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From Jianghua to Guanyang, they could take the main road, but Vézé didn't do so. He led his troops along a small path through the mountains, taking the shortest distance possible, and went straight to the predicted ambush area.
Luo Dagang didn't expect Vézé to leave like this. He was proficient in the navy, and fighting on land wasn't his forte. Vézé's actions clearly showed that he couldn't let Luo Dagang's troops participate in the battle, and Luo Dagang was very unhappy about it. Although it wasn't Vézé deliberately looking down on Luo Dagang, Luo Dagang felt very humiliated after being left behind like this. After arranging for the navy to defend Jianghua and Yongming with the troops left behind by Vézé, Luo Dagang led fifty of his brothers and Vézé to attack Liu Zhangqing.
Along the way, Luo Dagang only saw that every once in a while, a wave of mounted scouts would come back with a report, and every time they came back, they would bring back some maps. The maps weren't complete, but they were small pieces of maps, with a lot of information about roads and terrain written on them.
"Wayne Brothers, are these maps reliable?" Luo Dagang couldn't help but ask. When the Taiping army marched, they relied on the local Tian Di Hui brothers to lead the way, but Vézé was very different. He relied more on maps to pass through the mountains. He set out on the morning of July 12th before dawn, and walked for half a day, but unexpectedly didn't encounter a single village along the way.
"Reliable! This is a road that our brothers have walked on many times. "Vézé replied seriously. Perhaps feeling that his tone was a little too harsh, he forced out a smile. "This is all thanks to Brother Luo. You taught me how to communicate with the Tian Di Hui brothers, so the scouts can walk in the mountains. Just like that, a few of our brothers were captured by the local villagers. They reported the details and told everyone who knew them, so they were fine. "
Hearing this, Luo Dagang only snorted. This wasn't to mock Vézé, but he was very dissatisfied with the guys in the villages in the mountains. It was very common for mountain people to ambush a few strangers who suddenly appeared in the mountains. The mountain people would kill the ambushed guy, rob him of his belongings, throw his body into the ravine, and disappear without a trace. Vézé only said that the people caught by the mountain people were fine. It seemed that in order to get them back, Vézé must have paid a lot of ransom.
At noon, the troops that had been trekking on the mountain turned a mountain road, and the view suddenly became clear. Luo Dagang did not expect Wei Ze, who had never been to Guanyang personally, to be able to cross the mountain range with just a map. Along the way, there were some roads that didn't look like people had walked on them. Some places were paved by cutting off shrubs and branches, and the broken ends of the branches could be used as road signs to prove that people had walked on them.
What surprised Luo Dagang even more was that there were over a hundred people waiting at the end. The leader was the leader of Guanyang Heaven Earth Association, Luo Yongnian. When he saw Wei Ze and Luo Dagang, Luo Yongnian smiled sheepishly and approached them. "Master Wei, you said you would arrive at noon.
Luo Dagang felt that Vézé wanted to laugh and ease the atmosphere. But Vézé's murderous aura hadn't been worn away by the marching troops. Instead, it had grown stronger because of the approaching battle. Vézé waved his hand. Marshal Hu Chenghe took out a parcel and opened it. Inside were strings of copper coins. “”
Luo Yongnian's eyes immediately brightened. He was about to reach out, but Hu Chenghe blocked him. "Master Luo, you said you could bring a hundred people. We've prepared a hundred strings of coins, two hundred copper coins per person. Bring your men over. We'll give you a hundred copper coins for each person you meet. When we're done, we'll give you the remaining hundred copper coins. As for the money we promised you, we've already prepared it. After we've distributed the money to our brothers, we'll give you your share. "
Luo Yongnian's expression turned ugly when he heard Hu Chenghe's words. But after Hu Chenghe said those words, he kept a straight face and didn't say anything else. When the Tian Di Hui brothers who followed Luo Yongnian heard this, everyone's eyes lit up.
"You don't trust me?" Luo Yongnian pretended to be tough.
Hu Chenghe didn't answer. "Master Luo, don't talk nonsense. Let's hurry up and distribute the money to our brothers," he said.
Seeing Hu Chenghe's tough attitude, Luo Yongnian could only reluctantly let his men come forward to collect the money. Vézé's troops formed a human wall, separating the small path at the meeting point into two sections. Every Tian Di Hui brother who had collected the money was sent to the other side of the path. This time, some of the fellows who wanted to muddle through and collect more money in the chaos didn't have a chance to show off.
Seeing Vézé doing this, Luo Dagang didn't know whether he should praise Vézé for being shrewd or feel that Vézé was too childish. Doing this was tantamount to greatly offending Luo Yongnian. When Luo Yongnian called people over, the money he demanded from Vézé wouldn't all be distributed to his brothers. Luo Yongnian would take a cut from it. Luo Yongnian's hardcore followers would take less, about 20 to 30 percent. As for those who were called over purely to make up the numbers, Luo Yongnian would take at least 50 percent, maybe even 60 to 70 percent.
