In addition to posting Spring Festival couplets, there are also meals for New Year's Eve. In order to let the guards have a good New Year, they killed all the dozen or so big fat pigs they were raising in the kitchen yesterday, then cooked the pig heads, braised the pig ears, and stewed a large bowl of meat. The cook started to prepare.
By the time Lin Yuanqiu and the others arrived at the barracks, it was the time when the pork head was cooked most fragrantly.
The nine hundred soldiers and guards who are going to Maoyan Village today are almost all veterans of more than five years and were carefully selected by Zhong Rong.
Although the skills of these soldiers are not outstanding, they are of a stable temperament. After all, today's operation requires an ambush in the wild. If they can't calm down and show their flaws, all the previous efforts will be wasted.
There are more than 50 private houses in Maoyan Village. Excluding the 20 or so near the foot of the mountain, Lin Yuanqiu allocated the remaining 30 or so houses one by one.
Normally speaking, the houses near the village entrance must bear the brunt of the attack. When the Shanrong people come over, these are the first houses to visit. Therefore, their main force will naturally be in these houses. As for the houses in the back, they will definitely not be able to attack them. neglect.
When Lin Yuanqiu went to Maoyan Village to inspect that day, he drew a rough topographic map of the village, especially the distribution of houses, so now he was very comfortable arranging according to the drawings.
"Let's try our best to lead people to the houses in the front row."
Lin Yuanqiu felt that only by taking action simultaneously on their side could they ensure maximum safety. Otherwise, they would have already taken action here, and there would still be many Shanrong people on the village road or outside the wall, and they would probably have to fight head-on. .
It's not that they have no chance of winning, but that the best result is to minimize the casualties on their side.
March troops into formation and boost morale.
Lin Yuanqiu pointed to a house in the front row and ordered to Wang Yongqing on the side, "Centurion Wang, you will lead the Black Tiger Camp and guard this house. Remember, wait until the Shanrong people enter the yard before taking action. Do you know?"
Wang Yongqing clasped his fists and took one knee, "Yes, I will obey your orders!"
"Centurion Zhou!"
"I'm here!" Zhou Xinghe bowed.
Lin Yuanqiu pointed to another house and ordered, "You lead the soldiers from the White Tiger Camp to stay here!"
Zhou Xinghe knelt down on one knee and said loudly, "Yes, I will take your orders!"
Since Zhong Rong took over the barracks, he has followed the management of the Jingzhou camp and asked each centurion to give his own centurion a name, so we have the names Black Tiger Camp, White Tiger Camp, etc. .
Later, Lin Yuanqiu allocated the remaining houses one by one, and those near the foot of the mountain were arranged to take care of both.
"Centurion Lee!"
"I'm here!" Li Jinshan bowed.
Lin Yuanqiu pointed to the only way into the village and ordered again, "I order you to lead a hundred soldiers to guard the entrance of the village. If any Shanrong thieves escape from the village, they will be killed without mercy!"
Li Jinshan was very angry, "Yes, I will take the order!"
A quarter of an hour later, the Nine Hundred Soldiers gathered at the school grounds. At this moment, everyone has a clay bottle filled with kerosene tied to their waist, and the mouth of the bottle is plugged with a cork, so that the kerosene will not leak out during the march.
When they arrive at Maoyan Village, the guards will remove the wooden plug and replace it with a cotton plug with a cloth fuse. At that time, with an order, the guards will light the fuse and throw it out.
In addition to pottery bottles filled with kerosene, bows and arrows and machetes are also necessary. With bows and arrows, you can prevent Shanrong from climbing out of the wall. As for the machete, it is naturally used for close combat.
The last thing is the quilt. Each soldier has a quilt on his back.
Just now, Lin Yuanqiu directly gave everyone a live demonstration of tying a quilt. It was carried squarely on his back. Except for the extra ten kilograms of weight, it didn't seem to be any hindrance.
Soon, more than a dozen cooks brought over steaming steamed buns. Each bun contained a large piece of pork. The cooks took out parchment paper, then packed four buns in a pack and distributed them to everyone one by one.
As for the soldiers and guards, after receiving the steamed buns, they immediately stuffed them into their clothes. Soon, everyone's chests were warmed by the steamed buns.
As for water, of course there is no need to bring it. There is snow everywhere now. When you are thirsty, just grab a handful and stuff it into your mouth.
After Lin Yuanqiu took the steamed bun, he stuffed it directly into his clothes. At this time, his face was serious. After looking at all the soldiers and guards present, Lin Yuanqiu said loudly:
"Eating the emperor and relieving the emperor's worries. Do you still remember what I once said to you? I said that anyone who works hard and fulfills his duties will inevitably be rewarded. These words are always valid. Anyone who participated in killing the enemy today , each person will be rewarded with twenty taels of silver. In addition, whoever captures the enemy's leader, regardless of life or death, will be rewarded with thirty taels of silver, do you understand?"
