Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

The moonlight is bright and clear, and the river is far away.

Zhenfu County has high mountains and deep valleys, the Han River flows extremely fast, and there are 24 dangerous shoals in Huangjin Gorge alone. Without an experienced helmsman, the ship will be destroyed and everyone will die. If you are traveling upstream, you will need to hire trackers.

The river flows into Xixiang County, joins the tributaries and goes north, and the water speed immediately slows down.

Shangbai Village is located at the slowest point of the river, and boats are coming quickly under the moonlight.

The shape of the ship is similar to the "three tiles" of the Han River in later generations, five or six meters long and about two meters wide. This is the main warship of the Heifeng Village bandits.

There are also some small fishing boats, two or three meters long and about one meter wide.

The five Byford brothers were divided into five squads.

Because they all came from Shangbai Village and were familiar with the terrain here, they were all called in to serve as guides.

I specifically chose to take action on the 15th day of the lunar calendar, of course, for this big moon.

The moon is bright and the visibility is very high, so boating can be done at night.

The main fighting force of the bandits was only 26 people, but the half-thieves, half-farmers sent out a full 71 people. It's not that I don't want to bring more, but the ship is not enough. After all, I have to grab things back, so there must be enough space on the ship to load the goods.

Night blindness was actually not that common in ancient times.

Not to mention rice, mung beans, pears, and apricots are rich in vitamin A, but the bottom bandits can’t afford them. But eggplants, cucumbers, and spinach also contain vitamin A. No matter how bad it is, wild vegetables such as purslane and shepherd's purse can also effectively prevent night blindness.

"Shangbai Village is ahead!" Baiford pointed.

"Get ready to dock!"

Several small boats where the five brothers were on quickly docked at the shore, and the pirate boats followed them one after another.

The bandits carried several pottery pots and placed them separately on the river bank.

The pottery pot has a lid with holes. Open the lid, throw in some straw and sawdust, and fan it with a cattail leaf fan. The half-extinguished charcoal turns bright red and quickly ignites the straw and sawdust.

A torch was stretched out, and a large area ignited in an instant.

Those torches are very simple to make. Mugwort, reed catkins and other materials are beaten and dried in the sun. The vines that have been dried in the same way are tightly wrapped around the wooden sticks, and then wrapped with a layer of oil-soaked linen cloth.

The main force of the bandits is armed with a torch.

The bandits each have two torches. Their mission was not to fight, but to cheer and cheer, and they carried bamboo baskets on their backs to hold their belongings. If they really fight, they will be more fierce than ordinary farmers.

"Brother, are you trying to capture Bai Village?" a leader exclaimed.

Although Yang Jun was unscrupulous and indecisive, he was extremely professional when going down the mountain to rob. Every time I do something, I only tell a few confidants, and the others follow suit, without knowing in advance what they are going to rob.

Yang Jun scolded in a low voice: "What are you afraid of? I have already contacted the government and asked the county magistrate to attack Lao Bai Yuanwai!"

Then he assigned tasks: "Third brother, you take people to the threshing floor and light the wheat straw stacked there. Fourth brother, you take people to burn a few houses, especially thatched houses, because they will burn faster. I Take the rest of the people and go to besiege the Bai family's mansion. After setting the fire, you brought people over and ransacked the Bai family's house with me. Everyone shouted, the louder the better!"

More than 160 torches were lit by the river, but the villagers were completely unaware.

Everyone was exhausted from doing farm work during the day, and they were all fast asleep at the moment. As for the private armed forces outside Officer Lao Bai, although they patrol day and night, they actually rest at night.

"Kill!"

97 bandits shouted in unison, instantly breaking the silence of the night. Their number was too small and they had to make a splash, otherwise they might be besieged by the villagers.

Many villagers were awakened by the shouting. Through the cracks in their doors or windows, they saw torches "everywhere" outside. They immediately shouted in fright: "Run away, the thief is coming!"

The villagers who were nearby didn't care about anything. They supported the elderly, picked up the children, and ran up the mountain in a hurry.

Villagers who were farther away were still thinking about their own belongings. Some were holding iron coins, some were holding chickens and ducks, and some were even holding cattle, all fleeing towards the Tea Mountains.

In the threshing floor, there were threshed wheat straw, which were quickly set ablaze by the bandits.

Several other villagers' thatched houses were also set on fire by torches.

With the fire dragon-like torch team, it seems that thousands of bandits are coming to kill them. How can the villagers still have the slightest courage to resist?

"what's the situation?"

Ju Ming suddenly sat up on the bed and took out the sword under his pillow. He didn't bother to put on shoes or clothes, so he went out barefoot to check.

Zhu Guoxiang also came over and said in surprise: "There are bandits attacking at night!"

"I'll go get the horse, and you can take the child and leave. I don't want the family's money," Zhu Ming said. "Run towards Chashan to find Zhang Guangdao and Bai Sheng!"

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were hurriedly dressing when Zhu Guoxiang pushed open the door and broke in. He picked up Bai Qi and said, "If a thief enters the village, run away to the mountains."

Grandma Yan still wanted to take the box where the money was stored, but Zhu Guoxiang urged: "Don't bring money, it's too heavy. Human life is more important than money!"

Seeing that Mrs. Yan was still hesitating, Zhu Guoxiang kicked the box over and the iron coins inside spilled to the floor.

Grandma Yan still couldn't bear it, because it was all the money for her grandson's education. But she also knew what was good, so she only bent down to pick up one, and followed Zhu Guoxiang out of the house in a hurry.

Villagers have fled here. When passing outside the courtyard, they ran and shouted: "Grandma Yan, run away, the thief is coming!"

Zhu Guoxiang's family, caught among the villagers, ran up the mountain in a panic.

