Lin Jue was very satisfied with these changes. He expected such an effect. To stabilize people's hearts, the first step is to ensure safety and the stability of food, clothing, housing and transportation. Once these trivial matters are stabilized, people's hearts will naturally stabilize. Of course,
He had to prioritize the construction of facilities such as arrow tower walls, turrets, and watchtowers, because the security of the mountain village ultimately required the protection of these facilities and the Luoyan Army. The planned residential buildings, warehouses and other facilities could only be postponed.
It's also something that can't be helped.
In this prosperous time, a disharmonious incident finally broke the peace in the hearts of everyone in the village. The sense of crisis that had faded returned to their hearts, making them realize how precious this short-term peace in the village was.
and luxury.
On the afternoon of the 10th day of the twelfth lunar month, while Lin Jue and Gao Muqing were chatting by the fire in Gao Muqing's residence with Lin Hu, who was already able to get out of bed and walk on crutches, a shocking news came from the bottom of the mountain. Five Luoyan Army soldiers were attacked in the valley.
They were all killed. When the other party tried to drag away the corpses, they were discovered by our own troops. A captain led ten archers and rushed over to shoot back the people who were transporting the corpses with bows and arrows, and then they snatched the corpses back.
According to the soldiers who reported it, the dead were Zhang Zhuzhu, the captain of the 18th Squadron of the 3rd Battalion, and his four brothers. They saw a few wild wolves and chased them to the bottom of the valley, saying they planned to kill the wild wolves.
They put wolf-skin cushions on the chairs of the military advisor and several village leaders to look domineering. As a result, they went too far and were shot dead by the opponent's men.
Hearing this report, Gao Muqing was horrified and stood up suddenly. Xiaohu, who was still smiling at the side, suddenly fell on the back of the chair and burst into tears.
"Brother Zhang, they killed Brother Zhang. He was my savior. If he and several brothers hadn't saved me that day, I would have frozen to death in the valley. I wouldn't have been able to complete the tasks that the young master entrusted to me.
.Brother Zhang, I want to avenge him. Wuwuwu!"
Lin Jue then remembered Zhang Zhuzhu. It was he who saved Xiaohu's life. Lin Jue specially thanked him after going up the mountain. He had the impression that he was a burly and sturdy man. He usually heard from Xiaohu that Zhang Zhuzhu was related to him.
It's also very good. This crutch was cut by Zhang Zhuzhu for Xiaohu not long ago.
"Xiaohu, don't cry. Young Master and Sister Gao will avenge Brother Zhang. Don't do this." Lu Wu advised from the side.
Lin Hu looked at Lin Jue and Gao Muqing with tears on his face, his eyes full of expectation. But when he thought that this matter was not that simple, he lowered his head and shed tears again.
Lin Jue frowned and shouted: "Why are you crying? A fourteen-year-old man is crying like a little girl. What are you talking about?"
Lin Hu was startled and quickly wiped away his tears, not daring to cry again. Lu Wu was busy whispering comfort beside him.
Lin Jue turned his head and looked at Gao Muqing and said, "Mu Qing, let's go take a look and ask about the situation."
Gao Muqing looked coldly and nodded slowly.
The two people put on their long clothes and wind cloaks and went out. They followed the soldiers who reported the news with a dozen guards. After exiting the village gate, they walked down the southern hillside along the newly cut stone steps.
After walking for a while, he came to a fork in the road. Gao Muqing subconsciously walked towards the southwest road. The soldier leading the way hurriedly said: "Master of the village, go this way."
Gao Muqing was startled and frowned: "Didn't Bao Meng's people do it?"
The soldier hurriedly said: "I forgot to report just now. Zhang Zhuzhu and others had an accident in the southeast valley."
Gao Muqing took a breath of air and said in a deep voice: "Southeast Valley? Could it be that he is from Zuo Zongdao?"
The soldier said: "Exactly."
Gao Muqing looked at Lin Jue in shock. Lin Jue nodded slightly and said softly: "It's not surprising. I've said it before. Zuo Zongdao must have reached an agreement with Bao Meng, and he will also take action against us."
…
In the open space behind the fortifications at the foot of the hillside, five corpses were laid side by side, already frozen stiff and cold. A group of Yanjun soldiers gathered nearby. Seeing the arrival of Gao Muqing and Lin Jue, everyone bowed solemnly and moved out of the way.
Gao Muqing and Lin Jue approached slowly, only to see that the five corpses were covered with scars, no less than a dozen large and small. The wounds penetrated by sharp weapons were rolled over, and the blood had long since condensed into thin ice.
Gao Muqing frowned and remained silent.
Lin Jue's eyes wandered over the stones for a moment, and suddenly he asked in a deep voice: "Why don't they wear armor? If they wore armor, there would be no fatal penetrating wounds. Everyone has a set of armor, do they?
No?"
After hearing this, Gao Muqing discovered that the corpses were wearing cotton robes and not armor, so he also cast questioning eyes on the people beside him.
"Informing the chief military officer of Dazhai, Brother Zhang and the others went to hunt wild wolves. The armor would make noise when they walked on them. Brother Zhang and the others were afraid of disturbing the prey, so they did not wear armor. Who would have thought, on the hillside opposite
The people on the mountain would suddenly attack them. This has never happened before. We were only enemies with Bao Meng, and we never expected that people from Shirenshan Dazhai would also attack us." A captain sighed.
Lin Jue shook his head speechlessly. It seemed that many things had not been made clear. Everyone in Luoyan Valley was still unaware of their situation. They were now the enemies of Funiu Mountain, and they actually thought that Zuo Zongdao's people would not attack them. They had already fallen out with Zuo Zongdao before.
