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Under the rule of the Qing Dynasty, there were starving people everywhere. Where there were starving people, there were bound to be bandits, and they were numerous, standing on every mountaintop, with some numbering thousands, and some just a few dozen.
These bandits were different from the anti-Qing rebels. They robbed and looted just to survive or live a better life. They had no sense of justice.
If the Qing officials could afford the price, they would help the Qing Dynasty to deal with the rebel forces without hesitation.
When encountering such bandits, the Qing army's scouts would naturally not let them go if they could defeat them, because these bandits usually had some looted property on them.
But if they feel that the enemy is stronger than themselves, the Qing army's scouts will naturally avoid them if they can, and try not to provoke them. At present, the Qing army can't even get enough food, and morale is low. Who has the energy to fight the bandits
Now Yan Yingyuan and his men looked like a group of bandits, dressed in rogue clothes, equipped with swords, spears, swords and crossbows, humming obscene words, blowing whistles and drinking strong liquor.
They usually hide during the day and move at night, and when dusk comes, it is time for them to move out;
When they set out, there were several women on their horses, who seemed to be good women who had been kidnapped. They were all beautiful, with slender waists and graceful figures, which aroused people's imagination.
The sun is setting in the west, and the evening breeze is blowing. The once prosperous and dreamlike Central Plains has now become sparsely populated and desolate.
Many thatched houses in the lonely village have collapsed, and weeds have grown in the mulberry fields. No one is seen on the strange roads, only bones are lying. Foxes and rats play with each other under the setting sun, and partridges cry in the evening breeze.
Guo Shaohan from Guanzhong is said to be a descendant of Guo Ziyi, a famous general in the Tang Dynasty. He is a burly man, a typical Guanzhong man. He rides on a horse, dragging a long horse spear backwards, and sings loudly in the rough Qinqiang:
"We are a people of the Central Plains with great talents and abundant resources. How can we allow the barbarians to devour us? I only hate the little white dragon for his wolfish nature. He has been making war in Hedong and bullying the poor and the lonely. Today I will lead the army to pacify the rebellion. I will personally lead the army to fight.
Ouyang Fang is the commander of the army, and Huyan Shouting is the forerunner. Move the troops on an auspicious day, and listen to the three armies. Buy food fairly along the way and don't harass the good people.
Horses trampled on people's fields and chopped off their hooves, demolished people's houses and executed them. Those who dared not obey orders would be mercilessly killed with a three-foot-tall sword. The signal cannon was fired three times and the horses and men moved. The army would not be withdrawn until the white dragon was destroyed... "
Guo Shaohan's Qinqiang is passionate, high-pitched, tragic and desolate, with a mixture of Gong and Shang, like the roar of a divine tiger. It is majestic and powerful, with a majestic and heroic spirit that can stop the clouds from moving.
Everyone felt heavy-hearted when they saw the bones exposed in the wild and the desolate scene. However, after listening to Guo Shaohan's powerful "Xiahedong", their passions were aroused all at once and they all cheered.
Zhai Fu said with a smile: "Guo Laosan, you sing the Qinqiang really well. If you have the chance to sing it for the King of Qin someday, you will definitely be rewarded."
Guo Shaohan was not happy when he heard this and shouted, "Nonsense! A real man should achieve fame and success on horseback. How can he rely on singing for money?"
"Oh my! It's your blessing to have the opportunity to sing for the King of Qin. By the way, are you really a descendant of Guo Ziyi?"
This really touched Guo Shaohan's sore spot. What he couldn't stand the most was others doubting his ancestors and calling them by their names.
He pointed his long lance at Zhai Fu and shouted coldly, "Apologize. Apologize to me immediately. How can you disrespect the honor of my ancestors!"
Yan Yingyuan saw that a fight was about to break out, and he was so angry that he said, "Master Zhai! Guo Zhongwu is a hero, and his reputation will be passed down through the ages. You must not disrespect him. Apologize to Guo Laosan immediately."
"Okay, Guo Laosan, I was wrong." Yan Yingyuan spoke, and Zhai Fu had no choice but to apologize obediently.
Yan Yingyuan continued, "Okay, stop making trouble. We are here for a big mission this time, so we must not quarrel among ourselves. Let's speed up and make it to Luowuling before daybreak."
"General Yan, Luowuling is too close to Shangqiu. What if..."
"I chose Luowu Ridge just to be on the safe side. Don't worry, the Jiannu are now focused on Governor Meng. As long as we don't provoke them, they will definitely not start a war for us."
Guo Shaohan said with great enthusiasm: "What if we start a war? We are not afraid of him. At worst, we can just charge into Shangqiu City and capture that bastard Duoduo alive."
"Hahaha... ... ."
Everyone just responded to Guo Shaohan's bold words with laughter.
The two hundred riders galloped for a few more miles in the wilderness. When dusk fell, they encountered a small group of Qing cavalry, totaling twenty people, galloping along a stream. Yan Yingyuan and his men did not avoid or hide, but instead intentionally went to meet them.
The Qing army cavalry stopped half a mile away and looked around, looking very alert. Guo Shaohan, holding a woman in his arms, trotted over on his horse, with his long lance dragging behind him, and noticed a clicking sound.
"I opened this mountain and planted these trees. If you want to pass through here, you have to leave some money to buy your way through!" Guo Shaohan shouted in a rude manner. Zhai Fu and others who followed behind him sneered defiantly and began to take off their bows and crossbows one by one.
"How brave! We are the Qing Dynasty..."
