Han Xiufeng originally planned to give Wu Wenming a group of local warriors, but he didn't expect that Wu Wenming not only did not lose his mind because of the blood feud, but also knew the soldiers. He confirmed that the main purpose of dividing his troops to the other side was to harass the bandits and buy time for them to camp on the east bank.

Seventy local warriors were selected from the Hai'an, Qutang and Baimi regiments, and the two students who came to help and a dozen local young men who were familiar with the other side were called, plus eight Wu family members who wanted to die.

, packed three days of dry food and set off.

He knew that there were not many firearms in the camp, and he did not ask for a single shotgun. He only brought nine automatic shotguns from Wujiazhuang, and the remaining ninety or so people all used oxtail knives, spears and other weapons.

Han Xiufeng didn't want them to go and never come back, so he asked a boy from Daqiao Town who came to help to gather a dozen young men, and took five boats to the other side. After they docked, they stayed there to receive them. The places where they stopped were all remote.

The branch port.

After seeing them off, Han Xiufeng mounted the horse that Li Changjing had found from the inn and rushed to Jiaojiazhuang to inspect the training of the rural warriors recruited from Taiba. He never thought that he had just arrived at the threshing floor of the village and the salt field of Jiaoxiechang.

Han Bo, the cousin of the department ambassador Han Chen, and Wang Qianli, a supervisory student of the Maritime Security Bureau, came after them with more than 40 local warriors.

"You two, why did you come back so fast? Did you miss me?" Han Xiufeng asked in surprise.

It turned out that it was so satisfying to rip off high-ranking officials. The more Wang Qianli thought about it, the more excited he became. He pulled Han Xiufeng aside, suppressing a smile and said: "Why can't you catch up? We are worried that you don't have enough manpower, so we cut the mess quickly."

, get it done before they split up and run for their lives!"

"Is the matter done?"

"It's done." Han Bo turned his back to the people on the threshing floor, took out a stack of banknotes from his arms, and said with a proud smile: "Mr. Han, you guessed it, they are all big fat sheep as expected.

We asked for 80,000 taels, and they gave us 80,000 taels. If we had known they were so rich, they should have ordered more."

They were all banknotes from big Shanxi bank accounts such as "Rishengchang", "Dadetong" and "Xiechengqian". There was a thick stack. The branches of these banknotes in Yangzhou had probably been stolen by thieves.

, but the main account, like other semi-colonies, has to acknowledge the account. If they don’t acknowledge the account, it will be equivalent to destroying their own brand. They will no longer be able to do the business of making money, not to mention that tens of thousands of taels of silver are really nothing to them.

The reason why Han Xiufeng was willing to come to guard Liaojiagou was not only because he didn't want to lose his official position for disobeying orders, but also because he wanted to take advantage of the situation and extort money from those guys. He looked at the banknotes in Han Bo's hand and said with a smile: "Thank you for your hard work, hurry up and put it away."

, we’ll split it later.”

"Okay, we'll meet again tonight."

Just as he was talking, a member of the farm and a few big households came to inquire. They stood by the threshing floor and explained to the big head and other soldiers, while looking this way with their feet up.

Hundreds of village warriors are practicing in the threshing floor. Some wear cotton armor, some wear gowns, some wear iron helmets, and some wear horn caps. Not only do they all have waist knives, spears and other weapons, but also six

More than a dozen shotguns, carrying guns, and even the bows and arrows brought back from Guazhou Camp were used. Liang Jiuzheng guided more than thirty carefully selected village warriors to practice.

At least judging from the lineup, this is a well-armed, well-trained and highly motivated elite army. Han Xiufeng knew that the arrival of the country warriors gave the local gentry hope, and knew that they came to ask for the country warriors to stay in the village.

, immediately turned around and said: "Qianli, go and deal with it. Tell them clearly that although we can walk, we won't go very far. As long as we can hold the bridge, the thieves will not dare to invade Jiaojiazhuang."

Thinking that he might be able to raise some money and food from the village, Wang Qianli said without hesitation: "Okay, let's go there right away."

"etc."

"Mr. Han, what else can I do?"

