Carrying an iron box containing a very unstable nitroglycerin bottle to blow up an enemy camp was a job full of dangers, if not a narrow escape.
The enemy did not have many soldiers and horses in the camp outside the city, but there were quite a few scouts who dispersed at night. Even if most of the scouts focused their attention on the fleeing "rich businessmen", there were always a few who slipped through the net.
Zhiyu, once a strange movement is discovered in the city, as long as there is a scout to give an early warning, things will be very difficult... After all, it is not uncommon to send a "Sky Sky Monkey" to alert companions these days.
It is unrealistic to expect the city's government officials and temporarily recruited civilian husbands to serve as death squads. This work must still be borne by the people of Prince Xing's Mansion.
Zhu Hao then analyzed it carefully with Tang Yin.
This job is either for those who are extremely enterprising and want to take this opportunity to gain military glory, be appreciated by King Xing, and be promoted out of the norm, so they take the job; or they are the ones who make mistakes and are ostracized by their colleagues and are forced to go.
Tang Yin sighed: "It's a pity that I can't go there in person."
Zhu Hao wanted to say, if you want to go, no one will stop you, but he just slandered him. It is very irresponsible for the plan itself to let Tang Yin, a weak scholar, carry a pack of explosives to blow up the enemy camp.
It would be safer to find someone who is strong, bold and careful in the palace to do this job.
With some regrets, Tang Yin and Zhu Hao agreed to meet again in the afternoon for discussion, and then returned to the city gate tower to direct the arrangements.
…
…
He was busy until lunch, but Zhu Hao still hadn't finished what he was doing.
Although he was very tired, "handmaid" Ouyang Fei took the initiative to come to visit, so he still had to take time to receive her.
Ouyang Fei, as the "big shopkeeper" of Zhu Hao's future textile workshop, has recently been helping with the logistics of the school. With her as the central coordinator, the school suddenly became in order, and the food, clothing and daily life of teachers and students were guaranteed, which shows that she
I still have the ability, but I haven't used it in the right direction before.
Xuetangyuan was not far from the workshop. Ouyang Fei had long noticed that officers and soldiers were coming and going in the past two days, especially Zhu Hao who had been staying here. She couldn't help but feel curious, so she came to see him.
"Master, what are you doing?"
In the workshop, Ouyang Fei saw Zhu Hao holding transparent glass bottles of different sizes, pouring in and out various pungent liquids, shaking the bottles gently for adjustment, and couldn't help but ask.
In fact, she didn't care what Zhu Hao was doing now. She wanted to know what the situation was like in Nanjing, because counting the time, her creditors would arrive in Anlu soon and cause trouble for her.
She was worried about whether she needed to hide.
But the problem is, she is doing business with Shopkeeper Ma, and almost all foreign merchants know that if they find a creditor, they have to go to Ma Yan first, and Ma Yan will tell Zhu Hao the situation, so it is more straightforward to ask Zhu Hao.
Zhu Haodao: "Prepare for war. Oh, by the way, you want to ask me about the creditor? Don't worry, the ground in Jiangxi and Huguang is not peaceful recently, the shipping on the Yangtze River and the Han River is intermittent, and the Ouyang family's creditor will not come so soon."
"Prepare for war? That's it..."
Ouyang Fei was very curious.
Everyone knows that the city deploys troops to deal with bandit aggression, but what does this have to do with you, a child of a merchant family?
It seems that you are so busy that your feet are not touching the ground. It seems that is really the case.
Zhu Hao didn't want to explain too much to Ouyang Fei: "Listen up, there are officers and soldiers guarding the workshop. Don't rush in casually. And if something happens...it kills you, don't blame me for not warning you beforehand."
"oh."
Ouyang Fei only thought that Zhu Hao wanted to keep some secret and refused to tell the truth, so she made false threats. Her eyes couldn't help but fall on the transparent bottles with labels placed on the rows of shelves in the house. What she was thinking about was here
With so many transparent glazed vessels, is it not easy for the small shop owner in front of us to make glazed mirrors?
…
…
Towards dusk, all the nitroglycerin was prepared.
Zhu Hao breathed a long sigh of relief.
