Volume 1 Chushan Bandits Chapter 81: Stormy Storm and New Bandits Arrive
Seeing that Xu Huai was being stubborn and wanted to stay alone in Huaiyuan Town, Xu Wujiang stood up and asked impatiently:
"What are you doing? What good will it do to have one more person in the military camp?"
"Although there are only a hundred or so soldiers in the military camp, it is small and strong, and the officers and soldiers are all elite soldiers selected from each family. It's just that they lack the courage to fight a bloody battle with the enemy," Xu Huai said with a faint smile, "So a reckless man like me, standing up at this time, is still of some use. Besides, all this happened because of me, I can't stay out of it..."
"What does this have to do with you? Stop messing around!" Xu Wuliang and Xu Wukun were so anxious that they stood up and pulled his clothes anxiously, shouting, "If you come back with us, maybe you can persuade Xu Wufu to agree to send troops to support the military camp. You alone are useless!"
Although Xu Huai did not think that he was responsible for the dire situation in Tongbai Mountain at that time, he could not speak out the mysterious memory that flashed in his mind. He could only use this excuse to convince Xu Wuliang and Xu Wukun to agree with his choice.
To be honest, if this memory had not suddenly flashed through his mind yesterday, he would not have taken such a big risk to help Deng Gui defend the military camp. However, if the Central Plains were to be plunged into a terrible disaster in the upcoming first year of Jianhe, Xu Huai didn't think he should take it slow.
Xu Huai could understand the strong opposition from Xu Wujiang, Xu Wuliang and Xu Wukun.
Although the bandits are numerous and their numbers will expand further in a short period of time, they are just a motley crowd and their weapons and armor cannot possibly be very sophisticated.
The defense system of Yuhuangling is being strengthened rapidly; as the bandits become more brutal, the Xu clan members will become more resolute in protecting their homes and their village.
As long as the bandits suffered a few heavy losses in front of Yuhuang Ridge, even if Zheng Hui was controlling everything behind the scenes, it would be difficult to convince the other bandits to ignore casualties and fight to the death at Yuhuang Ridge and the Xu family.
Why do other bandits have to take on the hard bone of Lutai Village? Aren’t soft persimmons more attractive?
Therefore, the Xu family may be able to hold out by defending the various strongholds in Yuhuangling until the imperial court sends a large army to suppress the rebellion.
However, the memory that flashed through his mind yesterday indicated that in the near future, the entire Central Plains would be plunged into chaos. Can he still take his time?
Even if he retreated to Yuhuangling with Xu Wujiang and others at this time, and held out for a year or two until the imperial court organized a large army to suppress the rebellion, what fundamental changes would occur?
Wouldn't Xu Wujiang have to hide himself and not dare to reveal his identity when he meets them?
Wouldn't Xu Wufu then try every possible means to free himself from their bondage to the entire Xu family?
When there is no external crisis, it is not unimaginable that Xu Wufu will be the first to take up the butcher knife and "kill his own relatives for the sake of justice". Even the internal struggle within the Xu family will become cruel and bloody.
The more crucial point is that if we do nothing actively at this time and allow the bandits to wreak havoc, causing countless young and strong people to die in the war or in the famine and epidemics caused by the war, when the real disaster comes, the potential of Tongbai Mountain to cope with major changes will be exhausted in advance.
"I'm not kidding, just listen to my explanation patiently," Xu Huai said patiently, "It's impossible to persuade the head of the family and Xu Wuqi and others to cooperate with Deng Gui and help defend the military camp of the Inspection Division. Even Xin'an's father and Su's father will strongly oppose it. But think about it, if the military camp is not defended, the bandits will cross the Baijian River without any scruples. How many ? One thousand or two thousand?"
Xu Huai picked up a branch and outlined the terrain of Huaishui River, Baijian River and Yuhuangling Mountain on the muddy ground in the yard, and continued: "... As long as the military camp is not lost, even if the bandits can cross the Baijian River from the central shallows to attack the Xu tribe, they will never dare to use their full strength. In the same way, Uncle Seventeen, you guys should prepare for the war more actively after you go back. As long as the military camp survives the first few days, the bandits will be hesitant and at a loss as to what to do!"
"You are just speculating about these wars." Xu Xin'an did not want Xu Huai to take the risk of going to the military camp. Besides the fact that Deng Gui's mind was unpredictable and he might do something bad to Xu Huai as soon as they met, if a large group of bandits really wanted to besiege them, the possibility of defending the military camp was too low.
"Uncle Seventeen, you should know that I am not just talking nonsense." Xu Huai stared at Xu Wujiang and said.
Although Xu Huai blamed everything on Liu Qiong'er , this trick could only deceive Xu Wufu, Xu Wuqi, Xu Guanshan, Su Laochang and others - after all, they had few opportunities to come into contact with Xu Huai, and it was difficult to break their previous stereotypes about Xu Huai.
Of course Xu Wujiang would not be easily deceived, but sometimes he felt that Xu Huai was too young and there was still a lot of room for improvement in martial arts, so it was a good thing for him not to take the lead.
Seeing that Xu Wujiang had fallen silent, and that he was obviously persuaded by Xu Huai, Xu Wuliang and Xu Wukun said at the same time: "We will go with you to the military camp to meet Deng Gui."
