountain.
The militia soldiers cheerfully towed the sampans away.
The pirates fumed: "Boss, those bastards are stealing our boats!"
"Don't panic," Capsizing Dragon said. "They're just a few boats. Losing them is no big deal; we can build more. As long as the water fortress isn't discovered, we're safe."
The flat cargo boat soon sailed further away, still failing to discover the Yellow Turban Fortress.
Capsizing Dragon was brimming with smugness: "The test of endurance has begun. Let's see how many days they'll search. They can't keep looking forever."
He was still basking in his triumph.
A subordinate suddenly cried out: "Boss, look, look at the land..."
Capsizing Dragon turned his head and instantly gasped, drawing a sharp breath.
At the foot of the mountain to the southeast, a massive crowd of common folk had appeared, easily over ten thousand strong, advancing in a mighty torrent, climbing up the mountainside.
Capsizing Dragon exclaimed: "What the hell is going on?"
"It's... it's those common folk we robbed before."
"It's the ten thousand-plus refugees from Hengshui Town."
"Damn it, why did they come here?"
"They're helping that guy in white search the mountain."
Hearing that, Capsizing Dragon's face went completely black.
This time, things were truly serious.
The government's navy wasn't frightening because their numbers were small; even if they could destroy Yellow Turban Fortress, they couldn't wipe out his men.
But these more than ten thousand common folk before them were terrifying. Their sheer numbers, if they ascended the mountain from multiple directions, meant it was only a matter of time before his group was found.
"This is absolutely terrible," Capsizing Dragon declared. "We have to retreat."
His subordinates were visibly terrified: "Where do we retreat to? By water or by land?"
Capsizing Dragon glanced at the water; the strange, flat-bottomed boats were still slowly patrolling. Then he turned his head to the land; over ten thousand common folk were ascending the mountain from various routes.
In that moment, Capsizing Dragon finally understood the consequences of enraging the populace and drawing their collective wrath.
What government soldiers couldn't achieve, the common folk could accomplish with effortless ease.
With both water and land routes blocked, there was simply nowhere to run.
Capsizing Dragon gritted his teeth: "We'll go by water! On land, they have half their troops and ten thousand common folk. With just our two hundred men, we can't defeat so many. Going by water might offer a slim chance of survival."
"We don't have enough boats for all two hundred of our brothers to go by water."
"Ugh... then we'll go by land instead."
Capsizing Dragon began to issue conflicting orders, even the chief was panicking.
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