Dongting Lake is very large. Like most lakes, it has its own island in the middle of the lake. Because it is so vast, there are countless hidden islands in the middle of the lake, and there are even hidden islands that can be used for farming.

Dongting Navy has thousands of men and hundreds of ships scattered on Dongting Lake, but not many of them are there, and it is even harder to find them.

An island deep in the reeds is about a thousand acres in size, and the suitable cultivated land is only a hundred acres. A group of water thieves linger here, about two hundred people. Zhang Daguo lives here with his brothers, plus some family members, five

With six boats, life is very comfortable in Dongting Lake.

A hundred acres of land is not suitable for growing grain, and men don't contribute much, so women grow fruits and vegetables. When there is a shortage of grain, they use the copper coins they robbed to exchange for grain.

A piece of plundered bronze can be sold for more than ten guan, which can be exchanged for dozens of shi of grain, enough to last for several months. With all this, who is still working hard to farm? Are you looking for trouble?

Zhang Da looked at the calm lake, his heart spinning.

His real name is not Zhang Daguo, but he has been called by the nickname so many times that he has gotten used to it and has forgotten his real name. Anyway, it is either Zhang Goudan or Zhang Dunglao, which is not as nice as Zhang Da.

"Master, master!" A dark fat man ran over and said panting: "We don't have much salt, we need to buy salt!"

"How many are left?" Zhang turned around and asked. His long career as a leader has made him not panic when doing things, or in other words, he knows that panic is useless.

"There are only ten kilograms left. We, two hundred people, can't eat it for ten days!"

"Now we are sitting on nothing. We haven't seen any boats for more than ten days!" Zhang Daguo said angrily: "These dog officials really don't give us a way to survive!"

"Let's get some money ashore and buy some salt and grain. The grain is only thirty dan, so we won't be able to eat it for long!"

"Otherwise, we surrender to the imperial court and hear that Fa Tianli will not collect taxes for three years!"

"Bah, we have fields everywhere in Langzhou. How can the fields be worth anything? I am bullied by the court officials every day for worthless fields. How can I be as happy as I am now."

"Let's go ashore—"

"But, I heard that the village doesn't allow us to exchange things!"

"I'm really afraid. If they don't replace it, are our knives vegetarian?"

In the end, Zhang Daguo led his brothers and decided to take the risk. They still have some food left, but if they reach the end of their rope, they will really be doomed.

They decided to use the boat to take the copper coins and the exquisite Shenwu Tongbao they looted last time to the village they were familiar with, that is, Zhengjia Village, and exchange them for some rice, wine and meat.

They are really reluctant to spend money during the blockade.

Zhang, a group of ten people, turned the boat into a secret place, held the copper coins, and carefully went ashore, avoiding the patrolmen patrolling the road, and then arrived at Zhengjia Village, which is about three or four miles away from Dongting Lake.

When they landed, they were seen by people from Zhengjia Village.

"Is there any salt? Bring more, we have copper coins, newly issued copper coins!" Big Zhang shook the bag and it made a crisp sound.

The man carrying the hoe took one look at the bulging bag and immediately ran away. As he ran, he shouted: "The water thief is coming, the water thief is coming!"

The gongs and drums sounded immediately, "Catch the water thief!"

The shouts came from all directions, not only from Zhengjia Village, but also from the surrounding Baojia men. They all came over with bows, arrows and hoes, and women encouraged and helped.

There were others shouting, "Go and report to the inspection camp quickly, come and arrest the water thieves, kill the leader, the government will reward you!"

They were frightened and felt that there were enemies everywhere. Hundreds of them were roaring in and out, which was astonishing. The courage in their hearts instantly disappeared, and they ran away without giving up their money.

"Hey, the water thief is nothing special. He can run faster than a rabbit!"

"They should have been arrested just now. Each of them will get the same amount of money!"

The villagers were discussing lively, and their fear of water thieves disappeared without a trace.

"Are these people crazy?" Zhang Da couldn't believe it.

"Yes! He was very good before, but he was timid! Now he dares to hit us!"

"Let's go back!"

They were lucky that the boat was not found and they returned to the island without any danger.

Other water thieves were not so lucky, and most of them were arrested, hacked and exchanged for bounties.

Summer is getting hotter and hotter, and life for water thieves is getting even more difficult.

Originally, they could rob merchant ships, and if nothing else, they could rob, burn, and kill the markets in villages and towns in Yanhu. After all, as long as they could keep up with the speed, the huge Dongting Lake would be their paradise.

He is free and unscrupulous, and he drinks spicy food.

But now, the imperial court is determined to wipe them out. They can't rob or take the stolen goods, and no one dares to take the stolen goods. The water and land key points are tightly blocked, and daily necessities can't be entered. Except for fish and meat, they have nothing to eat. It's really pitiful.

After a month of living as a savage, even the most stubborn water thief can only choose to surrender to the imperial court.

Unfortunately, time had passed and the court did not believe that these stubborn water thieves could become good citizens, so they ignored them.

Helpless, the water thieves could only operate their own boats and enter the Yangtze River slowly, and then be careful of the waves of the river to attack, and then arrived at Poyang Lake and the Southern Tang Dynasty, and then they barely survived.

How can you adapt to the turbulent waves of the Yangtze River while driving on the calm surface of Dongting Lake? Nearly half of the water thieves were submerged in the heart of the Yangtze River, and their bodies were lying on the banks of the river, which is eye-catching.

Zhang Da and a group of people have been water thieves for generations. Both men and women, old and young, have good water skills. In addition, the boat has been reinforced a lot. The two hundred people lived frugally and came to Poyang Lake again without any danger.

"Boss, Poyang Lake is not as good as our Dongting Lake!"

"Those officials don't accept us, but if we go to Poyang Lake, they won't stop us. If we don't come to Poyang Lake, are we waiting to die? We haven't eaten salt for several days, and our brothers have no strength. They almost drowned in the river.

inside!"

Zhang Daguo looked at the endless reeds, and his heart was filled with excitement. He left one Tang country and came to another Tang country, hoping to live a good life like before.

…………

"Brother, is this Poyang Lake?" asked a strong man on several boats owned by a certain water pirate.

"This is Poyang Lake, the heart of the puppet country. Let's act carefully and follow the plan!"

"Nuo——" Hundreds of energetic water thieves on several ships responded in unison.

…………

Jiangzhou, the mouth of the Yangtze River and Poyang Lake.

The corpses of women, children, old and young, some were lying in the weeds on the river bank, and some were floating on the surface of the river, densely packed, forming giant corpses. In this summer, the stench was unpleasant.

"Quickly, pick up all these corpses!"
Chapter completed!