The latest chapter of Luming

;;;;After reaching an agreement with the official forces represented by Ma Youbu, the big shopkeeper distributed money to the group of eight on the spot.

;;;;This time, the matter was settled. The veterans with money in their arms were gearing up, and they planned to go up to the wall and fire the trumpets.

;;;;However, they were stopped by the big shopkeeper: Be prepared first, listen to the instructions when to set off the cannons.

;;;;Sounding the trumpet is equivalent to completely breaking up with the gangsters. As far as the current situation is concerned, time is on the side of the caravan. Not to mention the variables such as caravans and patrol officers and soldiers that may appear at any time, in the long run, this

There are also reinforcements from our own side.

;;;;So firing the trumpet is the last resort. We still need to negotiate for now. If it can be postponed for a while, it will be a while.

;;;;After a stick of incense, Gu Laocheng rode his horse again and slowly arrived at Guanxia.

;;;;This time, before Gu Laocheng could speak, shopkeeper Wu leaned out and shouted: "Since the three bosses are in front of you, and a good spy has been ambushed, Yi Xinlong should admit defeat today!"

;;;;After a pause, shopkeeper Wu continued to shout: "There are currently three thousand five hundred taels of silver in the convoy. I used to take all of it to pay for the toll. I also gave some red goods as a courtesy to the bosses.

In the early days... the days ahead are long, so it’s convenient for us to make a trip today, and we will always meet again.”

;;;;The conditions that Shopkeeper Wu just mentioned are already the maximum bottom line he can bear. The cash sent to the clan at the end of each year can be discarded, but the valuable commercial goods cannot be thrown away under any circumstances. These are the products of Yixinlong Company

The basis is to maintain the credibility of major customers.

;;;;Hearing this, Gu Laocheng from Guanxia sneered: "Shopkeeper Wu really doesn't know what's important! Three groups of heroes traveled thousands of miles to gather together today. Can they send us off with money?"

;;;;“That’s fine!”

;;;; When Gu Laocheng said this, he sighed: "I won't shed tears until I see the coffin. Today I have stopped thinking about you!"

;;;;As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Laocheng reached out and grabbed it from behind, then raised his hand violently and threw something into the sky.

;;;;The dark object swirled down, and by chance, it fell into the hands of Master Wu Fazheng, who subconsciously opened his arms.

;;;;The next moment, Wu Fazheng looked at the object in his hand, but he saw a very familiar face: Uncle Ping.

;;;; Seeing Uncle Ping's angry eyes and the bloody wound under his neck, Wu Fazheng broke his guard instantly. He shouted at Guanxia with grief and anger on his face: "Huo Gui, you will not die well!"

;;;;Immediately afterwards, Wu Fazheng turned around and shouted: "Set off the cannon!"

;;;;As the "rumbling" sound of cannons spread among the mountains, both merchants and thieves had no way out, and the confrontation began immediately.

;;;;————————————————————

;;;;The first group to rush up were the Taihang bandits.

;;;;This group of people are all low-level gangsters under Master Gu. They farm in the mountains when they are busy, and work in the mountains when they are not. They belong to the standard atmosphere group.

;;;;The cannon fodders also had little equipment. They were all wearing tattered homespun short brown clothes and holding hatchets and torches in their hands. The crowd also carried a tree trunk as thick as a bowl, which was used to break down the door.

;;;;When they arrived at the gate, the members of the atmosphere team threw the burning torch upwards while making deafening screams. At the same time, the door-crash team rushed towards the gate carrying the tree trunk.

;;;;Faced with this three-dimensional offensive, Guan Guan's response is also very simple: put out the fire in time and shoot arrows to stop the enemy.

;;;;Wuhuodun is a large pier between the beacon tower and the checkpoint. It has thick walls about three and a half stories high in later generations. It can be regarded as a mini pocket town.

;;;;It is very difficult to knock down a pier of this height in a short time if the defender has sufficient manpower.

;;;;So it’s easy to guess the gangster’s method of siege: it’s nothing more than crashing into doors and attacking with fire.

;;;;As for the most common ant siege...the gangsters came overnight after seeing the fireworks signal last night. They had no mental preparation to attack the stronghold, and no time to build siege equipment, such as

ladder.

;;;;The outcome of the first wave was almost as expected: the torches flying into the sky, whether they landed on the wall or in the courtyard, were extinguished immediately by the well-prepared defenders.

;;;;The door knocking team only hit the door twice before three people were pierced by sharp arrows shot from above, and then they collapsed and ran away.

;;;;The first round of close combat ended in just three minutes. The attacking party retreated like a wind, leaving behind a few wailing wounded soldiers.

;;;;Except for two unlucky guys whose arms were burned by the fire, all the defenders were unscathed.

;;;; Seeing this situation, the three eldest brothers on the hillside did not have much emotion: Yi Xinlong has been doing business inside and outside the house for many years, so he must have a tough idea, and it is unreasonable to collapse at the first touch.

;;;;Just now it was a test, now comes the main meal.

;;;;About half an hour later, the second wave of attacks organized by the gangs began.

;;;;They are still the subordinates of Boss Gu from Taihang. However, this time the ones who go into battle are all elites, commonly known as old bandits.

;;;;Different from the previous atmosphere group, the second group of elites not only made some temporary arrow-proof bamboo and wooden signs, but were also equipped with some miscellaneous hunting bows and crossbows.

;;;;After rushing to the pass, the old gangsters quickly completed the division of labor and cooperation. The door-breaking team with shields immediately picked up the tree trunk and hit the door, while the others with various long-range weapons began to fight against the wall.

shoot.

;;;;From this moment on, the battle really begins and enters a cruel stage of consumption.

