Chapter 110: He Resembles My Uncle!

Several Khitan musicians were playing strange instruments, deeply absorbed, with their eyes closed and heads gently swaying to the music. Someone sat in front of them, softly humming a song. Lou Rui couldn't understand the lyrics but found the song quite desolate, carrying a hint of sadness, and he listened with great interest. Beside him, several scantily clad dancers pressed against Lou Rui's body, swaying to the music. Their bodies seemed boneless, like spirit snakes entwining around Lou Rui, dispelling the desolation and sadness brought by the music. Lou Rui held a wine cup, sipped fine wine, closed his eyes, and hummed along with the musicians.

At that moment, someone suddenly burst in from outside.

"Patriarch! Trouble! The local tyrant of Dongli Village has rebelled!"

Lou Rui's eyes snapped open, and the smile vanished from his face. In that instant, he seemed like a completely different person, his gaze sharp, devoid of any friendliness or warmth. He pushed away the dancer in front of him.

"Gather all the cavalry from the mansion, bring me my armor."

Soon, the gates of the Prefecture Government Office slowly opened, and Lou Rui, riding a warhorse, led the way out.

As soon as he emerged, he saw a group of knights gathered at the County Yamen across the street. Leading them was Liu Taozi, followed by the Patrol Governor, cavalry clerk, and others. Lou Rui waved at Liu Taozi, who then led the group to gallop up to him. Just as they were about to dismount, Lou Rui waved his hand, "In war, military law prevails, no need for formalities."

Yao Xiong and a few others sized up this Governor, who wasn't wearing armor but was dressed in the same clothes he had worn when he first came to see Taozi. However, his demeanor was now solemn, completely different from the last time they met.

Lou Rui didn't ask any questions; he waved his hand and led the group forward.

Behind Lou Rui followed his guard of knights, about fifty in number. Just by looking at their hairstyles and beards, one could tell their status. Their appearance was quite similar to the Xianbei knights brought by Commandant Zhang Sun of Cheng'an, clearly professional cavalry who had seen real battles and killed.

Yet, they weren't wearing armor, nor were their horses. They didn't even carry long spears, only horse bows. Moreover, they each had two additional horses beside them, carrying large packs, which Yao Xiong carefully observed, likely containing armor.

The group quickly moved along the main road in the city, heading towards the East Gate. The commoners along the way had already hidden, with no one obstructing their path.

Lou Rui, riding a tall horse, looked to his side, "Nephew, have you ever been in a battle?""No.""That's not good. At your age, you should have." Lou Rui muttered a few words, then suddenly called over three people, spoke a few words, and they galloped away swiftly.

Lou Rui watched them disappear, then slowly pulled out a yellowed piece of paper from his pocket. He looked at Taozi again, "Can you understand maps?" Taozi shook his head.

"First is the scale, which is the ratio of distance and area on the map to reality. This is a county map, Liyang is a small county, so it's one to fifteen thousand. Besides, there are county maps, prefecture maps, and multi-prefecture maps, each with different scales."

"Illegitimate Zhou, the scale of the fake Chen is also different. The county scale of the Illegitimate Zhou map is one to eighty thousand. The fake Chen used to use one to one hundred eighty thousand."

"The dotted lines are contours, used to mark the elevation of the terrain."

Liu Taozi looked down at the map in his hand, listening to Lou Rui's explanation.

"Point out to me, where are the enemies currently located?" Liu Taozi pointed to a spot on the map.

"Yu'an Slope." Lou Rui's eyes showed a hint of surprise, "How can you be sure?""They killed officials and rebelled, so they wouldn't dare stay in the countryside. The other two sides are cities, one side is water, so they can only continue south. The south has many high slopes, only this place is relatively flat, easy to walk. If they are carrying family and supplies, they most likely took this path.""Good!" Lou Rui laughed, "As expected of my family, quite talented!"

