Only the man's snoring could be heard from the room. If you listened carefully, you could hear the woman's subtle breathing. They both slept peacefully.
People snooping into the house didn't bother to speculate on their relationship. Regardless of whether they were husband or wife, they had to die anyway, and they had to die completely.
Not only did the rebels have to occupy the house, but they also had to avoid disturbing the neighbors. They also had to make outsiders think that nothing happened. Only then could they achieve their expectations.
After accumulating nearly a hundred people in the courtyard, they will wait for the second general's signal. At that time, they will cooperate with each other, attack by force and sneak attack in parallel, and capture Nanyang City in one fell swoop.
At this moment, the man in the house suddenly got up, but the weather was hot right now, so the chamber pot was not in the house, and he had to go outside to deal with it.
Fortunately, no one kicked the chamber pot just now, otherwise it would have alarmed the snake. These things are made of iron and will definitely make a loud noise once touched.
The man yawned lazily, opened the door, and vaguely planned to pick up the chamber pot at the door, ready to finish the work as soon as possible so that he could go back to the house to sleep.
Just when he bent over, he felt a gust of wind blowing from the back of his neck, and then his eyes went dark, and he lost consciousness...
One soldier is responsible for striking, and another is responsible for catching his body to prevent him from falling to the ground suddenly and causing unnecessary noise.
The whole process was done without making any noise, and the person was taken care of, which was considered very smooth.
The person leading the team winked, and one of his men immediately understood and entered the house with a knife.
When he saw the sleeping woman, he didn't show any emotion.
Then he stretched out his hand to cover his mouth, aimed at his neck, and stabbed him hard.
After succeeding here, a group of people began to attack the wings on both sides.
The whole house must be "cleaned up" as soon as possible so that the large army at the other end of the cave can be stationed.
Within a moment, the rebels completed their mission, killing seven adults and four children in total.
Just in case, no one was left alive, so that there would be no further trouble.
After he succeeded, one person imitated the bird call in the cave, and immediately no less than a hundred people emerged from the cave.
According to the second general's expectation, as long as each cave can produce 200 soldiers, there is no need for fifteen caves.
Only five underground caves are needed for a thousand men, enough to cooperate with the army outside to capture Nanyang City.
Even if the Dog Officer Army could defend the outside, they never expected that a large number of rebels would appear in the city.
As long as they are caught off guard, the pressure on the siege can be greatly relieved.
However, there is still some time before the siege, at least until after dawn.
Generally speaking, night raids are a good idea.
But there are still many people in the army who are greedy for life and afraid of death, and they must be strictly managed.
It was possible to sneak away under the cover of night. Choosing to attack the city during the day would be more convenient for supervising the team to take care of the newly recruited soldiers.
Besides, Zhang Dingguo also came up with a good way to attack the city, which was to hollow out the tree trunks and fill them with gunpowder.
Let the strong soldiers carry this thing and rush to the city gate, hold it against the city gate, gather several tree trunks and detonate them together, blowing the city gate open.
Even if only one of the city gates can be blown open and the rebel soldiers can file in, the end of the garrison will come immediately.
Use this trick from the outside and sneak attacks from the ground inside. If you cooperate with the inside and outside, you won't be afraid that you won't be able to break through the seemingly solid Nanyang City.
After learning the good news that the underground cave had been opened, Zhang Dingguo decided to order the army to attack the city immediately when the time came.
At two quarters to Mao hour (four-thirty in the morning), the whole army will have finished eating, and at a quarter to the end, the entire army will have to line up.
This was half an hour earlier than the previous days, and it was considered a surprise to the dog-fighting officers and soldiers.
Presumably the Dog Officer Army was not ready at this time, but this was exactly what Zhang Dingguo wanted.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
"Every household, get ready! Collect it! Collect it!"
Coincidentally, it was also a quarter of an hour before midnight in the city. The clerks beat the gongs along the street to notify the people on both sides that the gold juice was about to be collected, so that everyone could prepare quickly after hearing the gongs.
The temperature is lower in the morning than during the day, so the dung men are happy to work at this time, and the advantage of harvesting early is that they can still get some sleep when they return.
It is useless to have dung men alone. There must be officers, soldiers and petty officials accompanying them, otherwise the big family will want to bully others. At this time, the county magistrate Yao Yunxi is determined not to allow a similar situation to occur.
Not to mention wealthy families, even those who work in the government offices must pay gold juice according to the amount. Except for patients, normal people can't do less.
The purpose of distributing polished rice to everyone for free is to quickly increase the production of golden juice. Most people hide the rice, so how can they still produce a ball of golden juice?
Without enough gold juice to defend the enemy, how could the officers and soldiers defend the city?
Once the city is breached, won't it be the people in the city who suffer?
When the bandits invade the city, will they care whether you produce golden juice?
