On the afternoon of April 21st, seven miles downstream of the Erlang Bridge in Susong, the river flowed calmly. Thousands of reeds on the shore swayed gently in the wind. Everything was quiet and peaceful.
Among the grass on the west bank, Tang Ershuan was lying motionless in the shadow of the branches and leaves.
The sun was shining high at this time, it was the hottest time in the afternoon, and waves of heat were rising from the ground. Tang Ershuan's face was covered with sweat, and it soaked into several wounds cut by thatch on his face, and he only felt waves of stinging pain.
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For Tang Ershuan, whose skin had been scratched countless times by ropes and poles, this was not a very high pain index. He was focusing on the other side of the river, carefully observing the situation on the other side of the river through the messy branches and leaves in front of him.
The Marine Warfare Department did not have a specialized sentinel team. This time, with landing operations as the core, Pang Yu gave up the use of sentry cavalry, and the Marine Warfare Department assumed the responsibility of reconnaissance for the entire army.
Unlike the cavalry, Anqing on the river bank did not lack such sources of troops. The Marine Warfare Division was the first to be fully staffed, but there was a shortage of people who could perform such reconnaissance missions.
Tang Ershuan, as a veteran of the Marine Warfare Department and one of the few personnel who had conducted reconnaissance on the Qingliu River, was selected by the blacksmith to form a sentinel team of fifteen people, led by the blacksmith himself.
Previously, Tang Ershuan served as the captain of the team, but he failed to lead the team well. Not only did someone die while crossing the river for training, but he also ranked last in multiple assessments. Now he has been demoted to corps leader. His transfer will have little impact on the command system.
The reconnaissance operation was mainly carried out along the river, with logistical support provided by two watercrafts. The watercrafts were anchored on the west side of the mouth of the Erlang River into Long Lake.
There has been little precipitation this year, and the water flow in the river section below Erlang Town is very gentle. Due to the perennial sedimentation of sediment on the river channel, river states can be seen everywhere. The river is overgrown with weeds, making it a good place to hide.
The group led by the blacksmith originally consisted of six people, but after delivering orders to the lake twice, only four people were left. This section of the river is deeper and there is no Hezhou to hide in. They hid on the west bank during the day. There are no major roads or bustling towns in this direction.
There are fewer rogues passing by and it is much safer than the east coast.
No important information was obtained last night. There were many bandits around Erlang Town and they could not go there directly during the day. They planned to go north again tonight and lurk one mile downstream of Erlang Bridge to continue their reconnaissance operations.
On the east bank is a pedestrian road from Susong to Erlang Town. Susong County is in ruins, and the remaining people have fled to Longhu to avoid the bandits early. The bandits know this very well and know that they can't steal anything, so they came from Erlang this time.
There were very few rogues going to Susong, and there were almost no infantry. Occasionally, there were some horsemen searching for nearby people who could not escape. The horsemen ran too fast, and often whizzed past in groups. A few walking sentries were very loud.
It was difficult to catch people, which made the blacksmith's job of catching people not go smoothly. The two people caught earlier were living together, so they couldn't get very clear information.
At this time, the sound of hoofbeats could be heard in the distance, and someone could faintly hear shouting. From time to time, the figures of horse soldiers flashed past. It seemed that they had discovered the common people again, and the bandits were chasing them.
Tang Ershuan paid careful attention to the situation, and suddenly he seemed to see a flag in the gap.
"Baohu Banner."
Tang Erchuan turned his head and let out a frog cry to the north. The blacksmith's mud-smeared face was revealed in the grass. Now it was his turn to rest. After rubbing his eyes, he raised the telescope in front of his eyes and observed carefully.
The flag stopped on the other side. From this distance, Tang Ershuan could already distinguish the accent of Beidi.
According to the explanation given by the military department to each department, the leader of the thief is generally divided into sentries. Each sentry has one general, one person each for Baohuqi and Gaozhao, and below it is the commander's plate, which is in charge of the team. This is generally the case.
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The Baohu Banner is nominally responsible for assisting the general in commanding with a flag during the day, while Gao Zhao is a large lantern responsible for assisting the general in commanding at night, but in fact it is more like a status symbol and the general's deputy.
