Volume 1 Chushan Bandits Chapter 58: The Chair of Romance
Burning the grain but not the village was also a bet that Pan Chenghu had become a frightened bird and would not dare to come back after seeing the fire here.
After all, no one would be willing to burn down such a great place.
The place where Xu Huai and Liu Qiong'er were sitting was the main hall of the upper courtyard of Chonghuang Temple. Below them was the east slope valley of Xiema Mountain. The terrain there was more open and was where the mountain gate and the lower courtyard of Chonghuang Temple were located. There were also many barren fields. There was a dirt road to the east from the mountain gate, and after crossing several slopes, you could reach villages such as Shangliu upstream of Qingliu Creek.
The granary and thieves' house that were set on fire yesterday were both located in the lower courtyard. They looked like a mess now, with embers still burning and black smoke rising from the depths of the valley.
Chonghuang Temple is a famous temple that was built more than 400 years ago. It has been repaired throughout the dynasties and has a large-scale building complex. In addition to the lower courtyard at the mountain gate, there are more than a hundred pavilions and halls in the upper courtyard halfway up the mountain. There are narrow and steep stone steps connecting the upper and lower courtyards.
The narrowest part of this stone staircase is only four or five feet wide, with a high and steep slope, sandwiched between cliffs and steep walls.
The terrain of the lower house is open and cannot be defended with fewer people, but the upper house is only connected by a narrow stone staircase, and the surrounding terrain is rugged and difficult to climb. If sufficient food and grass can be stored, thirty or fifty brave soldiers will be enough to keep the powerful enemy out.
At this moment, Liu Qiong'er saw three cavalrymen emerging from the opposite hill in the distance. She became nervous and thought that Pan Chenghu had sent outposts to investigate the situation here.
After a while, she saw Xu Xin'an and two others riding their horses to the mountain gate and dismounting. Only then did she realize that after they captured Xiema Mountain, Xu Xin'an took people to spy on the situation nearby at night.
Xu Wujiang, Xu Wuliang, Xu Wukun, Xu Guanshan, Su Laochang and others were all in the lower courtyard of the mountain gate at this time.
Xu Huai was too tired from fighting last night, so he sat on the steps and looked from afar. He saw Xu Wujiang and the others waiting for Xu Xin'an to come over and talk to him. He didn't look panicked at all and said to Liu Qiong'er:
"Pan Chenghu doesn't have the guts to bring his men back to fight. I can take a good nap now. Don't wake me up if nothing's wrong. I was so exhausted yesterday. It seemed like I fought with 15 or 16 women!"
As he spoke, Xu Huai leaned back and fell asleep, and soon he began to snore softly.
Liu Qiong'er pushed Xu Huai twice, but seeing that he didn't move at all, she cursed him angrily. Worried about the cold spring morning dew, she asked Xu Xiaohuan and Su Xun to find a thin mattress and bring it to cover Xu Huai.
Xu Wujiang, Xu Wuliang, Xu Wukun, Xu Guanshan, Su Laochang, Xu Xin'an, Xu Sihu and others came up the mountain and saw Xu Huai sleeping soundly on the stone steps in front of the hall. They couldn't help shaking their heads and said to Liu Qiong'er:
"Pan Chenghu doesn't have the courage to come back. He is currently leading more than 300 bandits to occupy Shangliu Village upstream of Qingliu Creek, and Xu Wufu gathered more than 300 men in Dongzhai overnight. This will surely make Pan Chenghu even more afraid to act rashly..."
Although Liu Qiong'er did not dare to stay in Lion Camel Ridge last night, she admitted that she was timid, but it was not difficult for her to imagine the situation where Xu Wufu and Pan Chenghu were suspicious of each other and restrained each other.
In the final analysis, it was Zheng Hui and others who were spreading rumors behind the scenes and ended up making things worse.
Zheng Hui spread the word that Xu Wujiang was refused entry to Hutou Village and fled to Jinshagou to hide. When Pan Chenghu heard about this, he naturally suspected that Xu had coveted Xiema Mountain, so he led the bandits to Lutai Village yesterday to question him.