With one strike, no matter how thick the neck is, it will be hacked to death!
"..."
Hearing the gongs and shouts, the rebel soldiers in the yard were at a loss.
What are the dog officials talking about? What to collect?
They have never experienced this. If they want to ask the landlord at this time, they can only burn paper to communicate...
In the end, everyone decided to stay behind closed doors, and the officials who measured the dog were helpless.
"Dang! Dang! Dang!"
"Li Youcai!"
"...Open the door quickly!"
"I know you are at home!"
"...If you don't open the door, I'll send someone to break down the door!"
"act recklessly!"
"...Knock me out of the way!"
"Aren't you and your family tired of living together???"
But it is useless to stay behind closed doors. The officials responsible for supervising the purchase of gold juice are all nearby people and know the general situation of each family. Moreover, this is not the first day that everyone has come to collect gold juice. Several members of the family are on the book. Written clearly.
In the past few days since the new order was issued, except for some people who resisted on the first day, most of the remaining people have expressed understanding towards the government. After all, everyone does not want the rebels to really come in, which would be tantamount to The whole family was massacred.
The people in the area where Li Youcai lived were not poor, but their families were relatively well-off, so they could not offend the government, and basically no one dared to disobey orders.
But today, there are still some people who are really stubborn. It seems that their skin is tight, and they want to be taken to the prison and whipped a few times to loosen it. The junior officials are happy to do this, because there is another cheat to knock.
Although the door of the Li family was not small, it was not as strong as the palace. The clerk banged it open with a wooden stake more than a dozen times.
"Come on! I don't believe there are people who dare to resist orders!"
As soon as the leader of the team spoke, several government officials immediately rushed into the yard, regardless of whether they were men, women, old or young, they would definitely be caught.
A group of neighbors also came outside the hospital to watch. The people of the Ming Dynasty loved to watch the excitement. Even if they were not celebrating the festival, they still hoped that something would happen to the other party.
"Who are you? What is your relationship with Li Youcai?"
A petty official suddenly saw a middle-aged man coming out of the main hall. This man was something he had never seen before. He couldn't help asking immediately, and he couldn't help but tighten his grip on the waist knife in his hand.
As usual, the population of each household has been registered, and there is exactly one person on the roster. And this person himself has never met before, as if he jumped out of the cracks in the stone.
Unless Li Youcai deliberately concealed this person in order to pay less money, he would definitely not lie to the government about his family's population. In extraordinary times, this is a serious crime.
"This official is Li Youcai's brother at home. His name is Li Youxue. He fell seriously ill the day before yesterday. In view of my illness, I didn't report it to the official. I was being careful and I hope you can forgive me!"
The middle-aged man spoke directly, shook his hand, showed the fifty taels of silver in his hand, and gave it to the other party at the right time.
This is a lot of money, enough to eat and drink in the restaurant for half a month, so I should be able to bribe this little official.
"It's easy to talk! It's easy to talk! Ask Li Youcai to come out and talk!"
After the clerk took the money, he didn't want to embarrass this person anymore.
However, you still have to go through the process. After all, public is public and private is private.
"My lord, is it possible for me to do something convenient today so that I can avoid paying?"
The middle-aged man hadn't figured out what the excrement was before, but when he saw the bucket carried by the dung man not far away, he suddenly understood. It turned out that the government was actually buying dung from door to door.
This is how the gold juice used by the defenders at the top of the city came from. Regardless of the unprecedented amount of gold juice the rebels encountered, it actually came from the people of the entire city.
"Convenient? Well...just wait and see! I'll tell you when I get back!"
Regarding this matter, the clerk decided not to say anything and had no choice but to go out and report it first.
"So good!"
It is not good for middle-aged people to just leave these people behind. Once something happens in the hospital, people outside will definitely be able to guess it, which will ruin the Second General's major affairs.
"...Oh? Brother? Where did this person come from? Why have I never heard of Li Youcai? Can you see his family? Do you think this person looks similar to Li Youcai?"
The head catcher who led the team felt that this matter was very strange. First of all, Li Youcai's information stated that he was the only son in the family. The closest person to him who was related to him as a brother was also his cousin.
"I haven't seen it yet..."
There were more questions that the clerk couldn't answer, and he couldn't agree rashly, so he could only take out the money he received.
"One shot is fifty taels! His brother is really generous!"
The catcher put the heavy piece of silver in his hand and said something rather playfully.
"General Commander, what do you think?"
The catcher took the silver to an accompanying garrison general to look at and ask for his opinion.
"...This money is real, but I can't trust this person!"
Mr. Ba also heard the whole story and looked carefully at the ingot of silver in his hand.
The silver is made by the official government and has a signature on the bottom, so it should be genuine.
