Chapter 31: Repel the Enemy

The refugees were all middle-aged men, without a single old man, woman or child among them. They were physically strong and one could tell at a glance that they had never experienced hunger. Some of them even had dried blood on their bodies.

The man who took the lead was surnamed Liu, and was a relative of Old Liu. He used to be a bachelor in the village, and had done a lot of stealing, bullying and other such things. When a flood hit, those who survived in the village were still thinking of begging for food, but he gathered a group of brothers and took another path.

Boss Liu led his men to the outside of the ancestral hall and frowned when he saw the high courtyard wall.

He subconsciously looked for the One-Eye Dragon, but he couldn't see him. "Where's the One-Eye Dragon? Has anyone seen him?"

Old Liu shouted unhappily, "Brother, why are you looking for him? That guy is short-sighted. He couldn't even move when he saw such a small amount of food. He's still picking up grain from each household."

When Boss Liu heard this, he frowned and secretly cursed the one-eyed man for being ignorant. But he couldn't wait for him at this moment, so he asked people to open the door and climb the wall. The group of villagers must be hiding inside.

Soon someone came running back: "Brother, the gate is blocked and we can't get in. The wall is too high and there are no trees around to climb up. We need to think of another way."

"Send someone to find a ladder." Boss Liu shouted.

He walked over to take a look and found that the entrance to the ancestral hall was very narrow. The two doors were heavy and could not be pushed open. It was probably blocked by a lot of things.

He chopped twice with the machete, and only a few wood chips fell off, which shows how powerful these two doors are.

Boss Liu went to look at the wall next to him. Although it was just an earth wall, as a person living near Qingzhou, he knew that this kind of wall was very strong. It was made of earth, sand, bamboo and wood, and even brown sugar, glutinous rice and eggs were added. Forget about a machete, even dragging the imperial cannon over might not be able to break it.

This kind of earth wall is very expensive and rare in Qingzhou. I didn’t expect that a small Yuexi village would have one.

"Brother, we can't find the ladder. They must have hidden it in advance." Su Fengzhang naturally would not leave the ladder for them.

The door cannot be broken down, the wall cannot be pushed down, and it cannot be chopped down.

Only then did Boss Liu realize that this was a tough nut to crack, but they had already reached the gate of the ancestral hall. If they retreated like that, not only would their efforts be in vain, but they would also lose face as the boss.

The one-eyed man still didn't see anyone, and Boss Liu was very angry, thinking that people who came in halfway were unreliable.

"Listen up, everyone inside. We may be robbers, but we only want money and food. We won't hurt anyone. If you're smart, open the door now and we'll take the money and food and leave. Otherwise, once we break in, you won't be able to take care of anything else."

Old Liu recalled what the one-eyed man had said and shouted tentatively.

Naturally, the people in the ancestral hall would not open their doors. Everyone held their breath and there was complete silence inside.

Boss Liu became even more enraged, and had already thought about how he was going to deal a bloody death after he rushed in.

"If you don't accept my toast, then I'll punish you. Do you think we can do nothing if you don't open the door? Come on, everyone, I don't believe we can't break down these two wooden doors. Then, hmph!"

A group of refugees rushed forward, carrying weapons such as wooden sticks and kitchen knives and started smashing the door.

The sound frightened the people inside, especially when Boss Liu continued to shout, "As long as you hand over the food, I can let you go."

Su Mingzhang couldn't help but say, "Dad, why don't we give them the food? Human lives are more important."

"You're confused." The village chief slapped his son in the face. "They're trying to scare us, trying to get us to open the door. But after we open the door, won't they have the final say?"

Su Fengzhang also said: "This group of people are definitely not good people. I am afraid that once we enter the door, we will have no protection and will be at their mercy."

"What should we do now? We can't let them keep smashing the door. The door is made of wood, not iron. It will break sooner or later." This is what the villagers are most worried about.

Su Fengzhang thought for a moment, then suddenly said, "Village Chief, let me go up to the top of the wall and take a look."

The village chief didn't know what he was going to do, so he just said, "Then be careful. Ming Zhang, Cao Zhang, go hold the ladder."

The wall of the ancestral hall is more than three meters high, and it is said that it was even higher in the past.

Su Fengzhang climbed up with a ladder and shouted outside, "Are you serious? Will you let us go if we hand over the food?"

The door of the ancestral hall could not be broken down, and Liu Lao Da was getting anxious. Suddenly, he saw a head popping out from the top of the wall. In the moonlight, he could vaguely see that it was a pretty boy, and his voice was trembling.

Boss Liu couldn't help swallowing his saliva, and said with a salivating and patient look: "Of course, I, Boss Liu, always keep my word."

"Then wait for me to go back and discuss it." Su Fengzhang climbed down again.

Old Liu immediately started to flatter him: "Brother is the real deal. He made them open the door with just a few words."

