Li He asked the butler to prepare three large banquets. He slaughtered six chickens and ducks, and one pig. There were more than ten fish on the table, steamed, stewed, fried, and grilled. I’ve done all four of these.
Each table has six meat dishes and six vegetarian dishes, which is a symbol of "six six great fortunes". Although the quantity is not large, the number of dishes is quite sufficient, and if it is not enough, more can be added, which is enough for a table of strong men to enjoy their meal.
In these days, going to a restaurant to order a banquet like this doesn't cost you more than ten taels of silver, not counting the drinks. Ordinary people are determined not to be able to afford it. Even wealthy families will only do this during the Chinese New Year.
Li He's private chef's cooking skills are also quite good. He can at least make meat, vegetarian, cold, and hot dishes delicious, which is praised by the soldiers in Liu Shuang's platoon.
After eating a banquet provided for free, it would be very unkind to scold the cook later. The East Palace Guards are a well-behaved and polite force, and they still understand the principle of cannibalism.
Li He didn't spend money in vain. He basically found out the relevant situation clearly. This group of people must not be messed with, and it was impossible for him to seek refuge with Donglu.
He has a family and a family, and he is not like a person who can do whatever he wants and go alone. What if the prince defeated Donglu with immortal magic, wouldn't he lose his place in his hometown?
It would be a good idea to follow the army in front of them to seek refuge in the capital. At least they could save the lives of the whole family. After Donglu was pushed out of the pass, he could return to his hometown and continue to command the whole village.
The banquet was not an expense, and the twenty taels of silver given away were innocuous. The key was that his nephew Li Ji, who had no eyes for Mount Tai, dared to stop Li Chengdong's son from leading troops.
As a result, one thousand taels of silver and ten thousand kilograms of grain were extorted in vain. This boy was really a villain, and Li He was so angry that he wanted to beat up this bastard nephew in public.
It seems that there was no need to spend this money in the first place. It was all the trouble caused by this prodigal son. He didn't even look at his clothes and started to talk nonsense, thinking that the other party was Muran Min who was easy to bully?
"Thank you, Master Jun, for your advice. I am deeply grateful. I will never forget it!"
After hearing what the other party said, Li He had mixed feelings in his heart. It would definitely not work as in previous years. He might offend both sides. Looking at this situation, he could only rely on the government and the army for the time being.
If the officers and soldiers defeated the Donglu, it would naturally be easier for everyone. Otherwise, they would have to find another way out. According to what General Li just said, I'm afraid things around Tongzhou will be like this.
"Li He! What are your intentions?"
Just when the soldiers in the platoon were about to eat and drink, they suddenly fell on the table one after another. Without exception, these people had drunk. This made Liu Shuang feel that he had been tricked, and he immediately started asking questions. .
"Master Jun, spare your life! I don't know anything about you. I just asked the housekeeper to arrange a banquet. I have no intention of murdering Master Jun! Heaven and earth can prove that if I have evil thoughts, I will definitely die a bad death!"
Li He was frightened by the situation in front of him and hurriedly swore to promise that this was no joke. If he really wanted to provoke General Li's men, he would be asking for death. He didn't want to die immediately.
"Humph! That's nice to say! If you didn't have bad thoughts, how could my brothers faint? People in the army usually can't get drunk from a jar of wine!"
Just as a precaution, Liu Shuang only allowed the soldiers in the first class to drink, while the soldiers in the second and third classes could only eat meat and drink tea. This time they hit the muzzle of the gun.
If the entire platoon drank this wine, I'm afraid the consequences would be disastrous. Even if they weren't slaughtered afterwards, they would still be punished when they returned to the military camp.
The East Palace Guards stipulate that drinking is strictly prohibited while performing tasks. Li Chengdong entertained everyone yesterday and had a drink. Liu Shuang wanted to continue drinking today, but he was cautious and never expected that he would actually fall into a trap.
"All of Class 2 and Class 3 are here! Copy them immediately!"
The first squad was completely exhausted. One by one, they were all knocked down. The wine must have been laced with Mongolian sweat medicine, so Liu Shuang ordered the remaining soldiers to be vigilant.
"yes!"
The soldiers in the platoon eat what they eat, but they never forget their basic skills. Especially when they hear orders, they will form a conditioned reflex and immediately switch from a state of belly rubbing to preparation for battle.
"Master! Master! You must not do this! Rong Xiao first finds the culprit, and then it is not too late to ask Master to punish him!"
Seeing that a group of officers and soldiers were about to take action, Li He was so frightened that he knelt on the ground and tried to stop the other party's actions. Once the officers and soldiers were angered, they might massacre the village.
"If Mr. Li doesn't bother, I'll find him myself! Liu Da, send a flare!"
Now that it's like this, can I still let you go look for it?
