Liu Ji rested for a while at the entrance of the village and checked that the time was almost up. Xiang Yu and his gang should have encountered a trap, so he led his men and went up there while it was dark.
The trap was dug in the road. There is a large earth pit with sharpened bamboo inside, which is covered with straw and floating soil. On the surface, everything looks normal. If you ride a horse through it, you and your horse will definitely fall in.
This pit was dug just at night and was specially prepared for Xiang Yu.
Liu Jixian walked over excitedly, thinking that with such a big pit, Xiang Yu and his group should be able to be caught in one fell swoop.
However, when he walked to the edge of the pit, he was stunned. The pit had indeed collapsed, but there was no movement inside.
Liu Ji sniffed, as if he smelled blood.
He said to the person behind him: "Torches."
Someone behind him lit a torch, which was actually just some dead grass tied to a stick. This torch burns for a very short time and is not comparable to a cloth dipped in oil, but at least it can illuminate.
Liu Ji took the torch and looked inside the trap, and found two dead horses lying inside.
The legs of the two horses had been broken. It was obvious that Xiang Yu and his group had fallen into a trap. But if the horse's leg is broken, the horse will not die. Its fatal wound was in its neck.
After someone broke a horse's leg, they ended their suffering by wiping their sword on the neck.
The butcher holding the knife behind him said to Liu Ji: "Brother, these people are very smart. Such a big trap only caught two horses."
Liu Ji nodded: "It should be that after discovering the trap, the others immediately avoided it. These people are also very good at riding. But... I think they acted decisively and fiercely. They killed the horse with two swords." , so as not to hurt the horse's neighing and attract attention. I'm afraid they are not ordinary villains."
Just as Liu Ji said this, a sharp sound broke through the air. He lowered his head subconsciously, and a sharp arrow hit his bun.
Liu Ji was so frightened that he threw the torch into the pit and shouted: "Go quickly, go quickly. There is an ambush. The gangsters have not left yet."
The ragged villagers dispersed and fled in all directions. Cold arrows still shoot out from the darkness. Villagers continued to be hit by arrows, and the sound of wailing could not be heard.
However, as they fled further and further and the sky became dark, the cold arrow finally stopped.
Liu Ji and his group were lying in the grass, not daring to move. After a long time, the sound of horse hooves came from the darkness in the distance. The sound of hooves became farther and farther away, and finally disappeared.
Someone behind Liu Ji whispered: "Brother, have they left?"
Liu Ji hissed: "These people are extremely cunning, don't fall for their tricks. Just wait a little longer."
The man said oh and continued to lie down.
The night wind was strong, the ground was cold, and Liu Ji was very cold. Unfortunately, he was afraid of being discovered by Xiang Yu, so he didn't even dare to sneeze.
We lay like this until the east turned white and the night turned into day. Liu Ji raised his head cautiously, looked around, and found that Xiang Yu's group had indeed left. Then he got up from the ground and counted the number of people.
Fortunately, no one died, and only two people were hit by arrows. One had a skin wound and the other was shot through the palm. Another one was not injured, but was so frightened that he thought he was dead.
Liu Ji breathed a sigh of relief and said with lingering fear: "Fortunately, I was quick to think and threw the torch. It made them miss the mark. Otherwise, we would have been blamed here."
Everyone around them nodded with fear.
Someone asked very worriedly: "Will they come back to take revenge on us?"
Liu Ji waved his hand: "Don't worry. If they really wanted to take revenge, they wouldn't have fired cold arrows last night and just rushed out with swords to kill us. These people don't want to cause trouble. They must be on their way with something urgent."
Everyone nodded in admiration.
Liu Ji said: "Let's go, carry the two horses back, separate the meat, dry it in the shade and hide it. It will be a bit meaty during the festival."
So these people used simple tools to divide the horse meat, and then left happily.
Liu Ji took a few people and filled the trap.
While filling in the trap, someone suddenly said: "Brother, the land of Chu is not peaceful now. There are thieves everywhere, and most of them are under the banner of Xiang Liang."
Liu Ji asked: "What? Do you want to kill the thief and make meritorious service?"
The man chuckled: "It's hard to kill a thief. If you're not careful, you'll lose your life, but I don't dare."
Liu Ji smiled: "That's right. Wealth, honor and disgrace can only be enjoyed by living."
The man whispered: "I heard people say that those thieves are all wearing gold and silver, and they have wine and meat. They are obviously doing evil, but why are they living so comfortably? We work hard and farm hard, but we don't have enough to eat or clothes to cover. Body, what’s the point?”
