Chapter 149 Cao Lianwang Dies!
As Niu Zhuang handed out the sergeant tags, he said, "We have ten men left in our garrison. We replaced the tags yesterday, and these are yours!"
Shen Lanxi has number eleven, Wei Dongzhu has number twelve, and so on!
"I know what you're going to ask. Forget about the armor; the previous soldiers all took it. There are some tattered ones in the warehouse, but it doesn't matter whether you wear them or not!"
"We still have some shields, broadswords, and spears left. You can use the spears for now!"
Niu Zhuang led them to the warehouse, where each person received a rusty ironwood gun.
"Let me assign you tasks first. You two are responsible for the beacon towers, and you two are for generals. You'll be in charge of guarding the main gate for now. We'll make further arrangements after we see how things are when Commander Cao arrives!"
Shen Lanxi and the others exchanged glances. Niu Zhuang's words meant that they might not necessarily stay at the garrison.
"The grain has all been taken away, and not much has been left. Now there is no war or banditry, and we only eat one meal a day, at noon."
Fortunately, they brought some food with them when they came.
After Niu Zhuang divided them up and led them to their respective posts, he squeezed into the room.
Cao Lianwang arrived around noon.
"Lord Cao, last night Zhang Liao from Hongliutun sent some men over to join the army. They are all tall and strong, and they look like they can do the work!" Niu Zhuang reported to Cao Lianwang with a fawning expression.
Cao Lianwang frowned: "Besides them, has anyone else sent people over?"
Niu Zhuang: "No, maybe the road is difficult to travel on!"
Cao Lianwang said with a dark face, "The higher-ups mobilized troops in a hurry this time, taking away all the military households here. What if bandits and brigands attack now? How are we supposed to defend the city? The higher-ups don't care why you failed to defend the city; they only care about the result!"
"I don't care what method you use, the number of military households here must be increased to two hundred. If this affects the farming after the New Year, I'll make your whole family work in the fields."
Niu Zhuang quickly flattered, "Yes, I'll take men to the county to recruit soldiers right away!"
Cao Lianwang left after a while. In the afternoon, Niu Zhuang and others brought back ten more people. These people were old and young, and they all had long faces. They were obviously forcibly conscripted.
A few days later, Shen Lanxi learned about Cao Lianwang's background from Niu Zhuang and others.
Cao Lianwang used to be a garrison soldier. He was noticed by the daughter of Tian Maofeng, who was then a chiliarch and is now the commander of the Four Counties Military Guard. He was promoted from a lowly soldier to a centurion.
Cao Lianwang made no achievements in training soldiers and cultivating land, and was extremely greedy. He secretly cultivated a lot of land in Baihe County and used the soldiers as his private army. This time, the higher-ups needed people urgently, and he couldn't gather them in time. Fearing that he would not be able to deliver, he handed over all the tenants and soldiers on his private estate.
After learning the whole story, Shen Lanxi decided to find an opportunity to make her move!
The opportunity soon came: bandits were causing trouble in the neighboring Dayu Village, and they were asked to go and provide support.
Shen Lanxi and other military households gathered fifty people, led by Niu Zhuang, to go to Dayutun to provide support!
"These damned bandits must know that the garrison's troops have all been transferred away, otherwise how dare they be so arrogant!" Niu Zhuang cursed as he led the way.
Shen Lanxi had someone use the excuse of buying dry rations to leak the news that they were going to Dayu Village.
Then wait for the right opportunity!
They had barely arrived at Dayu Village when the Baihe Military Garrison was seized by bandits.
At this speed, there must be a bandit inside the county!
"Damn it, they told us to walk over to help, and by the time we got there, the bandits had already run away!" Niu Zhuang said angrily.
"Sir, I think we should stay here for a couple more days. What if the bandits return and we leave again? What if our superiors blame us for failing to protect them properly?"
Niu Zhuang thought about it and realized that made sense!
"Alright, let's stay here for two days!"
The news that the bandits had brazenly attacked the Baihe County garrison spread like wildfire.
Soon, Tian Maofeng summoned Cao Lianwang and questioned him.
"How could you be a centurion? You were in charge of both Dayu Village and Baihe County Garrison, and both places were wiped out by bandits. If word gets out, where will I put my old face?"
"If you don't wipe out this den of thieves soon, don't ever say you're my son-in-law again!" Tian Maofeng was furious. The bandits were running rampant on his territory; it was a slap in the face for him!
This was the first time Cao Lianwang had ever seen his father-in-law so angry, so he didn't dare to explain and quickly led his troops to Baihe County!
By the time he arrived, the bandits had already fled.
"Where are the people from the garrison?" Cao Lianwang roared in fury.
"Sir, didn't you say you were going to Dayu Village to provide support?"
Cao Lianwang was furious: "Send them to provide support, not to stay there. Call them back immediately to suppress the bandits!"
"yes!"
After Niu Zhuang received the news, Shen Lanxi immediately had the message released.
In less than a day, the news that Cao Lianwang had made a pledge to wipe out the bandits had spread throughout the streets and alleys!
Then they were ambushed on their way back.
Niu Zhuang and others were injured, and Shen Lanxi rose up in rebellion, temporarily taking over the position of the squad leader and ordering a retreat to Dayu Village on his behalf!
Cao Lianwang waited for two more days, and seeing that Shen Lanxi and the others still hadn't returned, he immediately decided in anger to personally lead his troops to Dayutun.
They were ambushed by bandits halfway there. Cao Lianwang was beheaded on the spot, and his soldiers were all wounded to varying degrees!
Shen Lanxi "coincidentally" returned to Baihe County with her men, arriving too late. She only had time to drive away the bandits and rescue the wounded soldiers!
"Commander Cao was killed by bandits, and we must avenge him!" Shen Lanxi shouted, raising her arms.
"Avenge Centurion Cao!" The call was met with overwhelming response!
The group rushed back to Baihe County, and Niu Zhuang immediately took Cao Lianwang's body to find Tian Maofeng!
"Lord Tian, ​​Centurion Cao was ambushed and killed during the bandit suppression campaign!"
When Tian Maofeng thought of his daughter, his vision went black. When he saw that the report only stated that Cao Lianwang was dead, he immediately became furious and demanded an explanation.
"Why was only Cao Lianwang killed? Did you deliberately kill him?"
Niu Zhuang, terrified, quickly knelt down and explained, "My lord, Lord Cao sent us to Dayu Village to provide support. On our way back, we encountered Lord Cao being attacked. If it weren't for the bravery of my soldiers, Lord Cao's entire army would have been wiped out."
"Those bandits must have known that Lord Cao was going to suppress bandits, so they harbored resentment towards him and deliberately set up an ambush along the way."
"If you don't believe me, sir, I've brought all the soldiers who followed Lord Cao. Please question them as you see fit!" Niu Zhuang was so frightened that his mouth almost tied in knots, fearing that if he couldn't explain himself clearly, he would lose his head!
Tian Maofeng stared at Niu Zhuang with a sinister look on his face, as if he were about to kill him!
...
"My lord has correctly predicted the appearance of the bandits twice in a row; his foresight is truly divine!"
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com