Han Xiufeng looked back at Liaojiagou to the west and muttered: "From now on, you will take charge of the river defense on the east bank of Liaojiagou. Han Bo, you are responsible for the bridgehead fifteen miles south. Hurry back to the bridgehead to gather the local youth to patrol day and night."

River, interrogate the people who cross the river to avoid disaster, capture the spies who sneak into the east bank, and intercept small groups of bandits. Qianli, you are responsible for the line from the bridgehead to Jiaojiazhuang."

"What if we encounter a large group of thieves?" Wang Qianli asked subconsciously.

"The bandits probably won't force the crossing at night, they will only choose to cross during the day. The river is so wide. If there is a large group of bandits coming, you will definitely be able to watch. Then light a few beacons to warn the people nearby, and then quickly notify the nearby people to stay away temporarily.

.”

"As you command!"

Han Xiufeng sent the two men away and asked the chief to summon the sentry commanders to his side. He looked around at everyone and said seriously and solemnly: "Whether Liaojiagou can be defended or not depends entirely on you! I know that the formation of the army is too hasty. Everyone

You guys haven’t practiced very much, so I can only try to buy you time, but at most you can only practice until tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, so you must hurry up!”

"Don't worry, Mr. Han, two days are enough!"

"Yes, Mr. Han, our brothers haven't practiced much. The thieves and bandits are all mud-legged and haven't practiced much. Isn't it just hard work? We have weapons and food. Who is afraid of whom?"

"Not only is there food, but there is also meat!" Han Xiufeng patted a sentry commander on the arm and said with a smile: "Master Yu Qinghuai came back this morning. As soon as he came back, I asked him to go to a nearby village to buy big fat pigs. As many as he could buy.

Buy a few and they will be delivered to you later!"

"It's great to have meat to eat today!"

"Not only will we have meat to eat today, we will also have it tomorrow! Practice well, it's time for me to go back."

"Mr. Han, let me see you off."

"Don't give it away, hurry up and practice. Not only will you have meat to eat in the evening, I also invited a gentleman to speak and tell everyone about the Three Kingdoms."

They had meat to eat and could listen to stories from their husbands. When the village warriors heard the news, they immediately burst into joy. Han Xiufeng waved to everyone, then got on his horse and returned to Wanfu Bridge with Datou and other soldiers.

Zhang Guangcheng and Li Changjing stayed up all night and were resting in the tent.

In the camp, several family members of Li Zhiyong and Zhang Li who had just returned in the morning were taking care of them. Not only did the work not stop, but there were more people working than at night. Wanfu Bridge is not far from Yangzhou and is a transportation hub.

Road, Qiaotou is already very prosperous. No matter what materials are missing, you can find them.

A perimeter wall made of ten large and small boats has been erected. The young men are busy reinforcing it and digging trenches outside the wall. The earthen wall on the river side is also piled nearly ten feet high. Even the nearby ones

The old, weak, women and children were summoned by the local gentry to help boil water, cook, rub straw ropes, and peel bamboo thorns...

What surprised Han Xiufeng was that all the bridge piles that had just been pulled out in the morning were used. A dozen young people used local materials to drive piles on the boat to the river on the east bank. There were not enough bridge piles and bamboo piles were used.

, one next to the other, driving two rows, the piles in each row are spaced five or six feet apart, and the two rows of piles are also spaced five or six feet apart.

Zhou Xingyuan, who came from the thatched house by the river, was looking for news. He just noticed the movement on the river. He came up to him and asked in confusion: "Brother Han, what are they doing?"

Han Xiufeng did not answer his question directly, but turned around and asked with a smile: "This is a good fight, who came up with this idea?"

"Mr. Han, this is the idea of ​​a few warriors from the Hai'an Regiment." Li Zhiyong said quickly.

"They are really 'Three Stooges, better than Zhuge Liang'. I will give them a credit. When Young Master Zhang wakes up, please Master Zhang Er will reward those local brave men." Han Xiufeng praised and turned around to explain:

"Brother Zhou, on the river

These two rows of piles can be of great use. Think about it, the bandits had to have a boat if they wanted to cross the river. When they finally found the boat, they found that there were piles on the river when they rowed here, so the boat couldn't cross, so they had to

Getting shot on the river, hahaha!"

