Saying goodbye to Bantou Dou, three people in a boat went down the river. The boat was very obedient in the hands of Captain Song, and it passed Dongjialing in a blink of an eye. The river was wide in front of it, which was refreshing.
"Look, Sir Xie, the water flow in this section is flat and the water is open. Actually, only the center of the river can accommodate larger boats, and the water on both sides is shallow.
It's okay for a small boat like ours to go, but if it's loaded with cargo or a heavier official ship, it might run aground! "Yu Liang sat in front with an oar, and the boatman chatted with Xie San'er in the middle.
"Oh, is that so? I thought they were all the same down here. Then remember to tell Squad Leader Dou about this later and ask him to tell Commander Zhou of our navy through the branch in time. Otherwise, our own ships will be damaged in future battles. If you are stranded on your own territory, it will become a joke!"
"Don't worry, I've already told Team Leader Dou about this."
"Hey Brother Song, what kind of person is Song Gongming? Why haven't I heard of him before?" Xie San'er asked Kanshu La
"Ahem, that's him," the boatman chuckled: "Sir, he is a member of the official family. In your eyes, all those who fall into the trap are thieves. But in my opinion, my old uncle is an honest man who has been cornered. .”
"Huh? An honest man still becomes the King of the Mountain?"
"It's not what he wants to do. With so many villagers in the lake, there has to be a leader, right?" Mr. Song smiled bitterly.
It turns out that Song Laoqiao, whose original name was Song Enqiao, opened a pottery shop in Zhanggong Town, Jinxian County. There was a son who worked as a porter and lived by his own strength.
More than ten years ago, Song Laoqiao's son slipped and fell while working for a nobleman, smashing the celadon smoker in the cage. As a result, he was beaten to death by the evil servants of the family. When Song Laoqiao's wife heard the news, she became heartbroken and died.
Losing two relatives in one day made him despair, so he went to the county government to file a complaint. Unexpectedly, the county magistrate thought that the murderer had left the county, so he could only send a document to Nanchang Mansion, asking him to go back and wait for news.
To put it bluntly, it’s just the word “drag”. Who doesn’t understand? Song Laoqiao buried his relatives, packed up his belongings, sold his store, and then chased after him until he reached Dongxiang territory.
With the help of two men, he secretly prepared the medicine, and then attacked and killed the nobleman and all his followers at night, took away the gold and silver jewelry and valuables, and fled into the mountain lake.
Because he did it neatly, the government did not expect that the crime would be committed across the government. Later, when the missing jewelry appeared in Jinxian Pawnshop, they issued a wanted notice as if they were waking up from a dream. For a time, Song Laoqiao's reputation for chasing his wife's murderer quickly spread. open.
Song Laoqiao had no choice but to hide under a pseudonym and hide deep in the lake area. But he was enthusiastic about helping the poor and helped many poor people hiding in the lake, so Song Gongming's name became famous.
Later, Guo Jinyi, the leader of Shi Nao at that time, married his daughter to him and made him a half-son-in-law (meaning that after giving birth to a son, someone must inherit the Guo surname).
After Guo Jinyi's death, Song Laoqiao became the leader of Shi Nao, and he founded the original Shi Nao Village with his fellow villagers.
"Oh, so I understand why he and the Chen family are enemies. Isn't it annoying for the house he built to be occupied by tenants?" Xie San'er suddenly realized.
"Hey, this Song Gongming is a real man! If I say, the plot of him avenging his wife is enough to give people a thumbs up." After Yu Liang finished speaking, he turned around and asked:
"Sir, why can't such a good man be pardoned? Besides, he has no intention of rebelling, and he doesn't have any major criminal record in recent years. Can't you tell the inspector about it?"
Xie San'er stroked his beard and said nothing. The boatman behind him said: "Sir, you are a member of the public family. I dare not say whether it is right or wrong for him to kill people. But there are two things I dare to say. Song Gongming has never killed anyone for no reason since he fell into the grass. , and he has never rebelled!"
"I'm just the governor of the regiment, I'm not a public servant." Xie San'er said mockingly, and then said: "He has never harmed others, so what can he do to the king of the mountain? Don't the people under his command want to eat or drink?
Besides, even if he didn’t intend to rebel, if he sent out troops this time, he would be either rebelling or rebelling. Who can tell him clearly? "
"Isn't there any good way to do this?" Yu Liang sighed with regret: "Sir, you don't know that Song Laoqiao is actually quite a kind man. If he hadn't been so angry at the beginning and had no way to appeal, how could he have taken such a risk? Do this?
"
"That's what he said." The boatman said, "The officer will know when he sees him. He is actually not a bad person. He usually leads his men to fish and farm, so he has a limited number of people in his hands and cannot defeat others. .
Well, actually he doesn't know how to fight at all, he's just a village boy. Gong Sanlang, who was said to have died in the war, was the one who came out with him to avenge the relationship between the two brothers. Later, when the three of them became sworn sworn brothers, he was the third oldest.
