Chapter 42 The Battle of Mengjiazhuang
For the Fan family, although the loss of 5,000 stones of grain and 7,000 taels of silver would cause a lot of pain, it would not hurt the Fan family.
Compared with the loss of money and food, the loss of reputation is the most important thing.
A few dozen thieves dared to rob his Fan family of money and food, kill his brother and two nephews. If he didn't peel off the muscles of this group of thieves, the Fan family would probably not be able to survive in the Shanxi realm. All thieves would think that their Fan family was a fat sheep that could be slaughtered, and everyone wanted to come up and take a bite.
The ancestors of the Fan family made their fortune by selling grain and salt for border military soldiers. By the time of Fan Yongdou's generation, they not only controlled most of the salt-inducing transactions in Zhangjiakou, but also expanded other transactions, purchasing grain, iron, cloth, tea, etc. from various places in the Ming Dynasty, shipped to Zhangjiakou, and then went north to sell them with the Mongolians and the Jianzhou Jurchens.
When doing business with the Mongolians, it can be exchanged for a large number of cattle, sheep and horses. When doing business with the Jianzhou Jurchens, it can be exchanged for a large number of ginseng. These two goods were best-sellers in the Ming Dynasty. Needless to say, the former is the most rare thing for gentry and wealthy families and even princes and nobles.
However, this transaction requires a huge context to support it. There are hundreds of gentry families with business relationships between Shanxi, Shaanxi and Henan alone, and there are endless fleets of vehicles traveling from all over the country every year.
When bandits are everywhere, the road is already very uneasy. If all thieves want to come up and take a bite, the huge lineage of the Fan family may have become a fat sheep at the slaughter of others.
This is a scene that Fan Yongdou would never want to see.
Therefore, this group of uneyed thieves in Mengjiazhuang must die!
Especially the Qin surnamed not only wanted to take his life, but also had to peel him, light his sky lantern, and then hang the body on the gatehouse in Mengjiazhuang to feed the birds.
Fan Yongdou was naturally not afraid of the government's pursuit. The Qin surname was just a group of thieves. He was fighting the title of the village hero who followed the army to suppress bandits. He was famous in the army and was protected by the commander of Zhenwu Guard. Who would investigate him for his crime?
Of course, there is still a price. Just dealing with Zhenwuwei, it cost 3,000 taels of silver, which does not include the rewards of their own servants to protect the hospital.
For the prosperity of the Fan family, no matter how expensive it is, it is worth it.
As for what the Qin surnamed said about infidelity and unfaithfulness... Haha, it doesn’t matter who decides in the world to fight with Fan Yong. The prosperity of his Fan family is the most important thing.
What's more, isn't the suppression of bandits for the court loyal to the Ming Dynasty?
Thinking of this, Fan Yongdou couldn't help but smile and looked at the gatehouse with a smile on his face.
At most one hour, Mengjiazhuang will keep no one left. The officers and soldiers of Zhenwuwei will not waste any head in the village, which will be military achievements.
...
The process of Bashanhu capturing Mengjiazhuang was long seen by the Fan family. They knew that the gatehouse was very difficult to chew, and it was not necessarily possible to catch three or four hundred people when they entered.
If you climb over the wall, you will suffer heavy losses. On that day, the two hundred thieves could not cause a big wave. The best choice was to be knocked down by the Bashan Tiger people and rebuilt the courtyard wall.
There is no glutinous rice in Mengjiazhuang, so the newly built bricks and stones must not use glutinous rice water.
So, the coalition forces formed by the Fan Family Guard and the Zhenwu Guard officers and soldiers were divided into three teams, two teams attacking the gate tower and other courtyard walls, and the other team used the log beams obtained from the town to attack the newly built place.
The coalition forces had just approached thirty steps with the iron-brown shield. On the horse surface protruding from the middle of the exterior wall, on the two wooden towers that temporarily stood up inside the wall, there were also sounds of bird guns and bowstrings. Arrows and leads hit the wooden shield and ping-pong sounds. Four unlucky coalition forces were shot by arrows that came into the gap and screamed and fell down.
Standing on the gatehouse, Qin Chuan looked a little solemn as he watched the enemy retreating in a hurry.
In the first wave of attacks, nearly 200 coalition forces were killed, and the losses were quite considerable for the coalition forces with only 1,500 and 600 men.
But this wave was due to the expectation that the opponent would break out of the gap and concentrate his defensive force in advance, piled up firewood and caltrops, which easily broke the opponent.
The next defense will not be so easy. The opponent will probably be tough and attack directly.
When the hand-to-hand fight is hard, those refugees who only throw bricks will be vulnerable.
...
Chapter completed!