Chapter 80 Continues the details of the Kun thief
"Although the Kunthi cannon is not heavy, its power cannot be underestimated. [Read the full text]" Now Gou Chengxuan recounted the scene where the power of artillery fire was displayed during the military parade. He even shrank his neck when talking about the violent explosions in the target area during the shelling.
"The thieves just buried sulfur, fire and saltpeter under the mound and fired cannons to ignite it." He Rubin smiled and said to the people around him, "This kind of trick is not new, it is just to scare the ignorant natives."
The staff and generals once again expressed praises such as "the master of Zhentai has great insights", "sees the fire with insight", and "takes the opportunity to shine"...
"You said that you have fought against the Kun thieves yourself. What formations did the Kun thieves use when fighting, and what methods were used to break down the stronghold and attack the city? How to fight, one by one."
Gou Chengxuan complained secretly, saying that he had fought with the bandits was nonsense. When Goujiazhuang was massacred, he had already escaped with his father. He had never seen how the Australians attacked the village. It was only later that we learned from the people that they finally broke through the stronghold by setting off gunpowder and blowing up the door.
As for the Australian field battle, when Huang Shoutong led the county's Xiangyong to attack Bairenzhai, more than a dozen Xiangyong came out of Goujiazhuang. Therefore, although he did not personally participate in the battle, he still learned a lot from the mouths of the Xiangyong who came back. , maybe it can still be fooled.
He now recounted the story of how the crossing group attacked Goujiazhuang and how Huang Shoutong led the villagers to attack Bairenzhai. Of course, there were many things he made up, but Gou Chengxuan was more or less a scholar, and his literary, scientific and eloquent skills were better than those of ordinary rural tycoons. and the common people, so he spoke in a very orderly manner, and the staff and generals present listened very carefully.
He Rubin asked a few more military questions. Gou Chengxuan actually knew very little about the military aspects of the Cross-Travel Group. After all, he was just a common man. To avoid suspicion, he did not dare to go to the training ground and the port to watch the excitement. Basically, he just listens to the chats in the streets. Even so, he already knows a lot about the "Kon Thieves" military.
Gou Chengxuan actually knew more about the civil affairs, infrastructure, and social relations of the Chuanchuan Group, but He Rubin was not very interested in this. Things like building roads, digging rivers, and dams made by the thieves meant nothing to him.
Some of He Rubin's questions he knew a little about, so he talked about them as much as possible. Others he didn't know clearly, but he also made them up casually, and picked out things that people in the Ming Dynasty knew that were novel and described them with added detail. For example, the Kun thieves raised a group of women to take care of patients, and there were also women in the Kun thieves' army, who were organized into a separate team for traveling to deliver messages, etc.
"The Kun thief claims to be a descendant of the Song Dynasty. I think even if he is true, he has been infected with the barbarian style overseas after being overseas for a long time." A staff member said,
"The Kun thieves are really a bunch of greedy and lustful people," Chang Qingyun couldn't help but comment, "The army actually uses women in the army to even the land of the sun. It goes against the law of heaven for women to be invincible."
"This statement is wrong. There have been women in the army since ancient times. It's not surprising." When Lu Yizhong arrived at He Rubin's tent, although He Rubin was very polite to him and gave him generous gifts, it was obvious that he was being "honored". When we were actually discussing matters, we didn’t talk much to him. This made Lu Zanhua, who has always been known for his "knowledge of soldiers", very unhappy, especially Chang Qingyun, who was the confidant of the commander-in-chief and usually the most popular. This time he decided to kill his sharpness and commented immediately, "As far away as Princess Pingyang of the Tang Dynasty, there is Qin Xuanfu of our dynasty nearby. Last year, Qin Xuanfu led his troops to serve the king. The emperor summoned her once on the platform and gave her four imperial poems. It is still a good talk in the country. Kun thief has Is it any wonder that a few women join the army?"
This hat was not only big and heavy, but it was worn by both ancient and contemporary people. Qin Liangyu was extremely famous at that time and had been granted a title by the emperor. Chang Qingyun had no room to defend himself. His face turned red and he was speechless.
Because of the example of this dynasty, Lu Yizhong brought out the emperor's card again, and no one dared to say that women in the camp were against the laws of heaven.
"My lord, I don't know. There are many female officers and generals among the thieves." Gou Chengxuan saw that the adults were very interested in this matter. After hearing the news, she quickly brought the famous female elders of the time-traveling group to come one by one. . Although there are dozens of female elders in the Time Travel Group, for natives like Gou Chengxuan who are not within the system, the ones they are most familiar with are those who often appear outside, such as Li Mei, Du Wen, and Dong Weiwei. Already.
