Lord: Start with a book of Water Margin

Chapter 348 Take All
Zhao Zhen had easily persuaded the three villages of Wulibao, Shilibao and Eliu to surrender, and was planning to force the surrender of the other four towns. After hearing what Shi Kuo said, he did not care. After all, with the troops in his hands, it was a sure thing to occupy these villages and towns.

Shi Kuo and Shi Yue led the local militia to clear the way, and Liu Mu followed. Zhao Zhen and his entourage headed for the nearest Xiaoxu Village.

On the way, Zhao Zhen heard a burst of cannon fire. He stopped his horse and looked towards the direction where the cannon fire came from. He called Shi Kuo and the other two to ask questions. Shi Kuo said, "From the sound, I'm afraid it's from the direction of the town."

After hearing this, Zhao Zhen ordered the soldiers to speed up their pace. At the same time, he asked Lu Fang and Guo Sheng to go and investigate.

After hearing this, the two men led the cavalry, bypassed Xiaoxu Village, and headed towards Jingmen Town.

Like Eliu Village, Xiaoxu Village also closed its gates tightly. The village warriors, each holding a broadsword, a five-pronged fork, and a guard of guests, guarded the village tightly under the command of Xu Qing, the son of the village head Xu Tan.

Shi Kuo went forward to talk to him, but just as he finished speaking, he heard Xu Qing from the village leaning on the wall and shouting, "Shi Kuo, you also swore a blood oath, vowing to work together to protect the village, so why are you leading outsiders to attack me today?"

Shi Kuo was ashamed, and Shi Yue shouted, "Xu Qing, you still have the smell of milk on your lips and the hair on your head. Your father Xu Tan is not dead yet. When will it be your turn to be the master of Xiaoxu Village?"

Guang Hui said to Zhao Zhen on his horse, "Sir, have you seen the armor on Xu Qing? The spies didn't mention this man, so why not ask the Shi brothers?"

Zhao Zhen sent someone to call Shi Kuo to the front and questioned him. Shi Kuo said, "General, originally the four families of Zhang, Qi, Sun, and Wei swore an oath of blood to protect the village. Later, the three families of Xu, Liu, and Shi came here and took root and joined in. My family came here the latest. Although there are many people, the village has only been established for two generations. I don't know some of the situations. Brother Liu Mu may know."

Zhao Zhen nodded and called Liu Mu over. Liu Mu listened to Zhao Zhen's question and replied, "General, there is a relative of the Xu family who is said to be a remarkable person, called [Four-legged Snake] Xu Jing. He once killed an official and became a bandit, but later he was recruited and made many military achievements. He was promoted to the governor of Shangdang and Taiyuan. This Xu Qing went out a few years ago. I heard that he joined this distant relative and only came back a few days ago. I heard that he learned martial arts, but I don't know if it's true or not."

After hearing this, Zhao Zhen breathed a sigh of relief. After all, Xu Qing had not returned at that time, and it was not that the spy was not doing his best.

Zhao Zhen said to Liu Mu: "You are doing this and that to provoke Xu Qing to come out and fight."

Liu Mu immediately agreed, took a few steps forward and shouted, "Nephew Xu, the general heard that you have learned martial arts and returned. Why don't you come out to fight? If you win, the general promises to turn around and leave. If you lose, Xiaoxu Village will surrender, and this will reduce the number of murders and the villagers can be saved. What do you think, nephew?"

After hearing this, Xu Qing was about to come out to fight, but Xu Tan quickly tried to appease him, saying, "Da Lang, who is outside? How can he get out so easily?"

Xu Qing said, "Father, although Liu Mu has joined forces with outsiders, what he said is not without reason. Look at the group of soldiers outside, they are fully armored and have high morale. If they really want to attack the village, how can my ten-foot-high earth wall stop them? My son learned this spear technique from my uncle, and thirty or twenty people can't get close to him. Why not take this opportunity to go out of the village and test his weight? If he is a drunkard, I will stab him to death with a spear and let him be surprised by me. It will also dampen morale and help defend the village and town, waiting for Qi Gai and Wei Zhuang to come to the rescue, and defeat this group of soldiers from inside and outside."

Xu Tan said with a worried look on his face: "My son, it's better to be careful."

As he said this, he asked someone to open the gate of the village. Xu Qing mounted his horse, held the gun in his hand and walked out of the gate. The people in the village quickly closed the gate.

Xu Qing shouted, "Who is coming here to die?"

Guanghui laughed, drew out his two swords, and was about to step forward. On this side, Hu Sanniang had already ridden out of the formation, and rushed forward, holding up the sun and moon swords in her hands, and went out to meet the enemy.

When Xu Qing saw this, he immediately looked down on her and shouted, "A woman who is not at home taking care of her husband and children dares to fight in battle."

Hu Sanniang was furious and went straight to Xu Qing without saying anything. When Xu Qing saw her, he also rode his horse and brandished his spear to fight Hu Sanniang.

