Chapter 156: The Little Eunuch Moves to Shangguanxue
Wen Shichang and Zhao Xiaogao led 30,000 horses to the foot of Mount Lang soon. The army was also surrounded on three sides. One side was a cliff, so there was no need to fortify it. There were 10,000 horses in one team, and Wen Du commanded his own team to guard the left side of the mountain.
The deputy commander of the capital, Zhao Xiaogao, was stationed at the central strategic road, and the other team was guarded by the Jiayuguan general, Ma Qingdai. The three armies only brought enough food and grass for ten days, and stated that if they could not conquer the mountain within ten days, they would raise their own military pay and go on their own.
Look for a way out. If there is no success, the leader will be dismissed from office, fined and rationed, and then handed over to Dali Temple for questioning.
Wen Shichang was a civil servant, and he knew nothing about leading troops in war, just like blowing fire with a staff. Although Zhao Xiaogao had some martial arts skills, his military skills were not something to be praised. Although Ma Qing was considered a military expert, he did not hold real power. Such a few people led
With a team of thirty thousand people, it would be strange not to delay things. The team spent three days paying bills and sorting out military affairs. They wanted to fight a protracted war, but Prime Minister Wang did not give them such sufficient time.
At the end of the fourth day, the team was assembled and prepared to attack the mountain. As mentioned before, there is only one trail up the mountain, and only one person and one horse can pass through it at a time. Even if there are only ten people guarding the mountain, hammering wood, cannons and rocks will roll down.
No matter how many people were there, they couldn't attack. After struggling like this for a whole day, they got nothing. Not a single bandit was seen on the mountain, and he lost more than a dozen brothers.
Lin Rugui and Qi Guangyuan received a letter from the young eunuch in the first few days. The letter told them that they could only defend and not go down the mountain. Every day, thirty people were divided into three groups to take turns guarding the three passes. The officers and soldiers would definitely not be able to attack.
As long as they can hold on for ten days, soldiers will definitely come to rescue them. At that time, if they rush down from the mountain and attack from both sides, the officers and soldiers will retreat. The two reckless generals Lin and Qi have just plundered one hundred thousand taels of silver, so they will naturally spend a lot of money on what they picked up.
Gao Xingxing purchased a lot of food and drink from the foot of the mountain. There was also a natural fountain on the top of the mountain with plenty of water, so he could last for a month, not to mention ten days.
The little eunuch first sent someone to Liantang Town to invite Huang Qiucian, and then went to Shuanglong Town himself. It was not that he wanted to give Shangguanxue face and insisted on inviting him in person. He would treat his eight wives equally and would not
It was impossible to favor one over the other. Two people were going to two places at the same time, and he didn't have the ability to separate himself, so he had to give up one and take the other. The road to Shuanglong Town was close, and the road to Liantang Town was far away. He had a lot of bad things at hand and couldn't escape, so he had to give up the distance.
But Qiu was close. He knew that neither Shangguan Xue nor Huang Qiuchan was strong enough to deal with Zhao Xiaogao. If the two of them joined forces, even if they didn't have a perfect chance of winning, at least they wouldn't suffer much loss.
On the way to invite Miss Huang Qiuchan, Huang Ren was naturally involved. Huang Ren led several people to bring the young eunuch's letter to invite Huang Qiuchan. Because Zhu Linzong was on trial, the young eunuch had no choice but to bring Zhang Facun and another brother.
, the three of them set off in a hurry.
The three of them rode fast horses, and soon arrived at Shuanglong Town. It happened to be a market that day, but there was no lively scene of crowds of people on the street in the past, buying and selling. Every shop was closed, and every small business was closed.
The entire industry was in slump, and the eight industries were in decline. The little eunuch had left this town not long ago, how could it be like this in just a few months? The little eunuch was a little puzzled, so he quietly dismounted, walked to a house, knocked on the door gently, and asked in a low voice:
"Seller, we are passers-by and would like to know how to get to Shuanglong Village?"
