Volume 1 Chushan Bandits Chapter 86: Harsh Words
Wang Bing stood up, stood with his hands folded under the old locust tree, pondered for a moment, and asked Deng Gui:
"What do the families and the generals and soldiers say?"
The bandits suddenly became more fierce. Whether Huaiyuan could be defended depended on the attitude and morale of the big clans and the soldiers in the military camp.
"Xu Huai killed three bandits from Laoyatan in the street and stopped three others. Not only did this dampen the morale of the bandits, but it also boosted the morale of the soldiers in the military camp. There were even twenty or thirty young and strong men running to the street, willing to help defend the military camp for rewards. However, the clansmen of the major surnames remained silent, probably thinking about protecting themselves. Although there are more than 160 strong men in the camp now , I'm afraid it will still be difficult to resist the bandit army that is attacking like a swarm of insects!" Deng Gui told Wang Bing in detail about the current military preparations of the military camp of the Inspection Office.
The bandits from Laoyatan broke into the streets and rushed forward recklessly, but no one stood up to stop them. Deng Gui knew that he was very disappointed at that time. He thought that under such circumstances, as long as the bandits attacked in a large number, the more than one hundred soldiers of the Inspection Office would not only not be able to resist to the death, but it was not unimaginable that they would be defeated at the first sight of the enemy.
The appearance of Xu Huai not only dampened the morale of the stubborn bandits, but more importantly, brought the morale of the people in the streets and military camps back from the brink of collapse.
From this point of view, Deng Gui had to admire the Yaksha Fox hiding behind the scenes. He really made good use of the limited resources at his disposal.
However, the big clans were still too cunning. Unlike the lower-class people and soldiers, whose courage and bravery were not easily aroused, they remained unmoved. They believed that the general situation was irreversible in a short period of time and were still determined to retreat to their various fortresses and hold out until the imperial army arrived to support them. This was the fundamental thing.
Deng Gui had no idea what to do about it.
Seeing Deng Gui put forward his difficulties, Wang Bing hesitated for a moment and said:
"If you can't rely on the families, you don't have to send people, but you can't lack money and food. The residents in the market should also evacuate to the mountains as much as possible to avoid being disturbed by bandits . The people of the big families in the market can also be withdrawn, but they must hand over the money and food they have in the market! You take Xu Huai with you now. Anyone who dares not follow your orders, Lord Deng, can be killed by Xu Huai! You can also let all the families know that this is a bad idea from my king. You didn't want to do this, so I will be the villain!"
"With Wang Xiang's words, I know what to do!" Deng Gui bowed and looked at Tang Tiande and Jin Longquan behind him. "Captain Tang, Captain Jin, what do you think of what Wang Xiang said?"
Huaiyuan's channel of communication with the outside world had in fact been cut off. Deng Gui was nominally in power, and he could decide the life and death of anyone who dared to disobey him.
However, the problem lies in the military camp's military soldiers. From the two captains Tang Tiande and Jin Longquan, to the five generals, twelve lieutenants and the more than one hundred soldiers at the bottom, most of them come from large clans.
Now everyone had to retreat back to their fortresses. If Deng Gui dared to take a tough stance against them, he couldn't even command a single person.
He has pissed off all the families, so they might as well instigate a fool to take all the blame, and even kill him first.
In other words, if he wants to have the power of life and death, he must have a sharp and formidable knife in his hand. Now Wang Bing hands him Xu Huai's extremely sharp "knife".
"What Prime Minister Wang said is very true. The situation is so urgent. If the families still dare to refuse to pay the money and grain, we must take extraordinary measures!" Jin Longquan said without hesitation.
"Yes, yes, what Prime Minister Wang said is absolutely right!" Tang Tiande's tone was a little hesitant, but his attitude was also agreeing.
From a personal perspective, both of them certainly hope to defend the military camp.
The position of Dutou is not a prominent one, but it is prestigious enough in Tongbai Mountain, and it also makes them have a strong enough foundation in the clan, not to mention other practical benefits.
They were used to enjoying themselves, and could not imagine the situation of being stripped of their posts and punished for the rest of their lives if they really escaped from the military camp - even if the crime did not deserve the death penalty, they would never be able to hold their heads up again; besides, they could not be sure that Deng Gui would not dare to kill them to establish his authority at this time.