Alas, it's a pity that Chen Tong was shot to death by an arrow three years ago! "
Xie San'er felt a little puzzled when he heard what he said: If this man doesn't know how to fight, then why is he sending troops? Could it be that he was afraid of Polygonum so he had to agree? Thinking of this, he said:
"Old Song, does he personally bring people to Riyue Mountain this time? I will try to talk to Song Gongming and see what he thinks.
If he decides to rebel with Polygonum Flower, then no one can save him. If he is being coerced, we can speak for him and even give him a chance to atone for his sins. how? "
"I guess it's not Song Laoqiao who came by himself, after all, he is quite old." Yu Liang said, "I guess it was his son Song Xiaoqiao, or his still alive sworn brother Ren Er who led the team."
"Isn't his son gone?"
"This is Mrs. Guo's." The boatman told him: "Mrs. Guo gave birth to a son and a daughter. Song Xiaoqiao is seventeen years old. He is tanned by the sun and is known as Shutantou. His sister Ahong is the opposite, fair and fair. Like a swan falling from the sky!"
"Oh? This is interesting!" Xie Saner laughed.
"No matter who leads the team, they can't drive away my relative." The boatman said, "Sir, if you can trust me, I will go find him first.
If he plans to follow in the rebellion, sir, there is no need to take risks. If he can be saved, I will help you introduce him. "
"Okay!" Of course Xie San'er couldn't refuse the kindness. So everyone agreed that Song Gongming would send them to Riyue Mountain and then go to the water village where Song Gongming's fleet was located, and then come back to pick them up.
We were talking along the way, the boat was going very fast, and it was going smoother after entering the Xinjiang waterway. Due to the war along the coast, there were only some fishermen and short-distance boats on the river. The once bustling waterway now looks deserted.
The boatman Lao Song couldn't help but sigh when he saw it, praying that the war would subside soon. There are not many boats coming from the lake, but after asking loudly, I still got something.
It seems that there are indeed a large number of unknown armed forces and ships gathering in the lake. The situation makes all the boat sailors frightened. Many people choose to take the risk of sailing at night to avoid the warships from various villages.
Strangely, there were no cases of robbery along the way.
"Humph, they are all busy gathering together to attack the prefectures and counties. Who cares about the small profit of two or three boats?" The boatman sneered. Xie San'er thought it made sense, but suddenly felt a little unsure. Where does this boatman surnamed Song come from?
The Riyue Mountain Camp sounds very powerful, but it is not. The mountain is just an isolated island. It is slightly higher than the lake when the water is high, and it only has a little momentum during the dry season.
But no matter what, the size of this village is only one mile square and cannot accommodate so many people. So Bai Yan agreed that each family would set up a water village nearby, but the discussion would still be held in his "Juyi Hall" on the mountain.
It seems that all the mountain kings of Luocao like to call the place where they hold meetings as the Juyi Hall. It seems that if they don't kill people, set fires, and rob roads to search for money, they will lose the reputation of righteousness.
However, Bai Yan did not build this Juyi Hall by himself. There used to be a villain named Da Bainiu who lived here. Bai Yan led his men to wipe out his team (Fire Merger), and changed his name to Da Baiyan, and then Jiu He lived in the magpie's nest.
Bloody but tender. The little lady that Dabai Niu came up to the mountain to occupy for five days was taken in by Bai Yan, and the woman gave birth to three sons one after another.
Bai Yan was not a ruthless person to begin with. He was just framed into a murder case in which he was not present at all, and had to hide in the lake.
He was also supported by everyone for his strong martial arts skills, so he became the leader of the village. After merging two small gangs of gangsters, he took over Riyue Mountain and became the joint leader of the six heads of Jinxi Lake and the neighboring Chenjia Lake.
Even so, Bai Yan's men will
In fact, there were only six or seven hundred people who could fight without their family members, not much more than Song Gongming, and even less comparable to Liao Huazi.
When Liao Huazi saw that Chen Yuanhai and his son were willing to send two thousand troops, he immediately chose the strongest armed force in Huxi to be his representative.
So now Bai Yan is not sitting in the main seat in the meeting hall, but is waiting for the arrival of Chen Yuanhai and his son in the second place together with other leaders.
"Damn, the Chen family is so good at taking advantage of it. Can't it be great if there are more people?" The person who spoke was Zhou Datou, the head of Hutou Ridge in Qinglan Lake.
This is a ruthless character. His territory is closest to the army, but because of the complex terrain and tenacious style, it gives the army quite a headache.
This time he brought 400 people. He thought they would be taken seriously, but it didn't seem to be the case, so he felt angry.
"Old Zhou, please be patient." The man in Taoist robes beside Bai Yan said with half-closed eyes: "We are all here to listen to Governor Liao's orders. If you do it sooner or later, the result will be the same."
