Han Xiufeng originally planned to give Wu Wenming a group of village bravery, but he didn't expect that Wu Wenming not only did not lose his mind because of the deep hatred in the sea of blood, but also was a soldier. Confirming that the main purpose of dividing troops to go to the other side was to attack and harass the bandits and gain time for camping on the east bank, only 70 villagers were selected from the three regiments of Hai'an, Qutang and Baimi, and two students who came forward to help and more than a dozen local young men who were familiar with the other bank, plus eight children of the Wu family who were bent on death, and set off with three days of dry food.

He knew that there were not many firearms in the camp, and he didn't ask for a single shotgun, only nine firebird guns brought back from Wujiazhuang, and the remaining 90 or so people all used oxtail knives, spears and other weapons.

Han Xiufeng didn't want them to go and not return, so he asked a boy from Daqiao Town who came to help to gather more than a dozen young people, supported five boats to go to the other side, and stayed there to answer after docking, and the places they docked at were all remote harbors.

Seeing them off, Han Xiufeng rode on the horse that Li Changjing had found from the post shop and rushed to Jiaojiazhuang to inspect the Xiangyong drill recruited from Taiba. Unexpectedly, as soon as he arrived at the threshing floor on the village, Han Bo, the cousin of Han Chen, the ambassador of the Salt Division of the Jiaoxie Field, and Wang Qianli, the supervisor of Hai'an, chased after him with more than 40 villagers.

"Two, why did you come back so quickly, didn't you catch up?" Han Xiufeng asked in surprise.

It turned out that knocking on the bamboo pole of the big official was so cool, the more Wang Qianli thought about it, the more excited he became, pulled Han Xiufeng aside, and forced a smile: "How can we not catch up, we are worried that there will be insufficient manpower on your side, so we will quickly cut through the mess and do it before they split up and run for their lives!" ”

"It's done?"

"It's done." Han Bo turned his back to everyone on the threshing floor, took out a stack of silver tickets from his arms, and said with a smug smile: "Master Han, you expected it, they are really big fat sheep." We asked for 80,000 taels, and they gave 80,000 taels. I knew they were so rich, I really should have asked for more. ”

It is full of silver tickets with large ticket numbers in Shanxi, such as "Rishengchang", "Dadetong" and "Xiechengqian", thick and large, and these ticket numbers are estimated to have been copied by bandits in Yangzhou's semicolon, but the total number has to be recognized as well as other semicolons. If they don't admit it, it is equivalent to smashing their own signboard, and they don't want to do the business of making money in the future, not to mention that tens of thousands of taels of silver are really nothing to them.

The reason why Han Xiufeng was willing to come to guard Liaojiagou was not only because he didn't want to lose his official position because of disobedience, but also because he wanted to take advantage of the fire to rob and knock on the bamboo poles of those guys, looking at the silver ticket in Han Bo's hand and said with a smile: "It's hard work, hurry up and put it away, and go back and divide it again." ”

"Okay, we'll divide it in the evening."

As he was talking, a student of the village and a few big families came to inquire about it, and stood on the edge of the threshing floor while explaining to the first and other soldiers, and looked over here with their feet on their feet.

Hundreds of township warriors are practicing in the threshing floor, some wear cotton armor, some wear gowns, some wear iron helmets, some wear hats, not only all have waist knives, spears and other weapons, but also more than 60 bird guns, carry guns, and even the bows and arrows moved back from the Guazhou camp are used, Liang Jiuzheng instructed more than 30 carefully selected township warriors to practice.

At least from the perspective of the lineup, this is a well-armed, well-trained and high-spirited elite soldier, Han Xiufeng knew that the arrival of the Xiangyong made the local squires see hope, and knew that they were here to beg the Xiangyong battalion to stay in the village, so he immediately turned around and said: "Qianli, you go and deal with it." Make it clear to them that we will go, but we will not go far. As long as we can hold the bridge, the bandits will not dare to come to Jiaojiazhuang. ”

Thinking that maybe he could raise some money and grain from the village, Wang Qianli said without thinking: "Okay, let's go over." ”

"Wait."