He was highly concentrated for a long time. The moment he walked out of the room, he almost collapsed on the ground, but he managed to stand and rested for a while before leaving.
In March, the climate is suitable. As long as the temperature remains above 13 degrees, the performance of liquid nitroglycerin is relatively stable, so Zhu Hao is not too worried about problems.
City gate.
Tang Yin walked down the city to meet Zhu Hao, who came to visit. At this time, the palace death squad had been officially formed.
There were two batches, totaling more than 20 people.
"...the first group of fifteen people will escort the convoy out of the city, led by Luo Dianzhan." Tang Yin pointed to Luo An and said.
Luo An looked resolute. It was obvious that he was the kind of courageous person who took the initiative to carry out such a dangerous mission. He escorted the convoy himself as a bait, which was not too dangerous. As long as the thieves came after them and ignited the fuse of the iron box containing the nitroglycerin bottle,
Just let the horse run wildly.
The thieves were unfamiliar with the place and were working blindly. It was very difficult to catch up with Luo An and others before they fled into the city.
Relatively dangerous are the second group of people.
Tang Yin looked at Lu Song and said: "According to what you said, Zhu Hao, we need to find six dead soldiers, two by two, each group will bring an iron box with explosive gunpowder inside, and go to the bandit camp respectively. The person in charge, Lu Dianzhan...
He led the team himself.”
Lu Song actually served as the captain of the second group of death squads?
Zhu Hao could actually predict this.
Who makes Lu Song the person who is eager to gain the recognition of King Xing?
He took refuge in Jinyiwei and betrayed the interests of the palace. This matter could not always be a secret. He only hoped that after the incident, the palace would remember his contribution to the palace and be lenient to him and his family...
Among the five people behind Lu Song, four were strangers. They were obviously stationed at various royal villages in Anlu, and their connections and property were left outside the city. After returning to the city, although their families settled in the outer courtyard of the palace, they were definitely treated coldly.
, at this time, it is very necessary to establish meritorious deeds and win a promotion opportunity for yourself. Once you succeed, you can find a good position in the palace and no longer have to endure the glare of others.
The only person Zhu Hao knew was Lian Wei.
This guy...his mouth is really mean. He usually likes to take advantage of others. He will show off his power as much as possible. He always talks nonsense and offends many people. Now that the death squad task has been assigned, he must be someone.
Being elected and "sent to death" is a typical example of being shunned by others.
Tang Yin said: "We have temporarily informed the state government about the night attack on the enemy camp. We have agreed that once we see any changes in the enemy camp at night, we will light the beacon on the tower and ask the manors outside the city to send troops.
The troops from Prince Xing's Mansion will also come out, and the state government will coordinate with the Inspection Department and Minzhuang, a total of two hundred troops..."
Luo An smiled and said: "This is called everything is ready, all we need is the east wind. Master Zhu, how are you preparing?"
Zhu Hao nodded: "I will deliver the goods on time, but there is one thing. Can we ensure that the team leaving the city at night will not be traced by bandits? What if they..."
Tang Yin frowned: "Are you saying that if the thieves are a mob and not many sentries are sent out and no trace of the 'caravan' is found, or if they think there is a scam, they won't send out troops to pursue them?"
"yes."
Zhu Hao nodded, "So my idea is, didn't the state government intend to negotiate with the bandits before and give them money and food in exchange for their withdrawal? Taking the opportunity to release prisoners carefully into the city, on the one hand, it paralyzes the enemy and makes them think that the city is not interested in fighting.
Let the bandit relax his vigilance, and then let him 'accidentally' see a caravan preparing to flee at night when he is leaving the city..."
"You must not be too precise in your actions. You must be discovered by others under cover. How to do it specifically, sir, you don't need to remind me, right?"
Tang Yin smiled and said: "How about saying you have a lot of clever ideas... I understand what you mean. I will talk to Kuang Zhizhou and ask him to release the prisoner with a higher status in the bandit camp when he leaves the city."
By chance, he found people from various families loading cars and let him guess..."
"Um."
Zhu Hao nodded.
Luo An took a deep breath. Even though he was a ruthless character who was not afraid of anything, he was still a little nervous and excited at this time: "Mr. Tang, Master Zhu, what time do you think we will set off tonight? I have an accurate message.
