Section 174: A Story in the Battle of the Pearl River
Chapter 174 A story from the Battle of the Pearl River
Sai Qingxia's selling team was once again in trouble under this blow. The news that the Kun thieves had arrived on the river not far from Sanliang City caused the entire Sanliang City and surrounding areas to fall into a state of panic. The terror of the Kun thieves
and power make people panic all day long. They are no longer interested in celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival. Of course, they are not interested in watching any horse racing to sell solutions. Not only can they not make money for travel expenses, but they are also constantly spending on food, accommodation and medicine. The entire team
Caught in a dilemma.
Seeing the chaos in the town, many wealthy families and gentry from the villages fled to Sanliang City with their families. The vacant houses in the town were filled in an instant, and the inns were also quickly filled. The house prices increased tenfold.
The owner of the inn had such a great opportunity to make money, and of course he didn't want the dozen of them to still occupy three or four houses plus a stable. He gave them an ultimatum: From now on, the rent will be increased. Not only will the rent increase, but also the rent will be increased.
The stables for tethering horses also cost a lot of money - this cost is several percent more expensive than a big north house before.
"The stables also charge rent, how can there be such a rule in the world!" Jiang Suo said angrily.
"Rules? I set the rules here. How many people are asking to live in my stable with their free money." The innkeeper said nonchalantly with a sweaty face - crisis is an opportunity for some people.
For the innkeeper, this sudden opportunity to make a fortune made him confused. Now he is even willing to kill anyone who wants to stop him from making this windfall.
No matter how Jiang Niang and Uncle Zhou tried to say good things and begged for a few days of grace, the innkeeper had one sentence: Either pay the new price from today on, or pack your luggage and get out immediately.
Jiang Suo was young and angry, and wanted to argue with the inn. Qingxia knew that it was useless to talk to them, so she had no choice but to agree to move out.
After a while, the town was already crowded with people, so they had no choice but to move to the Guandi Temple in the east of the town. This place was already crowded with poor people who had come to seek refuge from all over the country. The group barely occupied a corridor and settled down.
She couldn't help but couldn't calm her nerves. Although Qingxia's father's condition didn't get worse, it didn't get better either. The group was trapped in a dilapidated temple with no income, and gradually had to live without food. Everyone sighed - they were real distant guests.
I have no relatives and friends here, and my hometown is far away in the Central Plains. Let alone returning to my hometown now, I can't even go to Guangzhou to revive my career.
After Qingxia's father fell ill, Qingxia became the class leader. She was in a very depressed mood. In addition to their father and daughter, Jiang Niang, Uncle Zhou and Jiang Suo, there were three and a half children in the class. They were all from the same village.
This time there was some connection between them. The safety of this group of people seemed to be on her shoulders.
She was afraid that the people in the class would be anxious, so she still went out at dawn every day to play tricks, practice martial arts, and walk horses in the open space. Although this Mongolian horse was not a sacred horse, it was a good partner when she was selling horses. Even if it is gone,
Horse feed was only eaten on the wasteland by eating weeds, causing the horses to lose weight quickly. This made her feel very distressed. But the money in her hands was going to be reduced little by little. Not to mention buying horse feed, she even had to eat.
It's almost becoming a problem.
Qingxia knew that everyone regarded her as their backbone, and she could not openly show her anxiety. However, when she woke up in the middle of the night every day, she always cried secretly. She used to live a life of struggling to survive, but now she is trapped in such a predicament.
This made her feel increasingly uncertain about the future.
Jiang Niang also secretly came up with an idea: No matter whether the travel expenses are enough, we should leave the desert first, use the money we have to hire a boat, and everyone will go to Guangzhou, as far as they can go, and find a safer place.
By doing business in the local area, they might be able to earn some money to support their travel expenses all the way to Guangzhou. However, Qingxia was afraid that her father would not be able to withstand the bumps on the road, and the news that the bandits were approaching also made them afraid to leave easily.
The protection of the village wall was captured by the Kun thieves on the way.
In the regiment training bureau, the country gentlemen were startled three times a day. The country warriors on watch in this town and nearby villages were often struck by the sudden appearance of a boat or the arrival of several outsiders collecting firewood nearby, and would sound the alarm gongs and blast cannons.