"Master Han, what's the matter?"

Han Xiufeng looked back at Liaojiagou in the west, and said in a deep voice: "From now on, you will take charge of the river defense on the east bank of Liaojiagou, Han Bo, you are responsible for fifteen miles south of the bridgehead, hurry back to the bridgehead to gather local young people, patrol the river day and night, interrogate the people who cross the river to avoid trouble, arrest the spies who have mixed into the east bank, and intercept a small group of bandits." Qianli, you are responsible for the line from Qiaotou to Jiaojiazhuang. ”

"What if you run into a big bandit?" Wang Qianli asked subconsciously.

"Bandits shouldn't force their way across at night, they will only choose daytime, the river is so wide, if there is a large group of bandits coming, you will definitely be able to watch. When the time comes, light a few beacon fires to warn, and then quickly notify the nearby people to take shelter temporarily. ”

"Yes!"

Han Xiufeng sent the two away, asked the big head to summon the sentinels to his side, looked around at everyone and said very seriously: "Whether Liaojiagou can hold it or not depends on you!" I know that the army is too hasty, and the big guys don't have much to practice, so I can only try to buy you time, but at most I can only practice until tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, so you must hurry! ”

"Master Han, don't worry, two days are enough!"

"Yes, Master Han, our brothers didn't practice much, and the thieves were all mud legs, and they didn't practice much. Isn't it just desperate, we have weapons and food, who is afraid of whom! ”

"Not only food, but also meat!" Han Xiufeng patted a sentry chief's arm and said with a smile: "Master Yu Qinghuai Yu came back in the morning, as soon as he comes back, I will ask him to go to a nearby village to buy big fat pigs, buy a few if he can, and send them over later!" ”

"It's great to have meat to eat today!"

"Not only meat today, but tomorrow! Practice well, it's time for me to go back. ”

"Master Han, I'll send you."

"Don't send it, hurry up and practice, not only will there be meat to eat at night, but I also invited a gentleman to come and tell the big guy about the Three Kingdoms."

There is meat to eat, and they can listen to the gentleman's story, and when the villagers heard the news, they immediately rejoiced. Han Xiufeng beckoned to everyone, immediately turned on his horse, and returned to Wanfu Bridge with the majority of his own soldiers.

Zhang Guangcheng and Li Changjing stayed up all night and were resting in the tent.

In the camp, several family members of Li Zhiyong and Zhang Li, who had just returned in the morning, took care of them, and not only did the work not be pulled down, but there were more people doing the work than at night. Wanfu Bridge is not far from Yangzhou, and it is a traffic artery, the bridgehead is very prosperous, no matter what materials are missing, a circle of walls with dozens of large and small ships as the bones has been set up, the young people are busy reinforcing it, they are busy digging trenches outside the wall, and the earthen wall on the side of the river is also piled up nearly one zhang high. Even the old and weak women and children in the neighborhood were summoned by the local gentry to help boil water, cook, roll straw ropes, and sharpen bamboo thorns......

To Han Xiufeng's surprise, all the bridge piles that had just been pulled out in the morning were used, and more than a dozen young men took local materials and drove piles into the river on the east bank on the boat. There are not enough bamboo piles for the bridge piles, one next to the other, in two rows, each row of piles is spaced five or six feet apart, and the two rows of piles are also spaced five or six feet apart.

Zhou Xingyuan, who ran from the thatched hut by the river, patronized to inquire about the news, and only then did he discover the movement on the river, so he greeted him and asked puzzledly: "Brother Han, what are they doing here?" ”

Han Xiufeng didn't answer his question directly, but turned around and asked with a smile: "This is a good job, who came up with this idea?" ”

"Master Han, this is what several villagers of the Hai'an Regiment thought of." Li Zhiyong hurriedly said.

