Chapter 230 Sneak Attack
The shopkeeper looked at Wang Yu with horror, looking at the heads and bloody necks all over the floor.
But his heart was tangled with knots.
Wang Yu sneered, "Why? You don't want to say it? I won't force you. Just forget it if you don't want to say it."
After weighing the knife in his hand, Wang Yu prepared to chop.
The waiter next to him said hurriedly: "What are you thinking about? Are we all dead? What do you think..."
The shopkeeper immediately scolded the waiter, "Shut up!"
After saying this, just as the blade was about to fall on his neck, he said to Wang Yu, "If I tell you, will you really let me go?"
Wang Yu looked at the blade of his knife and said, "That depends on whether I am interested in your secret or not."
"I, I don't know anything else, but I know that Marquis Rong'an seems to have a jade mine. This... this is much more valuable than silver. If you can find this jade mine, it will be much more cost-effective than blackmailing Marquis Rong'an."
Marquis Rong'an has a jade mine?
Rong Que had been investigating Rong'an Marquis for so many years and yet he was completely unaware of the situation.
"Is there any secret you can't tell?" Rong Que looked at him coldly.
The shopkeeper swallowed his saliva and said, "My eldest son works in this jade mine."
Rong Que was startled. "Did he bring all the people in the jade mine from Zhao State?"
Once the secret was out, there were no more concerns about talking about it. The shopkeeper was like a deflated ball, his shoulders slumped and his eyelids drooped.
"Yes, both. Several of our families have relatives working in the mine. I am my son and he is his eldest brother."
The young man who survived was completely confused. "What did you say? My brother is in the jade mine?"
For so many years, he always thought that his eldest brother was dead!
As for the secret of the jade mine, the young man only knew that it existed and knew nothing else. He did not expect to learn the truth in such an occasion today. He even forgot his fear and was filled with anger and shock.
His parents passed away early, and he was raised by his eldest brother and sister-in-law. To him, his eldest brother and sister-in-law are no different from his parents.
"My elder brother is..."
He yelled out something and was kicked to the ground by Wang Yu, "Shut up!"
He completely ignored Wang Yu and just glared at the shopkeeper with red eyes.
The shopkeeper didn't look at him, but sighed with trembling lips, "We are all here, otherwise, how could he feel at ease to use us."
The boy growled in a low voice, "Why didn't you tell me!"
The shopkeeper turned to look at him, his eyes filled with annoyance and powerlessness, "I'll tell you what to do next, are you going to die?"
The boy opened his mouth but could not utter a word.
That’s right, if the shopkeeper told him, he would definitely go find his eldest brother.
But since the people on Rong'an Hou's side didn't let them know, there must be a reason for not letting them know. He insisted on going, and he had no choice but to die.
He collapsed on the ground. "Are their relatives here too?"
The shopkeeper bit his lip and said, "They are all here. Da Liu is in a much worse situation than you. His family...his two sisters were taken away."
Two girls in their teens were taken to the mine, and there was no need to think about what could happen to them.
"That beast!" The young man pounded his fist and cried.
The shopkeeper looked at Rong Que and Wang Yu and said, "We have a problem here. When the banditry outside ends, if anyone finds out about the jade mine of Rong'an Hou, our relatives will be the first ones he will vent his anger on.
I……
Since you are friends of the previous people in this shop and are also enemies of Marquis Rong'an, I have told you the secret. I do not ask you to let me go, but I only ask that since we have a common enemy, you find the jade mine and allow our relatives to return home.
We are guilty and they are innocent.”
Wang Yu glanced at Rong Que, who said coldly, "You are from Zhao State, and we are from Dayan State. Whether they are innocent or not is none of our business!"
After saying this, Rong Que gave Wang Yu a look, and the two of them took the banknotes and left.
The shopkeeper and the waiter never expected that these two people would leave like this.
What's the point of leaving them here without taking them away or killing them?
However, they had no money on them now. The only rice, flour, grain and meat left in the shop would be enough for the two of them to eat for ten days or half a month. What would they do if the bandit problem was not over after that?
Starve to death?
The two men stared at each other for a while, then helped each other to untie the ropes on their bodies.
I can’t worry about anything else. I have to deal with the bodies in the house first.
The next morning.
Wang Yu rode out before daybreak.
At about noon, the county government posted a notice, recruiting several canal digging workers for 30 cents a day, including lunch.
Thirty cents is not a lot of money, but at a time like this when there is no labor force to make a living, these thirty cents are very worthwhile.
As soon as the notice was posted, countless people flocked to the county government office for consultation.
The county government set up a consultation desk early in the morning, with a dozen yamen runners responsible for answering questions and registering people. Around noon, the first batch of laborers had completed registration, received shovels from the county government, and were led by yamen runners directly to the base of the city wall.
In order to make these workers cherish the tools provided by the county government, the county government specifically emphasized that each person would receive a shovel for free. If the shovel was damaged, the county government would not require compensation, but would no longer provide free tools.
Zhao Ji was very capable in handling household affairs, and he was well organized and carried out the ditch digging activities in an orderly manner.
At the same time, Su Qingqing and Rong Que, who had been hiding in the woods for a long time, finally waited until the bandits had eaten their fill and had a good breakfast. Then the large army set out to attack Datong County.
The enemy had too many people to fight head-on, so they could only wait for the main force to leave their nest and then launch a guerrilla war.
Rong Que was in the east, Su Qingqing and Jixiang were in the west. Seeing that the other party was about a thousand meters away from their nest, the three of them rode their horses into the other party's nest.
They were all people with great kung fu skills. They rode their horses at full speed and swung their swords, not caring how many they could kill. They headed straight for the granary.
Last night, Rong Que and Wang Yu burned a granary, but the effort was far from enough.
This time, Su Qingqing directly brought some of the black gunpowder stored in the Zhaoji government office and wrapped it in gravel.
They suddenly appeared, and the people in the bandits' lair immediately tried their best to stop them.
However, the only ones left were gatekeepers. They were few in number and were caught off guard. In addition the gap in military strength was too great. In a short while, Rong Que reached the granary.
The black gunpowder wrapped in stone chips was lit with a fuse and thrown over.
Bang!
A violent explosion sounded in the air.
The team attacking in front was so frightened that they stopped in shock and looked back, only to see thick smoke billowing from the direction of the old nest.
The large army immediately rushed back to the nest.
Su Qingqing and her friends had already set up ropes along the road early in the morning to block the way.
When the large group set out, the rope was placed on the ground and was not discovered at all. But when the large group came back quickly, the fishing net rope had already been pulled into the air.
The horse was galloping past, and in an instant it stumbled and fell to its knees.
As soon as the horse in the front row knelt down, the people behind him didn't have time to brake and fell over.
This tactic is not considered sophisticated, and it does not even have much lethality, but it is the most effective sneak attack in a battle with a huge disparity in numbers.
It’s a pity that Su Qingqing is still weak, otherwise she could have taken the opportunity to rush forward and take advantage of the situation.
