If the earthen jar is not broken near the well, the general will inevitably die on the battlefield.
Although Pan Chenghu was angry at the loss of three masters, he brought his troops here mainly to put pressure on the Xu family and was not prepared to storm Lutai Village.
After some bargaining, Xu Wufu was finally willing to take 1,500 taels of silver and some wine, meat, grain and cloth as a ransom. With this ladder, Pan Chenghu also borrowed the donkey down the slope, thinking that if he couldn't swallow this breath, he would stay there for two days.
After everything is ready, come back to celebrate the festival.
After much thought, he decided that it was absolutely intolerable for Xu Wujiang and others to settle down in Jinshagou.
Even if he didn't need to go on a killing spree, he would send troops to Yuhuangling from time to time to harass, but he didn't believe how long the Xu family could hold on.
After thinking about it, Pan Chenghu felt that he came in a hurry after confirming that Lutai Village had traces of a secret connection to Jinshagou, but did not carefully consider Xu's response. It was still too reckless. How could he behave like that reckless boy?
Woolen cloth?
After receiving the ransom, it was getting late, and it was too late to rush back to Xiema Mountain today. Pan Chenghu did not dare to directly station himself near Xu's Lutai Dazhai, which was not weakly armed, so he rushed to a village in the upper reaches of Qingliu River before it completely darkened.
Lived in a village named Shangliu.
Pan Chenghu is ruthless and has done many things to establish his authority by killing people. However, as a second-generation bandit, he also knows that in order to establish a foothold in the southern mountains of Tongbai Mountain, Xiema Mountain requires forbearance and restraint. He can still avoid killing people and resisting those obedient villages.
Arson.
How big of a deal can it be to beg two girls from time to time?
If no one had pointed it out, it would have been impossible for the dignitaries in Bianjing City to imagine that the coexistence of officials and bandits in Tongbai Mountain could be so peaceful, with the villages caught in the middle taking advantage of each other.
Shangliu Village is weak, with only two to three hundred square feet, which is comparable to Qingxi Village where Deng Gui ordered Xu Wujiang to lead his troops to garrison. They were unable to refuse Pan Chenghu and his troops to directly enter the village to rest, and even deliberately left dozens of houses in one corner of the village.
It was cleared out for the thieves to spend the night, and at the same time, they also tried their best to prepare meals.
Pan Chenghu allowed these meals to be deducted from future filial piety, and the elders and several wealthy households in this village burst into tears of gratitude.
Report to the official?
For small clans and small villages on the same level as Qingxizhai, that does not exist; when officials come to handle cases, they will be more ruthless than the cottagers.
Leading his troops outside Xiema Mountain, Pan Chenghu did not dare to get drunk. He drank two bottles of wine and went to bed early. He heard a "bang bang bang" knock on the door in the middle of the night and woke up to see his subordinates panic.
Walking in, he asked in surprise: "You guys look like this, are you Xu Wufu's little guy who sent troops from Lutai Village to attack?"
"There are no attackers, but there is water on the side of Xiema Mountain!" the bandit chief shouted.
Pan Chenghu opened the door with a bang and saw the sky in the southwest was illuminated by flames. He screamed angrily: "We were fooled by Xu Wufu, the thief, and he sent people to steal Xiema Mountain!"
!!”
How could such a huge fire be caused by accidental flooding?
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The bandits in Xiema Mountain were making trouble for a long time, and a clan member died. The family ran to the ancestral hall to cry and make a fuss. Xu Wufu was busy and sent people to keep an eye on the whereabouts of the bandits. It was late at night before he was taken care of by his concubine.
Rest.
However, before he could vent all his resentment on his concubine's smooth and tender body, Xu Heng barged in.
"Damn, what are you so worried about?"
When the thieves came, Xu Heng didn't dare to stand on the wall with him, which made Xu Wufu couldn't hide his disappointment. At this moment, he casually pulled the brocade quilt to cover his concubine's jade-like breasts, and scolded him for standing there with a stupid face.
