lovenovelstory Chapter 36 We might as well take their place!
Chapter 36 We might as well take their place!
"Damn it, where did these thugs come from? I've been roaming the borderlands for seven or eight years, and this is the first time I've encountered such a domineering group!"
"Yes, although the Guandong region is known for producing many heroes, these people these days are far too wild!"
At dusk, a band of more than ten bandits was cautiously making their way along a secluded mountain path toward Lianyun Village. Their purpose in coming there was to seek refuge with Lianyun Village, or to put it bluntly, to join their ranks.
There's no other way; we have to invest. If we don't, they really won't survive!
Earlier, they sent out one of their brothers with the best foot speed to deliver a message to the bandits of Lianyun Village.
The reason they sent a message first instead of going directly to the other party was not because these bandits were polite, but because the division of territory among bandits was extremely strict.
These bandits were very territorial, and if anyone else dared to trespass into their territory without their permission, it would be considered an invasion.
If someone gets caught in this situation, even if they kill him or torture him severely, he deserves it!
What's interesting is that in these few days, it wasn't just one or two groups of bandits preparing to join Lianyun Village. Within a week, Lianyun Village actually received news that four groups of bandits wanted to come and join them.
From the very beginning, the head manager of Lianyun Village thought that his fame had spread far and wide, which made him very happy.
He not only offered the bandit leader, who was about to join him, a high-ranking position, but also held a grand banquet in the village in advance to celebrate his "widespread fame".
However, when four bandit groups sent messengers in succession, all expressing their desire to join him, the head manager of Lianyun Village finally realized that something was wrong.
These bandits were all wild and unruly, a bunch of unruly guys, and these days there's a prevailing notion of "better to be a big fish in a small pond than a small fish in a big pond."
In this situation, hoping that other bandits would come to join them upon hearing of their power is not so easy.
In most cases, they were able to swallow up other bandits. Often, after the two sides had fought a battle, one side lost and the other side was not prepared to wipe out the other, so they swallowed up the other side.
When the head steward suddenly noticed that the messengers from the four bandit groups who came to seek refuge all seemed to mention a force called the Luo Family Army, he immediately realized the key element.
"Second brother, where did these bastards called the Luo Family Army come from? I've never heard of them before!"
Hong Tong, the head of Lianyun Village, asked his second-in-command with a puzzled look. Usually, the second-in-command was in charge of intelligence work in their stronghold, and he was particularly good at finding out information.
As soon as Hong Tong finished asking his question, the second brother poured out all the information he had gathered over the past few days, like beans spilling from a bamboo tube.
"...Brother, that's all for now. As for the origins of this group, I haven't found out yet."
"But I'm thinking that these guys have both foreign guns and Western horses, and even their troops are trained according to Western methods. It's said that there are actually foreigners in their ranks fighting for them."
"It's very possible that these people are just lackeys supported by foreigners, or perhaps a group raised up by those Rakshasa people from the north!"
Upon hearing this, Hong Tong frowned, realizing that this so-called Luo family army was indeed not easy to deal with.
It is common knowledge that Tsarist Russia in the north has always coveted the land in the northeast.
Especially after the Second Opium War, when the Anglo-French allied forces entered Beijing, Tsarist Russia also joined in the chaos, forcing the Qing government to sign a series of treaties, thus ceding more than one million square kilometers of land in Outer Northeast China.
As for ceding so much land, is it possible that Tsarist Russia would simply abandon its previous petty actions and become complacent?
Just kidding, that doesn't exist!
It's like feeding a pack of hungry wolves their fill and expecting them to behave themselves outside the sheepfold and stop eating sheep. How is that possible?
On the contrary, after tasting the meat, they will only look at the sheep pen every day, wanting to eat sheep even more!
They discovered that as long as they kept reaching into the sheepfold, without even needing to rush in and fight the sheep, the weak shepherd would willingly slaughter the sheep and give them to them to eat in order to ensure their safety.
It was precisely because of this that, after considering the conditions possessed by the Luo family army, they almost immediately thought of Tsarist Russia in the north.
Hearing that these people might be backed by the terrifying behemoth that is Tsarist Russia, Hong Tong's face became somewhat worried. He had been thinking of going up against Luo's army, but if these guys really had Tsarist Russia backing them, how could he possibly win?
"Second brother, I think we're right on the edge of Luo's army's territory. We've also taken in quite a few bandits who escaped from Luo's army."
