Chapter 39: Heroes of the Jianghu Come to Assist

  Ma Daniu smiled and beckoned to a man in his fifties with a sunken nose and a dull appearance, who had been shrinking away at the side without making a sound. He was indeed an honest and simple-minded person.

  "This man is from the same school as me, but his craftsmanship is a hundred times better than mine. He has been working on casting hammers and personally cast a weapon for Vice Magistrate Xu. Brother, hurry up and bring it over." Ma Daniu introduced. The man responded with a sound, quickly ran to the side of the weapon rack, picked up a package from the ground.

  "Good stuff!" Yang Yan had no idea what it was, but he praised it first.

  The man outside unwrapped the cloth and revealed a knife. Yang Yan exclaimed: "Good knife!"

  "Hey, take a good look and then say whether it's good or not?" Xu Wei said with a smile. The knife was indeed impressive just by its appearance. The blade was four feet long, five inches wide, with a thick back of two fingers, an extremely thin edge, and the tip curved upwards in an arc shape, adorned with a beast head wrapping around it. Where the handle met the blade, there was another identical beast head devouring the mouth, the handle was one foot long, followed by a long pommel. The entire length of the knife was five feet, falling between a long and short weapon, making it extremely suitable for chopping and slashing. Xu Wei took the knife and felt that its weight was quite heavy, likely requiring two hands to use.

  Ma Daniu asked his senior brother to introduce him, but the man just smiled foolishly and didn't say a word. The former shook his head and said: "This knife is not a military standard, called a Xunying knife, only those with great strength can use it. It can cut hair, chop copper and iron, and the blade won't roll."

  Xu Wei heard this and couldn't help but laugh: "There should be one more, right? That the sword doesn't show blood when it kills?" In that Water Margin story, Yang Zhi sells his sword, saying that his precious sword has three advantages, the third being that it doesn't show blood when it kills.

  Ma Daniu was taken aback, and with a forced smile said: "Killing without seeing blood is the time to add something to the quenching fire. Xu Vice Envoy is a straightforward good fellow, how dare my elder brother be presumptuous?" Although his words were ambiguous, they were not difficult to understand, and what he meant by "adding something" was likely poisoning.

  All four of them had their trusty weapons in hand, and Yang Yan and the other three eagerly rushed out to practice on the wheat field. Xu Wei instructed several blacksmiths to hurry up and repair the old equipment allocated by the Dai Mansion. Ma Da Niu and others repeatedly acknowledged his instructions. Just as they were speaking, a man rushed into the shed, surnamed Zhou, named Ji, and he and his older brother Zhou Xiong were both captains. Their father was a hunter in Xu's village, and when their eldest son was born, he hunted down a bear and named him Zhou Xiong. When their second son was born, they didn't have good luck and only shot a mountain chicken, so they named him Zhou Ji. In the countryside, people don't pay much attention to names, and the cheaper the name, the better it is to raise them. After becoming captains, Xu Wei really felt that it wasn't right, so he asked his father for his opinion and changed his name to Zhou Ji. At 16 years old, he was vigorous and strong, with a heroic spirit.

  Zhou Ji rushed into the shed and shouted loudly: "Vice Xu, someone has surrendered!"

  Xu Wei listened and was overjoyed, rushing out immediately. By the side of the wheat field, twenty or thirty unfamiliar men were standing, watching the soldiers practice drills in the field. Xu Wei rushed up to them, and Zhou Ji said to one of them, "This is the commander of our Jingwei Village Brave Camp."

  That man was about thirty years old, only five feet tall and extremely thin, with yellowish hair and a pair of small eyes that could hardly be opened. Seeing Xu Wei, he looked him up and down, then bowed his head and said: "I've seen the master! We came to join the army, willing to die for the master!" The twenty or thirty Han men knelt down on the ground as soon as they saw him.

  Xu Wei did not call out, and in a loud voice asked: "Where are you from? Why have you joined the army?"

  "We have come from Gaotang County, hearing that the lord is recruiting soldiers and buying swords, and has been ordered to suppress the bandits. We have come to surrender, in order to kill the enemy and serve the country!" The five short men knelt on the ground and replied loudly.

  Xu Wei listened and sneered: "Kill the enemy and report to the country? Is it really so? Where did you come from, where are you going back?"

