The village where the bandits were temporarily stationed was called Xujiawopu, which was less than a hundred miles away from Licheng. When Zhang Xutuo arrived with the county soldiers at night, the village was already in a state of explosion.
"What's going on?" Zhang Xutuo was very dissatisfied with this. He planned a perfect attack and tried to win it all in one fight. The rogue bandits are too strong in recovery. If you can't wipe them all out at once, you won't be able to defeat them all at once.
How long will it take for them to regain their vitality like weeds?
In order to ensure that the mission was foolproof, Zhang Xutuo had repeatedly told Qin Shubao before leaving, ordering him to only monitor the enemy's perimeter. He was not allowed to attack without permission before the large group of troops arrived. But tonight, the usually most prudent Governor Qin
The captain actually disobeyed his order and rushed into the village where nearly ten thousand bandits were stationed with only 500 men.
"It's not General Qin's fault, it's the village itself that caught fire first. The bandits were running around, so General Qin had no choice but to rush in because he was afraid of delaying the opportunity to fight!" The small school commander who was left by Qin Qiong to wait for the main force was afraid of Zhang Xutuo.
He was very majestic and spoke with a slight stutter. But this did not prevent him from using very short words to clearly describe the changes in the enemy's situation.
After listening to his introduction, Zhang Xutuo did not hesitate to get angry again. God is not as good as man, and the situation on the battlefield is like this. The opponent is not dead, and will make unexpected moves at any time. He believed that Qin Shubao ordered the attack.
He had his own reasons, so he divided his brothers into two parts and ordered four of the battalions to go around the west end of the village to block the enemy's escape exit. The remaining four battalions entered directly from the east of the village to support Qin Shubao and Luo Shixin.
Cavalry.
The county soldiers, who hated the bandits so much, immediately rushed into Xujia's home. They were all locals, and the bandits were causing harm to their hometown. Therefore, everyone's morale was very high, and there was no need for any mobilization by the generals.
The scene in the village stunned everyone.
There were fires everywhere and corpses everywhere. In the fields, on the hillsides, and in front of the low thatched houses, the ground was dark, one by one. They were not killed by the cavalry led by Qin Shubao. They died among their own people.
, or in the hands of former friendly forces. By the light of the torch, the county soldiers could see the eyes of the deceased that refused to close. Those pupils had lost the luster of life, but were still full of unwillingness and resentment.
The cavalry led by Qin Shubao and Luo Shixin had already rushed to the center of the village. In the distance, the neighing of the war horses and the desperate wails of the enemy troops could be heard. On the road where the cavalry passed, the marks left by the horses' hooves in the blood mud were clear and vivid.
.One after another, they hit people’s eyes like flames.
The county soldiers could not believe what they saw. They once hated the bandits who invaded their hometown so much that they wished they would be struck by lightning. But the miserable scene in front of them still exceeded the limit of their psychological endurance. Some people immediately leaned down and ignored them.
The boss was right next to him, vomiting loudly. Some people were squatting on the ground with their eyes closed, tears streaming down their faces.
Even if evil spirits emerge from the ground, they may not be able to cause such a miserable scene. This place is like the Abi Hell mentioned by the monks. In other words, before Qin Shubao's cavalry came in, this place had already turned into a hell.
"Come in and ask the living to put down their weapons. If there is resistance, kill without mercy!" Zhang Xutuo sighed and pointed the iron spear at a place where the torch could not reach. "Maybe there are still living people in the dark!" I'm used to it!
He couldn't help but think about death.
The county soldiers were divided into small teams based on a hundred people and began to search with a net. There were indeed living people in many places that were not illuminated by the fire. When they saw the county soldiers arriving, they did not want to resist. They obediently dropped their weapons and knelt down.
In some remote corners of the land, the tragedy continued to unfold. Three or four grey-shirted minions surrounded a white-belt soldier and used all the weapons they could find to attack the opponent. The outnumbered white-belt soldier begged for his life in dialect, "
He kept shouting "big brother, big brother", but he couldn't get back any sympathy for the friendly soldiers who were once fellow villagers. The county soldiers rushed up and forced them to stop killing each other. The minions of the gray shirt army were reluctant to surrender before they surrendered.
Yesterday's friendly soldiers spit heavily on their faces, but those white-belted soldiers who had the chance to escape with their lives did not dare to wipe them away, letting the red blood and dirty phlegm alternately slowly slip down from their faces.
