Robbery
“Robbery?” Jiang Jiao stammered, “What, what robbery?”
“We have already arrived here first, and the time and the place are right, moreover everyone is in fine condition. Wouldn’t we fail/disappoint God if we didn’t rob?” She called Wang Ba, “Brother Wang, you can do your job this time. Do you remember the rules?”
Wang Ba was a little angry, but also a little complacent, only said, “Of course I know!”
“Then let’s go and step onboard first.”
“What does it mean to step onboard?” Jiang Jiao was confused.
“I know this,” Huang Xiong explained to him, “Bandits slang, used before exploring/scouting the surroundings in advance.”
Wang Ba snorted and said to He Yan, “You know the slangs?”
“I only know this one sentence.” He Yan said, “If you all have no objections, how about I make the arrangements?”
All of them looked at her.
“The terrain is high here, and we have arrived early. So I think we should wait for other teams to come here, they will be tired and would want to relax. We just need to wait in ambush here and grab their flags. There are five of us, one of us needs to go up the tree to survey the situation, and the rest of us should lay in ambush here. The person climbing the tree is me,” He Yan pointed to herself, “I’ll be surveying on the tree.”
“When the people will arrive, Brother Wang should be in front to bring the people into the formation. Brother Jiang Jiao and Shi, one of you is holding a long stick, and the other is holding a spear. You both should spread around left and right. Uncle Huang should be behind in the formation, so we can get them surrounded in the middle. After that, I will come down from the tree, and with my nine-section whip, I can take the opportunity to scoop their flag away.”
Everyone suddenly realized. No wonder that He Yan chose a nine-section whip. As the situation would be really chaotic, and there might not be a chance to get close, but as long as the whip was rolled from a distance, the flag could be rolled over/snatched.
“Why should I be a bait?” Wang Ba was dissatisfied, “I can also lead the battle.”
“Because you are the strongest,” He Yan said without changing her expression. “If the rest of us take the flag to draw people, others would doubt, but if it’s you, it would be different. You are already very good among recruits. It’s reasonable, if you are holding the flag, as the best one among the group would protect the flag, so it would be preferable if you hold it.”
Jiang Jiao wanted to laugh a little but finally held back. Shi and Huang Xiong lowered their heads in silence. Only Wang Ba was deeply impressed, and his dissatisfaction with He Yan’s arrangement suddenly disappeared.
“But can this arrangement really work?” Jiang Jiao was a little skeptical, “What if they are better than us?”
“Don’t worry, we have been here first. We have rested longer than them and are full of energy. Moreover, if they are outflanked by our formation, it would confuse them to defend or attack. Moreover, our purpose is not to fight with them, but to fight for the flag.”
“The book of war/military book says: Those who are on the battlefield first and confront the enemy are smart, and those who are on the battlefield later are laborious. Therefore, those who are good at war will lead the enemy to the battlefield, not to the people.”
Of the first five people here, only Jiang Jiao and He Yan have read the book. The others hadn’t reacted yet, but Jiang Jiao looked at He Yan, and asked with a complicated expression, “Have you read the military books?”
“I know a little.” He Yan replied.
Huang Xiong looked at Jiang Jiao, then at He Yan, and sighed, “I remember you once said that you had read “The Arm records”, and now you are saying that you have read military books. You are so capable, you will surely be very famous one day, not in the same place as us .”
“I dare not.” He Yan smiled.
“Anyway, don’t forget us, when you get rich and famous.” Wang Ba whispered, probably embarrassed, and added, “But you don’t look like you can get rich.”
He Yan shrugged and said, “Then everyone, let’s find a place to hide. I’ll go up the tree first. You can eat something and rest. Brother Jiang will take the flag to Brother Wang and bother wand would further wait for the sound of my whistle later. The whistle would be used as a signal. As soon as the whistle would sound, Brother Wang would take a flag to lead people over.”
Everyone had no objections. They all scattered around, each finding a place to hide. He Yan found a tall camphor tree and climbed up with her head tilted.
She climbed the tree flexibly. Upon seeing this, Wang Ba murmured, “totally like a four-legged snake.”
He Yan climbed to the top of the tree in one breath, found the lushest and leafy place, and sat down. At this moment, the wind was blowing and the face felt cool, but it was indescribably comfortable. This place was high enough to have a clear view of the surrounding. Seeing no other recruits coming up, she took out a small piece of dry bread from her arms, gnawed two mouthfuls, and drank some water.