"It hasn't been opened yet. Everyone, keep calm and don't make any noise." Boss Liu also looked a little proud.

Before Su Fengzhang even got off the ladder, the village chief kept saying, "Erlang, do you really want to open the door? Those thieves can't be trusted. They must be trying to trick us."

Su Fengzhang shook his head and said, "The door definitely can't be opened, but we can find a way to delay time."

He waited a while until the people outside started to clamor, then he climbed up the wall and timidly asked, "The village chief asked if he could leave us half of the food. It's winter now, and there's a shortage of food. We also need to eat."

Boss Liu was impatient, but he suppressed his temper and shouted, "Okay, but you must hand over all the money."

"Wait a minute." Su Fengzhang climbed down again.

Some villagers were actually moved and said, "Why don't we give them the food? It would be good if we could keep half of it."

Those who would say this are usually from poor families. In comparison, the loss is not that big, and it is better than being surrounded by bandits in the ancestral hall.

The village chief gave the man a cold look and sneered, "Why don't you take a gamble and see if they'll kill or burn people once they get in, and see if you can survive."

After hearing this, no one dared to speak.

After waiting for a while, Su Fengzhang climbed to the top of the wall for the third time and continued to ask in a voice that was trembling with fear: "The village chief doesn't agree to open the door, but we can throw the food over the wall. You can get the food and leave quickly."

Boss Liu obviously didn't expect that they could come up with such an idea, and his face suddenly turned gloomy.

The bandits were already shouting: "No, who knows how much food you have."

"That is, what if you only throw down a little bit?"

"Hurry up and open the door, or I'll let you see how powerful grandpa is!"

Boss Liu also sneered: "Don't play tricks on me, open the door, we have to see for ourselves how much food there is."

Su Fengzhang, who looked terrified and about to fall at any moment, clung to the top of the wall and continued, "The village chief said the door can't be opened. If the door is opened, you'll rush in."

"You only want silver and grain anyway. It's the same if we throw them off the wall. They won't break, right?"

"Tell me, how much food do you want? Give me a number."

Before Liu Laoda could say anything, Old Liu beside him started cursing and yelling, "You little bastard, quickly open the door and let your grandfather count the money himself. Stop talking nonsense to me."

Su Fengzhang was not afraid of him. He continued to show only his head and shouted to the people below: "How much money do you want before you leave?"

Boss Liu sneered and raised his head, shouting, "Ten thousand taels! Either you take out ten thousand taels to spend to ward off disaster, or you open the gate and let us in. We'll take whatever we find and even leave you some food to save your life."

"Ten thousand taels, how could we have so much silver?" Su Fengzhang seemed panicked.

"If you can't take it out, open the door quickly. Don't make me lose my patience, or I will kill you all." Liu Laodao said.

"We need to discuss this." Su Fengzhang said.

When he came down the ladder, his first words were, "They have absolutely no sincerity and are determined to rush in. None of them even covered their faces. I'm afraid they're planning to kill and silence us."

"What!" These words frightened the villagers so much that they turned pale.

Su Fengzhang glanced at the village chief and reminded him, "Uncle Qi has been walking for three hours. Even if we waste time walking on the mountain road, we must have reached the city by now. As long as we hold on a little longer, the soldiers will surely arrive."

"Damn, that guy is delaying time!" Boss Liu was not too stupid and quickly realized this.

He no longer tried to fool the people inside and shouted coldly, "Keep smashing the door. I don't believe this door can't be broken open."

Several bandits rushed towards the door, but the ones leading them suddenly screamed.

It turned out that someone climbed up a ladder and poured a basin of boiling water down. That was not all, as several ladders around it came together and used wooden poles to beat the people below from above.

The bandits were caught off guard and were actually beaten back a few times, but someone soon reacted and grabbed stones on the ground and threw them upwards. The people standing on the ladder had difficulty dodging and could only shrink back.

Seeing that it was effective, Boss Liu shouted, "You guys keep throwing rocks inside. You guys follow me to break down the door."

Old Liu even shouted, "Everyone come together, once we break the door down, we can eat as much fish and meat as we want and have fun with as many women as we want."

Everyone in the ancestral hall heard these words clearly. The villagers who had originally been hoping for a lucky break gave up hope and instead burst into hatred. Even if they were hit by stones, they would not leave. Some even picked up stones and threw them outside.

The courtyard wall is high, and although it blocks attacks from outside and serves as a barrier, it is also an obstacle.

They were temporarily safe hiding in the ancestral hall, but it was not easy for them to attack the people outside. They could only block the courtyard gate layer by layer, fearing that the two wooden doors could not withstand the attack.

It was very inconvenient to stand on the wall and whip with a bamboo pole. Even if you hit, it would only cause superficial injuries, which would not be as lethal as boiling water. Su Fengzhang saw it and was anxious, knowing that if this continued, the gate of the courtyard would be forced down sooner or later.