Chapter Eleven Mysterious
"You few, and Big Cow, hurry up and put those draft animals on the big cart, load up the grain! And you, Feng Dogzi, go find some lamp oil, vegetable oil, whatever oil you can find, pour it into the house! And Zhao Erdui, Tie Tou, you two first keep watch outside, try to buy some time, wait for my signal, then hurry down!" Xiao Tianjian stood in the courtyard, giving orders to his men.
Everyone was stunned after hearing Xiao Tianjian's order. They had just been thinking the same way as Xiao Tianjian, assuming they would first block the people outside, gather their things and then escape through the underground tunnel. But now, they were all confused by Xiao Tianjian's order and couldn't understand what he was planning to do.
"What? Hold the tray! This mule and cart can't be pulled into the pit!" Feng Gouzi kindly reminded Xiao Tianjian.
"Do as I say, stop nagging! When did I ever say to pull the cattle into the ditch? Hurry up and do it my way!" Xiao Tianjian scolded fiercely at these people. He had never considered himself a cultured person, but using foul language had almost become his habit.
Although everyone didn't understand his idea, but for some time now, Xiao Tianjian had already accumulated prestige among them, and everyone was used to listening to his orders. No one dared to speak out of turn anymore, and people like Da Niu and Gou Zi quickly got busy following his instructions.
The villagers and tenants outside, after a period of confusion, finally elected one of the more serious ones among them to temporarily serve as their leader. Under this person's organization, they began to cautiously approach the gate again, and divided into groups to lift ladders, attempting to climb over the walls from both sides of the mansion.
As soon as they saw people approaching from outside, the people squatting on the gate tower and house tops immediately picked up tiles again and struck down with all their might. Although the tiles were not heavy, after falling rapidly, as long as they hit someone's head or body, they could still beat them until they were bleeding and even fractured. The farmers and tenants who had just organized themselves were immediately driven back by this rain of tiles, fleeing in disarray.
The big cow was indeed a good driver, and soon he drove the donkeys out of the cattle shed, hitched up two large carts, and the remaining people used all their strength to carry sacks of grain from the granary and place them on the carts. Before long, the two carts were fully loaded, and they also gathered some valuable items that could be carried, including the remaining weapons, which were all loaded onto the carts. They stopped only when Big Cow called a halt, worried that if they added any more, the draft animals might not be able to pull the load.
"Big Cow, go and bring out all the cows, drive them to the front gate here, I have a big use for them!" Looking at them loading the big cart, Xiao Tianjian immediately instructed Big Cow again.
Dà niú this person is also a simple and honest person with almost no mind, only knows to follow Xiao Tianjian's orders, stupidly agreed, and immediately ran out to drive out more than ten yellow cows, all concentrated in the front yard.
Feng Gouzi also rummaged through the warehouse and found several jars of vegetable oil, lamp oil and other items. He ran around wildly splashing these oils onto the doors and windows of the house.
"Dogzi come over! Find some rags and dip them in lamp oil to tie on these cow tails!" Xiao Tianjian gave another order to Feng Dogzi.
This order made everyone even more confused, and they were all bewildered, unable to understand what Xiao Tianjian was going to do.
"Take the tray! What are we going to do? You're not thinking of leading everyone out through the front door, are you?" Zhao Erdui finally couldn't hold it in anymore, letting the three people guard the gate tower first, and then slipped down the ladder and ran to Xiao Tianjian's face to ask him.
"Not bad, I'll take everyone out of the front door and see if they can stop us!" Xiao Tianjian already had a mature breakout plan in his mind at this moment.
Just now he also climbed up the gate tower to take a look at the situation outside, and it can be basically confirmed that his plan should have strong feasibility. Although escaping from the tunnel may be their safest way to escape, but in that case, this trip would not be much different from coming in vain, except for getting a few weapons, they wouldn't gain much advantage. The manpower is limited after all, and they can only carry a few things on their shoulders and in their hands, while the full warehouse of grain would be abandoned in vain, he really didn't want to give up, so this breakout plan was formed in his mind.
Zhao Erdu looked at Xiao Tianjian with a strange gaze, if it weren't for seeing Xiao Tianjian's calm expression, he would really think that Xiao Tianjian had gone crazy. Outside, there were now over a hundred villagers and tenants blocking the way, but they only had these dozen or so people. Xiao Tianjian actually wanted to lead them in rushing out with two large carts, this was simply like something out of a dream. If things didn't go well, as soon as they rushed out, they would be beaten into pulp by others.
"This won't do! The plate is in the hands of others, and there are many people outside! Can our small group break out?" Zhao Erdui couldn't help but ask this question on behalf of everyone.
Xiao Tianjian's face was impatient, and he waved his hand: "I have my own measure, I won't let you do this if I'm not sure! In short, I won't let you die, Tie Tou first come down, go burn the woodshed for me! Everyone quickly gather over, wait for my order later, we'll rush out together, and those outside can't stop us! Hurry up!"
Tie Tou responded and slid down from the roof, snatched a torch from someone's hand, and ran towards the backyard with big strides. Zhao Er Liu heard this and felt anxious, as the woodshed was their only exit, and if it caught fire, they would be cut off from their retreat!
He grabbed Tie Tou and hastily called out to Xiao Tianjian: "Hold the tray, this won't do! You can't burn it like that!"
Xiao Tianjian was also furious, and with one kick, he kicked Zhao Erlu to the ground, kicking him back several steps, and he sat down on his butt.
"Stop arguing with me, I'm still in charge here. You all remember what I said and just do it! If you dare to argue again, watch me chop you off!" Xiao Tianjian shouted at Zhao Erlu.
Others took one look at Xiao Tianjian's ferocious appearance and immediately nobody dared to say anything more. At this time, Tie Tou turned his head and ran into the backyard. The subordinates on the rooftop shouted: "They're coming again!" As soon as the words fell, the people crouching in high places started throwing tiles from the roof towards the outside of the yard again.
A man on the gatehouse was standing upright and throwing tiles at the outside, causing the people outside to shout loudly. The people outside began to counterattack, with several strong men picking up bows and arrows and shooting blindly at the roof. However, under the cover of darkness, they posed little threat to the people above. Suddenly, a loud rumbling sound came from outside, startling the people inside the courtyard.
"My goodness! There are even bird guns in this village! Be careful!" Zhao Erdui shouted.
But his words had barely fallen when suddenly a mournful cry was heard from the top of the gate, and someone tumbled forward, falling face up from the top of the gate to the bluestone ground below, heavily hitting the ground and losing all signs of life. As everyone looked closely, they saw that an arrow was pinned to his chest, with the tail still trembling. The people outside finally began to come to their senses and started a counterattack against those on high, armed with bows and arrows.
"Xiao Yi is done for!" Someone rushed up to check on the person who had fallen after being shot, then turned around with a sorrowful face and said to Xiao Tianjian.
