After nightfall, three thousand torches burned on the official road on the south side of Xishan Town, like a winding fire snake, heading towards Xiushui County.
Chu Yunyun originally expected to gather 12,000 people, but after nightfall, the number of people gathered on the south side of Xishan Town far exceeded this number.
Siluke
Not only were many wealthy families in Xishan Town in awe and gave up all their wealth, but many forces outside Xishan Town also consciously sent over their military guards and soldiers.
At this time, an hour had passed since the battle at Black Bear Mountain ended.
The news that Xishan Tang almost wiped out all the Xiushui County troops at the southern foot of Black Bear Mountain, and that the Dan family defeated the Xishan bandits at Guiwei Gorge, has spread throughout Xiushui County.
Everyone in Xishan Town who is well-informed has learned about this, and they all realize that the overall situation of Xishan Town has been decided, and the beautiful water has changed.
After this battle, the Iron Banner Gang Xishan Hall will not only be the overlord of the entire Xishan Town, but its sphere of influence will also cover the northern part of Xiushui County and a small half of Xishan.
In the next ten years, if there are no major changes, Xishan Tang will become the largest political power in the northern part of Xiushui County.
Chu Xisheng, the leader of Xishan Hall, will also be one of the few powerful figures in Xiushui County. All wealthy locals, merchants, escort agencies, caravans, salt sellers, etc. who live in the northern border of Xiushui need to look up to him.
If they don't express their respect to Xishan Town, they may never have the opportunity to express their respect again.
So even after nightfall, groups of warriors came uninvited with torches and hurriedly arrived at the gathering place designated by Chu Yunyun.
The final number calculated by Liu Ruoxi and Lu Pingyuan was 14,200 people.
And they are all well-equipped, well-educated, strong and strong men.
Among them, the armor coverage rate exceeds 85%, the armor coverage rate exceeds 500 leaders, and the armor coverage rate even exceeds that of some border troops.
This is mainly the contribution of Xishan Hall.
There are 1,400 people in Xishan Hall, and everyone is wearing armor.
Those hunters also all wore leather armor.
Any hunter in the Western Mountains who cares about his life will find a way to make himself a suit of leather armor. They are all made of fine materials and high quality, and their defensive capabilities far exceed the standard leather armor of the county army and frontier army.
Xishan Hall also seized a large number of weapons in Black Bear Mountain.
Chu Yunyun distributed all the swords, guns and armor that were still intact, and almost all the Xishan gang members and hunters were armed to the teeth.
The wealthy local tycoons in Xishan Town also brought out their own weapons and equipment, including more than a hundred armors.
When these more than 14,000 people marched along the official road to Xiushui County, all the villages along the way closed their doors tightly, and all caravans moved to both sides of the official road.
The six-door police officers and county soldiers who were patrolling the official road also moved out of the way in a very conscious manner.
They all looked pale and looked uneasily at the soldiers and hunters in front of them.
It is said that there are more than ten thousand soldiers and horses, and there are no borders.
More than ten thousand people organized by Xishan Hall marched on the official road like a long dragon.
From the front line to the rear line, it spreads out for more than seven miles. They stood waiting by the road, and it took them a full moment to see the rear end of the army.
In order to compensate Zhou Liangchen, Chu Yunyun appointed Zhou Liangchen to command the front army, and urged 1,500 local noble guards to march in front of the army.
Zhou Liangchen was quite excited at first.
He is quite calm, but he is a hot-blooded young man after all.
When Zhou Liangchen was young, he had the dream of joining the army and leading an army across the battlefield.
At this time, Zhou Liangchen had the opportunity to command thousands of troops and horses, and Zhou Liangchen cherished it very much.
But he soon became disappointed, because Xishantang's army moved southward until it reached the bottom of Xiushui County's city wall without any obstruction.
No one is stupid enough to use a mantis as a chariot to stop Xishan Hall's army.
Even though Zhou Liangchen and his men swept through the three manor houses of the Shangguan family and the Shen family, the aristocratic families in Xiushui inner city did not make any move.
Therefore, when there were 14,000 people in Xishan Hall, the troops were stationed three miles away from the north city of Xiushui County.
Zhou Liangchen crossed his arms and looked at the city wall in front of him with great disappointment, especially the people near the city gate tower who were looking down to the north.
——These wealthy families in Xiushui County have no backbone at all.
