The rise of the prince

Chapter 230 210 Six, Outbreak + Pre-war Deployment
The gate of Suzhou North City has not been opened for more than half a year. The reason is very simple. After leaving the North City, it is the generation from Mishan to the south.

Many people in the city of Suzhou have also heard similar rumors, saying that a certain village outside the city gathered people to forge knives, recruited local braves to form an army, or banded together to attack and kill passing officials and military masters.

Many people are panicked and feel wronged and innocent at the same time. Those bad things were done by Xiang Jun, so it has nothing to do with them
Fortunately, the magistrate knows how to appease people, and the Xiang army does evil, but he sends people to appease the people and distributes food from time to time. Many people guess from this that the magistrate does not listen to the magistrate's orders, and the magistrate can't do anything about it.

Unexpectedly, in the past half a month, the north gate of Suzhou City has not only been opened, but also government servants in black and green uniforms, carrying the banner of the magistrate, began to come in and out on tall horses.A few horses go out in the morning, and a few horses can come back at night, not a little bit, which makes many people feel at ease.

At least the city gate has been open for so long, and no one from outside the city has been seen coming in. The magistrate only set up six or seven yamen guards at the gate of the city, which made many people frightened.

Shan'aokou Village is at the foot of Mishan Mountain, and many people in the village make a living by hunting and fishing.

Life is not very good, but at least he is at ease. Liu Ji was also like this at the beginning. He took over the hunting bow used by the previous generations of the family from his father, and the handle has been polished black and smooth. It is the lifeblood of their family's meals.

Life has been peaceful, and it has been like this for several generations. At the age of 16, Liu Ji married a daughter from the next village, and has since become the pillar of the family. A year later, he had his first child, but it was a pity that he lost it at birth.

They gave birth to another child in the second year, and he survived this time. He was also very happy to be a father for the first time, but at this time, disaster struck.

In the middle of the night that night, he was woken up by his family's dog. At first he thought it was a wolf in the mountain who was very hungry and went down the mountain to pick up a sheep. He carefully took a hunting bow and went out. As soon as he went out, the mountain was full of people and countless torches. It illuminates their small village in the col as bright as day.

A man who claimed to be the Holy Duke asked them to take all the people in the village and all the food with them.

Of course some people didn't want to leave. Old man Zhang in his 50s at the head of the village refused to leave even if he died. They cut off his head and hung it on the old persimmon tree in his house.

More than 60 households in one village were forcibly taken away and became the so-called "Shenggong Army".

It was okay at first, because everyone brought food and food, and they were used to living a comfortable life. Who would want to get resistance?

But after a long time, when the food ran out, some people started to run away, and were killed by Sheng Gong's people. It was useless to cry if they couldn't run away.

They also ran out of the food they brought. At first, Sheng Gong’s people would give them some food, but then they started to grab it when there were too many people, and then it disappeared, so they had to find food by themselves.

What made him most distressed was that near the river bank in the south of Suzhou, the crowd had been out of food for a long time. He went out to find food for his wife and children, but when he came back home, his wife was so hungry and skinny that her body was covered with injuries and she cried heart-rendingly. , Said that his son was robbed!

Liu Ji suddenly felt that the sky and the earth were dark in front of him. He had heard that some people were so hungry that they began to eat their children recently!
The mountains and plains are full of people who don't know what to do, where can I find my son!

The wife was distraught, getting worse every day, and could only speak in a daze, which he couldn't understand.

Later he heard that some people in front finally couldn't bear it and fought with Sheng Gong's men. At this time, the magistrate also led troops to rescue them, and he attacked them twice, killing Sheng Gong as well.
They were finally able to leave, and the Holy Dukes with their swords also fled in all directions, no longer looking at them.

Many people looked dazed, Liu Ji cried a lot, and was about to take his wife home, but there were too many people on the road, and they got separated while crossing the river.

After returning home, he went out of the village to look for it several times, but there was no news. He must have died in all likelihood.
After experiencing ups and downs in life, he has experienced a lot of vicissitudes, but who can be blamed for this matter?
I thought it would be difficult to live a good life after this catastrophe, but I didn't expect that Xiang Jun came again at this time
The Xiang army wore armor, hung knives, guns, bows and crossbows, and under the banner of arresting rebellion, they robbed things everywhere. They couldn't hide anything as long as they were worth a little at home. Although everyone was forced to leave, they were somewhat guilty at first, so they just Can be submissive.

But the Xiang army went too far, and one day he finally heard that there was a Xiang army in the next village who drank too much, beheaded people, and fought on both sides, killing seventeen or eight people. But they also come to "catch the millet" every now and then.

That's right, that's what Xiang Jun called it. In fact, it's open grabbing, killing if you don't give it!Many people were afraid and hid in the mountains.

Fortunately, as soon as the waiting army left, the magistrate would quietly send someone to send them some food. Although it was not much, every family had enough food for them. Think about it carefully, when they were coerced by that Holy Duke, It was the magistrate who led the troops to rescue them.
Facing the fire at home, Liu Ji couldn't help feeling sad when he thought of these things.

In the distance, a group of people sent by the magistrate seemed to be talking to the village head and several older people in the village. This time, there were more people than usual.

