On the south side of the river, a small boat came from the west bank, and it was too dark for the young man who was keeping watch at first to see it, until the boat was about to row to the east bank, and when he found it, he sounded the gong to warn him. When Han Bo and a few local gentry arrived with a large group of young men, the boat had already turned around and disappeared into the dark river.

As soon as Han Xiufeng arrived at the riverbank where the incident occurred, a rapid gong sounded in the north.

Rushed to the bank of the warning without stopping, Wang Qianli also arrived with the young Zhuang of Jiaojiazhuang, pulled the young man who struck the gong and asked, only to know that the situation was similar to that of the south, and the people on the boat found that someone was beating the gong on the shore, and immediately turned around and rowed the boat away.

Han Xiufeng didn't think that the bandits on the other side would be able to collect enough boats to transport more than 2,600 people across the river for a while. I also don't think that the bandits dare to force their way at night, and it can almost be concluded that the people on the two boats just now are preparing to come over to find out the truth.

Thinking that the whereabouts of the bandits were likely to turn into an attack after they were exposed, he would send ships over again and again to bluff, and immediately asked Li Changjing to summon more than 500 township warriors from Hai'an, Baimi, Qutang and other regiments to rest in the village in the east overnight. I didn't receive a military order, and no matter how much trouble there was here, I was not allowed to return to the camp.

Sure enough, less than half an hour after the villagers left, not only did several boats come over from the west bank, but when they were about to reach the east bank, they were fighting with open fire, beating gongs and drums!

The people who kept vigil were already afraid, and when they saw the fire on the river, they also sounded the gong and shouted desperately when they heard the movement on the river. In the afternoon, the small haystacks that had been piled up on the riverbank, which had been intended to be reserved for warning during the day, were all lit, and the torches, lanterns, and haystacks on the east bank were seen from afar like a long dragon.

The sound of gongs and drums is endless, and there is firelight everywhere, and the late night in Liaojiagou has never been so lively.

Han Xiufeng returned to the camp, stood on the earthen wall and looked at the dark other side, and asked lightly: "Brother Zhou, what is the surname of the protagonist on the other side?" You said that in the afternoon, I don't remember. ”

Zhou Xingyuan said without thinking: "The surname is Liu, called Liu Jinchang, and he is an old thief in Guangxi who committed chaos in Guangxi with the pseudo-Wang Hongxiuquan, and fled from Guangxi to Hunan, from Hunan to Hubei, and from Hubei to Jiangsu. Experienced in a hundred battles, very cunning. ”

"The surname Liu is trying to make it difficult for us to sleep."

"They did the same when attacking Jiangning, fortunately, brother, you saw through his tricks, otherwise the townspeople in the camp don't want to sleep well."

Thinking that Liu Jinchang, who was stationed on the other side, was using a yang scheme, Han Xiufeng said helplessly: "How can you see through their tricks, Brother Zhou has raised it, not to mention what is the use of seeing through it?" ”

Wu Wenming, who had not done his errand during the day, and had fought with the bandits a few times but had not done it with a real knife or a real gun, couldn't help but say: "Brother Han, the soldiers are here to block the water and cover the earth, why don't you let me bring some brothers to the river to give them some strength!" ”

Han Xiufeng subconsciously asked: "Brother Wu, do you mean to go to the river to intercept and kill?" ”

Wu Wenming didn't want to be underestimated by Han Bo, Wang Qianli, Yu Qinghuai and others, so he clenched his fists and said: "They have more soldiers than us, but the boats must not be as many as us, and it is useless to have no more soldiers on the river, not to mention that on the river is not only who is more brave and good at fighting, but also who is better at water!" ”

"But I have already sent the brethren to the east to rest, and it is not appropriate to send them back."

"What Master Han said is extremely true, the enemy is current, and we can't change the order overnight."

"Brother Han, we don't need to transfer the villagers, we can pick some local people who are brave and brave."