"...Most of the Kunthi women are tall, most of them are over five feet tall. They call themselves Chinese Miao people, but they are very different from Chinese women..."
Gou Chengxuan secretly glanced at the expressions of his staff and generals, and saw that they did not show any signs of impatience or anger. Then he continued to say that the Kunthi woman was not only taller, but also larger than the Chinese women, and her complexion was fair and fair. It is full of heaven and can run freely. He is also able to read and write, and is even used to using firearms...
He was frothing at the mouth as he spoke, and he added a lot of hearsay and random fabrications. Everyone listened with rapt attention. Chang Qingyun thought to himself that this girl with a slim waist, wide shoulders, big breasts, fat buttocks, fair skin and big eyes The thief woman didn't know what it was like, and she couldn't help but feel agitated in her heart when she thought about it. He planned that once he succeeded, he would have to find a few truly beauties to interrogate him carefully.
It wasn't until He Rubin coughed that Gou Chengxuan's remarks about "concubine women" came to an end.
"You have been in Lingao for a long time. How do the gentry in Lingao get along with the thieves? Can the people's support be used?"
Gou Jiancheng became more energetic: He only had to kill a certain family for colluding with the Kun thieves, and when the imperial army arrived, the family would be ruined, at worst, wiped out. It can be regarded as a great opportunity to take revenge and enrich one's own pockets.
Because of this, he had to proceed with caution. Because he followed his father's declaration, he stayed in various places in Guangdong for more than a year, and his horizons were greatly broadened. Until the power of the local gentry became extremely powerful. Many small country officials did not look amazing in appearance and did not have much wealth, but they were controlled by thousands of silk threads. Thousands of connections connect central officials in the province and Beijing and Beijing. Fellow students, fellow villagers, world friendships, mentors and friends... all colluded into a network that even the court officials had to worry about. If he acted inappropriately, he would only be jailed or even killed.
Gou Chengxuan had long secretly noted down the households that had the deepest collusion with the Kun thieves, and had originally planned to take the opportunity to extort a huge amount of money as soon as the officers and soldiers arrived in Lingao. There were also a few households that had no collusion with the Kun thieves. , but with the flow of food and salary, the young people are strong. However, those who had offended the Gou family or were from a wealthy family were all included in Gou Chengxuan's list of "seduce thieves".
The first person he wanted to cure was Huang Shoutong. This old man had always been hostile to the Gou family in the past. He said bad things about himself in front of the county magistrate several times. Gou Chengxuan also knew that Huang Shoutong had a secret discussion with the former county magistrate, and planned to arrest everyone in the Gou family and charge them with harboring bandits. Fortunately, the former county magistrate was afraid that arresting the Gou family would lead to revenge from the pirates, so he gave up.
This time, if Huang Shoutong, an old bastard, could be beaten as a "traitor", the Huangjiazhai would be beyond redemption. Gou Chengxuan secretly hoped that this was the case.
But Huang Shoutong was not an ordinary person. He had cooperated with the army on many occasions to defeat the Li people and fend off the pirates. He was a well-known figure in the local area, and the Hainan army had much to gain from him. His second son had a good reputation, and he was the one who took the lead in the attack on Bairen Village. His third son was beaten to death by the Kun thieves. This was a well-known fact in Lingao, and it would be difficult to bite him.
Recently, because of Zhangtian's affairs, Huang Shoutong's second son, Huang Xunkun, had a relationship with Liu Dalin again. The weight of Liu Dalin's words is much stronger than his own. Thinking of this, he decided not to mention who colluded with the Kun thieves by name, but to reserve a place first.
Gou Chengxuan said cautiously: "Although Lingao is a place on the southern border, the power of the imperial court is still there. There are some Jin gentry who secretly collude, and those who openly surrender to thieves have never been seen by me. If we investigate carefully, we may not be able to do it." Hidden…”
Gou Chengxuan raised his head slightly and glanced at He Rubin. Seeing that he was smiling but not smiling, he knew that the Commander-in-Chief did not want to identify the "thief" so quickly, so he understood the officer's thoughts. "As soon as the heavenly soldiers of the imperial court arrive, the gentry will naturally serve the imperial court wholeheartedly."
"So, the people's support in Lingao can be used?"