Having experienced so much, Liu Ji vaguely felt that it would not be a good thing, the sky had already darkened, and everyone was cooking.

At this time, the cousin next door came in and said against the firelight: "Liu Si, the village chief has something to say, let all the men in the village go to the entrance of the village, and the two of us will go together."

Liu Ji nodded, got up and patted the ashes on his buttocks, and then followed him out.

Under the old persimmon tree at the entrance of the village, old man Zhang was chopped off by Sheng Gong's people there last year, and his head hung on the tree. When they came back, he was almost eaten by birds.

Human eyeballs are the favorite place for crows and birds to eat, so if there is no one to collect the body, the eyes will be pecked away by the crows first, and they will become lonely ghosts. In the countryside, they are called "ghost blind", which is the most taboo way of death for villagers.

But when they fled back, old man Zhang's eyes had already been pecked out, and the body was dragged away by some kind of beast, but the old persimmon tree still had half his head with some flesh left.

Everyone buried the half of the head, but old man Zhang has probably become a lonely ghost, Liu Ji thought so.

Soon, the men in the village gathered under the old persimmon tree one after another. Everyone was whispering. I don’t know what happened. The village chief brought a few people, carried two big boxes, and came to the tree with a torch. Everyone stopped Talk and look at him.

The village chief stood on the big rock protruding from the side of the road, and everyone was at the top, and the wind howled. Before he spoke in a low voice, he sighed first. Once he sighed, everyone knew that he would not say anything good.

The village head was leaning on a walking stick, and his voice was very low, but everyone leaned against the cage and could hear clearly: "The magistrate sent someone to say that he killed Jiang Peng, the evil leader of the Xiang army."

Everyone was happy when they heard it, but at this moment the village chief changed the subject.

"It's not that simple. Once he was killed, the emperor was furious and sent an imperial envoy to question him."

Everyone was furious, and someone said: "How much evil Jiang Peng has done, what crime is there to kill him!"

"Yup!"

"This emperor simply has trouble with our people"

"."

The village head waved his hand to keep everyone quiet, and then continued: "Master Zhifu said that he couldn't hold back his anger and killed the envoy too."

The audience suddenly fell silent, only the whistling of the wind. Even ordinary people can probably imagine how much crime it would be to kill the emperor's envoy, and how many people would die.

"The army sent by the imperial court to attack us in Suzhou is already on the way. It is estimated that there are tens of thousands of them. They are all the emperor's forbidden army, and they are usually kept in the imperial city.

The magistrate said he was sorry for everyone, so the magistrate who came today brought food and weapons. "The village chief said as he ordered people to pry open the two big boxes beside him, which were full of fine iron gun heads.

"Everyone will share the food, and the weapons are used for self-defense. Run quickly, as far as possible, and it is best not to stay in Suzhou." The village chief shook his head with a sad face: "This is the original words of the magistrate." .”

All the men present bowed their heads after hearing this, and someone murmured, "I'm going to run again, how many times have I run?"

"Every time I run, people die."

"But out of Suzhou, where can we go?"

"The Dog Emperor bullies people too much!"

"."

An oppressive and desperate atmosphere spread among the crowd, Liu Ji squeezed his fist, stepped forward and said: "Village Chief, I want the gun and food, so don't run away."

"Don't run, what can you do if you don't run?"

Everyone's eyes were also on him.

At this time, Liu Ji became calm: "My mother-in-law is dead, and my baby is dead. Now that I think about it, I understand it, because I was scared when the holy man came, and I didn't dare to fight him hard. think it will be all right
Anyway, if I run, I will probably die in all likelihood. I plan to go to Suzhou City and fight those bastards. "

As he said that, he walked over on his own, and picked out a good gun from the box: "I want to kill people, so I'll pick the right one first."

The men stared blankly at him, and then Uncle Liu Ji also walked out of the crowd, and went over to pick a gun from the box: "I kill people too!"

One after another, people went out to pick up guns, and then stood by Liu Ji's side. The village chief was dumbfounded.
"You, you are going against the emperor!"

"Go to hell with the emperor, I hunt wild game by myself, grow the land by myself, and raise my own people. How can he give half of it? Where did the emperor fall when the god of the gods came? The army he raised is all fucking It's a bunch of wolves!" Cousin Liu Ji said angrily.

All the men were angry when they heard this, and they didn't hesitate anymore. They all stepped forward to choose the head of the gun, and stood by Liu Ji's side. The village chief looked at the situation and didn't say much, just walked over and patted Liu Ji on the shoulder.

The night wind at the entrance of the village is still whistling
Ding Yi stood at the head of Suzhou City, watching batch after batch of Xiangyong with swords and guns slowly enter Suzhou City. Above the city gate, everyone who passed by would be cursed.

The magistrate of Suzhou wrote sincerely, and the papers full of grievances were posted all over the Ansu mansion, using retreat as an advance to win over people's hearts. As expected before, a head of Jiang Peng and a head of the imperial envoy became the winner. The essential.

