The Menggu cavalry seldom did such things as going down to underground caves to arrest people, and they never even dug graves.
The three Menggu cavalry were completely blind and could only move forward cautiously along the hole.
The person at the front took small steps and vaguely looked at the general outline of the front reflected in the firelight.
There wasn't much danger along the way, but after walking for a while, I realized that there was a dead end on the other side.
What's going on?
Since there is no way, then we should...
Just when Meng Gubing, who was the first to go down the hole, was wondering, an arrow was inserted into his chest in an instant!
Because the distance was too close and there was no precaution, Meng Gubing had no time to react.
"ah……"
He screamed and fell to the ground, so frightened that the two people behind him were stunned. They didn't know if someone was ambushing them in front.
"ah……"
The second man was shot before he could recover. He suffered the same fate as the unlucky man in front of him. He did not die on the spot and was still struggling on the ground.
The last Menggu soldier was so angry that he screamed loudly and seemed to want the other party to come out to fight. Is this kind of sneaky attack really worthy of him?
But he screamed loudly, but his expression was unusually frightened. His legs were slowly retreating, and he was also frightened. No one wanted to die in this hellish place.
"ah……"
Now that he had been targeted by the opponent, in such a narrow space, it was impossible to turn around and run away immediately. Before he could retreat to a safe distance, the last Menggu soldier fell to the ground.
"Something happened?"
Ao Tu, who was lying at the entrance of the cave and listening, suddenly realized that the situation was not good when he heard the screams coming from the cave, but he couldn't even help here.
"There was... an ambush..."
The surviving Menggu soldiers weakly reported the relevant situation to Ao Tu. They were all wearing armor and could not block arrows at close range.
Usually the Eight Banners of Menggu and the Three Banners of the Outer Fans are responsible for mopping up and chasing barbarian troops. There is no need to do such errands at all, and they have no relevant combat experience at all.
"Damn! Damn Nikan! Get five of them down! I don't believe I can't deal with Nikan! Remember to use a bow and arrow!"
Before figuring out the situation below, Ao Tu would not go to fight in person. He was not good at this style of fighting, so he had better let his men go out first.
Encountering such a strange thing, Li Guoba was even more unsure. It seemed that the three people below were already dead, and he didn't know how many people were on the other side.
If you don't fight on flat ground, you fight in caves. It's not easy for the Qing soldiers to play like this, right?
If this is a new trick that the Dog Tartars came up with, then I really need to be on guard!
What if Master Ao Tu lets him go down?
Li Guoba couldn't think of a countermeasure for a while...
The Menggu soldiers who had just descended into the cave were not in a hurry to move forward. Instead, they used the shouts of their companions to determine their location, and first pulled their injured companions out of the dark cave one by one.
After clearing the way forward, they groped forward with great vigilance, and kept firing arrows forward. If they were lucky, they might be able to hit the barbarians who were trying to sneak attack on their side.
But their idea was in vain. No screams of barbarian dogs came from the cave. After reaching the end, the cave began to turn to the right, seemingly opening a door.
The front is still as dark and difficult to walk as ever, but there is no other way. In order to catch even a barbarian, we have to keep moving forward.
"ah……"
The person walking in the front suddenly felt that his feet were empty and fell directly into a deep pit. To be precise, it was a trap that had been arranged in advance. The pit was full of wooden dowels inserted.
Meng Gubing was caught off guard. Even though he was wearing very strong cowhide boots, the soles of his feet were punctured. He screamed and wailed in pain.
The people behind held up torches and looked down. They saw their companions rolling over in the pit, which frightened them all.
"ah……"
At this moment, the man watching next to the trap was suddenly hit by an arrow and fell to the ground.
"Get out! Get out!"
"Pull back!"
The people behind them were no longer interested in fighting, and hurriedly pulled back their comrades who had been hit by arrows along the original path, determined not to kill any more people.
"ah……"
While pulling, another one was shot, making the remaining two people no longer care about the life and death of their companions, and ran back in embarrassment.
"What? Three more injuries?"
After hearing the report of the two people who ran back, Ao Tu immediately became furious.
The heavenly soldiers of the Qing Dynasty have always been brave and invincible, how could they suffer a big loss in this small hole in the ground?
"...You go find some hay and firewood, light them, throw them down, and smoke Nikan to death!"
Ao Tu, who had lost two games in a row, calmed down after being furious. He couldn't continue to lose his troops, otherwise even if he went back with food, his master would not let him go easily, so he came up with a way.
"嗻!"
After receiving the order, Li Guoba hurriedly ran out to get some objects that could ignite fire. He would stuff anything that could light into the hole.
These damn barbarians are so hateful. They dared to injure six Qing soldiers in a row. It would be cheap to smoke them to death.
"help me……"
The cry for help from the injured Menggu soldiers came from deep in the cave, but Ao Tu planned to stand still. This made the remaining Menggu soldiers a little dissatisfied, but they had no other way.