Bao Hongqi could already be regarded as a high-ranking official among the rogue bandits. If caught, a lot of information could be uncovered. With such a good opportunity at this time, he estimated that Blacksmith General might take the risk and attack during the day.
While the blacksmith was observing, Tang Ershuan checked his equipment, a waist knife and a short knife, and then half of his leather armor.
Even among the top soldiers, Tang Er Shuan was considered strong. He was responsible for assault missions in battle, so he was specially allowed to carry leather armor, but for the sake of portability, he was not equipped with any auxiliary armor.
There was a slight noise on the blacksmith's side. When Tang Erchuan looked over, the blacksmith had already put away his telescope. He spread his palms and made a gesture with his fingertips towards the other side. Tang Erchuan turned to the other side. There was another sharp soldier hiding there. Tang Erchuan turned to the other side.
He made the same gesture again.
After the order was completed, Tang Ershuan took out a red scarf and tied it on his head. He dressed up as a bandit and checked the length and length of the knives again. The last thing Tang Ershuan was worried about was sneaking across. He grew up in Liantan, and there were ponds and lakes everywhere.
, on the bank of the sultry Yangtze River, the child's favorite thing to do in summer is to swim and play in the water. His water skills are among the best in the Land War Department.
After a while, there were two screams from the general manager. Tang Erchuan acted as the vanguard as usual. He reached the waterline on his hands and knees and slowly slid into the water to drink. After entering the water, he was freed from the stuffy air. He suddenly felt comfortable all over his body. He prepared with his left hand
With a piece of hemp rope, he tied the knife around his waist underwater to prevent it from bumping when swimming in the water. After adjusting the position, he waited quietly in the grass on the shore.
Tang Ershuan knew that there were many bandits on the opposite side, but he was not nervous. Every time he relied on the river to move, he felt very relaxed.
The four of them soon entered the water. The blacksmith did not say anything and took the lead to dive directly. Tang Ershuan took a deep breath and slowly submerged into the water. A few subtle ripples appeared on the river. When the ripples disappeared on the river, another sound came from the other side.
A few screams.
...Outside an abandoned village on the east coast, a little kid galloped through an abandoned field on horseback. After bypassing a tall thatch, he caught a man and two women who were fleeing head-on. The three people were panicking.
He screamed and was about to turn around and escape when seven or eight horsemen surrounded him from all directions and blocked all directions.
The three of them were crowded together back to back. The man was as skinny as a stick and looked around in horror at the bandits, while the two women cried loudly.
The little boy had seen this kind of scene many times, and such crying didn't move him at all.
This year, Ba Laoye's march did not go smoothly. The cities he wanted to conquer were basically not conquered. He wandered around Huguang and arrived at Huangmei and Guangji. These two places were invaded many times. They were already very dilapidated and the gains from plundering were very limited.
Food became increasingly scarce, and a large number of people died of starvation.
Two days ago, Xiying followed the post road from Tongling Village to Susong. The Eighth Laoye's team continued to move forward. The little boy followed Liu Wenxiu and stayed in Erlang Town. Due to the heavy losses, Baohu Banner specially led a team to arrest people today.
The little kid still followed his hand.
The two locusts came slowly on horseback, jumped off their horses outside the circle, and swaggered in front of the three of them with their hands behind their backs. The man's legs went weak and he knelt down, while the old woman kept crying.
The two locusts squatted down, tilted their heads and looked carefully for a moment, then asked the skinny man in the middle, "What's your name and where do you come from?"
The skinny man kept shaking and said tremblingly, "The villain Wang Dashan is the son of the Wang family in Moyanpu. I beg you to spare my life."
"Who are they to you?"
"Master Hui knows, mother-in-law and mother-in-law."
"The elder said that raising old people is useless, so kill them all with one knife."
Wang Dashan kowtowed repeatedly and said, "Please forgive me!"
"It's good to be filial."
A slight smile appeared on Er Locust's face. He looked at the young woman and said, "The elder also said that thin women cannot walk far, so they will be killed with one knife."
The young woman was so frightened that she couldn't cry. She was trembling all over and curled up into a ball. Wang Dashan's face was filled with tears and he was crying loudly, "I beg you to spare me. My mother-in-law is already pregnant with a baby. I can't kill her."
Er Locust seemed to be satisfied with this reaction. He looked up at the little boy and asked, "You said killing people is boring?"