Han Xiufeng didn't want Wu Wenming to be in danger, so he turned around and said: "Brother Wu, going to the river to intercept and kill is to fight with the bandits, let those young people help keep vigil and help wave the flag and cheer, it's okay to expect them to go down the river to fight with the bandits, that is, to send a boat to the bandits, and even expose the reality of our side." ”

Yu Qinghuai reacted and echoed: "Master Wu, Master Han's worries are reasonable, we don't need to take this risk." ”

"If you don't go down to the river to give them some strength, will it be difficult to make them show off their might?"

"Who said that they showed off their might, Brother Wu, look at our side, our side is just as majestic." Han Xiufeng raised his arm and pointed to the fire on the side of the guide, then turned to look at the north, thought about it and said with a smile: "The surname Liu must have been taken aback by this formation, I can't figure out how many soldiers we have, hahahaha." ”

Yu Qinghuai couldn't help but smile and said: "Master Han is right, it's good to be like this now, they send spies, we have young people." They beat the gongs and drums, and we beat the gongs and drums the same, first comparing who there are more people, and comparing who beats loudly! ”

The more the bandits make a scene, the more they will make a big move tomorrow!

Han Xiufeng didn't want to be listless tomorrow, so he turned around and said: "Qinghuai, Qianli, I guess there will be a fierce battle tomorrow, Brother Zhou and I have to go and rest quickly, and I will leave it to the two of you here." ”

"Master Han, don't worry, there will be nothing wrong with us!"

"Alright, please, two."

……

The inside and outside of the camp were brightly lit, Zhang Guangcheng was leading the young men to dig trenches overnight, and it was not good to rest in the camp, Han Xiufeng didn't dare to go too far, so he simply slept on the boat like yesterday.

The first thing he did when he woke up was to open the curtain to look at the river, and when he saw that the wind and waves were calm on the river, Han Xiufeng breathed a sigh of relief, and then put on his official uniform and climbed ashore without even washing his face, walked into the camp from the camp gate open at the east gate, climbed the earthen wall by the river, looked at Li Changjing who had just come down from the arrow tower and asked, "Brother Li, what's the movement on the other side?" ”

"There was no movement, only a hundred and ten bandits guarding the opposite side." Li Changjing handed the "clairvoyance" to Han Xiufeng, and continued: "Guangcheng has been busy all night, and the trench inside and outside has finally been dug. With Yu Qinghuai, Li Zhiyong, and Wang Qianli, they just went to the big tent to rest. ”

Han Xiufeng held up the "clairvoyance" to observe the movement on the other side, and asked in a low voice: "What about those young people in the local area?" ”

"Let them go." Li Changjing paused, and then said: "Master Han, the bandits just passed this night in vain, they were Ming Xiu plank road secretly Chen Cang, when we were beating gongs and drums to harass us, they also sent a few spies to quietly cross the river from the south, wanting to go around to find out our reality, but they were discovered by the spies sent by Master Zhou to inquire about the news of the fairy temple. ”

"What about people?"

"There were four in total, three died, and only one was caught alive, and Master Zhou was interrogated in a thatched house." Li Changjing took a deep breath and added: "In order to catch these four bandits, the spies recruited by Master Zhou and the young man who was keeping vigil in the south died six and injured more than a dozen. ”

"If it's easy to deal with, it's not a bandit." Han Xiufeng put down his "clairvoyance", looked at the water bandits who were pretending to be the Taiping Army locked in the cage at the bridgehead, and said coldly: "If the bandits on the other side come to attack later, they will cut down the sacrificial flag together with those caught at night and those locked in the cage!" ”

"Okay, I'll take care of that."