"Understanding maps is essential. Then, there are scouts. A squad of fifty needs three scouts, lightly equipped, looking out for each other. If it's a hundred-man squad, then ten scouts, divided into two groups. If it's a battalion, then at least fifty scouts are needed. The larger the army, the more scouts are required, doubling accordingly. The places to be guarded also increase. Scouts are not only sent ahead but also stay behind, keeping their distance, able to quickly report changes from all directions to the central army."

This Lou Rui, who didn't seem very smart, was now speaking eloquently, without pause, at a rapid pace.

"When going on an expedition, if there are no auxiliary soldiers following, one must prepare three horses per person. When traveling, do not let the knights and horses wear armor. If going beyond the border for battle, divide the soldiers into three groups, taking turns to wear armor."

Lou Rui's fat and ugly face now seemed somewhat profound.

He talked all the way, not in a hurry. After leaving the city, the group slowed down, moving at a pace that was neither fast nor slow. Lou Rui told Taozi that Great Qi's marching speed is divided into eight types, each with an unspoken rule, including speeds for expeditions, rescues, transporting grain, returning, going beyond the border, etc. How to maintain marching speed, how to prevent subordinates from disappearing along the way, is also a great knowledge.

At that moment, dust suddenly rose in the distance. Lou Rui showed no surprise, signaled everyone to stop, and quietly looked into the distance.

Soon, a group arrived in front of the knights.

A scout led Zhao Kai and others, with county soldiers running behind.

Seeing Lou Rui, Zhao Kai walked a few steps, knelt down in front of Lou Rui, and began to wail.

"Lord Lou! Wu Xiao Zhi harbored evil intentions! He pretended to agree, then suddenly attacked. I was caught off guard, fell into his ambush, many were killed or injured. I am guilty!!"

He wailed loudly, tears streaming down his face, making it seem as if he had suffered great injustice.

Lou Rui's face remained calm, looking at Liu Taozi beside him, "If fighting against the Western Barbarians or Southern Barbarians, and encountering someone trying to demoralize the troops, you can drag them out and execute them."

Hearing this, Assistant Administrator Zhao's wailing abruptly stopped.

He remained in the posture of crying to the heavens, but no sound came from his mouth, motionless.

Lou Rui didn't even look at him, directly turning to the scout, "What's the situation?""They headed towards Yu'an Slope. Judging by the traces, there are about a thousand people, with carriages, carrying family and supplies. We captured a fleeing captive, who confessed that there are more than forty mounted guards."

The scout discovered a lot from the traces left by the enemy on the road.

"When fighting against foreign enemies, do not easily believe these traces. Traces can be faked, perhaps to lure you into pursuit. But for these rebels... Zhao Kai, take the county soldiers and get lost! The rest, follow me!"

At Lou Rui's command, he increased the marching speed, the sound of horse hooves becoming more and more resounding.

"Taozi, how do you think we should completely annihilate these bandits?" Liu Taozi slowly said, "No need to engage directly. First, use light cavalry to intimidate and drive them, causing chaos and scattering, then pursue and win.""Oh?? Have you studied military strategy?""No, just seen people hunt.""Haha, hunting? Indeed, there are similarities between war and hunting!"

Lou Rui's marching speed became faster and faster. The distance between East Li and Liyang was already short, and with this group being knights, their pursuit speed was extremely fast. Lou Rui, with a stern face, took out the map, looked at Taozi beside him, "You lead twenty people, directly cross this high slope, block them from the front, do not get close, just attack and shoot from the sides. If you encounter their leader, shoot directly.""Yes."

Liu Taozi took his own people, also selected two groups from Lou Rui's army, and quickly left from the left side.

Lou Rui continued on his way. Some knights watched them leave, puzzled, and looked at Lou Rui, "Patriarch, why do you value this kid so much? Although the Prince of Changshan has a reputation, you are also a royal relative, just a small County Assistant Magistrate. You gifted him a sword, taught him, why?"

"Haha, you might not believe it, but I feel this kid is familiar. I thought about it for a long time last night and finally figured it out!""Oh?""This kid's way of doing things really resembles my uncle!!""Just watch, he will surely achieve great things!"

