Volume 1 Chushan Bandits Chapter 89: Killing thieves in the market is like butchering dogs
Xu Huai, along with Yin Peng, Zheng Tu and Chen Gui, slowly retreated to the street market. More than 20 bandits followed behind them at a certain distance until they saw them enter the street market, and then they retreated towards Yingzizui.
Yin Peng, Zheng Tu, Chen Gui and the others could not see anything strange and kept saying in surprise: "Master Xu really frightened these bandits silly. Twenty or thirty of them dared not chase us!"
"If it weren't for you three cowards holding me back, I might have gotten two more thieves' heads in exchange for rewards." Xu Huai shouted in dissatisfaction.
"Yes, yes, yes, it's us three cowards who are a burden to you, Master Xu." Zheng the Butcher said hurriedly.
At first, Zheng the Butcher was bullied repeatedly by Xu Huai. He hated him but could do nothing about him. Later, when he heard that Xu Huai had caused a big disturbance in Yuehonglou and that the Tang family, which was extremely powerful in Tongbai Mountain, could not do anything about him, his anger unexpectedly subsided.
Yesterday he accidentally fell onto the street. When the thieves from Laoyatan were slashing at him with their knives and he thought he was going to die, he saw Xu Huaiyou descending like a god from heaven and killing the three thieves with his unrivaled bravery right before his eyes. It was like a seed was planted in his heart.
Last night he saw Xu Huai and Yin Peng setting up a checkpoint at the east end of the street market, and he offered them wine and food to curry their favor. It could be said that he was trying to curry favor with someone powerful during a time of chaos and disorder.
But in the afternoon, he learned that more than a hundred bandits had detoured from Tiaohutan and stopped at Yingzizui, but no one in the military camp or the street dared to follow Xu Huai and Yin Peng to Yingzizui to scout the enemy situation. However, he seemed to have taken some crazy medicine. He didn't even have a horse, but he and Chen Gui led the horses for Xu Huai and Yin Peng, and they rode several laps in front of so many bandits before walking back.
It was only when I returned to the market that I felt scared, but it felt incredible. Did I take some medicine?
At present, there are still about two thousand people stranded in the street market. They all saw Zheng the butcher, Chen Gui, Xu Huai and Yin Peng leading their horses back, followed by twenty or thirty bandits.
At this time, enjoying the admiring gazes of many people, Zheng the Butcher and Chen Gui couldn't help but feel a little proud. They walked to the butcher's shop and saw his wife sticking her head out from behind the butcher's counter. They shouted, "Wife, have you heated up the wine and food for Master Xu and Master Yin? Bring them out quickly. Are you impatient to go and steal a man behind my back? Are you sure I won't come back alive?"
Xu Huai jumped off the horse and asked Yin Peng to tie the horse to the doorpost. He walked into the shop and sat at the table, waiting for Zheng the butcher to heat up the wine and food and bring them up.
"If we go to scout the enemy, we have to meet Mr. Deng first. How about I go to the military camp first and come over for a drink later?" Yin Peng had learned martial arts from Xu Wuliang for several years, and also heard Xu Wuliang talk about the military rules. He was not so stupid as to not meet Deng Gui but just drink here with Zheng the Butcher.
"Do you have soldiers' wages? Or do you have the heads of thieves in your hands and are rushing to get the reward?" Xu Huai stared at Yin Peng and asked, dragging him into the butcher's shop to sit down, saying, "We don't have anything. It won't be too late to go see Deng Gui after we have a drink."
From Tiaohutan to Yingzizui, there are shallow hills and the field of vision is relatively wide. There is no enemy situation that requires close reconnaissance.
To put it bluntly, Xu Huai brought Yin Peng and the others on this trip because he took advantage of the fact that Pan Chenghu had many new bandits under his command and was still afraid of him. He wanted to use this method to ease the anxiety and fear of the Huaiyuan soldiers and civilians and to stimulate their will to resist.
Now it was no longer possible to follow the established rules of the Inspection Office and the clan over the past decade - that had long been a stagnant pool of water. At this time, the butchers in the market were more exciting, and he needed to show more market spirit and unsparingness.