As he was talking, Zhang Yiguo hurriedly climbed up the earthen wall with an oxtail knife on his shoulder, and as soon as he saw Han Xiufeng, he said eagerly: "Master Han, Xiaguan just came from Mr. Zhou's side." The interrogation of the thieves and bandits did not reveal anything, and the spies sent by Mr. Zhou to the other side a few days ago risked their lives to send back to the bandits and collected more than 40 boats overnight, preparing for the news of the attack at noon! ”

Daqiao Town is so big, it is not surprising that the bandits have collected more than forty boats overnight, not to mention that even if they can't collect them in Daqiao Town, they can go to the canal to find boats. Han Xiufeng didn't dare to wait any longer, and immediately turned around and said, "Big head, hurry up and give Chu Chenggui, Jiang Huai and Lu Daming an order to let them lead their troops back to the camp!" ”

"Okay!"

As soon as the big head walked away, Han Xiufeng continued: "Brother Li, there are only a few estuaries leading to Liaojiagou from the bridge, you quickly send someone to keep an eye on the estuaries on the other side." ”

Without waiting for Li Changjing to speak, Zhang Yiguo blurted out: "Master Han, Mr. Zhou has already sent someone to watch those estuaries." ”

"Then I don't have to send someone." Li Changjing said.

Zhang Yiguo said eagerly: "Master Han, there is still news. ”

"What else is the news?"

"The bandits on the other side of the fairy temple knew that we were camped here, so they divided their troops into two routes, and took the collected civilian boat along the Yunyan River to Taizhou, and went all the way to our side!"

Han Xiufeng didn't expect the bandits on the side of the Fairy Temple to divide their troops, and subconsciously asked, "How many people are here, where are they here?" ”

"When the spies came to report that the thieves had just left the town, the spies said that there were estimated a thousand soldiers." Zhang Yiguo came from the Fairy Temple yesterday, and he was very familiar with this way, so he thought about it and said: "If you go fast, they can rush to us at noon." ”

"If you guessed correctly, it should be Liu Jinchang who sent someone to the Fairy Temple overnight to report the news, and they are planning to attack in two ways." Han Xiufeng touched the corners of his mouth, and continued: "He knows that it is not easy to attack from the river, so he wants the bandits on the other side of the fairy temple to cover their crossing of the river." ”

"What now?" Li Changjing asked subconsciously.

"The soldiers will block the water and cover the soil, what else can they do?" Han Xiufeng asked rhetorically, then turned around and said, "Brother Li, hurry up and gather the gentry to go to a few villages in the south, so that the people along the way can take shelter for a while." Brother Zhang, when the bandits arrive, I will bother you and the second young master to lead the two regiments of Hai'an and Jiangyan to guard the south wall. ”

"It's not tiring!" Zhang Yiguo hurriedly bowed down to receive the order.

Han Xiufeng nodded slightly, and looked at Zhang Guangcheng, Han Bo, Yu Qinghuai and others who heard the news: "Second Young Master, I will bother you and Brother Li to lead the two regiments of Qutang and Jiaoxian to guard the west wall later; Han Bo, Qinghuai, the two of you led the white rice regiment and the young Zhuang gathered by the local gentry to guard the north wall. Thousands of miles, Zhiyong, bother the two of you to lead B, C, and D to guard the east wall! ”

"Yes!"

"Don't rush to receive the order, wait until I'm done." Han Xiufeng took a deep breath, looked back at the camp and said, "What should I do, just follow the regulations discussed yesterday afternoon." We are waiting for work, and we have a battle of high earth and wood walls, not to mention two or three thousand bandits, even if four or five thousand come to guard for a day, it is not difficult. In short, it's all up to you! ”

"Master Han, rest assured, the people are on the wall, and we will swear to live and die together in the camp!"

"Brother Han, what about me?" Without waiting for others to speak, Wu Wenming asked eagerly.

"Brother Wu, you are responsible for fighting the fire and taking care of the injured brother," Han Xiufeng turned around and pointed to the wooden walls on the east, south, and west, staring at him and said, "If I am a bandit, seeing that these three walls are wooden, I will definitely attack with fire, so I have to defend against it." ”

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