Section 80 continues the details of the thief

"Although the thief cannon is not heavy, its power cannot be underestimated." At that moment, Gou Chengxuan told the scene of showing the power of artillery fire during the military parade. Speaking of the violent explosion in the target area during the shelling, he also shrunk his neck.

"The thieves are just burying the brimstone under the mound and igniting it with a cannon." He Rubin smiled and said to the left and right, "This kind of trick is not new, but it is just to scare the ignorant natives." ”

The staff and generals are again "the master of the town and the platform has a high view", "insight into the fire", and "the first candlelight"...... and so on.

"You said that you yourself fought with the thieves, what formation did the thieves use when they took the battle, and what methods did they use to break the village and attack the city? How to fight, one by one"

Gou Chengxuan secretly complained, the so-called war with the thief is nonsense. When Gou Jiazhuang was slaughtered, he had already fled with his father, and he had never seen how the Australians attacked the village. It was only later that I learned from the population that they broke the village by setting fire to blow up the door.

As for the Australian field battle, when Huang Shoutong led the township warriors in the county to attack Bairenzhai, Gou Jiazhuang produced more than ten township warriors, so although he himself did not personally come to the battle, he still knew a lot of content from the mouth of the township warriors who came back, and he could probably fool him.

He now told the story of crossing the group to attack Goujiazhuang and Huang Shoutong leading the township to attack Bairenzhai, of course, there are many contents that he made up, but Gou Chengxuan is more or less a talent, and his literary and eloquence is better than that of ordinary rural tyrants and ordinary people, so he said it quite methodically, and the staff and generals present listened very carefully.

He Rubin asked a few more military questions, Gou Chengxuan actually had a very limited understanding of the military aspects of the crossing group, after all, he was just an ordinary person, and he didn't dare to go to the training ground and near the port often to watch the excitement in order to avoid suspicion. Basically, they rely on listening to the chats on the streets, and even then they are already people who know a lot about the military of "thieves".

Gou Chengxuan actually knows more about the information of the crossing group in terms of civil affairs, infrastructure construction, and social relations, but He Rubin is not very interested in this, and the things of thieves building roads, digging rivers and dams have no meaning to him.

He Rubin's question, some he knew something, so he tried to talk as much as possible, and some were not clear, but he also casually made it up, and picked up the things that he knew that the Ming people felt novel. For example, the thieves have raised a group of women to take care of the sick, and there are also women in the thief army, which are organized into a separate team for the purpose of running and delivering messages, and so on.

"The thief claims to be a descendant of the Great Song Dynasty, I think even if it is true, after being overseas for a long time, he has also been infected with the wind of overseas barbarianism." One of the staff members said,

"The thieves are really a group of greedy and lustful people" Chang Qingyun couldn't help but comment, "The military has made the women's army and even the land of Yang, and women are mixed in the middle, it is against the way of heaven, how can there be no reason to be invincible."

"It is not surprising that there are women in the army, and there are also women in ancient times." When Lu Yizhong arrived at He Rubin, although He Rubin was very polite to him and gave him generous gifts, he obviously "raised" him, and he didn't talk much about him when he really discussed the matter. This made Lu Zanhua, who has always been known for his "knowing soldiers", very unhappy, especially Chang Qingyun, who relied on being the confidant of the general soldier, and was usually the most in the limelight, this time he decided to kill his sharpness, and commented at the moment, "As far as the princess of Pingyang in the Tang Dynasty, and as far as Qin Xuanfu of our dynasty." Last year, Qin Xuanfu led the soldiers to the king, and was summoned by the emperor on the platform once, and gave her four imperial poems, which have been passed down at home and abroad. What's so strange about how many women are in the army? ”

This hat is not only big but also heavy, that is, there are ancients and people, Qin Liangyu at that time was very famous, and he was given by the emperor, Chang Qingyun didn't even have room to defend himself. His face turned red, and he was speechless.

Because of the example of this dynasty, Lu Yizhong moved out the emperor's card again, and no one dared to say anything like a woman in the camp against heaven.

"Adults don't know, among the thieves, there are many female officials and generals." Gou Chengxuan saw that the adults were very interested in this matter, and knew that the words had entered Hong Kong, so he hurriedly brought the famous female elders in the group one by one. Although there are dozens of female veterans in the crossing group, for natives like Gou Chengxuan who are not in the system, they are most familiar with the few who often appear outside, such as Li Mei, Du Wen, and Dong Weiwei.