As for the burning of Xiema Mountain last night, even if Pan Chenghu knew for sure that it was done by Xu Wujiang and his men, he would only believe that it was a scheme agreed upon by Xu Wujiang and Xu Wufu.
Can Xu Wufu still send someone to explain to Pan Chenghu?
Pan Chenghu's bandits were forced to occupy Shangliu Village, not far from Lutai East Village. Xu Wufu had no explanation, and was afraid that Pan Chenghu would lead the bandits to massacre East Village to vent his anger, so he could only concentrate the main force of Xu's camp soldiers there to guard against it.
Under such circumstances, Pan Chenghu was afraid that his retreat would be cut off by the main force of the Xu clan soldiers, so he dared not go back to Xiema Mountain. The two sides could only be deadlocked in the upper reaches of Qingliu Creek.
In other words, if Xu Wujiang and his men stayed in Xiema Mountain for the time being, they would not have to worry about a large group of bandits counterattacking in the short term. Liu Qiong'er looked at Xu Wujiang and his men again, and saw that they were tired but excited, and she knew that they should have made up their minds to gain a foothold here.
Thinking of this, Liu Qiong'er bowed and said, "Then I have to congratulate Master Xu."
"Okay, okay," Xu Wujiang laughed and said, "How should we settle down in Xiema Mountain in the future? Miss Liu, please help us discuss ideas..."
"Me?" Liu Qiong'er asked, pointing at her nose with some confusion.
"Without Miss Liu's help, we would never have reached where we are today; and we are still weak and insignificant now, so we still need Miss Liu's continued assistance," said Xu Wujiang.
Yesterday, Xu Huai, Xu Wukun and Xu Wuliang rushed back to the new camp of Lion Camel Ridge and suggested attacking Xiema Mountain. Xu Guanshan, Su Laochang and others were all very confused. Xu Xin'an and others also thought it was a unnecessary move. However, Liu Qiong'er, a woman from a romantic family, saw the benefits of burning grain and the camp early on.
In the past month, Liu Qiong'er had taken out money and food to support the families of the various soldiers to move to a new camp in the Lion Camel Ridge, to break away from Xu Wufu's control and resolve everyone's worries.
Therefore, Xu Xin'an, Xu Sihu and others were also very convinced of Liu Qiong'er.
"Aren't you waiting for this idiot to wake up?" Liu Qiong'er asked puzzledly, pointing at Xu Huai who was sleeping soundly on the stone slab.
"What a fool! We have discussed whether we should settle down here or not since we captured this bandit camp. Xu Huai only said, 'If the enemy advances, we retreat; if the enemy stays, we harass; if the enemy is tired, we attack; if the enemy retreats, we pursue.' This sounds quite mysterious, but we still need to discuss and come up with a plan on what to do specifically." said Xu Laochang.
The lower courtyard of the mountain gate had been burned down, and the upper courtyard was easy to defend but difficult to attack. The soldiers worked hard and carried three to four thousand kilograms of food and other light property up overnight.
Even if Pan Chenghu led a large group of bandits to counterattack at this time, they could still hold the Senate for more than a month.
As long as they can gain a foothold in Xiema Mountain, there is nothing to be afraid of even if their tracks are exposed. After all, no one wants to hide their head all their life.
Now, the worst case scenario is to move all the family members to Xiema Mountain.
As for whether the government troops will come to suppress us in the future, there is nothing to worry about.
When the enemy comes, we will fight them; when the water comes, we will block it with earth; if you can’t stop them, they will all fall to the sky together.
The poor people at the bottom of society are just single, without the many concerns that a wealthy man might have about not being able to sit in the halls of power.
…
…
Liu Qiong'er asked Xu Xiaohuan to stay beside Xu Huai, and she followed Xu Wujiang and the others into the hall.
After the Taoist temple was occupied by bandits, the clay statues in the main hall were pushed over and smashed, and the bronze statues had long been deflated and exchanged for money, food, and armor. The main hall was vacated and turned into a gathering hall and meeting room for the bandits.
The main hall is about 50 feet deep and more than 20 feet high. It is a very tall and spacious building that is extremely rare in Tongbai Mountain. The nine huge pillars that are so big that one person cannot hug them are covered with mottled carvings and lacquer. The plaque in the deep part of the hall was replaced with the three words "Juyi Hall" long ago, but the handwriting is too ugly. Pan Chenghu, the Soul-Snatching Spear, actually signed his name on it. He is so shameless.
