Chapter 1278

Hu Xiaotian also deeply agreed with Yu Tianxing's words; facing reality, people will definitely choose to lower their heads. Ma Xingkong may be just a water bandit, but he is no fool. Without any chance of victory, if they insist on fighting, they will only doom the brothers and families of the Blackwater Stronghold. The most realistic choice before them is surrender. Hu Xiaotian also did not wish to exterminate these water bandits; his aim was to seize Jade Heart Mountain.

Hu Xiaotian nodded and said, "All right, let's wait a few more hours."

Yu Tianxing spoke confidently: "Waiting a few more hours will just let the timber dry, aiding the rocket attack; if they remain Bu Wu, we will launch another offensive. The western and northern slopes of Jade Heart Mountain are thick with pine, extremely flammable, so we can concentrate firepower there. Today the wind is from the northwest; damp pine, once ignited, will surely produce thick smoke. Even if we do not storm the mountain, they cannot endure the smoke and fire, and Jade Heart Mountain will fall without attack."

Hu Xiaotian laughed and said, "Military advisor, you truly excel at planning; you have grasped every detail."

Upon hearing Hu Xiaotian publicly praise him thus, Yu Tianxing could not help but show a pleased expression, yet he remained modest in speech, saying, "It is the lord who plans the strategies; I, as a subordinate, dare not claim these four words."

At dusk that day, the southern water gate of Blackwater Stronghold on Jade Heart Mountain opened; this gate was the main entrance. A large ship slowly sailed out—this was one of the few warships remaining on Jade Heart Mountain, normally used by the chief Ma Xingkong, and a white flag flew from its mast.

Seeing the enemy warship fly a white flag, Hu Xiaotian's officers and men all knew Blackwater Stronghold would surely surrender; they cheered in unison. Although everyone was high-spirited, avoiding a bloody battle was naturally best, and capturing Blackwater Stronghold without losing a single soldier would be the ideal outcome.

A smile also appeared at the corner of Hu Xiaotian's mouth. Prior to the expedition to Jade Heart Mountain, they had made ample preparations; one could say they had a sure chance of victory. Ma Xingkong's decision to surrender was also wise, and given the disparity in strength, stubborn resistance would only increase casualties.

However, Hu Xiaotian did not let the impending victory go to his head. He whispered to the men, "Guard against deceit; caution is best."

At this moment, Xiong Tianba came forward chuckling to report: "Lord, the one coming to surrender is the water bandit chief Ma Xingkong; there should be no mistake." He himself felt a bit regretful, having originally hoped to slaughter all directions, but judging from the present situation, it seems there is no chance for that.

Hu Xiaotian and Yu Tianxing exchanged a glance, both eyes showing relief. It seems certain—since Ma Xingkong came in person to surrender, he has shown his sincerity; otherwise he would have no reason to risk himself alone.

Yu Tianxing issued the order, telling them to bring Ma Xingkong aboard the large ship.

Not long after, Ma Xingkong and more than ten of his chieftains boarded the flagship where Hu Xiaotian was stationed. Xiong Tianba led Ma Xingkong to Hu Xiaotian's presence, and Ma Xingkong bowed respectfully, saying, "Commoner Ma Xingkong pays his respects to Sir Hu!"

Hu Xiaotian looked at Ma Xingkong before him and saw he was over forty, stalwart in build, rugged in appearance. Years of wind and sun had darkened his skin; although he had come to surrender, his expression remained neither humble nor arrogant, his gaze defiant and unruly, revealing a wild, overbearing aura.

Hu Xiaotian nodded and said, "Chief Ma, good day! I do not know what brings the chief here in person."

Ma Xingkong sighed and said, "I already know Sir Hu's terms; I agree to lead my brothers away. I will present Jade Heart Mountain to Sir Hu, only asking that Sir Hu not make things difficult for my brothers—there are many elderly, weak, women, and children on Jade Heart Mountain; please, Sir Hu, grant them a way to survive."

Hu Xiaotian said, "Since the chief has accepted my terms, I can guarantee the safety of your men's lives; as for your families, we will certainly not make things difficult for them. Once we take over Jade Heart Mountain, we will immediately provide ships for them to depart."

Ma Xingkong seemed quite satisfied with Hu Xiaotian's answer, and respectfully said, "Sir Hu, I will now order them to open all the water gates to welcome the army into the harbor!"

Yu Tianxing asked, "Chief Ma, do you still intend to return?"

Ma Xingkong smiled faintly and said, "This must be Military Advisor Yu; it seems you do not trust me, but that's fine—I will stay here until the army fully takes over Jade Heart Mountain, then leave. Sir Hu, I hope you keep your promise."

Hu Xiaotian said, "Certainly!"

On the arrow tower of the Blackwater Stronghold, the Young Chief Ma Zhongtian and military advisor Wang Boxi stood side by side. When Ma Zhongtian saw his father board the enemy's flagship, he tightly pressed his lips, gripped the rail with both hands, and his inner emotions surged to the extreme.

Seeing his expression, Wang Boxi could not help but sigh and said, "Young Chief, you must not disappoint the chief's expectations."

Ma Zhongtian nodded and said, "Better to die fighting than to kneel in death! Li Degang!"