"I don't care whether it's the Qing Dynasty or the Qin Dynasty. If you meet me, either leave the money on your body or the dog head on your neck." Guo Shaohan kissed the woman on the face in his arms, raised his head proudly and interrupted her.
His voice was from the Qinqiang style, full of energy and extremely loud;
The Qing army on the opposite side was very angry, but seeing that the enemy had ten times more people than themselves and each of them was strong and unruly, it was obvious that they were not someone to be easily defeated. Twenty Qing soldiers were muttering something in Manchu, and the two sides were facing each other across a stream, twenty or thirty feet apart.
Guo Shaohan waved his hand, and the two hundred soldiers and horses behind him immediately rushed to both sides, preparing to encircle the Qing army on the opposite bank. When the twenty Qing cavalrymen saw this, they turned their horses' heads and sped away.
Guo Shaohan and his men pretended to chase them for half a mile, but then they stopped chasing them. When the other party was far away, Zhai Fu couldn't stand it anymore and snorted, "Guo Laosan, you..."
"What's wrong with me?"
"How could you really kiss Miss Xiaoshuang's face?"
"I... ....I just wanted to act more realistically." Guo Shaohan explained awkwardly and quickly let go of the girl's waist in his arms.
The face of the little girl Xiaoshuang, who was held in his arms, was flushed as if she was drunk, as if the sun that had just set was rising again.
Ever since the King of Qin allowed women to serve as nurses in the army, these women have become the objects of pursuit by the soldiers. However, the military orders are usually strict. Although everyone would go to the military medical camp when they have nothing to do, no one dared to do anything wrong.
Guo Shaohan's behavior just now, if it happened under normal circumstances, he would have been punished with at least fifty military sticks.
Yan Yingyuan coughed twice, as if he didn't know what to say for a moment. He had called these women to act out the play, and since everyone was going to play the role of bandits, there would definitely be some impoliteness.
“I... I’m fine. General Yan, please don’t blame Guo... Guo... ..." The girl named Xiaoshuang squeaked when she reached this point and was too embarrassed to continue.
Yan Yingyuan was stunned for a moment, and glanced back and forth between her and Guo Shaohan. Now even Guo Shaohan's face turned red.
"Guo Laosan, since Miss Xiaoshuang will not pursue the matter this time, I will let you go for now. If you do it again, you will be subject to military law."
"Thank you, General Yan, hehe..."
"Set off!"
After this little episode, everyone headed towards Luowuling again.
It was not far from Luowu Ridge, only forty miles away. With the speed of the cavalry, it would not take long.
Along the way, they encountered several Qing army scouts. Because it was night, they only discovered one of them when they were very close. There was a small-scale battle between the two sides. The Qing army's fighting power was very low. When they saw that Yan Yingyuan and his men were stronger, they immediately fled.
At three o'clock in the morning, Yan Yingyuan and his companions successfully arrived at Luowu Mountain, a mountain range of seven or eight miles in radius, less than ten miles from the Yellow River and only about thirty miles from Shangqiu City.
Yan Yingyuan wanted to use this place as a base to set up an ambush. In fact, it was not difficult to ambush the Qing army digging the dike. The difficulty was how to completely wipe them out without letting Duoduo know the news.
Because once Duoduo got the news, he would definitely abandon Shangqiu without hesitation and go to the upper reaches of Shangqiu to dig the dike.
It will be impossible to stop it by then.
Therefore, forceful action is not a solution for this operation, and we need to add some traps.
Luowu Mountain was dark and silent at night, with only the chirping of insects in the woods. From time to time, there were some strange noises in the woods, like a wild cat calling or a baby crying, which made everyone nervous.
Zhai Fu was from Shangqiu. According to him, ever since tens of thousands of people took refuge in Luowu Ridge and were massacred by the rebel army four years ago, faint cries could be heard from Luowu Ridge whenever it was cloudy and rainy, or at night when the moon was full. Even during the day, people avoided it, and at night, no one dared to approach Luowu Ridge.
Yan Yingyuan did not believe in ghosts and gods. He chose to hide in Luowuling, so close to Shangqiu, because he saw that no one dared to approach there.
But when we really got here and heard a sound like a baby crying coming from the woods on the ridge, everyone's heart still felt a little uneasy and their hair stood on end.
"I, Yan Yingyuan, have killed countless people. Even ghosts would retreat away from me. There is no need to be afraid. Just go in." Yan Yingyuan said in a deep voice.
Zhai Fu said hesitantly: "General Yan, how about... how about we wait until daybreak before going in."
Guo Shaohan and he were enemies, so he immediately took the opportunity to tease him, "Old Zhai, you have seen blood, so why are you so timid? Look at me, I'll go first, and you follow."
"What do you know? This place is really haunted. I... I heard crying with my own ears. It wasn't just one person crying, it was..."
"Shut up and stop talking nonsense. There are no ghosts in this world. There were piles of corpses outside Jiangyin city. Who has ever heard of ghosts crying? These are just rumors." Yan Yingyuan saw that Zhai Fu's words were getting more and more outrageous. Everyone was already a little scared. If they continued to talk like this, no one would be willing to go in.
Under Yan Yingyuan's scolding, everyone had no choice but to walk into the woods. Just after walking a few dozen feet inside, Zhai Fu suddenly screamed: "Ah... What is that!"
Everyone looked towards the tree and saw a ghost fire slowly floating in the dark night, looking eerie and scary. "Ah!" For a moment, everyone's scalp tingled, their hearts were in a panic and their hands were weak...
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.(To be continued..)
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