Gou Chengxuan knew that although many people in Lingao were afraid that they would be implicated after the army arrived in Lingao, they had absolutely no favorable impression of the government. Many people had just begun to live relatively stable lives and even had great concerns about the government's incursions. Disgusted. Even among the local wealthy gentry families, there were quite a few people who had this idea. They were more afraid of the government troops coming to rob food, kill people, and extort property than the bandits entrenched in Lingao. As for the Australians themselves, they are even more hostile to the government. They have quite the same arrogance as the enemy. The government in Lingao doesn't even have the support of the people, so it can't be said to be "usable".
But he didn't dare to say such words, so he had to say very tactfully:
"The people of Lingao look forward to Master Wang as if they look forward to the rain after a long drought. However, the Kun thieves are very powerful in Lingao. They usually impose harsh punishments and have many spies to investigate. If they speak carelessly, they will be arrested and do hard work, and the Kun thieves have sharp firearms. , Breaking down a stronghold is as easy as flipping the palm of a hand, even a wealthy family of Jin gentry has to make mistakes and make mistakes, and they don’t dare to be negligent when it comes to getting food and supplies.”
"Wu Ling is still in the county and the Ming government is still there. Why are the people so afraid of the Kun bandits?"
When Gou Chengxuan heard that this was the opportunity to give Wu Mingjin eye drops, he quickly said: "Although Mr. Wu has defended the county seat, he is trapped in the isolated city, and the government orders cannot leave the city gate. The thieves have almost entered uninhabited land in Lingao County. .”
He Rubin just said "hmm". Whether Wu Mingjin neglects his duties or not, it has nothing to do with him. What he is most concerned about is the situation of local food and Xiangyong in Lingao.
Gou Chengxuan said that there is not much food in the county. Last year, there was a hurricane, and the Wenlan River rose and flooded many fields. Autumn grain production is much reduced.
"Since the production has been reduced a lot, where does Kun Thief's food come from?"
"Kun thieves robbed people from the mainland to farm for them. The thieves have their own secret method for farming, and they can harvest much more grain than ordinary people." Gou Chengxuan knew that the army's war was an opportunity for everyone to make a fortune. In order to encourage people, he Immediately, he started to talk wildly. The thieves had stored a large amount of grain and rice in the village, as well as a lot of sugar shipped from Leizhou. As for all kinds of Australian goods, they were piled up... These words made everyone present express their emotions. The color of greed. The wealth of Australians has become a little famous in Guangdong, especially the three properties of Zihao that were raided this time. It is said that countless goods were seized, and everyone who handled them made a small fortune. Since Lingao is their base camp, there must be countless goods.
As for the Xiangyong, Gou Chengxuan said that although there were many Xiangyong in the local area, because they were weak and unable to withstand the firearms of the Kun thieves, they only guarded the village.
He Rubin and the generals asked Kun Thief about his arrangements in Lingao. Gou Chengxuan said that the Kun bandits had five camps in Lingao, not just one Bopu camp. This news attracted a lot of attention from him, because so far, whenever the Tang newspaper mentioned the camp of the Kun thieves, it only mentioned Bo Pu, and never mentioned the other camps.
He Rubin immediately asked someone to get a map and asked him to indicate the locations one by one.
"The villain doesn't know the map..."
"It's okay, just tell me the name of the place." He Rubin asked a master who was in charge of maps to draw out the places on the map according to the places he said.
"There are five camps in the Kun thief's camp, namely Bairen, Bopu, Ma Niao, Gaoshan, and Nanbao. There are also many Jianlou Forts." Seeing that the commander-in-chief paid so much attention to it, Gou Chengxuan couldn't help but get excited and show off. .
The master circled the places on the map according to the place names he mentioned. Then submit it to the case.
He Rubin took a quick look and was secretly surprised. If what Gou Chengxuan said is right, then the Kun thieves are far deeper in Lingao than originally estimated. They do not just occupy the ports along the river mouth like the Westerners. You must know that Nanbao has already reached Li District. On the border, it is already the hinterland of Lingao County.
"The Kun thieves take Bairen as their core territory, and most of the real Kuns live there." Gou Chengxuan said, "It is said that the fake governors Wen Desi and Ma Qianzhu also live in Qiuzhong. All the orders of the Kun thieves come from the Bairen stronghold. This village is extremely well-guarded, with high walls, deep ditches, and barbed wire fences surrounding it. Not even their trusted followers can enter. A market was set up outside the village to lure traders..."
