At the beginning of Emperor Gaozong's journey to the south of the Song Dynasty, all the peaceful and prosperous people in the world turned into thieves, and they set out to destroy tens of thousands of people. They could not win with swords and banners, and they hung down for twenty years.
In order to deal with this situation of chaos all over the world, Emperor Gaozong issued a new law for archers to strengthen the grassroots force, and set up 196 inspection villages in the east and west of Zhejiang, east and west of Jiangnan, south of Jinghu, Fujian and Guangnan. Use native soldiers to calm the place.
Archers and soldiers were both useful at that time. However, as time went by, financial constraints were clamored everywhere. Not only did the archers and soldiers not make up for their shortfalls, but they often borrowed money from others. They also had to pay for their food and clothing for many years, so that the archers and soldiers were dying of cold and hunger. dead.
With the financial resources of the Song Dynasty, even a small border county could not support a hundred archers; in a wealthy military state like Fuzhou, the local officials really had to think of something to do, not to mention a hundred people, but an army of thousands or thousands of people. Can also be recruited. It's just that money from different places has its own destination, and no one is willing to invest money in archers and patrol villages.
Of course, the government arbitrarily embezzled national wealth and ignored the process of force. That is, the process in which the powerful gentry and subordinate officials wantonly invaded and exploited, making the people miserable. Over the past few decades, the Song State's local security management has become increasingly ineffective, and there have been more and more thieves from various sources.
For example, around Gushan, which is only more than 20 miles away from Fuzhou City, there are no fewer than five or six villages, and each village is not convinced by Wang Hua. The officials in Fuzhou City could only stare blankly. Over time, they would settle for a token tax.
In the evening, these villages in the mountains become lively.
The fleeing people or soldiers gathered at the edge of the cliff and chatted. Some people discussed that the few thin fields on the mountainside might not be able to grow food, so they might as well go and get some jute seeds, plant some jute in spring, and sell it to maritime merchants later. Some people complained that the large grain ships on the sea were going north one after another. No wonder the officials were pressing hard. Life was very difficult for several relatives down the mountain.
Speaking of which, some people hate the tunnel and would rather go to the sea to survive.
As soon as this idea came out, he was immediately stopped by the old man in the village. The old man said that Mr. Wang, who is south of Guling, makes a living at sea. Among the people in that village, there are also the heroes who interact with Mr. Wang on a daily basis, such as Mr. Zhao and Mr. Cai Ba. Who is not a ruthless person and who does not have dozens or hundreds of lives on his hands?
They even attacked the county town and came to our village and killed people! Steal the woman! Seize the food!
How can an ant like you compare with a hero? If you go to the sea, you can only go fishing. If you want to do anything else, you will die in the blink of an eye!
Having said that, several young people still exchanged glances with each other, showing eagerness to try.
There is always danger, and death is not necessarily scary. As long as you have the opportunity to make money, buy land and start a family in your hometown. The danger is worth it!
Thinking like this, people subconsciously turned their heads and looked at the village south of Guling, where the old man mentioned.
A long way away, I suddenly noticed that the lights in the village were brightly lit.
What happened?
The boy with good eyesight climbed onto the vines and trees and slowly descended the ridge. He got closer and took a closer look. He came back and said, "At the entrance of the village, there are all people with bows, arrows and swords and guns! We are afraid that something is going to happen, so we still have to Go quickly!"
The people dispersed in a hurry. Anyway, it’s getting dark soon, so I’m hiding in my shack until the sky falls and we’ll see tomorrow.
The people gathered in Prince Qing’s village were naturally pirates. The guards at the gate usually work as guards in the stockade, but when they get on the boat, they are murderous villains. At this time, the people patrolling back and forth were not only the people in the village, but also more than a hundred fierce and skilled people brought by Zhao Xique, Cai Ba and others from various places.
There were more pine torches lit everywhere in the village. On the high platform in the middle, Cai Ba looked around and did not feel dangerous. Instead, he was confident in the strength he had mastered.
