Han Dong nodded secretly after hearing this.

This talkative sage seems to have a good reputation. No wonder such an arrogant hero as Xiong Kuohai is willing to serve under him.

The little boss who was looking for information continued to report.

"Ma Shumou was a military general. He also participated in the Sui army's attack on Wu Ye, Marquis of Nanyang, but he was lucky and escaped with his life from Wu Ye's gun!"

"Because there are no troops in Xiangzhou, Ma Shumou only brought 3,000 troops. However, they are all veterans who have followed him on the battlefield. Their strength should not be underestimated!"

"When I was going up the mountain, Uncle Ma's army and horses had already set off, and they must have arrived in Xiangzhou now!"

Although the little boss didn't talk much, he explained in detail, clearly analyzing the strength gap between Xiangzhou and Ma Shumou.

This scout role is well done!

The situation in Xiangzhou seems to be very bad. Although the civil servants talk about the sage, they have the support of the people, but they have no soldiers in their hands!

As for Ma Shumou, not only was he a general on the battlefield, but he also led three thousand battlefield veterans!

Xiong Kuohai hummed and said:

"Three thousand people are useless. Not to mention the 'Invincible Gun King' Brother Han, even I, Xiong Kuohai, can kill them all!"

After saying this, Xiong Kuohai ordered:

"The situation is urgent. Brother Arima will set off immediately with me and Brother Han. The others will stay at the stronghold and wait for news from me!"

"yes!"

All the big bosses responded in unison, then dispersed to arrange their manpower.

Although there are 30,000 people in the village, there are not many horses. There are only about a hundred horses in total. According to Xiong Kuohai's arrangement, only about a hundred people will go down to Xiangzhou this time.

Among the dozen or so big bosses of the village, two or three were left as housekeepers. The others followed Xiong Kuohai and Han Dong, and together with other minions, a total of about a hundred people rode down the mountain in a hurry.

On the official road, Han Dong rode a "good horse", galloping side by side with Xiong Kuohai in front of him.

This 'good horse' was given to Han Dong by Xiong Kuohai. There were only two batches of 'good horses' in Taihang Village, and the other one was naturally ridden by Xiong Kuohai himself.

During this time, Han Dong also learned about the grades of horses in this world.

The worst is the rogue horse, like the one used by the merchant Zhang Sanhou. Its strength and agility attributes are between 10 and 20. It can only be used by ordinary people to ride or transport goods.

Unlike warriors or ferocious beasts, the horse's strength and agility attributes only represent its carrying capacity and running speed, and cannot attack.

After all, herbivores are not designed to attack Yuwang!

One level higher than the horse, it is an ordinary horse with attributes between 20 and 30. Some bosses in the village ride this kind of horse.

Then there are the ‘good horses’, with attributes between 30 and 40. Only generals in the army are qualified to ride them. There are only about ten horses in the village, and they are all ridden by big bosses.

A 'good horse' is of a higher grade than a 'good horse', with attributes between 40-50. For example, the 'good horse' Han Dong rides has a strength and agility attribute of 47.

Such attributes are very high. Han Dong's own strength attribute is only 45!

Han Dong has tested that this 'good horse' can carry a maximum load of 50,000 to 60,000!

When running, the speed is comparable to that of a Ferrari on the highway in the previous life!

The 'good horse' under Xiongkuohai Seat has a strength and agility attribute of 48, which is similar to Han Dong's!

"No wonder the heroes in this world like to fight on horseback. When such a mount is running, it is as intimidating as a heavy tank!

For generals on the battlefield, having a good horse is really more powerful than a tiger!"

"A good horse is better than a beautiful woman. The ancients are sincere and I will not deceive you!"

Han Dong rode this 'good horse' and galloped all the way on the official road, enjoying the strong wind blowing in his face, thinking happily in his heart.

“The ‘good horses’ are like this, but I wonder how elegant the higher-level ‘BMWs’ and ‘magic horses’ are?”

Han Dong thought with some longing.

The ‘BMW’ of this world is as hard to find as the limited edition ‘Rolls-Royce’ of the previous life!

Even in Xiongkuohai, I have only seen the ‘Zhaoye Jade Lion’ who is sworn to my eldest brother Wu Yunzhao. Such a BMW!