In this way, we spent the Mid-Autumn Festival in a panic and hastily. On weekdays, Luo Zhai and other large households must have some festive embellishments for the Mid-Autumn Festival, and they have to make a special trip to buy various mooncakes from Guangzhou. Now.
No one can care about these few festivals.
After another seven or eight days, the latest news finally came: the Kun thieves had arrived in Shigang, a jointly protected village and town in Sanliang City. After receiving the urgent news, Luo Tianqiu immediately ordered Yuan Kaibang and several newly hired
Teacher Xiangyong took 200 Xiangyong to reinforce Shigang. Other villages and towns participating in the joint protection also sent reinforcements.
Early the next morning, fierce gunfire came out from the direction of Shigang - the common people had never heard such a violent roar of gunfire. The sound of gunfire lasted for almost an hour. All the members of the League Training Bureau were anxious and distressed.
An, instead of sending people to inquire, we might as well go up to the watchtower to see if there is any new movement in the distance.
At noon, the first group of village warriors appeared in sight. They were exhausted one by one. Some were on foot, some were by boat, and they retreated from the direction of the stone hillock in disorder. Everyone was downcast, and some were beaten.
People were supporting or lying on the boat. Many people had no weapons, their clothes were torn, and their bodies were stained with blood.
The village heroes who retreated from Shigang not only brought back the news of Shigang's defeat, but also brought back the body of Yuan Kaibang. This strong man who called himself the "Great Wall" had half of his head, one arm, and remaining parts knocked off.
The torso was half-burnt. This was the result of a 12-pound grenade.
More than 50 of the 200 Xiangyong who went to Shigang for reinforcements did not come back. In addition to Yuan Kaibang, seven or eight of the "Lian Tou" and Xiangyong teachers who went with them also died. The people who came back were all in despair.
From the people who escaped, we know that the UNPROFOR team of rural warriors finally gathered more than 800 people to fight against the Kun bandits in Shigang. The Kun bandits only had 200 people, but their gunboats were very powerful. A volley of artillery came and killed one person.
A blockbuster. The village warriors were defeated from the river bank before they could fight. Then the thieves quickly used ladders to board the unguarded river bank. The two sides engaged in a face-to-face battle at the fence gate of Shigang.
Bai Duoxiang Yong was defeated by more than thirty thieves armed with blunderbuss equipped with short swords.
"Every thieves knows how to use a thunderbolt -" a Xiang Yong, whose face turned pale with fright, told the committee members, "seeing that there were so many of us, they raised their hands and blew us up to death..."
Various terrifying legends about the Kun Thieves suddenly spread in the town. Especially the news that the Kun Thieves' bird cannons had an extremely long range made the members of the regiment training bureau realize that their defensive measures were probably useless. If the enemy
Being able to fire outside the range of their own firearms and bows allows them to drive away the defending party from a distance, and then calmly demolish or overrun the defenses. This is what the bandits in Shigang did.
Luo Tianqiu convened a meeting of the town's gentry, big households, paijia, students, chamber of commerce and chiefs of major clans in the Tuanlian Bureau to discuss how to resist the attack of the Kun thieves - after Shigang was captured, Sanliang was definitely the next target.
.
Although Sanliang is known as the Luo family's "iron-barrel empire", the internal conflicts are actually very acute. Not only are the wealthy gentry always at odds with each other, but the people are also extremely dissatisfied with the Luo family and the wealthy families attached to them who are domineering in Sanliang.
It's just that due to the usual lustful power of the Luo family, they dare not show it too much. When the Kun thief is facing a formidable enemy, this contradiction begins to emerge. Many people think that resisting the Kun thief is useless, and it is just killing people in vain. As for Pai Jia and
Businessmen, they have long heard that the Kun thieves deal with the wealthy gentry. As long as the common people do not resist and pay a little "burden", they will be fine. Of course they are not willing to pay extra. The problem is that in the Luo family
Under the rule of the Communist Party of China, in order to "fight the Kun thieves", apportionment and forced "raising of donations" have fallen on them more than once. Everyone feels that since they have spent a lot of money to arm the village warriors, the fortifications they built cannot resist the Kun thieves.
, it would be better to accept the "reasonable burden" and let the thief be satisfied and safe, at least no one would die.
