Chapter 140： Avoid bandits (3)

Yingbao took Mrs. Wen's carriage into the bamboo forest and parked next to his mule cart.

Chunniang was a little surprised to see her daughter coming back on a deer, but she swallowed her scolding words when she saw Mrs. Wen and her family.

“Mr. Wen, how is the village?” Chun Niang asked.

Mrs. Wen: "Everyone has gone to Beishan with food and supplies. We can't get on the carriage, so we have to come to join you."

“What are you saying about running away?” Chun Niang said: “We are all taking refuge together. Huh? Where is another gentleman? Why didn’t their family come over?”

Mrs. Wen sighed: "They have to drive to the county town, saying that the county town is safer than here. Alas, I can't stop them no matter what."

I'm afraid that the road to the county town has been blocked by rogue bandits, and it will be even more troublesome if they encounter them head-on.

The two chatted for a while. Chun Niang wanted to build a bamboo shed for them, but Mrs. Wen said that it would be fine on the carriage and there would be no need for trouble.

Another half an hour later, Jiang Dalang and Jiang Erlang ran over.

“Rogue bandits have appeared at the foot of the mountain. They seem to have burned down the houses in the village. They will probably come here soon.”

The south **** is only three or four miles away from the village. Those people who looted the village will rush up the south **** if they can't protect them.

“Where is Sanlang? Isn’t he back yet?” Jiang Liu asked.

Jiang Erlang: "How about I go take a look again." After saying that, he carried the bow and arrows and the arrow basket and ran out in a hurry. Jiang Dalang followed closely behind.

Chunniang was so anxious that she wanted to go out and have a look, but Mrs. Jiang Liu stopped her: "You woman, please don't cause trouble in this family. Those are all desperadoes, and women can't attract their attention."

Sister-in-law Jiang also said: "Chun Niang, you'd better stay well, or let's explore the path deep in the bamboo forest. If the bandits get here, we will have a way to escape."

“That’s good.” Chun Niang nodded, took a sickle and walked out of the bamboo shed.

"I'll go too." Old man Jiang also took a machete and entered the bamboo forest. Mrs. Wen's servant saw this and followed him.

So the three sisters-in-law walked in one direction, and Old Man Jiang and the Wen family servant walked in the same direction. When they encountered bamboos and thorns that were in the way, they cut them off and moved them aside.

Besides, Jiang Dalang and his second brother came out of the bamboo forest and stood on a high **** looking towards the village.

Thick smoke rose from several places in the village, and there were many people running vaguely.

“Let’s go down and have a look.” Jiang Dalang was still worried about his third brother and decided to go near the village to see what was going on.

Just when Jiang Erlang had this intention, the two brothers rushed down the mountain.

In the village, Jiang Sanlang was leading dozens of young men to fight against a group of bandits.

They held forks, shovels and other items in their hands, and some even held sharp sickles to fight against the oncoming bandits.

But the rogue bandits came in a steady stream, all of them fierce. They had swords and spears in their hands, and some even held bows and arrows. They injured several villagers at once.

But the bandits didn't get any favors, and many of them were injured.

Most of these bandits are in rags and look like peasants, and they have all kinds of things in their hands.

Seeing the fierce resistance of the villagers in this village, the leader of the bandits felt pity and said loudly: "Brother! We just want to beg for food, and we don't want to hurt your life. I see you are also a **** person, why not Come with us and fight! This court is corrupt, and we people have no way of living. If you follow me, you will be able to live a prosperous life, and you will be granted the title of prince and prime minister in the future!"

How could Jiang Sanlang and the others pay any attention to what he said? Not to mention that he and the others had not reached that stage yet. Even if they were at the end of their rope, they still had the skill of cultivating gold ears. They could still force themselves to become rebels, and in the end the whole family was cut into pieces by five horses.

“Since you are here to borrow food and you have borrowed a lot, please leave our village.”

Jiang Sanlang said loudly: "We are all farmers, living on the fields. We have a family and a family and we can't leave our homeland, let alone wandering around."

The leader's eyes were sinister and he snorted, "You have a family and a family, how can we be without a family and a family? Brother, I respect you as a man, why don't you come with us? Then the world will be united and enjoy peace, everywhere If everyone is not fed and warm, wouldn’t it be beautiful?”

