"Don't talk nonsense, I'm not even 70 years old yet!" Ma Jiu hurried toward the west gate without even turning back to the suspension bridge. He was anxious to interrogate the prisoners, but the soldiers behind him were sweating profusely in pursuit.
Since there was only one boat left, He Dalang asked his subordinates to take the prisoners across the river first. He and another sentry were separated from the rear, so it took another tea time before he landed ashore, just as Ma Jiu came out of the west gate to greet him.
"It's my honor to live up to my humble position. It just so happened that this kid slipped out to the village to rummage around, and we caught him!" After the military salute, he proudly said to Ma Jiu:
"Uncle Jiu, this kid still has a lot of skills. If the three of us hadn't thrown him down, he would have been almost unstoppable!"
"What's wrong with your arm?" Ma Jiu suddenly saw the cotton gauze bandage covered by his sleeves and the blood stains on his sleeves, and asked hurriedly.
"It's okay, this kid has a knife hidden in his boot... Fortunately I found it, otherwise it would be a big deal for him to succeed!"
"You are so joking and don't take it seriously. Go to the medic immediately and ask him to bandage you again!"
"It's okay, it was scratched by the blade. Fortunately, I rolled up my sleeves and didn't ruin the clothes..." He Dalang also wanted to distract the old man's attention.
Ma Jiu shook her head: "What does the regulation say? Field bandages can only temporarily stop bleeding, but cannot disinfect. Hurry and find the medical soldiers to wash the wounds with alcohol and replace the bandages with new ones! How dare you not listen to the inspections? Should I shut you up?"
He Dalang stuck out his tongue, saluted and said, "Then I'll go, I'll leave this place to you."
Ma Jiu waved his soldiers over to take over the prisoners, and He Wei took the scouts back to rest. Ma Jiu asked the prisoners to be taken to the garrison at the city gate for questioning.
When he went in and sat down, the soldiers had already pushed the prisoner to his knees in front of the chair and took off his blindfold.
This was a bearded guy, his mouth was stuffed with rags, but his eyes kept moving. When Ma Jiu came in, she stared at him.
"What are you looking at? Why don't you kowtow to me?" the soldier said and slapped him on the back of the head.
Ma Jiu sat down, took off the knife and stood it in front of him, motioning to pull out the strip of cloth from his mouth, and then asked, "What is your name?"
"Lu Jiu." The man replied as he spat on the ground.
"People there?"
"From Ningzhou (i.e. Xiushui)."
"Huh?" This answer surprised everyone. "You are from Ningzhou, why did you come here to become a lake bandit?" Ningzhou is in the mountainous area in the west of Nanchang Prefecture, hundreds of miles away from here, so Ma Jiu felt strange.
"I...," the prisoner suddenly felt a little embarrassed: "I eat too much and my stomach is always not full. The Jing'an Army said they were looking for a cook, so I thought it would be a good job, so I signed up.
Unexpectedly, the boss later thought I had eaten too much, so he drove me to feed the horses. I was not happy that I always competed with the horse for black beans, so I ran away when I was on guard. I didn't dare to go anywhere else, so I went to the lake to find a place to drop weeds.
Unexpectedly, I encountered some robbers who wanted my knife. How was that possible? I chopped down three of them and forced them to take me to see their leader... "
"Well, go on, why don't you say anything?" Lu Jiu stopped talking midway through, and the soldier urged in confusion.
"Ahem, what else could there be? Even the leader of this family thought I had eaten too much, so he gave me to another king, who then gave me to another leader. Anyway, I stayed like this for a few years, and changed to seven I'm a master until you catch me."
Several people in the room were stunned, and then they all burst into laughter, and then burst into laughter, all of them laughing so hard that they couldn't stand upright.
After laughing for a long time, Ma Jiu wiped away her tears and nodded with her hand, "So, where's that Dalang He? Okay, go out and tell me why you came back so soon. If you dare, find me a job!"