Sometimes he would stand up and walk back and forth on the high platform. Under the night, he could vaguely see the rise and fall of the sea, and his heart was full of pride.
In recent years, due to the close maritime exchanges with the Northern Zhou Dynasty, both those who do business at sea and those who rob at sea have had an easier time than before. Many pirate leaders have more money on hand, and it is easier to recruit subordinates. It’s even easier. With the strength at hand, you can mingle with big people you didn’t dare to contact before, and even make some exchanges of interests...
If this situation could continue for a few more years, would the pirates become more than mere pirates?
Cai Ba has been following Zhao Xique on the sea for more than ten years, and the relationship between the two is really good.
So when he thought of this, he became more confident: If Zhao Xi can have a good future, I, Cai, shouldn't be too bad, right? He must give me something to make me feel comfortable for a few years!
Just as he was thinking about it, a pirate leader walked up to the high platform and said: "Chief, two to three hundred people have been circling around. We have been on guard for more than an hour, and we only scared away a few rabbits. Should we let everyone rest? There is no point in this. ah!"
"After all, Lao Wang didn't come back, but that idiot Wang Erbai came back..."
The leader of the pirates said disdainfully: "A close aide of mine has just reported that there are at most forty people who followed Wang Erbai ashore. We have more than four hundred brothers gathered together in this village. Even if there is something wrong, ten Beating them one by one and crushing them, are you afraid?"
"That……"
After all, the pirates are not an army. If the people below are slacking off, the leaders above must be considerate.
Cai Ba nodded and said: "Take half of the people and come back to rest. The others will continue to patrol as usual. Don't make Boss Zhao angry. Go and send a message, just say, after half a night of hard work, I will give up two beautiful girls tomorrow morning and let them enjoy themselves." Le Yile, it doesn’t matter if you die!”.net
This order of his is really a combination of leniency and severity, which is very touching. However, the pirates had little discipline, and the number of pine torches held high inside and outside the village suddenly decreased by 80% to 90%. Most of the pirates who were looking for sentries took the opportunity to return to rest.
At the bottom of Guling, Shi Tianni stood up from the lush grass and asked in a deep voice: "Everyone! Are you familiar with the map and have you memorized the roads? You will be walking on a mountain road in a while and you will fall. No one will save you!"
The forty soldiers behind stood up one after another. As they moved, the armor blades, which had been specially coated with black paint to prevent moisture, collided lightly, making a small crackling sound. They drew their knives one after another to check, and then sheathed the knives. The blades shone with a cold arc in the moonlight.
"Don't worry about defense! There will be no problem with this route."
Shi Tianni paused and asked again: "No more vomiting? No more stomach upset? Have you regained your strength? Can you stand firm on both feet?"
Some in the ranks of soldiers muttered something dissatisfied, while others laughed in a low voice.
"Then proceed as planned. Break in from the front and rear gates of the village at the same time, kill all those who resist, take away the valuables in the village, and then set a fire!"
The soldiers had done this kind of thing hundreds of times in the north, and they were all very familiar with it. He didn't say much at the moment and just looked at Shi Tianni, waiting for him to give the order.
"Set off!"
Forty soldiers were divided into two teams and walked up the two mountain roads on the left and right. The moonlight was very bright tonight, and they had obtained a detailed map of this place beforehand. It was clearly listed where to turn, where to be steep, and where to go if it was rugged and difficult to navigate. Therefore, they did not even hold up torches. Instead, they walked less than half of the way. Hours later, the pirate village with dazzling lights everywhere was right in front of us.
A soldier stood in the shadows and couldn't help but laugh: "This damn thing is too bright. Are you begging for others to fight?"
Suddenly a crisp whistle sounded from behind the village!
Everyone, including Shi Tianni, rushed forward.
This village is very loose, and there is no decent village gate. There is only a loose wooden fence at the intersection. The soldiers were wearing dozens of kilograms of heavy armor, and they were like wild beasts charging and overthrowing it.
The sleeping pirates who were napping near the fence were immediately killed, and those who tried to resist only survived for a breath or two at most.
