Volume 1 Chushan Bandits Chapter 69: Women Can't Be Heroes
Seeing Xu Wufu speechless, Liu Qiong'er slowly said, "Zheng Hui has not been with Cai Ying for long, but before Cai Ying became famous, he served as Wang Xiaocheng's deputy commander and the chief supervisor of the Jingsheng Army. Xu Wuqi and Zhou Jing, you were once generals and soldiers of the Jingsheng Army. You should know something about Cai Ying's character, right?"
Xu Huai heard these things from Wang Bin and Lu Xiong, and then told Liu Qiong'er. When Liu Qiong'er was talking about these things, no one else could compete with her.
Zhou Jing said in a muffled voice, "We are just low-level soldiers. Even if Xu Huai's father is in charge of the Jingsheng Army, he is just a rough warrior in the eyes of these officials. We don't have the opportunity to interact with them on a daily basis, so how can we know their personalities?"
"Okay, I won't keep you in suspense in front of Patriarch Xu anymore."
Liu Qiong'er said with a smile,
"Cai Ying started as a military judge, a military commander, and then became the commander of an army, and then the general of the Northwest Army. He served in the Western Army for nearly 20 years and won countless military exploits, so he was undoubtedly in charge of the Privy Council. However, looking closely at the situation in the northwest, has my country, Da Yue, gained an inch of territory in the west in the past 20 years? Do you think this is a bit strange? The most ruthless thing that Wang Bing did to offend Cai Ying was to impeach him for "premeditating border conflicts to satisfy his selfish desires, deceiving his superiors and subordinates for 20 years without gaining an inch of territory." Let's assume that Zheng Hui has learned the true teachings of Cai Ying, or that he and Cai Ying have a deep bond. It is not difficult to guess Zheng Hui's purpose. He wants to stir up trouble in Tongbai Mountain. The bigger the storm, the bigger it is. They will suppress it themselves. Will it become a merit that helps them to be promoted quickly in the court? There is nothing new in these. They are just the old tricks that Cai Ting used in the Western Army in the early years. As for whether Tongbai Mountain will be a river of blood, it is not their concern. Unfortunately, Xu is very likely to be the first stepping stone they are going to step on..."
Listening to Liu Qiong'er's eloquent talk, everyone was shocked. It was hard to imagine that a woman could have such knowledge.
"Cai Ying used to be in the Western Army, and the rumors about him were indeed not good." Xu Wuqi said in a deep voice.
Xu Wuqi once served as the deputy commander of Wang Xiaocheng's personal guards. Although he was also a low-level military officer who was not valued by the officials, he knew more about the rumors about the high-ranking officials of the Western Army than Zhou Jing, Xu Wuliang, Xu Wukun and other military leaders.
Everyone gasped.
The Xu family's ability to gain a foothold in Tongbai Mountain was definitely not based on naivety and romanticism. How could they not understand the tricks of killing with a borrowed knife and nurturing the enemy to protect themselves?
Moreover, they were able to suppress the resentment in their hearts and personally go to the new village to discuss with Xu Wujiang and others. How come they had not discussed the various unfavorable situations before coming here?
"Guo Caoling's assassination may further anger the people behind the scenes, but you must also know that if Guo Caoling is not dead, the Xu family will be doomed," Liu Qiong'er said, "Speaking of this, does the head of the Xu family still resent me for instigating Xu Huai to act on his own? Can the head of the Xu family calm down now and discuss the next step together?"
"Bosong, Zhongyu, both of you uncles have come to the new camp today. Please let us know if you have made any decision." Xu Wujiang looked at Xu Bosong and Xu Zhongyu with a resolute expression for a while, then spoke in a slightly more polite tone.
Xu Zhongyu remained silent; Xu Wufu and Xu Wuqi also had gloomy faces, and they could not say a word to ask for help.
Xu Bosong, as the head of the village and the head of the Beizhai (Dazhai), was also the most prestigious figure of the older generation of the Xu family. He coughed twice and said:
"Wu Fu was not thoughtful enough before, and it is true that he may have been fooled by the traitors. His arrangement with Wu Jiang was not appropriate, but he also wanted to protect the Xu family. The Xu family is facing a situation now, and we can no longer pursue who was right and who was wrong in the past. We must work together to overcome the crisis. The assassination of Guo Caoling only temporarily postponed the crisis, but it also made the crisis that may erupt in the future more severe."