"Hey, you old man, who are you calling a loser?" Lu Jiu straightened his body and shouted, eyes wide, and was immediately slapped again on the back of the head. "Are you going to fight again? If you have the ability to let me go, your whole family may not be my opponent!"
Before he could finish his words, the soldier stretched out his hand to give him another blow: "I've blinded you, how dare you scold me? How dare you call me a man?"
Just wait a moment
You're a good eater, so I poked you on the pole to see if you talk back!
We, Madam Ma, were the heroes who fought against the Japanese pirates. We only retreated because of our injuries. We were given the title of loyal and brave captain and hereditary hundred households by the emperor. Still not bowing your head? "
This time Lu Jiu was stunned. Zhongyong Xiaowei is a military nobility equivalent to the seventh rank, but it is not a hereditary title and he has a title but no position.
Because it has the same level as the Hundred Households, a hereditary Hundred Household position was given. The hereditary Hundred Households in this dynasty can be inherited for three generations. After three generations, the rank will be reduced.
This is equivalent to saying that this person has a seventh-grade title and position, and can fill or act for military positions at this level and below at any time.
It is usually not easy to see a ninth-grade inspection officer. Today, he suddenly saw a seventh-grade captain. Lu Jiu's throat turned, and he suddenly felt that he was half shorter. Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. Come.
"S-Sir, please forgive me. I didn't mean to offend you. This mouth of yours... oh! This is the only bad thing that will happen to you in this life!" He regretted it endlessly, but his hands were tied again, so he had to lay on the ground "Boom!" "Dong" kowtows.
"Well, I still know the superiority and inferiority of superiors and subordinates, and I still have the king's law in my heart. In that case, I'll give you a chance, get up, raise your head and speak!"
Ma Jiu spoke in a leisurely manner, and signaled to the soldiers to lift Lu Jiu up and ask him to kneel down and listen to the adults' questions and answer them honestly.
"Are you Liaohuazi's subordinate?" Ma Jiu asked him.
Lu Jiu shook his head: "Xiao, Xiaoren is a subordinate of Mao Taigong, the leader of Dushan."
Very few people know the real name of Mao Taigong. This man's name is Taigong, which is actually a cover-up. He is only forty years old. Probably because of the rare baldness, his hair started to turn gray at a young age, hence his nickname.
There are seven leaders around Dushan, and there are thousands of people in the large and small villages combined. Because they were afraid of the power of finless porpoise, these seven families formed an alliance, so they were collectively called Dushan Qijiazhai by the outside world.
This Taigong Mao was elected as the "big leader" because of his strategy and bravery.
Dushan also received this hero post from Liaohuazi. Mao Taigong felt that this was a great opportunity to climb the thick leg. If he performed well, he could join hands with Liaohuazi to fight the finless porpoise in the future. .
Dushan sent 800 people to participate in the attack on Yugan. The leaders of the seven families all actively participated in the battle, leaving a good impression on Liaohuazi. According to Lu Jiu's confession, Dushan's men and horses are opposite Luodang Port.
Originally reciprocating the favor, Liaohuazi meant that the good thing of attacking Leijiawan would be handed over to the vanguard force headed by Dushan, numbering 1,600 people.
But for some reason yesterday, they suddenly received an order from Polygonatum, asking them to stop and wait for the main force to follow.
"Didn't Polygonatum follow you?" Ma Jiu asked
"No." Lu Jiu shook his head: "They are still parked in Wuni Town."
Ma Jiu thought about it: "Have you heard about the reason?"
"I heard a rumor, but I don't know whether it is true or not." Lu Jiu replied: "It is said that before departure, Liaohuazi sent Dong Qi to the north to show off under the city of Raozhou Prefecture, hoping to confuse the officers and soldiers.
Unexpectedly, the government and the army made a plan and released the news that due to the tense war, the government urgently ordered Leping County to transport all the autumn grains that had just been harvested this year and the taxes in the treasury to Poyang and hand them over.
