Chapter 332 Fat and Traps
While the Lijiazhuang construction site was in full swing, there was a group of anxious people in a tea shop in Beiyao Town, forty miles west of here. The man in the lead had a square face and a broad nose, with a fierce look in his eyes. He slammed the tea bowl onto the table and said, "Li Maozi, I've been waiting here all day and night. Why is there still no news?"
The young junior known as Li Maozai quickly responded: "Boss Liao, I think something happened to the village that delayed their return."
"It's a small matter to delay their schedule, but it's a big deal to delay my schedule!" Boss Liao stared at Li Maozai and said: "You encouraged everyone to come to this Lijiazhuang. The two thousand or so brothers under me are all from Qingyuan and Conghua. The food and drink you brought here cost several hundred taels of silver. If anything happens, you will have to pay for it!”
"Boss Liao, don't worry. Most of the strong men in the Li family's group training were taken to Guangzhou by the old guy Li Jifeng. There are only four to five hundred people in the village. How can they outlast the brothers who are like wolves and tigers? Besides, there are only four to five hundred people in the village. With the help of fellow brothers from Shaozhou Prefecture, Zhaoqing Prefecture and Huizhou Prefecture, it will be easy to capture this small Lijiazhuang!" Li Maozi quickly defended: "Even if the few people sent to Lijiazhuang to find out the truth can't come back, just With Boss Liao’s strength, this Lijiazhuang can also be defeated!”
After hearing this compliment, Boss Liao seemed to feel a little better. He snorted and said, "It's best to do what you said. If anything goes wrong, I'll be the first to cut down the sacrificial flag!"
This Boss Liao is Liao Dabi, one of the bandit leaders who gathered to cause trouble in Conghua County, Guangzhou Prefecture in the third year of Tianqi. He was originally just a charcoal burner. Because of a conflict with the foreman, he killed people in anger, and then simply became entangled with a group of desperadoes. Falling grass is a bandit. Although the government sent troops to suppress the bandits several times in the past few years, Liao Dabi and his subordinates have been fighting guerrillas in Conghua, Zengcheng, Longmen, Qingyuan and other counties. As disasters continue to occur in Guangdong Province every year, the government's suppression of bandits The intensity is getting weaker and weaker, but the number of bandits and bandits like Liao Dabi is being beaten more and more.
Since the fourth year of the Apocalypse, Liao Dabi has led his gangs to plunder everywhere in Guangdong, specializing in villages far away from towns. Over the past few years, he has become a well-known figure in the green forests of Guangdong. However, in the past, Liao Dabi had only been active in the area north of Guangzhou City. This was the first time he went south to do business, and the place where he started was not too far from Guangzhou City, so Liao Dabi did not directly gather people to attack like before. , but asked his subordinates to carefully sneak into nearby areas in batches, and also sent people to Lijiazhuang to inquire about information.
The reason why Liao Dabi bypassed Guangzhou City and went all the way to the south to take action was that he had to mention Li Maozi. This Li Maozai was originally born in Lijiazhuang, and he can be regarded as a side branch of the Li family. However, because he has been lazy since he was a child and likes to sneak around, his reputation in Lijiazhuang is not good. A few months ago, Li Maozai wanted to get into the ancestral hall's bank to make some extra money, but he was caught on the spot. After discussion, several elders expelled him from the Li family, beat him up and threw him outside the village. And ordered him to leave this place and never come back.
After the resentful Li Maozi wandered outside for a while, he accidentally got into Liao Dabi's bandit team. After personally participating in several operations of looting the village, Li Maozai thought he had revenge. The opportunity has come.
Li Maozai found Liao Dabi and suggested that he lead a crowd to attack Lijiazhuang in Panyu. The reason was also very simple, because the savings earned by the Li family from many years of business operations were stored in the bank of Lijiazhuang. According to Li Maozai, it was probably not possible. Less than five hundred thousand taels of silver.
If it were anyone else, Liao Dabi might not believe it, but if the target was Lijiazhuang, it would be somewhat credible. "Furuifeng" has many branches in Guangdong Province. It is well known that the business is huge. In addition, it has recently sold a large number of Haihan products that are very in demand on the market. It is reasonable to make a lot of money. matter. Liao Dabi's men looted a branch of "Fu Ruifeng" in Qingyuan last year and harvested as much as two thousand taels of cash. If the clan bank of "Fu Ruifeng" is located, how much money is there? One hundred thousand taels of silver is nothing unusual.