"Understood!" The soldiers and guards spoke loudly when they heard that there was actually thirty taels of commendation.
Lin Yuanqiu raised his sword and said, "Let's go!"
Immediately, he took the lead out of the barracks, followed closely by Zhong Rong, followed by the centurions and leading soldiers. Soon, the marching team of nearly a thousand people headed towards Maoyan Village.
Normally, it only takes an hour and a half to walk more than 30 miles to get there, but now that there are piles of snow on the ground, the walking speed will naturally not be that fast.
The camp was set out at noon, and we would take a break every half hour of walking. By the time we arrived at Maoyan Village, it was already the right time.
Lin Yuanqiu was very glad that he wore moccasin boots today. Otherwise, after walking on the snow for so long, the shoes would have been wet and the water would have seeped into the stomach of the shoes.
As for the soldiers and guards, there is no need to worry. Today they are wearing riding boots. The pigskin used in the riding boots is not easy to get wet.
It was almost two hours before dark. Although there was still plenty of time, Lin Yuanqiu did not dare to delay and quickly issued an order for everyone to arrange the scene according to the previous plan.
Zhong Rong led Bingwei to the woodshed in the yard, and after a while, he took out the dozens of oil lamps that had been stored there in the past few days.
Aribei stepped forward and picked the lock on the door of the house. Then an oil lamp was placed in each house, and the bolt of one of the windows on the north side was opened.
The next step is the most critical step, which is to close the door and use a wooden head to block the back of the door.
The skill of opening the door can determine the time it takes for the Shan Rong people to push the door open. According to today's plan, it is naturally best to spend more time, so as to ensure that all the Shan Rong people enter the yard.
The wood for the top door has been prepared a few days ago, and it can be directly put on now.
My father-in-law and the others are experts in this aspect, but Lin Yuanqiu has not participated. He is currently working with several soldiers to tie the legs of more than 20 chickens brought from the military camp, and then put a black cloth hat on their heads. Lin Yuanqiu specially asked his mother to sew these cloth hats for him. The small one fits just right on the chicken's head. There are two thin cloth ropes on the brim. After tying it, there is no fear of it falling off.
Finally, everyone put a chicken wearing a hat like this in the main room of each house. Then they turned a basket upside down and covered the chicken with its eyes covered inside. They also found some broken earthen pots or tiles on the basket. Can fragments pressed.
After finishing all this, the guards withdrew from the north window.
Lin Yuanqiu took one last look at the bundles of miscanthus piled inside the courtyard wall. He was worried that the Shanrong people would notice something strange, so the miscanthus was placed very casually. Without careful consideration, he would not be able to find anything wrong.
After withdrawing from the yard, the next step was to squat.
Zhong Rong waved to the centurions. After the centurions received the order, they quickly led their soldiers to hide.
In fact, there is snow everywhere, so it is not difficult to hide. The soldiers and guards found a slightly inconspicuous place, opened the thick quilt wrapped in white cloth, then put half of the mattress under the body, half of the bed covering the body, and finally shrank their heads in. Looking from a distance, there was only All that was left was a vast expanse of white.
Lin Yuanqiu believed that at night, no matter how close he was, he would not notice that it was a pile of quilts, and he must have thought it was a snowdrift.
And the soldiers and guards who were lying in bed were extremely impressed by their Lord Zhizhou. In the middle of winter, wrapped in such a thick quilt, no matter how biting the cold wind was, it could not reach them.
He touched the steamed buns with meat in his arms. They were still warm. Before the soldiers could swallow the saliva that flowed to their mouths, they heard three crisp whistles. It was agreed before that three whistles would be heard. The signal means you can eat.
Haha, finally we can start eating.
The soldiers couldn't wait to take out the oil paper bag from their arms and opened it. Four large steamed buns stuffed with fragrant pork were quickly revealed. The soldiers took a final sip and started eating.
Lin Yuanqiu was no exception. After working for most of the day, he had already pressed his chest against his back, especially the soles of his feet. He was definitely out of blisters. Lin Yuanqiu thought while eating steamed buns that when this incident was over, he must start practicing his morning jogging, otherwise his foot strength would be too embarrassing.
After all, everything was strictly disciplined. There were nearly a thousand people eating there, but there was no sound at all. There was only the aroma of meat.
The sky gradually darkened, and when there was only the last trace of light left in the west, Zhong Rong blew the whistle again.
At this time, there was a soldier who quickly got out of the quilt, and then quickly jumped into the house through the open window. After a while, there was light in more than thirty houses. This was to turn on the oil lamps in the house. On point.
The lighting guards jumped out of the window, and then made the final finishing touches. They first closed the window tightly, then bolted the courtyard door from the inside. After checking and finding nothing missing, they climbed out of the wall one after another.
