Chapter 259 Billowing Smoke
Dusk is falling.
The sun gradually sets.
There was a glimmer of afterglow on the horizon.
It makes people's faces red.
After Jiang Miaomiao told her second brother about the dream, the fear in her heart was slightly reduced.
Thinking about my current situation, it is very different from the isolated and helpless situation of my mother in my dream.
Now they have Aunt Xiuxiu and Xier by their side.
The sword manual that godfather gave to my eldest brother was not given for nothing. His martial arts improved a lot.
And the guards arranged by my godfather are not vegetarians.
If worst comes to worst, there’s still Jiang Xiaobai.
Not afraid, not afraid...
She placed her hand on her chest to soothe her heart which was beating a little fast.
She leaned against the car window and looked around.
I saw my mother and elder brother, one carrying a gun and the other holding a sword, striding over to the fire and sitting down.
After riding her horse around the edge of the woods, Aunt Xiuxiu turned back and sat down next to her mother.
Jiang Miaomiao looked at her second brother in confusion.
Seeing this, Jiang Ziyan jumped off the carriage and reached out to pick her up, "Miaomiao, go eat with your brother."
Little Miaomiao threw herself into her second brother's arms.
Although her second brother was a weak scholar, his calm face and determined eyes made her feel at ease.
Xier followed behind, holding a furry little cloak in one hand and touching the hilt of the knife at her waist with the other.
He glanced around vigilantly.
By now the light had completely dimmed, and all that could be seen was the dark forest surrounding the grassland.
A bit creepy.
I heard there was an ambush inside and there were quite a few people.
Although she had been with Miss Mu San in the past, she had also encountered many critical moments.
For example, when Miss Mu went to burn incense and was teased by a pilgrim, she went up and twisted the pilgrim's fingers.
There were also some noble ladies who were jealous of Miss Mu and secretly made stupid moves, trying to push the girl into the water, but were pushed in by her instead.
But this is the first time I've been surrounded like tonight.
She quickened her pace to catch up with the young master.
I feel a little bit nervous and a little bit excited.
"Miaomiao, come here and see what your aunt has cooked for you." Xiuxiu took an iron pot from the fire.
When you open the lid of the pot, a rich aroma hits your nose.
It turned out to be a big pot of chicken stewed rice.
My aunt is quite awesome and she even hunted some pheasants.
"Wow! I like chicken rice." Little Jiang Miaomiao was drooling with greed and had long forgotten the danger behind him.
Accompanied by the mother's voice, "Dinner is ready."
Everyone gathered together.
Besides Jiang Zifeng, the other two were the Xu sisters, who were only concerned with eating like Xiao Miaomiao.
Having been on the road for days, they had long forgotten their modesty as young ladies and sat by the fire in their gorgeous clothes, eating chicken rice and gnawing on lamb legs.
That look was so funny.
Little girl Jiang Miaomiao covered her mouth and laughed several times, but her mother glared back at her.
In comparison, the eldest sister-in-law of the Sun family gives people a much more comfortable feeling.
He was dressed simply and plainly, and had the same idea as his mother. He seemed to have noticed something was wrong and his attention was not on the food in his hands.
Instead, he glanced at his mother from time to time.
Then she was heard saying to her mother, "Aunt, go and discuss a solution. I'll take care of this."
"Thank you."
Several people quickly moved aside.
Mrs. Sun Er was curious and wanted to follow her husband, but Mrs. Sun Da glared back at her.
Only at this moment did Jiang Miaomiao understand why her mother was so eager to make friends with Mrs. Sun.
It turns out that the second sister-in-law of the Sun family is most afraid of not anyone else, but her eldest sister-in-law.
Jiang Miaomiao was chewing on a leg of lamb, but her eyes drifted towards A Niang.
Then Jiujiu set out.
It landed on the eldest brother's shoulder with broad eyes.
Over there, Lu Qingyao, her mother and son, Xiuxiu and the Sun brothers were discussing countermeasures.
Xiuxiu said, "I just checked. They have a lot of people, more than three times as many as us. It seems that they want to take advantage of us sleeping before attacking."
Sun Erlang glanced at the guards and caravan he had brought with him, then looked at the women and children around the fire, and said worriedly, "Our chances of winning against a larger force with fewer people aren't very high, especially since there are women involved."
Lu Qingyao nodded in agreement.
Their goal is to escape unscathed without losing a single soldier.
But most killers don't care about life and death, and they will fight for their lives when they take action. They, mother and son, have experienced such assassinations countless times and have some experience.
"Even though we can't win, we still have to give it a try. We can't just wait to die like this. Instead of waiting for them to make a move, we might as well strike first." Xiuxiu hates people who dither the most.
Looking at the worried look in Captain Sun's eyes when he looked at Xiao Miaomiao, she really wanted to say, "You should worry about your lovely wife and sister-in-law."
Those two are the ones holding us back.
Her little Miaomiao is protected by Xier and has a little white wolf as a mount.
