Yingbao took Mrs. Wen's carriage into the bamboo forest and stopped next to her own mule cart.
Chunniang was a little surprised to see her daughter coming back riding a deer, but when she saw Mrs. Wen's family, she swallowed her words of scolding.
"Mr. Wen, what's going on in the village?" Chunniang asked.
Madam Wen: "Everyone has taken their food and valuables to Beishan. Our carriages can't go up, so we have no choice but to come to you for help."
"What do you mean by seeking refuge?" Chun Niang said, "We are just seeking refuge together. Eh? Where is the other gentleman? Why didn't her family come?"
Mrs. Wen sighed, "They insisted on driving to the county town, saying that it was safer than here. Alas, I couldn't stop them no matter what I did."
I’m afraid that the road to the county town has been blocked by the bandits, and it would be even more troublesome if we encounter them head-on.
The two chatted for a while. Chunniang wanted to build a bamboo shed for them, but Madam Wen said that it would be fine on the carriage and it would not be a big deal.
Half an hour later, Jiang Dalang and Jiang Erlang came running over.
"Bandits have appeared at the foot of the mountain. They seem to have burned down the houses in the village. I'm sure they will come here soon."
Nanpo is only three or four miles away from the village. After those people have looted the village, they may climb up Nanpo.
"Where's Sanlang? Hasn't he come back yet?" asked Jiang Liu.
Jiang Erlang said, "Why don't I go take a look?" He then hurried out with his bow and arrows and quiver on his back. Jiang Dalang followed closely behind.
Chunniang was so anxious that she wanted to go out and take a look, but Jiang Liushi stopped her: "As a woman, don't go and cause trouble. They are all desperate criminals, and women should not attract their attention."
Sister Jiang also said, "Mrs. Chun, you'd better stay here. Why don't we go to the depths of the bamboo forest to explore the way. If the bandits come in here, we'll have a direction to escape."
"Okay." Chunniang nodded, took a sickle and walked out of the bamboo shed.
"I'll go too." Old man Jiang also took a machete and went into the bamboo forest. Seeing this, Mrs. Wen's servants followed him.
So, the three sisters-in-law walked in one direction, and Old Man Jiang and the servants of the Wen family walked in another direction. Whenever they encountered bamboo and thorns that were in the way, they cut them off and moved them aside.
Jiang Dalang and his second brother came out of the bamboo forest and stood on the high slope looking towards the village.
There was smoke rising from several places in the village, and many people could be vaguely seen running.
"Let's go down and take a look." Jiang Dalang was still worried about his third brother, so he decided to go to the village to see what was going on.
Jiang Erlang had the same idea, and the two brothers ran down the mountain.
In the village, Jiang Sanlang was leading dozens of young men to fight against a group of bandits.
They held iron forks, shovels and other tools, and some even held sharp sickles, and fought with the bandits who rushed up.
But the bandits kept coming, each of them looked ferocious. They had swords and spears in their hands, and some even had bows and arrows, and they injured several villagers at once.
But the bandits did not get away with it, as many of their men were injured.
Most of these bandits were dressed in rags and looked like farmers, and they had a variety of weapons in their hands.
Seeing the fierce resistance of the villagers, the bandit leader felt sympathy for them and said loudly, "Brother! We just want to have a meal and don't want to hurt your life. I think you are a man of blood. Why don't you join us in a rebellion? The court is corrupt and we have no way to survive. If you follow me, you will be able to live a good life and be granted the title of nobility and prime minister in the future!"
Jiang Sanlang and the others didn't pay any attention to what he said. Not to mention that they hadn't reached that point yet, even if they were at the end of their rope, they still had the skill of Golden Ear, so they could just force themselves to become rebels and end up having their whole family torn into pieces by five horses.
"Since you are here to borrow food, and you have already borrowed a lot, please leave our village."
Jiang Sanlang said loudly: "We are all farmers, we make a living from the fields, we have families and cannot leave our hometown, and we don't want to wander around."
The leader had a sinister look in his eyes and snorted, "You have families and people, but don't we have any? Brother, I respect you as a man, why don't you come with us? Then the world will be unified and we will share peace, equality everywhere, and everyone will be well fed and warm, isn't that wonderful?"
"I beg your pardon." Jiang Sanlang led everyone to retreat a little further, signaling the people behind him to draw their bows and arrows for defense. "Boss, please let the villagers go. Our lives are not easy, and we have elderly and children at home to feed."
