It was already late at night when Xu Huai and the others arrived to inspect the vicinity of Si Junzhai. The gate of the Junzhai had long been closed, but the walls of the village were rarely filled with lit torches - even though it was late at night, there were still thirty or forty people.
Armored soldiers stood on duty on the wall of the village.
Unable to sneak over the wall and sneak into the military stronghold, Xu Huai found an informant they had arranged nearby.
This informant hid in a house in the south of Junzhai, specializing in keeping an eye on the movements of Junzhai.
Xu Xin'an wrote a hasty letter, describing clearly what happened in Zhongjiazhuang today, especially the formation of the bandit soldiers in Hutou Village, and asked the spy to bring the letter and the three fast horses that had just arrived, and return to rest overnight.
The mountain was handed over to Xu Wujiang.
They crossed the Baidu River all night, but did not go to Qinzhai. Instead, they found an empty yard with no tenants in Tieshi Lane, went in and rested in the woodshed for the night.
There are only a few buildings in Zhongjiazhuang located on relatively open terrain, such as the Zhong family's mansion and the warehouses where large quantities of grain are stored. These buildings are specially guarded by soldiers to prevent the spread of fire. Most of the people live in thatched buildings.
The houses were crowded together and burned to the ground.
Hundreds of people from the Zhong clan fled overnight. Many people fled to the vicinity of the military camp in the early morning. Various news spread in the streets.
The thieves burned, killed and looted without restraint, especially Zhong Changqing, who was especially jealous of the Zhong clan.
Even though the Zhong clan gave up resistance after seeing the enemies before and after them, after the Taibaiding bandit army entered the valley, they still killed everyone on sight, regardless of women or children, causing blood to flow in the valley below Mopan Ridge.
In addition to looting, the bandits in Shixizhuang also raped women unscrupulously. Countless people were forced to jump into rivers and wells.
The Zhong clan members who had fled all night did not dare to stay on the west bank of the Baijian River, fearing that the bandit army would attack from behind at any time. Those who were good at water rushed over and crossed the river directly, while others could not wait to take the ferry after dawn.
Cross the river.
Xu Huai, Xu Xin'an, Xu Wukun, and Han Qi saw that the military camp was still on high alert in the early morning and it was difficult to sneak in, so they put on a little disguise and ran to a teahouse in the market to have breakfast.
The market was also in chaos, and hundreds of people from the Zhong family who had fled could only live on the streets for the time being.
Various gossips spread randomly, and Xu Huai also listened to the discussions in the streets, and then he learned that the eldest son of the Zhong family had been killed. More than ten people were killed. Only the second son Zhong Heping, who was only 19 years old, was a good servant at ordinary times. At the critical moment, he got ten
Several soldiers worked hard to protect him and he was able to escape.
Before Wang Xiaocheng came to Tangzhou, the banditry in Tongbai Mountain was so fierce that it alarmed the court, but there had never been such a mass killing in Tongbai Mountain.
All kinds of news came out overnight, but it was almost confirmed that hundreds of Zhong clan members were massacred after the Zhong clan gave up their resistance.
This was something that had never happened before in Tongbai Mountain, and for a while there was a lot of public dissatisfaction in the market.
The bandits were bloody and brutal, and some people were angry and resentful. The military camp had sent an order to summon rural soldiers to suppress the bandits. Some young men on the street were filled with righteous indignation and called out to rush to enlist.
More people are afraid in their hearts.
They know that there are many shoals in the middle and upper reaches of the Baijian River that can be crossed directly, but they cannot think that with a strong military stronghold on the west bank of the Baijian River, the market in Hedong will be safe.
At three o'clock in the morning, Xu Huai and the others could see that many people were leading their mules and tying up their horses, taking their children with them to the countryside. However, most of the people's family property was in the market, and no disaster was imminent, but they were still reluctant to leave it.
Abandoning their homes and fleeing for safety.
Unable to find a chance to march into the stronghold, Xu Huai rushed to Liutiao Lane with Xu Wukun, Xu Xin'an and Han Qi.
In addition to Zhou Jianxiong and three other Xu Wuliang's apprentices, who made a living from the blacksmith shop in Liutiao Lane, most of the residents here were shabby households. There were also a large number of bankrupt farmers living near Liutiao Lane in dilapidated shantytowns, making a living by working as coolies.
Huai subconsciously felt that these people would have different views on the bloodbath in Zhongjiazhuang yesterday.
Yesterday, Zhongjiazhuang was bloodbathed by bandits, and the news spread around the area. Xu Huai and Xu Wukun walked to Liutiao Alley and listened to the discussions on the streets. As expected, they were very different from those in Tieshi Alley.
Zhong He, the eldest son of the Zhong family, was the only one who escaped, so there were many people in Willow Lane who took pleasure in the misfortune.
Speaking of the blue-eyed wolf Zhong Changqing, he was ruthless to the Zhong clan, killing women and children overnight, and blood flowed into rivers. Many people sympathized with his tragic experience in his early years, saying that his bloodbath in the Zhong family village was heart-wrenching.
, it is also the fault of the Zhong clan members for their evil deeds in their early years.
Xu Huai also saw some of them talking about last night's looting, burning, killing, and the abuse of women. There was excitement in their eyes. He suspected that these people might be able to cross the river directly without waiting for the storm to sweep over.
Surrender to the bandit army.
These people had violent roots in their hearts and did not have much sympathy for the women and children who were brutally murdered. This made Xu Huai feel heavy.
However, if we think about the people near Willow Alley, the vast majority of them are suffering from hunger, cold, disease, and suffering from fate. How can we blame them for the hostility in their hearts, which is born to be cruel?