“I beg to differ.” Jiang Sanlang led everyone to retreat further, and motioned to a few people behind him to draw out their bows and arrows for defense. "Master, please let the villagers go. Our life is not easy. The elderly and children at home still need to be fed."

The bandit leader stood in the crowd with his hands behind his hands and smiled coldly: "Since you are so stubborn, don't blame someone for being cruel."

He waved his hand and said, "Kill them and burn this village down."

The gangsters immediately rushed over screaming.

Jiang Sanlang saw that there were a large number of them, one or two hundred people, and he had only a few dozen people, and he was simply outnumbered, so he quickly led his people to retreat.

Of course he couldn't lead the gangsters to the south slope, nor to the north mountain. There were many villagers hiding there, so a group of people could only run eastward.

Some of the bandits pursued them, while others went from house to house to plunder them.

But the villagers have taken away all their food and property, leaving only heavy items that cannot be moved.

There are also some families who still have some food left, but the quantity is very small.

The bandit leaders are used to it. They rob along the way and encounter not many fat sheep unless they go to market towns or county towns.

In villages like this, most of them are poor families. Not to mention the dilapidated houses, only a few can find dozens of kilograms of grain per household.

But the families with brick-and-tile houses in the village are different. They must be local wealthy households.

The leader of the bandits and more than twenty brothers broke into Chief Chen's house and rummaged through it. Sure enough, they found a lot of good things, including several hundred kilograms of grain.

So he rested here and asked his brothers to ladle rice for cooking, go to the vegetable garden to pick vegetables, and cook them together with the plundered meat.

Jiang Sanlang and others ran all the way east, trying to get rid of the gangsters behind them.

But these gangsters were determined to kill them, chasing them all the way, and firing cold arrows from time to time.

Two more villagers were hit by arrows. Jiang Sanlang quickly asked people to set them up and run away, and let others cover them, but this slowed down the speed.

“Hahaha! Let’s see where you can run!” The leading bandit laughed wildly and ordered his men to fire arrows again.

Suddenly, an arrow shot out from a nearby tree and hit the man right in the face.

This arrow was extremely powerful, and it penetrated the temple of the leading bandit at once.

The gangsters paused, then turned to look at the big elm tree not far away, and rushed over with howls.

Another arrow was shot from a tree further away, hitting the chest of the bandit at the front, causing the bandit to fall to the ground.

Following that, there was another arrow, and another person was shot down in an instant.

The gangsters were all shocked, and many turned around and ran away in fright.

The people on the elm tree jumped down and immediately ran away.

Some gangsters wanted to rush over to arrest someone, but were forced back by arrows flying from the trees.

Jiang Sanlang also noticed something strange here. He took another look at the archer and quickly turned back to support him.

At this moment, the situation became one-sided. Jiang Sanlang and his men shot arrows at the bandits while throwing iron forks and stones, injuring several bandits at once.

These wandering bandits are originally a mob. Seeing that the situation is not going well, they abandon the injured bandits and flee as fast as they can.

“Big brother and second brother, why are you here?” Jiang Sanlang was frightened for a while.

If this was done accidentally, both my brothers would be dead.

“Find a safe place first before talking.” Jiang Dalang went to collect the swords and spears left by the dead and wounded bandits.

Several villagers also ran over, stabbed the injured bandits with iron forks, sent them to see the King of Hell, and then picked up the arrows and weapons.

In the fierce battle just now, a villager was seriously injured, so Jiang Sanlang gave him two pills of the medicine his daughter gave him.

The villagers carried their injured companions on their backs and didn’t know where to go.

"You guys go to Beishan." Jiang Sanlang was thinking about his wife, children and old parents at home, so naturally he couldn't escape with them, so now he could only walk separately.

“That’s good.” Some villagers are still willing to go to Beishan because their family members are there.

But there are still a few people who expressed their intention to join Jiang Sanlang.

Jiang Sanlang shook his head: "You should go to Beishan together and follow me. What should your family do?"

A few people lowered their heads and finally left with the villagers.

After the villagers left, Jiang Sanlang and his two brothers took a detour to the south slope, paying careful attention behind them along the way to prevent bandits from following them.

Fortunately, it was getting late now and it was raining, so the bandits also retreated into the villagers' houses and refused to come out.

Back home in Nanpo, the three brothers did not dare to rest and tidied up the house. No food, cotton, bedding or other items could be left at home.

Even if they find a place to bury and burn them, they cannot be left to the bandits.