“…… The thief woman is half tall, mostly more than five feet. They call themselves Chinese and Miao, but they are very different from Chinese women—"

Gou Chengxuan secretly looked at the expressions of the staff and generals, and saw that they did not show impatience or annoyance, so he continued to say that the thief woman was not only tall, but also larger than the Chinese woman, and her complexion was also very fair. They also read and write, and even used firearms......

He said it with a lot of foam, and there were a lot of hearsay and nonsense in it, and everyone could listen to it, Chang Qingyun said in his heart This thin waist and wide shoulders with plump breasts **** is a thief woman with white skin and big eyes I don't know what it looks like, thinking about it, I can't help but feel a stir in my heart. Thinking that once it is successful, it will be necessary to find a few real women to interrogate carefully.

It wasn't until He Rubin coughed that Gou Chengxuan's remarks about the "thief woman" came to an end.

"You have been in Lingao for a long time, how do the gentlemen of Lingao get along with the thieves? Is it possible for the people to use it? ”

Gou inherited the spirit: as long as he bites a certain household to death and colludes with the thief, when the imperial army arrives, the family will be ruined at least and wiped out. It is a great opportunity to take revenge and enrich one's pockets.

Because of this, he had to be cautious. Because he followed his father's declaration, he stayed in various parts of Guangdong for more than a year, and his horizons were greatly broadened, until the shili of the local gentry was very large, and many small eunuchs did not look amazing, and their family wealth was not much, but they were inextricably linked to the central officials of the province and the north and south of Beijing. In the same year, fellow villagers, Shiyi, mentors and friends...... colluding into a network that even the court officials should also be afraid of, if they bite inappropriately, they will only bring themselves to prison and even death.

The few households that have the deepest collusion with the thieves, Gou Chengxuan has long secretly written down that they were originally prepared to take the opportunity to knock on a bamboo pole as soon as the official army arrived in Lingao, and although there were a few households that did not collude with the thieves, they were only able to supply food and pay Ding Zhuang with the flow of food. But on weekdays, he either offended the Gou family, or his family was wealthy, and he was included in Gou Chengxuan's list of "seducing thieves".

The first thing he wanted to cure was Huang Shoutong, this old man had always been hostile to the Gou family in the past. Several times I have spoken ill of myself in front of the prefectural order. Gou Chengxuan also knew that Huang Shoutong had a secret discussion with the previous county magistrate, and was ready to arrest the Gou family in one fell swoop and commit a crime of harboring bandits. Fortunately, the former county magistrate was afraid that arresting the Gou family would attract revenge from the pirates, so he let go.

This time, if Huang Shoutong, an old bastard, can be beaten into a "thief", this Huang Jiazhai will have to be doomed, and Gou Chengxuan secretly expects this.

But Huang Shoutong is not an ordinary person, he himself has cooperated with the official army many times to fight the Li people, resist pirates, and is a well-known figure in the local area, and the Hainan officials and soldiers have a lot of strength from him. His second son has a meritorious reputation, and he was also the first to attack Bairenzhai, and the third son also killed the thief, which is a well-known thing in Lingao, and it is difficult to bite him.

Recently, because of the Zhangtian incident, Huang Shoutong's second son Huang Yukun also had a relationship with Liu Dalin again. A Liu Dalin's speech is much stronger than his own. Thinking of this, he decided not to name and say who colluded with the thief for the time being, and reserved a place first.

Gou Chengxuan said cautiously: "Although Lingao is the land of the south, the imperial court is especially powerful. There are those who secretly collude with the gentry, and the villains who openly commit thieves have not seen it, and if it is carefully investigated, there may not be no opportunity to do something covert......"

Gou Chengxuan raised his head slightly, glanced at He Rubin, and saw that he seemed to be smiling and did not say anything, knowing that the chief soldier did not want to determine who was the "thief" so quickly, and understood the official's thoughts. "As soon as the heavenly soldiers of the imperial court arrive, the gentry will naturally serve the imperial court wholeheartedly."

"So, the popular will of Lingao can be used?"

