Zhu Si led his team into Xu Gang more than an hour late. Although the scene of eating pots of pulp was no longer there, Xu Gang was still quite enthusiastic about their arrival. As soon as they entered the village, there were dedicated people to greet them, and there were people on the roadside. Tea jar and tea reception. The soldiers were tired and hungry. When they saw there was food and drink, they all hurriedly grabbed it and started eating and drinking.
"You lieutenants, please eat slowly. We will be waiting for you when we arrive at the threshing floor in a while. Don't worry..." The steward who came to entertain saw that the team had not finished, and several large bamboo plaques of tea and food were swept away, and the soldiers were all He looked like he was reincarnated as a starving ghost, and he couldn't help but secretly despise him. However, Qiu Ba could not afford to offend him since ancient times, so he still greeted him with a smile.
"After eating and drinking, move forward quickly and don't block the road." The sergeants kept urging the soldiers to move forward. But the soldiers ate and ate, and stuffed themselves with food.
"Hey, you are only allowed to eat, not to take!" Li Dong shouted loudly to stop him, "When you get to the place, you will bury the pot to make rice. If you all take it, the brothers behind will be gone!"
The soldiers had just fought a battle and were extremely hungry and thirsty. Now that they had food and drink, they couldn't help but feel relaxed. Looking around.
"This village is so nice!" Luo Mao looked at the village, "It's not inferior to the one in Lingao!"
"Many of these houses are made of bricks and tiles! Even Wuzhou Mansion is not so grand!"
"There are still flagstones on the road."
"This village is really big, bigger than the market town in my hometown."
…
Such comments came from time to time in the team, and the soldiers curiously looked at the village they had just saved.
Although Xugang is a village, its scale is more like a small town. Most of these wealthy southern towns are similar, with a river or a large pond as the center, and village houses spread out east, west, north and south along the river.
Most of these villages are relatively prosperous, so most of the houses in the village are neat and the roads are paved. The vertical and horizontal waterways not only provide abundant water, but also provide ready-made drainage facilities. In addition, the "township rules and regulations" of clan governance are very binding, and the environmental outlook is much better than that of the county or even the prefectural city. Even better than some "standard villages" in Lingao.
Because of the war, there were not many pedestrians on the street. Only the National Army from Fengchuan County and local regiments who had arrived early were patrolling the road.
The receptionist took the integrated squadron to the threshing field in Qian Village to rest. Since they didn't spend the night, they didn't need to prepare a house or prepare straw. He set up his sentry on the threshing floor, set up his spear and rifle, and rested on the spot.
As soon as the Wuzhou Integrated Squadron settled down in the threshing floor, local people came to "work" with pots and buckets. The dishes are not rich and not very meaty, but there is enough white rice and a large pot of soup. This hot meal and hot dishes taste delicious.
While Zhu Si was eating, he called Li Dong to discuss the next step.
He originally had a strong opinion of Li Dong. He felt that this person was very aggressive and might drag him down if he failed to handle things properly. But just now, Milongtao praised him for "decisive action", which made him feel very happy. In any case, Li Dong's risky actions earned him face, and he could also show his face when Mi Longtao's battle report was written. You must know that the Australians do not award merit easily. To the officers and soldiers, merit will be recorded if they kill one level. In the Fubo Army, no one cares about killing a few enemies. Promotion depends more on "normal performance". What do you think of this daily performance? It’s not about specific “achievements”.
Although Li Dong is reckless, he is a good player at collecting merits. After all, he is the commander, so if he gets credit, he must have "commanded well"; if something goes wrong, at least there will be room for evasion.
After the battle in Xu Gang, they were delayed for several hours on the road. Originally, they were supposed to join the upward transport fleet before sunset, but now it was obviously impossible to do so.
"If we hurry up, we may not be able to get there. But there is no guarantee that there will be similar things on the road. I think we should be more cautious and simply walk slower." Zhu Si said.
Before setting off from Fengchuan County, they notified the counties along the river and the shipping command center through the local radio station that their arrival would be delayed due to participation in the battle.
"I think so too. I'm afraid the enemy has not gone far." Li Dong agreed, "As soon as we set off from Xu Gang, we might have to fight again."
This was something Zhu Si did not expect. In his opinion, the bandits suffered heavy casualties in this battle. They buried more than thirty corpses on the hillside alone. Xu Gang heard that dozens of corpses were also lost. With so many casualties and no benefits gained, how can the minions below be willing to continue fighting to the death?
"The bandits have suffered such a big loss, and they still want to continue fighting us. Aren't you afraid that the minions below will rebel?"
"Captain, these bandits are not simple. They are definitely not ordinary thieves who rob homes and homes." In fact, Li Dong felt this way when he was cleaning the battlefield. "Look at the firearms they bring..."
"A few wooden cannons, what's so rare about them?"
"Wooden cannons are not rare, but when they attack a village, why do they bring so many wooden cannons and throw them away after shooting? They don't feel bad at all... This is not the way of bandits."