Apart from other things, when they walked into the butcher's shop, more than a dozen bold and rascals who were usually close to Zheng the Butcher and Chen Gui in the street market all ran over; they were still a little afraid of Xu Huai, but at the threshold of the butcher's shop or at the butcher's counter, they chatted and laughed with Zheng the Butcher and Chen Gui, asking them how they felt about running in front of the thieves.
It was a rare moment for Zheng the butcher to have a good time, so of course he was scolding his wife for being too slow and neglecting Xu Huai, while bragging in front of a dozen or so daring scoundrels.
"The crescent moon has risen, and it must be very bright tonight. Let's have a drink and go out again. Hopefully, we can get a head this time, which will be enough for several days of food and drink!" Xu Huai said to Zheng the butcher.
More than a dozen ruffians shouted "good job" and some of them rushed back to get their knives, spears and shields. Zheng the butcher also became very generous and invited everyone to come in for a drink.
"Eating and drinking alone is boring. Yin Peng, go to the military camp and call Tian Yanyan over to sing Eighteen Touches to cheer us up!" Seeing that everyone's morale was high, Xu Huai wanted to ask Yin Peng to call Tian Yanyan over to sing a song to cheer us up. He thought that if he tricked these people into dying, he had to give them something to think about. He shouted, "If any of you can please Tian Yanyan and make her willing to sleep with you, that's real skill!"
"Sing you big-headed ghost!" Wang Xuan shouted outside the crowd.
Xu Huai leaned over and saw more than a dozen hooligans blocking the door hurriedly making way, only to see Deng Gui and Lu Xiong accompanying Wang Bing stepping over the threshold; Wang Xuan and Tian Yanyan also followed behind, glaring at him angrily.
Although Wang Xuan is extremely beautiful, she has a brightness and innocence that cannot be desecrated.
Tian Yanyan also learned from Liu Qiong'er to sell her art instead of her body, but she was born in Yuehonglou after all, and the ruffians became bolder when they saw her, glancing at her chest, waist and long legs that were vaguely outlined by her skirt. With skin as white as snow and eyes as delicate as a painting, she was extremely attractive at the age of seventeen or eighteen.
Tian Yanyan didn't dare to go against Xu Huai's will. When she heard him say that he wanted to send her to sleep with these rude men, she was so angry that she almost fainted. However, she didn't dare to get angry. She had to bite the bullet and follow Wang Xuan in. She thought to herself that she had to curry favor with Miss Xuan in the future, because only Miss Xuan could save her from the fire pit.
Butcher Zheng, Chen Gui, and Yin Peng all stood up in a hurry. Xu Huai took off his heavy boots and put his slightly sweaty bare feet on the bench. He said to Deng Gui in a very ungentlemanly way, "I made a wasted trip this afternoon and didn't even get a single thief's head. You don't have to give me any reward money, Mr. Deng."
"Mr. Wang said he wanted to come over and have a bowl of wine. I'm sure Butcher Zheng won't be stingy. Why are you not happy about it?" Deng Gui said with a smile.
"You're not drinking my wine, why would I be unhappy?" Xu Huai said.
"Mr. Deng, you are joking. Come here with Mr. Wang. The shop is bright now. Come and sit down - I'll buy you the wine." Butcher Zheng's fat face was so happy that he was about to burst into laughter. His wife jumped out to greet him, both of them were in high spirits, completely oblivious to their current situation.
Faced with the fact that the bandits forced their way across Tiaohutan and entered the east bank of Baijian River in the afternoon, Deng Gui initially wanted to withdraw all the remaining people in the street market back to the military camp.
Thanks to Wang Bing's reminder and support, most of the supplies were intercepted when the people fled the street. Even if the remaining two or three thousand people in the street were evacuated to the military camp, the food could last at least half a year.
Deng Gui would not believe that the imperial court remained indifferent to the bandit situation in Tongbai Mountain after half a year.
Wang Bing disagreed with this.
The rebel army crossed the river so quickly in order to completely cut off Huaiyuan's connection with the outside world in advance, but it was obviously too passive and conservative for them to give up the Hedong market now.
If the enemy army could easily occupy the streets of Hedong, it would be easier to encircle the military camp.
However, Wang Bing knew very well that the bandits from the three camps had joined forces to massacre Zhongjiazhuang with great momentum, but no matter what, they were just a motley crowd and their ability to attack was definitely not strong.
They are here, but if possible, they still have to defend Hedong Street Market. They cannot give up Hedong Street Market unless it is absolutely necessary.
