ragginovel Chapter 255 Overbearing
Chapter 255 Overbearing
If we were to ask who in the entire escort team was most familiar with the soldiers, it would undoubtedly be Chai Qing, the former traitor to the imperial court.
You can question his current stance, but don't question his vision.
Because he was an expert at conscripting men, Chai Qing was used to it.
Most of them had suffered setbacks and losses in previous battles, but they hadn't lost all their capital and could still try again.
So they conscripted civilians into the army, forcibly enlisting them and issuing them only tattered weapons and uniforms. Often, they were not even fully equipped with weapons and armor, and were driven to the front lines to serve as cannon fodder for the enemy.
Chai Qing shouted loudly.
The boat captain was decisive; he immediately turned the rudder, intending to circle around on the river and escape.
In times of peace, soldiers are soldiers and bandits are bandits; when soldiers suppress bandits, the two are clearly distinguished.
But in these turbulent times, soldiers can become bandits, and bandits can be recruited into the army. The line between soldiers and bandits is blurred, and some soldiers are even more dangerous than bandits.
Some other ships nearby also noticed something amiss at the dock ahead and lowered their sails and changed course.
The boat had only turned halfway around.
Then, a splashing sound arose on the river behind them.
An iron chain suddenly rose from the bottom of the river, with its two ends tied to two large iron oxen on the shore. Each ox had a windlass on its back, and at that moment, about a hundred soldiers on each side pulled it together.
With iron chains laid across the river, no boat could escape now.
The officers and soldiers had caught them completely off guard.
Two more boats sailed over from the shore, filled with soldiers holding bows and arrows with strips of cloth soaked in grease wrapped around the arrows, and a stove was lit at the bow of the boat.
A captain put an arrow into the hole, and the arrowhead immediately caught fire.
He drew his bow and nocked an arrow.
whoosh...
A rocket was pinned to the mast of a small boat, and it immediately burst into flames.
The sailors on board hurriedly used water to extinguish the fire.
The captain shouted loudly.
"By order of General Wang!"
"All ships along the route were requisitioned."
"All supplies and personnel on board were transferred to the military."
"Anyone who dares to resist, or tries to escape, will be killed without mercy!"
The captain shouted menacingly, and the soldiers behind him raised their bows and arrows.
You can extinguish one rocket, but if so many soldiers launch a barrage of rockets, who can save them all?
With no other option, the ships had to obediently turn around and sail to the dock one by one.
on board.
Several businessmen dressed as wealthy men had gathered around Guo Laogan, all of them sweating profusely.
"Chief镖师 Guo, what should we do now?"
"My man is the product of all his savings. If he gets conscripted, I might as well kill him..."
"What are you thinking? Still thinking about money? You're lucky to be alive."
"Chief镖头 Guo, we're relying entirely on the prestigious reputation of your Yuanwei Escort Agency. As long as you can protect me and the goods, I'm willing to pay double the escort fee this time..."
"Wasn't it said that Governor Chen had won a great victory over the rebel army? How could this have happened?"
"We can't afford to mess with officers and soldiers who have won battles, but we can't afford to mess with officers and soldiers who have lost battles. We're in trouble now."
Guo Laogan'er also looked anxious.
"I'll figure something out."
He was inwardly groaning.
Yuanwei Escort Agency also had a presence in Jiangbei Province, and the provincial commander-in-chief would pay tribute to them during festivals.
Unfortunately, this general was defeated by bandits a few days ago and was imprisoned.
At this time, the main force on the Jiangbei front was the guest troops transferred from other provinces, with more than ten generals alone. Who knew which battalion commander had stopped them?
Who is General Wang?
He doesn't know either.
However, as the backbone of the escort agency, he could only feign composure. If he panicked, he would be unable to lead the entire team.
At the ship's side.
Wu Tiechuan regretted slapping his thigh.
"Alas, Brother Yang, if I had known, I would have joined your team and gone on another journey."
