It may be that the Taiping army is waiting for the fairy temple, or it may be that there are still some preparations, and dozens of civilian boats of the Taiping army on the other side of the river are all moored on the shore when they leave the estuary, and they are not in a hurry to cross the river.

They are not in a hurry, and Han Xiufeng is not in a hurry, so they let each Shi hurry up and make a fire to cook, and let the guys even cook dinner together, so as not to worry about it after the war.

Just after two o'clock in the afternoon, the last spy sent by Zhou Xingyuan to the south came back and brought back the news that Xu Ying had been defeated by bandits at the sixteenth place east of the Fairy Temple. As soon as more than 1,000 young men saw the bandits, they collapsed without a fight, and fled for their lives.

The spies didn't dare to get too close, they didn't know whether Xu Ying was alive or dead, and Han Xiufeng didn't care about this, because the bandits from the fairy temple had already appeared in sight, and they were busy burying pots and cooking two miles south of the camp, not only were they so arrogant that they didn't bother to set up camp, but they even sent bandits with flags to persuade them to surrender.

"The heavenly soldiers are coming, if you resist stubbornly, you will definitely burn the jade......"

"Master Han, the foreign gun can be fired, and it has been targeted, do you want to give them some color to see?" Lu Daming asked in a low voice.

There was a lot of lead, but not much gunpowder, Han Xiufeng didn't want to waste the precious gunpowder on these two bandits, so he pretended to be relaxed and said: "The two armies are fighting, and they don't kill them." They don't understand the rules, we can't ignore them, we don't need to put guns. ”

"Master Han, they are bandits, who are they!" A villager muttered.

"You know what?" Han Xiufeng glared at him, then turned around and smiled: "They have long mouths, but you don't have long mouths." They persuaded to surrender, and you also persuaded you. If they scold, you will scold back. ”

Li Changjing knew that there was not much gunpowder, and immediately said: "Yes, yes, yes, scold with them, see who can scold whom!" ”

As soon as his words fell, Lu Daming was the first to scold: "Persuade us to surrender, you are sick in the brain, we are officers and soldiers, you bandits, how can there be a reason for officers and soldiers to surrender to bandits in the world!" ”

"Don't you two dogs don't want to live anymore, you have the ability to come, see how Lao Tzu cleans you up!"

"If you commit rebellion, you will raid your family and exterminate your family, and even your ancestral grave will be dug ......"

Lu Daming got up, and the villagers on the south wall immediately started scolding, and some even took off their pants to pee under the wall, scolding and scolding, the villagers were not as nervous and scared as before. Han Xiufeng wanted this morale, and encouraged them to scold while patrolling.

While he was scolding, there was movement on the other side. I saw dozens of boats full of bandits and flags slowly rowing from the opposite shore and heading straight for the bandits who were cooking in pots in the south.

"It's coming, it's finally here!" Zhang Guangcheng said nervously.

Han Xiufeng raised his "clairvoyance" and observed for a while, and said solemnly: "The bandits have cannons, set up on the bow of the ship, it looks like we are going to be attacked on all sides." ”

"Ahh

"There's a cannon, where?"

"Look at it." Han Xiufeng handed over the "clairvoyance".

Zhang Guangcheng looked at it for a while and handed over the "clairvoyance" to Li Changjing, and after Li Changjing finished reading it, he handed over the "clairvoyance" to Zhang Yiguo...... The people did not know it, but they were astonished to see that the robbers had converted several boats into warships, and mounted small cannons on the bow of the boats, and aimed the boats at sandbags, and when they rowed to the middle of the river, they divided into two routes, all the way to the south, and all the way to the main camp.

According to the previous division of labor, Zhang Guangcheng and Li Zhiyong were responsible for guarding the west wall, he didn't dare to delay his efforts any longer, and immediately turned around and said: "Zhiyong, let's go over." ”

Li Zhiyong reacted, clutched the handle of the knife and said, "Let's go, go to the Western Wall!" ”

The gunners on the west wall also realized that the warships were coming at them, and rushed to reload gunpowder and projectiles without waiting for Zhang Guangcheng and Li Zhiyong to give the order. The Qutang Regiment and the Baimi Regiment Xiang Yong, who were also guarding the west wall, were not so nervous, they knew that there was a pile of bandits on the river who could not pass, and there would only be an artillery battle here for a while.

The bandits' ship was getting closer and closer, and Zhou Xingyuan couldn't help but remind: "Brother Han, there are too many people on the west wall, and the bandits can fight a piece with one shot, why don't you evacuate some people first?" ”

"Well, there is no need for so many people in the west," Han Xiufeng relieved himself and ordered: "Big head, hurry up and give orders, only gunners will be left on the west wall, and the others will go down first and stand by." ”

"Yes!"

As soon as the big head left with his front feet, Lu Daming couldn't help but ask: "Master Han, do you want to transfer the gun-carrying team over?" ”

Raising a gun can hit two hundred steps, if the bandits' warship is close enough, raising a gun can hit the bandits on the boat, but Han Xiufeng said without thinking: "The bandits on the river don't have to worry, the west wall doesn't need you to care." ”

"Okay, I'll listen to you."