Zhou Liangchen didn't know that behind the battle formation, Wei Yang was evaluating him.
The former captain of the Shence Capital had a hint of admiration in his tone: "There are rules and regulations when marching. It seems that he has studied them carefully. I heard that the Linhai Zhou family has also produced several third-grade generals. It should be learned from the family. origin."
Li Shenshan frowned slightly: "It looks similar, but it looks good. If it were placed in the north, and someone else would rush with hundreds of cavalry, he would be in a hurry."
Wei Yang laughed dumbly. The thousand people led by Zhou Liangchen were just a mob. He is able to lead like this, which is already stronger than many thousands of households in the local county army.
The boy only needs to train in the army for a while and accumulate some experience. If he is around thirty, he can become a frontier soldier in the Northern Army, which is much better than him and Li Shenshan.
What's more, their Xishan Hall is just a Jianghu gang, and they don't want to rebel.
With the current level of Xishan Hall, it is more than enough to cope with the fighting between the rivers and lakes. They can even compete head-on with the local county troops, so they can't ask for too much.
Thinking of the word 'rebellion', Wei Yang looked at the north thoughtfully.
I wonder when the two lieutenants Shui Canglang and Gong Wugou will raise their flag of rebellion?
When can they avenge King Bawu and the brothers who died in Luofengshan?
While the two were discussing, Chu Yunyun was talking to Dan Chiling, the head of the Dan family.
"I heard that during the battle at Guiwei Gorge today, there was green smoke covering the battlefield, and two mysterious half-demon strong men appeared and killed Xia Qingtian, the master of Jiudaowu's Jinghongdao, and Mengyunshan, the master of Baiyun Village. Help Did you fight off the bandits?"
When Dan Chiling heard this question, his scalp felt numb and his whole head hurt.
This was the reason why he kept making excuses and delaying his arrival until now.
Dan Chiling expected that Chu Yunyun would ask about this matter, but she didn't know how to answer.
However, he will have to face this problem sooner or later. It is said that if you extend your head, it is a knife, and if you shrink your head, it is also a knife. There is no way to avoid it.
Dan Chiling tried his best to open his eyes wide and looked at Chu Yunyun: "I actually don't know much about this. At that time, a cloud of green smoke suddenly covered the battlefield. I felt very strange and restrained my subordinates to stick to the stone fortress. Then I heard screams outside. They kept shouting about the second boss and the sixth boss dying in the battle. We didn’t know what was going on and were totally confused.
But when the green smoke dissipated, all the Xishan bandits were defeated. It was more than half an hour after the war that we heard that two half-demon martial arts cultivators took action at that time, and both Xia Qingtian and Meng Yunshan died in their hands. But the strange thing is that when we cleaned up the battlefield afterwards, we didn’t find their bodies, so I don’t know whether this rumor is true or not—”
He told lies with his eyes open, but his tone was extremely sincere.
Chu Yunyun's heart was like a clear mirror and she knew what was going on.
The corners of her lips were raised slightly, and she watched Dan Chiling's performance with a hint of teasing.
However, Lu Luanli, who was standing next to Chu Yunyun, looked solemn and thoughtful.
Lu Luanli thought of Shen Yunxiang and Yue Wei.
After the battle at Wenjia Fort, it was rumored that Shen Yunxiang and Yue Wei, two sixth-grade martial arts cultivators, had also entered Wenjia Fort and had seen neither dead nor alive people.
The problem is that Lu Luanli was sure that he had never met these two people from beginning to end during that battle.
Could it be said that there are other fifth-grade masters hidden in this Xishan Hall?
Behind Lu Luanli, Xiang Kui and Wang Zhen looked at each other.
They were all secretly surprised, thinking that the water in Xishan Hall was deeper than they imagined.
"I see!"
Chu Yunyun held her chin in her hand and fell into deep thought: "In this way, this situation has many similarities with Wenjiabao. Inexplicable smoke, unknown masters, and those sixth-level martial arts who can't see people alive or dead. Xiu. I really don’t know who this person is, but he is helping me in Xishan Hall."
Before Chu Xisheng left, he analyzed the matter in detail with her.
Chu Xisheng thought that if Dan Chiling was willing to handle it, then they should just pretend to be confused and there was no need to reveal it thoroughly.