"No need. Master Lu is in the military camp. He and I will take care of each other. Unless the military camp is breached, no one can kill us on the wall. And you all know very well that there is no shortage of good fighters in the military camp. Uncle Seventeen, do you really think that other commanders are not as good as you? Among the ten generals with more people, few can beat Xin'an and Sihu? The key is whether there is anyone who can help Deng Gui and inspire their fighting spirit," Xu Huai said, "and whether Jinshagou can pull out a small team of capable troops as support within ten days or half a month, Uncle Wu Liang, Uncle Wu Kun, you can't be absent! It's not just Jinshagou that needs to pull out a small team of troops. If you don't go back, Uncle Seventeen will be alone and weak, and no one will help speak for him. It will be difficult for him to convince the head of the family, Xu Wuqi and others!"
Xu Wuliang and Xu Wukun were worried about Xu Huai going to the military camp alone, but they had to admit that what he said made sense:
We must actively prepare for war, and even pull out men and horses to fight at critical moments. We must not only fight against Xu Wufu, Xu Wuqi and others within the Xu tribe, but also Xu Guanshan and Su Laochang on the Xiema Mountain side, who are relatively conservative and unsteady in their determination, and they are very likely to stand up and oppose.
"I have made up my mind. You can't even think of tying me up and taking me back to Jinshagou. This is settled," Xu Huaizhen said, standing up and holding the knife to his chest. "Before you retreat to Yuhuangling, leave a carriage for me. I will take this body to see Deng Gui!"
…
…
Zhou Jianxiong and eleven other families were going to Yuhuangling. Even with the excuse of hiring workers, many family members were unwilling to leave their dilapidated shacks.
Many people thought that they could use this opportunity to recruit strong laborers from the family and use their connections with the Shangxu clan to work in Yuhuangling to earn food, while the elderly, the weak, women and children would stay behind to look after the shacks; they were afraid that if they all left, even their last place to live in Tongbai Mountain would be taken away by others.
It dragged on until the afternoon, and there were still five elderly people in the families who insisted on staying. We couldn't kidnap them by force at this critical juncture, which was really frustrating.
The others had to follow Xu Wujiang and his team to Jinshagou first, while Zhou Jianxiong and Yin Peng decided to stay in Liutiao Lane for the time being.
Firstly, if the situation further deteriorates, they can consider forcibly taking these family members away; secondly, when Xu Huai enters the military camp, there will be someone here to pass on the message.
Towards evening, Zhou Jianxiong and Yin Peng helped harness the carriage and loaded Leopard's body, which had been stabbed eleven times, into the carriage, preparing to have Xu Huai take it to the military camp as a gift to Deng Gui. They did not know the inside story of this decision and were confused, so they just followed the instructions of Xu Wujiang and Xu Wuliang.
Willow Lane was narrow and bumpy. Fearing that the body would fall out of the carriage, Zhou Jianxiong rushed to the ferry to hire a boat, and Yin Peng helped Xu Huai drive the carriage forward.
As we exited Willow Lane, we saw many people fleeing in panic from the main street.
Xu Huai stopped someone and asked, "What happened ahead?"
"There are horse thieves rushing into the streets!"
"How is it possible?" Xu Huai was shocked and asked, "The bandits massacred . There is a military camp west of Baijian River. How could they rush into the streets on the east bank so quickly?"
Xu Huai had a knife on his waist and was tall and strong. He glared at the man and asked him a question in a voice like thunder, which frightened the man who was stopped and made him tremble:
"The horse thieves came from the east and headed straight for the Tang family warehouse. How could I know if it was possible?"
"How many people are there?" Xu Huai asked.
"There were 20 to 30 people, but I don't know the exact number. They all walked into the market on horseback. When they arrived in front of the Tang family warehouse, they were stopped and searched by two soldiers. Suddenly, they drew their knives and started killing people..."
Xu Huai suddenly realized that this group of horse thieves were not from Hutouzhai, Shixizhuang or Taibaiding, but after hearing the news that thousands of thieves had massacred Zhongjiazhuang, they specially rushed to the chaotic and almost undefended streets to take advantage of the situation and rob.
Xu Huai took a deep breath, let go of the man and ran away.
He guessed that the bandits' bloodbath in Zhongjiazhuang would completely shatter the peace that had existed in Tongbai Mountain for more than ten years, but he did not expect the situation to deteriorate so quickly.
Just one day later, not only were Zhou Jianxiong and his gang instigated and eager to join the gang, but even other village groups also came out so quickly to grab the first pot of gold.
In the streets, the only shops that are sure to have large sums of money to rob and quickly escape are the Tang Family Warehouse and other shops that lend money and deal in bulk goods.
Even though the Tang Family Warehouse was more important to the Tang family than Yue Hong Lou, there were always twenty or thirty farmhands playing with knives and guns in the yard behind the store all year round to prevent anyone from coming to cause trouble; together with the store manager, the shopkeeper, the clerks, and the porters who loaded and unloaded the goods, there might sometimes be hundreds of people there.
However, this group of horse thieves attacked at lightning speed, and Xu Huai didn't think that the fierce-looking guards at the Tang family warehouse could resist them in such a hurry.
These horse thieves were heading for the Tang family, so Xu Huai didn't need to stand up for the Tang family. He and Yin Peng pulled the carriage slowly towards the main street...
