In the night, against the backdrop of torches, the Beggar Clan disciples stood with guns in hand. Skaar rode a horse and walked in front of the phalanx, constantly giving orders and mobilizing the troops.
Oster murmured in his heart, in just a few days, such a large number of well-equipped and well-trained armed forces were mobilized. This is not a gang of beggars, it is clearly a gang of gangsters; even ordinary gangs cannot compare at all. .
He was looking for an opportunity to escape, but he bumped into the sentry and was pulled to the front of the team to stand with the other hall leaders.
After Skarr handed over the mission, each hall leader clasped his fists and accepted the order, rectified their respective teams, inspected weapons and ammunition, and prepared to set off;
The first column was the cavalry, led by two capable hall masters. They went into battle lightly, brought tar and flint, and quickly attacked the government granary located in the south of the county;
According to reliable information, a batch of newly collected official rations has just been delivered there, and until dawn tomorrow, there will be less than two shifts of guards guarding it.
After the attack was successful, Skar asked the first column to immediately set fire to the outside of the granary, creating the illusion that all the food was burned.
The second column was a horse-drawn convoy. The troops were divided into two groups. Under the escort of the musketeers, they transported the food they grabbed last time to the north of the town, where a large number of victims were camping, and distributed it to the victims on the spot;
The other group followed the first column. When the battle was over, the grain from the official warehouses was transported out, broken into pieces, and evacuated to various storage points dug in advance.
The third column was personally led by Skarr, with an engineering group and heavy firepower, and set up an ambush outside Black Mountain Town to intercept the main force of the government troops that might be dispatched from the barracks to support the granary.
Then, Skar arranged a scout team responsible for reconnaissance and a support team responsible for maneuvers, and told the various departments to keep in contact. Once the situation changes, not to confront others head-on, but to preserve their strength. After receiving the order, each ministry acted quickly and in an orderly manner. It was obviously not the first time to engage in such a large-scale battle.
Oster was shocked when he heard this, and felt bad all over. He felt that it was too wrong to rob official rations and give to the victims, as if he had heard of it somewhere.
After the tasks were assigned, everyone raised their guns and shouted "Kill, kill, kill!" three times. Then, as Oster watched in surprise, everyone put on red masks.
Oster had stopped thinking. Skaar, wearing a red mask, rode past Oster and said to him;
"Brother Brown, I know you have outstanding abilities, and you must have been gearing up for a long time. But this time you have just arrived, and before everyone is here, you have to stay at home with the reserve team and keep an eye on someone in solitary confinement. I promise, you will show off next time. Opportunity!"
After saying that, he whistled and rode away. The people on the field dispersed following their respective leaders, and soon they were all set off;
Oster stayed where he was, thinking blankly that there would be no next time.
…
The next day, major newspapers in Heishan County published news that gangsters were out in force, official warehouses were attacked, and official grain was robbed and burned.
On the "Beggars' Gang" side, all the tribes returned victorious before dawn. According to the review afterwards, except for the resistance encountered by the first column which was stronger than expected, the rest of the units went relatively smoothly. There were actually four squads of guards stationed in the official warehouse in the south of the county. They resisted stubbornly and could not be attacked for a long time. One of the hall masters was hit by a stray bullet and died on the spot. Skaar urgently dispatched an ambush team with artillery to support, and finally captured it;
As for the expected reinforcements from the barracks and fortress garrison, they didn't come across them at all. Seeing that the friendly forces were in trouble, and the distress signal lit up half of the sky, this regiment directly under Stormwind City remained motionless. They waited until early in the morning and received the approval from their superiors before dispatching. By this time, the attacker had already taken the food and disappeared without a trace. It seems that the intelligence said that the royal army and the local army have been in harmony with each other for a long time, and it is true.
The next day, at the memorial service for the fallen hall master and soldiers, Skaar complained to everyone:
In the year of great disaster, the people were in dire straits. Not only did the kingdom not provide relief to the people, it also continued to tax, recruit troops, and collect corvee labor to ensure the Northern Expedition. Not to mention local state capitals and church lords, they showed no mercy in collecting land rents. Even when the people were starving to death, they hoarded large amounts of grain and shipped it to ports for export to the northern industrial zones at high prices;
The people, tortured by natural and man-made disasters, land annexation, and soaring prices, were driven into extreme poverty and were unable to afford exorbitant taxes. Many went bankrupt and wandered around, and were even sold into slavery. The food seized this time was just forcibly requisitioned from nearby villages and counties. Although it is not much, it can support many victims to survive for a period of time.
When Scar said, "All the soldiers are gathered here, not for fame or profit, but for the sake of the fellow villagers to survive, and to help the oppressed people breathe a sigh of relief. The red mask is dyed with the blood of the martyrs." Yes, their souls and wills will not die and will be with us forever." Everyone wiped away tears. After a while, everyone cheered up, pumped their fists, and shouted;
"Fair! Justice!" "The sacrifice of those who died will not be in vain!" "Let the bastards pay the price!"
Oster was very nervous standing in the crowd. Even if he was a fool, he understood at this time that Skar and the others were none other than the gang of righteous thieves who robbed the rich and gave to the poor, or the one with a bounty of tens of thousands of gold on the wanted poster. Rebels are more appropriate;
The beggar gang is just a disguise used by them to hide their identity. Otherwise, beggars can ride horses, resist cannons, attack the government, and distribute food to the victims?
As for the red mask, although it was not explicitly acknowledged, the advanced magical engineering weapons used by these righteous thieves should be inseparable from the Brotherhood of Craftsmen that was suppressed ten years ago.
In the following weeks, the Red Mask rebels went out many times at night, attacking government facilities in surrounding villages and counties, robbing the trading ports of wealthy people who were hoarding goods, and distributing the stolen food and materials to the people;
The local residents who were intolerant of the harsh government, heavy taxes, and excessive levies, as well as the large number of disaster victims who were stranded here, hungry and exploited at all levels, became the soil where the rebels appeared. They spontaneously and enthusiastically covered and supported the rebel operations, and many able-bodied people even directly signed up to join the team.
By the time the main force of the state and county guards arrived, the rebel soldiers had already dispersed into the fields, dark alleys and villages with the help of the people, and disappeared without a trace.
In just one month, the situation in Heishan County and several nearby Kingdom Prefectures and counties has changed. With the momentum, a large number of adventurers, street performers, and green forest heroes with two brushes were also recruited into the rebel army, and the team grew stronger.
In broad daylight, the rebels seemed to be in a no-man's land, coming and leaving whenever they wanted. The guards could not catch up in a group, nor could they fight if they were scattered; they were dragged around by flexible guerrilla tactics, exhausted, and completely cowered in various towns and fortress strongholds without daring to show their faces.