The battle had just begun and was coming to an end without any suspense. Zhang Xutuo no longer forced Li Xu to follow him. He assigned Xu Zi a battalion of elite veterans to take with him to eliminate the remnants of the bandits. All the aftermath tasks were to be completed.
After all the assignments were completed, the old general found a relatively clean place and planted the Chinese flag. Then, he ordered some leaders to be escorted from the prisoners and asked them what the reason was among the bandits.
And a conflict occurred.
"Their boss invited our boss to dinner and poisoned the food and wine!" The leader of the gray-shirted army glared at the leader of the white-belt army next to him, wishing he could swallow him whole.
"Nonsense, our boss was kind enough to treat us, but they suddenly started to attack us all while we were having dinner!" The little leader of the White Belt Army knew the inside information far better than the ordinary minions, so he refused to speak up and retorted confidently.
"Two worthless thieves!" Zhang Xutuo sneered and cursed. He was no longer interested in continuing the interrogation. The thieves were fighting each other, and they were just trying to get the best of everyone. For more than a year, the same thing happened almost every moment.
Things happened. Zhang Jincheng of Hebei killed Sun Anzu at the wine table, and Du Fuwei and Fu Gongyou annexed Miao Haichao; in turn, the troops of Du and Fu were attracted by Zhao Pochen, the commander of the Hailing Army.
The conflict between the two sides continued until recently, when Du Fuwei suddenly attacked Zhao Pochen during the Hongmen Banquet and chopped off Zhao Pochen's head with his own hands, the civil war between them came to an end. What Shi Zihe and Pei Changcai did today was just two thieves.
Things are bound to happen after being together for a long time. Apart from the unexpected time and place chosen, there is nothing surprising about it.
"Although the Sui Dynasty was a little harsh on the people, after all, it still had order!" The old general sighed in his heart, waved his hand, and ordered the two young leaders to be taken away. He raised his head and saw that the fire in the village had gradually dimmed.
dim.
In the ancestral hall in the center of Xujiawopu, the battle is still going on. More than three hundred gray-shirted troops are making their final resistance with the relatively tall courtyard walls. Shi Zihe's face has turned black, with dark red streaks constantly appearing.
Blood flowed from his nostrils and covered the bluestone beneath his body along his cheeks.
"People from the Pei family, where are the people from the Pei family?" Listening to the shouts of killing outside the courtyard wall, Master Shi did not care whether he could break out of the encirclement safely, but instead "careed" more about his former allies.
"Pei Zi just received a knife from us and rushed out with his hands on his shoulders. The officers and soldiers have already entered the village. That bastard can't run far!" Zhang Hongsheng, the second boss, stepped forward, held Shi Zihe's cold fingers, and said. His
The other hand held two human heads, one belonged to Pei Guang and the other belonged to Pei Jing.
"We also chopped down two of the three little bastards from the Pei family. The remaining one was hit by our poisonous arrow and probably won't live long!" Zhao Liancheng, the third boss, stepped forward and reported with a smile. "Don't worry.
Go ahead, our family business was ruined by Pei. Pei didn't get any benefits either, and the whole army was destroyed as well.
"Yeah!" Shi Zihe agreed, feeling satisfied. He looked dully at the dark night sky, and from there, he saw his former ideal. "Kill the rich, give to the poor, and do justice for heaven." These eight words encouraged him.
He picked up a knife and killed the yamen gangster who came to collect taxes. It was these eight words that allowed him to move across Qilu and gain a great reputation. Now, he has nothing to regret. He has gone on a grand journey in his life. The only thing
Unwillingly, he failed to kill Zhang Xutuo as he wished, but instead gave him a victory in vain.
"Where's the leopard? Where has he gone?" Thinking of this, Shi Zihe tried his best to open his mouth and made an inarticulate sound. Shi Bao was his eldest son, so logically he should be able to inherit his family business and his last wish.
Although his gray shirt army was gone, most of his family fortune was also lost in this battle.
"Leopard and his men are on the courtyard wall. The officers and soldiers nearby are all cavalry, so they can't attack at the moment!" Zhang Hongsheng, the second master, leaned down and replied loudly.
"What about Erya? Where is Erya?" As he was dying, Shi Zihe thought of his daughter again. His son might not be spared by the government, and his daughter might not be executed.
"The second niece is hiding in the main hall. Don't worry. As long as the county soldiers break through the door, we will set fire to everything. We will never let anyone insult her!" Zhao Liancheng, the third boss, wiped away his tears and answered firmly.