Gou Chengxuan knew that although most of the people in Lingao were afraid that they would be attacked after the official army arrived in Lingao, they had absolutely no good impression of the government, and many people even had a great aversion to the government's attack because they had just lived a relatively stable life. Even the local gentry and wealthy families have such ideas, and there are not a few people who think like this -- they are more afraid of the arrival of officials and soldiers who will steal food and kill people and extort money than thieves who are entrenched in Lingao. As for the Australians' own subjects, they are even more hostile to the government. Quite arrogant with the same enemy. The government doesn't even have the support of the people in Lingao, where can we talk about "usability".

But he didn't dare to say this kind of thing, so he had to say very tactfully:

"The people of Lingao look forward to the king's teacher like a long drought and hope for the rain. It's just that the thieves are in high power, and they are severely punished on weekdays, and there are many secret agents. The slightest carelessness in his words was caught to do hard labor, and the thief's firearms were sharp, and it was easy to break the village. ”

"Wu Ling is still in the county, and the Ming Mansion is still there, why are the people so afraid of thieves?"

As soon as Gou Chengxuan heard that this was the opportunity to give Wu Mingjin eye medicine, he hurriedly said: "Although Master Wu is guarding the county seat, he is trapped in a lonely city, and the government decree does not go out of the city gate, and the thieves are almost in a no-man's land in Lingao County. ”

He Rubin only said "um". Whether Wu Mingjin is derelict in his duties or not, he has nothing to do with it. He is most concerned about the local food in Lingao and the situation of Xiangyong.

Gou Chengxuan said that there is not much grain in the county, but last year it was hit by a typhoon, and the Wenlan River rose and flooded many fields. Autumn grain production has been reduced by a lot.

"Since the production has been reduced a lot, where will the thief's food come from?"

"The thieves plundered the people from the mainland to farm for their fields, and the thieves had their own secret methods for farming, and they collected much more grain than ordinary people." Gou Chengxuan knew that the army was fighting a windfall opportunity, in order to encourage people, he immediately said that there was a lot of grain and rice in the village, and there was a lot of sugar transported from Leizhou, and all kinds of Australian goods were piled up...... This remark made everyone present look greedy. The wealth of Australians has a little fame in Guangdong, especially the three industries that seized the purple number this time, it is said that countless goods have been seized, and everyone who handles them has made a small fortune. Since Lingao is their base camp here, there must be countless goods.

As for the village bravery, Gou Chengxuan said that although there are many local village braves, because of their weak strength and the firearms of the thieves, they are only stationed in the village.

He Rubin and the staff generals asked about the thief's arrangement in Lingao again. Gou Chengxuan said that there are five camps in Lingao, not only one Bopu camp. This news aroused his great attention, because so far, all the camps of the thieves mentioned in the Tang newspaper only mentioned one place in Bopu, and never mentioned that there were several others.

He Rubin immediately asked someone to get a map and asked him to indicate the locations one by one.

"The villain doesn't know the ...... of the map"

"It's all right, you can name the place." He Rubin took care of a master who was in charge of the map, and sketched it on the map according to the location he said.

"There are five camps of thieves, called Bairen, Bopu, Mayuan, Gaoshan, and Nanbao. There are also many arrow tower forts. Seeing that the general soldier attached so much importance to it, Gou Chengxuan couldn't help but be in high spirits and show off.

The master circled the locations one by one on the map according to the names of the places he said. Then submit it to the front of the case.

He Rubin took a rough look and was secretly taken aback. If Gou Chengxuan is right, then the depth of the thieves in Lingao far exceeds the original estimate, and they are not just occupying the ports along the estuary like the Westerners - you must know that this Nanbao has reached the border of the Li District, which is already the hinterland of Lingao County.

"The thieves take the hundred people as their heartland, and most of the real thieves live in it." Gou Chengxuan said, "It is reported that the pseudo-governor Wende 4 and Ma Qianzhu also lived in the middle of the term. All the orders of the thieves came from the village. This village is extremely heavily guarded, with high walls and deep ditches, and is surrounded by iron barbed nets. Not even the wigs of their credit can enter. Outside the wall, it sets up a market and seduces vendors to operate ......"

He Rubin's face suddenly sank, and he reprimanded: "Bold"

Gou Chengxuan was able to speak vigorously, but suddenly He Rubin scolded angrily, and was so frightened that he immediately knelt on the ground and did not dare to speak.