At the meeting, everyone had their own ulterior motives. No matter how eloquent Luo Tianqiu was, everyone still lacked interest in the new resistance measures. After Luo Tianqiu repeatedly reminded everyone, what did the rich gentry have after the fall of other villages that had fought with the Kun thieves?
After such an outcome, the wealthy gentry reluctantly responded to his request and agreed to continue to prepare for defense.
After barely reaching a consensus, Luo Tianqiu took action again. In order to win the support of ordinary people, he ordered that the people living in the Luo family's property be exempted from three years' rent, and the merchants who rented the Luo family's shops were exempted from one year's rent.
At the same time, each village hero who saw the battle was given two taels of silver as a reward. Those who participated in the battle were given four taels, and each family who died in the battle was given 20 taels. All tenants who farmed the Luo family's land as tenants were rent-free for one year. Not only did he
This also requires other large households in the Luo family to follow suit. It is also recommended that other large households do the same to win over the people as much as possible.
Several big business owners cried out in front of him. Luo Tianqiu sneered darkly:
"Don't cry and complain one by one. The thieves can't stay here every day. After they leave, the Ming Dynasty will still be bright. Why don't the mud-legged people want them to be as long as they want them to be, or as short as they want them to be? Eat it up.
Tell him to spit it out!"
In order to win over the scholars, as a senior in the examination room, he summoned the students and students in the town and nearby villages, and said many good things.
Rumors, they also talked about the "difference between Huayi" and pointed out that the Kun thieves claimed that they were descendants of the Song people in Yashan. First of all, it was unfounded. There was no mention of this in various books and notes in the late Song Dynasty and early Yuan Dynasty. Secondly, even if it was true,
As a matter of fact, it is said that "when the barbarians enter China, they will become Chinese, and when the Chinese enter barbarians, they will become barbarians." This set of "the distinction between Chinese and barbarians" inspired the scholars' "defensive" thoughts, and incited the blood of several young scholars who had little knowledge to boil.
.At that moment, a member of the army made a suggestion: the only way to reach the Kun thieves was to block the river channel.
The Kun thieves rely entirely on boats to maneuver, not to mention there are almost no land routes here. The Kun thieves cannons are heavy, and as long as the river is blocked, the Kun thieves can only rely on walking to approach Sanliang City. Without the support of cannons, no matter how sharp their muskets are, they will not be able to hit.
If you don't open the wall, you won't have to watch yourself being bombarded by artillery, without the ability to fight back.
The nearest location for laying wooden piles and sinking blockages is about two miles away from Sanliang Village, and there are at least three blockages in each river to ensure that the thieves cannot cross.
Although this method has been criticized as a "last resort" by some people - no one is sure that the obstruction in the river can be removed after the thief is gone. After the river is blocked, what will happen to the boating in the river in the future.
However, the team training bureau was already so sick that he sought medical treatment. Luo Tianqiu thought this was a good idea, and immediately mobilized the people to dig wooden piles in the rivers leading to Sanliang Village and sink broken boats filled with sand and gravel.
Luo Tianqiu also ordered temporary residences to be provided to the fleeing people who flocked to Sanliang nearby. The method was very simple, that is, in addition to the temples in the town, all wealthy families would open the excess houses in the ancestral halls to temporarily accommodate the poor people. Another plan
He dictated rice to appease the refugees. Originally, people in the league training bureau believed that the refugees were a source of instability and should all be expelled. However, Luo Tianqiu believed that these refugees were all natives of the hometown and were familiar with the local conditions. Expelling them would force them to seduce thieves. It would be better.
Staying in the village for the time being can help increase the manpower for defense - fortunately, there is a lot of food stored in the town.
After carrying out such a series of work, the already shaken public sentiment in Sanliang City stabilized. Guards became increasingly tight everywhere, and village warriors drove stakes and threw stones into the river day and night. At the same time, they sent many spies to explore Kun.
The movement of thieves.
Qingxia's group also benefited from Luo Tianqiu. Luo Tianqiu knew that this group of people had some real skills and had a Central Plains accent, so they would definitely not be spying spies for the Kun thieves. Currently, there was a shortage of highly capable rural teachers, so he
He tried to win over them and ordered people to deliver medicine to them. He also arranged for them to live in an empty house in the Luo family ancestral hall, and from time to time people would send some money and rice to support them. The conditions were also very simple: help train the villagers in the village.
