Chapter 175: , Night attack

Early that morning, Matt got up from the shack with his father, ready to leave the village and go to the fields to ridge the potatoes. This is the busiest period of farming. Now the potatoes in the ground have grown small flower buds, which means that in the ground, the tops of the stolons of the potatoes begin to swell to form small tubers. If the soil is not cultivated in time at this time, it will affect the growth of the tuber and reduce the yield.
　　 A group of farmers came to the entrance of the village. The village is surrounded by a trench that is about twelve or three feet wide and two people deep. Pointed wooden stakes are inserted at the bottom of the trench. Due to groundwater seepage and rain, there is still about half a foot accumulated under the trench. Come deep water.
　　 At the entrance of the village, there is a foldable wooden bridge over the trench. Several police officers from the Irish Security Forces stood here, checking out the village crowd.
　　 The British forced people from several nearby villages into this one village, saying that it was easy to manage. But this actually caused a lot of difficulties for the local people. The first is housing. For example, some homes originally belonged to this village, but those who were forcibly relocated from other villages didn't even have a place to live. They had to find some branches of dirt on their own, and build a shack for themselves.
　　 The second trouble is that starting from here, the distance to the fields they cultivated is very long, and it takes a lot of time on the road. The British imposed a curfew in these villages. Before daybreak, the black dogs of the Irish security forces (they wear black uniforms, so they have such a title) would not let people out of the village at all, but in the afternoon Generally, after lunch and the most drooling time, these black dogs will put the bridges away. Those who haven't returned at this time will not be able to enter the village.
　　 Then, according to the British rule, if the villager fails to return to the village on time, then he is a suspicious person and needs to be investigated. Once under investigation, even if it can be proved that he did not collude with the rebels and violated the curfew for the first time, he will be beaten. If it is the second time, he will be sent to a place like a quarry for a year of hard labor. If you can come back after a year of hard labor and commit the crime again, you will be hanged directly.
　　 In this way, the lives of almost everyone in the entire village were pinched in the hands of those black dogs. Those guys deliberately postponed the opening time and closed the door earlier. Those who can't enter the village can only bribe them to survive.
Matt’s home is almost four miles (about 6.5 kilometers) away from the village. Even if you trot all the way back, you can only work in the field for less than an hour and you have to drive back. Otherwise, you can’t be there. Hei Gouzi hurried back before putting away the boardwalk. But a few days ago, Matt's father had just sent a sum of money to the captain of the black dogs, Hu Lahan.
Captain Hulahan is notorious for his greed and cruel heart. After he got here, he used various means to send ten people to the gallows and more than twenty people in just one month. To the quarry. Relying on this method, he made everyone have to bow their heads to him.
　　 Captain Hulahan was not particularly satisfied with the numbers sent by Matt's father, but he still accepted the money, but he asked Matt's father to sign an IOU. After that, Captain Hulahan generously allowed them to go back later every day.
　　 Of course, how late this night is, Captain Hu Lahan did not say clearly. He just said,
I’m also Irish, so how come I don’t know that it’s time for the potato to sprout? If you don’t grow it well, when will the money you owe me be paid back? Don’t worry, you are now Working for me, can I still embarrass myself?"
　　 Captain Hulahan has indeed no longer troubled everyone on such issues. Even if he comes back late, anyone who "borrows" Captain Hulahan’s money can still come into the village. It is said that Hulahan's subordinates have suggested to him that this is not safe. It is better to let the farmers spend the night in the wild and let them come in after dawn. Hulahan said disapprovingly: "Those rebels are already dead now. What are you afraid of? Besides, people from Robert's Mounted Police sometimes come out to patrol at night, in case these people let them come across, no Big or small is also a problem."
　　 and Matt and their family have also gone through the way of Captain Hulahan. They left the village together, and then desperately rushed to their own fields.
　　On the road, Matt passed the village where he used to live, which had been burned to a blank area. Matt still remembered that when they were forcibly removed, an old man in the village held a big tree at the entrance of the village and said that he would not leave if he died. Then a British soldier used a bayonet to help him fulfill his oath. There is still a deep bayonet mark on the tree at the entrance of the village.
　　Matt’s field is right next to the old village. Now the green potatoes are just right and they have begun to produce small buds. In ten days' time, this field will be full of white flowers.