The bandit leader stood in the crowd with his hands behind his back and smiled coldly: "Since you are stubborn and refuse to change, don't blame me for being cruel and ruthless."
Then he waved his hand and said, "Kill them and burn down this village."
The gangsters immediately rushed over howling.
Jiang Sanlang saw that they were numerous, at least 100 or 200 people, and he only had a few dozen people, so he was outnumbered and quickly led his men to retreat.
He naturally couldn't lead the bandits to the south slope, nor to the north mountain, as there were many villagers hiding there. The group could only run eastward.
Some of the bandits chased them, while others looted from house to house.
But the villagers had already taken away all the food and property from their homes, leaving only the heavy objects that could not be moved.
Some families still had some food left, but the amount was very small.
The bandit leaders were used to it. They robbed along the way and didn't encounter many fat sheep, unless they went to a market town or a county town.
Most of the families in villages like this are poor. Not only are their houses in tatters, but it is also rare to find dozens of kilograms of grain in a household.
But it’s different for those people living in blue brick and tile houses in the village; they must be the wealthy families in the local area.
The bandit leader brought more than twenty of his brothers into the house of Patriarch Chen and searched it. As expected, they found a lot of good things, including several hundred kilograms of food.
So he rested here and asked his brothers to scoop rice to cook, and go to the vegetable garden to pick vegetables and cook them together with the stolen meat.
Jiang Sanlang and others ran all the way eastward, trying to get rid of the bandits behind them.
But these bandits were determined to kill them, so they chased them all the way and shot arrows at them from time to time.
Two more villagers were hit by arrows. Jiang Sanlang quickly asked someone to carry them and run, and asked others to cover them, but this slowed down their progress.
"Hahaha! Let's see where you can run to!" The leading bandit laughed wildly and ordered his men to shoot arrows again.
Suddenly, an arrow shot from a nearby tree and hit the man in the face.
The arrow was so powerful that it pierced the bandit leader's temple.
The bandits paused, turned their heads to look at the big elm tree not far away, and rushed over while howling.
Another arrow came from a tree farther away and hit the chest of the bandit in front, who fell to the ground.
Then came another arrow, instantly knocking down another person.
The bandits were all shocked, and many of them turned around and ran away in fear.
The man on the elm tree jumped down and ran away immediately.
Some bandits tried to rush over to catch people, but were forced back by arrows flying from the trees.
Jiang Sanlang also noticed something unusual here. He looked at the person who shot the arrow and quickly turned back to provide support.
Now the situation began to become one-sided. Jiang Sanlang and his men shot arrows at the bandits while throwing iron forks and stones, injuring several bandits at once.
These bandits were a mob to begin with, and when they saw that the situation was not good, they abandoned the injured bandits and fled as fast as the wind.
"Brother, why are you here?" Jiang Sanlang felt a little scared.
If he was not careful, both of his brothers would be doomed.
"Let's find a safe place first before we talk." Jiang Dalang went to collect the swords and spears left behind by the dead and wounded bandits.
Several villagers also ran over, picked up iron pitchforks and stabbed the injured bandits to death, sending them to see the King of Hell, and then they picked up the arrows and weapons.
In the fierce battle just now, a villager was seriously injured, so Jiang Sanlang fed him two pills of medicine that his daughter had given him.
The villagers carried their injured companions on their backs and for a moment they didn't know where to go.
"You guys go to Beishan." Jiang Sanlang was worried about his wife, children, and elderly parents at home, so he naturally couldn't escape with them. Now they could only go separately.
"Okay." Some villagers still want to go to Beishan because their families are there.
But there are still a few people who expressed their desire to join Jiang Sanlang.
Jiang Sanlang shook his head: "You should go to Beishan together and follow me. What will happen to your family?"
Several people lowered their heads and finally left with the other villagers.
After the villagers left, Jiang Sanlang and his two brothers took a detour to the south slope, carefully keeping an eye out behind them to prevent being followed by bandits.
Fortunately, it was late at night and it was raining, so the bandits retreated into the villagers' homes and were unwilling to come out.
After returning to their home in Nanpo, the three brothers dared not rest. They tidied up the house and left no food, cotton, bedding or other items at home.
Even if we find a place to bury and burn them, we cannot leave them to the bandits.
Jiang Sanlang wanted to go home, but the gate was locked.
After thinking about it, he climbed over the wall and peeked into the house through the window. He was shocked.
The house was completely empty. Not only were the boxes and other things gone, but even the furniture was nowhere to be found. Not to mention the food, not even the huge pile of rice was anywhere to be found.