Xu Bosong said it lightly. Xu Wujiang frowned and said in a deep voice: "I still say the same thing. Thinking about the past will only add to your troubles."
Even without considering the severe situation they are about to face, the manpower and resources that Lutai Village can mobilize are dozens of times more than theirs. He is not qualified to be angry with Xu Wufu now.
"Wu Jiang, it was my fault before." Although Xu Wufu's tone was stiff, he admitted his fault.
"What Miss Liu said is what we also had in mind before we came here. Regardless of what Zheng Hui and his people are planning, Cai Ting, who is behind them, is the Privy Councilor and has been in charge of the Western Army for twenty years. He is extremely powerful and his private clique is spread all over the world. We should not fight them openly, and we will never win." Xu Bosong said.
"That's right." Xu Wujiang nodded in response.
"The Xu family has established itself in Tongbai Mountain, and there are countless conflicts with the surrounding big clans and mountain strongholds. Although we rarely fight openly, we will definitely let the other party know that we are not easy to bully," Xu Bosong said, "For the current situation, this is the only method we can think of. The Xu family does not fight openly, so on the surface, everything should remain the same. If the prefectures, counties and inspection offices have any orders, we cannot shirk them and we must do our best to perfunctory them. But at the same time, the Xu family cannot be bullied, and we must let some people know that the Xu family cannot be bullied. At this time, Xiema Mountain will become a sharp thorn that cannot be pulled out, which can be stabbed at any time and can stab the enemy with blood at any time. In this way, no matter how big Zheng Hui's conspiracy is behind the scenes, no matter how big a storm he wants to stir up in Tongbai Mountain, as long as the Xu family can protect itself, it can remain invincible from beginning to end..."
Xu Wufu added at this time: "Even if Hutou Village may choose us as their target at first, as long as they suffer a few losses at our hands, I believe they will understand the principle of picking the weak ones..."
"What Third Uncle said is a prudent strategy, and Wujiang should obey it." Xu Wujiang thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.
In fact, the strategy proposed by Xu Bosong and Xu Wufu was essentially the same as what they had planned before, which was to have Yuhuangling in the open and Xiema Mountain in the dark, and to support each other in dealing with crises that could worsen at any time.
If there must be a difference, it is that Xu Wujiang had previously threatened to drag the Xu family into the water, but now the Xu family is objectively facing a severe crisis. Xu Wufu and others took the initiative to propose mutual assistance and will be more active in cooperation.
"I'm feeling depressed, so I'm going out to get some fresh air." Xu Huai stood up and said.
Xu Wujiang, especially the various Wuzu, are at the bottom of the society. Whether Wang Bing can make a comeback or not is actually not of much significance. Xu Guanshan and Su Lao often blame him for taking risks, which Xu Huai can understand. But as far as the entire Xu family is concerned, although at first glance there seems to be no particularly outstanding figures, their strength is actually not weak.
Xu Huaiyuan thought that he could bring up the matter of Wang Bing's comeback at this time, but he didn't expect Xu Boshong and Xu Wufu to come over. They were still thinking about self-preservation, and he was in no mood to stay and listen to them discuss self-preservation strategies.
Feeling somewhat depressed, Xu Huai walked out of the house and whistled, trying to dispel his depression.
Seeing Xu Huai walked out whistling impatiently, everyone looked at each other in surprise.
"Xu Huai has become much smarter in the past two years, and his skills are also first-class strong, but his temper is still somewhat stubborn. Let's ignore him for now. If there is anything, ask Miss Liu to persuade him!" Xu Wujiang said.
He was also afraid that Xu Wufu and Xu Bosong might need to assign Xu Huai to do something in the future, and that it would be inconvenient for him to refuse directly, so he pushed it all onto Liu Qiong'er.
At this time, he told Xu Bosong, Xu Wufu and others that Liu Qiong'er had rented a courtyard in Tieshi Lane as a musical instrument studio, hired Xu Wuliang and Xu Huai as workers, and that Liu Qiong'er was the third in command in Xiema Mountain.