Daotian (Dong Qi) was greedy for the grain, grass and tax money, so he led his troops to attack Lutian overnight. As a result, the army set up an ambush at Tielan Pass and defeated him.
Because of this, Liao Huazi wanted to support and cover Dong Qi's retreat, so she asked us to stop as well. "
This was an important situation, and Ma Jiu immediately realized that losing the first battle would have a negative impact on the morale of the Lake Bandits.
As for the so-called rush, Liaohuazi's hesitation and pause will greatly harm his prestige in front of the leaders of the families.
From Lu Jiu's half-hour confession, Ma Jiu learned the general composition and basic situation of the Lake Bandit team, and had a more comprehensive impression in his mind.
He asked someone to untie Lu Jiu, and then brought some porridge, steamed buns and pickles. While chatting, he watched him gobble up eleven steamed buns and four bowls of porridge. He pointed at He Wei who came after hearing the news with a wry smile and said:
"This is really a treasure. He actually has such a big heart. Look at the good thing you have done!"
He Wei scratched his scalp and grinned: "Well, who would have thought that there are so many rebels among them?
Like? Isn't this Wang Yidou (Wang Xi's nickname) again? "
"Stop talking about others," Ma Jiu said half-jokingly: "They captured a general after all, but you can only get us a horse breeder!"
"Who says I'm just a horse breeder?" Lu Jiu said with slurred words and gestures: "I used to raise horses, but not anymore. There isn't even a horse in Qijia Village!
They saw that my martial arts skills were good and that I was courageous, so they made me a sentry agent. I came out this time with orders to investigate the terrain around Leijiawan. Mao Taigong wanted to know where the best attack was. "
"Nonsense, you weren't looking at the terrain when we caught you."
"Then, isn't it because I'm hungry? I don't say I'm full when I come out, I just say I'll eat half a meal when I go back! Humph, in fact, I'm only half-full both inside and outside. Do you think I'm a fool?" He said interestingly , everyone burst into laughter.
During the laughter, Ma Jiu winked at He Wei, who then told everyone to go back and do what they were supposed to do.
After blowing everyone away, He Wei came back and closed the door. Looking back, he saw Ma Jiu putting his hand on Lu Jiu's shoulder and said to him seriously: "Follow me, I will let you eat like this every day, okay?" "
Lu Jiu burped and blinked his eyes in surprise: "You mean... let the villain eat this much every day? Mr. Captain, you, don't try to act like a villain!"
Lu Jiu was put back after eating and drinking. He was humming a little tune and walking by the pond. He held a branch on his shoulder. On the other end of the branch was a small blue-dyed bundle, and there were bursts of flax inside. The aroma of bread.
This kid's belly was as bulging as a full-bodied croaker, and his exposed chest hair was covered with glistening beads of sweat. He was in this state when he arrived, with no weapons except for the wrist-breaking knife hidden in the leggings (it was returned to him, and it was still in the leggings).
He relied on his brute strength and the boxing and kicking skills he learned in the army. He thought that this knife would be enough for him to encounter one or two opponents, but he did not expect that they were five against one, and three of them were suppressing him.
But now he thinks about it, it's not bad to be caught once, maybe it's a blessing in disguise!
For someone like him who just wants to be fed, like the cat begging for food, it doesn't matter who the owner is, what matters is who can give him food.
The lame old captain seemed to be a good man. Not only did he not chop off his head, but he also invited him to dinner and brought him these sesame-seed cakes. He also said that as long as he helped lure Grandpa Mao here, he would be his wife. Soldier, eat as much as you want.
Lu Jiu has been with so many leaders and kings, but no one has made such a promise to him so far. It's like a piece of gold fell from the sky, and it fell in front of him by accident!
As for what happened to Mao Taigong and the others, what does their love to death have to do with him, Lu Jiu?