Life is in a desperate situation, and it is possible to exchange children and eat for food. How can there be so much good and evil in the heart?
However, this scene was what Xu Huai was most worried about.
The banditry led by Zheng Hui and others behind the scenes has become serious, and there is no hope of extinguishing it in a short time.
And more and more people are affected by the wanton burning, killing, looting and other incidents of thieves, and their hearts become more and more violent. This will only cause thieves such as Hutou Village, Shixi Village, Taibaiding and so on.
Recruiting more people makes its momentum more and more unstoppable.
Thinking of this, Xu Huai and Xu Wukun hurried to Ge Ji's blacksmith shop.
Seven or eight young men with ragged clothes and good looks gathered in front of Ge's blacksmith shop. Xu Wuliang's three apprentices, Zhou Jianxiong, Wu Liangsheng, and Yin Peng, were all there. While forging iron, they were discussing something with these young men.
.
Xu Huai, Xu Wukun, Xu Xin'an, and Han Qi came over, and these people stopped talking. Someone drove them away impatiently: "There is no blacksmithing here today. What do you want to do? Find another shop?"
Zhou Jianxiong, Wu Liangsheng, and Yin Peng did not recognize Xu Wukun, Xu Xinan, and Han Qi, but they met Xu Huai twice.
They knew that Xu Huai was a famous fool of the Xu family, a nephew of Xu Wuliang, and was also hired by Liu Qiong'er to work. They greeted them into the shop and asked confusedly and eagerly: "Xu Huai, are you with my master?"
Where did the whole family go? We went to Tieshi Lane several times, but except for Aunt Zhou and Aunt Xu, we couldn’t see anyone from you?"
In addition, Yuhuangling is less than 20 miles away from Huaiyuan market, but Pan Chenghu made a big fuss in Lutai Village, and Deng Gui led the military soldiers to encircle and suppress the village, cutting off the road. What happened before and after Yuhuangling these days, Zhou Jianxiong and others
As a young man from the bottom of Huaiyuan Market, I really have no channel to find out any news.
However, even if the clans of the major surnames did not send reinforcements at first, they were always paying attention to the movements in Yuhuangling. They could also hear all kinds of true and false news, and they secretly speculated that Xu Wujiang might settle down in Xiema Mountain after fleeing the army.
, and Pan Chenghu's bandits were kidnapped from Xiema Mountain by Xu Wufu and Xu Wujiang's conspiracy; Xu Huai, a fool, once killed dozens of Pan Chenghu's bandits in front of Lutai Village, and was indeed a rare brave general of the Xu family.
Xu Huai saw that the stove was burning brightly, and Zhou Jianxiong, naked to the waist, was taking out an iron bar from the stove with iron tongs and forging it on the tong table. Although it was not formed, it was clearly a long blade; and they had just
When I walked to the shop, two young men subconsciously covered the clamp table.
"Which company are you going to invest in?" Xu Huai asked directly.
"Master Bao from Hutou Village is here; let's quickly build a few weapons so that we can go to Hutou Village!"
Others may not recognize Xu Huai, Xu Wukun and the others, but these seven or eight young disciples were all taught martial arts by Xu Wuliang.
After hearing Zhou Jianxiong say that these people knew Xu Wuliang and could not find them for a long time, and then hearing Xu Huai ask this question, he thought that they came to join the gang together.
Someone directly grabbed a thin-faced man who turned around and was about to walk out of the shop, and revealed without any thought what they had just gathered here to discuss.
Before Xu Huai could take action, Xu Wukun and Xu Xinan restrained the man with their hands like iron pliers, and said with a ferocious smile: "When you see us coming, you turn around and leave. Does Mr. Bao look down on us?"
"What are you doing?" everyone asked in shock.
"Close the door first!" Han Qi came over to help restrain the thin-faced man. Xu Wukun asked someone to close the door of the shop first to prevent the movement here from alerting outsiders. They still didn't know how many informants were watching in Hutou Village.
Although they were confused, Zhou Jianxiong, Wu Liangsheng and Yin Peng were not slow in their actions. They closed the shop door, tied up the thin-faced man with ropes, and stuffed his mouth with rags to prevent him from shouting.
No matter what, they had to side with Xu Huai, who was from the same clan as Xu Wuliang and had a close relationship. Besides, they also recognized Xu Wukun and Xu Xinan, but they had not had any specific contact with them before, so they could not be sure.
Xu Huai saw that everyone else was normal and nodded slightly to Xu Wukun.
Hutou Village had robbed and killed business travelers on Zouma Road twice before. Some business travelers had to hire more people to pass, but most of the business travelers would rather take a long detour, and Zouma Road suddenly became depressed.
Most of the young and middle-aged people in the shantytowns make a living by working hard, doing part-time jobs or working as apprentices in various shops in the market. At this time, they have become even more embarrassed and their livelihoods are difficult to maintain.
Everything is closely related. The livelihood of various shops in the market is much worse than before. When Zhou Jianxiong and the others took over this blacksmith shop, there was no business. This situation has lasted for more than two months.
They were all so hungry that they looked sallow and skinny.
People's hearts have been restless for a long time.
After Xu Wujiang and others captured Xiema Mountain, they wanted to send people to the market to recruit people, but in the end they gave up because they were worried that it would be too blatant.
Liu Qiong'er also encouraged Xu Wuliang to drag Zhou Jianxiong and the others to Jinshagou, but Xu Wuliang hesitated because he didn't want the rebels to massacre Zhongjiazhuang yesterday. After Zhou Jianxiong and others heard the news, they couldn't hold back.
Since these people have wandering minds and are no longer at peace, there is no doubt that they are directly recruited to Jinshagou.