The door opened a crack, and an old man over sixty years old waved his hand inside the door to stop him:
"Sir, you can't go to Shuanglong Village. There's a war going on there. It's been more than half a month."
The little eunuch whispered: "Can I please lend me a moment and let us go into the courtyard to ask clearly? If we can't go, we won't go."
Hearing that they all had foreign accents, the old man knew that it would be no big deal, so he opened the door carefully and let the three of them go in to talk. The young eunuch ordered Zhang Facun to take out an ingot of ten taels of silver, took it and put it on the table and said
:
"Old man, we have come a long way, and we are thirsty and hungry. Please make it easier for us, boil some tea and make some food for us. If there is a war there, we will not go. It is already late today. Could you please open a meeting?
Let’s just spend the night in the room and return the same way tomorrow.”
The old man said: "It's not difficult to stay for one night. There are some ready-made vegetables for food and drink, and the horses, grass and feed are all complete. But how can we use this much money? One or two taels is enough."
The young eunuch said: "My husband, there is no need to refuse. Things are not as good as usual. You, the old man, are also taking risks. Ten taels of silver is not a large amount, so you have the right to accept it."
The old man then collected the money and asked people to fetch water for cooking. The second brother brought tea, and they sat down to chat. The old man asked:
"Sir, your accent sounds like you are from the Central Plains. What are you doing here?"
The little eunuch said: "There is a friend working in Shuanglong Village. We are here to visit him."
"Unfortunately, there is a war in the village. You'd better not cause trouble. Stay for one night and leave quickly! When the war subsides, it won't be too late to come back to visit your friends."
"That's what I said." The young eunuch asked again, "My father, the village has always been peaceful, so why is there a fight?"
The old man said: "Your Majesty, you don't know. Since the old village master's third daughter recruited a county horse the day before yesterday, the county horse has been very successful. He killed three mules in Qinglong Village and pacified the four directions. The old village master brought his own
The third daughter is stationed in Dazhai, the eldest daughter and eldest son-in-law, and the second daughter and second son-in-law are in charge of Qinglong Village. This area covering hundreds of miles is now under the jurisdiction of one family. The people praise it, the government does not care much, and everyone is in peace. I don’t know where I came from half a month ago.
A group of men and horses came, about a thousand in number, and the leader said they were here to avenge three mules, and they would only withdraw their troops if the stronghold agreed to three conditions."
"What three conditions?" the little eunuch couldn't help but ask.
The old man said: "The guest is laughing at me. I was also talking about Hong Kong in the street. I heard what I heard, but I don't remember it very accurately. The first condition is to hand over the three commanders and horses, the second condition is to give up the owner of the village, and the third condition is to hand over the three commanders and horses.
The first condition is that the third young lady be betrothed to their leader as his wife, and if one of the three conditions is agreed, he will immediately retreat."
"Wouldn't it be over if we hand over the third son-in-law?" the young eunuch asked knowingly.
"You don't know the details about this guest," the old man said with a smile. "Although the third son-in-law is highly skilled in martial arts and has courage that no man can match, it is a pity that he left the old village master's third daughter not long after his marriage. If the third son-in-law
At that time, who dared to say no?"
"What happened next?" The little eunuch was at a loss for words.
The old man said: "Later, the two families got into a fight without any agreement. Although the third lady was outstanding in martial arts, her daughter was weak after all. She was defeated by the strong man and retreated to the stronghold. Since then, she has stayed behind closed doors. She allowed the strong man and the others to scold them, and so on.
The stalemate has been going on for more than half a month."
"If this stalemate continues, how long can the village survive? Will they be able to provide food and grass for them?" the little eunuch already knew in his mind.
The old man said: "There is a lot of food and grass in the village, but the main reason is that the water source is blocked. What the guest doesn't know is that the village is built on a hillside, so there is no way to dig a well. They have to go to the bottom of the mountain to collect water. If they continue like this, they won't be able to hold on for a few days, and they will die of thirst.
Already."
Soon the food was served and everyone was speechless.