However, with Vézé's actions, everyone could get the full amount of money. After the fellows who received the money were sent to the other side, they didn't care about anything else and immediately began to hurriedly count the string of 100 copper coins in their hands. The people standing on Luo Yongnian's side became fewer and fewer, and Luo Yongnian's expression became more and more unsightly.
However, there were a few people who couldn't get through. Luo Dagang found that the people Vézé gave money to were all carrying tattered bags on their backs. Several fellows who didn't have any bags couldn't get through. When these people saw that the others had received the money but they were blocked from the crowd, they anxiously shouted, "Didn't we agree? Why aren't we getting our money? "
Hu Chenghe wasn't moved at all. With a cold expression, he said, "We agreed that everyone would carry a bag. So many of you are carrying bags. Why aren't you guys carrying bags?"
Luo Yongnian also shouted with a cold expression, "They followed me here. Someone has to lead the team. It's useless for them to carry bags."
Luo Dagang thought that Hu Chenghe would argue with Luo Yongnian, but he didn't expect Hu Chenghe to only say, "Give them the money!"
After everyone had received their money, Hu Chenghe shouted, "Brothers, do you know what you're here for?"
"Yes, we're here to run when the imperial army arrives!" someone answered.
Hearing this, Luo Dagang completely fainted. He had thought that Vézé had hired people to help him in the battle, so he felt that the 100 people were too few and useless. Even if all 100 people were to join the battle, they would probably run away the moment they met the imperial army. He didn't expect that Vézé had hired so many people just to let them run away from the imperial army.
If all these people ran away, what was the point of fighting? Luo Dagang really didn't understand what Vézé was thinking.
Hu Chenghe nodded and shouted, "Very well, I've invited everyone to put on this show. But I'll say this first: you can only run when you see the imperial army coming and start shooting! If anyone runs away first, you can forget about the remaining 100 copper coins. "
These people who had been gathered by Tian Di Hui didn't want to fight. Most of them were planning to run away after receiving the money. They didn't expect that Luo Yongnian was telling them to do this. This time, most of the people's hearts were at ease. Only an idiot wouldn't run when they saw the government's army. Whoever was willing to fight the government's army would fight the government's army. Since the money was already in their hands, everyone wanted to save their own lives and take the 100 copper coins back home. As for the 200 copper coins, everyone knew that Luo Yongnian would take at least 100 copper coins. Since that was the case, they might as well run away and not come back. They just didn't want the 100 copper coins.
After making some arrangements, Hu Chenghe led a group of soldiers and mixed in with the Tian Di Hui brothers who had come to help, setting up a formation on the mountain road. Meanwhile, Vézé's troops once again entered the mountainous area and continued their march.
"Wayne Brothers, what are you doing?" Luo Dagang couldn't help but ask.
Vézé still kept a straight face. "Brother Luo, I've fought with Liu Zhangqing before. Last time, I used this method to deal with him, so whether the battle goes smoothly or not, I'm afraid Liu Zhangqing will remember this. We'll take the small path and cut off Liu Zhangqing's retreat. If Liu Zhangqing doesn't retreat, we'll attack from behind. If he retreats, we'll intercept them and kill Liu Zhangqing! "
Luo Dagang hadn't expected Vézé to set up such a chain of tactics instead of fighting a head-on battle like he had originally planned. Luo Dagang couldn't help but have a whole new level of respect for this kind of planning ability. However, Vézé's straight face made Luo Dagang feel that Vézé was under a lot of pressure. If he thought about it carefully, it was true. No matter how good the plan was, Liu Zhangqing might not fall for it. Moreover, Vézé didn't have many troops at the front. Those brothers who came to make money only needed to escape in front of the Qing Army. It was very likely that Liu Zhangqing wouldn't turn back and would instead chase after them.
Along the way, Vézé had already received a more accurate report. Liu Zhangqing had probably brought around 1500 men with him. Vézé's troops also only had 1500 men. Adding Luo Dagang's 50 men, they had a total of 1550 men. There wasn't much of a difference in the strength of the two sides.
However, it didn't matter how he thought about it. Vézé's troops were marching in the mountains. Moreover, because they had already walked for four hours, their speed wasn't fast, and they even had to rest frequently. In the end, Vézé actually ordered his troops to cook and eat lunch.
Luo Dagang couldn't help but be suspicious of Vézé's actions. Could Vézé really fight a war? Up until now, Vézé had been acting according to his plan. He had made a lot of preparations, but if Liu Zhangqing didn't cooperate, it would all be for naught.
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