"Is it difficult to walk on the road?" Feng Haijiao asked after waiting for the servants to clear away the leftover food and replace it with tea.
Bi Xuansheng had just been eating and drinking, but now he came back to his senses and gasped: "What a close call! I almost lost my life!"
"Is it so dangerous?!" Feng Haijiao knew from the look on his face that this journey would not be peaceful, "Don't be anxious, tell me slowly."
After Bi Xuansheng ate and drank some, he felt energetic, and then he told the whole story about his contact this time.
When he left Qinglianwei, he was still dressed as a scholar and took a dozen or so servants with him without concealing his identity. However, after only half a day's journey, he encountered the "Joint Patrol Team". At first, Bi Xuan
Sheng didn't take it seriously, thinking that it was a local hero who was under the command of some local powerful man. As Bi Xuansheng, there was no need to be afraid and he could just say hello. Only when he got closer did he realize that although the other party was a local man, he was not afraid.
There was also a small group of Australian soldiers mixed in.
At this time, the distance between the two sides was only more than a hundred feet, and the men led by Bi Xuansheng were still wearing Feng Haijiao's livery. The local Yong rushed up to capture them. Bi Xuansheng rode on his horse and ran away at the lead. Finally, he was gone.
He was "captured alive". However, most of his men were captured and only a few escaped.
"Which family? Are you so bold?" Feng Haijiao was surprised. Although the situation has taken a turn for the worse these days, as far as the surrounding area is concerned, the powerful families have not publicly broken up with him, and now someone is directly attacking his people.
!
"I didn't see clearly which family's men and horses, but on the left are the wealthy and powerful families in the surrounding areas." Bi Xuansheng shook his head with a wry smile, "Now, not only the National Army is patrolling the county, but also the heroes from various wealthy families are out.
There are notices posted everywhere…”
"Notice? What notice?" Feng Haijiao asked hurriedly.
"Here." Bi Xuansheng pulled out a ball of crumpled paper from his arms, "I asked my men to pull it from the market."
Feng Haijiao opened it and saw that it was a notice issued by the female county magistrate. It was considered a reward notice, because it clearly stated that he and his main gang leaders, including Bi Xuansheng, Zhan Zhekun, Xin Laonan and others, were offered a reward.
, not a single one, but all of them are listed on it. There are thirty or forty names in densely packed numbers.
Looking at the rewards again, Feng Haijiao was so angry that he, the three tyrants of Yangshan, and the Liman female county magistrate only offered a reward of three taels and five cents of silver. Not only that, he also ranked second, behind Zhan Zhekun.
Next: The reward is four taels of silver. The next ones are nothing more than one tael, two taels, and the lowest is only five taels. Bi Xuansheng was also offered a reward of three taels of silver.
"Master, don't read the reward, please read the text." Bi Xuansheng reminded him quickly when he saw him gritting his teeth as he stared at the wanted list.
Feng Haijiao hurriedly read the text. It turned out that "a reward is offered for arrest, regardless of life or death" was only the first article of the notice. There were several more articles that followed, all of which were aimed at the local big business, asking them to "rectify the Baojia and patrol day and night." It was strictly forbidden to "
"Collaborating with bandits" not only strictly prohibits wealthy households from having any dealings with bandits themselves, but also their family members, relatives, tenants, slaves... As long as there is anyone who wants to do something, once there is evidence of dealings with bandits, the whole family will be prosecuted for being "collaborating with bandits": in severe cases, they will be beheaded and the family property will be confiscated
Exile the "evil soldiers from far away states" and punish them with light fines and work penalties.
The second article is for the gangsters themselves. It tells the ordinary gangsters who are willing to abandon the dark side and turn to the bright side. If they can bring the whereabouts or head of the gang leader, there will be a reward.
Feng Haijiao watched all the way, and the more he looked, the more frightened he became. He didn't care about the reward, but the following items made it clear that he wanted the local big business to "cut off ties" with him, which dug his roots.
Since ancient times, the relationship between gangsters and wealthy households has always been quite subtle. Especially in remote mountainous areas like Lianyang, bandits and wealthy households are not only "secretly colluding", but sometimes they are also "allies": a common local phenomenon
In the fights between clans and locals, big families often hire bandits to increase their fighting power. Bandits are also willing to act as thugs for big families, thereby obtaining additional income, safe shelter and channels of transportation to the government. Especially what the gangs need
Almost all of the bulk grain, cloth and salt depended on the supply of large-scale bandit households.
These articles issued by the Australians were worded harshly - the most important thing is that they took advantage of the power of the Dalangwei World War. No big family in the county dared not to take their words seriously: Sun Dabiao's family's heads were all hung up.
Still sitting.
No wonder the first thing Bi Xuansheng did was to show him the notice. This was a matter of life and death!
He shook his head, put the notice on the oil lamp and burned it, and then asked: "Have you seen Mr. Zhan?"
"I saw it," Bi Xuansheng said, "I and my followers didn't dare to take the main road and only took a detour - hell, even the small roads were full of villagers from big families. There were people on guard in every village and every village.
When someone approaches, I will beat the gong and summon the village warriors to interrogate me. Finally, I brought a lot of dry food, so I didn’t starve to death..."
Feng Haijiao was not interested in listening to his story of adventures and interrupted him: "What did Mr. Zhan say?"