"Present!" shouted the commander of the Water Ghost Squad, Li Degang, appearing behind Ma Zhongtian.

Ma Zhongtian said: "You lead the eight hundred elite of the Water Ghost Squad, sneak in underwater from the west gate; they will come to take over the water stronghold, and there will certainly be many warships left guarding outside the waters. You twenty form a group, forty groups in total; taking advantage of the night, bore holes in the ship bottoms—only success is allowed, no failure!"

"Yes!"

After Li Degang left, Ma Zhongtian and Wang Boxi came to the temporary command post at the inner harbor of the Black Water Stronghold; all the young leaders of the Black Water Stronghold were waiting there. Seeing Ma Zhongtian enter, everyone rose to their feet and respectfully said: "Young Stronghold Master!"

Ma Zhongtian nodded, came to the square table where a map of the water stronghold was already spread out, and said: "Brothers, our Black Water Stronghold has reached a matter of life and death. Hu Xiaotian leads twenty warships and fifteen thousand elite naval troops to the city walls, coming with the ambition to seize Bixin Mountain at all costs. They have promised that if we choose to surrender, they will spare us a way to live; but if we lose Bixin Mountain, the vast Yunze marsh will have no place for us to stand, which for us who make a living on the water is tantamount to a dead end. Therefore we have no choice left."

One person said: "But the chief has already decided to surrender!"

Ma Zhongtian gave the speaker a cold stare; that person was frightened and hastily lowered his head.

Ma Zhongtian said: "No one knows my father better than I do; his whole life he would rather break than bend, even if standing dead he would not kneel to live. That is why he actively raised the white flag and personally entered the enemy camp—to confuse the opposing commander; otherwise how could we gain their trust?" He looked toward Wang Boxi.

Wang Boxi nodded, his expression excited, and said: "The chief risking his life alone is for us brothers! In the previous event when we responded to Jiang Zhengyang, we lost most of our warships; now only fragile little boats remain on the island, utterly unable to resist the official troops. If they launch a long-range attack and use rockets, the many pines on the northwest of Bixin Mountain will ignite at the slightest spark, and with the northwest wind blowing these days, once lit the fire will quickly spread across Bixin Mountain. After the rain clears, there will surely be much smoke and mist, which the northwest wind will soon blanket Bixin Mountain."

Ma Zhongtian said: "Against long-range attacks we can only passively endure; having lost the advantage of boats, we must play to our strengths and avoid our weaknesses, luring them in to fight!"

All the leaders present looked at Ma Zhongtian and shouted in unison: "Young Stronghold Master, we will obey your command; even if we sacrifice our lives we will fight to the death to defend the Black Water Stronghold."

Ma Zhongtian nodded with relief and said: "Although the official troops come with great might, they do not know the internal structure of our Black Water Stronghold; as long as they dare to enter the stronghold's interior, we have a chance to win." His finger pointed at the map: "The waterway leading to the inner harbor can allow their warships to pass, but beneath it lies a hidden sluice; once they enter the stronghold, we can render their warships ineffective. Zhou Sheng, you lead one thousand men to ambush at Mirror Slope; once the official troops' ships enter the stronghold, you will trigger the mechanism, sending rolling logs and stones down the slope to attack the waterway, aiming to inflict maximum damage on their fleet."

"Yes!"

"Fang Guangping, prepare at the Evil Retribution Pool; once the enemy discovers our attack, they will surely disembark and land. Before they disembark, open the Evil Retribution Pool and release the man-eating fish; let anyone who dares to enter the waterway be left without a whole corpse!"

"Yes!"

"Jiang Xiuzheng!"

"Here!"

"You lead five thousand brothers, mingling among the elderly, weak, women, and children, using them as cover, and engage the enemy in open battle!"

"Yes!"

……

The water gate of the Black Water Stronghold had already been fully opened; Hu Xiaotian looked at the white flags fluttering everywhere inside the stronghold, feeling inexplicably doubtful—this victory had come too easily, and he even suspected there might be a trick.

He summoned Yu Tianxing to the side and whispered: "Military advisor, I don't know why, but I feel things are going too smoothly—could this Ma Xingkong be playing a trick?"

Yu Tianxing laughed: "He wouldn't joke with his own life, and he has already opened all the gates of the stronghold; we only need to first take control of the stronghold's gates, then send men to take over the arrow towers, and then we need not fear any tricks they might pull."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Everything still requires caution."

At that moment a white light swooped down from the sky and landed on the stern—it was Xia Zhangming returning from scouting the skies over Bixin Mountain. Hu Xiaotian said: "Zhangming, you've come just in time; how is the situation?"

Xia Zhangming said: "The Black Water Stronghold shows no abnormality for now; the water bandits have begun gathering in open areas, deliberately discarding their weapons, appearing to be preparing to surrender."

Yu Tianxing said: "How wise of them! Congratulations, my lord!"

Hu Xiaotian looked at the distant sky; it should still be about two hours until nightfall.

Yu Tianxing said: "Please, my lord, issue your orders!"

Hu Xiaotian said: "Everything is left to the military advisor to arrange!" Using people without doubt, doubting people not to use—since I have appointed Yu Tianxing as my military advisor, at this critical moment I must show my trust in him. (To be continued~^~)