A long line of horses and people stretched endlessly along the road.

Everyone was bowing their heads, with servants carrying heavy loads, many carriages full to the brim, and various beauties sitting inside the carriages, hugging each other, crying and wailing.

Guards rode steeds, running back and forth, whipping the people to speed up.

Old horses bowed their heads, struggling to move forward. The carriages were piled high with grain, and being uphill, the old horses' hooves were trembling, but the coachmen paid no mind, just kept whipping.

The old horses let out unwilling neighs and collapsed.

The entire convoy was blocked, with some shouting in alarm, some crying and wailing, some cursing loudly.

A servant walking, seeing the patrolling knights move away, dropped his load and rushed to the roadside, scrambling to escape.

Dogs barked wildly, flocks of chickens tied to the carriages screamed in terror, dozens of carriages slowly moving forward.

Wu Xiao Zhi rode a big horse. He was already fat, and riding a horse on the road tortured him, the wound from his arm being cut throbbed with pain. He turned back, looked at the slow-moving convoy, and flew into a rage.

"Why so slow?! The old and weak have already been thrown out, why are we still moving so slowly?!""You go with a knife and see, whoever is lazy, give them a lesson!!"

Hearing his words, a nearby retainer hurriedly said, "Patriarch, we're carrying too much, the convoy is too bulky!""The situation is critical, it's better to discard many miscellaneous items, lead the young and strong, abandon the carriages, and escape on horseback.""Nonsense!!"

Wu Xiao Zhi angrily shouted, "This is the accumulation of several generations of my family, how can we just discard it? If I do that, wouldn't I be disgracing my name, becoming an unfilial person?"

The retainer's lips trembled.

Because of the conflict with the officials, Wu Xiao Zhi's old father was very frightened, leading to a stroke and fainting. Wu Xiao Zhi left his old father at home, leading everyone with the family's wealth to escape, and now, he's talking about being unfilial??

Wu Xiao Zhi urged repeatedly, the mounted guards cursed along the way, the front of the convoy separated, chaos ensued.

At that moment, the sound of loud horse hooves came from their front, the ground slightly trembling.

Wu Xiao Zhi immediately looked into the distance, from the front emerged more than twenty people, all mounted, not wearing heavy armor, holding large bows, glaring at everyone.

At this moment, everyone's fear finally reached its peak.

They wailed, the rear of the convoy started to flee.

"What are you afraid of?!""It's just...""Swoosh!!!"

An arrow flew, directly piercing Wu Xiao Zhi's neck. Wu Xiao Zhi didn't even finish his sentence, fell from his horse.

The retainer immediately jumped off his horse, knelt on the ground, "We surrender!!"

Yao Xiong was still in the posture of shooting an arrow, seeing Wu Xiao Zhi fall, he then looked at Liu Taozi, appearing somewhat shy, "Haha, I hit."

At Liu Taozi's command, the cavalry began to attack, but they didn't directly engage in combat. They rode steeds, galloping past both sides of the convoy, while galloping, they took up bows and started shooting, arrows raining down, the guards fell one after another.

A few guards wanted to fight back, but the knights were fast, like a gust of wind passing by from a distance, they were all hit by arrows and fell, not to mention fighting back, even running wasn't easy.

The Xianbei knights repeatedly shot from horseback, under Liu Taozi's lead, they went back the same way, still shooting those who had the ability to resist and organize people on their way back.

The convoy's people screamed, they no longer cared about their property, no longer cared about resistance, they almost scattered and fled in all directions.

Liu Taozi commanded everyone, blocking their forward path, driving them from three sides, if anyone tried to pass through them, they were shot directly.

It was like a pack of wolves biting into a herd of deer, the hungry wolves suddenly running out from all sides, scaring the deer, driving the deer, making the deer constantly retreat, running in the direction they wanted.

The people of Wu's Fort cried and fled, but no matter how they ran, someone beside them was always hit by an arrow and fell, stimulating them to continue running.