Li Maozai's background also adds a lot of credibility to his statement. He had lived in Lijiazhuang for more than 20 years, and he knew the situation inside and outside Lijiazhuang very well. After Liao Dabi repeatedly questioned him about the details, he was sure that what he said was basically true, so he started to take advantage of Lijiazhuang. Heartbroken.
Although Panyu County, where Lijiazhuang is located, was not Liao Dabi's main activity area, Liao Dabi found it unbearable to think of the temptation of hundreds of thousands of taels of silver lying there waiting for him to pick it up. It has been several years since he started the uprising, and he has more than 2,000 men under his command. He is considered a powerful force in terms of strength. But when there are more people, the cost also increases. To maintain combat effectiveness, you have to spend money to support them. Thousands of mouths need to be fed, clothed, and armed. This cost is not a small amount. Although it is easy to rob a village, the harvest is It is directly proportional to the risk. The harvest from looting a village is often very limited. Most of the time you can only grab some grain and grass, and this is the fastest-consuming material. After grabbing several kilograms of grain, it will be eaten in a few days.
Liao Dabi has already been looking for higher-level targets, but due to his limited strength, he still dare not attack the county seat for the time being. He can only focus on some relatively wealthy manors and castles, and Li Maozi The proposal just gave him a suitable target to start with.
According to Li Maozai, Lijiazhuang's team training has now been taken to Guangzhou City by the owner of "Furuifeng", and the existing local defense measures are extremely weak. However, considering the various uncertainties of fighting in a remote place, Liao Dabi, who was rough on the outside and delicate on the inside, decided to send invitations to his comrades to send troops to attack Lijiazhuang together. Liao Dabi and several other forces agreed that after success, Liao Dabi and his group would share half of the total money, while other forces would divide the remaining half.
In order to ensure that nothing goes wrong, Liao Dabi also sent several spies a few days in advance. They disguised themselves and sneaked into Lijiazhuang to find out the news. However, the agreed return time came yesterday, and none of the spies showed up in Beijiao Town. This time The unusual situation made Liao Dabi slightly uneasy. But things have come to this point. It’s impossible to come so far away and then drag the team back to your hometown without doing anything, right? Although a village was captured in Shunde County a few days ago, the little food and property seized was too little to cover the cost of this operation. How could Liao Dabi be willing to retreat without taking down Lijiazhuang?
Liao Dabi thought about it for a long time, and finally made a decision. He still followed the previously agreed plan and launched an attack on Lijiazhuang two days later. Even if the opponent is already alert, Liao Dabi believes that he can still take down Zhuangzi with the advantage of his military strength. The total strength of the several forces that have been agreed upon now exceeds 4,000, which is enough to attack the county town. Is there anything wrong with attacking such a small village with a population of only a few hundred people?
On April 23, the first year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty, and May 26, 1628, Lijiazhuang, Panyu County, Guangzhou Prefecture. The investigators who were sent out in the past few days have gradually returned to Zhuangshang. What can be determined now is that in recent days, a large number of unidentified people have been gathering dozens of miles north and south of Lijiazhuang. According to the combat command headquarters It is judged that the bandit forces launched an attack on Lijiazhuang in the past day or two. As the top local commander, Xiao Liang has also issued an order to enter the first level of combat readiness.
Early in the morning, the servants of the Li family brought a hot breakfast, including rice porridge and fried cakes. After breakfast, the combatants began to move into defensive positions one after another. A special lookout post is arranged on the three-story roof of Li Jifeng's house, the tallest building in Lijiazhuang. From this vantage point, using telescopes, one can have an unobstructed view of the situation within a radius of seven or eight miles around Lijiazhuang.
The militiamen who entered the combat position began to inspect their weapons for the last time under the orders of the squad leader. The artillerymen also took off the oilcloth that had been covering the artillery position, revealing the dark, large killer weapon. In accordance with the requirements of the headquarters, the local people organized baggage teams and rescue teams respectively, prepared trolleys for transporting combat supplies and stretchers for transporting the wounded, and assembled in the village on standby.