The background of the Dan family is mysterious. Their family is powerful, but they are dormant in the countryside of Xishan. There must be a reason for this, and it may involve great trouble.
Therefore, exposing the Dan family's identity would do them no good at all.
Lu Luanli's lips slightly raised when he heard this: "Yes, the battle at Wenjiabao was so strange. I was on guard against Wen Tiancai and Yunhe Dao Yin Yang, but neither of them showed up. At first I thought they were He ran away, but now he may have died at the hands of a half-demon martial artist."
She secretly gave Chu Yunyun a thumbs up.
Chu Xiaomei is still very tight-lipped and has never revealed her identity.
It's good now that someone actually takes the blame for her. Those two half-demon strong men are really good people.
Dan Chiling smiled bitterly in his heart, and felt like he was being pardoned.
However, he always used his true energy to control the expression on his face and said calmly: "That's right! If the rumors are true, then my family should really feel deeply for these two half-demon martyrs. If they hadn't taken action, I would have The Dan family will suffer heavy casualties."
After Chu Yunyun heard this, she smiled. She heard that there was something else in Dan Chiling's words.
If the 'Half-demon righteous man' hadn't taken action, the Dan family would have suffered heavy casualties. This is blaming Xishan Hall for not saving lives -
Chu Yunyun shook her head and continued to look toward the city head indifferently.
Liu Ruoxi frowned slightly.
The Chu brothers and sisters were very kind to her, and she would not tolerate anyone speaking rudely to them.
Liu Ruoxi held the Yuanyang knife at her waist and looked at Dan Chiling coldly: "Miss has given you an order to try not to let the bandits' trebuchets get close to the city wall. As long as you can hold on for two hours, I will go to Xishan Tang's army can plagiarize the bandits' retreat.
But as far as I know, before the green smoke filled the air, your Dan family only knew how to huddle in the stone castle and never fired an arrow to the outside world. It didn't take me, Xishan Hall, two hours. Including the time spent on the road, we defeated the enemy in just over an hour. You are on both ends of the spectrum and have given the thieves an opportunity to take advantage of. How dare you criticize me and ridicule my young lady? Do you want to be shameless? "
This was information obtained by Lu Pingyuan, and Liu Ruoxi heard it clearly.
Dan Chiling couldn't help but blush.
I thought that this woman had a sharp mouth, she spoke too straightforwardly, and she was too disrespectful!
※※※※
At the same time, in the gate tower of Beicheng, Xiushui County.
Commander Shen Zhou, Shangguan Shenhao and Long Heng all looked at the Xishan Hall army three miles north of the city wall with extremely ugly expressions.
Under those three thousand torches, there was a mass of black heads.
Their armor and swords reflected red light under the torch. The four thousand crossbows of various types and the seven thousand five hundred hunting bows gave them a great sense of oppression.
There was no blood on Shen Zhou's face, and he looked like a dead person.
He had already learned about the Xiushui County Army's defeat at the foot of Black Bear Mountain an hour ago, with the loss of 7,000 soldiers.
This made his eyes darken, his chest throbbed, and it became difficult to breathe.
Shen Zhou no longer knew how to face the current situation.
If the Xiushui County army only lost one or two thousand people, he could use his authority to cover it up; even if there were three to five thousand casualties, he could handle it. It is nothing more than losing a little more financial resources, replenishing equipment for the county army, and recruiting additional soldiers.
But this time the casualties were as high as 7,000!
Once this matter was known to the superiors, Shen Zhou knew that no matter how knowledgeable he was and how he cultivated relationships, it would be difficult for him to secure his current position as county lieutenant.
Being demoted is a high probability event.
What makes matters worse is the rise of Xishan Hall. Most of the Shen family's properties are located in the northwest of Xiushui County. This is the coverage area of Xishan Hall's power.
Now that the foundation of Xishan Hall has been solidified and it controls Xishan, all the Shen family's businesses in the north are no longer possible, and even the farms may not be able to operate normally.
This is also a huge bad news for the Shen family.
Shen Zhou even had the idea of summoning Shen's soldiers and generals at all costs to fight Xishan Tang to the death.
But he knew his idea was stupid.
At this time, the Shen family could only mobilize at most 3,000 soldiers and 4,000 young villagers. In front of the 1,400 gang members and 7,500 bows and swords of Xishan Hall, it was like throwing an egg against a stone.