After she finished eating this small piece of bread, she lied down on the branch for a few minutes and saw a rustling movement on the nearby path. There was a group of recruits coming up.
He Yan immediately sat up straight, hiding in the leaves, and did not move. She whistled softly in her mouth, blowing three times in succession. Her whistle was the same as the sound of partridges [it’s a bird], and Jiang Jiao and the rest could not tell if they hadn’t listened to it in advance.
Huang Xiong, who was hiding in the dark, winked at Wang Ba, as Wang Ba hung up the kettle, stood up with the flag in his hand, and walked out.
They don’t know if he was used to doing this kind of robbery. As Wang Ba pretended to climb up, looking around every two steps as if he had just arrived here and was exploring the way.
As he walked, he collided with the group of recruits who had come up the mountain.
“You…” Before the recruit had the time to speak, Wang Ba clutched his waist and ran back. It’s okay if he didn’t cover it. But once he covered it, the action would attract people to see the red flag around his waist.
The recruit was taken aback, and then became excited, and said to the people behind him, “He is alone, he has a red flag, brothers, let’s grab it!”
When the group heard this, they immediately chased after him. Wang Ba, who seemed to be alone, not fond of battles, just ran and cursed, “Bah, don’t follow your grandpa! Be careful otherwise I’ll chop you up!”
The group of people regarded the red flag in Wang Ba’s hand as something in their pockets, as they laughed and chased after him, saying, “Then come and chop us up! Brother, surrender the flag, there’s no need to put up a fight!”
“Your grandma would surrender! If you are still chasing after me, I’ll not be polite!” Wang Ba warned.
“Who is being rude to whom?” The group of people smiled and chased after him. When they ran to a dense forest, Wang Ba suddenly stopped.
“Why, can’t run anymore?” The leader of the recruits smiled, imitating the appearance of the bandit leader, “This mountain is under me. If you want to cross from here, surrender all your money!”
Wang Ba originally wanted to show off his authority, but he was directly exasperated when he heard the words. He drew out two giant axes from his waist, turned, and shouted, “Pheasant stubbornly drills, how can he go up to the Tianwang Mountain. Trying to rob your grandfather, I see you it’s because of lard you are blinded, and the tactics are not faint/dim!”
No one could understand his slang series of bandits. Moreover, the other party didn’t want to entangle him too much, so he raised his sword straight toward the flag on his waist.
At this moment, there was a sudden noise behind him. In the grass on the left and right sides, two young men suddenly appeared, one holding a spear and the other holding an iron rod. They were Jiang Jiao and Shi. Hearing another loud noise, the bald-headed man with a gold-backed sword also leaped in front.
Just now it was five against one, as the Wang Ba was getting chased by the ass, but now the situation has changed rapidly, like catching a turtle in an urn/jar. There were ambushers in all directions, four people making a strong formation.
The recruits froze for a moment, their smiles faded, as they said, “It’s an ambush! They tricked us!”
Along the way, either actual knives or spears robbed them, or they were rushed out of a fierce battle from an ambush in the dark. But it’s the first time they were ambushed like this, it was like performing a big show, with a bait in front of them The leader of recruits gritted his teeth, “What are you afraid of? The number is quite the same. I’m afraid that they won’t be able to make it. I’ll fight them!”
As soon as they turned their heads, several people rushed into the melee together.
To be honest, although these people have their own strengths, they were not one in a million. After all, all the recruits on the mountain today were outstanding talents in Liangzhou Wei. But still, Jiang Jiao had the upper hand in the fight.
One of the reason was that they have been up here for a long time, have already rested and eaten here, recharging their energy to full, while the other recruit has just gone through the trek and fell into a melee before even sitting down and drinking, naturally were in a passive position. Secondly, it’s the location of their formation, so they have some advantages.
Jiang Jiao and Shi were on the left and right sides so that these people were surrounded from beginning to end. Huang Xiong’s big sword/knife.dagger was powerful, seamlessly matching with the Wang Ba’s great axes, both long and short, offensive and defensive. The recruits can not find a fault with the other side and were frequently suppressed.