Liu Taozi drove the people of Wu's family like this, making them run wildly back along this small path, occasionally someone couldn't run anymore, fell on the road, and was immediately pounced on by the "hungry wolves' behind and killed.

They didn't know how long they ran, everyone was panting, trembling all over, and at this moment, more than thirty well-equipped Xianbei knights stood quietly on their escape path.

The following scene was just knights catching up with people, then killing them, it couldn't even be considered a battle, just a one-sided massacre.

The strong guards who usually boasted of their martial arts in front of the villagers now turned into lambs to the slaughter, only knowing to run around, being caught up from behind by knights, then pierced with a spear.

The battle ended quickly.

Lou Rui rode his warhorse, his face unchanged.

Many knights were distributed in various places, by the hooves of the warhorses lay all kinds of corpses.

In the distance, old horses bowed their heads, the carriages' goods still full.

Lou Rui suddenly laughed.

"This family is so enthusiastic, everything packed on the carriages, all prepared for us!"

He looked at Liu Taozi, "Nephew, East Li is handed over to you, this is not a fair share, it's rebellion, you should know what to do.""You finish up here, then come back to see me!"

After giving his orders, Lou Rui led the way out, many Xianbei knights followed without hesitation, they flew out like a gust of wind, quickly disappearing in the distance, raising rolling dust.

Tian Zili frowned, watching them go far away, then softly said, "Rebellion is really not easy."

Liu Taozi glanced at him, "Send someone to call some county and prefecture officials, take the things back, then confiscate Wu's land and property deeds."

Everyone started to get busy, actually, there was no need to confiscate Wu's property anymore, they had almost brought out everything they could, even the dogs, chickens, and sheep they raised at home.

The entire Dongli Village was now extremely quiet, their tenants, and a few lucky households, still unaware of what had happened.

Taozi and others were busy here for a whole day, only returning fully loaded the next day.

When they brought back the things and captives to Liyang city, Liyang was distributing grain.

At the County Yamen's gate, there was already a sea of people, commoners coming in order.

Officials checked their household registers, farmland, tax records, etc., then let them take the grain. County soldiers were maintaining order around, walking back and forth.

The three gates of the County Yamen were almost completely blocked.

Shi Yao was sitting not far away, monitoring the crowd. Distributing relief grain was often the most frequent occurrence of corruption, so he had to personally oversee it to feel at ease.

"Name!"

"Wang Shun."

"Address!"

"Chengbei Louzi Street, No. 5 Courtyard."

"Hmm, Wang Shun, a small trader, allocated forty mu of land, twenty mu of Mulberry Field."

"Official!! My family really doesn't have that much land, only three mu."

"Enough, no need to say more, this is yours, go over there to get your grain!"

Wang Shun trembled as he walked to the other side. The official checked his credentials, and a county soldier carried a large bag of millet and threw it in front of him, then went back to get another large bag.

"Wang Shun's household, a total of one dan of millet."

Wang Shun trembled as he shouldered the large bag, clearly struggling. The second bag was obviously too heavy for him to carry. He was sweating profusely, struggling to pull it, when the clerk shouted, "Carry one bag at a time!!"

Wang Shun was bent over under the weight, struggling to walk on the road, his forehead covered in sweat. The half dan of millet was certainly not light, especially for Wang Shun, who was short and thin, but he didn't feel tired at all.

He struggled to reach his home, "Mom!! Open the door!! Open the door!!"

An old woman tremblingly opened the door, and Wang Shun brought the grain inside, walking all the way to the storeroom before putting it down.

He looked up, his face full of smiles.

"Half a dan of rice, mom, half a dan! We have food to eat!"

"You cook first, there's another half dan, I'll go get it now!"

The old woman grabbed his hand, her face full of worry, "My son, you went out early this morning, where did you get this grain from?"

"The County Yamen is distributing grain! It's being distributed by household, that Lord Liu, he's a living Bodhisattva!!"

"There's one dan of millet, at least this winter, we won't have to be afraid anymore."

Wang Shun said happily, tears streaming down his face.

(The end of this chapter)