Jiang Sanlang wanted to go home for a visit, but the courtyard door was locked.

After thinking about it, I climbed over the wall and entered. When I peeked into the house through the window, I couldn't help but be surprised.

The house was empty. Not only were the boxes and cages gone, but also the furniture was gone, not to mention the food. The large pile of rice was not even a shadow.

Jiang Sanlang frowned and went to look at the kitchen again. There were no iron pots or anything in the cupboard, and even the water tank was nowhere to be seen, leaving only two empty stove openings.

Not to mention the golden ears in the mushroom shed, even the wooden shelves are gone, and not a single chicken is left in the chicken shed.

Jiang Sanlang suddenly thought of his little girl, could it be Bao'er who did it? But how is that possible?

Himmo climbed out from the wall and saw the eldest brother and the second brother each carrying a large square table.

“What are you doing?” Jiang Sanlang was puzzled.

Jiang Dalang: "Isn't it raining? There is no shelter in the bamboo forest. We can't get wet all night. This big table can protect us from the rain."

 Jiang Sanlang:…

Okay, what the elder brother said makes sense.

When the three brothers entered the bamboo forest, it was completely dark.

Step into the depths of the bamboo forest, and you will see a faint light coming from a bamboo shed.

Putting down the large square table, Jiang Dalang got into the bamboo shed.

In the bamboo shed there were only old man Jiang and his wife Jiang Liu, as well as Jiang Cheng and Jiang Quan.

The two boys were curled up in the bamboo bed and already asleep. Old man Jiang and his wife were awake, lighting a dim butter lamp and waiting for their son's return.

“You’re back!” Mrs. Jiang Liu shouted in surprise when she saw her eldest son, and then she stretched her head and looked out: “Where are Erlang and Sanlang?”

“Here he is 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 some cushion."

Jiang Dalang took the steamed bun and took a bite. He also took the water hyacinth from his mother and drank it all in one go.

Not to mention, the gourds grown at home are really useful, and the benefits are evident at times like this.

“How is it outside?” Old Man Jiang asked.

Jiang Dalang: "Many bandits have come to the village. They have occupied the village and will not leave for a while."

“Oh, how good is this?” Jiang Liu frowned.

Jiang Dalang: "The government will always send people to suppress the bandits. We just need to survive this period of time."

At this time, Jiang Sanlang also got in.

"I heard from the villagers that the bandits are not limited to this place. There are other groups that have already gone to the county town. I guess the government officials won't be able to 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 happened in Zhouhe County and Donglin County. There were riots in many places. I heard the accents of the gangsters. Most of them are from there. Their leaders are not simple. They actually want to start an uprising. , and encouraged the villagers to rebel against him. "Rebellion?" Old Man Jiang touched his beard, a little surprised.

Who would be willing to rebel if life was not going to be sustainable? That was a serious crime against the nine clans.

“Alas, what a sin.” Mrs. Jiang Liu sighed.

Jiang Sanlang and his eldest and second brothers ate something and rested for a while, but they still felt uneasy.

Together with their father, the three of them made several traps in the bamboo forest overnight and cut many bamboo arrows.

A few people took a nap, and then it was dark. Jiang Sanlang got up and went out to check the situation.

The rain is still falling, and the weather is getting colder.

Soon Jiang Sanlang ran back and said hurriedly: "Everyone, get up! There are bandits coming up the mountain."

Ying Bao and her younger brother were sleeping soundly while huddled in a bamboo bed, when their father lifted them up. "Hurry up and get something to eat. If the bandits find us in the bamboo forest, we'll run deeper."

Yingbao quickly put on her shoes and urged her two younger brothers to get dressed and put on shoes.

Jiang Jie and Jiang Wu were also obedient. Without saying a word, they put on their clothes and put on their shoes.

Under the leadership of their second cousin, the two boys went out to Gong, washed their hands and faces with the water in the big gourd, and then took the steamed buns handed over by their mother and started to eat them.

As soon as he saw the water hyacinth, Jiang Quan looked at his little cousin with a look of resentment and asked in a low voice: "Where are the two gourd kings? Why didn't you bring them?"

Ying Bao said angrily: "How can you carry such a big gourd?"

“You can’t leave your family behind.” Jiang Quan was heartbroken.

I haven't even sold the Calabash King yet, and this happened, alas.

"If you don't lose your family, who will carry it?" Ying Bao said rudely to him.

