"It seems it really is that group of people. We'll notify the villagers later and tell them to stay home as much as possible for the time being, until we come up with a solution." Yun Xun's first thought was the safety of the village.
The two men exchanged a glance, and their years of tacit understanding allowed them to see each other's intentions in their eyes.
"Go and notify the village to hold a meeting, it would be best to gather everyone together." The monkey instructed the team members next to him to start notifying people.
"Now let's all share our ideas and see if there's anything we can do."
"Why don't we go out now and capture the people guarding that place? Once we catch them, we'll definitely be able to find their hideout," someone suggested bitterly. Peaceful Village was enjoying a rare moment of tranquility, and no one wanted their home to be destroyed.
"If we let them escape, wouldn't that be another problem later?"
“Then let’s not fall for their tricks. No one should go out recently. Let’s see how long they can hold out. Anyway, our village is self-sufficient now. Let’s see who can outlast whom.”
"When they run out of food and supplies, they'll start ravaging the nearby villages. These are all our relatives and friends; are we just going to stand by and do nothing?"
The others were getting anxious as their ideas were rejected one by one.
"What can we do then? This won't work either. If all else fails, we should open the door and let them in. We can fight them. That's better than being stuck like this." Some of the more impatient ones started to get restless.
The monkey pointed to its head and said, "Since they want to trick us into leaving the village, we can also come up with a plan to lure them into a trap."
"But we don't know their plans, so how can we counter-strategize against them?"
“Since they were able to notify us to go to the city to exchange supplies, they must have found out everything that’s been happening in our village recently. There are two possibilities for them now: the first is to lure us away from our village, and the second is to ambush us on the road. We can’t rule out the possibility that they want to do both at the same time.” Brother Wu voiced their previous suspicions.
“But this way, it’s not easy for us to handle things no matter what. If we leave the village, we don’t know where they will be lying in ambush. Also, if we leave the village with a large group, wouldn’t the village be in danger?” Some people still felt that this was not a safe option.
"Why don't we wait for Brother Cheng to come back before dealing with this, or send someone into the mountains to find Brother Cheng and the others now?" Some people thought of the village chief first when something happened.
"The back mountain is so big, how can we know which direction they went? It's simply unrealistic."
"If someone gets lost or encounters a large animal, that would be terrible."
"Don't argue, listen to what Brother Hou and the others have to say," Yun Xun interrupted their argument.
Seeing that everyone had quieted down, Hou Yunhai continued, "We'll use another side path to join forces with Xin San Village to counter their plan. We can have Captain Liu lead a group of men to our village via this side path. Then, they can take a group of people and pretend to be villagers going to the city to exchange supplies. If they haven't laid an ambush on the road, they can circle back from other villages when they reach the county town intersection, and they can even go to the county town to notify Uncle Zhixin and the others to come back. As for our Pinghe Village, as long as we hold out until Captain Liu and his men circle back, with their help, we'll be safe."
"But there is still a problem. We don't know their exact number. What if the village can't hold them off? The village is full of elderly and children. If all else fails, we should send the elderly and children to the new village across the street."
“At this time, it’s safest to keep people under our watchful eyes. We should even remind people in Xin San Village to be on guard.” Wu Tianxiang disagreed with his idea.
"Everyone, don't worry too much. I just made an appointment with Captain Liu. When they get back to the village, they will have someone notify several nearby villages. With the help of several villages, I believe we won't fail."
Wu Ge abandoned this safeguard again. It turned out that he had spoken with Captain Liu for a while before going out. This time, he insisted on keeping this group of people here, otherwise the area would never be peaceful.
"Moreover, we need to act quickly this time so as not to arouse their suspicion. We should set off happily first thing tomorrow morning. After Captain Liu and the others return, they will take a shortcut to our village and stay overnight in our village tonight. We will arrange for some elderly women to prepare dinner for them later."
When Wu Ge said his last sentence, he glanced at Sun Shaolei, who was currently handling all these matters. Seeing Sun Shaolei nod in agreement, he turned back to continue speaking.
"Let's discuss the specifics of our actions again tomorrow and try to finalize them tonight so we can make arrangements tomorrow."
"Won't tomorrow be too rushed?"
"No, tomorrow will be the best time. Since they're using this excuse to lure us out, and given our urgency for those supplies, we'll definitely set off the next day. They're definitely planning to make their move tomorrow. If we keep delaying, it will arouse their suspicion." Monkey had already thought of this, which is why he hurriedly set the plan for tomorrow.
After discussing the details for a while and checking the time, they figured the villagers were probably all waiting in the square, so they hurriedly headed there.
As the current village leader, Monkey explained the situation to all the villagers and went over their agreed-upon plan. Finally, he asked everyone for their thoughts and suggestions.
His words were like a drop of water falling into a pot of oil, causing an uproar throughout the entire village.
Some were anxious, some were worried, and some were excited. Everyone started talking at once with their relatives and friends.
Although I had heard some rumors before, it wasn't confirmed yet, and I was still skeptical that it might be a mistake.
Grandpa still couldn't help but remind them, "Don't be careless. Since they've already inquired about our village and are still thinking of causing trouble for us, it means they have a well-thought-out plan. Don't be careless and lose everything."
"If we're going to borrow Captain Liu and his team, it would be best to bring the villagers from Xin San Village as well. What if those people turn their guns on us or take the other side hostage? We'll be in a difficult position then."
So, as they say, experience is the best teacher; these older folks quickly filled in the gaps they hadn't even considered before.
Moreover, it's not impossible that they brought this up. If the other side really turns to deal with Xin San Village, their own village will definitely go out to rescue them, and then they could really be attacked from both sides.
Now I'm thinking that if the people from Xin San Village arrive here first, then my village will have gained an extra bit of strength.
"Since it's still early, I'll go to Xin San Village and discuss with them. If possible, we can have them come in batches to minimize the disturbance." Wu Tianxiang was familiar with the road conditions, so he suggested that he go there again himself.
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