"It shouldn't have come to this disaster. I wonder if our status as military scholars will be of any use against these soldiers."
Li Hui shook his head beside him.
"I'm afraid it won't be of much use."
"None of the three of us have been officially appointed to any position, so we are not considered real officials at all."
"Even if they are granted an official position, it will only be a minor official of the sixth or seventh rank."
"The commander-in-chief is at least a second-rank official; what face do we have in front of him?"
Wang Daniu looked at Yang Silang.
"Fourth Brother, what should we do?"
Yang Silang frowned and rolled his eyes.
"Let's wait and see."
However, he and Wang Daniu could easily retreat at any time by riding on the big green horse.
However, he remembered asking Mo Xinlian why he could never master the Killing Spear technique.
Mo Xinlian once said that this kind of killing skill can only be mastered on the battlefield.
This may be an opportunity.
After all, the Killing Spear is of the metal element, and my own five elements of true meaning are only missing the metal element. I really don't know where to find it.
If one can glean some understanding of the techniques through the trials and tribulations of battle, then it's not a loss.
In addition, the Yuanwei Escort Agency's escort team is a professional team that travels all over the country, so it's best not to go alone unless absolutely necessary.
The ships docked one after another.
Then everyone disembarked and landed, while soldiers rushed aboard, violently kicking open the cabin doors and even going down into the cabins to check if anyone was hiding.
Some clever individuals, confident in their swimming skills, took advantage of the chaos and jumped into the water.
However, the soldiers on the boat had eagle hunters on standby, and with a single arrow, the man was sent to meet the Dragon King, and blood splattered on the water.
On the dock.
More than a thousand men, women, and children disembarked from these ten or so boats.
He was forced into a barn by a group of soldiers with guns.
An armored guerrilla climbed onto the wooden platform and coughed.
"By order of the General, we shall collect supplies, recruit able-bodied men, and enlist them in the army to fight against the enemy."
The following categories are not in the recruitment queue.
"Those with official positions are not eligible for recruitment; scions of prominent families are not eligible for recruitment; disciples of major Taoist sects are not eligible for recruitment..."
"Those who meet the requirements may step forward, take your belongings, and leave..."
It seems this general isn't completely muddle-headed; he knows who is troublesome to offend, but he won't forcibly conscript everyone.
A commotion broke out in the crowd of over a thousand people.
Several officials, accompanied by their entourages, squeezed out of the crowd; they were out on official business.
The guerrilla general checked their official documents one by one, and most of them passed.
However, a county clerk also came over, only to be scolded back by the military officer on the spot.
"A mere clerk, without even a rank, a nobody, you call yourself an official? Throw it back..."
Two burly soldiers immediately stepped forward from behind him, grabbed the clerk, and threw him back into the crowd.
Everyone was terrified upon hearing this.
Although the clerk had no official rank, he was actually in charge of the constables, jailers, and executioners in the county town. He was a truly powerful and wealthy figure who had connections in both the legal and illegal worlds, yet he was also forcibly conscripted.
Yang Silang noticed that the clerk clearly possessed considerable martial arts skills, but he didn't dare to resist the army and was obediently thrown to the ground by two ordinary soldiers, his silk clothes covered in dust.
A military officer stepped forward, hoping to make an exception, but the guerrilla general, after clarifying that he only had the title of merit but not an official position, immediately refused.
Several more elegant young men and women, accompanied by their servants, stepped forward and introduced themselves.
These people were very pompous and arrogant, showing no sign of panic, behaving like scions of a prominent family.
After questioning each of them, the guerrilla leader checked their tokens. Then, a clerk stepped out from behind him and questioned each of the young men and women.
Because of the distance, Yang Silang couldn't hear clearly, but he roughly knew that the advisor seemed to be talking about romance and nature, but in fact he was subtly mentioning anecdotes from aristocratic families to verify the truthfulness of these people's words.
Only one person failed to pass, and the guerrilla turned on him, captured him, and ordered his men to kick him over and behead him on the spot.