Jiang Sanlang frowned and went to the kitchen to check again. The cupboards, iron pots and other things were gone. Even the water tank was nowhere to be seen. Only two empty stoves were left.
Not to mention the golden ears in the mushroom shed, even the wooden racks were gone, and there was not a single chicken left in the chicken coop.
Jiang Sanlang suddenly thought of his little girl. Could it be that Baoer did it? But how could it be possible
I silently climbed over the wall and saw my eldest and second brothers each carrying a large square table.
"What are you doing?" Jiang Sanlang was puzzled.
Jiang Dalang: "It's raining now, right? There's nothing to block out the rain in the bamboo forest. We can't get wet all night. This big table can keep out the rain."
Jiang Sanlang: …
Well, what big brother said makes sense.
When the three brothers entered the bamboo forest, it was already completely dark.
Walking deeper into the bamboo forest, I saw a faint light coming from a bamboo shed.
Putting down the large square table, Jiang Dalang went into the bamboo shed.
There were only Old Man Jiang, his wife Jiang Liu, Jiang Cheng and Jiang Quan in the bamboo shed.
The two boys were curled up in the bamboo basket and had fallen asleep. Old man Jiang and his wife were still awake, lighting a dim oil lamp and waiting for their son to come back.
"You're back!" Jiang Liu exclaimed in surprise when she saw her eldest son, and then stretched her head to look outside: "Where are Erlang and Sanlang?"
"I'm here too." Jiang Dalang was very tired and sat down on a thin bamboo branch.
Jiang Liu handed him a steamed bun and said, "Hurry up and eat something to fill your stomach."
Jiang Dalang took the steamed bun and took a bite, then took the water gourd handed to him by his mother and drank it all in one go.
It’s true that the gourds grown at home are really useful, and their benefits are especially evident at times like this.
"What's it like outside?" asked Old Man Jiang.
Jiang Dalang: "A lot of bandits have come to the village. They have occupied the village and they won't leave for a while."
"Oh, what should we do?" Jiang Liu frowned.
Jiang Dalang: "The government will have to send people to suppress the bandits. We just need to survive this period of time."
At this time, Jiang Sanlang also came in.
"I heard from the village guards that the bandits are not only here, and other groups have already gone to the county town. I guess the government officials can't take care of us for the time being."
Old man Jiang was surprised: "Why are there so many bandits?"
Jiang Sanlang: "It seems that something big has happened in Zhouhe County and Donglin County. Riots have occurred in many places. Judging from the accents of those bandits, most of them are from there. Their leader is not a simple person either. He actually wants to start an uprising and instigate the villagers to rebel with him."
"Rebellion?" Old man Jiang stroked his beard, a little incredulous.
If life wasn't difficult, who would want to rebel? That's a serious crime punishable by the execution of nine generations of the clan.
"Oh, what a sin." Jiang Liu sighed.
Jiang Sanlang and his elder and second brothers ate something and rested for a while, but they still felt worried.
The three of them discussed with their father and set up several traps in the bamboo forest overnight and cut a lot of bamboo arrows.
After a short nap, it was dawn and Jiang Sanlang got up and went out to check the situation.
The rain was still falling, and the weather was getting colder.
Soon Jiang Sanlang came back and said hurriedly, "Everyone, get up! Bandits are coming up the mountain."
Yingbao and her brother were sleeping soundly in a bamboo basket when their father pulled them up. "Hurry up and eat something. If the bandits find their way into the bamboo forest, we should run deeper into it."
Yingbao quickly put on her shoes and urged her two younger brothers to put on their clothes and shoes.
Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu were quite obedient. They put on their clothes and shoes without saying a word.
Led by their second cousin, the two boys went to the toilet, washed their hands and faces with the water in the big gourd, and then took the steamed buns handed to them by their mother and started to eat them.
As soon as he saw the water hyacinth, Jiang Quan looked at his cousin with resentment and asked in a low voice: "Where are the two gourd kings? Why didn't you bring them?"
Yingbao said unhappily, "How do you carry such a big gourd?"
"You can't just leave it at home." Jiang Quan felt extremely heartbroken.
I haven't even sold the Gourd King yet and this happened. Alas.
"If we don't throw it away at home, who will carry it?" Yingbao retorted to him rudely.
It's already this late, and he's still thinking about the Calabash King. What if this second cousin runs over his own wall and discovers his big secret
Jiang Quan lowered his head and sighed.