If he really runs, even ten of him may not be able to catch up.
"Mother, I also think that we should strike first and split into several teams to leave, distract their attention, and make a feint to the east and attack in the west." Jiang Zifeng hasn't figured out how to make a feint to the east and attack in the west.
It seemed that the military books he had read in the past were of no use and he could not remember them.
My mind went blank.
Sun Erlang sneered, "If we were equally strong, we might give it a try, but with so many of us, including women and children, if we disperse, we'd be like sheep walking into a tiger's mouth."
After all, he is just a young boy, and it is too early for him to join the army.
But now he began to regret not bringing more people with him.
He also regretted why he brought his wife and brother and sister-in-law to die?
The Duke told him to secretly send Lu and her son back to the capital, and he didn't say that the journey would be so dangerous.
Who could have expected that a few women, children and young kids could attract so many killers?
It's obvious that they don't want to leave anyone alive.
Who on earth has such a deep hatred for them that he would do such a cruel thing?
Jiang Ziyan glanced at Sun Erlang and happened to see his disdainful expression.
It seems that there is a reason why Captain Sun is still serving as a captain at his age.
He nudged his elder brother with his arm and said, "Brother, have you forgotten how you subdued those kidnappers in Taoxi Village?"
kidnapper!
Yes, the kid in front of me had been kidnapped by kidnappers.
Sun Erlang almost laughed out loud.
But he saw the square-faced woman opposite him staring at him, and Mrs. Jiang had a serious expression.
He forced himself to suppress his smile.
Jiang Zifeng blushed slightly and was a little embarrassed to speak.
But he knew his brother, and since his brother said so, there must be a way hidden in it.
He scratched his head and thought about it.
"Poison, use poison gas..."
Jiang Zifeng remembered that it was thanks to those yellow-skinned people who appeared inexplicably that the group of kidnappers were poisoned.
My mother said that the farts released by the yellow fox were poisonous and made those people dizzy.
He had the chance to take action.
But the appearance of the yellow fox that time was just a coincidence.
Lu Qingyao glanced at Sun Erlang, then at the two brothers, and said with a smile, "Feng'er, Yan'er, tell me, how do you use poison?"
Her Feng'er is a little slow, but not stupid.
If he studied military books carefully and joined the army, he might achieve even greater success than Captain Sun in a few years.
Jiang Zifeng looked at his younger brother, who always had a lot of ideas.
Jiang Ziyan stood up and said, "Brother, carry the torch and follow me."
The two brothers carried torches.
He was rummaging through the grass, not knowing what he was looking for.
Searched for a while.
The brothers came back with smiles on their faces.
"What did you do?" Xiuxiu asked curiously.
Sun Erlang's eyes were full of helplessness.
At such a critical moment, instead of discussing countermeasures quickly, he was still playing with the two children.
I really think my life is too long.
Jiang Ziyan walked over, took out the handkerchief in his hand and opened it.
In the middle of the handkerchief was a trumpet-like flower, glowing pale yellow in the firelight.
"Brother Yan, it's already this late, and you're still in the mood to appreciate the flowers?" Sun Erlang was helpless and reached out to take it.
Sun Dalang slapped his hand away and said, "It's poisonous, don't touch it!"
Sun Erlang quickly withdrew his hand, looking embarrassed.
This kid must be crazy. He spent so much time searching for a poisonous flower. Who does he want to poison?
Sun Dalang explained, "Second brother, you don't know this, but this flower is called Datura. It blooms in May and June, and the entire plant is poisonous. Our family's pharmacy needs a large amount of Datura seeds every year to make anesthetic drugs."
He then turned to Jiang Ziyan and his brother and asked, "How do you plan to use this poison? I just discovered that although there are many datura flowers on this grassland, it's May now, and without the seeds, it's still difficult to extract the toxin."
Jiang Ziyan asked: "If the entire flower branch is burned, will the smoke become poisonous?"
"Maybe." Sun Dalang was not sure, after all, he had never done that before.
But since it can be used in Ma Fei San, it must be poisonous.
But Sun Erlang still felt it was a bit unreliable and asked, "Brother Yan, we can't just go to the woods and burn the branches. Not only will it alert the enemy, but the effect won't be very good either."
It feels like going to die.
"No, we are not going to burn the squid with branches. We are going to lure them over here and burn them. After they are poisoned, we will surround and kill them and catch them in the trap." Jiang Ziyan said.
Before Sun Erlang could ask how to evacuate and whether they would be discovered.
Jiang Zifeng continued his brother's words, "Burn the wet grass to create smoke to confuse the enemy. Then use straw men to replace real people. Take advantage of the smoke to quickly evacuate some of the people to a safe place. Lure them with roasted sheep, then set off poisonous branches. When they are dizzy, kill them all in one fell swoop."
"Okay, I'll go slaughter the sheep. My roasted sheep are the most delicious." Xiuxiu agreed with both hands.
But Sun Erlang had another question, "If they are poisoned, won't our people also be poisoned when they besiege them?"