But Ding Yi knew in his heart that some things can be changed for a while, but not for a lifetime. If he really wants to change, unless he does it himself!
"Ding Xianzhe, is it really useful to do this? This is not a small amount of money spent every day, and I think it will continue to increase in the past two days." The Patriarch of the Wang family behind him frowned.

"If Uncle Wang is reluctant, just withdraw your porridge shed." Ding Yi didn't want to waste any time with this short-sighted old man.

"This nephew is joking," the old guy laughed awkwardly, and said no more.

In the past few days, he has teamed up with several major businesses to set up porridge stalls everywhere, and all volunteers who come to Suzhou from all over the country will provide food for free.

When asking the servants and family members to provide food, they only said: We are all Suzhou people, and we will do our best, which is not as good as the pride of everyone who sacrificed their lives for righteousness.

The effect will definitely be unexpectedly good, because among the same enemies, emotions and atmosphere will accumulate, and it is a great time to buy people's hearts.

Ding Yi also knew that Su Banchuan would be dissatisfied if he did so, but Su Banchuan had no time to take care of it.

To put it bluntly, the magistrate still made a mistake. He never thought that although he could incite people's hearts, how would he deal with tens of thousands of brave men from the countryside when they came to Suzhou City?With his numerous swords and weapons and countless precious armors?

When Ding Yi heard Su Banchuan ostentatiously reported these in front of him that day, he understood that the opportunity to establish prestige had come. People had to eat, drink, and scatter before they could go to battle. Su Banchuan thought a lot and prepared a lot, but he thought of everything Go to war, but forget how to feed these people.

Now even if Su Banchuan is dissatisfied, he doesn't dare to act rashly. Once Ding Yi stops, the Ansu Mansion can't support so many people, so he can only watch him openly buy people's hearts. This is an upright conspiracy.

"If the magistrate sends someone to look for me later, just say that I'm out of the city and I don't know where I am." Ding Yi confessed to his followers, and then left quickly. It's not a good idea to see Su Banchuan at this time.

"Bang!" Su Banchuan slammed the tea cup in his hand on the ground: "What a little thief Ding Yi, he actually used his official to buy people's hearts!"

In the study room in the side hall of Ansu Mansion, Su Banchuan said angrily;

Also present were his son Su Huan, younger brother Su Ban'an, and Fang Shenggong.

Su Ban'an shook his head and said: "The people who sent to look for him all said that Ding Yi was not there, he went out of the city, and he didn't know where he was at the moment."

"Hmph! He just didn't dare to see Bengong on purpose, and he was careless for a while, so today!" Su Banchuan knocked heavily on the table beside him.

Fang Shenggong said calmly with his ugly voice: "Your Excellency, you don't have to be angry. This can indeed buy people's hearts, but it is still limited. If you don't use their big merchants, can you support so many people?"

Su Banchuan panted heavily, then gradually calmed down, and said helplessly: "Mr. Fang is also reasonable."

After speaking, he suddenly turned around and slapped his son, which made Su Huan look dazed, and then actually started crying.

"Nizi! You're still crying!" Su Banchuan yelled, "You almost ruined my event."

He bought people's hearts and asked Xiang Jun to grab food, and he gave food again, one with a red face and the other with a bad face.What needs to be done is to secretly send the grain from the east to the west, and then transport the grain from the west to the east.

Thinking of my incompetent son who has nothing to do and wants to train him, he entrusts him with this simple task, but he is still lazy and collects and delivers food on the spot, which almost makes him sick from anger. If it wasn't for his brother Su Banan who found out earlier , I'm afraid something will happen early.

Su Huan looked dissatisfied, and said mournfully, "Father, what's the matter? Anyway, it's just food distribution. How can the distribution be different? What do those untouchables know?"

"Naughty animal! What do you know? Do you think that the farmers who farm the fields are just like you!" Su Banchuan was furious. He is not an idiot. He has done a lot of practical things when he was young and knows a lot.

Different fields produce different grains, and different mountains produce different waters. Farmers with good eyesight and experience can tell whether the grains are grown by themselves, so he has to go to great lengths to transport the grains from the east to the west in secret. .

But this son of my own is getting angrier the more he looks at it!It's not as good as the mud legs of farming.

Thinking, he sighed helplessly.

Then he changed the subject and knocked heavily on the table: "Anyway, no matter what, the Imperial Guard can't be allowed to pass through the Anxia Pass. Let me tell you what you two have to say."

Su Ban'an said: "Brother, can you have any good ideas, there are mountains on both sides of the mouth of the Anxia Gorge, and the water flow is fast, we just need to ambush more with strong bows and crossbows, and then use boats to block the exit of the gorge, they will die. "

Su Banchuan waved his hand: "Of course I understand the truth, but there is only one opportunity. If the imperial army has the opportunity to re-arrange, we are just stragglers. They are well-trained, and they will be consumed by them sooner or later. It must be determined by a battle! Yue Zhou Xiangyue good."

Afterwards, Su Banchuan drove away his cowardly son, out of sight and out of mind, and the three of them began to discuss the details of the arrangement.

"So, tomorrow, Ban'an will lead the army to set up an ambush in Anxia, ​​and I will personally sit in Suzhou!" Finally, Su Banchuan made a final decision.

(End of this chapter)