"What if they really attack? Should we talk to Luo's army first, draw a line with them, and then compromise?"
Upon hearing Hong Tong's words, the second son shook his head.
"Brother, you're thinking wrong. If we back down at a time like this, won't the Luo family army become incredibly arrogant?"
"No matter if these people have Tsarist Russia or some other foreign devils backing them, we have to confront them. Otherwise, they'll only become more demanding and eventually drive us to the brink of extinction!"
Then, seeing that Hong Tong still looked worried, the second brother suddenly laughed.
"Haha, brother, I know you're afraid the Russians might attack, so you're thinking about how you have to consider the owner before beating a dog, but this vicious dog is practically right in our faces, are we just going to back down?"
"Don't be fooled by how powerful Tsarist Russia seems. They're far away from us, so even if we defeat the Luo family army, those white devils won't send a single troop to cause us trouble."
"Besides, if we can actually win this battle, we might even have another chance!"
Hearing what the second brother said, Hong Tong's interest was immediately piqued.
"Hey, tell me quickly, let me see what kind of opportunity it is!"
The second brother smiled mysteriously, not bothering to keep the head manager in suspense any longer, and pointed directly to the north, saying:
"Brother, if Tsarist Russia really supports the Luo family army, they definitely want profits, not charity."
"So if we defeat Luo's army, and they become useless, the Russians will simply discard them and find another to support. In that case, don't you think we'll have a chance?"
"If we can catch the eye of Tsarist Russia through this battle, and then turn around and buy foreign guns and Western horses from them, wouldn't we be able to rise to power?"
Oh, you're right, that makes sense!
Hong Tong slapped his thigh, realizing that his second son's brain was indeed faster!
As a bandit, although he didn't really like those foreigners, he had no sense of national or patriotic sentiments.
Or rather, under the colonial and oppressive rule of the Qing Dynasty, they had already ventured to the Northeast and become bandits in this harsh land beyond the Great Wall. It would be strange if they could still talk about their patriotism all the time.
Perhaps there were such righteous bandits outside the Great Wall who raised their troops to resist foreigners, but such groups were extremely rare. Most bandits were just a bunch of selfish people with no bottom line.
That's why, when he thought about how he could replace Luo Jiajun and get his hands on Luo Jiajun's abundant equipment, he immediately started drooling.
"Alright, alright, second brother, what do you think we should do to plan this?"
"Although I really want to crush the Luo family army, the strength of our Lianyun Village is probably insufficient. With less than 200 people in our village, plus those scoundrels who defected here, I'm afraid we really can't beat the Luo family army's cavalry!"
As for the infantry of the Luo family army, both of them almost automatically ignored this issue.
According to the information they gathered, the Luo family army didn't have any systematic infantry at all. They simply spent money to recruit a group of villagers and then used them as infantry to assist in battle.
The Luo family army's truly formidable fighting force has always been its cavalry!
"Brother, it's actually very simple. Next, we'll issue invitations widely, rallying all the gangs around here, big and small!"
The second son had already devised a plan, so he spoke with confidence and without any ambiguity.
"Our Lianyun Village is strong enough to issue a call to arms. We'll invite these scoundrels to a gathering, explain the pros and cons to them, and then you can raise your voice and command everyone to beat these foreign lackeys!"
"With several hundred people gathered here, let's go all out and head straight to Luo's army's territory to settle accounts with them, smashing their kilns! Then, Luo's army will either flee in panic or suffer a crushing defeat!"
Yes, they can also bring in outside help!
Hong Tong rubbed his head, feeling that his brain really couldn't keep up with his second brother's quick thinking.
Four bandit groups, totaling thirty or forty men, have already come to join him, but these men are simply not enough.
When he turned around, he immediately rallied all the dozens of bandit groups in the area, ordering those with soldiers to send out their troops and those with guns to send out their guns, thus forming a large force to fight against the Luo family army!
As for whether he can definitely defeat Luo's army by gathering such a rabble,
I'm sorry, he hadn't even thought about such a complicated question.
He was just a bandit, not some great military strategist who had read extensively on military strategy. At most, he had only heard stories about the Water Margin from storytellers in the market.
So in his view, his brothers were good at fighting, and he had gathered so many people, six or seven hundred of them, to deal with Luo's army of one hundred. It didn't seem like they could lose, right?
This is what they mean by having the advantage!