However, what made them hesitate was that they could not go against the will of the clan.
The clan is the basis for them to show off their power in the Inspection Office.
If Deng Gui really wanted to force the families to hand over their money and grain reserves in the market, they would at least not help Deng Gui use force, which would put them on the opposite side of the clan.
Otherwise, even if they manage to defend the military camp this time, the clan won’t deal with them in the future?
Now Deng Gui is using Xu Huai, a fool, to kill people to establish his authority. They are hiding behind and not stepping out. If the clan really stops paying money and food, and one or two people are killed to establish his authority, it cannot be their fault.
"If I disobey my master's orders and kill him, will there be a reward?" Xu Huai asked stupidly with his head tilted, holding the knife.
"The reward will be the same as for killing the thief." Deng Gui said.
"Well then! Today I will punish anyone who dares to disobey Lord Deng's orders!" Xu Huai stood up, jumped, and shouted to the next yard, "Come on Yin Peng, let's go earn the reward!"
With Wang Bing's words as a backup and Xu Huai and Yin Peng available, Deng Gui did not ask Tang Tiande, Jin Longquan and the subordinate officers to come forward.
He selected more than a dozen experienced veteran soldiers and appointed a clerk recommended from the city of Biyang to lead them. Together with Xu Huai and Yin Peng, they set up checkpoints at two lines of barricades on the east side of the street.
The personnel of the big clans could withdraw from the streets, but money, food and supplies had to be left behind; the money and food sent to the military camp would also be recorded in a book as a basis for future distribution.
Xu Huai asked Yin Peng to harness the carriage and pull it to the checkpoint. Zheng the butcher also brought Chen Gui with him and delivered a pot of wine and some food including a fat goose.
Xu Huai invited Zheng the Butcher, Chen Gui and Yin Peng to sit in the car to drink and eat meat, and then asked Yin Peng to take Zheng the Butcher and Chen Gui to the checkpoint to keep an eye on the people evacuating the market, while he lay in the car and slept soundly; no one dared to find fault with him.
Even though people were in panic and fled from the undefended streets, there were still many poor people at the bottom of society who had nowhere to go, especially hundreds of refugees who had fled from Zhongjiazhuang and Yushanyi.
Deng Gui selected some young and strong men who had little connection with the major clans and had clean backgrounds, and transported grain, bacon, tung oil, bamboo, wood, fur, iron and other supplies from the shops in the streets across the river into the military camp overnight.
Although Huaiyuan did not establish a county, Tongbai Mountain was not only vast in area, but also had a population of over 100,000, which was equivalent to a large county.
Huaiyuan is the core point of Tongbai Mountain and a place where materials are distributed. There are three to four thousand shi of grain stored in seven or eight grain stores; there are thousands of barrels of squeezed tung oil, and tens of thousands of kilograms of iron materials and various ironware.
It was forbidden for anyone to transport these supplies back to the fort. Instead, they were transported into the military camp and stored. Even if they were besieged by a large group of bandits for a year or two, and even if they accepted some refugees, they would not run out of food and arrows.
Although Wang Bing had never directly led the imperial guards to fight on the border, as the military judge and the chief inspector, how could he not think of the importance of food and fodder at the first moment?
Seeing bags of food being transported into the military camp, the soldiers on the wall felt more at ease.
…
…
Xu Huai was left alone in the Huaiyuan military camp, and a fierce quarrel broke out within the Xu family.
"Xu Wujiang, oh Xu Wujiang, how can you be so foolish?" This was the first time that Su Laochang didn't give his son-in-law Xu Wujiang face. He pressed the corner of the table with great anguish, almost stamping his feet, and shouted, "I told you and Wu Liang to rush to Huaiyuan this morning. Didn't I make it clear that you had to bring that bastard back even if you had to tie him up?"
"Dad, Wu Jiang must have tried to persuade them. Wu Kun, Wu Liang and Xin'an were all in Huaiyuan at that time. Xu Huai refused to listen. Can they really tie him back? If you have the ability, let's go together tomorrow to drag that stubborn donkey back!" Although Su Di was also worried about Xu Huai being in danger, everyone was besieging her husband aggressively at this time, so she could only complain to her father.