What time has it been, and I’m still thinking about the Gourd King. What if this second cousin went to climb over the wall of his house on a whim, wouldn't he discover his big secret?

Jiang Quan lowered his head and sighed.

Jiang Sanlang glanced at the little girl, turned around and left the bamboo forest.

He also wanted to go outside to find out how many of the bandits had come.

Mrs. Wen and her daughter did not sleep well that night, and were always awakened by the sound of wind blowing in the bamboo forest.

At this moment, I got up early, got off the carriage with my daughter, stretched my legs, and stopped by for convenience.

Ying Bao, who was wearing a small bamboo hat, emerged from the bamboo forest and asked quietly: "Master, didn't you bring your raincoat?"

After a night of drizzle in the bamboo forest, there will always be a few large drops of water falling from time to time. People in the forest will soon get their clothes wet.

If you get wet in this kind of weather, you will definitely get sick.

Mrs. Wen indeed did not bring her bamboo hat or coir raincoat. She whispered: "It's all my fault. I forgot about it for a moment."

Even if I remember, she and her daughter don’t have straw raincoats. Those kind of straw clothes are only worn by servants at home.

Ying Bao: "Then I'll go back and get you two bamboo hats."

After saying that, he ran and climbed into the mule cart, pulled out two bamboo hats from it, and handed them to Mrs. Wen and Sister Wen.

These two bamboo hats are a little damaged, but they do not affect their use. They are actually items that Ying Bao collected in the cave.

She took it out of the cave under the guise of a mule cart.

"Thank you, Yingbao." Mrs. Wen and her daughter put on their bamboo hats, and as expected, the raindrops couldn't hit them.

…

There were more than 200 bandits who came to the south **** early in the morning. They broke open the door of Jiang's house and went in to search, but found nothing.

The leader was not angry, but walked around the house.

“This place has excellent feng shui and is a good place.”

The gangster leader sighed, "If it weren't for the wrong timing, I would really want to stay here."

After a while, a subordinate came to report: "General, we found a lot of grain and a lot of cotton wool in the vegetable field."

“Oh?” The leader became interested and followed his men to take a look.

I saw my men lifting up the straw pile to reveal a shed. From the shed, I saw my men pulling out large sacks filled with grain and cotton wool.

The leader smiled: "There is so much food. It seems that the people on this **** are very rich."

He turned around and said to his left and right, "Look around again, maybe there is something hidden."

"yes!"

A group of bandits began to search everywhere, and soon found themselves next to a bamboo forest.

But the bamboo forest was deep and difficult to see clearly, so the bandits did not dare to go inside.

But there is a path that seems to lead inside, with twists and turns and ruts.

Some gangsters hurried back to report to the leader, while the other gangsters watched outside.

Jiang Sanlang, who came to investigate, has retreated to the depths of the bamboo forest and ordered everyone to go into the forest quickly, "The bandits are coming in. You should pack your things and go inside quickly."

Chunniang asked anxiously: "What about the mule cart?"

“Leave the mule cart behind and take the mules away.” Jiang Sanlang picked up two sacks of grain and put them on the backs of the mules, 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 her servant to lead the horse, which was loaded with food, bedding and other items. She, the nanny and her daughter also held items in their hands, abandoned the carriage and followed the Jiang family inside.

As Chun Niang walked, she looked back at the mule cart. There was still a lot of grain on it, but it was just lost. She felt heartbroken.

Ying Bao also felt sorry for the grain on the mule cart. Before anyone could react, she suddenly ran back, quickly ran to the mule cart and climbed up. In just a moment, she took away all the grain inside, and then ran away again before A Niang came to find her. go back.

“What are you kid doing running back?” Jiang Erlang from the rear scolded.

Ying Bao: "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! You will be caught by the bandits and cooked as a lamb."

“Oh.” Yingbao responded obediently.

At this time, Jiang Sanlang came back from the front, took the daughter and handed it to his wife, and said to his second brother: "We are in the rear, and the eldest brother, father, and Dacheng are in front to clear the way."

Jiang Erlang nodded, and while walking, he kept a vigilant eye on what was going on behind him.

By this time, the bandits had entered the bamboo forest, and they quickly found the place where the Jiang family was stationed.

“General, do you want to chase inside?” the gangster asked.

The leader checked the carriage and mule carriage frames and said with a smile: "Of course we have to chase them. It's such a big fat sheep. It wouldn't be a pity to let them escape."