Liu Shuang grabbed Li He by the collar and threw it to the brothers beside him. As long as he controlled the village tyrant, he would have a hostage and let Li He's men use the enemy as a weapon.
"yes!"
Liu Shuang knew that his troops were damaged and that only about twenty of them could still fight, so he could only seek support from nearby brother troops. Before reinforcements arrived, their first task was to preserve their strength and not be annihilated by the enemy.
"Dog officer army! Let my uncle go immediately! Otherwise, I will kill you all!"
The person who spoke was none other than Li He's nephew Li Ji. Li He's wives and concubines could not give birth to a boy, so Li He regarded Li Ji as his own and took good care of him, making Li Ji even more domineering.
Except for the city of Tongzhou where they dare not make trouble, the surrounding villages have been disturbed by Li Ji and his people, and they have even done things like kidnapping a bride, and more than once.
Li He originally wanted to make a fortune in silence and become his landlord in a leisurely way, but this careless nephew kept causing trouble for him, and today he caused a huge incident.
Li Ji had also been forced to work in the fields to harvest crops before, but when his uncle did not personally supervise, he left without permission and gathered many relatives of his subordinates, intending to give this guy an army.
First, the officers and soldiers were drugged in their wine, and then they took action after the drug took effect. However, there was only one table with about ten officers and soldiers drinking, which surprised Li Ji who was observing in the corner.
But he couldn't control that much anymore. The government troops had humiliated him before. Not only did they use cannons to smash the wall of his courtyard, but they also made his uncle Li He kneel down and beg for mercy.
No matter what, he had to let out a bad breath and let the officers and soldiers see how powerful he was. In Li Ji's opinion, is it really a big deal if only a few officers and soldiers die these days?
At present, Li Ji led a group of servants to surround the few officers and soldiers. If his uncle Li He hadn't been sitting with him, he would have ordered the bows and arrows to be fired.
If he had known this, he should have found a reason to call his uncle out, so that it would be easier for him to take action.
That's fine. As long as Li He dies, won't this huge family property belong to him?
Letting Li He die in the chaos of the battle was the best way.
"Hmph! Little brat! How can you speak here? You are not even qualified to help us! You are useless, you still want to attack the army? Tell you! We are the prince's men, just now The young general is Li Yuanyin, the son of Li Chengdong, the city's chief water transport officer! Whoever dares to be an enemy of us is openly rebelling against the court and the prince! It is rebellion! You will be executed by Lingchi! If you are stubborn, even if Come and die!”
In terms of momentum, Liu Shuang will never lose to the fledgling Li Ji. As a veteran of the Yongwei Battalion, he has seen big battles and big scenes.
To be precise, every veteran from the Brave Guard Camp has killed someone. This situation is just a trivial matter. A group of servants are trying to besiege the army. Isn't this asking for trouble?
In Liu Shuang's platoon, in addition to the platoon leader and deputy platoon leader, the three squad leaders are also from the Yongwei Camp. It's just that the first squad leader has been drunk and can't be counted on for the time being, but there are still five veterans sitting in command, at least they won't. Collapse immediately.
Just now, Liu Shuang saw that Li Ji's eyes were full of malice, and he was definitely not a good person who could be tamed, so he asked his men to only take off their helmets and not their armor. Although it was very uncomfortable and almost sweating like rain, it was better than being attacked by a sneak attack. It is much better to lose your life.
In a familiar place, never let down your guard when dealing with unfamiliar people, and don't be paralyzed just because others give you a little sweetness.
A similar situation was encountered during the training exercise of the East Palace Guards. As a veteran, Liu Shuang was very experienced. If he were a new soldier, he would probably be collected by others.
"Fart! You guys are obviously talking nonsense! Who doesn't know Li Chengdong will send his son to collect grain? You still want to pretend to be the direct descendants of the prince, what a big joke! You come here to prey on the people, we are just Act on behalf of Heaven and cut off the cancer! Surrender quickly, lest you be shot into a hedgehog!"
Li Ji was stunned for a moment when he heard this, and then he was immersed in his own thoughts. He firmly believed in his analysis and judgment. No matter how powerful the other party was, he could not be the prince's person.
Saying this can also embolden his men. Once many servants are intimidated, they will not dare to attack the officers and soldiers. How can they win this battle?
"You treacherous son! Shut up! I am the head of the family! Put down your weapons! This is the work of Li Ji alone and has nothing to do with others! As long as you listen to me, I can naturally plead with the military master! If you are stubborn, But the nine tribes will be punished!"
After Li He heard this, his beard was so angry that he curled up on his lips. Why did he raise a white-eyed wolf?
Eat your own meat, drink your own wine, live in your own house, and spend your own money.
Not satisfied with this, he also wanted to order his men to besiege the officers and soldiers!
Not only did he seek death, but he also wanted to bring the whole village with him.
If he hadn't been far away, Li He would have stabbed this bastard nephew to death.