He Rubin's face suddenly darkened and he scolded: "Bold"
Gou Chengxuan was talking enthusiastically, but suddenly He Rubin shouted angrily, and he was so frightened that he immediately knelt on the ground and did not dare to speak.
He Rubin said that because Lu Yizhong was present, Gou Chengxuan overturned the original theory that the Kun thieves used Bo Pu as their base camp. And this is the tone set by the Governor. Now this Lingao native actually openly said that there was a Bairen Village less than ten miles away from the county seat, and that was the old camp of the Kun thieves.
What this person said is absolutely true, but it is not possible to deny the leadership's judgment? This is true in ancient and modern times.
"This town has long heard about the old camp of Kun Thief, that is, in Bopu. Where did your so-called Bairen stronghold come from? Could it be that you deceived this town."
"The villain doesn't dare, the villain doesn't dare," Gou Chengxuan kowtowed repeatedly, but the thoughts in her mind turned quickly. She said it well, why did Mr. He suddenly deny the existence of Bairen Village? The scale of the defense of Bairen City is second to none among the entire Australian camps in Lingao. Even if he didn't say it, the detailed work dispatched by the government and army could be seen.
He was extremely flexible and made a decision in an instant: No matter what the reason for Bin Ru's anger was, he must follow his words. He quickly said:
"Yes, yes, the villain is ignorant. This is what the villain heard and couldn't distinguish nonsense for a while. However, there is indeed a village of hundreds of people and hundreds of thieves guarding it."
He Rubin glanced sideways at Lu Yizhong and saw that he just nodded. I knew Gou Chengxuan's words were quite appropriate. Then he softened his tone and said, "Keep talking."
"It was Chengxuan who kowtowed and immediately told the location and fortification conditions of several camps. He had never personally peeked into the Nanbao and Gaoshanling camps... Nanbao heard that they were mining, and he was afraid that he would rashly He would be arrested if he went there. As for Gaoshan Ridge, although it was on the former site of Goujiazhuang, he heard that the place was very heavily fortified and unrelated natives were completely prohibited from going there. So he didn't dare to peep.
However, he figured out from He Rubin's attitude just now that the army did not want the Kun thieves to have many camps, so he immediately described Nanbao, Gaoshanling and other places as small villages, with hundreds of fake Kuns stationed at each place. But he didn't dare to say that again about Ma Niao, because he passed by Ma Niao when he left Lingao and saw with his own eyes that regiment cities and fortresses had been built there, and a large number of troops had been assembled. If the officers and soldiers are made to look down upon them, they will lose their lives if Ma Niao suffers a defeat.
Fortunately, since he saw the opportunity and admitted that Bo Pu was the old camp of the Kun thief, He Rubin showed no sign of being angry again. Only then did he have the courage to finish his sentence.
Lu Yizhong suddenly asked: "You said Kun Thief's brain is called..."
"Reporting to your lord, one is called Ma Qianzhu and the other is Wen Desi."
"Have you ever met these two people?"
"I've only seen this villain in the distance." Gou Chengxuan was telling the truth. He didn't dare to get too close to the crowd. Not to mention being the big boss among them.
"What positions do these two people have in their country? Do they have titles? Why don't they avoid the danger of thousands of miles of waves and lead the Kun thieves to attack our country in the Ming Dynasty?" Lu Yizhong is more concerned about the origin of the Kun thieves than He Rubin, "It is said that they call themselves Huaxia Miao Yi, is this possible?"
Gou Chengxuan said: "Reporting to your lord, the Kun thieves indeed claim to be descendants of Chinese Miao. They can read Chinese characters, but they only write in common style. According to their claim: they are from the Song Dynasty. After the defeat of their ancestors at Yashan, they led a group of ships all the way to After going through hardships and dangers in the south, I encountered a large island called Australia. Seeing its rich water and land, I established a country in Australia and named it 'Australia'."
This rumor had spread to Guangdong a long time ago, but it was not given in such detail. Lu Yizhong became very interested.
"That is to say, Song is the name of the country, and the leader of the country is a descendant of Emperor Song?"
"I don't know." Gou Chengxuan only heard this from hearsay.
An aide nearby said: "If you are a descendant of the Song Dynasty, how can you be able to wear short clothes? Isn't it like transforming barbarians into Xia?"
"If you live in barbarians, you will go to barbarians; if you live in China, you will go to China." Lu Yizhong shook his head and said, "It is inevitable to live in barbarian lands overseas for a long time."
"In the student's opinion, this group of thieves are just using the name of the Song Dynasty."
...u! ~!