"Let, let them live... live..." Shi Zihe suddenly found strength from nowhere, grabbed the third master's hand, and shouted loudly, "No, no need..." Before he could finish his words, another
A mouthful of black blood surged up and clogged his throat, "Here, avenge me!" He gasped, spit out his last wish, and fell into coma again.
"Yes, the first master, if any of us can survive, we will definitely avenge you!" Zhang Hongsheng, the second master, cried and agreed.
"The boss is dead!" "The boss is dead!" The minions were panicked, and the last bit of morale was gone. Seeing that the situation was not good, Zhao Liancheng, the third boss, made a quick decision, raised his sword high, and shouted: "Brothers,
Rush out, kill one to earn enough money, kill two to earn one! Those who can rush out of the village, remember to avenge everyone!"
"Kill one to get enough money, kill two to earn one." The gangsters agreed frantically. In times of despair, people's behavior often cannot be restrained by reason. The wooden door was opened from the inside by the rogues themselves, and the gangsters followed.
Behind them, the two surviving masters launched a desperate counterattack against Qin Shubao's cavalry.
Qin Shubao was not interested in fighting the madman. He pointed forward gently with the tip of his spear, and two hundred feather arrows immediately flew from mid-air, shooting the crazy bandits in pieces. Immediately afterwards, all the cavalrymen
He hid his bow and raised his spear, and under the leadership of Qin Shubao, he suddenly accelerated and cut out a fan line diagonally, knocking over the bandits who were trying to break out one by one.
In front of the high-speed running horses, personal bravery has no effect. None of the bandits who rushed out of the yard were spared. After being stabbed down by the long spear, they were immediately trampled into pulp by the horses' hooves. The remaining bandits who had just rushed to the door shouted
With a scream, he turned around and ran away. The door slammed shut again, and a dark island was separated among the torches coming from all directions.
After running more than two hundred steps along the courtyard wall, Qin Shubao turned his horse's head and led the cavalry in a circle. He did not order his brothers to dismount and attack, but raised his long sword high towards the dark house.
lance.
"Put down your weapons, come out and surrender. If there is any resistance, kill them!" Two hundred cavalrymen shouted in unison, shocking the remaining bandits in the yard to fear.
"Don't be fooled, the government's words never count!" Someone shouted loudly in the yard. After hearing this, Qin Shubao smiled and asked loudly: "You are a cowardless bandit, tell yourselves, has General Zhang ever broken his promise?"
"Cowardless bandits, tell yourselves, has General Zhang ever broken his promise?" Two hundred county soldiers shouted in unison again, passing Qin Shubao's question into the dark courtyard. The people in the courtyard were speechless in response.
, In the past few years, although Zhang Xutuo had been at odds with the bandits, he had never gone back on the promise he made.
Several of the minions in the yard were the lucky ones who were captured and released after the last battle. When they heard Qin Shubao's question, they couldn't help but whisper to their companions. "Surrender, we can't get out!"
"Surrender, maybe Mr. Zhang will release us!" As the discussion became more and more noisy, the bandits' confidence began to waver. Some people kept glancing up at the gatehouse. In the adventurous attack just now, the second master Zhang
Hongsheng and the third leader, Zhao Liancheng, both died in battle. Now the leader of the 100 people in the courtyard is Shi Zihe's son Shi Bao. If he doesn't nod, everyone can't make a decision.
"Have you forgotten how the old master treated everyone?" Shi Bao asked angrily from the top of the gate. He had just turned eighteen this year, which was the time in his life when he was least afraid of death.
"Have you forgotten why you rebelled back then? Is there a way to survive if you go home?" Shi Bao slowly stood up from the gatehouse and shouted to everyone. After shouting a few words, he twisted around and walked out of the gatehouse.
Jumping up and down, the horizontal knife in his hand swept out a cold light and went straight to Qin Shubao's throat.
"Seeking death!" Qin Shubao glanced at the other party with compassion. He raised his sword slightly and knocked the sword away from the other party's hand. Then with another sword, he lifted up Shi Bao's body and threw it far into the yard.
"Surrender or not?" Qin Shubao pointed at the dark courtyard door with the blood-stained tip of his spear and shouted angrily.
No one dared to answer his words. After a moment, a worn-out horizontal knife was thrown in front of his horse, followed immediately by a spear. The bandits who had lost their courage came out one after another and lowered their weapons in front of his horse.
.
The last person to come out was a girl with pretty features. She was holding a dagger in her hand, and in the other hand, she was holding up Shi Zihe's head.
"They snatched me back!" The girl said in a low voice, threw away the dagger and the head, and fainted in front of Uncle Qin's car. (To be continued)