"Master Zhan means the same thing as I said last time. Please give up Qinglianwei immediately and join forces with him with your troops before making further calculations. The terrain of Xinjiazhuang is dangerous and easy to defend but difficult to attack. Kun Thief 1
Time will not go there..."
"I know that Zhuangzi in Xinlaonan is very dangerous, but Zhuangzi is a place as big as the palm of your hand. Where can we live with hundreds of brothers and their families?"
"We can only ask everyone to build a shack to deal with it. There is no danger in Qinglianwei." Bi Xuansheng advised, "The Kun thieves have a strong navy on the river. They control all waterways and the ships can do whatever they want."
If the Kun thieves attack by land and water, we will not be able to withstand it..."
Although so far, the Australian fleet and patrol boats have only reached the county town and have not yet gone up to the Qinglianwei area. But it is only a matter of time before they go up to the local area.
Qinglianwei is surrounded by water on three sides, and Feng Haijiao's ability to stay here is all due to the power of the water. However, the Australian gunboats are a hundred times more powerful than their own rowing boats. If Bi Xuansheng said that the Australians can advance both by land and water, then Qinglianwei is
Jedi!
Thinking of this, Feng Haijiao sat down in the Grand Master's chair and remained silent for a long time.
Bi Xuansheng knew that these words had moved him, and he secretly admired Mr. Zhan for his clever calculation, so he followed what Zhan Zhekun had taught him beforehand and said: "I looked at the place in Xinjiazhuang. Zhuangzi is smaller, but there is more land on the mountain.
There are few people, so we can first build a shack for a few months, and then slowly build a house - the brothers will naturally have a place to live..."
Feng Haijiao trembled, and he remembered: Xin Laonan's village was very small, with only about twenty households: either his relatives or his cronies. There were only about twenty people in full strength; Zhan Zhekun
He and Bi Xuansheng came to Yangshan and brought more than thirty servants. In other words, there are less than a hundred people in Xinjiazhuang...
He immediately recalled the appearance of Xinjiazhuang: He had been to this place many years ago, and his impression was already very vague. But he probably remembered that it was in the mountains, and Zhuangzi was on the flat ground at the top of the mountain. He had to pass by it to go up the mountain.
It is a rugged mountain road with several dangerous passes. It does have the meaning of "one man can pass the pass but ten thousand men cannot open it".
There are dozens of acres of fields on the top of the mountain with water. I have also hoarded a lot of food and grass, and brought them up the mountain. Hundreds of people hid on it and had no worries about eating and drinking. No matter how powerful the thief was, he could not pull the cannon up the steep mountain road.
…
Feng Haijiao was moved. As long as he brought his troops to Xinjiazhuang, Xinjiazhuang would be named "Feng". Even if Zhan, Xin, Bi and others had any complaints, they would not dare to make any mistakes - if they really wanted to be disobedient, they would
Everyone was slaughtered! Xin Laonan has been doing robberies in Lianjiang for many years, and he probably has a lot of good stuff.
Thinking of this, Feng Haijiao nodded and said solemnly: "It seems that this is the only way!" He shook his head pretending to be sad and sighed: "What a pity, this Qinglianwei is the capital of my fortune, and now I have to
Throw it to the thieves!" After saying that, he squeezed out a few tears.
Bi Xuansheng advised: "Master, don't be sad. A man is capable of bending and stretching. Now let's go to the mountain to take shelter from the limelight. When the imperial army counterattacks, won't this Qinglianwei return to Zhao intact when I come down?"
Although it was an empty talk, Feng Haijiao found it useful and said with a smile: "Master Bi is indeed a scholar and good at talking!"
"Wherever we are, we all have to rely on the master's blessings." Bi Xuansheng said respectfully, "Sooner or later, this Yangshan will not belong to the master?"
Feng Haijiao pretended to be coy, and immediately ordered the leaders of the various gangs and the gangsters to pack up their luggage, collect food, grass, gold and silver, and prepare for the whole gang to retreat to Xinjiazhuang.
However, it is not easy to escape. Feng Haijiao has been in Qinglianwei for many years. There are two to three hundred family members of gangsters living in the local area. Including those who have joined the gang in recent months, there are five to six hundred people. Among them are some
There are many women and children. You need to bring supplies and supplies. Xinjiazhuang is a full seventy or eighty miles away from here, and most of them are mountain roads. My team has family members and carries a lot of supplies. It is enough to cover twenty miles a day.
Not bad. Even if the journey goes smoothly, it will take at least four or five days to get there. If there is an attack on the way, such a team with families and families will be defeated in an instant.
After much thought, he decided that he could only risk taking the waterway connecting the Yangtze River and avoid encountering Australian patrol boats, which would save half of the road. Once in the mountains, it would not be easy for the Australians to intercept them.
Therefore, while he ordered the ships to be prepared, he also sent people to monitor key points along the river near the county seat. Once he discovered that an Australian ship was coming to Qinglianwei, he would immediately light a beacon to call the police.
"If that doesn't work, then take the night boat." His men suggested.
It is extremely unsafe to sail at night. No matter locals or Australians, they do not sail at night. Feng Haijiao has been "draining on the water" all year round and is very familiar with the hydrological and geographical conditions of Lianjiang River, so he reluctantly made the risky night voyage.
"That's it!" Feng Haijiao said, "Send the order and tell everyone to pack up and prepare to move!"