Ten miles away.
Songshan Ridge, in the village.
"After Ma Chao led his troops into Tongguan, he single-handedly came to Cao's army to call for formation. Suddenly, a group of warriors attacked the horses and killed them. The person who came was Xu Chu..."
In the hall, Shi Bao, Niu Yu and other leaders were drinking and listening to Mr. Zhang's story attentively.
The profession of storyteller began in the Tang Dynasty and flourished in the Northern Song Dynasty.
They can often be seen in tea shops and Goulanwa Market.
After years of development, the content told by storytellers has become much richer. At first, they only told folk tales of knights and knights, and gradually began to tell various kinds of storybooks.
The most popular among them is naturally "Three Kingdoms".
Li Shangyin said in "Poetry of Jiaoer": "Sometimes he is teasing Zhang Feihu, or he is laughing at Deng Aichi."
It can be seen from this that there were already people telling the story of the Three Kingdoms in the Tang Dynasty.
The three sworn brothers in Taoyuan, the three heroes fighting Lu Bu at Hulao Pass, the burning of Red Cliff, Zhuge Liang's seven captures of Meng Huo... These familiar plots in "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" have been supplemented and improved many times by storytellers during the Northern Song Dynasty, and they were written by Luo Guanzhong for later generations. "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" provides ample material.
"Report!"
At this moment, a bandit stepped into the hall and interrupted the story.
Being disturbed, Shi Bao felt unhappy and frowned: "What's the matter?"
The bandit replied: "Master, Han Er has been found."
Hearing this, Shi Bao waved his hands impatiently and said: "Now that you have found it, just kill it. Remember to bring the head back."
He's just a naughty guy, but is it worth bothering him to listen to a book?
"Master, that Han Er is not in the mountains, but hiding in Xiaowang Village."
"Xiaowang Village?"
Shi Bao asked: "Tell me in detail."
The bandit got the order and said truthfully: "When a brother was searching in the mountains, he met a group of runaways. According to them, many people from Xiaowang Village came to the mountain to win over the runaways recently. They said that Wang Yuanwai was killed. , Xiaowang Village is now under the control of the Second Han Dynasty. As long as the fugitive households settle in Xiaowang Village, they will be given two acres of wasteland and five buckets of rice."
After he finished speaking, Niu Yu couldn't help laughing loudly: "Hahaha, this scoundrel is crazy, he actually gave rice and grain to the fugitive family."
Shi Bao also found it a bit funny.
There are fugitives all over the mountains and plains, and they can just be robbed, and there is no need to give them any land or rice.
Seeing Mr. Zhang's thoughtful look, Shi Bao asked curiously: "What happened to Mr. Zhang?"
Mr. Zhang shook his head and said: "Kill people, set aside food, gather the fugitives, and appease the people. As the boss, this person should not be underestimated. He may become a hero in the future."
He actually didn't understand, but he felt that what Han Er did was a bit like a character in a storybook.
Shi Bao said in a dissatisfied tone: "Sir, you have already said it. He is just a rogue, how can he be called a hero?"
Often listening to the Three Kingdoms, he felt that only people like Liu Xuande and Cao Cao could be called heroes of the world.
"Master, since we are in Xiaowang Village, we might as well kill the general and plunder him. Mr. Wang's family has a big business, and he must have accumulated a lot of money over the years."
Niu Yu's words made Shi Bao's eyes light up, because he thought so too.
So he ordered: "Second brother, lead two hundred brothers, set out at dark, and attack Xiaowang Village at night."
"Got the order!"
Niu Yu laughed ferociously and responded loudly.
Although there were three to four hundred people in Xiaowang Village, he didn't take it to heart at all.
He has been a bandit in the mountains for five or six years. He has robbed homes and houses countless times, so he has rich experience.
In his opinion, those villagers were worse than dogs. When encountering bad guys, dogs would at least have the guts to grin and bark twice, but those villagers would just run away with their heads in their hands.
Many times, leading a hundred or ten people can rob a large village of seven or eight hundred people.
…
…
Throughout the day today, Zhang and the others cut down 50 more trees.
The trees cut down will not be wasted and will be used to build military camps.
As the sun set, Han Zhen led eleven exhausted soldiers down the mountain.
Dinner is wheat rice, but there is an extra pot of tofu soup compared to yesterday.
Large chunks of tofu are paired with cabbage, and there is a layer of oil floating on the soup surface, which makes it very appetizing.
Soldiers consume a lot of physical energy, and just eating rice and other grains is not enough, otherwise they will only become thinner and thinner as they practice.
When meat is not always popular, tofu is particularly important.
Han Zhen has always felt that tofu is a great invention that is not weaker than gunpowder.
It is precisely because of tofu that the poor people's thirst for protein is filled.
This is why he does not reject Taoism.
In fact, Taoist priests made a huge contribution to the promotion of civilization.
Tofu, gunpowder, printing, astronomy, medicine... After all, Taoist priests are simply a group of scientists with a crooked technological background.
After eating, the soldiers got up and went home.
Han Zhen returned to the yard, asked about the progress of the lime kiln and the cottage as usual, and then went to the study to continue the unfinished work.
…
The stars are so bright tonight that even without the moon, you can still see things clearly.
Two hundred people marched toward Xiaowang Village along the rugged loess mountain road.
When passing by the rocky hilltop, Niu Yu, who was leading the way, suddenly stumbled and almost fell over.
Standing up straight, he cursed in a low voice: "What the hell?"
"Second Master, they seem to be building a stronghold."
One of the leaders had better eyesight. With the faint starlight, he could clearly see the foundation trench dug in the ground and the neatly stacked timber.
In ancient times, night blindness was seasonal. Because they were too poor, people in the countryside had a great demand for wild vegetables.
Often a pot of wheat rice contains 80% wild vegetables and only 20% miscellaneous grains.
Wild vegetables such as purslane and wild shepherd's purse are rich in vitamin A, which can effectively prevent night blindness.
Well, it’s barely a blessing in disguise…
However, in winter, when there are no wild vegetables to eat, many people will suffer from night blindness.
"Build a stronghold?"
Niu Yu was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help laughing and said: "It seems that Han Er is really damned, even God is helping us."
If the stronghold is repaired and the location is advantageous, let alone two hundred of them, even a few hundred more will be in vain.
Others laughed too.
For them, every raid is a bumper harvest.
Money, food, women!
Over the top of the mountain, a few hundred meters further is Xiaowang Village.
Niu Yu raised his hand, and everyone immediately stopped.
Not all of these two hundred people were bandits, but more than half of them were runaways from the village.
Their main role is to hold torches high, shout loudly, and help the bandits to build momentum. Secondly, they act as coolies and use the baskets behind them to transport the looted money and grain.
There were only sixty bandits who actually fought.
Niu Yu and other bandits squatted on the ground, took out the simple sword from their waist, and connected it to the long pole.
Those who fled took out torches from the baskets behind their backs and lit them with fire sticks.
For a time, two hundred torches were connected together, like a long dragon.
Holding a simple sword in his hand, Niu Yu commanded skillfully: "Old rules, Sixth Son, you take twenty brothers to set fire, and the remaining brothers will follow me into Wang Yuan's wife's house."
As he said that, he pointed at the fugitives and said sternly: "Scream for grandpa later, shout as hard as you can, do you understand?"
"clear."
The fugitives nodded repeatedly.
"Brothers, follow me and fight in!"
Niu Yu shouted loudly and took the lead in rushing into the village with his sword in hand.
"Kill!!!"
Others also chanted.
Two hundred people shouted together, the momentum was astonishing.