Jiang Sanlang glanced at the little girl, then turned and walked out of the bamboo forest.
He also needed to go outside to check how many bandits had come up.
Mrs. Wen and her daughter slept uneasily that night and were always awakened by the sound of wind blowing through the bamboo forest.
He got up early and got off the carriage with his daughter to stretch his legs and go to the bathroom.
Yingbao, wearing a small bamboo hat, just came out of the bamboo forest and asked quietly, "Master, didn't you bring your raincoat?"
After a night of drizzle, a few large drops of water would fall from the bamboo forest from time to time, and people's clothes would get wet after a short while in the forest.
If you get wet in this kind of weather, you will definitely get sick.
Madam Wen did not bring her bamboo hat and raincoat. She whispered, "It's all my fault. I forgot for a moment."
Even if she had not forgotten, she and her daughter did not have straw raincoats. That kind of straw raincoat was only worn by servants in the house.
Yingbao: "Then I'll go back and get you two bamboo hats."
After saying that, he ran to climb onto the mule cart, pulled out two bamboo hats from it, and gave them to Mrs. Wen and Sister Wen.
These two hats are a bit damaged, but it does not affect their use. In fact, they are items that Yingbao collected in the cave.
She took it out of the cave under the cover of a mule cart.
"Thank you Yingbao." Mrs. Wen and her daughter put on hats, and sure enough, the raindrops could not hit them.
…
There were more than two hundred bandits who sneaked up to the south slope early in the morning. They broke down the door of the Jiang family and searched inside, but found nothing.
The chief did not get angry, but walked around the house.
"This place has excellent feng shui, it's a good place."
The leader of the bandits sighed, "If it weren't for the wrong timing, I would really like to stay here."
After a while, a subordinate came to report: "General, we found a lot of food and cotton wool in the vegetable field."
"Oh?" The leader became interested and followed his men to take a look.
I saw his men lift up the straw pile to reveal a shed, and from the shed they dragged out large sacks filled with grain and cotton.
The leader smiled and said, "There is so much food. It seems that the people on this hill are very rich."
He turned around and told his attendants, "Look around again, maybe there are still hidden things."
"yes!"
A group of bandits began searching everywhere and soon found themselves near a bamboo forest.
But the bamboo forest was deep and dark, and it was difficult to see what was going on inside, so the bandits did not dare to go in.
But there was a path that seemed to lead inside, winding and rutted.
Some of the bandits hurried back to report to their leader, while the rest watched outside.
Jiang Sanlang, who came to investigate, had already retreated deep into the bamboo forest and told everyone to hurry into the forest. "The bandits are about to come in. Pack up your things and hurry inside."
Chunniang asked anxiously, "What about the mule cart?"
"Leave the mule cart behind and take the mule away." Jiang Sanlang lifted two sacks of grain and placed them on the mule's back, urging, "Hurry up, they will be here soon."
Everyone in the Jiang family immediately packed up their things and headed into the woods.
Mrs. Wen also asked the servants to lead the horses, which were loaded with food, bedding and other items. She, her wet nurse and her daughter also held items in their hands, abandoned the carriage and followed the Jiang family inside.
Chunniang looked back at the mule cart as she walked. There was a lot of food on it, and it was lost. She felt heartbroken.
Yingbao also felt sorry for the food on the mule cart, so she suddenly ran back while no one was reacting, quickly ran to the mule cart and climbed up, and took away all the food in a moment, then ran back before A Niang came to find her.
"Why are you running back, kid?" Jiang Erlang, who was at the rear, scolded.
Yingbao: "I'm going back to get something." She showed the bag in her hand to her second uncle.
Jiang Erlang picked up his niece and quickly followed the team: "Don't run around! If you are caught by the bandits, they will cook you like a lamb."
"Oh." Yingbao responded obediently.
At this time, Jiang Sanlang stepped back from the front, took the girl and handed her to his wife, and said to his second brother: "We will be the rear guard, and the eldest brother, father, and Dacheng will lead the way in front."
Jiang Erlang nodded, and walked while vigilantly watching the situation behind him.
At this time, the bandits had entered the bamboo forest and they quickly found where the Jiang family was stationed.
"General, do you want to chase them inside?" asked the bandit.
The leader checked the carriage and mule cart and smiled, "Of course we have to chase them. They are such big fat sheep. It would be a pity to let them run away."