The biggest advantage of doing so is that it will force the bandit army to form an encirclement of Huaiyuan, which will require them to invest several times more manpower and material resources; it will also limit the bandit army's looting of the large clans and fortresses in the periphery, causing the situation to enter a stalemate stage ahead of time, and reducing the damage caused by banditry to Tongbai Mountain before the court dispatches troops to suppress them.
Deng Gui did not doubt Wang Bing's strategic vision, but he was worried that people would be frightened and unable to use his power.
However, when he saw Xu Huai leading Zheng the Butcher and others to escape in front of the enemy cavalry and return safely, and also attracted more than a dozen ruffians who were ready to follow Xu Huai to harass the enemy at night, Deng Gui discovered that people's hearts were not as precarious as he worried.
What we need to do now is to make better use of Xu Huai, this reckless general, and gradually save people's hearts from fear.
"You have the courage to conduct reconnaissance in front of the enemy, which is a great achievement. Although we didn't get the heads of the enemy this time, you should still be rewarded with one string of money each!" Deng Gui certainly knew that there would always be brave men under a heavy reward, so he immediately followed Jin Longquan and Tang Tiande behind him to take out the reward money.
"I don't want this reward, it's embarrassing," Xu Huai said, "Mr. Deng, if you think highly of me, please write a sign for me in front of this butcher shop, saying 'Chushan clumsy tiger Xu Huai hands in the heads of thieves'! In the past, the villagers laughed at me for being clumsy and eating all those free food and wine, but they were of no use. This time, I will pile up the heads of thieves here, so that the villagers who used to look down on me will be too embarrassed to raise their heads when they pass by!"
"Okay, you take the thief's head in exchange for wine money, and I will write this sign for you!" Deng Gui agreed immediately, and asked Zheng the butcher to get some pen and ink, and immediately wrote the ten words "Chushan Zhuohu and Xu Huai handed over the thief's head" on a wooden door of the butcher shop.
Deng Gui's attainments in classics are certainly not comparable to Wang Bing's, but he is also proficient in both , and the scoundrels around him and the onlookers all cheered.
Although Xu Huai did not want the reward, Deng Gui still asked Jin Longquan to take out three strings of money and give them to Yin Peng, Zheng the Butcher and Chen Gui as a reward for their contributions in helping Xu Huai to scout the enemy.
"Although Xu Huai is extremely brave, the enemy is also slippery. It is not easy to hunt his head," Wang Bin waited for Deng Gui to sit down again, and then said to the ruffians, "The dozen of you must follow Xu Huai to meet the enemy. Even if you can't provide assistance, you can't hold us back. I have a method to teach you..."
In the early stage, the bandits would not have the intention to attack by force, especially since there were many new bandits under Pan Chenghu who crossed the river at the beginning. It would also take time for them to unite with the stubborn bandits east of Baijian River such as Laoyatan. This means that now is the best time to use a series of small victories to inspire the will of the military and civilians.
Xu Huai didn't want to show off his abilities beyond martial arts, so Wang Bing had to teach him some detailed tasks personally.
And who is Wang Bing? He was willing to give them instructions at this time. More than a dozen scoundrels immediately held their breath, afraid of missing a word.
"You should hold more spears and wooden signs and surround them together. This will not only prevent the thieves from charging, but also provide firm support for Xu Huai who is roaming on the outside. If you are three or four miles away from the street, you will be as solid as a rock... "
Ruffians all like to play with sticks and guns, but it is too much to expect them to have high tactical qualities and to be able to strictly follow military formations when entering and leaving the battlefield.
However, asking them to hold spears and shields like turtles and hedgehogs and form a dense formation in an open area three or four miles away from Huaiyuan Town was not to expect them to kill the enemy, but to provide Xu Huaiti with sufficient support in the barren slopes outside the street.
In this way, Xu Huaijin can kill the enemy, and when he is unable to fight or must rest, he can temporarily retreat into the formation.
And they were only three or four miles away from the street market, and with the support of the Wuzu, they were not afraid that Pan Chenghu with more than a hundred men would dare to besiege Xu Huai and his men outside the Huaiyuan street market.
If this method is feasible, and the subsequent distribution of rewards, it will further boost the morale and fighting spirit of the people in Huaiyuan...
