Chapter 1276

Two hundred warships were arrayed in an arc around Azure Sky Mountain, the siege crossbows and catapults loaded on the warships taking turns attacking Azure Sky Mountain; the rain had begun to weaken, and when it stopped they would launch a rocket assault.

Although the Blackwater Stronghold put up some resistance, their resistance under the enemy's fierce attack was like a dying struggle.

Hu Xiaotian and Yu Tianxing stood on the flagship's deck, a temporary awning had been erected above their heads; this rain had raised the water level of Yunze considerably. Gao Yuan hurried over from behind, came before Hu Xiaotian and saluted, saying: 'Greetings, my lord!'

Hu Xiaotian said: 'How is it?'

Gao Yuan said: 'Indeed, the Yunyang side has taken no action; Su Yuchi remains motionless, apparently unwilling to act rashly, likely wary of the rebel forces in Prosperous Prefecture to the rear.'

Hu Xiaotian nodded; his greatest worry was Su Yuchi of Yunyang. If Su Yuchi took no action, then there would be no rear concerns, and taking Jade Heart Mountain should pose no problem.

The water bandits of Jade Heart Mountain suffered heavy losses in their previous collusion with Jiang Zhengyang to loot grain; more than half of their warships were destroyed, and now they cannot even muster a decent fleet for a counterattack.

The rain gradually ceased, Yu Tianxing issued an order for the forward fleet to advance toward Jade Heart Mountain and begin preparing for rocket fire.

Just as fifty warships were approaching, however, the water gate on the east side of Jade Heart Mountain opened, and a small boat emerged, its occupant waving a white flag, signaling surrender. Yu Tianxing ordered a temporary halt to the advance, had the small boat draw near, and sent men to bring the envoy aboard the flagship.

The envoy who arrived was the second chief of the Blackwater Stronghold, Ruan Jingwu, who had also been responsible for coordinating with Jiang Zhengyang last time. If this were a regular army, Ruan Jingwu's previous losses—having nearly annihilated the Blackwater Stronghold's warships—would be enough to warrant his execution countless times, but the Blackwater Stronghold is merely a rabble. Chief Ma Xingkong, mindful of his sworn brotherhood with Ruan Jingwu, did not kill him but instead let him atone through service; from this one can see that these water bandits are incapable of anything.

Ruan Jingwu was brought before Hu Xiaotian, where he clasped his fists and bowed deeply, saying: 'Greetings, Sir Hu!'

Hu Xiaotian smiled and said: 'Was it you who just waved the white flag?'

Ruan Jingwu said: 'Indeed, it is I, Ruan Jingwu. I have come under the stronghold chief's orders to negotiate peace.'

Hu Xiaotian heard correctly—this fellow actually spoke of negotiating peace rather than surrender; he glanced left and right, then burst out laughing, and everyone else joined in.

Ruan Jingwu was no fool; he naturally knew the laughter was filled with mockery. He cleared his throat and asked: 'Sir, why are you laughing?'

Hu Xiaotian said: 'State your terms!'

Ruan Jingwu said: 'As long as Sir withdraws his troops, the Blackwater Stronghold guarantees it will never again infringe upon Sir's territory.'

Hu Xiaotian sneered: 'Do you know what this white flag signifies? A white flag means surrender, not negotiation! You Blackwater Stronghold have no standing to negotiate with me. Very well, I give you a way out: open the stronghold gate. Everyone must leave Jade Heart Mountain and surrender all weapons.'

Ruan Jingwu said: 'Jade Heart Mountain is our means of survival; for Sir to demand it is tantamount to driving us to a dead end.'

Hu Xiaotian said: 'See them out!' His attitude was firm, leaving no room for compromise.

Ruan Jingwu nodded and said: 'Since Sir refuses to negotiate, then we have only one option: battle.'

Hu Xiaotian said: 'Please tell Ma Xingkong that the lives of so many hang on his single thought. Do not let his personal selfishness drag down so many innocent lives.'

After Ruan Jingwu left, the officers all burst out laughing, considering him a clownish jumper and thinking the Blackwater Stronghold's water bandits grossly overestimated themselves. Even with the enemy at their gates, they dared to dream of negotiation and still hoped to hold onto Jade Heart Mountain—did they not realize Hu Xiaotian was determined to take it?

On Jade Heart Mountain, Ma Xingkong stood on the arrow tower of the water stronghold, gazing through his spyglass at the enemy camp; a deep gloom settled on his face as he turned to the frail youth beside him and said: 'Boxi, do you see that we have no chance of victory?'

The youth beside him was the Blackwater Stronghold's chief strategist, Wang Boxi, who spoke frankly: 'The forces are vastly unequal, and we lack warships; winning would be very difficult.'

Ma Xingkong said: 'Do you think surrendering Jade Heart Mountain would give us a way to survive?'

Wang Boxi said: 'If we surrender Jade Heart Mountain, we lose our foothold; even if Hu Xiaotian does not pursue us, there is nowhere for us to settle around Yunze.'

Ma Xingkong said: 'Surrender now means only a dead end; fighting them might still offer a chance to survive.' He gazed at Boxi with eyes full of expectation: 'Boxi, you must have a solution, right?'

Ruan Jingwu had returned; Ma Xingkong and Wang Boxi descended from the arrow tower and listened as he recounted his meeting with Hu Xiaotian. Ruan Jingwu fumed: 'That Hu Xiaotian is utterly arrogant, utterly unwilling to negotiate, and even said we must open the stronghold gate, surrender all weapons, and everyone must leave Jade Heart Mountain before he would grant us a way out.'