"Without Xu Huai's father's support to settle down in Lutai Village, our family would have starved to death on the road, and your brother Su Jun would have no chance to be born! If anything happens to Xu Huai, how can I face his father in my grave?" Su Laochang stomped his feet and said.
"What benefit will there be if Xu Huai stays in the military camp, other than making the enemy army believe that we are secretly in contact with the military camp? No, we must bring this idiot back tomorrow!" Xu Wuqi said angrily.
"I'm afraid it's not your turn to make the decision on this matter, Xu Wuqi." Liu Qiong'er was also annoyed that the bastard always did unexpected things, but at this time she could only stand on Xu Wujiang's side.
"Do you have room to speak? Do you really think that the so-called Yaksha fox can scare anyone?" Xu Wuqi kicked the table over, rolled up his sleeves and was about to take action.
"Xu Wuqi, what do you want to do!" Xu Wukun and Xu Wuliang stepped forward to protect Liu Qiong'er behind them, shouting, "We in Jinshagou Village don't need to act according to your mood!"
"Jinshagou Village? What a great Jinshagou Village! Do you really want to break off all ties with the Xu family?" Xu Wuqi asked angrily.
"Now that the military camp is destroyed, the Xu family will be able to defend Yuhuang Ridge. But have you ever thought about how many of their men will be killed or injured before the imperial army can come to help?" Xu Wukun said.
Xu Huai's decision was very risky and they were worried, but they had also seen how determined Xu Huai was.
Since the facts cannot be changed, they can only do everything they can to ensure that Xu Huai's plan is implemented more thoroughly, rather than letting Xu Wuqi, Su Laochang and others hold them back.
"Xu Wuqi, when did you become as cowardly as a mouse?" Xu Wuliang sneered unceremoniously.
Seeing that veins on Xu Wuqi's forehead were exposed and he was really angry, Xu Wufu grabbed his arm and said in a deep voice: "I think what Wu Kun and the others said is not without some truth. Moreover, even if Xu Huai did not go to the military camp, even if Chen Zixiao, Zhong Changqing, Pan Chenghu, Gao Xiangzhong and others did not think that we were secretly in contact with the military camp, they might not come to attack Yuhuangling. There is no point in pestering Xu Huai now!"
"It's meaningless for this reckless Xu Huai to stay in the military camp. He must have a secret deal with Deng Gui. Any one of Xu Wukun, Xu Wuliang and the others can stay in the military camp and stay with Deng Gui. However, these two guys are not only afraid of death, but also tell Xu Huai, this idiot, to die!" Xu Wuqi shook off Xu Wufu's hand and sat aside angrily.
"What did you say?" Xu Wukun and Xu Wuliang, also known as Xu Wuqi, were irritated and questioned.
"Tell me yourself, what's the point of keeping Xu Huai in the military camp, other than letting Deng Gui play with him? You are not allowed to tell me about the stupid things you have done?" Xu Wuqi cursed angrily. He got angry just thinking about it and kicked an elm bench in front of him, breaking it into two pieces.
Xu Wufu, Xu Bosong and Xu Zhongyu didn't care about Xu Huai's life or death at all. They thought that what Xu Wujiang had just said made some sense.
After patiently waiting for Xu Wuqi, Xu Wuliang, and Xu Wukun to hold back their anger for a while, Xu Wufu said in a deep voice, "Now that things have come to this, Deng Gui has finally caught hold of this matter and implicated our Xu family. If you go to get the person back tomorrow, it will probably be impossible to get him back from Deng Gui. You should think more about how to deal with this situation!"
"How else can we respond? These idiots have given away such a big handle, so we must be prepared to reinforce the Huaiyuan military camp at any time. Otherwise, when the enemy army becomes powerful and breaks through the Huaiyuan military camp, they will surely attack Yuhuangling next!" Xu Wuqi said angrily.
Xu Wuqi's tone was bad, but since it was a fait accompli, he still advocated a more proactive approach. After hearing what he said, Xu Wukun and Xu Wuliang were angry but they were able to hold back their anger and did not argue with him.