"It's really 'three stinkers, race Zhuge Liang', give them a credit, and when Second Young Master Zhang wakes up, please reward those few townspeople." Han Xiufeng praised it, turned around and explained: "Brother Zhou, these two rows of piles on the river can come in handy, think about it, bandits can't cross the river without boats." When they finally found the boat, they rowed to this side but found that there were piles on the river, and the boat could not pass, so they could only be shot on the river, hahaha! ”

Zhou Xingyuan reacted suddenly: "It's exactly fifteen steps away from here, and our shotgun is condescending and just right to fight!" ”

"Exactly." Han Xiufeng looked at the bridge that had not yet been demolished on the east bank side, then looked at the piles on the river, turned around and said: "Zhiyong, there is no need to demolish a section of the bridge, but you have to drive the piles in front of the broken bridge like here." In this way, when the bandits' boat comes, our men will be able to fire guns on the wall and on the bridge at the same time. ”

"T-shaped, stretching a section into the river...... Master Han, you have a good idea, as long as you leave a paragraph, you can let the thieves be shot on both sides! ”

"I also thought of it when I saw these two rows of piles, so I went and told them."

"Okay."

As soon as Li Zhiyong left, Han Xiufeng asked curiously: "There are not so many people in the morning, where did you find all this?" ”

Zhou Xingyuan happened to know this, and he couldn't help but know: "Those who worked at night and in the morning were all helped by the local gentry, and the later ones were all crossed the river to escape." Isn't there not enough manpower here, Li Changjing asked Xiang Yong to go to the ferry to intercept people, as long as there is one young man who crosses the river, he has to work. ”

"Forced conscription!"

"The enemy is at present, and he can't take care of so much, not to mention that he is not allowed to work in vain, at least the camp will take care of the food."

"Is there enough food?"

"It should be enough, if it weren't enough, Li Changjing wouldn't have brought so many people."

This side is next to Yangzhou, which is really rich.

With the help of the local gentry, it is really not difficult to raise food.

Han Xiufeng looked back, thought about it and asked, "Brother Zhou, have you found any new information?" ”

"Yes, otherwise I wouldn't have come to you." Zhou Xingyuan looked at the spies he recruited who had just sent back the news and went to the other side by boat, and said: "Yesterday evening, the gate of Yangzhou City was opened, and the thieves were worried that there was an ambush, so they first sent more than 200 people into the city, and went straight to the Yamen of the Yunsi and the prefect. ”

"Searched and killed all night?"

"Well, those salt merchants who seek skin with tigers have bad luck, not only have all the family property been copied, but all the good donations have been killed by the thieves as 'Qing Demons', the school palace has been smashed, and all the subsets of scriptures and histories have been burned, which is similar to burning books and pit Confucianism, Brother Han, you said that bandits are not hateful."

"It's hateful, but they're powerful, what can you do with them now?"

"The bandits' life is just as difficult," Zhou Xingyuan said with a little excitement: "There is not only bad news, but also good news, the army of the minister Xiang Rong has arrived outside Jiangning City, and it is said that there have been several battles with the bandits, and the bandits are afraid to show their heads in the city, and now they are confronting the bandits." ”

"This is good news, but it's a pity that Jiangning is too far away from us, and far water can't quench the thirst of the near." Han Xiufeng sighed lightly, looked at the other side and muttered, "We can only count on Qishan's army now, and we can only count on the imperial court to send reinforcements from Shandong and Henan. ”

Zhou Xingyuan suddenly realized that he not only wanted to inquire about the thieves, but also wanted to inquire about the news of the imperial court, and said regretfully: "The spies I recruited either went to the other side or to the mouth of the Sanjiang River, and did not send anyone to the north to investigate. ”

"I've already sent it." Han Xiufeng said solemnly: "I sent someone to Qingjiangpu a few days ago, Qingjiangpu is an important town, and the news over there will definitely be better than ours, but it is a little far away, even if we can find out, we will not know until two or three days later." ”

"Who sent?"

"The surname is Su, his name is Su Jueming, he has studied for a few years, and he has a few friends in Qingjiangpu, he can't do anything else, it's no problem to find out the news."

"As long as I can do things, it's good to have someone in Qingjiangpu, so I don't have to send people anymore."

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