The "Exploration" docked at the Shawan Waterway had quietly left before dawn. It was not to avoid this battle, but to patrol the Shawan Waterway and the Pearl River around Lijiazhuang to prevent the opponent from launching a major attack from an unexpected position. A large-scale cross-river offensive - although the possibility of the bandits being able to organize such an offensive is slim, the headquarters believes that it is still necessary to nip it in the bud.
At about ten o'clock in the morning, the lookout post discovered that about seven or eight miles away in the northeast, a team of about a thousand people appeared, heading towards Lijiazhuang. About ten minutes later, another team with a larger number of people appeared at the same distance to the west, heading in the same direction as Lijiazhuang.
"The opponent has appeared!" When Xiao Liang said this, there was no fear on his face. Instead, he was full of excitement: "Send a telegram to the Garrison Office and our reinforcements to inform them that the enemy has appeared and we are entering. Combat status.”
"It will take at least one more day for the reinforcements to arrive here." Chen Yixin responded: "When we contacted last night, they were still thirty or forty nautical miles away from Dawanshan Island. It seemed that they would not be able to catch up with this battle. .”
"It's not necessarily a bad thing if less people share the credit." Xiao Liang picked up the military cap on the table and put it on his head: "It's our turn to perform, let's have a good fight!"
"That's necessary!" Chen Yixin also adjusted his military uniform and strode out of the headquarters. According to the division of labor agreed between the two, the fourth company of the Haihan Militia led by Chen Yixin in the north of Lijiazhuang is the main defensive force, while Xiao Liang is leading a platoon of militiamen affiliated with the Guangzhou Garrison Office to coordinate the defense with the Lijiazhuang Militia, most likely their opponents. The west side of the main attack direction. As for the east and south sides, the terrain was not suitable for the attackers to deploy their troops, so only a small number of armed personnel were deployed as observation posts to prevent sporadic sneak attacks by the opponent.
Compared to the relaxed and confident Haihan officers, the Li family and his son were as restless as ants on a hot pot. Although they all knew that the strength of Haihan's army was far greater than that of the bandits, they still felt uncontrollable panic when the incident came.
Even the mature Li Jifeng couldn't help but ask again: "Lao San, the fighting power of Haihan's gang is really as strong as you said, right?"
Li Nai smiled bitterly and said: "Dad, you have asked me this eight times today!"
"Oh? Really? As a father, I just want to confirm..." Li Jifeng also felt that he was a little out of control, so he said haha to convey the words.
"Dad, with the Haihan Militia here, it is impossible for those bandits and bandits to get any advantage!" Li Nai obviously has much more confidence in the Haihan Militia than his father.
Although Li Nai did not go to Annan to witness the performance of the Haihan militia on the regular battlefield, the amphibious landing live-fire military exercise held on the anniversary left a very deep impression on him. With the lethality of the Haihan weapons and the combat capabilities of the Haihan militia, Li Nai did not believe that the ragtag group of bandits could resist the firepower of the Haihan militia on a frontal battlefield - even if the strength of the two sides was ten times different, it would not be able to change this. situation.
"That's very good!" Li Jifeng paced back and forth in the room for a few times, and then heard He Qiang reporting outside the door: "Sir, the Haihan officers have set off!"
Li Jifeng quickly walked to the door and asked: "The thief appeared?"
"They probably showed up. Lieutenant Xiao and Lieutenant Chen have left the headquarters just now and went to the north and west separately." He Qiang bowed and responded.
"Then the thief must have appeared!" Li Jifeng also stepped out of the door: "Third brother, come with me to watch the battle in front of the formation!"
"Dad, be careful!" Li Nai quickly chased after seeing this.
Compared with the defensive side, which is waiting for work, the offensive side, which has traveled a long distance, is obviously not so relaxed. Li Maozi touched his empty belly and could only use the spear in his hand as a crutch to move forward in order to save some energy.
In order not to reveal traces in advance and alert the target, Liao Dabi and his group camped in a wilderness about fifteen miles away from Lijiazhuang last night. The ground was used as a bed for the whole night. Many people woke up with backaches in the morning. . The breakfast was also very shabby. The wild vegetable porridge was so clear that you could almost see the silhouette of a person in it. Each person had a small plate which was not even enough for the bottom. Li Maozi took it and poured it into his mouth and then it was gone.