Leading hundreds of bandit cavalry, Han Dong and Xiong Kuohai rushed out of the Taihang Mountains and headed straight for Xiangzhou.

From a distance, Han Dong saw a city in front of him, which was where the capital of Xiangzhou was located.

At this time, the city gate was closed tightly, and a man dressed as a civilian official was standing at the top of the city. Hundreds of people dressed as civilians were guarding the surroundings with wooden sticks in their hands, looking nervously at the hundreds of cavalry.

There are no soldiers or horses in front of the city, and I guess Ma Shumou hasn't arrived yet.

"Hush!"

When everyone came to the city gate, Xiong Kuohai ordered everyone to stop.

Looking at the city head, Xiong Kuohai shouted:

"I am from the Taihang Mountains and the vast sea. I have come here to kill Uncle Ma for this plot. Has Uncle Ma come here to plot a dog thief?"

Xiongkuohai's reputation was great in Xiangzhou, and he never harmed the lives of businessmen in the past. Although he was a robber, he was quite respected in the late Sui Dynasty when the people were in dire straits.

The civil servants in the city looked down and saw the vast sea with a strong back and a heroic figure. Knowing that it was not Ma Shumou, they relieved themselves, raised their hands and asked:

"Ma Shumou's troops are hundreds of miles away and will arrive soon. Is this warrior the 'Purple Faced King'?"

Xiongkuohai heard this and said:

"Yes, it's me, Xiong Kuohai. I heard that Uncle Ma was planning to murder Gao Jishi, so I came here to help him. Where is Gao Jishi? Is he okay?"

The civil servant said:

"Thank you very much for the help of the 'Purple Faced Heavenly King'. I am the noble talker!"

Han Dong looked towards Gao Tansheng and saw that Gao Tansheng was dressed as an official and had a thin figure.

From a distance of several tens of feet, his face couldn't be clearly seen, but looking at the people surrounding him, he knew that he had a good official reputation and was quite popular with the local people.

At this time, knowing that Xiong Kuohai and his party were not Ma Shumou's men, Gao Tansheng was relieved.

Don't talk about why officials are not afraid of bandits and bandits. In this chaotic era at the end of the dynasty, officers and soldiers are the real bandits.

On the contrary, a well-known hero like Xiong Kuohai is more reassuring.

Gao Tansheng has been in a bad mood recently. He is not a saint, but just an ordinary Sui Dynasty official.

But he has some integrity of his own. He usually handles government affairs by following the rules and rarely engages in corruption. Although he is not very diligent, he is not lazy either. He cannot be said to be like a gentleman to the people, but he is not harsh either.

Despite this, it also gave Gao Tansheng the reputation of being an honest official and protecting the people!

The Confucianism of this era, which emphasized benevolence, justice, propriety, wisdom, and trust, was still the mainstream of society and the behavioral benchmark for many literati. Although there were still countless corrupt officials, there were also many officials who were clean and self-sufficient.

Unlike the later Ming and Qing Dynasties, Confucianism has become a packaging. Only interests are in the eyes, no benevolence, righteousness and morality. Shameless, despicable, despicable and filthy are the essence of most civil servants.

The glorious period of Confucianism was actually the Han Dynasty. Although other "hundred schools of learning" were suppressed, many great Confucianists with outstanding character, knowledge, and knowledge also emerged.

During the Tang Dynasty, Confucianism was still continued.

The true degeneration of Confucianism was first laid by Zhao and Song Dynasty's policy of suppressing military force and promoting literature, and then starting with Zhu Xi's cannibalistic Neo-Confucianism, the core ideas of Confucianism were gradually abandoned.

After the Southern Song Dynasty, the number of great Confucians who could cultivate the "great righteousness" in their hearts became increasingly rare.

By the Ming Dynasty, literati all over the world regarded themselves as Confucianists, but the real Confucianism was only superficial.

After the Song Dynasty, everyone regarded themselves as disciples of Confucius and Mencius, but few were true Confucians. They just used the name of "sage" to dress themselves up!

Of course, there are exceptions in any era, and there are also great Confucians like Wen Tianxiang and Wang Yangming.

However, compared with the general trend of society, Confucianism almost did not exist after the Song Dynasty!

After talking a lot of nonsense, let’s get back to our Lord Gao, the governor of Xiangzhou.
Chapter completed!