Liu Ji said calmly: "This is how the world is. Those who are cruel and ruthless can take advantage of it and get benefits. In this world, what kind of food and clothing are provided by us farmers? But look at those who are rich and powerful. How many people are farmers?"
Everyone around nodded.
The man before suddenly said: "Eldest brother, why don't we become thieves?"
Liu Ji's eyes narrowed: "I am the chief of the Sishui pavilion, but you want to be a thief? Do you want me to catch you and collect the reward?"
The man laughed dryly: "What I mean is that we are farmers on the surface, but secretly we are thieves. As the saying goes, we rely on the mountains to eat the mountains, and we rely on the water to eat the water. Our Surabaya Pavilion has such a big road, why don't we use it?"
"You know, who among the poor would travel far away? Those who pass by this road are either dignitaries or businessmen passing by. These people are not engaged in production, but we provide them with food and clothing. Now let's grab some from them It makes perfect sense to come back.”
Liu Ji was silent, lowered his head and thought for a while: "This matter must be done carefully. If it is leaked, there will be no burial place."
The man before said: "This is easy to do. Let's do it under the banner of Xiang Liang. After we rob the things, we will give some to the villagers. After they take the things, they will naturally stop talking nonsense. If you want to say Out, they are just as guilty.”
Liu Ji nodded: "Okay, let's do it."
But soon, a stern look appeared on his face: "If someone refuses to take our things, they have other intentions and want to inform and receive rewards. Such people..."
Everyone around them whispered: "Since there is future trouble, we must get rid of it."
Liu Ji nodded: "Okay, let's get to work."
The group filled up the big hole and stepped on it, then walked slowly towards the village.
…………
"They look like civilians but are actually bandits. They are really hateful. I really want to go back and burn that shabby village to the ground." Xiang Zhuang cursed fiercely.
Xiang Yu smiled faintly: "That's all, it's important."
Although Xiang Yu is still a young man, he has been following Xiang Liang since he was a child. He has been influenced by Xiang Liang's work since he was a child, and he already has the bearing of a leader.
Last night, they left all their goods and left Surabaya Pavilion. As a result, after walking less than ten miles on the road, they fell into a big pit. The two horses broke their legs and neighed in pain.
Fortunately, the person on the horse was a descendant of the Xiang family, who was highly skilled in martial arts. Seeing that the situation was not right, he jumped up immediately. Otherwise, if you are crushed by a horse weighing several hundred kilograms, you will either die or be seriously injured.
Xiang Zhuang was so angry that he led a few people to ambush around him, wanting to see who was so vicious.
As a result, he saw Liu Ji bringing someone over, and then he got a round of cold arrows from behind.
Now Xiang Yu's men are missing two horses, and these two people can only ride with others. As a result, the horse cannot run wildly and its speed is greatly affected.
At this moment, the sound of horse hooves suddenly came from the distance. Xiang Yu immediately said: "Disperse."
Everyone retreated to both sides of the road, or hid behind stones or hidden behind big trees.
Xiang Zhuang looked into the distance and whispered, "It's Qin Bing."
Xiang Yu nodded: "I can hear the sound of horse hooves. They are neat and powerful. Only the Qin people's horses are so vigorous."
Xiang Zhuang whispered: "We happen to be short of horses, so why not grab a few."
Xiang Yu was a little hesitant: "Now we are going to Xianyang to assassinate Huaiguzi. It is not appropriate to cause unnecessary trouble."
The surrounding Xiang clan disciples all looked at Xiang Yu with admiration. The former reckless and proud General Yu had become more stable after this incident.
Xiang Zhuang said: "There are only a hundred or so people on the other side. If a barrage of arrows passes by, they will not dare to resist."
Xiang Yu thought for a while and said: "Then deploy suspicious soldiers. Shoot people but not horses."
The descendants of the Xiang family all agreed.
These people have been skilled in bow and horse since childhood, and many of them are good at piercing the Yangtze with a hundred steps, so they bent their bows and nocked arrows, aiming at the Qin soldiers who were getting closer and closer.
As for the ink practitioners, they were arranged to drag some branches and run back and forth on the ground, creating the illusion of smoke and dust everywhere and thousands of troops.
…………
This group of Qin soldiers was none other than the centurion who captured the Song family. They were eager to get back to the camp, so they were galloping all the way, and they were all exhausted.
