nashuaworldcup Chapter 304 Surrounding the Mountain
Chapter 304 Surrounding the Mountain
Chapter 304 Encirclement of the Mountain
After Liu Rushi was searched, she boarded a carriage, which was then taken by bandits to Moushan. Moushan was an earthen hill built during the Battle of Guandu between Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, and it is now Jiang Hongbao's stronghold.
On the way, Jiang Hongbao's Liang Xiaoning chatted with Liu Rushi for a while. Liu Rushi discovered that Liang Xiaoning was literate, and she asked in confusion, "You are such a beautiful woman, why did you become a thief?"
Liang Xiaoning said with a bitter smile, "My father was originally an imperial censor in Henan Province, but he was dismissed from office two years ago for a crime. When we returned to our hometown, we were robbed by Jiang Hongbao. My father had no money, and Jiang Hongbao wanted to kill him. To save my father, I had no choice but to submit to the bandit. Madam, don't worry, although Jiang Hongbao is a bandit, he always keeps his word. As long as your husband sends the ransom, Jiang Hongbao will definitely not harm you and your child."
Liu Rushi smiled bitterly. "Jiang Hongbao won't harm my son and me, but if my husband finds out, he'll definitely kill Jiang Hongbao to vent his anger."
Mount Mu was originally a military structure. After Jiang Hongbao converted it into a stronghold, he renovated it again. Therefore, although the officials of Mu County came to conquer it several times, they did not gain any advantage. This is also why Jiang Hongbao, knowing that Liu Rushi's identity was extraordinary, still swaggered back to Mount Mu. He felt that with a hostage in hand and Mount Mu being easy to defend and difficult to attack, the government troops would not be able to launch a large-scale attack.
The magistrate of Mou County was the first Ming Dynasty official to know that Liu Rushi had been kidnapped. The messenger who delivered the letter to him was Kong Yixiu, the head of the Hanshan Express in Mou County.
Kong Yixiu said coldly, "Lord Ma, please quickly summon the constables and able-bodied men to accompany me to surround Mou Mountain. To tell you the truth, the people kidnapped by the bandits are Wang Wenzhou, the Vice Minister of Rites and the heir of the Earl of Xinjian, along with his wife and son!"
Upon hearing this, Magistrate Ma broke out in a cold sweat. "Damn bandit! Of all people to mess with, you had to mess with Wang Wenzhou! That fool dares to cause trouble for all the officials in the court. If anything happens to his wife and children in Mou County, he'll definitely kill me to vent his anger."
Magistrate Ma said tremblingly, "Boss Kong, it's not that I don't want to help, but as you know, Mu County only has a little over a hundred yamen runners, and it's not something that can be done in a day or two. How about I ask the nearby garrison commander for help?"
Kong Yixiu said irritably, "No need! I've already sent someone to ask for help. You take the yamen runners and come with me first. If the government doesn't intervene, I can't lead people to besiege Mou Mountain."
"Very well! I'll set off immediately!" Magistrate Ma nodded.
When Magistrate Ma arrived at the city gate of Mou County, he was utterly stunned. He saw over three thousand well-equipped elite soldiers. Magistrate Ma cautiously asked, "Boss Kong, where did you borrow these elite soldiers from?"
Kong Yixiu shook his head and said irritably, "You know the soldiers of the imperial guards, right? You think you can use them to suppress bandits? These are security guards from nearby counties and prefectures, such as Hanshan Express, Hanshan Bank, and Hanshan Supermarket. Let's go and surround Moushan first."
"You're going to attack the mountain right now? What if the bandits harm the lady and the young master?" Magistrate Ma was truly afraid that Liu Rushi and her son would die in Mou County.
Kong Yixiu said with a wry smile, "I'm just surrounding Mount Mou for now. Things have gotten much bigger, and I can't make the decision myself. I can only wait for Lord Wang's orders."
Magistrate Ma nodded, "It's good that we don't attack the mountain."
……
After Jiang Hongbao returned to Moushan Camp, he celebrated wildly. He felt that he would be embarrassed to go out if he didn't make several million taels of silver after this deal was done.