Jiang Jiao shot off the opponent’s sword, knocking down all the opponent’s weapons. One of the recruits said, “No, we can’t get the flag. Let’s withdraw quickly!”
“How to withdraw?” The leader of the recruits angrily said, “You can find a gap for me to try!”
He wanted to break through several times, but he couldn’t find a gap. They were so tired if they continued like this, they wouldn’t be able to hold it anymore.
“Something’s not right,” a recruit avoided Huang Xiong’s dagger/sword, turned his head, and asked, “Why do they have only four people, and where’s the last one?”
Yes, they have been fighting for a long time, and it was five-to-four, and one person was still nowhere to be found, but because they were suppressed too hard, they didn’t notice it. At this moment, after being reminded, they immediately understood. The leader of recruits said, “There is a trap! Pay attention to protect the flag!”
As soon as the voice fell, he heard Wang Ba yelling, “He Yan, you are still watching the show! Still not coming out!”
Suddenly they heard a young boy’s light voice from the leafy camphor tree, “Coming!”
A red-figure suddenly appeared in the dense forest. The teenager laughed, like a swallow passing by, with a light posture, but in the eyes of the other party, he looked like an enemy. Before the man on the far side had time to hide his bag, suddenly a shadow leaped towards his face. He jumped down and let go of his hand subconsciously. The long shadow was like a snake, slithering and flexible, curling away with his bag. The teenager retracted his nine-section whip and sat on the tree, smiling. She shook her hand as the empty bag fell. Holding the flag in her hand, she smiled and said, “Thank you!” She turned her head and disappeared into the jungle, leaving a cry, “Mission accomplished, withdraw!”
The remaining Jiang Jiao and others were still fighting when they received the command. They were not in love with the fight. So they put their spears away and ran away. The other group was already half tired of climbing the mountain and was totally exhausted after the fierce battle. How could they catch up? They tried to chase, but after a few hundred steps, they couldn’t do it well and watched the group of people run away until no figure could be seen.
“What kind of robbery is this…” Someone slumped to the ground tiredly, gnashing his teeth and cursing: “It’s really lawless!”
“There’s no way, a thief will go empty-handed.” At the other end, He Yan was asking Jiang Jiao to put away the red flag in her hand, snapped her fingers, and said, “Let’s go.”
“Where?” Wang Ba asked.
“To rob the next house/one.”
…
The pigeon was pacing back and forth on the window, as someone spilled some grains of rice in his palm, and the pigeon landed on his palm, obediently letting the person remove the brass/copper tube from his leg.
After reading the note, Xiao Jue handed it to Shen Han, shook his head, and smiled.
The words on the note were very simple, and only one thing was written. He Yan had been setting up ambushes all over the mountain, starting a robbery camp/operation, and snatching the flags of several recruits.
The word “Fight” is the key to fight for the flag, but it was unique in the way they fight was so sneaky but still upright and honest. From the beginning, they only thought about the flag and didn’t want to have a dispute with other recruits at all, so later they set up an ambush and focused on the flag. If one doesn’t have a flag, they didn’t try to fight, letting them pass by. But if one had a flag, they took advantage of the fire and ran away after the robbery.
In the end, the loss was the least and the number of the flag would be the most.
“He’s pretty good at it.” After a long while, Shen Han suffocated these words.
“Not only will it be easy, but he will also be able to use his troops.” Xiao Jue said.
“Use soldiers?”
“To serve far away with near, to wait for the labor with ease, and wait for the hunger with satiety.” He curled his mouth and said slowly, “The recruits of Liangzhou Wei were all fooled by him.”
Shen Han was speechless. This young man, he really didn’t know what to say about him. He suddenly remembered something, “Speaking of these five people, he became the leader of the group, and still there was no objection.”
In fact, in addition to fighting with other recruits, there were also disputes in every team. Everyone’s habits and tactics were different, resulting in bad harmony. Some teams even fight for the commanding position and end up getting nothing. Knowing how to cooperate and how to arrange can also show the capabilities of the recruits. From this point of view, He Yan already possesses the ability to dispatch/deploy troops.
Among these five people, except Shi, everyone else had conflicts with He Yan, but no one entangled/fought with He Yan for this.
This was also an outstanding point of this young man.
“These people are all good,” Shen Han thought for a while, “Compared to the recruits they fought with, Jiang Jiao and the rest are slightly better. So far, there has been no defeat. Do you think these people qualify for the vanguard battalion/forward camp?”