When I was halfway on my way, there was suddenly a sharp sound breaking through the air. Immediately afterwards, a Qin soldier was hit by an arrow in his neck. He groaned and fell to the ground.
Then came the second, third, fourth...
The Qin soldiers were immediately in chaos.
The centurion glanced around and saw an ambush looming in the woods beside the road. He shouted loudly: "The land of Chu is not peaceful. Move quickly and don't fight forcefully. The matter is important."
When the remaining Qin soldiers heard this, they all galloped forward.
The centurion was right, big things mattered. Now that they have captured the Song family, they are very likely to sue Wang Jian. Even if they cannot sue Wang Jian, they can still gain the favor of the general mentioned by the centurion, and may even become his personal soldier. After all, everyone has a common secret.
Being a general's personal soldier is much happier than being an ordinary pawn. Military pay is higher than that of ordinary people, and their food is better than that of ordinary people. Most of his duties are to protect the general, so he is safe in battle. What's more important is that you can act as a bully, bully other unlucky people...
Therefore, these Qin soldiers did not fight and left here quickly.
After the Qin soldiers ran away, Xiang Zhuang sneered: "This is the tiger and wolf army of the Qin people? It was just a few cold arrows that scared them into fleeing."
Xiang Yu also smiled: "It seems that it's time for my Xiang family to revive Chu. These Qin people have been slacking off after they unified the world."
Several people waited in the woods for a while, and after making sure that the surrounding area was quiet, they walked to the road and prepared to take away the horses.
At this time, Xiang Zhuang exclaimed: "Why is there a woman here?"
Xiang Yu turned his head and saw a group of horses carrying a woman across his shoulders. The woman's hands and feet were tied, and something was stuffed in her mouth. She looked terrified.
Xiang Yu casually pulled the thing out of her mouth.
The woman trembled and said, "Thank you so much, thank you so many righteous men."
Xiang Yu asked very vigilantly: "Who are you?"
The woman trembled and said, "My name is Song E. Yesterday, a group of Qin soldiers entered the village and asked for money. Seeing how pretty I was, they tied me up and carried me on a horse. My father and brother wanted to stop me, but they also He was caught by them. He said he would be treated as a rebel and taken back to the military camp."
As soon as Xiang Yu heard this, he immediately relaxed his guard. It is normal for soldiers to rob civilian girls after fighting. And from this, Qin Bing was indeed slacking off.
Song E lay on the horse and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Judging from the intentions of this group of people, they seemed to be planning to let her go.
Song E is Song Liu's daughter. Although she had been growing up in a boudoir, she was still very clear about what Song Liu had done recently. Especially after being captured by the Qin soldiers, Song Liu and Song Jia told in detail the conspiracy between Wang and Xiang Liang, so Song E knew these things in detail.
She understands that a person with secrets is often very dangerous. Secrets need to be confided to reliable people, otherwise, they will become a reminder for oneself.
Nowadays, people like Xiang Yu dare to kill even officers and soldiers. Song E thinks that they are probably rebels, so she dare not say anything about Xiang Liang.
Suddenly, Song E plucked up the courage and said to Xiang Yu: "Righteous soldier, I wonder if it is possible to rescue my father and brother?"
Xiang Zhuang sneered from the side: "We all have big things to do, who has the time to help you save people?"
Song E sighed, lowered her head and stopped talking. In fact, when she asked this, she was just seeking medical treatment in a hurry. She also guessed that these people in front of her could not help save people.
Xiang Yu never untied Song E's body. He seemed to be lost in thought.
It wasn't until Xiang Zhuang pulled Xiang Yu into a corner that Xiang Yu came back to his senses.
Xiang Zhuang said: "General Yu, this woman saw us killing Qin soldiers, so we can't keep her here."
Xiang Yu looked at him: "This woman was snatched away by the army, and her father and brother were captured by the Qin soldiers. She hates the Qin people so much that she won't betray us."
Xiang Zhuang said: "Even so, it is still a hidden danger."
Xiang Yu sighed: "I joined the army with my uncle. Of course I wanted to revive Chu, but I also wanted the people of Chu to live a good life. Now that the great cause has not been accomplished, it is ominous to kill the people of Chu first."
In this day and age, for big things, just one ominous word will be a bit taboo for others.
Xiang Zhuang hesitated as expected. After thinking for a long time, he whispered: "Then let's let this woman go and let her fend for herself. Anyway, she doesn't know our identity, so even if she wants to tell the truth, she can't. "
Xiang Yu was convinced and nodded.