Captain Ma said it well, you are an officer who fell behind and got lost. Unfortunately, you fell into the hands of thieves and were coerced. Now you are acting against justice. What crime are you guilty of?
It seems that not only is there no big mistake, but it is meritorious. Lu Jiu doesn't know how to recite poetry, but he also knows that life is wonderful, too wonderful to imagine!
There is a bamboo raft parked on the bank of Buhe River, and a boatman sitting on it is winding up the pole. He grabbed the fish that had just been caught, turned around and saw Lu Jiu appearing on the shore triumphantly, flaunting the fish in his hand: "Brother Jiu, I will stew fish for you tonight!"
"Okay! Fish stew and sesame pancakes make a perfect pair! Ah Bing, come on, there are sesame pancakes here, let's eat one to pad your belly first!" Lu Jiucai opened his mouth and touched the raised beard on his upper lip and said loudly .
"Hey, sesame cake?" The dark and thin young man was overjoyed and was about to throw the fish into the river. Then he thought about it and quickly found a fish basket to put it in. Then he washed his hands and took three steps at a time. Come up to meet him.
"After all, Ninth Brother is so awesome. He found delicious food right away. Oh, it tastes so delicious!" He rubbed his hands on his body, took the bundle, opened it and exclaimed happily.
The two of them were squatting side by side on the bamboo raft. A Bing was biting the pancake sweetly, listening to Lu Jiu telling a big lie about a little widow, and nodding his head believing it was true, with eyes full of admiration and admiration.
Neither he nor others could tell the child's life experience. In short, he was the baby left behind by some miserable woman, and he was raised by a family in the East and a meal in the West on Dushan Mountain.
Lu Jiu often took care of him when he was a cook, and later became a scout (that is, a sentinel).
, so he asked this child to be his partner. The two of them could protect each other without feeling lonely. After he was full, the two of them walked slowly back to Luodang Harbor on the other side, holding the bamboo raft.
Now Luodong Port is empty, and the people have been dispersed to other places to avoid the routes that these lake bandits may use.
After Taigong Mao led his team to move in, he moved into the town office. Lu Jiu saw him in the meeting hall of the office. "Lu Jiu is back? Damn, I thought he would wait until tomorrow morning."
Taigong Mao was a little surprised. He felt frustrated because there were so many people, so he waved his hand and told the others to leave first, and then asked the captain of the soldiers with some confusion: "This kid has always been slow, why is he so fast this time?"
The captain of the guard had just accepted five cakes from the family. Since he couldn't say bad things, he smiled and said, "It seems that he met an informed and knowledgeable little widow. He received the family's food and heard a lot of news from her."
"Ha! How could this bastard have such an affair? I should call you here and listen carefully!" Mao Taigong was very happy. Anyway, there was not much fun in the camp, and he didn't receive the order to march, so it was not a bad idea to have some fun. .
The reason why he sent people out to inquire was purely to cope with the situation, so that if Polygonatum suddenly thought of asking for information about the enemy, he would have something to say.
I didn't expect to send a foodie fool on this trip, but he actually came out of the story, and Mao Taigong suddenly became interested.
So the scene that had just been practiced on the other side was played out again. Mao Taigong and his captain happily listened to Lu Jiu's nonsense for a long time.
Hearing that both of them were happy and excited, Mao Taigong then remembered that he should ask a few business questions, so he asked him seriously: "So, you have already touched the fortress in Leijiawan? What kind of fortress is it? But Is it easy to fight?"
"The big leader said, 'It's easy to fight, so it depends on how you say it.'"
"Making trouble!" Mao Taigong glared and said, "You have also done things in the army. Don't you know whether it is easy to fight or not? What do you mean by 'seeing'?"
"Big leader Rong, if you lead the troops to attack by force, I'm afraid it will be difficult. Only by using tactics can we succeed."
"Oh?" Mao Taigong sat up in surprise: "How can a small fortress be so powerful?"