Ju Ming deliberately walked at the back with his horse. When he reached a slightly higher place, he turned around to observe the situation below.

Only a few fires were seen, and the thieves must have set the fire deliberately. Then all the torches rushed towards the Bai family mansion, and the real target of the robbery was obvious at a glance.

"Everyone stop, there aren't many thieves!"

"Most of the torches are very close together, and the distance never changes. It should be that one person is lighting two torches!"

"Everyone pick up the sticks and follow me to fight back!"

Ju Ming shouted at the top of his lungs, but the villagers were already frightened and fled up the mountain in a hurry.

This was the first time in his life that Zhu Ming experienced firsthand what "escape" meant.

Obviously as long as they work together to fight back, the villagers are likely to win. But they couldn't combine their efforts, and they couldn't stop running away. In desperation, Zhu Ming could only run away with him.

"Dang-dang-dang!"

In the Bai family mansion, the gong was being beaten crazily.

Some of the relatives of the Bai family who lived in tile-roofed houses fled to the mountains in a hurry, while some ran towards the Bai family mansion.

Bai Chongwen, the eldest son of the Bai family, showed his ability at critical moments. He didn't even put on his clothes, so he came out with a stick in his hand. He ignored the panicked servants and family members and went straight to the courtyard of the guards.

"Yuan Da, Gu San, are you here?" Bai Chongwen shouted.

"Here he is, he's here!"

Two people responded immediately.

Yuan Da was the leader of the guards, but Gu San came down from Tea Mountain.

They were also in a mess, but Bai Chongwen's appearance calmed people's hearts a little.

Six nursing home servants and twenty mountain tea farmers quickly picked up weapons and gathered around Bai Chongwen.

Bai Chongwen ordered: "Gu San, your people are divided into two teams and go to close the two side doors. Yuan Da, you take people to guard the main door. The door must be blocked and no one is allowed to come in, even me. Relatives are not allowed to come in anymore, and anyone who disobeys will be beaten to death!"

These nursing homes and tea households are not independent armed forces.

They also have to work in normal times, but because they are stronger, they can get more wages when they get together to train during the off-season. The actual force value is only slightly stronger than that of the bandits, and they will definitely not be able to defeat the more than 20 main bandits.

Gu San has just turned seventeen this year. He has practiced martial arts with his father since he was a child. He is very good with guns and sticks. He usually lives in the tea garden.

This guy led people to a side door and yelled: "Close the door!"

The door was only half closed when it was grabbed by two hands. Someone outside the door shouted: "I am Bai Dalang's uncle, let me in quickly!"

Gu San ignored it, smashed it out with a stick, and opened the hand holding the door.

The bandits had already reached here, and they could only vent their anger on Bai Dalang's uncle as they watched the courtyard door close, and stabbed him to death with a single dart.

The inner court.

Old Bai was carried out by the butler on his back and yelled at the top of his lungs: "Don't panic, don't run, come here!"

The servants and family members were so frightened that they did not dare to escape from the mansion or stay in the courtyard. They were screaming and running around like headless flies.

As for Mrs. Bai, she held a string of rosary beads in her hand, knelt in front of the Buddhist niche and chanted sutras in a low voice, asking the Bodhisattva to bless the Bai family.

Sanlang Jun Bai Chongyan took his wife and children out of the house in panic. He carried a stool as a weapon and trembled at his father's side. He was extremely frightened, but he could still suppress his fear, but his brain was not in control and he had temporarily lost the ability to think.

Li Hanzhang was neatly dressed, carrying a scribe's sword in his hand, and was accompanied by a boy holding a stick.

Grabbing Bai Chongyan's lapel, Li Hanzhang scolded: "Why are you standing there? Hurry up and gather all the servants, male and female, to defend the house. The women move things to block the door, and the men use sticks to guard the walls. Hurry, hurry!"

"Oh...good, good!"

Li Hanzhang's calmness gave Bai Chongyan a backbone, and he took the servant boy to gather those guys who were running around.

Member Lao Bai also shouted at the right time: "Don't mess around. If you wait for a few more minutes, the strong men from Chashan will come down to help kill the thieves!"

Li Hanzhang saw that the place was in a mess and that Old Bai had difficulty moving around, so he simply picked up his sword and went to look for Bai Chongwen.

"Bai Dalang, the house is too big and there are too few people capable of fighting," Li Hanzhang suggested, "abandon the outer courtyard and gather all the people in the inner courtyard."

There were already bandits building ladders to attack the wall. Bai Chongwen immediately agreed without thinking: "Okay!"

After Bai Chongwen issued the order, Li Hanzhang asked again: "Where has the shortest courtyard wall?"

Bai Chongwen said: "The north wall of the inner courtyard."

Li Hanzhang turned around and left. When he returned to the inner courtyard, Bai Chongyan had gathered more than ten people, including men and women, all looking frightened and uneasy.

Li Hanzhang said: "Pick up anything that can hit people and follow me!"

Outside the north wall of the inner courtyard.

A group of bandits led by Yang Jun himself were sneaking around. He actually knew the art of feint attack, and he was bluffing in other places, planning to deliver a fatal blow on the north wall.

Byford, who was in charge of being a guide, turned his head and looked into the distance from time to time.

He wanted to snatch Shen Yourong back to the village, but the bandits wanted to attack the Bai family mansion with all their strength. It was too late to rob someone now. The pretty widow he longed for had probably fled into the mountains.

Alas, what a pity.

"Build a ladder!"

After Yang Jun gave the order, Bai Fude and another gangster immediately rushed towards the courtyard wall with a ladder.

Soon, there were more than ten pairs of short ladders set up on the wall one after another.

(Old fellows, please buy a guaranteed monthly ticket for next month. This book will be released on March 10th.)