Ma Xingkong said: 'If that is truly the case, it would be handing our lives over to him, after which we would have no say in our own fate.'

Ruan Jingwu said: 'Brother, at worst we'll fight him to the death!'

Ma Xingkong glared at him and said: 'Fight to the death? With what would you fight? Do you even have ships?'

Ruan Jingwu instantly slumped his shoulders; the Blackwater Stronghold's present state is his responsibility—if he had not been so careless last time when coordinating with Jiang Zhengyang, the stronghold would not have suffered such heavy losses.

Ruan Jingwu whispered: 'The men we sent to Prosperous Prefecture for aid may be returning soon; if we can just hold out a few days…'

Ma Xingkong gave a derisive chuckle: 'Do you have any brains?' He had long given up hope on Guo Guangbi of Prosperous Prefecture; after Hu Xiaotian's side defeated their fleet, Guo Guangbi, once an ally, had nearly severed contact with him. In fact, Su Yuchi's garrisoning of Yunyang, while intended to check Hu Xiaotian, also served to cut off his connection with Guo Guangbi. Today the Hope Spring River is entirely under Hu Xiaotian's control; even if Guo Guangbi were willing to come to the rescue, he could not cross Yunyang, let alone the Hope Spring River.

Ruan Jingwu said: 'Actually, the forces from Prosperous Prefecture could bypass Yunyang and come to Yunze from the southwest.'

Ma Xingkong couldn't even be bothered to argue with him; this fellow's mind is truly exasperating. Even if they bypassed Yunyang and reached the Yunze shore from the southwest, assuming everything went smoothly, where would the Prosperous Prefecture forces get so many ships to cross Yunze and reach Jade Heart Mountain?

Ma Xingkong said: 'Boxi, since Hu Xiaotian has already rejected our peace request, what do you think we should do?'

Wang Boxi said: 'Since he has given us a way out, we can only follow his instructions.'

Ma Xingkong's heart skipped a beat and his brows furrowed. Ruan Jingwu shouted beside him: 'We cannot surrender! If we lose Jade Heart Mountain, where in the vast world would we have a place to settle?'

Wang Bo Xi said: "If we don't surrender, we have no chance to go all out. The enemy has over two hundred warships; we are completely at a disadvantage. If we engage in naval battle, defeat is certain; if we stay shut inside, we also cannot withstand the enemy's long-range assault. Our remaining arrows are few, while the enemy's armaments are ample. Now the heavy rain has stopped; it won't be long before the sun comes out. Once the vegetation dries, they will launch a rocket attack, and then the entire Bixin Mountain will fall into a sea of fire."

Ruan Jingwu said: "Doesn't that mean we have no way to retreat?"

Wang Bo Xi said: "Since we are preparing to go all out, we can only play to our strengths and avoid our weaknesses; naval battle we cannot win, so we will adopt land warfare; since long-range attacks are not advisable, we will engage in close-quarters combat. Don't forget that Bixin Mountain still has over twenty thousand brothers; in numbers we are not at a disadvantage."

Ma Xingkong said: "You mean feign surrender, lure them into the water stronghold, and then launch close-quarters combat?"

Wang Bo Xi nodded.

Ma Xingkong said: "I'm afraid they won't fall for it so easily."

Wang Bo Xi said: "The only way to make him let down his guard is……" He paused, then said: "Everything rests with the chief."

Ma Xingkong gave a slight start, immediately understood Wang Bo Xi's meaning. To make Hu Xiaotian let down his guard, unless he personally leads people to surrender, Wang Bo Xi's plan is indeed a risky move; after he surrenders to Hu Xiaotian, it would be as good as handing over his life to him, and the command of the Black Water Stronghold……

Wang Bo Xi had already taken this into account: "This side of the water stronghold can be left to the young stronghold master to command."

Ma Xingkong closed his eyes, pondered for a moment, then said: "All right, I will personally go and lead them into the water stronghold."

Ruan Jingwu, hearing that Ma Xingkong intended to personally go feign surrender, was terrified, his voice trembling as he said: "Big brother, you must absolutely not do that! Hu Xiaotian is ruthless and cold-blooded; if you fall into his hands, you will surely come to no good end. Moreover, if you leave, the Black Water Stronghold will be leaderless; who then could lead the brothers to resist the enemy army?"

Ma Xingkong said: "My mind is made up; call Zhongtian." Ma Zhongtian is his son, and also the most outstanding young commander of the Black Water Stronghold.

A red sun rose slowly, golden rays pouring onto the vast lake surface of Cloud Marsh, sparking rippling light; far away, countless golden scales flashed and shimmered, the scenery magnificent and splendid, while the dark clouds in the sky retreated at a speed visible to the naked eye as the sunlight dispersed. Gao Yuan, tasked with observing enemy movements, came to Hu Xiaotian's side and reported, 'I humbly report, my lord: the Black Water Stronghold still shows no movement.' All the soldiers await Hu Xiaotian's order; now that the weather has cleared, should we prepare to launch the rocket attack?

Hu Xiaotian narrowed his eyes toward the direction of Bixin Mountain and asked: "What does the military advisor think?"

Yu Tianxing said: "They have no chance of winning; I believe the true purpose of Ruan Jingwu's earlier visit to discuss peace was to probe the lord's attitude, and giving them a bit more time would be no harm." (To be continued~^~)