Qingxia originally wanted to argue that she was a self-indulgent woman and was not worthy of the position of coaching Xiangyong. However, as there is no reward for no merit, she had to repay the kindness she received from the other party. It is better to repay with her own martial arts than to do anything else.
The method was straightforward. So Qingxia, Jiang Niang and Uncle Zhou all became village warrior teachers, teaching martial arts on the threshing floor every day. Jiang Niang was not good at archery, but she was good at throwing knives, and Uncle Zhou was also good with a single sword.
Gotta take action.
Only Jiang Suo felt that this was another bad idea from the Luo family, deceiving people into working for him. He was unwilling to become a rural teacher. Qingxia did not force it: her father had not yet recovered, and the team also needed to take care of him, so she kept him at his residence.
Look after everything.
I don’t know whether it was because of the Luo family’s medicine or whether the disease was cured in the first place. Since moving to the new residence, Qingxia’s old man has gradually gotten better. This made Qingxia change from being suspicious and afraid of Luo Tianqiu to being grateful.
Get up. Especially after seeing Mr. Luo working hard every day for the defense of the town, going to various places to inspect the projects, supervising the training of troops, and not forgetting to take care of and resettle the refugees.
Qingxia is from Henan, and Henan in the late Ming Dynasty was one of the provinces most severely affected by banditry in the Central Plains. There were numerous bandit gangs, big and small. She had seen a lot of local big families building villages and recruiting villagers to bravely defend them against bandits. But she saw the people in Sanliang City.
After Luo Tianqiu's hard work, the city was blocked and the streets that were once noisy and chaotic, filled with people fleeing, became orderly. Various defensive measures were carried out in an orderly manner. What impressed her most was that in just a few days, she could
After the defeat, the country warrior, who was as frightened as a bowed bird, regained his morale. The army was neat and well-guarded. This made her admire Luo Tianqiu very much.
Since then, Qingxia has become more and more interested in coaching Xiangyong. Although everyone initially laughed at a woman who came to teach and sold her answers, and some people made some frivolous jokes during the period. But Qingxia's success has proved to be a success.
Her archery skills gradually changed the views of the village warriors and began to admire her. This gave her a certain prestige among the village warriors. Qingxia also often visited the village walls and watchtowers on weekdays. First, to check.
Is there any loophole in the defense? Secondly, she also looks for a suitable shooting position. Eat people's salary and be loyal to others. The concept of traditional martial arts practitioners occupies a major position in her heart. Even though this Mr. Luo has had many evil deeds
Okay, now it didn't matter in her mind. There was even a little bit of admiration for Mr. Luo deep in her heart.
That day she was on the watchtower, visually measuring the distance from the watchtower to the river outside the village wall. Luo Tianqiu and his men happened to go up to the watchtower and asked the watchman about the defense arrangements. He asked very carefully, and there were many things she had never seen before.
Details that had never been thought of were also taken into consideration. It can be said that he was thoughtful, and she couldn't help but praise in her heart: "What a capable person!" She saw that Luo Tianqiu was much thinner than when she first saw him twenty days ago.
But the eyebrows are still full of energy; although there are a lot of bloodshot eyes on the whites of the two eyes, they are still full of energy, and I can't help but look a little crazy.
Speaking of which, Mr. Luo is only in his early forties, in his prime. He practices fists, feet, and swordsmanship on weekdays, and is strong and strong. He is not like other wealthy landlords who are either bloated or skinny. Of course, his appearance is dignified, especially his.
Demeanor and demeanor: calm and decisive, and very strong in words and deeds. This made Qingxia, who was over 20 years old and could be called an old girl at the time, slightly attracted to him.
Qingxia had arranged a marriage in her hometown, but she had been traveling around with her father as a performer. When she was sixteen years old, she returned to the village to find someone to arrange a marriage with, but her fiancé had died in the melee when bandits attacked the village.
Although she had never met this husband before, she actually cried a few times for him.
After that, she never thought about life-long events: she was already the pillar and cash cow of the team, and most of the team's livelihood depended on her. After getting married, she could no longer do this job;
She has no fixed abode, and ordinary people are not willing to get engaged to her.