Zheng Fang looked up and down at the man with his hands tied: "What is this man's background?"
"The boss of Jiuligou." Tie Zhui replied.
"Jiuligou bandits?"
Zheng Fang frowned: "Why are they involved again?"
The life of the people was difficult. Sometimes a few refugees or deserters would get together, pull out a flag with rags from a random hilltop, and they would become a new group of bandits.
There are also some villagers who rely on the mountains who can no longer survive, so they will gather on the mountains during slack seasons and rob passers-by with their faces covered.
Among the large and small bandits in Jinchuan County, there are at least seven or eight who can be named, and there are even more who cannot be named.
The Jiuligou Bandits are one of the small and medium-sized bandit forces. They are entrenched in a ravine nine miles northwest of Jinchuan County, hence the name.
There are more than 100 Jiuligou bandits in total. They are not qualified to collect annual grain, but they are close to the official road and usually make a living by robbing passing caravans.
Moreover, Jiuligou is dozens of miles away from Yegoupo Slope, and it takes a long time to walk there. Zheng Fang couldn't figure out how they could get involved with the Yegoupo Slope bandits?
"When these guys saw that Tiegun Mountain was destroyed by us, they wanted to occupy the land to harvest the New Year's grain. But because Jiuligou was too far away, they got together with Wild Dog Slope."
"I asked why so many people suddenly appeared in Wild Dog Slope and hid them in the cellar. We were all tricked."
When he said this, Zheng Fang became angry.
He had already visited the thatched shed just now, and sure enough he found a large cellar below, which was larger than the thatched shed above.
No wonder the Yegoupo bandits stay in the thatched hut all day long gambling, just to avoid being discovered.
After all, no matter how powerful a monkey is at hiding, it is impossible for a monkey to search a thatched shed under the eyes of dozens of people.
"The bandits have already sent people to target us. Knowing that most of our brothers are not at home, this guy led fifty or sixty people to attack Xihewan after the female soldiers left!"
Having said this, Iron Hammer gave Jiuligou's boss a hard kick.
"What?"
Zheng Fang was shocked: "Is everything okay in the village?"
You must know that Xihewan is their base camp, where Jin Feng's accumulated belongings and the trophies captured from Iron Can Mountain are all there.
If something happens to Xihewan, what's the use of laying down a Wild Dog Slope?
"The leader of the bandits has been caught, what can happen?"
Iron Hammer said: "Actually, Mr. Guessed that they might do this, and had already made arrangements. As soon as the bandits entered the village, most of them were killed, and the rest all surrendered."
"Fortunately!"
Zheng Fang patted his chest and asked doubtfully: "But the female soldiers came here and there are not many brothers left in the village. How did you kill so many bandits? Did you use a catapult?"
"We don't know where they entered the village from and how they used the catapult?" Iron Hammer replied.
Catapults are inconvenient to move, so the angle is usually adjusted first and fixed on the enemy's only path.
The terrain of Xihewan is flat, and there are several roads into the village. Even Jin Feng doesn't know where the bandits are entering the village, so there is no way to arrange a catapult ambush in advance.
"If you didn't use a catapult, how did you kill so many bandits?"
Zheng Fang asked doubtfully.
"After work in the afternoon, my husband asked the village chief to tell the men at the brick kiln and the construction site that the bandits might be attacking Xihewan. When everyone heard this, they became anxious and asked to stay with the escort to protect the village."
Tie Chui said: "There are more than a hundred men in Xihewan and Guanjiawan, and the terrain is familiar. They are lying in ambush in the houses on the roads into the village. When the bandits enter the village, they will release arrows, and the bandits will be blinded in one fell swoop.
Already."
"Fortunately, sir, he knows things well."
Zheng Fang gave a thumbs up and praised sincerely.
Jin Feng also smiled happily.
What made him most happy this time was not that he caught the big boss of Jiuligou, but when he learned that bandits were coming to attack Xihewan, not only the guards, but also the men at the brick kiln and the construction site took the initiative to take up arms and participated in the defense.
war.
Even the female workers in the textile factory clamored for Jin Feng to issue them crossbows.
This shows that the seeds planted by Jin Feng have blossomed and bear fruit. Faced with the bandits, the villagers are no longer blindly afraid, but have the determination to take up arms and fight to protect their own interests.
A great man once said that the power of the people is invincible.
With this victory, the villagers will completely understand that bandits are not terrible.
In the past, bandits could still bully the village because there were not many men and women's combat effectiveness was weak. However, the emergence of crossbows has completely narrowed the gap between men's and women's combat effectiveness.
Even a child can use a crossbow to kill strong bandits as long as he is trained.
In the future, if bandits come to Xihewan, the villagers will teach them how to behave without the help of veterans and female soldiers.
For Jin Feng, this result made him happier than conquering Iron Can Mountain.
"You really can't tell people by their appearance. This guy looks big and thick, and he's quite thoughtful."
Zheng Fang walked around the head of Jiuligou: "This strategy is so intricate that most people can't figure it out."
"It's not this guy who's scheming, it's their second-in-command, and the second-in-command made all the plans."
Iron Hammer said: "By the way, Lao Zheng, have you caught their second-in-command? I heard that the guy has also studied and served in the army. He is cunning, so we can't let him run away."
"Monkey, go over there and ask the prisoner who is the second master of Jiuligou?"
When Zheng Fang heard this, his expression became cautious.
By this time he had probably figured out the bandits' plan.
First, they cooperated with the Yegoupo bandits to make preparations, and then asked the Yegoupo bandits to go down the mountain to rob Zhoujia Village, attracting the attention of Xihewan.
Then, when Jin Feng sent people to encircle Wild Dog Slope and the rear defense was empty, he sent people to sneak attack Xihewan.
The second-in-command who formulated this plan really couldn't let him run away.
Soon, the monkey came over with a corpse and threw it at Zheng Fang's feet.
There was an arrow stuck in the corpse's neck.
"Well, this is the second boss."
"It turns out it's him!"
Zheng Fang narrowed his eyes slightly.
"What, do you know him?" Tie Hammer asked.
"Before, Amei controlled the leader of the Yegoupo bandits, intimidated the other bandits, and almost had control of the situation. But this guy suddenly rushed out and killed the leader of the Yegoupo Bandits with a poisonous needle, and then the situation completely got out of control.
"
Zheng Fang said: "I thought there was something wrong with this guy, so I killed him immediately."
"Deserve it!"
Iron Hammer spat on the corpse of the second master.
"I thought it was some big boss from the county government who wanted to seize the Iron Can Mountain territory, but I didn't expect it was a group of bandits," Zheng Fang said.
"Without the great master as a backer, who dares to collect the annual grains without fear of encirclement and suppression by the government soldiers?"
Tie Chui glanced sideways at the head of Jiuligou: "I didn't have time to ask on the way, who is your backer?"