"Yes!" After receiving the order, the bandit immediately called a dozen accomplices to chase after them. However, they had not gone far when they suddenly stepped on some ropes. The ropes suddenly loosened, and the bamboos tied by the ropes suddenly bounced up. Several bamboo arrows whizzed over and hit the two bandits at once.
The bandit screamed, fell to the ground and curled up crying in pain.
"There's a trap!" one of them shouted, "Go find a long bamboo pole and scout the way ahead."
The bandits were frightened and dared not move forward. They waited tremblingly for someone to bring bamboo poles to clear a path in front of them, and then they followed forward.
This will slow down the process a lot.
The criminals encountered several traps along the way, so they became more careful.
The leader became more interested and insisted that his men give chase.
He wanted to see who the people in front of him were. They were so smart and knew how to use traps.
The chief didn't know that this was actually a common hunting tactic, a little trick using the toughness of bamboo. It could only cause unexpected harm, but once discovered, this trap could be easily avoided.
This was indeed the case, and the bandits soon caught up with Jiang Sanlang and his gang.
Jiang Sanlang and his second brother took turns shooting arrows, shooting and retreating, and actually forced the bandits to not dare to move forward.
Later, the bandits' brutality was aroused and they rushed forward regardless of anything. Jiang Sanlang then pulled out the confiscated machete and started chopping at them, with Jiang Erlang assisting him.
Because the bamboo path was narrow, only wide enough for one or two people to walk on, the bandits were beaten back time and time again by the two brothers, and they cried out in anger.
Yingbao was extremely anxious when she heard the fierce fighting behind them.
Seeing that the situation was not good, Mrs. Wen's servants also joined Jiang Sanlang and his men with weapons, wielding machetes to kill the bandits.
This servant was obviously a martial artist, much stronger than Jiang Sanlang and his brothers. He was like a one-man army that could hold off a thousand.
However, as the casualties among the bandits increased, Jiang Sanlang and his men were also injured and their strength was noticeably weakened.
At this time, Old Man Jiang and others in front suddenly encountered a steep slope blocking their way.
There are also some bamboos growing on the steep slopes, but there are still quite a few trees.
Old Man Jiang was overjoyed and hurriedly urged his family to climb up the steep slope.
As long as he climbed up the steep slope, he could attack the pursuing bandits from a high position.
But the slope is very steep. People can climb up with the help of bamboo and bushes, but it would be difficult if they are holding something in their hands. Mules and horses cannot climb such a steep slope.
"Women and children, hurry up and get up there. If you can't get the things, they will be thrown away." Old Man Jiang warned.
Da Ni, Er Ni and Yan Ru reluctantly dropped the baskets in their hands, but did not drop the backpacks on their backs. The women struggled to climb up the steep slope.
Yingbao suddenly stuffed a bundle of ropes into her hand and said, "Mom, hurry up and take my brothers up there, and tie the ropes to the tree."
Chunniang immediately understood what her daughter meant. Without even thinking about where her daughter got the rope, she immediately climbed up with the two children.
Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu had been trained by their sister to climb trees and walls countless times, and these skills came in handy now. They climbed faster than their little cousin Yuanbao.
Wei Zhan was not to be outdone and followed closely behind him as he climbed up the steep slope.
But it was not so easy for Wen Shu and Madam Wen. It was a rainy day and the steep slope was very slippery. The mother and daughter slipped down several times and fell into mud. If it weren't for the straps on their shoes that were tied tightly, their shoes would have fallen off.
Chunniang had just climbed up the slope. She tied one end of the rope given by her daughter to the tree at the top of the slope and threw the other end down the steep slope.
"Master, Sister Wen, please hold on to the rope quickly, we will pull you up." Yingbao, who had already climbed up the steep slope, shouted.
Wen Shu was about to cry. She was pushed forward by her mother. The nanny tied a rope around Wen Shu's waist and advised her, "Don't be afraid, madam. Hold on to the rope tightly and don't let go."
"Yeah." Wen Shu knew that he couldn't fall behind. A'niang and wet nurse hadn't gone up yet, so he had to go up quickly to pull them both up.
There was another rope hanging down from the other side. It turned out that Yingbao had found a bundle of ropes from somewhere and asked A Niang to tie it to another tree and throw one end down, "Master! Come up quickly!"
Time is running out and they cannot afford to hesitate even a little, otherwise their lives will be in danger.
Mrs. Wen naturally did not dare to delay and quickly grabbed the rope and climbed up.
At this time, Jiang Sanlang could no longer hold on.