"You mean... they are officers and soldiers - the Ming army?"
Li Dong nodded, "There are also many people in our army who are from the Ming Army. Just now Luo Mao said that these bandits are at least as good as soldiers in the Ming Army. The fight is very organized - the commander is not an ordinary person." bandit chieftain."
"So you think they haven't gone far at all and are just waiting for us to come out and fight again?"
"Yes." The more Li Dong thought about it, the more likely it seemed. "Either Xu Gang and the others can't be defeated, or they are just a bait - waiting for us to rescue them so that they can catch us off guard! Look at the position on the hillside, it is obvious that they are waiting for us. Come……"
Zhu Si took a breath of air. He hadn't thought of this just now. Hearing what Zhu Si said made sense.
"did not expect……"
"What didn't you expect?" Mi Longtao's voice suddenly came.
Zhu Si was startled and quickly stood up with Li Dong and saluted. Li Dong said:
"We are discussing the enemy's movements."
Zhu Si slightly looked at him with dissatisfaction, stood at attention and reported: "Judging from the enemy's actions..."
"Okay, let's sit down and talk. Don't be so formal." Mi Longtao said and sat down on the stone bar beside the threshing floor, "You guys sit down too!"
Zhu Si immediately told Li Dong's thoughts just now.
"I agree with Lieutenant Li's view: the enemy has probably not gone far, and is still waiting for opportunities nearby. After all, they have put up such a large formation, and there is no way they can withdraw their troops just like that."
"Your speculation is very reasonable." Mi Longtao looked at the two of them with approval. "The enemy is besieging Xu Gang. To put it bluntly, it is 'encircling the point to call for reinforcements'. In terms of their strength and firearms, Xu Gang has long been able to resist." They can't stand it anymore - they are deliberately waiting for us to come to rescue them. Speaking of which, this strategy is partially successful..." At this point, Mi Longtao's tone was a little heavy.
"The enemy is indeed very insidious. If we don't come to the rescue, we will destroy Xu Gang, make a lot of money, and create an atmosphere of terror; if we come to the rescue, there will definitely be casualties..." Li Dong said.
"Yes, when I was training in the teaching team, the teacher told us: A good commander can choose the battlefield on which to fight the enemy. Our battle today is to fight on the battlefield chosen by the enemy. It is actually very passive. ..." Mi Longtao looked at their faces as if they didn't understand. He knew that they wouldn't understand if they talked too much, so he didn't go into details. "...Although we are very passive in terms of tactics, to do a good job in local appeasement we must have It is necessary to rescue us if it is difficult, otherwise once the enemy breaks through Xu Gang, the local people's trust in us will be reduced by one point. Over time, we will be 'squeezed' out by the enemy..."
Seeing that they were all in disbelief, Mi Longtao took out a copy of the telegram from his canvas bag and handed it to Zhu Si:
"This was only posted this morning. You probably haven't seen it yet. This is the latest enemy situation. Please read the fourth article..."
Zhu Si and Li Dong got together. The fourth article was based on the intelligence they had obtained. Some bandits were extorting food, cloth, gold and silver from some villages on both sides of the Xijiang River. For those villages that refused to pay, they used methods such as harassment and kidnapping to force the villages to submit. For those who resolutely ignored them, a large number of people were gathered to capture the villages and massacre them to form a deterrent to the surrounding areas.
Zhu Si didn't quite understand why Mi Longtao wanted to show him this. In his opinion, this bandit often behaves like this, and there is nothing unusual about it. After all, after using the "kill one to serve as a warning" model to cause terror, it is much easier to extort the property and food of each village than to risk one's life by licking the blood with a knife.
Seeing their expressions, Milongtao knew that their "political awareness" was not enough. Reminder:
"Since we have come to Guangzhou, defeated the Ming Dynasty government, and established a new regime, the most basic thing is to 'protect the country and the people.' The common people don't care what you say. They first see if the world is peaceful or not after you come. We can't keep everyone safe! If we can't protect the lives and property of the people, and can't let them work peacefully in the fields during the day and sleep peacefully at night, we won't be able to gain a foothold here!"
Zhu Si and Li Dong both nodded involuntarily.
"If we fail to do a good job in public security as soon as possible and allow the bandits to continue to run rampant, over time, in order to make ends meet, ordinary people will have to compromise and 'cooperate' with the bandits and become 'two-faced people.' At that time, we will It is difficult to move forward on both sides of the Xijiang River!"
"I understand. We have to take the initiative!" Li Dong said excitedly.
Mi Longtao nodded slightly appreciatively. Zhu Si was unhappy that he had snatched the words from his boss, so he blurted out: "Why are you chasing them? Do you know where they went?"
"Look," Mi Longtao opened the map, "according to the intelligence we got and the prisoners' confessions, there are about 500 enemies in this group - now they still have at least 400 troops. The enemy will not escape to the sky. , such a large force cannot run far or hide in a short time."
Next update: Volume 7 - Guangzhou Governance Chapter 364