Just as the feast was being set out in the mountain stronghold, someone rushed over to Jiang Hongbao and reported, "Brother, something terrible has happened! The government troops have surrounded Moushan!"
"What?" Jiang Hongbao said in disbelief, "How is that possible? There is only one garrison near Mu County, with only two hundred old, weak, sick and disabled garrison soldiers. Do you think they would dare to besiege Mu Mountain?"
The man shook his head and said, "They are not garrison soldiers. The leader is Magistrate Ma and Kong Yixiu, the owner of Hanshan Express in Mou County."
Jiang Hongbao smiled slightly. He guessed that Kong Yixiu had brought money to ransom the child. "I haven't even named a price yet, and the ransom has arrived ahead of time. It seems this mother and son are truly extraordinary. Without several million taels of silver, you think you can ransom them? Dream on!"
“Let’s go! Let’s go take a look!” Jiang Hongbao said with a smile.
Jiang Hongbao arrived at the gate of the village and said loudly, "Kong Yixiu, come over here and let's talk!"
Kong Yixiu stepped forward, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, "Jiang Hongbao, I warn you, if you dare to harm the lady and the young master, everyone in your stronghold will die without a burial place."
Jiang Hongbao said with a smile, "Boss Kong, we're just after money, why would we harm the hostage? Don't worry, I'm known for my integrity in this industry. Tell me, how much silver do you want to ransom her?"
Kong Yixiu said with a wry smile, "I can't make the decision on this matter. I estimate that the order will come tomorrow. I'm just bringing people here to warn you."
"Hmph!" Jiang Hongbao sneered, "I'm going back first. I'll come back and talk when the person in charge arrives."
Kong Yixiu watched Jiang Hongbao's retreating figure and gently shook her head. "Jiang Hongbao, you've really messed with someone you can't afford to offend this time. I reckon more people will come to help later."
As Kong Yixiu had predicted, that very night, more and more people from the surrounding counties and prefectures of Mou County, led by their respective mountain-owning bosses and local officials, came to surround the mountain.
Just as dawn was breaking, Jiang Hongbao was woken up.
"Brother! You should go out and take a look! There are soldiers surrounding the area!" the man reported in surprise.
Jiang Hongbao frowned, walked to the entrance of the mountain stronghold and looked out. He was stunned. There were as many as 20,000 to 30,000 people surrounding Mushan.
"Bring the person in charge of your affairs here for a talk!" Jiang Hongbao shouted.
Niu Guangdou, the prefect of Kaifeng, strode over.
Jiang Hongbao frowned upon seeing Niu Guangdou and asked in a cold voice, "Sir, who are you? What has startled you?"
Niu Guangdou shook his head with a wry smile. "You damned bandit, how dare you help Wang Wenzhou's wife and children? Even the officials of the court dare not offend Wang Wenzhou, yet you dare! Although I am glad to see Wang Wenzhou's wife and children kidnapped by you, you cannot kidnap them in my Kaifeng Prefecture."
If Wang Wenzhou's wife and children were to get into trouble in Kaifeng, that idiot Wang Wenzhou would probably make me pay with my life!
Niu Guangdou said coldly, "I am Niu Guangdou, the prefect of Kaifeng. You must release the hostages immediately, or don't blame me for ordering an attack on the mountain!"
Jiang Hongbao was stunned for a moment. Who exactly was that woman? Overnight, even the prefect of Kaifeng had come.
Jiang Hongbao was not afraid of Niu Guangtou's threat. If they wanted to attack the mountain stronghold, they would have done so long ago, with 20,000 to 30,000 elite troops outside.
"Don't brag, Master Niu. If you're so capable, why don't you attack the mountain? Have you prepared the silver? I don't ask for much. Five million taels for the woman and five million taels for the child. As long as you give me the silver and let my brothers leave, I'll release the mother and child immediately," Jiang Hongbao said with a smile.
“Sigh…” Niu Guangdou shook his head with a wry smile and said, “I can’t make the decision on this matter. Don’t hurt the hostages.”
"Pfft..." Jiang Hongbao was completely dumbfounded. Damn it, you're the prefect of Kaifeng and you can't even make a decision? Who exactly is this woman's husband?