"Yes!" The gangster received the order and immediately called on a dozen of his accomplices to chase him. However, he didn't go far when he suddenly stepped on some ropes. The ropes suddenly loosened, and the bamboos held by the ropes suddenly bounced up, and several bamboo arrows whizzed. Shooting from the ground, two thieves were shot at once.

The gangster screamed and fell to the ground, curled up and crying in pain.

“There is a mechanism!” one person shouted: “Go find a long bamboo pole and explore the way ahead.”

The gangsters were frightened and did not dare to advance. They waited cautiously for someone to bring bamboo poles to clear the way in front, and then they moved forward.

This way the speed will be much slower.

Encountered several traps along the way, and the gangsters became more cautious.

The leader became even more interested and insisted on letting his men pursue him.

He wanted to see who was in front of him, who was so smart and knew how to use traps.

The leader didn’t know that this was actually a common hunting method. A small trick made using the toughness of bamboo could only hurt people by surprise. Once seen through, this kind of trap could be easily avoided.

This is also true. The gangsters soon caught up with Jiang Sanlang and the others.

Jiang Sanlang and his second brother took turns shooting arrows, retreating while shooting, so that the gangsters did not dare to step forward.

Later, the ferocity of the gangsters was aroused, and they rushed forward without hesitation. Jiang Sanlang took out the machete he had collected and started chopping them, while Jiang Erlang assisted.

Because the bamboo path was narrow and only wide enough for one or two people to walk, the gangsters were repelled by the two brothers time and time again and howled in anger.

Yingbao heard the sound of fierce fighting behind him and became anxious.

Mrs. Wen’s servants saw something was wrong and joined Jiang Sanlang and others with weapons, wielding machetes to kill the gangsters.

This servant is obviously a practicing master. He is much better than Brother Jiang Sanlang.

But as the casualties of the gangsters increased, Jiang Sanlang and others were also injured, and their strength was significantly weakened.

At this time, Old Man Jiang and others in front suddenly encountered a steep **** blocking their way.

There are also some bamboos growing on the steep slopes, but there are still many trees.

Old man Jiang was overjoyed and quickly urged his family to climb up the steep slope.

As long as you climb up the steep slope, you can attack the chasing gangsters from a high position.

But the steep **** is very steep. People can climb up with bamboo shrubs, etc., but it will be difficult if they hold things in their hands, and mules and horses cannot climb such a steep slope.

“Women and children, hurry up and throw things away if you can’t take them away.” Old Man Jiang warned.

Da Ni Er Ni and Yan Ru reluctantly dropped the baskets in their hands, but kept the baskets on their backs. The women struggled to climb up the steep slope.

Yingbao suddenly handed a bundle of rope to her mother, "Mom, take your brothers up quickly and tie the rope to the tree."

Chun Niang immediately understood what her daughter meant, and immediately climbed up with the two children without thinking about where her daughter got the rope.

Jiang Jie Jiang Wu was trained countless times by his sister to climb trees and walls, and it came in handy now. He could climb faster than his little cousin Yuan Bao.

Wei Zhan didn't give in too much and followed closely up the steep slope.

But Wen Shu and Mrs. Wen couldn't. Because it was a rainy day, the steep **** was very slippery. The mother and daughter climbed down several times and fell all over the muddy water. If the shoes they were wearing were not tied tightly with straps, they would probably have fallen off. .

It happened that Chun Niang had already climbed up the slope. She tied one end of the rope given by her daughter to the tree on the top of the **** and threw the other end down the steep slope.

“Master, Sister Wen, hurry up and hold on to the rope, and we will pull you up.” Ying Bao, who had already climbed up the steep slope, shouted.

Wen Shu was about to cry. She was pushed forward by her mother-in-law. While tying a rope around Wen Shu's waist, the nanny advised: "Madam, don't be afraid, hold on to the rope and don't let go."

"Yeah." Wen Shu knew that he couldn't hold him back. Grandma and nanny hadn't gone up yet, so he had to go up quickly so that he could pull the two of them along.

Another rope hung down from the other side. It turned out that Yingbao found another bundle of ropes from somewhere and asked her 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 at all, otherwise their lives will be at risk.

Mrs. Wen naturally did not dare to delay and quickly grabbed the rope and climbed up.

At this time, Jiang Sanlang could hardly hold on anymore.

Today, three chapters were published together.