CHAPTER 445: CHAPTER 442 TRICKED

Li Tao, with his fleet, intended to capture those people, but he didn’t expect to be set up on the sea. Watching his ships burn brightly in the night and feeling waves of pain in his arm, Li Tao’s eyes were full of anger.

Pu Shou stepped forward to help Li Tao examine the wound, but Li Tao pushed him away, broke the arrow shaft himself, his face filled with murderous intent: "Order everyone to hold their ground, no one is allowed to retreat. Send someone to nearby areas to gather manpower and bring out the warships."

Hearing about deploying the warships, Pu Shou was stunned. Prince Lu had ordered that troops should not be used arbitrarily; Mr. Li’s actions might lead to reprimands from Prince Lu later.

Li Tao frowned at Pu Shou: "What are you waiting for? We don’t know the origins of these people. If we let them leave now, we won’t be able to explain to the Prince later. Moreover, it’s dark now; who can tell they are warships?"

This reasoning made sense. Unless these people could predict the future and already knew they were hiding troops at sea, they wouldn’t have any evidence against them.

Obviously, these people didn’t know and set a trap here targeting Mr. Li. After severely injuring them, these people could seize the maritime business.

Li Tao ordered no retreat. Even if some ships had suffered, were clearly outmatched, no one dared to flee.

...

On the island.

Zheng heard the noise outside her house. She got up to check, only to be stopped by the guards.

"What’s going on?" Zheng couldn’t help but ask.

Any disturbances on the island required the guards to first detain the captured laborers and working women to prevent them from causing trouble amidst the chaos.

But Zheng was the steward, different in status from those people. The guard whispered to her, "Mr. Li encountered something at sea, and is mobilizing manpower."

Zheng gasped in surprise: "Didn’t he take a lot of people with him before?"

The guard replied, "Maybe this time the situation is a bit tricky."

Zheng nodded: "Did they ask us to do anything?"

The guard glanced at the compound: "Keep an eye on these people, don’t let them know the details."

Zheng said: "Don’t worry, if they hear something, trouble might ensue, and none of us will get any peace."

After speaking, Zheng added: "It’s already dark, sailing won’t be easy. I hope Mr. Li can return safely."

The compound gate closed with over ten guards stationed there. Zheng didn’t rush back inside. Instead, she carefully observed the situation outside.

As Sister Chen said, one day they must find a way to leave, so they should gather as much information as possible now.

Zheng walked around the area, and when she returned to the room, Sister Chen was already waiting for her.

"How is it?" Sister Chen asked.

"You guessed right, they ran into trouble. The people they took weren’t enough, so they’re calling for more manpower."

Sister Chen thought that the island’s forces might be mobilized this time, and they might use warships because Li Tao had already taken too many with him. Sending more now could only mean those people.

Zheng dipped some water and drew the guard positions outside: "Both the front and back gates have people."

Sister Chen looked at Zheng: "With so many people here, if something happens, what do you think they would do?"

Zheng focused her gaze: "They would kill people?"

Sister Chen nodded: "We know too much, making it easy to leak secrets. If they want to cover things up, the best way is to kill us all. Of course, they won’t do it unless it’s urgent. After all, capturing us wasn’t easy. If they really killed us all, they’d have to start over."

So they must watch Li Tao and the situation outside the island closely. When it’s time to leave, they must not hesitate, or staying would mean certain death.

Zheng’s palms were sweaty. She couldn’t help but admire Sister Chen. If Sister Chen hadn’t made her prepare early, when the time came, they would be at the mercy of others.

"The wall is almost through," Zheng said. "When there’s movement, we can leave through there any time."

Besides that, they needed to communicate with those imprisoned at the mines, so when the time came, they could act together, and the island guards wouldn’t be able to handle it.

That night, Zheng didn’t sleep, her mind full of the chaos outside.

Sister Chen, however, slept peacefully. Nothing should happen tonight, so she needed to seize the time to rest well.

...

"The ships?" Li Tao asked Pu Shou.

Pu Shou stammered: "The warships searched the area, but those ships suddenly disappeared."

If it were daylight, something might have been spotted, but at night, all that could be seen was the endless stretch of sea.

Even after deploying the warships and troops, in the end, they achieved nothing, and several of Li Tao’s ships suffered heavy losses, with Li Tao himself getting injured.

Li Tao had been struggling all day, his anxiety and anger consuming him, causing his body to sway.

Pu Shou said: "Sir, it’s better to return to the island first and plan later." That night, they exposed too much. If someone with intentions followed them back, they might track down the warships and soldiers Prince Lu had hidden away and even their small island refuge.

Pu Shou didn’t dare to think further, uncertain of these people’s intentions, hoping they were just pirates competing for trade.

Having lost track of those people, Li Tao could only return in defeat with a few ships.

That night, one ship was completely burned, losing half the personnel.

Li Tao no longer displayed his usual arrogance. Though he tried his best to maintain appearances, he was visibly less spirited.

Returning to the island, Li Tao suddenly remembered something: "Send someone to check the surroundings, see if we are being followed."

Pu Shou dutifully responded.

Li Tao closed his eyes to let the doctor treat his wounds, still unable to figure out the identities of those people. It seemed as if he had been led by the nose throughout the battle.

Were they really pirates?

No, those people used firearms similar to pirates, but their arrows were so precise, impossible for pirates. Moreover, they excelled at assessing the situation, escaping quickly before the warships arrived.

Such an enemy made Li Tao suddenly feel a sense of fear, combined with the pain from his wound, sweat began to flow from his forehead.

By the time everything was settled, it was already dawn.

Li Tao, his eyes red, continued to instruct Pu Shou: "Send more people out to search. I don’t believe there aren’t any clues."

...

A few ships docked in Yuezhou.

Song Xian walked quickly into the fishing village where Meng Su was waiting.

"How did it go?" Meng Su immediately asked.

Song Xian said: "They deployed warships, and there were many people onboard."

Meng Su was both surprised and delighted: "As expected, they are not only profiting from the sea but also maintaining troops at sea." He was eager to inform the court.

Song Xian said: "They are also based on a small island at sea. Our people have already gone to investigate the island."

They held Li Tao in check to force him to call for help, thus allowing them to understand Li Tao’s situation.

Li Tao fell for it; next, it would be Prince Lu’s turn.