novelAbuy Chapter 320 Moving!
Chapter 320 Moving!
When a group of defeated soldiers rushed into Sanbao Street, they were immediately dumbfounded.
Most of them had not heard that the houses on this street had been requisitioned. A few had heard of it but still came to see for themselves, hoping that it would be empty. They were greatly disappointed to find that the houses were indeed empty.
Some people cursed and swore, seemingly to vent their anger, and threw torches onto nearby houses.
Some soldiers rushed straight in, seemingly intending to search for valuables, but a volley of arrows rained down on them, and several fell with screams. The routed soldiers then calmed down; after all, they numbered only forty or fifty, and were poorly equipped—why fight to the death? Meanwhile, the guards from the royal palace who had been shooting arrows were trembling with fear, swallowing hard, clearly having never encountered such a situation before.
The two sides were locked in a stalemate for a while. Just as the fear on the other side subsided and they slowly mustered their courage, another group of thirty or forty routed soldiers arrived, including a few Changzhou civilians who had taken advantage of the chaos to loot.
Just then, a fire suddenly broke out on Sanbao Street, and someone shouted, "The Xiang Army is here!"
The guards of the Prince's Palace blocking the west street entrance stirred, with many turning their heads to look back. Encouraged by this, the fleeing soldiers shouted and charged forward. The two sides collided head-on, creating chaos and screams that rose and fell, indistinguishable from those of the Prince's Palace guards or the fleeing soldiers.
In Tianjing Lane, dozens of defeated soldiers rushed to the front of the official granary.
The guards stationed here were there on official duty, and they scattered in a commotion. The guard had barely uttered two words when he was slashed with a knife and kicked to the ground. With a few thuds, the door lock was smashed off, and the fleeing soldiers cheered as they surged inside.
They grabbed pieces of silk haphazardly and stuffed them into their clothes. Not content with just filling them up, they draped two more pieces over themselves, then rushed out laughing. Seeing this, the people outside, their eyes red with rage, quickened their pace and rushed in. Some even fought over a single piece of brocade, until finally, they had to cut it in half with a knife, each taking one half.
The silk fabrics were all looted, but there was still cotton and linen left.
The defeated soldiers cursed and swore as they hurriedly walked away, clutching the slightly more valuable pieces of cotton cloth to their chests.
Some daring civilians arrived at the gate of the official granary. They watched from afar at first, but after the defeated soldiers had all looted their fill, they rushed in almost unison, grabbing whatever they could and running away, their faces full of excitement.
Next to the warehouse was a grain silo, and people were breaking the locks there.
The defeated soldiers didn't care about the food, but others did. After the locks were broken, people carrying sacks and buckets poured into the granary like a desperate charge.
The granary contained individual grain storage bins—in many northern places, they were grain cellars—and there were no sacks, but that didn't faze the people of Changzhou.
The men quickly filled the containers with grain, while women and children came back and forth, bringing all sorts of strange containers. In the end, they even brought water ladles, insisting on filling them to the very last drop before they were satisfied.
After clearing one granary, they moved on to the next. After clearing all the granaries in an entire room, they moved on to the next room. More and more people gathered outside, no longer afraid of even the defeated soldiers and hooligans. Everyone stared at the grain, their eyes shining, for it was their family's hope for survival. In front of the governor's mansion, Assistant Magistrate Zhang Xiaoxian led his family, tumbling and crawling inside.
The bailiffs were tense and about to close the gate when Judge Li Mao, with disheveled hair, rushed over.
He walked at the back, a knife held horizontally in his hand. More than twenty family members and servants hurriedly passed him in a panic and took refuge inside the steward's mansion.
"Sir, come quickly!" A squad leader led several constables down into the street to welcome Li Mao in. They then locked the door and distributed the only ten bows and arrows in the Henggang General's mansion. The constables set up ladders, climbed onto the wall, and stared intently into the distance. The General had ordered that if any rioters or deserters approached, they should be shot immediately and killed without mercy.
They were actually very nervous, but there was no other way; if they backed down any further, their whole family would suffer—and perhaps they already would have.
Just as chaos reigned throughout Changzhou, nearly a hundred dark figures appeared on Juqian Street.
More than ten men led the way, clearing the path with long spears and great axes, and their bows were also strung.
More than ten men covered the rear, also armed with knives and spears, their expressions wary.
In the middle were more than ten horse-drawn carriages, oxcarts, and donkey carts, some stolen and some borrowed, moving at a leisurely pace.
Several mischievous teenagers appeared ahead, spying on them.
An arrow flew from the ranks, striking the boy squarely in the chest. He screamed and fell to the ground, quickly falling silent. The others, seeing this, scattered in terror. "This is it, Huimin Pharmacy," Yang Xunchang said, pointing to an alley with a complex expression.
Liang Tai waved his hand and said, "Make your move."
The masked Bian Yuanheng nodded, leading his thirteen men, plus ten canal boatmen armed with wooden spears, into the dark alley. A moment later, a banging sound came from the door…
Liang Tai withdrew his gaze and ordered them to continue advancing.
As they passed another alleyway, he pointed and said, "This is the miscellaneous workshop."
As soon as he finished speaking, several people rushed out of the alley and were stunned when they saw Yang Xunchang.
"These are officials sent from Hangzhou, don't let them escape," Yang Xunchang said urgently.
"Kill them!"
As soon as Liang Taifu gave the order, Li Fu rushed out, wielding his knife and felling the leading official to the ground.
The soldiers rushed forward, thrusting their spears and pinning the other four men to the wall, their screams echoing endlessly.