Even if the Long family and Shangguan family are added together, they may not be able to defeat Xishan Hall.
The three of them have enough troops, but Xishan Hall's morale is extremely high and their troops are at a sharp point, so it's best not to overwhelm them.
It is estimated that Long Heng and Shangguan Shenhao will not accompany him crazy.
Their soldiers and generals were all raised with money. How could the two of them dare to fight easily? Consume your own strength?
What Shen Zhou wanted to do most at the moment was to capture the three retreating commanders of the county army.
How could these three losers be so stupid as to destroy seven thousand county troops in Black Bear Mountain?
Behind Shen Zhou, Shangguan Shenhao and Long Heng also had livid faces, and each of them was silent.
——Xishantang actually won!
——The 7,500 pairs of bows and knives in Xishan can be so sharp!
——The Dan Family actually defended Guiwei Gorge?
——The bandits in Xishan were defeated, and the master of Baiyun Village and the master of Jiudaowu, who had caused trouble in Xishan for nearly ten years, actually died in Guiwei Gorge?
——The commander-in-chief Shen Zhou is about to resign. Without the help of the commander-in-chief and the threat of thieves and bandits, how can they suppress Xishan Hall and contain the Iron Banner Gang?
——They can no longer stop Xishantang from digging the canal. Chu Xisheng has obtained the financial resources of the canal and the help of the 7,500 hunters. By then, the wealth and power will be great. How can they fight against it?
Countless messy thoughts were generated in their minds, making them feel tight and upset.
The three families had carefully planned for today's battle for nearly twenty days, but they all lost.
Not only did they fail to defeat Xishan Hall, but they completely lost control of Xishan Hall and shocked the north of the county with their military power.
After a long while, Shen Zhou finally came to his senses and looked outside the city wall again: "It is said that the person in charge of Xishan Hall now is Chu Yunyun, an eighth-level magic cultivator. Together we can kill this girl! "
Long Heng frowned and said nothing. He had sensed Shen Zhou's sinister intentions, but due to his status, he could not speak out.
Shangguan Shenhao shook his head slightly: "There are two fifth-level half-demon in Xishan Hall who are extremely powerful. Moreover, Tie Kuangren has been personally stationed at the east dock of the city since early this morning. It is said that he has killed five people in advance. Ten water bandits inspired the magical power of the 'Iron-Blooded Pagoda'.
There is no point in killing this woman. The foundation of Xishan Hall is Chu Xisheng. As long as Chu Xisheng does not die, Xishan Hall cannot collapse. This move will only anger Chu Xisheng and force him to fight us to the death. "
Shen Zhou's eyes flickered, and then he regained his composure.
It was Shen Zhou's purpose to anger Chu Xisheng and attack the three of them with all his strength.
Only in this way can Shangguan Shenhao and Long Heng be forced to help the Shen family to fight against Xishan Hall.
But just by listening to Shangguan Shenhao's words, he knew that this idea would not succeed.
"Brother Shen, don't worry!" Shangguan Shenhao said with a cold face: "Although the current situation is difficult, it is not impossible to deal with. There is also brother Shen's position as county captain, we must keep it no matter what. A corresponding loss, There are also expenses for smoothing the relationship, the Shangguan family and the Long family can help you bear half of it. Once you have the details, we will discuss it later when we return home."
Long Heng was a little reluctant instinctively.
The Xiushui County Army lost a total of 7,000 people!
How to fill this loss? Including the cost of smoothing the relationship, two to three million magic silver is a small amount. How much money does the Long family have to pay?
Long Heng then suppressed his emotions. Without the help of the county army and the power in the hands of the county lieutenant Shen Zhou, the three of them would not even be able to maintain a balance of power with the Iron Banner Gang.
At this moment, Long Heng's expression suddenly changed and he looked at a figure coming from the sky not far away.
It was a middle-aged man with a cinnabar mole between his eyebrows. He is of medium build and wears a fifth-grade official robe.
This man came from the night sky and landed on the flagpole at the top of the city. He looked at the Xishan Hall army in the distance and was silent.
Long Heng recognized this person at first sight. It was Sikong Chan, the prefect of this county!
He raised his eyebrows slightly, and then looked at each other with the two people beside him.
In the eyes of the three of them, there was a hint of dissatisfaction and hope.
