Chapter 8 The Bandits Arrived

  In the dining hall, Xu Wangshi was busy ladling porridge into bowls. Xu Wei had been here for several days and had never seen his sister-in-law idle for a moment, as if she were born to be a hard worker.

  "Come on, let's have breakfast," said Xu Wangshi and then walked out of the hall. In this era, women were not allowed to eat at the table. Even in the year 2000 when Xu Wei lived, there were still some rural areas that followed this rule. The women had been busy for half a day preparing a big table of delicious food for their guests, but they themselves could only eat in the kitchen.

  But today was somewhat unexpected, Xu Wangshi had just walked out a few steps when Xu Taigong called out: "You can eat at the table too." Seeing Xu Wangshi hesitate, he added "I have something to ask you", and only then did Xu Wangshi sit down.

  "Where's Big Brother?" Xu Wei asked casually, not seeing Xu Sheng.

  "Is Uncle asking about your fourth brother? He had some official business to attend to and left early, saying he won't be back for three to five days." Xu Wangshi said while handing Xu Wei a steamed bun. Fourth brother? People call me Xu Jiu, so does that mean this Xu Taigong has nine sons? Then where are the other seven?

  Xu Taigong asked at this time: "Has Xu Sheng mentioned anything to you? I know he has something on his mind."

  Madam Xuwang hesitated for a moment, but after a while, she put down her bowl and chopsticks and said: "The official mentioned last night that recently, bandits have appeared in Hebei, invading the counties and harming the people. This time he has been ordered to return and will join forces with the local officials to organize the brave and defend their homeland."

  Xu Taigong's expression changed upon hearing this: "If that's the case, isn't it close to the borders of the Grand Master's fief?"

  "Listen to what the official is implying..." Xu Wangshi felt somewhat embarrassed, she knew that her father-in-law was in poor health, but he had always been concerned about the country and its people.

  Xu Taigong saw her like this and knew in his heart. He sighed, "It must be approaching the summer solstice, alas, a time of many troubles for the country."

  Xu Wei listened intently, and when he heard that the bandits were approaching Xiajin County, his heart skipped a beat. This unlucky Song Dynasty, with the Jin army's southern invasion imminent, internal troubles had also arisen, and they had actually occurred in the strategic location of Hebei Province. It was indeed true that "a leaky roof encounters continuous rain at night, a broken ship suffers from headwinds".

  "Grandfather, the official instructed before he left that we should also be prepared for any changes..." Xu Wangshi's words were not finished when she heard Xu Taigong loudly interrupting: "Changes? What changes? Those trivial bandits can still stir up a big wave? What formation haven't I seen? In those years at Wuding River, the Xia army of 80,000 people besieged our army. At that time, the military rations were exhausted. I followed the order of General Lao Zhong and led 500 brothers to launch a surprise attack at night, beheading over 800 people..."

  Just then, a loud voice was heard outside asking: "Is Taigong at home?"

  Xu Taigong was just getting into his speech when he was disturbed by someone for no reason, and with a displeased heart, he shouted: "Not in!"

  The man outside hastily smiled and said: "Taigong, please calm your anger. I am Xu He, the local security officer. There is an urgent matter that I need to discuss with you." In the Song Dynasty, ten households formed a bao, with a bao head; fifty households formed a da bao, with a da bao head; and ten da bao formed a du bao, with a du bao head. Don't underestimate the du bao head, he is in charge of 500 households, responsible for maintaining law and order, household registration, training strong men, etc., it's not an exaggeration to call him a local emperor.

  It's said that the security guard has arrived, and only then did Xu Taigong put away his anger, his tone slightly softer: "Let's talk in the main hall." After finishing speaking, he stood up and walked into the guest hall. Xu Wei listened from the dining hall as the security guard first asked about his well-being, and then said some unrelated and unimportant things, such as how was his health? How were his teeth? And how had he been feeling lately?

  Xu Taigong was a hot-headed person. He tapped his foot to speak quickly and let out what he had to say, only then did the village head get to the point.

  The Song and Jin dynasties made a "maritime alliance" to attack the Liao, and after signing the treaty, the Song court hastily gathered a large army in Hebei. Coincidentally, at this time, the Fang La uprising broke out in the south, and Emperor Huizong had no choice but to order the Imperial Commissioner Tong Guan to lead the assembled troops to Zhejiang to suppress it. As a result of this delay, the Jin dynasty was unwilling to wait any longer, and Emperor Taizu of Jin led his army to conquer the Liao's Central Capital Dadingfu in one fell swoop.

  The Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty saw an opportunity and hastily ordered Tong Guan and Cai You to lead a large army of 100,000 men to attack Liao. The result was a humiliating defeat. The Khitan people, who had been defeated by the Jurchen iron cavalry and retreated for thousands of miles, turned around and defeated the Song army, chasing them all the way back to Xiongzhou before stopping.

  How can people be reduced to such a state and still linger on the border with an air of impertinence? Moreover, the situation at home is not quite peaceful either. Song Ting is about to withdraw his troops again. This has caused suffering for the common people in Hebei Province. The area around Xiajin County has also been affected. Soldiers openly plundered and secretly stole from the people, bullying them. As for the officials, they spoke eloquently, saying that they must not disturb the people or take even a single needle or thread from the masses. But can so many people be managed?