Sun Dalang asked the same question.
Jiang Ziyan said: "You can take the antidote in advance. Medical books record that Datura is poisonous. If you accidentally eat it, you can drink liquorice juice to detoxify it." [1]
Xiuxiu looked at Lu Qingyao: "Sister, did you bring licorice?"
She remembered that her elder sister would take time to teach the children to identify herbs, and it was she who told the two children about Datura.
It is said that everything in the world is interdependent and mutually exclusive, so there should naturally be an antidote.
Before leaving, she saw her sister putting some miscellaneous herbs into the box.
Licorice and other things should have been brought with them.
Lu Qingyao pursed her lips and said, "I've brought it. I'll go make the medicine."
I brought it, but I don’t know if it will work?
After all, I haven't tried it.
If it really doesn't work, try all the detoxification methods.
Jiang Ziyan and his brother looked at each other. If their mother said it was okay, then it was okay. There were many things to do next.
Xiuxiu excitedly called a few servants from the caravan to go with her to slaughter the sheep.
Sun Dalang believed what the two brothers said without a doubt. After all, he was a scholar who had read more books than others and knew more.
Sun Erlang:......
Just listen to two little kids like this?
What if you fail to attract the enemy and end up poisoning yourself?
I'm still a little worried.
…
The moon is bright and the stars are sparse, and a gentle breeze blows on my face.
Jiang Miaomiao wrapped herself in a furry little cloak.
It was originally white, and she asked Xier to go back to the carriage to get a thick black cloak. Xier also listened to the girl and wrapped herself in a black one.
The little girl sat obediently by the fire, waiting for her mother's instructions.
Then I saw everyone was busy.
Aunt Xiuxiu went to slaughter a sheep, rubbed spices on it, and put it on the fire to roast the whole sheep.
I applied so many spices that I could smell the fragrance even before it was baked.
Sun Dalang came over and whispered a few words to his wife, then led his men to look for the datura branches.
Mrs. Sun glanced at the two little figures beside the fire, and also called the Xu sisters to go back and change their clothes, either black or dark, and change out of their gorgeous dresses.
The two sisters looked reluctant, but still followed Mrs. Sun.
Sun Erlang and his guards pulled weeds and made straw men. When they were almost done, they started burning the grass and threw the wet grass into the fire.
Suddenly thick smoke rose up.
There is a lot of grass in this field, very deep and lush, which is perfect for making straw men.
It is also suitable for burning grass and produces a lot of smoke.
Taking advantage of the thick smoke, the guards put the clothes that everyone had taken off on the straw man.
Sun Dalang and his wife quickly fled the scene.
As for Sun Erlang, he naturally couldn't leave so quickly because he still had a mission to complete.
The Xu sisters had no choice but to hand over to the Jiang Zifeng brothers.
The two sisters were very reluctant to see their gorgeous clothes being put on the straw man.
Sun Ersao was confused and wanted to argue with her husband, but was stopped by Jiang Zifeng.
"I won't leave. I want to go with my husband."
"That's not up to you." Xiuxiu walked over quickly and hit both of them on the back of their necks.
The two sisters closed their eyes and were about to fall down, but Xiuxiu picked them up and put them on the horse's back and tied them up.
He said to Jiang Zifeng and his brother, "Follow your mother and sister closely."
The two brothers were stunned and quickly got on their horses, leading the horses of Sun Ersao and her sisters and following A Niang.
I have great admiration for Aunt Xiuxiu.
It turns out that to deal with an unreasonable woman, you just need to knock her out.
It's that simple, why bother talking about it?
Jiang Zifeng felt like he had learned a new trick.
Sun Erlang was furious when he saw his wife being knocked unconscious and taken away. He wanted to find the square-faced woman to have a fight with her, but considering that he had other important things to do, he suppressed his anger.
While Jiang Miaomiao was still in a daze, her mother covered her mouth and nose with a wet towel and carried her onto the horse's back.
A'niang stretched out her hand and pulled Xier, who sat behind her.
Jiang Miaomiao looked back and saw smoke filling the grassland. The tent was shrouded in mist, looming in the firelight.
The aroma of roasted lamb spread far and wide, even into the woods.
The originally quiet field was in chaos, with sounds of coughing and wolf howling.
Following the little white wolf's howl, many more wolves seemed to appear in the forest all of a sudden.
The killers lying in ambush in the woods looked at the flames and billowing smoke in the middle of the grassland.
A look of confusion.
What is this for?
Are you going to set the grass on fire and burn yourself?
A pungent smell of smoke wafted from the grassland.
Then they smelled the rich aroma of mutton and licked their dry lips.
Only then did I react.
These idiots made a big mess while roasting lamb.
The more you smell it, the more fragrant it becomes, making you drool.
“Awoo~Awoo~”
Oh no! This is... the wolves are also attracted?
Idiots, a bunch of idiots...
…
Note [1] Taken from Li Shizhen’s Compendium of Materia Medica
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