The little boy looked puzzled, then nodded again. The two locusts chuckled and turned back to Wang Dashan, "You are so skinny and can't walk far and have no strength. What's the use of raising you?"
Wang Dashan kowtowed hurriedly, "I beg you to spare your life. I can cultivate the land, dig lotus roots, weave bamboo utensils, and... I will definitely listen to your orders and do whatever I ask you to do."
"Listen to what I said, this makes perfect sense."
Er Locust nodded, stretched out his hand to grab the young woman's hair, and pulled her face up, "How did I know you would really listen?"
Wang Dashan did not dare to stop him, but said eagerly, "I will definitely listen, you villain." The woman was caught by the two locusts by the hair, and her eyes were blankly looking at the sky. The two locusts looked at the woman, then pushed her away, and glanced at the elderly woman.
His eyes turned back to Wang Dashan, "You are lucky. Master, I am a kind-hearted man. Seeing that you are about to starve to death, I have to give you a way to survive. Follow me, you will have food to eat every day and good clothes to wear. I am willing to follow you."
Sir, are you going?"
Wang Dashan did not expect to find a way out, and said with great surprise, "My family is willing to be your slave for generations to come. Please forgive me."
The two women on the ground stopped crying and looked at the two locusts expectantly.
"But there is not enough food to eat, so I have left it to the lord to explain. He wants to kill me."
Er Locust looked embarrassed. He paused and said, "How about this? One of the two has to be killed, and you choose who to kill."
Wang Dashan opened his mouth and stared blankly at the two locusts, his skinny face without a trace of blood, then he lay on the ground and kept retching, while several bandits around him laughed.
The old woman trembled and said, "Just kill me. Erfang is pregnant with a baby, so I won't miss you anymore."
Er Locust stared at Wang Dashan who was retching, with a smile that was a little evil, "I told you to choose, if you don't choose, you don't listen to me. I will count to three, and if you still don't choose, I will give you three."
Kill everyone together, one."
Er Locust slowly drew out his knife. The bright dagger kept reflecting the sunlight, and there were dark traces on the knife's grid. It was unknown how many people's blood it had stained.
"two."
The young woman couldn't bear the fear and screamed loudly.
Wang Dashan closed his eyes, cried loudly, and raised his finger slightly to point in the direction of his mother-in-law.
"Whether you choose your mother-in-law or not, I want you to say."
Wang Dashan raised his eyes and looked at the two locusts, not daring to look at his mother-in-law. He grinned and cried, "The one I chose... Yue, my mother-in-law."
"Don't kill! Don't kill!"
The young woman screamed and rushed over to pull Wang Dashan.
"Now that we have chosen, the master said..." The two locusts slowly stood up and took two steps away, throwing the short knife on the ground in front of Wang Dashan, "You come to kill, if you don't kill, I will shave your woman first.
Belly, let you look at your baby, and then cut your flesh with one knife."
Several bandits put their hands on their waist knives and looked at Wang Dashan jokingly.
Wang Dashan was crying on the ground. Under the urging of the two locusts, he reached out and tremblingly picked up the short knife. Under the woman's beating, he swung his body back and forth and let out a series of hoarse wails.
The old woman cried loudly and shouted, "Just kill him!"
Wang Dashan shed tears and made an inexplicable sound in his mouth. He slowly raised the short knife towards his mother-in-law. The blade trembled violently. The mother-in-law held his arm and let out a desperate howl.
Er Locust turned to look at the little boy and smiled gently, "Killing is the most interesting thing. If you learn to kill like this, it won't be boring anymore."
When he is killed, you can take him and raise him."
The little boy had killed many people, many of them cruel and miserable, but he had never seen such an expression on Wang Dashan's face before him. He looked at it very seriously for a moment, and nodded numbly when he heard the words. Seeing that the blade was about to pierce, there was a sudden sound from outside.
Shouting, "The Baohun flag was dragged into the river!"
The surrounding bandits rushed to the river one after another. Wang Dashan put down his dagger blankly, and the two locusts sighed angrily, "It's disappointing!"
He turned to the little boy and said, "Kill him by guard."
After saying that, he waved to the others and rode towards the river. The little boy slowly pulled out his sword, met Wang Dashan's frightened and dull eyes, and said calmly, "Kill him."