Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 615 Matchup
The village head stood in front of Xia Dalang with a smile on his face. In order not to arouse the suspicion of the caravan members, he even cut his ear.

Sure enough, seeing his miserable state, the caravan was completely unsuspecting and even discussed the next steps with him. He easily managed to keep the caravan there.

If the caravan hadn't suddenly run away, this huge credit would have been his, and he could have quietly earned a large sum of money. Unfortunately... he was just one step away.

Thinking of this, the village head felt resentful; he couldn't let the loss of an ear go to waste.

"How's the persuasion going?" Xia Dalang asked. "Is he willing to lead us into the mountains?"

The village headman's expression froze. He had just handed the man over to him, but he hadn't expected Xia Dalang to be in trouble so soon. He cleared his throat and said, "Those two had been to the military camp before. They're a bit stubborn. I said a lot of things, but they didn't say a single word."

"I'm thinking of holding them off for two more days, then killing one... and the remaining one might agree to work for you, my lord."

Xia Dalang had guessed this would happen. The Xie family had trained this caravan well; otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to escape right under their noses. The people in the caravan weren't so easily subdued.

“No need for further interrogation,” Xia Dalang waved his hand. “Someone may come to rescue the caravan tomorrow. When that happens, tie them to poles and set them up at the entrance of the valley. If they dare to attack, kill them first as a sacrifice to the flag.”

The village head was startled, his face filled with fear: "Someone...someone's here?"

How could it be so fast? This was something the village head hadn't expected.

Xia Dalang was unwilling to say too much to the village head: "After this, if they survive, you can try to persuade them again."

The village head had no choice but to agree.

Xia Dalang said, "Try to send more people into the mountains to lure a few more people over."

The village headman felt a chill run down his spine. His son had pretended to have gone through countless hardships to find his benefactor in the mountains, but he had actually sent a false message to the caravan, telling them that the eastern defenses were lax and that they should try to break through from there. As a result, the caravan sent two men with his son to check the situation.

As a result, the two discovered that they had been ambushed on the path to the east. Fearing they would run back to report, the son had to send a message to have them captured, nearly losing his life in the process. And now they wanted to do it again?
The village head said, "Those two failed to return, so the caravan must have become suspicious. If we go again... wouldn't that be like lambs to the slaughter?"

Xia Dalang frowned and said, "No one witnessed what happened. You can just make up some excuse. Go back and think about what to do. Don't you have two sons? If the eldest son can't go, then let the second son go."

The village head felt a tightness in his chest, as if he couldn't breathe. He wanted to argue with Xia Dalang, but he didn't dare to speak.

Xia Dalang said coldly, "Do you think credit is so easy to get? We're all risking our lives here, and you just want to sit back and reap the rewards? That's not fair."

The village head was on the verge of tears. How could he be at peace? He had lost an ear and lived in constant fear. Wasn't that enough? Now he only hoped that the two men would be of use so that his family wouldn't have to go into the mountains anymore.

Xia Dalang waited anxiously for news all day. Just as it was getting dark, Zheng Wenhuan hurriedly came over and said, "They've arrived. The Xie family has brought their people."

Xia Dalang was startled again: "Where is the Xie family stationed?"

Zheng Wenhuan said, "They don't look like they're going to rest. They've been heading this way all the way. We might have to take action before it gets dark."

“That woman is truly ignorant of her own limitations,” Xia Dalang said. “Immediately mobilize your men. If she dares to send anyone over, I will make sure they never return.”

……

Xie Yuyan gazed at the valley not far away.

There were many hoofprints around, and cooking fires could be seen before dark, indicating that someone was stationed here.

This was consistent with the information we had gathered; the government officials had surrounded the caravan here.

Xie Yuyan asked Su Man, "How many of them are there?"

Su Man and Guo Xiong calculated carefully: "There should be about a hundred people now. But if we start fighting, the surrounding Xiang Army might get the news and rush over. A Xiang Army unit has at least a hundred to three hundred men. If these people join in, it will be very difficult for us to get away."

Not only would they be unable to win, they might even be captured. The local militia assisted the county commandant and the patrol inspectorate, and would only be deployed as reinforcements if the troops in those two places were helpless.

Bandits are a common occurrence in such places, so it's impossible to mobilize local troops every time.

However, this also indirectly proves that the people who besieged the caravan did not bribe the local militia as well.

Xie Yuyan said, "It doesn't seem like Xie Yizhi's people." If it were arranged by Xie Yizhi, they wouldn't be unable to mobilize even the local militia.

"However, let's see how it goes first."

Upon hearing Xie Yuyan's words, Su Man said, "Madam, are you trying to use this to test the background of those people?"

Xie Yuyan nodded: "The people from the Demon Sect haven't arrived yet. I want to know if these people are being controlled by Xie Yizhi."

Different people have different ways of coping.

"Let's charge in first and test their strength," Xie Yuyan said, "and see if we have a chance to go up the mountain to rescue them."

Su Man responded and immediately went to gather the men.

Xie Yuyan and Mama Yu urged their horses to go higher up, where they could see more clearly.

Mother Yu said, "It's a pity it's dark, so we can't see very far."

"We can only test the waters now," Xie Yuyan said. "During the daytime, the local militia can get the news faster, but at night they are more cautious and won't leave the camp easily."

Xie Yuyan stroked the bronze seal in his hand. The military officers that Wang Yan had cultivated were stationed far away from here. If they were sent here, it would definitely alarm the court. Xie Yizhi was in charge of the Privy Council. If he discovered such a troop movement, he would have a perfect excuse to have someone suppress it.

Therefore, unless a plausible excuse is found, these people should not be touched for the time being.

It might be difficult for them to take down these people on their own, unless these people are exceptionally incompetent.

Just as Xie Yuyan thought of this, the sounds of fighting came, and Su Man and the Guo brothers were already fighting with those people.

……

Zheng Wenhuan had just given the order to defend against a sneak attack when a cavalry unit charged straight at them.

Zheng Wenhuan was genuinely startled and quickly dodged to the side.

In a short while, the two soldiers were lifted up by spears.

Once a person ascends to heaven, they are at the mercy of others. With a flick of the spear, their chest is pierced, and blood splatters on the spot.

This fierce fighting style terrified the soldiers, who scattered to both sides, allowing the light cavalry to break straight in.

Zheng Wenhuan immediately shouted, "Surround them! Surround them!"

Light cavalry are fierce, but they are outnumbered, and this tactic will quickly exhaust them. As long as enough lives are lost, they can be worn down. Zheng Wenhuan had fought pirates at sea with his master and experienced even more brutal battles, so he could naturally see this.

“They don’t have many men, so don’t retreat,” Zheng Wenhuan said. “As long as we keep them at bay, we’ll give each of them ten strings of cash.”

No sooner had Zheng Wenhuan finished speaking than he saw a fireball hurtling toward him.

(End of this chapter)