The eldest son at the threshold,
"Pan Chenghu led his men to fight back, why are you so panicked? Let me tell you, when the soldiers come, they will be blocked, and when the water comes, the soil will cover them. When encountering any situation, you must be calm, and then you can think about the solution in detail. What's the use of panicking? Just
Can you make the traitors retreat? Wrong, the more panicked you are, the more powerful the traitors will be, and the more they will bully you. However, the calmer you are, the less able the traitors will be to see your true identity, and their hearts will be weakened first! The traitors are
Life is cheap, but it also has a price. Do you think they are so stubborn that they don't care about anything?"
Speaking of this, Xu Wufu suddenly thought of Xu Huai's iron-headed fool, and felt a tightness in his chest. He put on his coat and motioned to Xu Heng to stand at the door and speak: "What's the matter that makes you so nervous? Can you tell me now?"
"It's burning in the direction of Xiema Mountain!" Xu Heng said.
"What?"
Xu Wufu jumped into the yard and saw the blazing sky in the southwest. He sat down on the steps, slapped the ground and shouted,
"We fell into the trap of Xu Wujiang's evil bastard! Pan Chenghu must have decided that we deliberately lured the tiger away from the mountain and lured him out of Xiema Mountain. We are covered in yellow mud, and there is no way to explain it now!"
At this time, Xu Bosong and Xu Wuqi led people into the courtyard. They saw Xu Wufu sitting on the steps. They came over and said with a gloomy face: "Looking at this situation, it should be Xu Wujiang who took advantage of the empty nest of the Xiema Mountain thieves."
Come out and kill him by surprise."
After Hutou Village deliberately released the news, even if Xu Wufu did not say it explicitly, he had hinted to Xu Wuqi, Xu Bosong, Xu Zhongyu, Zhou Jing and others a few days ago that Xu Wujiang and the others were probably hiding in Jinshagou.
As they were both members of the Xu clan, Xu Zhongyu and the others could not instigate Xu Wufu to go directly to the prefecture and county to report, but they also made it clear that if the government sent people to arrest Xu Wujiang and other family members for interrogation, the clan could no longer interfere.
Unexpectedly, the news spread secretly for several days, but there was no movement from the prefecture, county and inspection departments. Instead, the bandits from Xiema Mountain came first to ask for punishment.
They didn't even expect that before they could wait for Pan Chenghu to give in under pressure, Xu Huai would come out and kill them randomly, arousing the blood and courage of the tribesmen, making them unable to surrender even if they wanted to; and Xu Wujiang even took advantage of this.
They rushed to attack Xiema Mountain at night, and burned Xiema Mountain with flames that shone into the sky, leaving them dumbfounded.
"They are going to bring disaster to the Xu family!" Xu Zhongyu shouted angrily, stamping his feet.
"Perhaps we should send someone to see Xu Wujiang and order him to withdraw from Jinshagou, otherwise we should not be polite anymore," Xu Bosong said. "If the prefecture and county also believe that we are secretly colluding with him, it will be a big deal!"
"I'm afraid I can't explain it clearly," Xu Wuqi said with a frown, "There are many poor families in the clan, and many of them can't find a way to make a living. If they knew that the fire in Xiema Mountain tonight was caused by Xu Wujiang
If the fire breaks out, I'm afraid hundreds of people will have to flee overnight! Back then, Xu Wuxuan was weeding in the mountains, and when he returned to the village, he took thirty or forty people like me away overnight. The owner of the house, Bo Song, and Uncle Zhong Yu, you should
Do you still have an impression?"
"What Wu Qi said makes sense. The people of Xiafangxu have become more and more restless in recent years. Last time they were not allowed to enter Shituoling to build a new village, but they wanted to encourage the young men of Xiafangxu to cause trouble. Such things cannot be done to the tribe for the time being.
"Let me tell you clearly," Xu Wufu said with a distressed frown, "Everyone, please guard the villages first and be on guard against Pan Cheng, a tiger and a dog, jumping over the wall and copying his soldiers and horses to come and fight!"
He has always prided himself on being resourceful and resourceful, but he found that he was helpless after being involved in this matter. What he never expected was that Xu Wujiang was so much more powerful than he thought before...
