There was a mess at the city gate. Three mule and horse shops were looted. Even a few sick mules were taken away. The owner of a mule and horse shop sat on the ground and howled. Everything was looted. He wondered what happened.
The proprietor’s explanation?
But one of the mule and horse shops that was robbed behaved abnormally. The door was closed tightly, the shed at the door was smashed and collapsed, but no clerk came out.
When something goes wrong, there must be a monster. Hu Yanlei's professional vigilance made Hu Yanlei keep an eye on this mule and horse business, especially when Li Ziheng told them that this mule and horse business had a Xixia background, which made Hu Yanlei even more vigilant.
There was a tall locust tree not far behind the mules and horses. It was early summer and the tree was full of shade. A Song Army scout climbed on the tree and looked at the backyard of the mules and horses a few dozen steps away.
go.
The backyard of the mule farm was also in a mess. Cabinets were scattered all over the yard, and the workers were cleaning up the smashed utensils from inside the house.
At this time, a clerk came out with a large bundle of weapons. As soon as he walked into the yard, someone scolded him behind him, and the clerk quickly returned with the weapons.
Soon a middle-aged man walked out, who should be their shopkeeper. He looked around, especially at the big locust tree not far away. After looking for a long time, he found nothing unusual, and then he turned and returned to the house.
The soldiers who were exploring the trees climbed down like monkeys and ran towards the street.
"Did you see it clearly? It's a spear?" Hu Yanlei, who was standing on the street watching the excitement, asked quietly.
"I can see it clearly. It's a bundle of brand new spears, about twenty or so!"
There should be twenty spears in a bundle. There are twenty spears in a bundle without being opened. Obviously there is more than one bundle.
Moreover, the mules and horses are located close to the east city gate, which is very convenient for the Xixia people in the city to seize the city gate.
But it is no longer important now. The puppet Qi army has withdrawn. There are only 300 state soldiers in the city. It depends on who strikes quickly and ruthlessly to seize the opportunity and control Huaixi County.
At this time, a group of more than a hundred soldiers lined up, wearing disc-shaped Fanyang hats, tight-fitting cloth armor, holding red tassel spears in their hands, and carrying bows and arrows on their backs. This is a typical Song Dynasty Xiang army dress. I'm afraid
Except for their flag becoming pseudo-aligned, nothing else has changed.
Hundreds of state soldiers quickly took over the city gate, and the city gate slowly closed.
Hu Yanlei made a prompt decision and returned to the inn. He said to the two scouts, Liu Zong and Wu Nanshan: "We have to change the plan now. We cannot wait until night to act. We must seize the opportunity!"
"But we have no weapons!" one of them said anxiously.
"There are weapons in the mules and horses. Now it's too late. Let the brothers assemble and set off immediately!"
At this time, Hu Yantong had realized that weapons were the key. Whoever grabbed the weapons first would take the initiative, and the same was true for the Xixia Army spies.
Hu Yanlei sent two people to monitor the Baichuan Restaurant. He led the remaining one hundred men to rush on a path back from the street. They only carried swords and bows and arrows with them, and no other weapons or armor.
It was almost dark at this time, and a thin layer of twilight quietly enveloped the county. The sudden withdrawal of the army caused a sense of uneasiness in the county. The people in the city went home early, and the streets began to become deserted. The expressions of a few pedestrians
Nervous and hurried.
Not long after, a hundred Song soldiers rushed outside the wall of the backyard of the mule and horse farm. There was a small door in the backyard. Hu Yanlei winked at Liu Zong, the head of the army. Liu Zong understood and quickly rushed to the front door with more than a dozen of his men.
The time was ripe, Hu Yanlei gave an order, and several soldiers climbed over the backyard fence and opened the small door from the inside. Everyone drew their swords and swarmed in.
As soon as everyone rushed into the yard, they saw two guys coming out of the room. When they saw the Song Army soldiers, they shouted, turned around and ran towards the room.
The soldiers of the Song Army rushed in and killed everyone they met without hesitation. There was no mercy at this critical moment. Even innocent people could not escape death.
In just a few moments, more than twenty clerks in the store were killed, leaving only the shopkeeper's family, the shopkeeper himself, his wife and young son, who were asking for a confession.