"The two officials who were just killed were from the Gold and Silk Bureau and the Painting Bureau. The other three were guards sent by Hangzhou to supervise the manufacture of items," Yang Xunchang explained. Both bureaus were subordinate to the "General Administration of Gold and Jade Craftsmen of Various Routes" under the Ministry of Works, which was "in charge of making precious gold and jade crowns, belts, gold and silver utensils, and overseeing the affairs of various departments and bureaus."
The reason they were said to have been sent from Hangzhou is because there was a "General Administration of Gold and Jade Craftsmen in Jiangnan" to make full use of the skilled craftsmen in Jiangnan to manufacture all kinds of things for Dadu.
"Make your move!" Liang Tai ordered again.
Li Fu immediately selected his own soldiers plus ten porters.
"They kidnapped people too," Liang Tai added.
Li Fu was slightly taken aback.
"I know my elder brother dislikes kidnapping, but he cares about his reputation, and I don't. Let's carry out the military order," Liang Tai said calmly. "A general in the field may disobey orders, and I'll take responsibility if anything goes wrong. If there's any punishment when we get back, it's none of your business."
Li Fu remained silent for a moment, then clasped his hands in a fist salute and replied, "Yes." More than twenty men rushed into the alley, and the banging on the door resumed...
As usual, after leaving a few cars behind, the group continued onward.
Not long after, Yang Xunchang stopped and pointed to a dark alley, saying, "This is the Weaving and Dyeing Bureau. An official from the Embroidery Bureau lives there year-round, which has aroused great public resentment. Don't let him escape."
Liang Tai nodded and called over Jiang Sanbao, who was covering the rear, ordering him to lead his soldiers and ten porters inside.
The so-called "Embroidery Bureau" was a subordinate agency of the "General Administration of Craftsmen in the Capital," which was "in charge of embroidering and producing satin for the princes and officials." Because the embroidery skills in Jiangnan were excellent, an official was stationed at the Changzhou Road Weaving and Dyeing Bureau year-round to propose various embroidery pattern requirements and supervise the process.
The banging on the door started for the third time.
This time, Liang Tai did not order the abduction of the weavers, dyers, and embroiderers under the jurisdiction of the Weaving and Dyeing Bureau. Therefore, Jiang Sanbao's team simply covered their heads and moved things, while also killing the official of the Embroidery Bureau and his accompanying guards.
The three alleys on Juqian Street, where three institutions are located, are the primary targets of this operation.
They didn't want money or food, and they weren't interested in robbing wealthy households; all they wanted were artisans and stockpiled goods.
The darkness provided them with cover, and the chaos diverted the government's attention. Tonight, they had ample time to do all this, and no one would disturb them. Well, perhaps I've been a bit too certain.
A moment later, just as the first group of people who had collected supplies for the Huimin Pharmacy returned and were loading the goods onto the oxcarts, another group of defeated soldiers approached from the front. Liang Tai frowned and ordered all the infantry to gather together.
The soldiers of the tall gun team lined up in a row, and some of them immediately took out their bows from their waists and drew their arrows.
Some of the men who were carrying knives and spears now took the bows that the other three teams of comrades had temporarily stored on the carts, and together they nocked and shot arrows.
"Woo!" Liang Tai blew the ox horn.
More than ten arrows pierced the air and shot down the fastest-charging fleeing soldiers.
"Woo!" came another short horn sound.
More than ten people quickly launched a second volley, shooting down another five or six people.
"Whoosh! Whoosh!" After the third volley ended, there were already more than a dozen corpses lying on the street in front of the station.
The routed soldiers, terrified, fled in panic, covering their heads and scurrying away.
Changzhou is a big city, and this isn't Sanbao Street. Why risk your life against these thugs? We should find someone easier to bully.
Also, these people are so strange, how come they can all shoot arrows? I clearly saw most of them were spearmen just now...
Seeing the enemy routed, Gao Daqiang spat on the ground and said, "Useless! They're no good at fighting, but they're experts at looting."
The soldiers glanced furtively behind them.
The soldiers and porters of Bian Yuanheng's team busied themselves carrying bags of medicinal herbs onto oxcarts, quickly filling three carts.
Does this... count as robbery?
Liang Tai's face remained expressionless as he closely observed the two street corners, one in front and one behind, to see if any foolish deserters or rioters would dare to wander in. After the Huimin Pharmacy's inventory had been almost completely moved, he thought for a moment and then ordered, "Take the artisans away as well, along with their families. Do not make any mistakes."
Unlike Li Fu, Bian Yuanheng didn't waste words. In his view of right and wrong, he would do anything that benefited his own brothers, even if it meant harming innocent people. However, he wouldn't mind helping others if there was no benefit to him and it didn't concern him.
Furthermore, Huimin Pharmacy isn't exactly a good place either.
Its main task was to purchase medicinal herbs and manufacture medicines. It was supposed to be a measure to benefit the people, but the prices were not actually much cheaper. The officials in charge of the Huimin Pharmacy were probably more focused on collecting government money and operating the business to earn interest, "to benefit the poor."
In short, Huimin Pharmacy was a lending institution that borrowed government funds to operate. What kind of good people could it be?
Without a doubt, the IOU was burned in a fire, considered a gift to the loan sharks in Changzhou.
The officials were killed, and the money, medicine, and even the medicine-making tools were taken away. Of course, the artisans who made the medicine were not spared either, and they were taken along as well. An hour later, the textile and dyeing bureau and the Huimin Pharmacy were basically emptied.
Bian Yuanheng and Jiang Sanbao's team also joined the work of transporting miscellaneous items from the miscellaneous workshop.
The more than ten vehicles were gradually filled to capacity, so much so that some of the medicinal herbs and tools had to be discarded to make room.
During this time, another group rushed over, but after being hit in the head and face with a barrage of arrows, they retreated in a sorry state.
Liang Tai stood calmly on Juqian Street, not in a hurry at all.