  Finally, the soldiers left, and the common people thought that peace had been restored. However, who would have thought that the Hebei region was severely ravaged, with great resentment among the people? A few foolish individuals shouted slogans, and suddenly there were riots! They looted grain, money, and even women! As soon as the government troops left, bandits began to wreak havoc again. The Song army was ineffective against external enemies but excelled at internal suppression. Several generals were ordered to quell the uprising, and it seemed that they had a good strategy. However, the Song army, which had been defeated by the Khitan people, appeared to have collectively lost their morale. After several battles, they were unexpectedly driven back into the city by a group of rustic bandits. The leader of the bandits became arrogant, almost shouting "The emperor's throne will be mine next year!" They invaded and harassed various counties, harming the common people. According to rumors from above, it is possible that they may come to Xiajin.

  Xiatian is a small county, what power can resist? No way, gather the militia, everyone protects their home together. Xiatian County has a militia, to put it bluntly, Xujiacun takes the lead, who made you a martial arts village? But in Xujiacun, such a big thing, the head of the village is not daring to take charge, must first consult with Mr. Xu, this is an unwritten rule. Why? You ask the imperial court, ask the county magistrate, they are indeed formal fifth-grade officials.

  Xu Taigong listened to the lengthy and tedious report from Bao Zheng, remaining silent for a long time before finally responding: "This old man is already advanced in years and no longer has the energy, you'd better take charge of this matter yourself."

  Actually, the steward just went through the motions. After hearing this, he pretended to beg repeatedly and then reluctantly said: "Since Master Taigong trusts me, I can only try my best. If something goes wrong, please help me out, Master Taigong."

  The two finished their conversation, and Xu He wanted to make some polite remarks, but was dismissed by Xu Taigong. Returning to the dining hall, he didn't know who he was venting his anger at, and just as he picked up his bowl, he slammed it heavily on the table, his eyebrows and beard furrowed in a knot, and stormed out. Xu Wangshi dared not respond, and Xu Weigang wanted to speak up, but was stopped by his sister-in-law.

  Wolfing down his meal, Xu Wei had something on his mind and was about to leave when he heard Xu Wangshi sigh as she tidied up: "How unlucky can we be? The government troops just left and now the bandits have arrived. I don't know if we'll make it through this time."

  "Sister-in-law, don't worry, as long as... Fourth Brother is here, nothing will happen." Xu Wei comforted.

  Xu Wang was moved again, looking at Xu Wei's back and smiling: "My little uncle has also grown up."

  Another sunny day, the northern climate is supposed to be cold, but why is this summer even hotter than the south? From the dining hall to the main gate, it's just a few steps away, and Xu Wei is already sweating profusely.

  As soon as one foot stepped out of the threshold, the sound of gongs came from the village, and someone shouted loudly: "Every household has made it clear that half an hour later, all males between 15 and 50 years old must gather at the wheat field. Don't be late! Every household has made it clear..." The efficiency is not bad, the head of the village was just here, and now it's already arranged.

  "Brother Jiu!" A shout, Xu Wei looked around and saw Yang Yan, Zhang Qing and a fat man hurrying over from the west of the village.

  "Who is this..." Looking at that chubby face that was swollen like the buttocks of a village woman, Xu Wei asked.

  That fatty can't even speak clearly: "What's with your eyes? I'm Ma Tai."

  "Haha, just now when I went to his house, this kid was still lying in bed, stiff as a corpse. I pulled him up with one hand, and you guess what? He wasn't even wearing pants! That fat butt is like a giant bathtub! But that thing...” Yang Yan raised an eyebrow and batted his eyelashes, Ma Tai got angry and reached out to slap him.

  Zhang Qing's eyebrows tightened, and he shouted: "Do you two have a plan? What time is it now? My uncle came to our house last night with his family, saying that there were 2-3 thousand bandits burning, killing, looting, and robbing along the way, heading in this direction. Our Xujiayuan village may be..."

  "What the heck! When that time comes, we brothers will take up our knives and go on a rampage, chopping melons and vegetables! We'll throw them all into the river to feed the turtles! Ninth Brother, don't you agree?" Yang Yan said disdainfully.

  Xu Wei seemed lost in thought and didn't respond. Instead, Ma Tai whispered: "My mother is already packing her bags to temporarily flee to the city."

  "Don't even say you want to go too? You'd better say yes, or I'll beat you to death!" Yang Yan said viciously.

  At this time, Xu Wei suddenly blurted out: "If it really comes to that point, the city will be useless too."

  "Why is that?" Yang Yan and Ma Tai almost asked at the same time.

  "I asked you, is there a garrison of the Governor's Mansion in Xiajin?" Xu Wei asked back. The three shook their heads simultaneously. "So to say, those who wear knives and eat imperial rations in the city are just that bunch of guys from the government office. I saw them yesterday, they're just wearing official uniforms to intimidate ordinary people. When the bandits come, can the broken city wall of Xiajin County stop them?"

  The three of them shook their heads like a drumbeat, the broken city wall in the county, any family can climb up with a ladder. It's not bragging, one day when we're bored and looking for fun, calling on the young men from the village, we can take down the county town.

  "Hmph, so that's what you're saying? We should clean our necks first and then kneel neatly outside the village to wait for that scoundrel to come and behead us?" Yang Yan said with a cold snort.

  Xu Wei said seriously, "That won't do. With so many people in Xu's village, how long will it take to chop them all down? We'll have to set up a canopy outside the village and prepare some cool tea. When the bandits get tired of chopping, they can rest for a while, drink some tea, and then come back. Maybe those bandits will be happy to chop and let our brothers go."

  Yang Yan was so angry that his eyes were rolling back, Zhang Qing smiled bitterly, Xu Wei had a serious illness and forgot about people, but how could he also change his temperament? (Please brothers collect it by the way, vote for two votes, thank you.)