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Xiema Mountain, Yuhuang Ridge, Shituoling Ridge, etc. are all branches of the South Ridge of Tongbai Mountain.
Coming from the northeast, the mountains become more steep.
Emperor Gaozu of the previous dynasty personally led his army to conquer Xiangdeng and other places. He once passed through this place. Because of the majestic mountains in front and the cut off road, he stopped his horse here, so it got the name of Xiema Mountain. Earlier, it was just an unknown mountain in Tongbai Mountain.
Dangerous ridge.
Because of its relationship with the emperor, Xiema Mountain became a famous mountain in Biyang. The previous dynasties and counties spent tens of thousands of money and food to build Chonghuang Temple here to commemorate Emperor Gaozu's visit. After the change of dynasties, it was renamed Baiyun Temple.
The banditry in Tongbai Mountain has become increasingly severe. In the past 50 or 60 years, many groups of bandits have occupied Baiyun Temple, and it has become a well-known bandit stronghold.
Since the second generation of Pan Chenghu's father lived here, excluding the years when they were expelled, it has been operating here for thirty years. Except for a few main halls, side halls and other buildings, the Taoist temple in the past has long been beyond recognition.
The sky was dimming on the top of the distant mountain, and the white fish belly was exposed. Xu Huai, who was sleeping on the roof of the main hall in his clothes and holding a knife, heard someone moving about His Highness, and looked over to see Liu Qiong'er, accompanied by Xu Xiaohuan and Su Di's younger brother Su Mi, in a miserable state.
came over and asked curiously:
"Why did you come here all night? Can you endure this hardship?"
Yesterday they set out from Jinshagou and walked south along the riverbank for an hour and a half. They were all strong men, but they were so tired that they were all exhausted.
Fortunately, there were only about twenty old, weak and remnant bandits left behind in Xiema Mountain. After killing six or seven of them, they dispersed and they successfully captured the village.
But he didn't expect that Liu Qiong'er would also come over.
Even though they had waded through the road ahead, Liu Qiong'er was so delicate and weak that it would be hard to walk all night. Seeing that her clothes were in tatters and her delicate face was scratched with several bloodstains, you could tell how hard it was.
Liu Qiong'er didn't care about her manners and sat down on the steps. She was also embarrassed to say that she didn't dare to stay in Jinshagou.
After Xu Huai and the others left, Liu Qiong'er thought that once Xiema Mountain was burned by fire, it was unlikely that Pan Chenghu would rush to Xiema Mountain in a hurry. He would more likely carry out bloody revenge on the Xu clan, or perhaps
If you are smarter, you should find a place to stay first.
Otherwise, when the left and right clans react and gather one or two thousand village soldiers to pursue and intercept them, Pan Chenghu and the others will collapse due to lack of food if they cannot last for three to five days.
Staying in Xinzhai or Jinshagou on the east slope of Shituoling, Liu Qiong'er always felt uneasy without Xu Huai by her side, but dragging Xu Xiaohuan and driving on a dangerous road all night also made her suffer more than she had ever experienced in her life.
Xu Huai jumped down from the eaves and sat on the steps. Liu Qiong'er ignored his manners and rested on Xu Huai's generous arms. He asked curiously: "I thought you burned down the entire bandit village.
, I saw how big the fire was from a distance yesterday!”
"We burned down the granary and the thieves' houses below, and prepared to set fire to the main hall here. Later, we thought that when Pan Chenghu saw the fire, he might be afraid that the three hundred thieves would be blocked in Xiema Mountain and dare not come back, so he stayed here
The main hall above has not moved - we have also decided not to evacuate for the time being, and we will wait and see the situation first," Xu Huai said.
"I see you didn't hurt anyone, but you just saw Xu Wuliang stamping his feet. Nothing went wrong yesterday, right?" Liu Qiong'er asked.
"We all came from hard times, and we watched thousands of bags of grain being burned as soon as the fire started. Who wouldn't stamp their feet?" Xu Huai said, "But if you don't burn it, you can't stop Pan Chenghu's thoughts!"
