Bronze Horse Village.
In Muramasa's house.
Luo Xingchen and Mo Anbai were sitting cross-legged on the kang.
Now the weather is getting colder day by day, and everyone in the village is heating the kang.
"Our village is called Tongma Village, and there is a hill behind it called Tongma Mountain."
Lao Cunzheng rubbed his eyes and said.
"Have any officers or soldiers entered the village recently?" The corners of Mo Anbai's lips rose.
"How can we do that? We don't dare to let officers and soldiers enter the village. Several nearby villages have been harmed by officers and soldiers."
"Hey, in today's world, officers and soldiers are more ruthless than horse bandits." Old Cunzheng shook his head and sighed.
"Why have the officers and soldiers become a disaster? Military discipline is so bad." Mo Anbai said.
"Those officers and soldiers are from the north. They are very bad. They have ruined and harmed all the young girls and young wives in the village. They go all the way to rob people, and they also rob the gentry."
The old villager shook his head and sighed: "You have never seen such a tragedy. There is a large village with thousands of people nearby. After the officers and soldiers finished the harm, except for more than a hundred people who fled into the mountains, everyone else died. Even babies half a year old were not spared.”
"How could this happen? Why are the officers and soldiers massacring the village?"
Luo Xingchen had seen a small group of blood-clothed thieves massacre the village, and he had already killed all the blood-clothed thieves.
But the blood-robed thieves are horse bandits, killing people like hemp. When have these officers and soldiers become more terrifying than the blood-robed thieves?
"Robbing money, grabbing food, grabbing women, the officers and soldiers have gone crazy."
The Mandarin spoken by Lao Cunzheng was not standard, but Luo Xingchen could barely understand it.
"These days, we can't sleep because we are afraid that the officers and soldiers will come to kill us. We have also hidden food in the mountains. Once the officers and soldiers come, we will escape in advance."
The old village is right.
"Is Tongma Village the largest village nearby?" Mo Anbai asked.
"No, Tongma Village is a relatively large village, but it is not the largest. The largest village is Yujia Village. There was a famous minister with the surname Yu. The Yu family was there. They had private guards and surrounded buildings. , unless tens of thousands of officers and soldiers attack them, they will be unable to do anything to them."
The old village is right.
"I see that your village also has gated buildings, and there are many fortifications on the mountain side, which are easy to defend but difficult to attack." Mo Anbai said.
"Yes, there are, but we have no weapons and only use farm tools. How can we do it? Now we just hope that the officers and soldiers will not come here." Old Cunzheng sighed.
"Aren't you afraid of the blood-clothed thieves? The blood-clothed thieves are not much better." Mo Anbai said.
"We were afraid of the blood-robed thieves in the past, but we are not afraid of the blood-robed thieves now. Last time, they came once, asked for some food, and then left without harming us." Old Cunzheng said.
"You can't say this outside, otherwise, the officers and soldiers will think that Tongma Village is a bandit and send troops to attack Tongma Village." Mo Anbai lowered his voice.
"What can't be spread out. The villagers are all locals who know everything about it. This is also the case when we meet businessmen like you. We won't tell anyone outside." Old Cunzheng said.
It was Luo Xingchen and Mo Anbai who made Old Cunzheng speak with all his heart and soul. Luo Xingchen paid a hundred taels of silver to buy food and drinks.
Those who are willing to spend money are naturally good people.
After all, people in the countryside are more honest than people in the city. Now that they are friends, they no longer have any reservations.
"Tonight, you will rest at the old man's house. The others have settled in." The old man picked up the dry tobacco pole and took a puff of the flue.
That night, Laocunzheng vacated two guest rooms for Luo Xingchen and Mo Anbai to rest.
When they were preparing to go south earlier, Luo Xingchen and Mo Anbai had already discussed that they would find a place to rest if they could, and try not to rush at night.
This is also for safety reasons.
The road south is not as safe as it was earlier.
Now more than a dozen states in the south have become a war zone between the imperial court and the bloody bandit, King Chao Tian.
When traveling at night, you may encounter danger at any time.
After nightfall, the lights in the village gradually went out, but Luo Xingchen knew that not all the people in Tongma Village fell asleep, but arranged for young and strong laborers to stay on duty at a pass entering the village.
Luo Xingchen slept until late at night when suddenly a sharp whistle came into his ears from outside.
He suddenly woke up.
This whistle sound, Old Muramasa said during the day, was a signal of enemy attack.
Luo Xingchen's luggage was all packed. He got up, hurriedly put on his coat, picked up the package, picked up the long sword, carried the bow and arrow on his back, and ducked out of the door.
At this time, Mo Anbai, who lived opposite, had also gone out.
Mo Anbai moved faster than him.
"Sir, let me go over there and gather the troops."
Mo Anbai left a word, raised his palm, and white silk thread flew out, pulling her petite body, like a light swallow, flying away.
Luo Xingchen took a deep breath and walked out of the yard.
At the moment, people in the village were shouting and screaming, and it was a mess.
The old villager is holding a torch, and beside him, his three strong sons, holding swords, direct the actions of the villagers.
"Sir, come this way."
Old Cunzheng raised his head and glanced at Luo Xingchen, his eyes lit up and he waved.
Luo Xingchen approached.
"The officers and soldiers are coming?" Luo Xingchen took off his bow, raised his finger, and took out another arrow. At this time, the bow and arrow were easier to use than the long sword.
"Officers and soldiers, and thieves in bloody clothes, were fighting nearby. I was worried that they would hit Tongma Village, so I asked the villagers to evacuate to the mountains overnight."
Old Muramasa gasped a few times.
"We fought in the middle of the night. This is a night attack." Luo Xingchen frowned. He didn't know who attacked whom at night and what the outcome of the battle would be.
In this dark night, no one could figure out who won and who lost, and how much was lost.
"Who knows, Master, are you going to retreat to the back mountains with us, or do you have other plans?" Old Muramasa asked.
"Retreat to the back mountain, we can help." Luo Xingchen put the arrow back into the quiver and picked up the bow again.
Since the enemy has not reached this place, there is no need to hold the bow.
Not long after, Mo Anbai arrived here with ten personal guards.
The guards are all elites. They have brought their weapons and are just waiting for Luo Xingchen's order.
Luo Xingchen gave an order, but it was not a battle order, but a moving order...
Half an hour later, the villagers who had been prepared for a long time basically evacuated. It was still the elderly and poor health who were holding them back. Otherwise, they would have evacuated faster.
"The people of Liao are more powerful than the people of Daqi."
Luo Xingchen couldn't help but sigh.
"If we leave this in Daqi, we may not be able to evacuate in three days, let alone half an hour. Many older people will not be able to leave at all." Mo Anbai said.
"This is why the Liao Kingdom has a smaller population than Da Qi and more soldiers than Da Qi." Luo Xingchen said.
Generally speaking, the people of Liao Kingdom are indeed better at fighting.
