Cao Guang knew that if there were no other accidents, it would be difficult for him and the twenty people around him to escape from Zhuangzi. ,
"Rush over and catch them. Don't let any of them escape." Someone among the chasing guards shouted loudly.
"Master, take action, we can't escape, let's fight them!"
The person next to Cao Guang looked at Cao Guang anxiously.
It has to be said that the training of Tiger Flag soldiers was a success. Even at this time, knowing that it would be difficult for him and others to escape from Zhuangzi, no one made any surrender or panic move. They still gathered together, but their expressions were very... solemnly.
These people brought by Cao Guang were all bandits from Daliang Mountain. They later joined the Tiger Flag and became a member of the fighting team. They guarded the Tiger Flag convoy and personally killed the robbers who wanted to plot the convoy.
It can be said that these people have been fighting for a long time. Even though they knew that the situation was not good for them at this time, no one showed any fear.
Seeing the pursuers getting closer and closer, Cao Guang gritted his teeth and shouted: "Everyone is here, ready to meet the enemy."
The team of more than twenty people all stopped, turned around, and picked up the bayonets in their hands.
After such a delay, Zhuangzi's guards led some young and strong men to catch up.
The guards rushing to the front stopped.
These people were all veterans in the army, and were left by Li Kaiyang to guard Zhuangzi. Each of them had experienced battles for a long time. As soon as they saw these men holding blunderbuss in front of them, they knew that the other party was not an ordinary bandit.
Few of the bandits used guns and muskets; most of them had broadswords and spears, and they did not uniformly wear cotton armor. Especially these cotton armors were still very new, and the upper body must not be more than a year old.
Not to mention bandits, even the cotton armor worn by the generals in the army has been worn for some time. Many of them are in tatters, with the iron pieces inside falling out, leaving only two layers of thin cloth.
Zhuangzi's guards did not rush forward immediately, but asked people to surround Cao Guang and others. ,
"Who are you?" A guard holding a single sword looked at Cao Guang and the others and said, "Do you know that this is Zhuangzi, the deputy commander, and you dare to set fire to the food here? I think you are impatient. "
Cao Guang, holding a bayonet in his hand, said: "I am a bandit from Daliang Mountain. The Chinese New Year is coming soon. I will take my brothers down the mountain to make some money. Please give me some face and let us go. In the future, my brothers from Daliang Mountain will see you all." Brother, you must stay away."
"Fart." The guard said, "When did the bandits set fire to burn food instead of robbing things? I advise you to drop your weapons and surrender immediately. Otherwise, none of you will be able to escape today."
"So there's no room for discussion?" Cao Guang asked.
The guard looked at Cao Guang coldly and said, "Do you think you can still escape?"
In a short time, the guards and young and strong men in Zhuangzi had surrounded Cao Guang and the others.
A person next to Cao Guang said: "Master, why are you talking nonsense to them? Just take action. None of the brothers are afraid of death."
"Okay, brothers, follow me"
Before Cao Guang finished speaking, he heard the sound of horse hooves, and then a cavalry team of more than ten riders appeared on their street.
The sudden sound of horse hoofbeats attracted the attention of the Zhuangzi guards and the young men in the Zhuangzi. Many people turned their heads and looked behind them.
"No, the bandits have robbed the horses in our stable." Someone shouted from among Zhuangzi's guards.
As the horse team approached, the sharp-eyed people among Zhuangzi's guards had already seen the people on horseback wearing cotton armor and holding blunderbuss in their hands. They were dressed in the same way as the bandits they were besieging.
At this time, how could one not know that the person coming was also a bandit.
The dozen or so riders who rushed over aimed at Zhuangzi's guards who were besieging Cao Guang and the others.
When the guards of Zhuangzi saw the cavalry rushing towards them, they all moved out of the way, not daring to carry it forward. On the contrary, the young and strong men in Zhuangzi hid too slowly, and some of them even didn't even think about evading.
The riders on horseback did not have sabers like those of the Tiger Banner Cavalry, but the rifles and bayonets in their hands could be used as iron guns.
Those young men in the village who blocked the road were either stabbed to death by bayonets or knocked away by running horses.
"Master, leave quickly."
A rider on the horse shouted to Cao Guang.
Cao Guang knew that the opportunity could not be missed, and hurriedly shouted to the more than 20 people around him: "Brothers, follow me and rush out of Zhuangzi."
There was a cavalry team clearing the way in front. The young people who were originally blocked in the village, as well as some common people, all fled away. The slower riders were stabbed to death on the street by the riders who came directly to avoid them.
Without any obstacles, Cao Guang and his men quickly ran towards the village gate.
When the guards in the village behind saw him, they wanted to chase him.
At this time, the cavalry team that rushed to the village gate did not leave the village gate. Instead, they turned their horses' heads and looked as if they were ready to attack at any time.
Zhuangzi's guards were all veteran soldiers. They knew that fighting against the cavalry at this time would be courting death, so they had no choice but to give up their plans to continue chasing Cao Guang and others, and allowed Cao Guang and his men to escape from Zhuangzi through the gate of the village.
"Damn it, I should have gone to the stables first and taken away the horses." A Zhuangzi guard said bitterly.
These guards in Zhuangzi are all old soldiers, and they know that it is useless to chase them out at this time.
The opponent has more than a dozen riders, and it is useless even if they have hundreds of people. Especially outside Zhuangzi, the horses have enough distance to speed up. A few charges from the running horses are enough to make a group of hundreds of infantry collapse.
The guards in Zhuangzi were all strong soldiers in the army. If they didn't understand this truth, naturally no one suggested chasing the escaped bandits.
Cao Guang, who escaped from Zhuangzi, did not dare to stay. He led his people to escape ten miles away. They did not return to a mountain col until the sky became slightly brighter.
"What a damn risk." Cao Guang said with lingering fear.
If he hadn't separated a team to go to the stable before entering Zhuangzi, all of them would have fallen into the hands of Zhuangzi's guards this time.
"Master, no one of us was injured in this mission. There was only one brother who was unlucky. He fell down on the way back and scratched his face."
Hearing this, Cao Guang nodded slightly.
I was grateful for this mission, their luck was so good.
Since entering Zhuangzi, he and his men have never really fought hard. The only time they fought was to sneak attack the drunken Zhuangzi guard. Later, when they were trapped in Zhuangzi, they were lucky enough to steal Zhuangzi's war horse, which went smoothly. 's escaped.
"Master, where should we go next?" A bandit on the side asked Cao Guang.
Cao Guang said: "Go back to Daliang Mountain."
"Ah!" The bandit was stunned for a moment.
Several bandits around looked at Cao Guang.
One of them said: "Master, do we, the bandits, really want to keep pretending?"
Cao Guang said: "I told you before I came here, this time we leave Lingqiu, we will be the bandits of Daliang Mountain from now on."
"There aren't even houses over there in Daliang Mountain. How are we going to survive this winter?" The man who spoke shrank his neck.
"Don't worry." Cao Guang said, "Master Liu's family has made arrangements. We can live there directly, and our tiger-character flag fleet will send the baggage up the mountain regularly. We are the same as in Lingqiu, just change Get a place to live.”11