, brothers, it’s better to rest first and recharge your batteries.”
Tang Yin looked at Zhu Hao, meaning it was up to Zhu Hao to decide. After all, the most important weapon in this battle was provided by Zhu Hao. Of course, he had to cooperate with Zhu Hao in terms of time.
Zhu Hao had enough reason to issue orders.
"Later in the middle of the night, let the thieves think that the merchants in the city are trying to escape from the city while their defenses are down. After the enemy camp makes some movement, Lu Dianzhan will lead your men out of the city through another gate. Be careful when you go there.
, run away after lighting the fire... Never be too eager to fight..."
…
…
The Zhu family manor outside the city.
Most of the old, weak, women and children in the village, such as the old man Zhu Mingshan, the eldest brother and the fourth brother, all went to the city to seek refuge.
Originally, Zhu Wanjian did not intend to stay in Zhuangzi, but on the day when his family's women and children entered the city, he got up late and missed the time. After lunch, he saw nothing happened and thought that the bandits would not dare to come. However, as soon as the bandits arrived that afternoon, he immediately
After setting up camp and sending out rangers to patrol, he had no choice but to enter the city.
"Mom, what should we do now? The bandit sentries have patrolled our village several times. In order not to antagonize them, we have not used bows and arrows. If they attack with an entire army...with just the few manpower in our village,
It’s impossible to hold on.”
Zhu Wanjian found an armored stomach from somewhere and put it on his body. Unfortunately, he was out of shape and had a large bulge on his belly. The armored stomach stuck tightly to his body, like a bear wearing a big bucket.
The person in command of the enemy's war effort at the Zhu Family Manor was actually the old lady Zhu Jia.
An ordinary woman would have disappeared by now, but Zhu Jia is a woman who has followed her husband and experienced a military career. She usually looks old and senile, no different from ordinary poor and weak old women, but once she really gets into trouble, she is sharp and sharp.
There was murderous intent in his eyes, which was really powerful.
When Zhu Jiashi saw her son's cowardice, he angrily said: "Why are you panicking? Our Zhu family is a military home, and our ancestors followed Taizu to conquer the country, so you are a coward... Even the third child never cried out when he faced the bandits.
.”
Zhu Wanjian looked disdainful: "You have to compare me with a dead ghost?"
Zhu Jiashi said: "Now we have to guard against bandits looking for a breakthrough at night to enter Zhuangzi. Patrolling at night is the most important. I estimate that if we keep guarding for a few more days, the bandits will naturally withdraw as soon as the guards and horses approach.
"Our village is close to the city and is well guarded. We don't expect the bandits to come to us first. Keep an eye on us. You will be on duty at the tower these two days. If my mother finds you dozing off, we will serve you under military law!"
…
…
At night.
The robbers from all over the camp came back one after another. In addition to guarding all the way outside the city, the other two groups seemed to have gained a lot, and they also captured a lot of people.
There are not only young men, but also women and children, but the old ones are missing. It is obvious that the thieves do not want free food, they need real labor... Of course, reproduction is human instinct, and robbing women is a reasonable thing.
As for the children... they are purely for repayment. They can still work with little food. When they grow up, they will work as coolies. This will at least allow their parents to stay in the ranks of thieves and bandits in order to save their children's lives.
Second watch.
At the temporary headquarters on the city tower, the magistrate Kuang Yangming came, and the most senior among the participants at the palace was Yuan Zonggao.
When the war came, the palace and the government made complete preparations.
"This is……"
After Kuang Yangming arrived, he didn't feel surprised to see Tang Yin there, but he couldn't help but be curious when he found that Tang Yin was accompanied by a young man.
Isn't this Prince Xing?
The palace asked him to hone his skills in the army?
"Student Zhu Hao, I have met Kuang Zhizhou." Zhu Hao reported his family name.
Kuang Yangming vaguely remembered the name, but couldn't remember who it was for a while.
Yuan Zonggao smiled and said: "He is a child of the royal family. He came first in this county examination."
Kuang Yangming suddenly remembered and said with a smile: "He was actually the little prodigy who got the chancellor's degree in Changshou County? Now that I remember, it's true that a great teacher makes a great disciple!"