I want to ruin the country

Liu Heita was shocked.

"What? They were all killed in the explosion?"

"We don't know the details, and we don't dare to go close to see it!"

Liu Heita sat down on the tiger-skin chair and said dejectedly,

"Were we ambushed by government troops?"

Mr. Kong, it seems that you still underestimated the government army. A tiger with no teeth is still a tiger!

Senglin personally returned to the central military camp and wrote a memorial overnight.

He described yesterday's defeat and today's victory in detail.

It turned out that after the meeting yesterday, Senglin personally beheaded Yushan for neglecting his duties, and Hebie was punished with fifty military sticks and demoted three levels but retained his position.

Then, Senglinqin instructed Hebie,

“There are some cunning people among the bandits who are well versed in the ways of the government troops.

They might try the same trick again to raid the camp a second time, and you will do this and that tonight!"

He Bie was beaten, but he didn't feel any resentment in his heart. Someone had to be held responsible for the hundreds of deaths and injuries. He hated himself for underestimating the bandits.

He deeply agreed with Seng Linqin's instructions today, and he would make arrangements according to Seng Linqin's instructions after returning. It would be fine if the bandits didn't come, but as long as they came, they would be walking into a trap!

People often say that when you are successful, you should not go on to achieve success. However, Kong Xiangguo was too clever for his own good and wanted to take the enemy by surprise again, which led him to fall into the trap.

We have won today, so it is easy to explain to the emperor. After Senglin finished writing it himself, he sent it out at an express speed of 800 miles before going to bed.

Even though I went to bed late at night, I still woke up at five in the morning.

After getting up, washing up and having breakfast, Senglin personally went to the tent to report.

Except for Hebie, all the deputy generals, lieutenant generals, and guerrilla generals are here to meet the Marshal.

Senglinqin told everyone the news of the victory won last night.

In fact, these generals had known about it for a long time. It would be hard for them not to know about such a big commotion.

After listening to what Senglinqin said, everyone congratulated the commander-in-chief on his victory and his revenge.

At this moment, Hebie came.

He came in and reported,

"Reporting to the commander, the bandits who escaped in groups of three or four at night have all been captured by my subordinates!"

The monks were very happy.

"What about people?"

Herbie said,

"Right outside the tent!"

The monks in the forest said,

"Bring one up!"

Not long after, a short middle-aged man was pushed in.

"Kneel down, kneel down!"

The little man fell to the ground and kowtowed tremblingly.

"General, please spare my life! I'm not a bandit! I'm not a bandit!"

Senglin slammed the table.

"Shut up! Just answer whatever I ask you. If you keep on talking nonsense, I'll drag you out and chop you off!"

Seeing that the man dared not to shout anymore, Senglin asked,

"What's your name? What do you do under Liu Heita?"

The little man kowtowed and said,

"General, my name is Kong Fu, and I used to be the cook of Kong Xiangguo, the general of Yanzhou.

A while ago, Kong Xiangguo took me to the mountains. These past two days, I heard that the imperial court had sent troops to encircle and suppress me, so I thought about escaping."

Senglinqin was taken aback.

"Kong Xiangguo, the general of Yanzhou?"

Kong Fu trembled and said,

"Yes, his attempt to murder the imperial envoy was exposed, so he fled here with a few of us and took refuge with Liu Heita."

Senglinqin knew that Kong Xiangguo had escaped the net and asked

"Why did he come to Liu Fei?"

Kong Fu replied,

"I heard that Liu Heita had received favors from Kong Xiangguo, and Kong Xiangguo often interacted with him!"

Senglinqin understood that before the incident, Kong Xiangguo had close contacts with Liu Heita.

He asked,

"Kong Xiangguo escaped, why did he take you with him?"

Kong Fu said,

"Lord Kong loves to eat Nine-turn Large Intestine and Braised Pork, and he specially asked my father to go to Jinan Prefecture to learn how to make these two dishes.

Others didn’t cook to his taste, so he brought me along!”

Haha, he is also a foodie. He even took the cook with him when he ran away. It shows how extravagant and licentious the Kong family is!

Senglinqin picked up the tiger gallbladder on the table and slammed it hard on the table, shouting,

"Then why did you run away!"

Kong Fu said hurriedly,

"I heard from Lord Kong, no, Second in Command, no, it was Kong... Thief Kong and Liu Heita that the imperial court has sent over 100,000 people to encircle and suppress them.

I was afraid of losing my life without knowing why, so I wanted to find a chance to escape.

The night before last, the boss and the thief Kong were drinking together and asked me to cook for them. I wanted to escape, but the security on the mountain was strict and I couldn't escape.

Last night, the thief Kong led his men down the mountain to rob our camp, and I was ready to find an opportunity to escape.

In the middle of the night, I heard artillery fire from the bottom of the mountain. The mountain was in chaos. This was my chance. I took advantage of the panic on the mountain and ran down!"

When Seng Linqin heard what was happening, he asked,

"You said Kong Xiangguo led his men down the mountain to rob the camp?"

"Yes, he ate the food I cooked before he left!"

Senglinqin said to Hebie,

"Tell the soldiers to search carefully and find Kong Xiangguo. We must find him alive or dead!"

Then he asked Kong Fu,

"What did they talk about when they were drinking together?"

Kong Fudao,

"They said they weren't afraid of the soldiers coming, because they couldn't break through the stronghold!"

"why?"

Kong Fu said,

“Ever since the thief Kong… came, I’ve been the second-in-command of the stronghold.

He was good at training soldiers and personally trained the troops every day.

He also repaired the mountain everywhere, making the walls higher and thicker.

Since he came, all he has done is train soldiers and move and chisel stones.

Those bandits are so tired that they're like bastards, cursing behind my back."

The monks in the forest said,

"How much food and grass is there on the mountain?"

Kong Fudao,

"In reply to your question, there is a lot of food on the mountain. I heard that these people can't finish it in two years.

If the imperial court comes to attack, we will just wait and see. As long as they don't come out, no matter how many people come, they won't be able to break in!"

Senglinqin understood that Liu Heita and Kong Xiangguo were fully prepared!

Asked again,

"Reinforce the wall. How do you reinforce it?"

Kong Fu replied,

"The wall in front is made of large bluestone and rice paste. The thinnest part is three feet thick, and the thickest part is six feet. They say that even the government cannons can't break it open!"

"anything else?"

"He dug a lot of holes behind the wall, saying they could be used to hide from artillery shells or something.

When the officers and soldiers rushed up, the bandits came out of the cave and shot arrows and threw rolling logs from above!

Senglin nodded. This was a good move, and it could effectively protect the soldiers from being killed by artillery shells.

I have to add one more thing here. At that time, most of the Qing army did not use shrapnel bombs like those in later generations.

It's not that there weren't any. As early as the end of the Ming Dynasty, China had shrapnel shells that were fired using mortars.

The Manchus admired horse riding and archery. They believed that bows and arrows could speed up horses and make them invincible, and they did not take artillery seriously at all.

With the decline of the Eight Banners Army and the Qing Dynasty's policy of seclusion from the outside world, it had no contact with the West and by the Daoguang period, many people had lost sight of the existence of shrapnel shells.

This is the real reason why the Qing Dynasty was defeated again and again!

Monk Lin asked

“How many people are there on the mountain?”

Kong Fu replied,

"I heard there were over 5,000 people, but I don't know exactly how many there were!"

The monks in the forest said,

"Take him away and bring another one up!"