One was skilled in double swords, the other in spears. The two fought for seven or eight rounds. Zhao Zhen smiled as he watched from his horse, only to see that Xu Qing's spear skills had been disrupted and he could only block and block.

After another three rounds of fighting, Hu Sanniang let out a cry and slashed at Xu Qing's right arm with her knife. Xu Qing couldn't get back with his spear in time, so he had to drop his spear and retreat. The two passed each other, and Hu Sanniang turned her knife back and slapped Xu Qing on the back, knocking him off his horse. Without even looking at him, she rode back into the battle.

"Sir, I have accomplished your mission."

Zhao Zhen's side was filled with cheers. At Xiaoxu Village, Xu Tan saw that his son had lost, so he quickly had the village gate opened. He brought 20 to 30 people and helped Xu Qing up. Xu Tan asked, "Da Lang, are you hurt?" Xu Qing's face turned red and white. He looked at Zhao Zhen and sighed, "Dad, I'm not good enough in martial arts. I'm afraid I can only surrender now."

Xu Tan said: "Then surrender. It is better to protect the village."

As they spoke, the father and son walked to the front of Zhao Zhen's army and knelt on the ground.

Shi Kuo and Liu Mu received Zhao Zhen's signal and led the two men forward to pay their respects. Xu Tan said, "I am a heavenly soldier and I have spoken disrespectfully. I beg you to forgive me. I am willing to donate my wealth to reward the soldiers."

Zhao Zhen said: "Get up, you will be of use later."

After saying that, he asked Shi Kuo to lead the way and continued to head northwest to Wei Zhuang.

On the way, they met Lü Fang and Guo Sheng, who were leading their cavalry. They met Zhao Zhen and reported, "Sir, we have already captured Zhang Gai, Qi Gai, Sun Zhuang, and Wei Zhuang."

Zhao Zhen asked, "Coach Lin has cavalry at his disposal, how did he capture these four villages so quickly?"

Guo Sheng said: "The cannon fire just now was indeed the signal cannon fired by the Zhang and Qi families. This guy didn't know how to live or die, and actually gathered the local militia and farmers to line up outside the town to wait for him. Coach Lin only charged and defeated this group of local militia, beheaded the village head Qi Teng and Zhang Gai, coaches Qi Zhen and Zhang Kui, killed sixty or seventy people, and captured nearly a hundred. Brother Luan Tingfang happened to meet the local militia from Sunzhuang who led troops to help, and killed them in a burst. With the heads of Qi Teng and Zhang Gai, Sunzhuang and Weizhuang surrendered."

Zhao Zhen was very happy when he heard this.

Ling Zhen, who came with me, said, "It's a pity that I brought so many artillery pieces, but we won without firing a single shot."

Lu Zhishen also said: "This Zen stick of mine has not yet made any profit."

After some chatting and laughing, they urged the soldiers to head towards the town where Zhang Gai and Qi Gai were.

In the town, Qi Teng's mansion was the best built, not only with good materials, but also spacious. When Zhao Zhen arrived, Zhu Wu had imprisoned all the immediate family members of the Qi and Zhang families, and had also cleaned up Qi Teng's mansion.

They set up camp outside the town, settled the soldiers, sent pigeon messages, left Guanghui in charge of the army, and Zhu Wu led Zhao Zhen and others into Qi's mansion in the town.

Zhao Zhen first praised Lin Chong and his men. Lin Chong said, "They are all stupid country folk with no knowledge. When they saw the cavalry, they didn't think about defending the city but dared to go out and fight. The two coaches Qi Zhen and Zhang Kui are quite capable, but they injured two good horses."

Zhao Zhen said: "On a battlefield, there is no such thing as complete victory."

Zhu Wu said, "Sir, how do we arrange for the Zhang and Qi families?"

Zhao Zhen said: "The leading families will be sent to Liangshan County for forced labor. The able-bodied men will be sent to the coal mines, and the rest will be sent to the prison to pound rice. Soldiers who have made meritorious contributions and have girls they like can also be given away as rewards. The rest of the farmers, if they have not committed serious crimes, will be pardoned."

Zhao Zhen said this not only to Zhu Wu, but also to Shi Kuo, Shi Yue, Liu Mu, Xu Tan and his son, as well as Sun Guang and Wei An in the hall. After all, they still had to clear the land and population in the future, and if they didn't let these people feel afraid, there would be more trouble.

Shi Kuo and the others looked at each other and lowered their heads.

Zhao Zhen said, "I have sent a pigeon letter. Tomorrow, Xiao Rang and Pei Xuan will bring people here to count the population and the land. In the next few days, all the brothers will lead soldiers to guard. Anyone who obstructs will be punished with hard labor or beheaded as a warning to others. All the village heads must do their best. If you pretend to obey but disobey, don't blame me for being rude."

When everyone in the crowd heard this, they all said they didn't dare.

(End of this chapter)