But the problem is not with the money. The main problem is that the person who gave the money has a strange origin.
Not to mention officials, even those who serve in the army will strictly investigate similar people when they encounter them.
"Yeah! It makes sense, but it's not exactly what a certain person thinks. Take him to the government office first and ask him about it. If he resists and refuses to comply, there must be many doubts, and we must proceed with caution!"
There were fifty or sixty defenders on this street alone, and no less than seventy or eighty government officials.
Even if there were many rebels hiding in this house, they would not be able to withstand the joint encirclement and suppression by the army and government officials.
The defenders didn't need so many people to come, but everyone was really full. If they didn't come out for a walk, they would suffer from gastroptosis.
The strangest thing for the head catcher is that there is no similar situation in any house in the area he is responsible for. Why did such a person suddenly appear today?
The government is not unreasonable. As long as a seriously ill person is diagnosed by a doctor, he can obtain relevant certificates exempting him from paying gold juice.
Li Youcai was determined to know about the matter, and he would not take the risk of offending the government. He could hide the patients at home, but if he was found out, the gain would outweigh the losses.
"Brothers! Copycat! Be careful!"
"okay!"
If they really encounter rebels ambushing the city, the officers and soldiers will not be vegetarians.
Fighting more with less, they can only defend themselves.
But if you have the numerical advantage, you won't be afraid at all.
"Are you Li Youcai's brother?"
"That's right!"
"First follow me to the government office to register, and then you can go home!"
The head catcher is a veteran, but he has arrested many criminals. Although he is smiling when he speaks, his tone is also very kind. He stares at the other person intently, looking for any flaws.
"This... officer, you are busy with official duties, why don't you do it conveniently?"
The middle-aged man first bowed to the group of people, then came closer and asked in a low voice if he could not follow the established procedures. He was also worried that these people had become suspicious.
"This is already convenient. Is it possible that Li You is ill?"
The head catcher asked suddenly, and then waited to see the other party's reaction.
"The officer is joking!"
The middle-aged man didn't show any hesitation at all and still dealt with it calmly.
"That's good. Since Li Youcai is fine, his wife Liu must be fine too, right?"
The head catcher took advantage of the situation and asked again, and now he could identify the authenticity.
"Natural! Natural!"
After the middle-aged man finished his promise, he suddenly felt that the expression of the official opposite had changed a little. He didn't know where he answered wrongly, and suddenly he felt nervous.
"take away!"
The head catcher stopped talking nonsense to him. With a wink, he asked his left and right officers to step forward and arrest the suspect.
"My lord, I don't know what I have committed."
Facing the shackles, the middle-aged man still wanted to ask for clarification.
"Does Li Youcai's wife have to be named Liu?"
There are only two possibilities for this matter. One is that Li Youcai colluded with the bandits or was kidnapped. The bandits knew his approximate family background. The second is that the bandits killed Li Youcai and then pretended to be his family members.
If it's the latter, there will definitely be some flaws. If the first question is answered correctly, the catcher will ask the second and third questions until the other party gets the answer wrong.
As the elder brother, he should at least know Li Youcai's trade name and his brother's wife's surname. If he didn't know this, he would definitely be a suspect.
"The dog officers and soldiers saw through the forehead! Give it to the forehead!"
When the middle-aged man saw that the other party was about to take action, he stopped speaking Henan dialect and instead spoke Shaanxi dialect.
"It's a rebel!"
Not to mention the Nanyang Prefecture, the defenders in all the cities in Henan are strictly interrogating people with Shaanxi accents.
As long as there is no identification, no one to vouch for him, and he is still young and strong, he must be escorted to the government office for careful questioning.
Liu Min, who fled from Shaanxi, was all sent eastward to Shandong.
Merchants who come to purchase goods have certificates and will not be caught by mistake.
If you are unwilling to be questioned and have no credentials, then you are highly suspicious.
Because both Li Ni and Zhang Ni were from Shaanxi, and most of their subordinates were also from Shaanxi.
Unless you can speak northern Mandarin or Henan dialect, there will definitely be flaws in your words.
As soon as the government officials and officers heard each other's accent, they immediately became alert.
If a strong man suddenly appears in the city and speaks Shaanxi dialect, he is most likely a rebel.
As soon as he finished speaking, forty or fifty strong men with swords rushed out from both sides.
Surrounding everyone in the hall, but the number is not an absolute advantage.
"Kill me!"
The middle-aged man gave an order, and the strong men rushed out to fight with the officers and soldiers.
At this time, there was a roar of excitement from outside the city, and the middle-aged people were overjoyed when they saw the sky.
"Brothers! The second general has sent troops to attack the city! The time has come to make great achievements!"
The entourage's morale was greatly boosted after hearing this. As long as these dog officers and soldiers were killed, the city gate could be opened from the inside.