As for the few who were confirmed, the two men put on a smiling face, bowed and waited, ordered the soldiers to make way, and sent people to take the luggage and mounts of these people from the ship, and respectfully saw them off.
Several men and women, young and old, some dressed as knights-errant and others looking like ordinary people, came forward and introduced themselves.
There were those from major martial arts sects such as Hanjiang Sword Sect, Qingshuang Pavilion, Ironclad Alliance, and Xueyan Manor.
Major Taoist sects such as Qingyun Sect, Xuanyuan Temple, Taichu Palace, and Tianyan Sect were also allowed to pass smoothly.
Disciples from smaller sects, such as the Black Tiger Sect and the Three Mountains Sect, were ruthlessly driven back to the ranks.
One of the steel-dirty martial arts masters came from the Bronze Bell Sect, a sect that wasn't very famous, and was rebuked and sent away by the guerrillas.
"What constitutes a great sect? A sect renowned throughout the land, known throughout the world—that is a true great sect!"
"I've heard of your Bronze Bell Sect before, but you only occupy a few prefectures to teach disciples, not even enough to fill a single province. How can you call yourself a major sect?"
The martial arts master, who had a rather fiery temper, immediately retorted.
"Who is General Wang? I've never heard of him before."
When the guerrilla general heard him speak in a way that insulted his superior, he sneered and waved his hand.
Dozens of soldiers surrounded him from behind, some with heavy shields and others with spears. They advanced and retreated in an orderly fashion, closing in and encircling him as he suddenly thrust his spear.
Upon seeing this, the grand martial arts master jumped into the air and sneered.
"I'm not playing with you anymore..."
Unexpectedly, more than a dozen nets were cast from behind the soldiers, and he was caught in the nets while still in the air. After landing, he could not even stretch his arms and legs properly.
A dozen or so iron shields formed an impenetrable wall, with long spears thrusting through them with a series of thuds.
The martial arts master screamed repeatedly, unleashing his brute force to send more than a dozen iron shields and soldiers behind him flying.
However, another group of soldiers with shields and spears surrounded him from behind. He unleashed his divine power once more, his true energy and blood boiling, sending them flying.
The third group of soldiers surrounded them again.
This time, he no longer had the strength to break through the Iron Shield House.
Pfft pfft...
The sound of the spear piercing into the body, cutting through flesh and bones, was incessant.
After a while.
The iron shield houses dispersed.
The great martial arts master collapsed to the ground, his body riddled with holes, and he had bled to death.
Looking at the soldiers, because they were all wearing armor and had iron shields in front of them, apart from a few who twisted their arms and legs, none of them were seriously injured.
On the dock.
The pedestrians surrounded by soldiers gasped in shock.
This is the fate of an individual fighting against an army. It takes so much effort and time for a master martial artist to become one, but if they encounter a well-coordinated and well-equipped army of a hundred or so soldiers, they will die on the spot.
This guerrilla general is taking this opportunity to establish his authority.
Yang Silang narrowed his eyes.
He could see clearly with his Observation Shot that the hundred or so soldiers who attacked were all in full iron armor and were taller than the other soldiers; they must be the guerrilla's personal guards.
The other soldiers were not as elite as them.
But besides the soldiers surrounding the dock, he could see over a thousand cavalrymen scattered in several groups outside the dock. These cavalrymen were enough to pursue anyone who dared to flee.
Furthermore, behind the high platform where the guerrillas were stationed, there were several ballistae with their strings cocked, clearly prepared specifically to suppress disobedient martial artists.
These crossbow bolts were as thick as a child's arm and nearly ten feet long. A single shot could shatter both men and horses. Originally intended for city defense, they were somehow moved to the docks.
It is fired mechanically.
With several crossbow bolts firing in quick succession, even a grandmaster wouldn't dare say he could escape unscathed, not to mention the more than a thousand cavalrymen watching from the outside.
At this moment, another person stepped forward with a family token, claiming to be a guest of a certain family.