They resolve the battle instantly and continue deeper.
The pirates who had just returned to rest in the village were the first to respond. With the sound of gongs and drums, many people rushed over waving weapons.
Shi Tianni remained completely calm, the rhythm of his forward steps did not change, and he did not even issue any orders.
One hundred people, no more. Shi Tianni was familiar with battles of this scale before he was sixteen years old. When he led the villagers to subdue the local powerful, the number of enemies was probably this number. Later, when he joined the army and was involved in a wave of fighting between large countries and heavy troops, there were few opportunities for such small fights.
Now that we met again, he actually felt a little kind.
, some miss the carefree teenage life.
Twenty-one people crashed into the enemy formation.
No, that cannot be called an enemy formation. Shi Tianni's subordinates have been on the battlefield for a long time and received continuous and rigorous training. They have steady steps, tight formation, and flawless slashing and assassination movements. This is called a military formation.
The noisy group of shirtless guys opposite can only be regarded as a herd. They are not tigers or leopards, they are just a group of wild dogs at most.
Shi Tianni thought lightly, and swung the long knife freely based on instinct. On his left and right, twenty swords were shining brightly, cutting off the enemy's weapons and bodies, and the soldiers kept moving forward.
The pirates tried their best to resist with swords and guns, but as the bravest dozen or so were easily killed, those who followed began to flee wailing. It's no wonder that these people are used to the kind of fighting between people in the chaotic environment of the deck of a sea ship; they have no concept of covering each other and advancing and retreating together.
Before it was half tea time, half of the first batch of pirates who rushed up fled, and half of them became corpses scattered on the ground.
Suddenly there was a crackling sound. It was someone shooting arrows at the soldiers from the stockade, and then someone rushed up under the cover of the arrows.
However, things like crossbows are very easy to be damaged in the humid and salty environment of the sea, and it is impossible for pirates to have the discipline and conditions to maintain them. The arrows they fired were weak and weak, hitting the thick armor. At most, they knocked off a piece of patent leather, but the fine iron armor underneath was not damaged at all.
The arrows did not act as a cover at all. The second group of pirates who rushed up turned into corpses in an instant and were stepped on by the soldiers. Behind the soldiers, blood flowed all the way.
The soldiers stepped over the corpses, knocked over several shacks, and rushed to the high platform surrounded by lights.
Not long after the battle broke out, Cai Ba understood that Wang Ziqing must be dead, and this old boy was exposed! The murderer from the north is coming to kill you!
Closer, closer! Each of these vicious men are iron men, and they have all become blood men! All that blood is the blood of the brothers in the village!
Northerners are terrible. They are ten times more powerful than the rumors say, and the situation in front of them is simply like a tiger taking advantage of a flock of sheep! This is not fighting, this is destroying!
Cai Ba turned around and jumped off the high platform.
He endured the severe pain in his ankle and wanted to go from the back. He found that the back of the stockade was also in a mess, so he had to turn back. Suddenly I saw an acquaintance in front of me, the pirate leader who was on duty tonight.
Cai Ba grabbed him fiercely and cursed angrily: "Didn't you just say that if we hit one out of ten, we could crush them? Why don't you crush them!"
How could the pirate leader give an answer when his heart was broken? He struggled desperately, shook off Cai Ba's hand, then rushed a few steps, changed direction and escaped. Cai Ba's subordinates were panicked, and more than a dozen of them ran away with him.
Cai Ba jumped on his feet and shouted several times, but no one paid attention.
When he turned around again, he saw Zhao Xi walking vigorously and running towards him.
"Boss Zhao, let's go together!" Cai Bal shouted loudly, and then he saw Zhao Xi falling down in front of him.
He rolled forward and rushed forward, only to see blood and brain matter spurting out from a huge wound on the right side of Zhao Xique's skull, and the inside of his skull had become a hollow.
Cai Ba screamed in fright, and when he raised his head again, a cold light flashed before his eyes.
His head was flying in the air. The next moment, everything was over. He felt at ease.