He Rubin was present because of Lu Yizhong's presence, and Gou Chengxuan overturned the original statement that the thief was based on Bopu. And that's the tone set by the Governor. Now this Lingao native openly said that there is a hundred villages less than ten miles away from the county seat, and there is the old camp of thieves.

What this person said is true, but it is not possible to deny the judgment of the leader -- it is true in ancient and modern times.

"The old camp of the thief, this town has long heard of it, that is, in Bopu, where did your so-called Bairen Jianzhai come from? You can't be the one who deceived this town. ”

"The villain doesn't dare, the villain doesn't dare," Gou Chengxuan kowtowed again and again, but the thoughts in his heart turned quickly, saying well, weishenme Suddenly Lord He wants to deny the existence of Bairenzhai? The scale of this hundred thousand cities is second to none in the entire Lingao Australian camp. Even if he doesn't say it, the details of the official and military dispatch can be seen.

He was extremely nimble, and made a decision in an instant: whatever the reason for Ho Rubin's anger, he had to follow his words. He hurriedly said:

"Yes, yes, the villain is ignorant. This was a petty hearsay, and he couldn't distinguish the gibberish for a while. However, there are indeed hundreds of villages, and hundreds of thieves are guarding them. ”

He Rubin glanced at Lu Yizhong and saw that he was just nodding his head. knows that Gou Chengxuan's words are quite decent. Only then did he soften his tone: "You go on"

"Yes, yes." Gou Chengxuan kowtowed, and immediately talked about the location and fortification of several camps. He did not personally peep at the two camps of Nanbao and Gaoshanling - Nanbao heard that it was mining and quarrying, and he was afraid that he would be arrested if he went rashly, as for Gaoshanling, although it was on the former site of Goujiazhuang, he heard that this place was very well fortified, and it was completely forbidden for unrelated natives to go. So he didn't dare to peep either.

However, from He Rubin's attitude just now, he figured out that the official army did not want the thieves to have many camps, and at the moment he said that Nanbao, Gaoshanling and other places were small villages, and there were hundreds of wigs stationed in each place. But he didn't dare to say this anymore, because when he left Lingao, he had passed through Ma Yuan, and saw with his own eyes that the local city and fortress had been built, and a large number of troops had been assembled. If the officials and soldiers are despised, they will lose their own head if they suffer a defeat in the horse.

Fortunately, since he saw the opportunity and admitted that Bopu was the old camp of the thieves, He Rubin showed no signs of anger. He had the audacity to finish his sentence.

Lu Yizhong suddenly asked: "You said that the leader of the thief is called ......"

"Lord Huiyu, one is called Ma Qianzhu, and the other is Wendesi."

"Have you seen these two?"

"The villain has only seen it from afar." Gou Chengxuan: This is telling the truth. He didn't dare to get too close to the crowd. Not to mention the big boss among them.

"What kind of office are these two in their own country? Is there a knighthood? Why don't you avoid the danger of thousands of miles of waves and lead the thieves to my Daming attack? "I care more about the origin of the thief than He Rubin, Lu Yizhong, "It is said that they claim to be of Chinese Miao descent, but is there such a thing?" ”

Gou Chengxuan said: "My lord, the thief does claim to be of Chinese Miao descent. They knew Chinese characters, but they wrote them in a colloquial style. According to its own claim: they are the Song people, after the defeat of the ancestors of Yashan, led the troops to the south of the ship, after hardships and dangers, encountered a big island, named Australia, saw its abundant water and soil, then established a country in Australia, called 'Australian Song'. ”

This rumor had already spread to Guangdong, but it was not said in such detail, and Lu Yizhong became very interested.

"That is, with Song as the name of the country, the lord of the country is a descendant of Emperor Song?"

"The villain doesn't know." Gou Chengxuan: These are also hearsay.

A staff member next to him said: "If you are a descendant of the Song family, how can you wear short clothes?" Isn't it to change summer with raze? ”

"If you are in Yi, you will enter Yi, and if you are in China, you will be in China." Lu Yizhong shook his head and said, "It is inevitable to live in overseas barbarian land for a long time. ”

"According to the students, this gang of thieves is just using the name of the Song family."

……