Stabbing him to death with a knife may not resolve his hatred, but it will take a few more stabbings.
To fight against the officers and soldiers is to break the sky.
What is the crime of rebellion?
Who doesn’t know?
To fight against the official army is to rebel!
This traitor is still unaware!
Who would believe what you said?
If no one believes it, then he will first confuse the people with his evil words, and then lead the people to rebel. If he is caught by the army, he will be executed by Lingchi!
Li He didn't want to be executed, nor did he want his flesh to be cut with a knife.
But his unsatisfactory nephew seemed to feel uncomfortable even if he wasn't touched by Ling Chi!
"Uncle! Don't worry! My nephew will definitely kill this bandit army and avenge you!"
Li Ji confidently regarded himself as a righteous party, and the officers and soldiers in front of him were regarded as traitors by him.
"How presumptuous! I'm not dead yet! It's not your turn to confuse right and wrong and talk nonsense! Stop it all! Otherwise, I..."
This traitor has gone crazy, and Li He doesn't want to talk nonsense to him anymore, so he can only choose to appease everyone.
"Don't listen to his nonsense and shoot your bow and arrows!"
Li Ji had heard enough of Li He's nagging and had been looking forward to his return to the west. Now he could get his wish.
A dozen bows could not create much of an arrow rain, but they were a considerable threat to Li He without armor protection. Liu Shuang could only overturn the table and use this thing to resist the opponent's arrow attack.
The soldiers in their platoon are all wearing new armor, which cannot be penetrated even by bows and arrows at close range. As long as the arrows are not poisonous, even if the limbs are hit by arrows, their lives can be saved or even fully recovered if treated promptly.
"Throw grenades for me! Kill these turtles! Each class throws five grenades first! Others reload ammunition!"
"yes!"
Being beaten is not always an option, counterattack is very necessary, otherwise the other party will think that they are afraid of them, and will launch a more violent attack.
Liu Shuang's platoon was equipped with blunderbuss that could be mounted with bayonets. However, the blunderbuss were not loaded with ammunition at this time. Time was tight, so they could only throw grenades to greet the opponent.
Do I need to carry grenades when going to the countryside to harvest crops?
A certain prince thought it was necessary!
Because the book passed down by Fei Ge is a heavenly book without words, this means that the time when Braid went south is uncertain.
Once the Ming army harvesting crops encountered braided cavalry, and the muskets had no time to reload ammunition, grenades became the best choice to stop the enemy.
This thing can be thrown out when it is lit, and the iron beads can be used to damage Braids or mounts. One of them is not enough to see, but if dozens or even hundreds of them are thrown together, the damage to Braids will be considerable. .
All Donggong Guard soldiers who go out to harvest crops are each equipped with five grenades.
When encountering braids, as long as you can't kill me with an arrow, I can kill and injure you with a grenade!
Facts have proved that the new plate armor is just a turtle shell, and the sample cannot be penetrated at close range with a braided bow and arrow.
The European-style plate armor was made of iron, so naturally it couldn't withstand the indiscriminate fire from Menggu's army.
The Ming Dynasty plate armor is composed of two iron plates at the front and back, which can withstand cold arrows even when faced face to face.
"Everyone is armed with bayonets! After firing the muskets, prepare for hand-to-hand combat!"
"okay!"
Liu Shuang felt that the opponent would not give his troops time to breathe. They could only fire a few rounds of muskets, and then they would have to engage in hand-to-hand combat.
More than 20 people have to fight against hundreds of people on the other side, and our own side is at an absolute military disadvantage.
But when we meet on a narrow road, the brave wins. This is what the prince said to everyone when he inspected the camp.
You can't even deal with the rogues in front of you, so why are you talking about beating up the Tatars?
"Boom boom boom..."
"Ah~!"
As the grenades exploded one after another, screams came one after another from the opposite side.
Li Ji's men have never seen this thing before. Even the officers and soldiers have "palm thunder", but they are not for the common people to taste.
As soon as they reached the halfway point, more than thirty people were knocked over by the explosion, but the remaining servants were so frightened that they turned around and ran back.
"Stop! Rush over and win! I will reward each of you with ten taels of silver!"
Li Ji was furious when he saw this, but he also knew that when employing people, one cannot just be angry. There must be rewards to stimulate everyone's fighting spirit.
"Pa bang bang..."
However, before everyone could react, the officers and soldiers on the opposite side quickly fired a wave of muskets, knocking down five or six people in an instant, which made the servants even more frightened.
Their main job is to bully the people. Instead of confronting the officers and soldiers head-on, the servants are willing to play with other people's lives instead of letting others play with their own lives.
Who can handle this level of firepower?
Only some of the servants had shields, while the rest wore cloth, and some were shirtless.
Facing the heavily armed officers and soldiers, after just one round, the servant team led by Li Ji showed signs of collapse.