Han Xiufeng patted Lu Daming's arm, then turned around and said, "Brother Li, go and do what you said yesterday to boost your spirits." ”

Li Changjing was stunned for a moment, and immediately reacted: "Obey!" ”

Under the gaze of the villagers on and under the wall, Li Changjing ran to a row of standing cages on the west wall, pulled out his waist knife and shouted with a hideous face: "Brothers, the bandits have neither three heads and six arms, nor are they invulnerable, not only do they have nothing to fear, but they will not end well if they commit chaos!" Now that the war is imminent, leave them in the way, just take them to sacrifice the flag, master, I will cut one first, and leave the rest to you, those who dare to kill quickly raise their hands, and if it is too late, they can only cut those outside the camp! ”

Killing is easy to say, but if you do it, you may not be able to do it, especially for those villagers who have never killed anyone before.

However, Li Changjing had already prepared, and he told Lu Daming last night.

As soon as he finished speaking, a villager who had already been confessed to recruit from Taiba shouted: "Isn't it just killing, Master Li, it's a small one." ”

"Okay, come up, this bandit will be handed over to you, and you will send him on his way!"

"Master Li, it's also a small one!"

……

Not only did a dozen executioners quickly get together, but there were also many Xiang Yong who wanted to start a killing ring, and there were no death row prisoners to cut down, so they could only watch others execute.

Li Chang raised his knife and fell, and the head of a thief rolled to the wall, and he kicked him under the wall, his body was splashed with crimson blood, and even his face was stained, and with the cheers of the villagers, he was not only not nervous and scared but laughed fiercely.

Han Xiufeng didn't like this scene, and he didn't even go to the Caishikou to watch the executioner execute when he was in the capital, but today he saw the end from the beginning with a gloomy face, until the gunners on the west wall pushed down the station cage and were busy using straw curtains to pad their feet before turning back and observing the movements of the bandits on the river and in the south.

"Isn't it just killing, what's so great, I killed it when I was in Ba County." The big head was not only elated, but even itchy to see, and even muttered to himself.

Ji Da couldn't help but say: "Brother Big Head, I not only know that you have killed someone, but also know that if it wasn't for Master Han's rescue, you would have been cut down by the government to pay for your life." ”

"How do you know?"

"Second Brother Pan said."

"This Pan Er, why don't I tell you everything."

While they were whispering, two boats had reached the east shore, and two bandits could clearly be seen gathered together, pointing in this direction.

Boats and boats of bandits came, Zhou Xingyuan silently counted how many soldiers there were, and Han Xiufeng was also calculating how many bandits came, and how long this battalion could hold on.

"Master Han, the gunboat has dropped anchor and stopped in the middle of the river!"

Han Xiufeng looked back and said coldly, "They are planning to attack together later." ”

Zhang Guangsheng, who rushed from the west wall, said eagerly: "Master Han, my cousin asked the gunner, and the gunner said that our cannon should be able to fight. ”

The bandits on the river were not worried, and the dozen or so cannons pulled from Taizhou were of little use because of the unskilled gunners, and now the bandits' warships had anchored in the middle of the river and became targets that stopped there and did not move, Han Xiufeng felt that it was better to let those gunners be idle, or let them practice their hands first, and muttered: "Since you can, you can fight!" Tell those gunners, give me a good time, if you can sink one, you will be rewarded! ”

"Yes!"

Zhang Guangcheng took the torch of gunpowder and shouted nervously and excitedly: "Brothers, aim at the largest one for me." Zhang Si, you look carefully at the top, the first round is over, which way to go, how far is it, hurry up and report it. ”

"Yes, I'll take a closer look." Zhang Si stood on the arrow tower and returned.

The gunners were very busy, and the old gunner who played the best shot ran to help adjust the angle after aiming at this one, until all the guns were almost aimed, and then he turned around and said: "Second young master, all the aims!" ”

"Put!" Zhang Guangcheng roared, and the torch in his hand had been sent to the medicine mouth.

I heard a loud "bang", and the cannon shrank back sharply, and then the other cannons also fell, the sound of the cannon was deafening, and a white powder smoke filled the west wall.

Whether it was hit or not, the people on the wall couldn't see it clearly for a while.

Zhang Si, who was guarding the arrow tower, saw clearly because he was not blocked by the gunsmoke, and saw that there were columns of water splashing on the river surface that were seven or eight feet away from the six running boats of the bandits, and hurriedly shouted: "Second young master, I hit far away, and I missed it, and I didn't hit a single shot!" ”

The sound of the cannon was too loud just now, and the townsmen in his camp couldn't hear it clearly, and the townsmen on the south, east, and north walls couldn't hear it, and they only knew that they had fired the cannon here, and it didn't matter whether it was fighting or not, it was like a burst of cheers.

Zhang Guangcheng heard it clearly, and hurriedly ran to the arrow tower and raised his head and asked: "Be careful, how far did you hit and how much did you miss?" ”

"It's four or five feet away, and it's seven or eight feet off!"

"Which way?"

"It's a little bit south."

"I know, and I'll see."

Zhang Guangcheng didn't need to give orders, so he hurriedly ran over and told the old gunner that the old gunner figured out how far he had deviated, and hurriedly proofread them one by one. The Taiping army in the south was stunned by this round of artillery, and they never expected that the officers and soldiers who were in the camp would dare to fire the artillery first, and they didn't care to observe the terrain anymore, so they opened their formation to meet them.

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