;;;;As soon as the battle began, there were casualties both above and below the city. There were wounded on both sides who were shot through their faces and bodies by arrows. In addition, the ash bottles and stones suddenly thrown down from the wall also shocked

The Shield's door-ramming team suffered casualties.

;;;;However, the elite are the elite after all. Even though they were knocked down and injured several times, the knocking team, which was constantly being replenished with fresh troops, still kept knocking on the door.

;;;;The elite veteran bandits, who were much more tenacious in fighting will than the atmosphere group, persisted at the gate of the city for a long time this time. It was not until the gate was knocked to the point of collapse that the veteran bandits could no longer bear the casualties and began to retreat.

;;;;This brutal offensive and defensive battle caused more than ten elite casualties to both sides. In comparison, the gang suffered more losses, more than thirty people. This number is tolerable to the caravan.

But for gangsters, it's very expensive.

;;;; Taihang Boss Gu seems to have the most manpower among the three groups of gangsters, but the elites are not cabbage, they are all the backbone of the team, and one of them will die.

;;;;After the second wave of fighting was over, seeing that the sun was already overhead, both sides knew that the fight could not go on, so they both began to repair and lick their wounds in a tacit understanding in preparation for the third wave of attacks in the afternoon.

;;;; Shopkeeper Wu, who was holding a short knife and commanding from the wall during the whole process, saw from a distance that the gangsters were setting fire to boil water and roast dry food. He finally breathed a sigh of relief and began to make arrangements for the aftermath.

;;;;He first removed all the people on the wall and ordered the fresh troops on standby below to come up to guard the wall.

;;;;This is the advantage of the defender: the reason why Wuhuodun was originally located here is because the terrain is steep on three sides, and only the front can deploy troops.

;;;;In this way, the defender with a small total number of people can guard only one wall, and the disadvantage of human resources can be compensated.

;;;;After setting up the wall, Shopkeeper Wu went down the steep stairs into the courtyard.

;;;;In order to prevent fire attack, the center of the courtyard is empty. All vehicles and livestock have been placed under the wall. Valuable goods have been moved into the house urgently. Shopkeeper Wu checked and found

After everything was ready, we entered the barracks.

;;;;The barracks where officers and soldiers used to sleep have been turned into camps for wounded soldiers.

;;;;The expressionless young master Wu Fazheng was temporarily acting as a hygienist, disinfecting a wound with salt water and wet cloth. On the side bunk, there were several injured workers and guards waiting for medical help, and they made a cry from time to time.

A painful snort.

;;;;After helping to treat two wounds, shopkeeper Wu encouraged his troops before leaving the house: "They are all good guys on the counter. When we come back, we will reward each of them ten taels of silver. If the wounds are inflamed, please let the emperor pacify them!"

;;;;This argument is very effective. Everyone knows the miraculous effect of Huang'an Powder. Shopkeeper Wu's promise is equivalent to saving everyone's life, so the morale of the wounded has been significantly improved. Who is so injured?

It's not serious, but he said he could fight again.

;;;;After arranging the wounded, shopkeeper Wu finally had time to check the most critical city gate.

;;;;Different from tall city walls, the city gate of Wuhuodun is just an ordinary wooden door, thicker at most, and there is no gate hole, which is a weak point in defense.

;;;;When Shopkeeper Wu inspected it, he found that the city gate was indeed no longer functioning. Half of the doors were already crumbling, and one could see through the gaps to the other side.

;;;;"This is the winning hand."

;;;; Staring at the city gate with his hands behind his back, shopkeeper Wu said to Wu Qiandan beside him.

;;;;After the battle, Wu Qian went to the city gate to check as soon as possible. When shopkeeper Wu came over, he was accompanying the monk and mute General Hengha to pick through a pile of equipment on the ground.

.

;;;;This pile of equipment, including cotton armor, paper armor, swords, axes and shields, are all Ming army weapons stored in the pier warehouse according to regulations.

;;;;The swords, axes, and shields that can be used in the equipment have all been used on the wall before. And for reasons well known to everyone, half of the armor Wu Qian and the others are picking up now are rotten and decayed, so they can only piece it together.

.

;;;;"The government has prepared a stone at the door. We will carry it again in the afternoon, and we will use the stone to block the door."

;;;;After Wu Qian proposed a solution, he took advantage of the situation and insulted the officers and soldiers: "You are a coward if you don't send troops after seeing the cannon fire."

;;;; Shopkeeper Wu couldn't help laughing when he heard this: "It's all expected, why bother with him."

;;;;According to formal procedures, at this time, Shannei Pass, which is closest to Wuhuodun and is garrisoned by a large number of officers and soldiers, must have sent people to investigate.

;;;;However, when he heard that there were such a large number of gangsters, the guard probably gave up...

;;;; Shopkeeper Wu has had too many interactions with officers and soldiers and knows very well what the other party thinks, so he only focuses on himself today: "We all know the temper of the gangsters, so we have to survive today. Even if they have the courage to stay tomorrow, then

It’s not enough to cause trouble.”

;;;;"That's it."

;;;;... Shopkeeper Wu’s judgment was correct.

;;;;For gangsters, the combat mode of forcibly attacking strongholds like today is not the norm.

;;;;The gangs are disorganized and poorly organized. They are an organization used to rob merchants and travellers. They cannot be like a regular army and besiege city strongholds for a long time and carry out brutal offensive and defensive operations.

;;;;What's more, this is a temporary cooperation between three gangs from different parts of the world. This fragile alliance cannot withstand the internal friction caused by repeated attrition, and can fall apart in minutes because of a trivial matter.
To be continued...