There are six chairs placed in the main hall, which is where Pan Chenghu and the main leaders hold meetings.
Entering the hall, Xu Wujiang asked his father-in-law Su Laochang to sit in the first chair. Su Laochang stood in the hall and said:
"You have deserted the army, and there is no way back except to become bandits. And everything needs someone to take the lead and make decisions, so that everyone can be at ease. You should take up this responsibility."
In the past, Xu Wujiang was the one who made the decisions on all matters, but he never seriously discussed the matter of status. Seeing this scene, Liu Qionger wondered if Xu Wujiang and his men were going to officially set up a base here?
Xu Wukun and Xu Wuliang knew that Xu Huai was still too young and the other soldiers would never obey him, so they all advised Xu Wujiang to take the top seat.
"Wu Kun is good at training soldiers. We will have to rely on him to assist Wu Jiang in matters such as the mountain stronghold in the future. Wu Kun will sit in the second seat." Su Laochang said.
"No, no, there is no way I can sit in the second seat," Xu Wukun said, "If anyone should sit, it should be Xu Huailai. He is the most courageous and has contributed the most. No one would object to him sitting in the second seat."
"Xu Huai is brave, as everyone has seen. He still has a lot of room for improvement in martial arts, so we can't let too many tedious matters bother him. He can sit in the third or fourth seat, but the second seat has to help Wu Jiang deal with many village affairs. I hope Wu Kun will take the trouble to do so!" Su Laochang said.
Xu Wukun thought that what Su Laochang said made sense, and said, "In that case, let Wu Liang take the second seat. He is good at blacksmithing, and the stronghold will need weapons and armor in the future, and this piece of equipment is indispensable. Xu Huai is brave, but he fights without regard for danger and spares no effort, which is really worrying. He lacks a horse-leading general to take care of him. Until the right person is found, I will stay by his side!"
"..." Su Laochang nodded and said, "Wu Kun's suggestion is also reasonable. I was shocked when I saw Xu Huaili killing three bandits in front of Lutai Village from afar. He really needs a good fighter to take care of him on the battlefield, but it's too unfair to you, Wu Kun!"
"Ha, what's wrong with that?" Xu Wukun laughed.
"Let Wu Liang sit in the second seat, and let Xu Huai, that reckless fellow, sit in the third seat. Then who should sit in the fourth seat?" Xu Wujiang also followed suit. He thought what his father-in-law and Xu Wukun were discussing made sense. Xu Xin'an, Xu Sihu and others standing aside nodded repeatedly, so he simply left the subsequent ranking to them to decide.
Su Lao often said: "Xu Xin'an is a rare talent among the younger generation, but he is a little too young. It would be more appropriate for Guan Shan to take over the fourth position. Besides, the positions in the mountain stronghold cannot all be held by Xu's descendants. It would be difficult to recruit soldiers in the future. It is better to leave the position vacant for now..."
Liu Qiong'er was secretly surprised. She had come to Lutai Village with Xu Huai a few days ago and saw Su Laochang walking out of the fields, wearing tattered clothes and barefoot, with a load of manure in his hands. But apart from his excellent boxing skills, he was also organized in his work. What's more, he could still foresee the subsequent development issues of the village at this time.
"Third Master, come over here and sit on the chair!" Liu Qiong'er heard Xu Xin'an calling out to the outside of the hall. She looked out and saw Xu Huai yawning and walking in, looking like he had just woken up.
"Third in command, what third in command?" Xu Huai asked puzzledly.
"Everyone pushes you to take the third seat. Are you happy about that?" Xu Xin'an told him what everyone had just discussed.
"I don't want to sit in the third seat. What Father Su said makes sense. This seat cannot be occupied by all the children of my Xu family. Otherwise, how can we recruit troops in the future?" Xu Huai said, "Miss Liu is famous and has a great reputation. She should sit in the third seat!"
"ha……"
Everyone was stunned. They didn't expect Xu Huai didn't want to sit in the third seat, but pushed Liu Qiong'er to sit...