If you send people down again, you will still die. After something like this happens, no one wants to lose their life in this black hole. If something like this happens, you will be considered unlucky.
"Master, my servant has brought firewood and hay!"
"Okay! Light it! Throw it down!"
"Our people..."
"Just throw it away!"
"嗻!"
People who were injured by arrows were still disabled even after being healed. Many of them would not survive, so Ao Tu decided to abandon the three wounded soldiers who were still in the cave.
According to the people who came back, one of them was still injured at the foot, so he couldn't run away. Instead of sending people to rescue them, it would be better to let him make some "contribution" to the Qing Dynasty.
"Cough cough cough cough..."
"How can there be smoke?"
"Ahem...here comes someone...ahem..."
The injured Menggu soldier didn't see the reinforcements, but he was looking forward to the cigarettes set off by his own people, but they choked them anyway.
"Ao Tu!"
"Get down! You coward..."
The Menggu soldiers were not too stupid. They immediately guessed who set off the cigarette and immediately began to abuse their captain in Menggu dialect.
He usually shows off his power to them, but in this critical moment, he is just a coward who is greedy for life and afraid of death.
Even the invincible Eight Banners soldiers are all farts!
It’s such a small hole, but I dare not come down!
Let these people explore the road and do nothing to save them at this time.
When they return, Ao Tu's master must give him twenty lashes.
"Master, what can we do?"
Li Guoba still had to ask his master for instructions. He couldn't go back without collecting food, but he still had three wounded soldiers with him who had been shot by arrows before.
Although one person had already died from excessive blood loss, there were still two people lingering on, and they could not be left alone.
Now we are riding a tiger with difficulty, unable to advance or retreat. If something like this happens, I am really worried.
"What to do? How could I know!"
Ao Tu replied angrily, feeling even more hesitant in his heart.
There were twenty-two people at one time, but now one was dead, five were injured, and the remaining sixteen were staring with big eyes.
Ao Tu wanted to leave, but where could he go?
The grassland is not his hometown, and he cannot live outside the customs. Here he is waiting to die.
Go back empty-handed and return to life?
Then you really risk your own life!
If all the nearby villages had dug similar holes, would this food still be collected?
Even if food is collected, is it really cost-effective to injure thousands of Qing soldiers due to the food collection?
I'm afraid the Fourteenth Master Dorgon never guessed that Nikan had such abilities before, right?
One village injured six Qing soldiers, and a hundred villages equaled five to six hundred people!
What to do next?
Ao Tu couldn't think of a countermeasure, so he and his men were angry and dazed beside the cave...
This damn poor place has no food, no one, not even poultry and livestock.
Unable to find a chance to perform a tooth ceremony, the mighty Qing soldiers had no choice but to eat the food they brought with them.
After sunset, sixteen people plus two wounded soldiers crowded into a courtyard.
Five people are responsible for guarding, and the rest can rest. If the barbarians come to attack, all personnel must immediately join the battle.
Fortunately, nothing happened all night, but the two wounded soldiers had already expired, and Ao Tu could only send people to find a place to bury them together with the one who died before.
After shouting, the three people in the cave had stopped moving. They either died of their injuries or were killed by the smoke. This reduced the number of people to as many as six.
By killing sixty barbarians, will you pay for the lives of these six Menggu cavalry?
Of course not!
Killing 600 people is almost enough!
But this village probably doesn't even have 600 people...
Ao Tu wanted to order everyone to go down to the cave to fight, but then he thought, it would be a joke if everyone died in the cave.
The dog barbarian must have been prepared when he dug this hole, and it would have really hurt the lives of his own warriors.
If you go down, you will die. The other party can completely stop and wait for you to take the bait.
Thinking of this, why not stop quietly and wait for the barbarian to come out.
Let’s see who is more patient!
Ok, deal!
The food brought by Ao Tu's team is enough for three days. If they save some food, they can last for five days.
Just spending the remaining four days with them, the dog barbarian couldn't bear it anymore and would come out to die. This is the only way to deal with it now.
"Brother, our family is now rich!"
"How many guys did you get?"
"Three scimitars, three bows, and more than a hundred arrows!"
"good!"
The entrance to the cave that Dog Tartar discovered was located in the Tian brothers' house, but the brothers had already taken their family members down to the cave to take refuge, and the other party didn't catch anyone at all.
There were originally four brothers in the Tian family. The eldest brother, Tian Geng, was killed by a dog-Tatar knife, and the second brother, Tian Zuo, died of illness. After his father passed away, only the third son, Tiandi, and his mother and younger brother, Tianmu, were left in the family to survive.
It is not an exaggeration to say that the Tian family is struggling to survive, because although their family name is "Tian", they do not have "Tian".
This is a mountainous area with very little fertile land. Coupled with the occupation by rich gentry, the few acres of land left by the Tian family cannot support the family at all.
Usually Tian Mu farmed at home and took care of his elderly mother. Lao San Tian Tian went to the mountains to hunt and collect some mountain products to make ends meet. At least the family did not starve to death.