At the same time, at the helm of the Tieqi Gang, Tie Xiaosheng laughed loudly: "I only thought Xiao Chu was a young hero! But today, it seems that his sister is not a mortal. The battle at Black Bear Mountain, The fight was really beautiful, no wonder Xiao Chu dared to go north to the capital with confidence."
He clicked his tongue and sighed: "But this time when Xiao Chu comes back from the capital, I still have to give him a drink. This time I really broke into a cold sweat for his Xishan Hall."
There was naturally nothing to say about Chu Xisheng's escorting Zuo and his son to Beijing.
Anyone who knows will express admiration and praise his loyalty.
Everyone within the Iron Banner Gang praised and admired Chu Xisheng's character.
However, after Chu Xisheng left, the situation faced by Xishan Hall made Tie Xiaosheng unable to sleep well for several days, and he was really worried for a while.
Tie Xiaosheng had to take this holiday back.
Tie Kuangren was also amazed: "That Chu Yunyun, I thought she was extraordinary when I first met her. But I didn't expect that she was so extraordinary at such a young age. This woman's talent is enough to support the family of Xishan Hall, and she cannot be the ordinary woman. Look at it."
He then chuckled: "However, Xishan's great victory today was due to Xiao Chu's strategizing and strategic management skills ten days ago. From then on, Xishan Hall's seven thousand five hundred bows and swords were all used up. This time he It gave me another big surprise.”
'Songfengjian' Lin Shi frowned slightly: "I am only worried about that demon martial artist with fifth-level combat power. His identity is unknown and his purpose is unknown. We must guard against him. With the strength of Xishan Hall, in the future we, Iron Banner, There may be concerns about imbalance."
He actually wants to split Xishan Hall——
But the Iron Flag Gang has never had such rules.
If the chief helmsman directly seizes the members and property of Xishan Hall, then the hearts of the fifteen outer halls of the Iron Flag Gang and the more than a thousand ship owners affiliated with the Iron Flag Gang will be lost immediately.
Lin Shili didn't agree to it, so he didn't even bother to mention it.
Tie Kuangren really laughed: "As I said, Xiao Chu and Xishan Tang are my wings. I can't wait to help more people like Xiao Chu, the better. Otherwise, when will I be able to get out of the quagmire of Xiushui County?" Pull it out? What's more, Xiao Chu's character can be seen from the fact that he escorted Zuo and his son to Beijing this time."
Lin Shi was speechless.
They all attach great importance to loyalty when they are in the world.
People like Chu Xisheng the most.
In terms of influence, even Xishan Hall's victory in Black Bear Mountain was not as good as Chu Xisheng's trip to the capital.
Nowadays, everyone in Xiushui County is proud of Chu Xisheng. Now after dinner, they will mention Chu Xisheng, talk about his deeds, and praise his character.
Countless young people in this county regard him as a role model, and they can't wait to join Xishan Hall and serve this hero Chu Xisheng.
Lin Shi himself didn't believe that such a person had evil intentions.
Tie Kuangren turned to look at Tie Xiaosheng again: "Xi Shan Tang sent troops this time to help us intimidate the county. That girl is shrewd and has seen the predicament of our Iron Banner Gang. We don't want to offend her. Later, you will lead Fengtang and my Iron Flagtang to attack the upper reaches, and then have a showdown with the Seventeenth Link Dock."
Last time, even though the Iron Flag Gang defeated the Seventeenth Chain Pier, they were unable to seriously damage its roots.
This family, which has been in Xunyang County for more than ten years, has a profound power background, and its leader, Daoxing, is also a powerful figure.
After that battle, the Seventeenth Chain Pier changed their strategy and they no longer attempted a decisive battle with the Iron Banner Gang.
Instead, they continued to make trouble with the advantage of their manpower and worked piecemeal. They used clippers to go south along the river and rob the merchant ships of the Iron Flag Gang.
The Iron Banner Gang has been helpless because the main force of the gang was restrained in Xiushui County.
They seem to be expanding their territory, but in fact they are in a very difficult situation.
However, after today, the situation will change greatly, and the offensive and defensive momentum will be reversed.
"Okay! I'll be there right away."
Tie Xiaosheng responded simply, and sneered: "I have to catch a bunch of those bastards from the Seventeenth Chain Wharf this time, chop them into pieces and feed them to the dogs!"