Zhou Xingyuan suddenly reacted: "It's exactly fifteen steps away from here, and our shotgun can hit it from a high position!"

"Exactly." Han Xiufeng looked at the unfinished bridge on the east bank side, then at the piles on the river, and turned around and said: "Zhiyong, there is a section at the end of the bridge that does not need to be demolished, but it needs to be broken like here.

Piles should be driven in front of the bridge. In this way, when the bandit's boat comes over, our people can fire guns on the wall and on the bridge at the same time."

"T-shaped, extend a section into the river... Mr. Han, you have a good idea. As long as you leave a section, the thieves will be shot from both sides!"

"I only came up with this idea when I saw these two rows of piles. I quickly went to tell them."

"Okay."

As soon as Li Zhiyong left, Han Xiufeng asked curiously: "There weren't so many people in the morning. Where did you get all these?"

Zhou Xingyuan happened to know about this and couldn't help but know: "Those who worked at night and in the morning were all recruited with the help of local gentry, and those who later fled across the river. Isn't there a shortage of manpower here? Li Changjing asked Xiang Yong to go to the ferry to intercept

As long as there is a young and strong man crossing the river, he will be able to come to work."

"Conscripted by force!"

"With the enemy now, we don't have to worry about that much. Besides, we won't let them work in vain. The camp will at least take care of the food."

"Is there enough food?"

"It should be enough. If it wasn't enough, Li Changjing wouldn't have brought so many people here."

This place is close to Yangzhou and is really rich.

With the help of local gentry, it is really not difficult to raise food.

Han Xiufeng looked back, thought about it and asked, "Brother Zhou, have you found out any new information?"

"Yes, otherwise I wouldn't have come to you." Zhou Xing looked at the spies he recruited from a distance who had just sent back the news and took the boat to the other side. He said with great detail: "Yesterday evening, the gate of Yangzhou City was opened. The bandits were worried that there would be someone there.

To set up an ambush, they first sent more than two hundred people into the city and went straight to the Yunsi Yamen and the Magistrate's Yamen. Seeing that all the officers and soldiers had fled, they sent people to report the news outside the city. By nightfall, all the bandits entered the city and occupied the city gates.

, searching and killing officials everywhere."

"A night of searching and killing?"

"Well, those salt merchants who were seeking skin from tigers were in bad luck. Not only were all their properties confiscated, but the good ones who had donated money were all killed by the thieves as 'pure demons'. The school was smashed and searched out.

All the collections of classics and history were burned, which is similar to burning books and humiliating scholars. Brother Han, do you think thieves are evil?"

"It's hateful, but they are so powerful. What can we do to them now?"

"The life of thieves and bandits is also difficult," Zhou Xingyuan said with some excitement: "There is not only bad news, but also good news. The imperial envoy Xiang Rong's army has arrived outside Jiangning City, and it is said that it has fought several battles with the bandits.

, the bandits have been beaten so hard that they dare not show their faces in the city, and now they are confronting the bandits."

"This is good news, but it's a pity that Jiangning is too far away from us. Far water cannot quench our thirst." Han Xiufeng sighed softly, looked at the other side and murmured: "Now we can only count on Qishan's army, and we can only count on the imperial court.

Send reinforcements quickly from Shandong and Henan."

Zhou Xingyuan suddenly realized that he not only had to inquire about the thief, but also the court. He said regretfully: "The spies I recruited either went to the other side or to Sanjiangkou, and I didn't send anyone to the north to inquire."

"I have already sent one." Han Xiufeng said solemnly: "I sent people to Qingjiangpu a few days ago. Qingjiangpu is an important town, and the news there will definitely be better than ours. It's just that it's a little far away. Even if

Even if we can find out, we won’t find out until two or three days later.”

"Who was sent?"

"My surname is Su, my name is Su Jueming. He has studied for several years and has a few fair-weather friends in Qingjiangpu. He can't do anything else, so it's okay to pry for information."

"As long as we can handle the matter, as long as there are people in Qingjiangpu, I don't need to send anyone else."
Chapter completed!