Zuo Zongdao's plan to use them failed, so how could he be kind to them again?
"Give me an order. From now on, all Luoyan Army personnel must be in full armor and equipped with weapons at all times except when they are sleeping. Why hasn't the commander of the third battalion defending here arrived yet? Where is Yuan Lang? Where are the others?" Gao Muqing was furious.
asked sharply.
"Oh, report it to the leader of the big village. The leader of the third village has been here a long time ago. He took a dozen brothers to the valley and said he wanted to ask for an explanation from the people on the other side." The captain said hurriedly.
Gao Muqing's face brightened slightly. It turned out that Yuan Lang had arrived long ago and had already descended into the valley.
Lin Jue frowned and said: "What kind of explanation are we going to ask for now? What explanation can we get? Come on, let's go and take a look."
Gao Muqing nodded, and the group went down the hillside, over the steep slope and into the snow in the valley. They walked forward along the edge of the forest at the foot of the mountain. The valley in front of them narrowed, and there were various footprints on the snow, and there were many more.
There was little blood. The accompanying captain introduced softly that this was the place where they retrieved the body, and in the forest on the opposite hillside there were people from Shirenshan Dazhai stationed there.
On the snow ahead, a dozen dark figures stood at the foot of the opposite mountain, and loud shouts could be heard in the distance.
"Listen, people from Shiren Mountain across the way, how dare you shoot my men in Luoyan Valley? You must give an explanation for this matter. Your Zuo village master will not agree to this matter, and you will be severely punished. I, Luoyan Valley,
The identity of the leader of the third village requires you to hand over the murderer, apologize and pay compensation. It is useless for you to hide. If you don't come out today and give an explanation personally, it will be impossible."
Lin Jue frowned and listened to the shouts coming from the front, feeling extremely funny in his heart. This Yuan Lang was probably a little stupid, and he actually ran to negotiate. Everyone was dead, wouldn't the other party hand over the murderer?
He also said that Zuo Zongdao would not agree, and he was afraid that Zuo Zongdao had acquiesced in this matter.
Sure enough, someone emerged from the forest opposite and laughed loudly: "Luoyan Valley Dazhai? How come we haven't heard of this Dazhai? You bunch of ungrateful people. If the master of Zuo Dazhai hadn't taken you in before, you wouldn't have even been here.
There is no place to stay. Now that you have betrayed us, the leader of Zuo Dazhai, how dare you talk so shamelessly here? What about killing your people? The leader of Zuo Dazhai has ordered that you people in Luoyan Valley be killed one by one on sight. You want us to apologize?
Apologize? Okay, I’ll apologize to you here.”
Before he could finish his words, there was a loud swishing sound on the opposite hillside, countless black dots shot out, and dozens of feather arrows were instantly inserted into the snow. Fortunately, Yuan Lang and others were on guard and carried them with them.
He quickly raised his shield to block the arrows, yelling and retreating. Only when he retreated out of the range of the arrows did the opponent stop shooting arrows.
The man outside the forest laughed and said: "How about this apology? Don't say that we don't understand etiquette, we are too modest. You bunch of reckless people will be finished soon. If you know better, you can surrender quickly.
Okay. Your Dazhai master is still pretty, so she can marry our Zuo Dazhai master and become the ninth wife of the village, which will save the lives of you people."
Yuan Lang and others cursed loudly when they heard this. Gao Muqing, who was behind him, also turned blue with anger and his body was shaking. Lin Jue solemnly ordered the people around him: "Go and call the three village masters and the others back. Don't bring shame on yourself."
Several soldiers hurriedly told Yuan Lang and others to withdraw. Lin Jue comforted Gao Muqing in a low voice and said: "Don't be angry with these guys. How can these dogs have nice words in their mouths? It's impossible to reason with them. I originally wanted to wait a little longer.
At that time, I concentrated on the defense and construction of the village before considering facing the enemy, but now it seems that the plan I told you that day will be implemented in advance."
Gao Muqing gritted his teeth and nodded: "I understand, you want to complete the fortifications of the village. Even if you fail, you can retreat to the village and they will not take advantage of the situation to destroy us. I'm fine. If you feel unsure, we can
Tolerate."
Lin Jue shook his head and said: "Patience is never a good idea. In a world where the jungle prevails, it relies on strength and conquest. Besides, the construction of the mountain village is beginning to take shape. With the current fortifications and defenses, it will not be so easy for them to destroy us.
Since Zuo Zongdao has started to kill our people, it means that he must have reached an agreement with Bao Meng. If they don't attack decisively, their connection will become closer. Maybe they are already contacting other copycats to send troops together.
In short, we need to take action as soon as possible, we can't wait any longer. This is an opportunity to implement my plan."
Gao Muqing looked at Lin Jue blankly and said softly: "How sure do you think you are?"
Lin Jue smiled slightly and said: "I remember that before I went to Guishan Island and before I went to Peach Blossom Island, someone asked me this question. I didn't expect that this question would come out of your mouth this time. I will answer you with the previous answer.
I am 100% sure, because we can only succeed but not fail. If we fail, we will be dead. Even if the cottage will not be captured for the time being, in the long run, if we cannot achieve self-sufficiency, the cottage will not last long. So, if we decide
To do it, you must have the mentality of failure or failure.”
Gao Muqing sighed and nodded: "I understand. In that case, I don't think about anything, just do it."
Lin Jue smiled and nodded: "Exactly, but if we plan carefully and do our best, the rest is not what we should think about."