Xiao Jue chuckled lightly and did not deny it, “It’s not that they are strong, it’s because He Yan has set up a formation. A squad with a formation and a group of scattered soldiers, are different from each other.”
“The General is saying…” Shen Han seemed to understand.
“The left and right are spread like crane wings, didn’t you see it after the leader was in the formation,” Xiao Jue said, “He used five people to set up the crane wing formation.”
Perhaps the news came too suddenly, Shen Han said nothing for a while. If a recruit can deploy/set up a formation, it almost shows that there is something wrong with this person. Shen Han hesitated for a moment, “Perhaps… a coincidence?”
“Whether it’s a coincidence or not, we’ll know next.” Xiao Jue said, “Fei Nu.”
The blackguard appeared behind him silently, “My lord.”
“Send the letter to the other instructors/commanders on Bai yue Mountain,” he held up the teacup on the table, sipped lightly, “On the way down the mountain, set up a formation.”
“General!” Shen Han was anxious: “This will prevent other recruits from going down the mountain!”
“Don’t worry,” the young man put down the teacup in his hand, then picked up a black piece in the chess box and dropped it. In an instant, he said, “Someone will break the formation.”
…
On Baiyue Mountain, next to the rocky cliff, several people were hiding in the grass, counting things.
“One, two, three… six! We took a total of six flags!” Jiang Jiao was a little happy.
“It’s less than half,” Wang Ba poured cold water on him, “What’s the point of being happy.”
“Six flags are already pretty good,” Huang Xiong said, “Besides, three sides were still grabbed.”
Three of these six flags were found by He Yan and the others on their own by taking the shortcut, and the rest three were grabbed by ambushing recruits who already had flags near the top of the mountain.
“It’s still not enough, let’s grab some more.” Wang Ba put his axes away, “If we win more than half.”
He Yan shook his head, “Can’t grab it now.”
Shi frowned and asked, “Why?”
“Now other recruits are going up the mountain one after another. Those recruits who were robbed before will definitely tell people about the flag robbery by us. We might have already become notorious, in the mouths of these people. Those recruits with flags will only become warier of us. Besides, we have robbed three times non-stop. Right now, our physical strength is not as good as before.”
“Who said that?” Wang Ba gestured to the person beside him to look at his powerful arms, “I am still full of strength, not tired at all! I can grab a few more!”
He Yan said, “Oh? What if several groups join forces?”
Wang Ba froze for a moment.
He Yan spread his hands and said, “We have six flags in our hands right now, which are equivalent to becoming live targets. I think the smart recruits on the top of the mountain would have already thought of joining hands and grabbing the flags from our hands. Two fists can’t beat four hands. Five of us, against ten, twenty, thirty…or might even be a hundred people. Do you think there is still a need to compete?”
Everyone was speechless.
“Then you tell me what to do.” After a long while, Wang Ba said impatiently.
“No matter how easy things are in the world, there is always a first and then there will be a second. We have just shown them how to take advantage of the fire. The next recruits will try to do the same. We don’t have to compete with those recruits one by one. We can just compete with the strongest among the remaining recruits.”
Jiang Jiao’s eyes lit up, “You mean, wait for them to snipe each other, and we’ll reap the benefits?”
Let the remaining recruits on the mountain, like the east wind overwhelming the west wind, or the west wind overwhelming the east wind, none of them matters, there is always a team who would win. All they have to do is to rob the winning team and snatch their flag. In this way, they could have more than half of the flags.
“So…” Huang Xiong looked at He Yan inquiringly.
“Go down the mountain.”
“Go down the mountain now?” Jiang Jiao hesitated.
“It’s too early to get down the mountain now, and we can seize the opportunity. Hiding on the only way down the mountain, no matter the recruits who have flags or not, they will always pass by our eyes. The team that seems to have the most would become our sheep/target.”
“What you say sounds very easy,” Wang Ba couldn’t help arguing. “The other party would definitely not be a sheep. Since they can get so many flags, they must be ruthless ones. We may not be able to win.”
“What you said is very reasonable.” He Yan nodded, “So the game under the mountain will definitely not be easy. But it doesn’t matter, we will definitely win.”
“How?”
The young man smiled enthusiastically, “Because of me/Because there is me.”
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