Today, since the dog Tatars have come to bully the family, Tiandi no longer needs to be polite to them, not to mention that the eldest brother died at the hands of the dog Tatars.
"National hatred" is beyond the control of poor people like them.
But "family hatred" must be avenged if given the chance!
I heard that if you kill a dog Tatar, you can exchange the corpse for two hundred taels of silver.
In order to use money to buy food, Tiandi also planned to take risks, which could lead to death.
He is a hunter by nature. After digging a hole in his home, he can hunt underground, targeting the extremely vicious dog Tatar.
The imperial court ordered every village in Shuntian Prefecture to dig holes. If they dug well, they would be rewarded with silver.
This kind of good thing has never happened to their village, but in order to save their lives, every family still dug each other out.
It doesn't matter how complicated it is, but people who have never been in a cave will lose their lives if they walk in hastily.
There are traps in the cave. As long as there are people to defend them, it is not a problem to kill a bunch of dog Tatars.
Not many people dare to fight with dog Tatars on the ground, but in a cave, it's different.
The enemy is in the open and we are in the dark, making it easier to kill. This is the best thing.
Since the cave is very narrow, it is difficult to turn around. Once an arrow is shot from directly in front, it is impossible to dodge immediately.
It is precisely by taking advantage of this characteristic that Tiandi can repeatedly shoot and kill dog Tatars to avenge his eldest brother.
Tiandi also knew that he had succeeded, but he needed to be careful at all times to prevent the dog Tatar from going into the hole again.
Waiting until after midnight, Tiandi saw from other holes that all the dogs in the yard were fast asleep.
Thinking this was a good opportunity, he plucked up the courage and took Tianmu over to pick up equipment.
"Brother, three dog tartars are worth six hundred taels of silver!"
When the farmer saw the corpse, he thought of a pile of silver, which was something he had never seen in his life.
"Don't worry, let's beat the dog Tatar away first, otherwise we won't be able to go to the capital to exchange for silver!"
The mature and prudent Tian Di felt that he had to continue to be patient. At present, the enemy was strong and we were weak, so we couldn't fight hard.
"Yo! Okay! We really killed the dog Tatars!"
When the Tian brothers returned to the intersection of each family, which was a relatively large cave, they saw Pan Hu, the boss of the Pan family.
Pan Hu stared closely at the guy on the Tian brothers, but did not choose to grab it directly.
"Tian Di, don't you want your brother to marry my sister? How about using these guys as betrothal gifts?"
Pan Hu then came up with the idea of marriage. He knew very well that if Tiantian could get the weapons of Gou Tatar, it meant that Gou Tatar had been killed.
These weapons belong to several people, and the corpse of a dog can be exchanged for hundreds of taels of silver. If his sister really gets married in the future, she will not be poor.
"Pan Hu, your taste is a bit strong, isn't it?"
Tian Di did not object to his brother marrying Pan Hu's sister Pan Que, but the price offered by the other party was unacceptable to him.
"My sister is the beauty of our village, so many people are thinking about her!"
What Pan Hu said was not a lie. His sister was a flower in the village. He was afraid that the dog Tatar would ruin his sister, so he hurriedly hid her in the cave.
In this remote and remote area, if you want to avoid being bullied, you have to look at your family background, your connections, and the number of men you have.
The Pan family is poor, but they have three strong men. The eldest, Pan Hu, the second, Pan Bao, and the third, Pan Xiong, are all strong men.
Only the fourth child, Pan Que, was a woman with excellent figure and appearance. Fortunately, she was protected by her three brothers, so she was not taken advantage of by others.
Tian Di asked a matchmaker to tell the Pan family that they were compatible, but the Pan family didn't like the Tian family and didn't flatly refuse. They just offered to take a betrothal gift of 200 taels of silver, at least not to lose money to the Pan family.
When Tiandi knew the other party's asking price, he lost his confidence. Being poor was poor and there was no way to change it.
Now with three harvests, an additional six hundred taels of silver, and a pile of weapons, hope has returned to the field.
"I don't want everything. To tell you the truth, my second brother Pan Bao saw the dog Tatar burying three people in the Li family's backyard this morning! If you agree to such a marriage, your family's affairs will be my family's affairs from now on. . Anyone who dares to provoke your family is an enemy of our Pan family!"
Pan Hu thought that the three dog Tatars shot in the field were the three buried, so he proposed a marriage between the two families in person.
"..."
His words made Tiandi startled. If there were three people buried outside, plus the three people who died in the cave, wouldn't it mean that he had killed six dog Tatars?
He knew before that the other party had been hit by an arrow. As for whether he was dead or alive, he didn't know. He had to see the body.
Listening to what Pan Hu said, killing six dog Tatars is worth one thousand two hundred taels of silver!
If you put it in their village, that would be a huge sum of money!
"What? Isn't this enough?"
When Pan Hu saw Tiandi's hesitation, he felt that the other party was waiting for a price and immediately became dissatisfied.