　　 This period is also the most critical time for potato growth. If this period of time is not well managed and the harvest is affected, not to mention that the family is full, but the money of Captain Hulahan who "borrowed" and the rent of Viscount Anderson above will not be paid. . And neither of these two people can afford Matt and his family.
　　The farmers began to work in the fields. Since Captain Hulahan allowed everyone to go back later, everyone simply worked for a while longer. They kept working until the setting sun dyed the horizon red, and then everyone gathered up and rushed back.
　　 When everyone arrived at the entrance of the village, the sun had already set and the moon had risen. A group of farmers carried various farm tools and walked to the entrance of the village. If some bourgeois-tempered people in later generations see this picture, they will pretend to be Yaxing's sentence "Morning Xing is sordid, bring moon and lotus home".
　　 But at this moment, no one has such a leisurely state of mind. They just wait for Captain Hu Lahan to pave the bridge for themselves so that they can enter the village.
　　 A wooden board that was much narrower than it was in the morning and could only allow one person to pass through it was handed over and placed on the trench. Several black dogs of the Irish security forces were holding knives and guns and standing there with torches:
　　 "Come over one by one. When we come over, put down the farm tools and raise our hands to let us search."
　　The villagers walked over this narrow bridge one by one, put their farm tools on the ground, and then raised their hands to let the black dogs search their bodies. The black dogs only allowed the next person to come over after searching one.
　　 After a while, it seemed that it was Matt's father's turn, but a person suddenly inserted in front of Matt's father and walked onto Banqiao.
　　 "Who is this!" Matt said softly.
　　 This man is carrying a hoe, and the brim of his hat hangs slightly, covering part of his face. He walked steadily, bent down, put his on the ground, and then raised his hand so that the black dog could come up and search.
　　 Two black dogs came over, and one of them reached out to pick his hat. But at this moment, the man's raised hands suddenly sank and his wrists shook. I don't know when there were two more knives in the empty hands. He stabbed the knife forward, then respectively pierced the throats of the two black dogs who came by.
The two black dogs carrying rifles next to 　　 panicked, quickly took the rifles in their hands and wanted to shoot. But at this time, the man had already pulled out the knives from the throats of the two black dogs who had been hit by the knives. With a wave of his hand, the two knives flew out and inserted the two accurately. The eye socket of the black dog where the gun was aimed.
　　Villefort was the one who did it. He had just killed the four Irish policemen, but a very dangerous feeling suddenly appeared in his heart. This feeling had saved his life on the battlefield more than once, and he didn't care much, so he rolled on the ground. Almost at the same time, two gunshots came from the darkness, and two bullets hit the place where he was standing just now—Hulahan was not really completely unprepared, he still prepared two secret whistles. It's just that Villefort's movements were so fast that they barely reacted until then.
At the moment when he rolled on the spot, Villefort had pulled out two revolvers from his back. He fired a few shots at the place where the fire had just lit up, and he heard a muffled grunt and the sound of his body falling to the ground. , And the sound of someone dropping their rifle and running away in the dark. The man also shouted: "The guerrillas have entered! The guerrillas have entered!"
　　 At this time ~EbookFREE.me~ more people rushed over from that section of the bridge. They held their guns and rushed into the village. Matt saw that his father was among them.
　　 "Follow me, I know the way inside! I know where they are!" Matt's father shouted.
　　 Villefort followed Matt's father and rushed in with some other soldiers.
　　The battle after that was almost one-sided. When the guerrilla fighters chanted the slogan "Give up the guns and not kill", almost all the Irish policemen chose to surrender their guns. It's just that Hulahan didn't know where it was. After he heard the gunfire, he immediately lit the prepared beacon, and then disappeared into the darkness.
　　Since the flame was ignited, the guerrillas must consider the issue of British reinforcements. Estimate the distance. If the British came out immediately after spotting the beacon, they would be able to get here in about two hours. Of course, it is not certain whether the British dare to come out on such a night. If they dare to come out, then Villefort really prepared a surprise for them.
　　 But even so, they have to think about retreating. The guerrillas gathered the villagers and told them that they were anti-British guerrillas and came to defend the Irish. They also told them that after the British came, they might retaliate against the villagers, but the villagers could choose to abandon the village and follow them to the "land of freedom" where the British did not dare to go easily. In the end, most of the villagers who were relocated chose to follow the guerrillas, while most of the villagers who were originally from the village chose to stay.