Chapter 156: The Little Eunuch Moves to Shuanglong Village
Wen Shichang and Zhao Xiaogao led 30,000 horses to the foot of Mount Lang soon. The army was also surrounded on three sides, with a cliff on one side. There was no need to fortify a team of 10,000 horses. Commander Wendu led a team to guard the left side of the mountain.
The deputy commander, Zhao Xiaogao, was stationed at the central strategic road. The other team was led by the Jiayuguan general, Ma Qing, who guarded the three armies. They only brought enough food and grass for ten days, and stated that if they could not conquer the mountain within ten days, they would raise their own military pay and find their own way out.
Wen Shichang was a civil servant. Leading troops in war was like blowing fire with a staff. He knew nothing about it. Although Zhao Xiaogao had some martial arts skills, he did not dare to compliment Ma Qing.
If they didn’t delay things, it’s also a wonder that the team spent three days paying bills and sorting out military affairs. They wanted to fight a protracted war, but Prime Minister Wang did not give them such sufficient time. At the beginning of the fourth day
After climbing the mountain, the team gathered together and prepared to attack the mountain. As mentioned before, there is only one trail up the mountain, and only one person and one horse can pass through it at a time. Even if there are only ten people guarding the mountain, and the rocks are rolling down, no amount of people can attack it.
After struggling for a day, I found nothing. Not a single bandit was seen on the mountain, but I lost more than a dozen brothers.
Lin Rugui and Qi Guangyuan received letters from the young eunuch in the first few days, instructing them to only defend and not go down the mountain. Every day, thirty people were divided into three groups to take turns guarding the three passes. The officers and soldiers would definitely not be able to attack them as long as they could.
Guard for ten days, and soldiers will surely come to rescue. Then they will rush down from the mountain. Attacked from both sides, the officers and soldiers will retreat into the forest. The two reckless generals of Qi have just plundered a hundred thousand taels of silver. Naturally, they were lavish on the things they picked up for free. They happily walked down the mountain.
We purchased a lot of food, drinks, etc., and there is a natural fountain on the top of the mountain with plenty of water, so we can last for a month, not to mention ten days.
The little eunuch first sent someone to Liantang Town to invite Huang Qiuchan, and then went to Shuanglong Town in person. He was not specifically trying to give Shangguanxue face. He treated his eight wives equally, and would never and could not favor one over the other.
Personally, he has no clone skills, so he can only choose Shuanglong Town, which is close by road, and Liantang Town, which is far away. He has a lot of bad things to do, so he has to give up the distance and seek the near. He knows that with Shangguan Xue and Huang Qiu
Neither Cicada nor the two of them are strong enough to deal with Zhao Xiaogao. If the two of them join forces, even if they don't have a perfect chance of winning, at least they won't suffer much loss.
Because Zhu Linzong was on trial, the young eunuch had no choice but to take Zhang Facun and Huang Ren and set off in a hurry
The three of them rode fast horses, and soon arrived at Shuanglong Town. It happened to be a market that day, but there was no lively scene of crowds of people on the street in the past, buying and selling. Every shop was closed, and every small business was closed.
All industries were in depression and the eight industries were in decline. Not long after the little eunuch left this town, how could it be like this in just a few months? The little eunuch was a little puzzled, quietly dismounted, walked to a house, knocked on the door lightly and asked in a low voice:
"Seller, we are passers-by and would like to know how to get to Shuanglong Village?"
The door opened a crack, and an old man over sixty years old waved his hand inside the door to stop him:
"Sir, you can't go to Shuanglong Village. There's a war going on there. It's been more than half a month."
The young eunuch said in a low voice: "Can I please lend me a moment and let us go into the courtyard to ask clearly? If we can't go, we won't go."
Hearing that they all had foreign accents, the old man knew that it would be no big deal, so he opened the door carefully and let the three of them go in to talk. The young eunuch ordered Zhang Facun to take out an ingot of ten taels of silver, took it and put it on the table and said:
"Old man, we have come a long way and are thirsty and hungry. Please make it easy for us, boil some tea and make some food for us. If there is a war there, we will not go. It is already late today. Could you please give us a room?
, let’s just stay here for the night and return the same way tomorrow.”
The old man said: "It's not difficult to stay for one night. There are some ready-made vegetables for food and drink, and the horses, grass and feed are all complete. But how can we use this much money? One or two taels is enough."
The young eunuch said: "My husband, there is no need to refuse. Things are not as good as usual. You, the old man, are also taking risks. Ten taels of silver is not a large amount. You have the right to accept it."
The old man then collected the money and sent people to fetch water for cooking. The second brother brought tea. After a few people sat down and chatted, the old man asked:
"Sir, your accent sounds like you are from the Central Plains. What are you doing here?"
The little eunuch said: "There is a friend working in Shuanglong Village. We are here to visit our friend."
"Unfortunately, there is a war in the village. You'd better not cause trouble. Stay for one night and leave quickly! When the war subsides, it won't be too late to come back to visit your friends."
"What I said is true," the young eunuch asked again, "My father, the village has always been peaceful, so why is there a fight?"
The old man said: "Your Majesty, you don't know. Since the old village master's third daughter recruited a county horse the day before yesterday, the county horse has been very successful. He killed three mules in Qinglong Village and put down the three mules brought by the old village master in Sifang."
My daughter is stationed in Dazhai, my eldest daughter and son-in-law, and my second daughter and son-in-law are in charge of Qinglong Village. This area covering hundreds of miles is now under the jurisdiction of one family. The people praise it, and the government doesn't care much. Everyone is in peace. I don't know where I came from half a month ago.
There is a group of about a thousand people. The leader of the group said he came to avenge three mules. He will withdraw his troops only if the village agrees to three conditions."
"What three conditions?" the little eunuch couldn't help but ask.
The old man said: "The guest is laughing at me. I was also talking about Hong Kong in the street. I heard from hearsay, but I don't remember it very accurately. The first condition is to hand over the three commanders and horses, the second condition is to give up the owner of the village, and the third condition is to hand over the three commanders and horses.
The condition is that the third young lady be betrothed to their leader as his wife. If you choose one of the three terms and agree to it, you will immediately retreat."
"Wouldn't it be over if we hand over the third son-in-law?" the young eunuch asked knowingly.
"You don't know the details about this guest," the old man said with a smile. "The third son-in-law is highly skilled in martial arts and has courage that no man can match. Unfortunately, he married the old village leader's third daughter and left soon after. If the third son-in-law was still there, who would
Dare you say no?"
"What happened next?" The little eunuch was at a loss for words.
The old man said: "Then the two families got into a fight after they had a disagreement. Although the third lady was outstanding in martial arts, she was weak as a daughter. She was defeated by the strong man and returned to the village. Since then, she has stayed behind closed doors and allowed the strong man and them to scold her. This has been a stalemate for half a month.
More than enough"
"If this stalemate continues, how long can the village last? Will they be able to provide food and grass for them?" the little eunuch already knew in his mind.
The old man said: "There is a lot of food and grass in the village, but the main reason is that the water source is inaccessible and the guests don't know it. The village is built on a hillside, so there is no way to dig a well. They have to go down the mountain to collect water. If they continue like this, they won't be able to hold on for a few days, and they will die of thirst."
"
Soon the food was served and everyone was speechless.