In fact, this is not because Liao Dabi is stingy, but because he is short of food and grass and has no choice but to do it. They set out from Qingyuan half a month ago and made a circular arc to the west to avoid the city of Guangzhou. They had traveled more than 400 miles and had already finished the several thousand kilograms of food and grass they had brought with them. If they hadn't robbed several villages along the way and obtained some food and grass, this team would have had to beg for food before they could capture Lijiazhuang.
Of course, the other bandit teams from Huizhou Prefecture, Shaozhou Prefecture and Zhaoqing Prefecture are not much better than them. Teams of hundreds or even thousands of people have to march across states and prefectures to fight. For these reckless people, It's too complex a task for guys. Arrangements for food and lodging, allocation of food and grass, determination of marching routes, front and back communication during the march... When these bandits set out on the journey, they realized that conquering the world was far from as simple as standing on the top of a mountain and robbing passing merchants. Just a few hundred miles of marching route had already worn away at least one-third of the combat effectiveness of these bandits.
However, the bandits will naturally remember all the suffering they suffered on the way. After conquering this village, they must grab enough money. Therefore, although there were constant complaints in the team, no one stopped and continued to move towards the destination with red eyes while cursing.
But Li Maozi felt vaguely uneasy in his heart. The place where he camped last night was actually within Lijiazhuang's sphere of influence. If nothing else happened, he should be able to see people from Lijiazhuang in the nearby fields after setting off today. However, along the way there was a deserted field, and all the farmers who used to work in the fields were missing. It was still five or six miles away from Lijiazhuang, but none of the people sent to the village to inquire about information a few days ago showed up. Li Maozi couldn't help but wonder if these people were discovered by the Li family and arrested. If he was really arrested, wouldn't Lijiazhuang have already been prepared?
Thinking of this, Li Maozi decided to remind Liao Dabi to be careful, so as not to fall into Liao Dabi's trap. After listening to Li Maozai's report, Liao Dabi, who was riding on a gelding, responded with a sneer: "Do you think I didn't find something wrong? There are hundreds of households in Zhuangzi, and there is not even a living person within ten miles." Come on, this is either a ghost or you are already prepared! You keep saying that there are no strong men in Lijiazhuang to train, and you will take the lead in the battle later!"
Li Maozi swallowed hard and secretly regretted that he had talked too much. He could have just hid aside when he realized something was wrong. Why did he go out and let Liao Dabi transfer his resentment to himself? If the Lijiazhuang had already received the news, then the Lijiazhuang militia would probably be lying in ambush in the village waiting for these bandits to attack. Liao Dabi didn't know how powerful the Li Jia Militia was, but Li Maozi had seen it with his own eyes - all Haihan matchlock guns, the equipment was probably better than that of the Ming Dynasty's army, and the instructors who trained them were also from Qiongzhou Island. Those sent from the Haihan people's base camp learned all the Haihan people's fighting methods, which are said to be very powerful. Not to mention the bandits led by Liao Dabi, even if the army comes, it will be difficult for them to get a good deal.
These bandits don't even have a few bows and arrows. How can they deal with a matchlock gun that kills people a hundred steps away? If you still have to charge into the militia's muskets, isn't it because you didn't die quickly enough? Li Maozi secretly considered the pros and cons and silently considered how to avoid this disaster.
According to the prior agreement between several bandit forces, Liao Dabi and a group of bandits from Zhaoqing Prefecture joined forces to attack the west side, while Lai Dingji from Shaozhou Prefecture and Zhang Weichong from Huizhou Prefecture were responsible for attacking the north side of Zhuangzi. In addition, there was also a group of water bandits from Xinhui County in the south. They came from the south by boat and launched an offensive from the side of Shawan Waterway to the south of Lijiazhuang. The only free area to the east of Lijiazhuang is the Pearl River. Even if the people in Lijiazhuang escape, they will not be able to escape very far. Being able to unite multiple forces in this offensive and use this tactic of encircling three and one, Liao Dabi believed that he had reached the pinnacle of his personal campaign history.
(End of chapter)