"Huh, I'm not as easy to bully as the rest of Qingyuan Temple. I admire Daoist Master Wei's advanced cultivation skills, but we at Hu Touling are never afraid of anyone. We just say what we want to say and fart what we want!" Zhou Datou said! He spoke loudly, not caring about the footsteps in the yard. Taoist priest Wei sighed secretly and shook his head slightly. He met Bai Yan's eyes and smiled silently.
"Oh, I'm sorry to be late and keep you all waiting!" A hoarse, elderly voice sounded, and everyone stood up to greet him. Hearing such a distinctive tone, they knew that Chen Yuanhai was coming.
"I heard that the Governor sent an envoy here, so I took a quick bath to show my sincerity. Confession, confession!" Chen Yuanhai is a middle-aged man about fifty years old. The most distinctive feature is his white raised eyebrows.
He is not as smelly as his reputation, at least you can smell it from a distance. This old guy's clothes are all scented. He is really an outlier among the mountain kings!
Two steps behind Chen Yuanhai was a young man with a strong build and sharp eyes.
He wears dark jade arrow sleeves, cowhide wrist guards, a jade-colored turban, a half-sleeved chainmail shirt, a green armored shirt with the left and right sides exposed, and engraved leather boots with fine lace armor on his feet. shin guards and a Tatar scimitar hanging from his waist.
There was a smile on the corner of his mouth under the mustache, but there seemed to be a sense of contempt and arrogance in it. This man is Chen Tong, the second son of the Chen family who wants to marry Yun'er, the second daughter of the Jiang family, but is famous for promoting flowers.
After the greetings were completed, everyone took their seats. Chen Yuanhai naturally took the seat of honor, while Chen Tong sat opposite him, Bai Yan. Then Chen Yuanhai asked Bai Yan: "Are you really the one sent by the Governor?"
At this time, the news that Jiangshan Army wanted to worship Liao Huazi as the Marshal of the right wing had spread, but Liao Huazi waited for a long time but did not see Yang Xing going north. In order to have a name, he had to call himself the Commander-in-Chief of Zhenhu, so Chen Yuanhai called him that.
"Indeed." Bai Yan nodded: "Mr. Chen should have seen this person."
"oh?"
"He is the powerful messenger fish belly beside the Grand Governor."
"Is it him?" Chen Yuanhai immediately let down his guard, nodded and said, "Then let him come in quickly, and let's all hear what news the Governor asked him to bring."
After a while, Yu Liang and Xie San'er came in to greet everyone. Chen Yuanhai smiled and asked: "I said fish belly, the last time you came to see me was more than a month ago, right?"
"Yes, you remember clearly that I was ordered to inquire about your attendance at the alliance." Yu Liang replied respectfully.
"Then, why did you come here this time?"
"The Governor asked me to tell you that he has already sent troops to Leijiawan; also, Yu Gan has two tentacles, one is Leijiawan and the other is Santang Town."
"Huh?" Chen Yuanhai stroked his beard and thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "I understand. What does the Governor mean, is for each of our two families to cut off one of them?"
When he said this, Bai Yan's mouth moved imperceptibly, and Xie San'er happened to peek at it.
"Hey, isn't that right? Shouldn't the first place the Governor sent out troops to attack was Wuni Town? Why did it become Leijiawan?"
"It is indeed Leijiawan." Yu Liang replied quickly: "Wuni Town has been evacuated, saying that the walls are strong and the wilderness is cleared. Most people have gone
In Leijiawan, a few people evacuated to other places.
A new castle was renovated in Leijiawan, and many squires and businessmen were hiding there.
The Grand Governor said that if we capture Leijiawan, we can get three months of military rations, and there are more than 800 patrolmen from the Xiangyong, regiment training and inspection divisions inside, so this chess piece must be removed!
The Governor said that the situation in Santang Town was similar to that of Leijiawan, so he asked me to bring Lao Xie over. He was sent to scout along the Santang River, where he was more familiar with the situation. "
Chen Yuanhai turned to Xie San'er and heard him take a step forward and say: "A fort has also been built in Santang Town, and the rich and their property have been transferred to the fort.
Now, in addition to the patrolmen of the inspection branch, there are also 300 militiamen in the fort. The gentlemen in the town paid to organize laborers aged between fifteen and fifty to form Xiangyong, and each of them was issued a bamboo gun.
On the way here, we saw that the wealthy people in Ruihong, Shenbu, Datang, and Guashan were all retreating to Santang Fort. The two hundred brave people from Ruihong were estimated to have arrived in Santang at this time... "
As he spoke, he was also observing the expressions and reactions of the heads and leaders present. At this time, I heard someone say: "So, there are thousands of people in the fort? This bone is not easy to chew!"
"Hey, I say you, Second Master Ren, are too cowardly. We have thirteen village owners or leaders here together, more than 2,400 people, a mob of only a thousand people, what are you afraid of what he will do!"
"Datou, how many of you have come to Hutou Ridge in total? Aren't you afraid that you will spend them all here?"
