Chapter 175: Night Raid


    Early in the morning, Matt got up and prepared to leave the vige with his father. They were headed to the fields to hill the potatoes. This was a busy time for farming. The potato nts in the fields had already started to bloom, indicating that the tubers beneath the soil were growing. Hilling the potatoes at this stage was crucial to ensure good yields.


    A group of farmers gathered at the vige entrance. The vige was surrounded by a ditch about twelve to thirteen feet wide and more than two feet deep. Wooden stakes were driven into the bottom of the ditch, and there was about half a foot of water at the bottom, thanks to seeping groundwater and rain.


    At the vige entrance, a copsible wooden bridge spanned the ditch. Several Irish police officers from the garrison were stationed there, checking the people leaving the vige.


    The British had forcibly gathered people from nearby viges into this one for "management," as they imed. However, it had created difficulties for the local residents. Some families had homes in this vige, but those forced to move here had no proper shelter and had to make do with makeshift huts of branches and mud.


    The other challenge was the distance to their fields, which was far from the vige. The British imposed curfews, so people couldn''t leave the vige until it was nearly dawn, and in the afternoon, the bridge was raised, preventing those returningte from entering the vige. Missing the curfew meant being considered suspicious and subjected to investigation. Even if someone could prove they were not involved with the rebels and it was their first offense, they would be whipped. A second offense would result in a year of hardbor in a quarry or simr ce. If they survived the year and reoffended, they would be hanged.


    This put the lives of nearly all the vigers in the hands of the "ck Dogs," as they called the Irish police. These officers deliberately dyed opening the bridge in the morning and closed it early in the evening. Those who couldn''t get in had to bribe them for entry.


    Matt''s family''s field was about four miles from the vige. Even if they rushed, they could work for only an hour in the field before having to hurry back to make it before the bridge closed. However, Matt''s father had recently given a bribe to their captain, Captain Hhan, which had bought them some leniency.


    Captain Hhan was infamous for his greed and ruthlessness. In just one month after arriving, he had sent ten people to the gallows and over twenty to the quarries through various means. Through such methods, he made everyone in the vige bow to him.


    After Matt''s father had given him a sum of money, Hhan issued a loan note, allowing them to returnter each day. He didn''t specify howte ter" was, though. He just said, "I''m Irish too. How can I not know it''s the time when potatoes are flowering? If your crops fail and you can''t repay what you owe, when will you ever be able to? Don''t worry; now you''re working for me. Why would I make things difficult for myself?"


    Hhan didn''t cause any more trouble on this matter after that. Even if people returnedte, they were allowed in as long as they owed him money. It was said that Hhan''s subordinates had suggested that it wasn''t safe, and they should leave the farmers to fend for themselves in the open fields until morning. Hhan had brushed it off, saying, "The rebels are finished now. What''s there to be afraid of? Besides, Robert''s mounted police patrol at night sometimes. If these folks run into them, it''ll be trouble, big or small."


    Many people in the vige had taken a page from Hhan''s book. They, too, had used his connections to secure some leniency and started returningte.


    On their way to the field, Matt passed through the vige where he used to live. It had been burned to the ground. He remembered that when they were forcibly relocated, an old man from the vige had clung to arge tree near the vige entrance, vowing never to leave. A British soldier had used his bay to fulfill that promise. To this day, there was a deep mark from the bay on that tree.


    Matt''s family''s field was right beside the abandoned vige, and the potato nts were growing beautifully, with tiny buds forming on the stems. In another ten days, the field would be covered in white flowers.


    This was a critical time for the potatoes, and if they didn''t tend to them properly, it could affect the yield. Failing to repay Hhan''s loan, let alone the rent to Lord Anderson, was not an option.


    The farmers worked in the field. Since they were allowed to returnte, they worked a bit longer. They toiled until the setting sun painted the sky red, then started packing up to head back.


    As they reached the vige entrance, the sun had set, and the moon had risen. A group of farmers, each carrying various tools, walked to the vige entrance. If some bourgeois with a touch of romanticism saw this scene, they might have recited a verse like "Awakening at dawn to reim the wilderness, returning under the moonlight with hoes in hand."


    However, no one was in a leisurely mood. They were all waiting for Hhan toy the bridge for them to enter the vige.


    A narrow nk, much narrower than in the morning and only wide enough for one person at a time, was passed over the ditch and ced on the bridge. Several Irish police officers, holding knives and torches, stood there.


    "One at a time,e over here. Put down your tools and raise your hands for a search," one of them ordered.


    The vigers, one by one, walked over the narrow nk, left their tools on the ground, and raised their hands for a search. The officers would search one person, then allow the next one toe over.


    After a while, Matt''s father was next in line. However, someone suddenly cut in front of him, stepping onto the nk.


    "Who''s this?" Matt whispered.


    The person was carrying a hoe, and the brim of their hat slightly covered their face. They calmly walked over, ced the hoe on the ground, and raised their hands for the search by the ck Dogs. The officers moved to remove their hat, but in that instant, the person''s raised hands dropped swiftly. Their wrists flicked, and two knives appeared out of nowhere. They thrust the knives into the throats of the two officers searching them.


    That person was Verfuh. Having killed these four Irish police officers, he felt a sudden danger. This feeling had saved his life on the battlefield more than once, and he didn''t hesitate. He immediately ducked and rolled. Almost simultaneously, two gunshots rang out, hitting where he had been standing moments ago. Hhan had prepared two hidden sentries. However, Verfuh was too fast, and they had just reacted.


    As he rolled on the ground, Verfuh drew two revolvers from his back. He fired several shots toward the source of the gunfire and heard a muffled groan and the sound of bodies hitting the ground. In the darkness, he heard someone drop a rifle and run. That person shouted, "The guerris have broken in! The guerris have broken in!"


    More people rushed from the bridge, holding guns, and stormed into the vige. Matt saw his father among them.


    "Follow me! I know the way in there! I know where they are!" Matt''s father yelled.


    Verfuh followed Matt''s father and the other fighters into the vige.


    The ensuing battle was one-sided. When the guerris shouted "Surrender your weapons, and you won''t be harmed," almost all of the Irish police officers chose to surrender. Only Hhan was nowhere to be found. Upon hearing the gunshots, he had immediately lit a pre-prepared beacon and disappeared into the darkness.


    Now that the beacon was lit, the guerris had to consider the possibility of British reinforcements. Estimating the distance, the British could arrive within approximately two hours after seeing the beacon. However, they still had to decide whether the British would dare toe out on such a night. If they did, Verfuh had a surprise waiting for them.


    Even so, the guerris had to think about a retreat. They gathered the relocated vigers and told them they were an anti-British guerri group, here to defend the Irish people. They exined that the British might retaliate against the vigers, but they had the option to abandon the vige and follow the guerris to the "freends" where the British wouldn''t dare to go. Most of the relocated vigers chose to follow the guerris, while those who originally belonged to the vige decided to stay.