  That man heard this, raised his head, saw Xu Wei's expression, and smiled awkwardly: "Sir, your eyes are like a torch. That little man will speak plainly. It's just that in the past, when I was in Gaotang, I heard that Xiajin had a good man named Xu Wei, ninth in line, with excellent martial arts and a righteous person. Recently, I also heard that Xu Jiu was appointed by the imperial court to recruit brave warriors, clear the countryside and eliminate bandits. So he led more than 30 people from his hometown to come and surrender, seeking three meals of warmth and fullness, monthly salary, and hearing that beheading a level one could get three guan of silver, isn't it stronger than hiding in the ground and digging soil?

  Xu Wei glanced at him and smiled: "Beheaded first-class, rewarded with three guan of money, can you afford to accept it?"

  That man hesitated for a moment, then suddenly jumped up from the ground and produced two short knives from his sleeves as if by magic. The soldiers beside Xu Wei saw this and brandished their long and short weapons, shouting in unison: "How dare you! What do you want to do?"

  Xu Wei raised his hand, and the soldiers retreated. The man held a knife and saluted Xu Wei, then started to perform. He was short in stature but extremely agile, with feet that seemed to be jumping without touching the ground. The pair of short knives flew up and down, fast and steady, each move a killing blow. Later, as he performed more urgently, his face became a blur. The surrounding soldiers watched in amazement, all exclaiming "good!"

  After a while, she put away the dagger, her face not red, nor was she out of breath. Her small eyes sparkled with spirit. She bowed again to Xu Wei and said: "If Your Excellency deigns to accept us, we are willing to follow you, leading your horse and holding your stirrup!"

  Xu Wei's eyes lit up as he watched them show off their knife skills. After hearing this, he ordered them to stand up and praised them, saying: "Good! You indeed have some skills! I'll take you in, but let me make one thing clear: once you enter the Jingwei camp, you won't be short of food or clothing, and your military pay and rewards will not be deducted by a single coin. Whoever dares to violate discipline or perform poorly in battle, don't blame the military law for being unfair!" Dozens of men chattered excitedly, repeatedly saying they didn't dare. Xu Wei praised them again and ordered Zhou Ji to lead them to report for duty and register on the roster, assigning them to a unit.

  Just as he was about to go find a few masters to discuss matters, he suddenly heard someone outside the arena loudly call out: "Ninth Brother!"

  Looking around, there was an official standing outside the house, followed by several fully armed soldiers. It was Xu Sheng!

  Xu Wei strode forward and called out, "Fourth Brother! When did you get back?" Since parting ways with Xia Jin that day, Xu Sheng had returned to the mansion in Daming Prefecture to report for duty, and the two brothers hadn't seen each other for nearly a month.

  Xu Sheng put his arm around his brother's shoulder, carefully sizing him up. He was genuinely relieved and a mix of emotions welled up inside him as he said with a tinge of sadness: "You've finally grown up, you've finally become a man. My ninth brother has finally become a man." Their mother had passed away early, their father had struggled his whole life, and Xu Sheng's personality was eccentric. As the older brother, he loved his younger brother dearly, no matter how mischievous or unruly he was. They were brothers of the same mother, after all. Before she passed away, their mother had repeatedly instructed him to take good care of Jiu Lang. Over the years, Xu Sheng had never been able to bring himself to hit or scold his brother. Now that his brother had finally become a man, he couldn't help but feel a sense of pride and satisfaction. If their mother were still alive, she would surely be smiling with joy.

  Xu Wei saw his brother's long and injured appearance, and he was really moved in his heart. He smiled and said: "Fourth brother Xia Zhen guarded the city with merit, after returning, there will definitely be a reward from above."

  "With the help of my ninth brother, I was promoted to Wu Wing Daifu." Xu Sheng laughed. Wu Wing Daifu is the 22nd rank in the 53rd military officer ranks, and is a seventh-grade official. Although Xu Wei's official title is eighth-grade, which is only one grade lower than his older brother, his military rank of Xiuwu Lang is ranked 44th, a full half lower.

  "The imperial army recruits soldiers based on their tall and strong physique, but you're doing the opposite. What's the use of recruiting those short and small people?" Xu Sheng asked with a smile.

  Xu Wei didn't say anything, and casually replied: "How can my village militia be compared to your Imperial Guard? It's just a bunch of useless people, that's all." The two brothers chatted for a while longer, then Xu Sheng dragged Xu Wei back home, saying they should take advantage of San Jie's return to have a good family reunion. Later, let the servants prepare some delicious dishes and have a drink together.

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