Qi Xiuwu immediately ordered someone to bring over the note on the carrier pigeon.
Judging from the markings, this is the seventh letter.
In other words, the whereabouts of the first six pigeons are unknown.
This was a method that Chenxi taught them: sending messages by carrier pigeon, which sometimes worked quite well.
However, to prevent outsiders from intercepting the contents of the carrier pigeon messages, they were all delivered in code.
Qi Xiuwu opened the note and couldn't help but smile.
Pei Yuanyi has persuaded the Qi family to send troops to fight the bandits in the city to the death.
This will keep the bandits inside and outside the city occupied.
Qi Xiuwu had been waiting for this moment.
"Feng Tao, let's march quickly. We won't bother with the bandit strongholds far from the county seat. We'll only deal with the ones near the county seat, clear out the obstacles, and take over Shanghe County."
"Yes." Feng Tao immediately went to organize the troops and horses, preparing for a forced march.
They live only a few dozen miles from the county seat.
But traveling those dozens of miles was no easy feat, as there were far too many bandits outside the county town.
Not only were there many bandits, but there were also many displaced people.
Many refugees gathered together, their hopeless eyes filled with despair.
The refugees feared both bandits and government troops, and they longed to find a place where they could settle down.
This led to a strange situation where bandits, refugees, and government troops regarded each other as enemies.
As soon as Qi Xiuwu's army arrived, the bandits, who had already received instructions from Zhao Laoda in the city, scattered in a panic upon seeing Qi Xiuwu's troops.
When Qi Xiuwu's troops attacked the city gate, they would come to harass them.
Don't underestimate these bandits; they are generally quite skilled. They can harass people and then run away, and many of them escape into the ranks of refugees.
After being harassed like this several times, Feng Tao said angrily, "These bandits are truly despicable."
Qi Xiuwu nodded; it was the first time he had ever seen bandits fight like this.
If they keep harassing them like this, the bandits won't necessarily do anything; they just won't be able to hold out any longer.
"Feng Tao, take some men to the refugees and ask them if they are willing to help. If they are, they will be given food."
Feng Tao hesitated for a moment: "Those refugees are terrified of bandits. If the bandits don't let them leave, they won't dare to go. Now, I don't think it's going to work out if we ask them for help."
Moreover, some of the refugees' family members are bandits; our attempts to persuade them may not only be ineffective, but could also endanger those trying to persuade them.
Qi Xiuwu had never encountered such a problem before and was in a very passive position.
He couldn't possibly kill the refugees along with them; that would put his group in even greater danger.
The Qi family in the city also had a hard time. They could barely resist the bandits. The civilians recruited by the Qi family were no match for the bandits in terms of fighting power, so they could only slowly wear them down by sheer numbers.
The fighting continued, turning into a protracted and stalemate.
Qi Xiuwu received another message by carrier pigeon; the battle situation in the city was also not optimistic.
It seems impossible to attack from both sides.
Qi Xiuwu finally gave the order for the army to set off, detour to the south of the county town, and enter directly through the south gate.
Tell Geng Tianrong to open the south gate.
Although there were bandits and refugees outside the city to the south, there were Qi family members and county officials and soldiers inside the city.
After clearing out or driving away the bandits near the south gate, Qi Xiuwu entered the county town directly.
Geng Tianrong had no choice but to let Qi Xiuwu into the city, even if it meant holding his nose.
After Qi Xiuwu led his troops into the city, he immediately joined forces with the Qi family and the county government troops to directly attack the bandits in the county.
If Geng Tianrong hadn't been afraid of being chased by bandits from behind, blocked by bandits from the front, and attacked by bandits of all sizes along the way, as well as by refugees, he would have run away long ago.
Now, his position as county magistrate is worse than that of a dog.
They're practically groveling before Qi Xiuwu and the Qi family.
But what can we do? Now that we have no father-in-law's protection and no reinforcements, we can only endure it.
With Qi Xiuwu's addition, the soldiers of Bian'ai County, having undergone training and experienced numerous battles, possessed a combat strength far superior to that of the Qi family.
Zhao Laoda was beaten badly and his territory shrank by half.
Old Zhao was so angry that he smashed his cup. He never expected that the other party would go dozens of miles around and come directly into the county town just to beat him up.
Thinking that the bandits and refugees outside the city could hold off Qi Xiuwu, he figured he would wear down the Qi family and the government troops inside the city sooner or later.
Anyway, he has grain that can be transported in, and there is also the grain supply from the county town that was previously looted. The Qi family and the government soldiers will eventually run out of food.
But now Qi Xiuwu's entry has dealt him a heavy blow, leaving him stunned and suffering a series of defeats.
Li Lao Er rolled his eyes and suggested, "Boss, why don't we let those people from outside the city in as well, so they can help us deal with Qi Xiuwu?"
"Bullshit!" Boss Zhao cursed directly. "If we let them in, the first person they'll probably target is me. They'll see me lose, and then they'll be vying for the top spot!"
"But what can we do now? We can't keep taking this beating without any support."
"Go, go, drive those commoners and those rich and heartless bastards to the front of the procession. I don't believe that Qi Xiuwu and Geng Tianrong can kill them all."
Zhao Laoda hadn't originally intended to kill them all, but given the current situation, it was up to them to take action.
Several thousand civilians, let's see how you kill them.
Zhao Laoda's men led a group of civilians to the front lines.
Seeing this, Qi Xiuwu naturally couldn't fire the arrows directly.
He consulted with Elder Qi and Geng Tianrong: "What do you think we should do now?"
Geng Tianrong sneered: "Just kill them directly. Otherwise, with them driving away the civilians, are we just supposed to retreat?"
Old Qi frowned. Some of these commoners were from prominent families, families he knew.
If these scions of powerful families were killed, their families, who were still being held captive by Boss Zhao, would definitely help him.
Geng Tianrong can rely on powerful families like the Qi family to maintain stability, and so can Zhao Laoda.
To hesitate to act for fear of breaking the law.
Feng Tao charged out first: "Xiuwu, let me lead a suicide squad to rush in quickly and disrupt the bandits behind them. Then they won't be able to urge the people to move."
Qi Xiuwu nodded; this was the only way.
Feng Tao selected over two hundred men, including more than fifty cavalrymen, who took the lead and charged straight out.
The cavalry's strength was far superior to that of the infantry, and the common people were terrified and fled.
A path suddenly appeared.
The elite infantrymen immediately followed and charged directly at the bandits who were pressuring the civilians.
The bandits were caught off guard and thrown into chaos.
The saying goes, "When an army is defeated, it collapses like a mountain."
Historically, hundreds of thousands of Song soldiers were chased by only a few thousand Liao cavalry, which illustrates this point.
Once chaos erupts, people scatter and flee, like floodgates being opened, releasing a torrent of water.
Bandits were no exception; in their rout, they dragged many of their companions down with them, with many being pushed over and trampled.
Those who were forced into this situation, upon seeing this scene, all those who could run away did so.
Everything suddenly went into chaos.
Seeing that the time was right, Qi Xiuwu immediately ordered his men to rush over.
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