The so-called catching turtles in a urn means catching turtles in a big jar, which can be used to describe that the object to be caught is already under control and can be obtained easily or with great certainty.
The same goes for Lin Yuanqiu's attempt to catch turtles in an urn. Now the lid of the urn has been opened. The next thing they have to do is to wait patiently for the Shanrong people to enter the urn.
As for the difference, it should be that they came here to stew the turtle in the jar today.
Looking at the getting darker and darker sky outside the quilt, the soldiers and guards for the first time felt the hope that the Shanrong people would come soon.
…
Chapter 203 Stewed Turtle in a Urn
The waiting time always seems long.
However, the soldiers and guards were not in a hurry, and all their eyes were focused on the path leading to the entrance of the village. In addition to their excellent military qualities, the most important reason for this unhurried look is that they are wrapped in thick cotton quilts. Otherwise, no matter how calm a person is, they will inevitably be blown by the biting cold wind for several hours. Will give rise to eagerness.
Compared with the calmness of the soldiers and guards, Lin Yuanqiu was a little anxious at this moment. It was almost midnight, that is, after eight o'clock in the evening.
It's already this hour, will the Shanrong people still come tonight?
But thinking that this season was when Beirong was most short of food, Lin Yuanqiu became confident in their arrival.
The Shanrong are nomadic, and the life of the nomadic people has always been affected by the climate. Every spring and summer are the seasons when livestock are pregnant and giving birth, which is also when they are busiest. Therefore, in these two seasons, the Shanrong people basically Not coming this way. When the winter comes when supplies are scarce, the Shanrong people will come up with other ideas in order to survive the cold winter stably. In addition, the busyness of spring and summer was gone at this time, so they naturally let go and snatched everywhere.
Lin Yuanqiu's left side was his father-in-law's bed, and his right side was Zhong Jinan's and Zhong Jinhua's. Regarding the actions of his father-in-law and his two brothers-in-law, Lin Yuanqiu naturally understood that they were sandwiching him in the middle so that he could be protected at all times.
Lin Yuanqiu has been treated like this since he came to Saibei. If he went out of the city, his father-in-law and the others would definitely accompany him and guard him at all times. If Lin Yuanqiu said he was not moved, it would be a lie.
Then I thought about my mother-in-law and the others who were still in the capital. According to what my father-in-law and uncles had told me, the three of them planned to stay in Saibei until the end of his term as governor.
This made Lin Yuanqiu feel even more sorry.
In fact, what Lin Yuanqiu didn't know was that his father-in-law and two uncles were enjoying themselves now.
Especially Zhong Rong, he originally thought that he would have to stay at home for the rest of his life. But since I came to Saibei with my son-in-law to help take charge of the state camp soldiers and guards, I feel like I have returned to the Jingzhou camp. My mental state has never been better. I lead the soldiers and guards to practice martial arts and troops every day, and I will never be able to do it again. I feel that all my skills are useless.
As for Zhong Jinan and Zhong Jinhua, let alone that. In their opinion, helping their father fight and competing with the soldiers in martial arts is much better than guarding the city gate.
To be honest, although their brother-in-law's three-year term has not yet expired, Zhong Jin'an and Zhong Jinhua have already begun to worry about what will happen after leaving the military camp. It will be so boring then. It would be great if they could stay in the military camp all the time.
If Lin Yuanqiu knew what his uncles were thinking, he would definitely sigh as he said, "They are worthy descendants of Uncle Zhongyong who are brave and good at fighting."
As far as Lin Yuanqiu knew, except for the current Uncle Zhongyong, who was his father-in-law's brother, the previous two Uncle Zhongyong had led troops and fought in battles, and they were both brave and resourceful.
I guess my father-in-law and uncle inherited it from them.
"Snowing."
Lin Yuanqiu was about to poke his head out from under the quilt to look at the entrance of the village, when he heard his father-in-law's surprise.
Snowing?
He hurriedly raised his face to feel it, and sure enough, small snowflakes fell on his face, which was ice cold, making Lin Yuanqiu's heart feel empty. It seemed that their work today was probably in vain.
Zhong Rong was also a little disappointed. He had been preparing for several days, but his expectations were in vain.
well!
Before Zhong Rong finished sighing, the faint sound of horse hoofbeats could be heard in the distance.
The sound was a bit chaotic, and it sounded like a lot of horses were coming.
It's coming, it's finally coming.
Lin Yuanqiu felt his heart begin to beat rapidly. He stretched out his right hand and pinched his thigh hard to remind himself not to be nervous and to deal with it calmly later.
Zhong Rong, on the other hand, raised his head and imitated the chirping of a tit behind him several times. It sounded clear and melodious. This was to remind all the soldiers to cheer up and the thief was coming.