Xu Wufu, Xu Bosong, Xu Zhongyu and others were all convinced that the burning of Xiema Mountain, the blackmailing of Xu and the assassination of Guo Caoling were all planned by Liu Qiong'er behind the scenes, so how could they dare to underestimate her?
But when Xu Wujiang said that Xu Huai listened to Liu Qiong'er in all matters, Xu Bosong, Xu Zhongyu and Xu Wufu felt extremely regretful.
They could not imagine the danger of assassinating Guo Caoling, but after fighting with Pan Chenghu and his gang for more than ten days, Xu Huai's bravery was obvious to all and was indeed superior to any other member of the Xu family.
The Xu family finally had another brave general, but he actually listened to the orders of a woman from a different family. How could they feel happy?
However, they could not see through Liu Qiong'er's true intentions, so they suppressed their inner dissatisfaction and did not show it.
Xu Wuqi stared at Liu Qiong'er with a gloomy look, which made Liu Qiong'er feel uneasy.
…
…
Xu Huai sat on the cliff, watching Liu Qiong'er walking towards him with her skirt lifted up, then lazily turned his head to look at the flaming sunset in the distant sky.
"Why don't you mention Wang Bing's comeback? Xu Wufu has been an official in the provincial government for many years. If Wang Bing can make a comeback, it should be attractive to him. What's more, Xu is already like this !" Liu Qiong'er asked.
"Xu Wufu is too smart, so smart that he is short-sighted. He dare not have any extravagant desires beyond an inch," Xu Huai sighed, "Now it is a common crisis for the Xu family, so they can bow their heads and pretend to be nice to us. As long as Xu Wufu has a little bit of pride in his heart, I will look up to him!"
"Look at what you said. The people in Tongbai Mountain are all servile and despicable. How many of them have the spirit of chivalry?" Liu Qiong'er glanced at Xu Huai with her beautiful eyes. "And in the entire Tangzhou officialdom, how many people don't wish that Mr. Wang had died a long time ago so that this place can get out of the vortex? They are not as loyal and righteous as Wu Kun and Uncle Wu Liang."
"Many people who are righteous are butchers," Xu Huai laughed at himself and asked, "What self-protection strategies have they come up with?"
"Before Pan Chenghu broke out to Hengfeng Mountain yesterday, he sent a group of scapegoats to the southeast to attract the attention of the local soldiers. It rained heavily in Yuhuangling last night. The bandits who fled to the southeast forest were cold and hungry, and were forced to flee down the mountain one after another. Xu Wujiang and his men gathered fifty or sixty people and took them to Xiema Mountain!"
Liu Qiong'er said,
"Although these people are abandoned soldiers that Pan Chenghu despises, and many of them were forced to join the gang, there are few people in Xiema Mountain after all, so they are not qualified to be picky, right? Xu Wufu just loosened his lips and promised that Xu Wujiang could secretly recruit some people from Lutai Village, and their families could also be incorporated into the new village. In the name of loan, the clan will take out another 100,000 kilograms of grain to support the construction of the new village and the subsequent reclamation of Lion Camel Ridge, and secretly speed up the construction of the channel connecting Xiema Mountain; considering the worst possible situation, they also want to reserve 200,000 kilograms of grain in Xiema Mountain in advance..."
"The Xu family still has some background, and they are not stingy when it comes to spending money," said Xu Huai.
Including the people with the surname Xiao, the various villages in Lutai had a total of more than 4,000 people. Xu Wufu was prepared to take out 300,000 kilograms of grain at one time, which was equivalent to nearly three months' food rations for all the people in Yuhuangling. It was no small amount.
"It's a sign of sincerity. Xu Wufu also promised to ask the prefecture and county to recognize the existence of the new village as much as possible, and to nominate Su Laochang as the head of the old household. He also promised to raise a batch of weapons and armor for Xiema Mountain," Liu Qiong'er said. "I think the new village needs the ability to forge and repair weapons and armor, and Xu Wufu also agreed to help with everything."
"Build the iron forge in Jinshagou!" Xu Huai said decisively...