The soldiers found ten bundles of spears, two hundred pieces of Song army leather armor, two hundred shields, as well as swords and crossbows from a room. This was equipment for two hundred people. It can be initially inferred that the Xixia spies in the city would not exceed
Two hundred people.
But Hu Yanlei still wanted to ask clearly. When he entered the room, he saw the shopkeeper and his family. The shopkeeper lowered his head and looked very depressed. He secretly glanced at his son from time to time.
This is psychological warfare. During the fight just now, the shopkeeper tried his best to protect his wife and children. Hu Yanlei immediately realized where his weakness was?
Hu Yanlei said coldly: "At this point, even if you deny me anything, it is meaningless. We can make a deal. You tell me what I want to know, and then I will spare your family."
The woman muttered something to her husband in Dangxiang dialect. The shopkeeper replied harshly to her, and the room fell silent again.
A soldier who understood the Dangxiang language whispered to Hu Yanlei: "The woman said it doesn't matter if we die, but my son is still young, so he can't die!"
"What did the shopkeeper say?"
"The shopkeeper said these Han people cannot be trusted!"
Hu Yanlei sneered and waved his hand, "Take the women and children away!"
The soldiers stepped forward, grabbed the woman and the child and dragged them away. The boy was so frightened that he cried loudly, and the woman was terrified and screamed.
The shopkeeper was furious, "You bastards, give me your son back!"
He rushed forward to snatch his son back, but was pushed down by a soldier. The tip of a sharp knife was pressed against his throat. The shopkeeper did not dare to move and could only watch in despair as his son and wife were taken away.
Hu Yanlei looked at him and said calmly: "We are the Song Army, Chen Dutong's army. We always keep our word. If you can't trust us, there is nothing I can do!"
The shopkeeper stared at Hu Yanlei for a long time, then he finally lowered his head and said in a deep voice: "What do you want to know?"
The Xixia people began to deploy in Longxi County as early as two years ago. They stationed more than 150 spies in the county. They were divided into three points in the city, Baichuan Restaurant, Mule and Horse Shop and a fur goods shop. Usually there are dozens of spies.
A famous Xixia spy was operating in these three stores, pretending to be shopkeepers, but there were hundreds of spies renting houses in the city to lurk.
Of course the Xixia people wanted to seize Longxi County and Gongzhou, but they were also afraid of the Jin Kingdom's ban and did not dare to blatantly seize Gongzhou. They were patiently waiting for the opportunity.
After waiting for two years, when Wanyan Wushu's army was defeated at Ganquan Fort and retreated in panic, the Xixia people realized that the opportunity to capture Gongzhou had come.
Of course, the Xixia people also knew that after Chen Qing defeated the Jin soldiers, his next step would be to expand westward, so it became a top priority to seize Longxi County before Chen Qing.
It was just an accidental banditry incident that exposed the secret of the Xixia army hiding in Gongzhou, and Chen Qing made a decisive move.
The leader of the Western Xia army spies was called Li Fuding. His real name was Tuoba Fuding, and he changed his Chinese surname to Li. He was the proprietor of Baichuan Restaurant. He rented a large house next to Baichuan Restaurant, and there were fifty or sixty Xixia people hidden in the house.
spies.
Li Fuding had received news of the withdrawal of the puppet Qi army, which made him immediately realize that the opportunity had come.
Baichuan Restaurant closed early, and more than a hundred Xixia spies had gathered in the restaurant. They were waiting for nightfall to seize the East Gate.
Li Fuding felt a little uneasy. He had just received news that the villagers of the Li family had entered the city in the afternoon. There were about a hundred people. If it were normal times, he might not care, but at this critical moment, what does it mean for a hundred people to enter the city?
"General, do you want to wait until the first watch?" one of his subordinates asked.
Li Fuding gritted his teeth and said: "No wait, go to the mule and horse farm to get weapons first, and seize the city gate immediately!"
No matter what, he must seize the opportunity.
Li Fuding led more than a hundred spies in black and rushed toward the mules and horses at the east gate.
At this moment, a hundred Song troops wearing armor came towards them, it was Hu Yanlei and his men.
He was leading his men to kill Baichuan Restaurant. Unexpectedly, they encountered each other on the street.
