Chapter 12: The Two Idiots of Xu Family Village

  Looking at the three fierce-looking thugs, Bao Zheng and others didn't dare to take another step forward. Although Xu Jiu's brain wasn't very useful, his martial arts skills were not bad, so it was better not to provoke him, otherwise they might be killed by the bandits before he could even react.

  Xu Taigong's face flashed a hint of pride, but he immediately pulled himself together: "Lao Jiu, don't be rude."

  Xu Weifen didn't move, raised the wooden knife in his hand a few inches, and said coldly: "I've already let Zhang Qing take people across the river."

  "What did you say?" At least three voices asked in unison, with the most unexpected one being Xu Tai Gong.

  "Zhang Qing took some men to ride horses across the river, to scout out the bandits' location, numbers and speed of movement. It won't be long before we have news." Xu Wei said calmly in the face of a room full of questioning gazes.

  The hall was silent for a long time, and then the village head excitedly clasped his hands together in respect towards Xu Taigong, saying: "It turns out that Taigong had made arrangements beforehand. Indeed, he is a veteran general, and his precious sword has not grown old!"

  "It's all right, it's all right! With Master Taigong sitting here, those bandits wouldn't dare to touch your whiskers!" The head of the village militia said loudly. The others also echoed in agreement, and the gloomy atmosphere just now was swept away. Master Taigong, you really are... You should have spoken up earlier, why did you let everyone worry like that? And now it seems that our Xujiashan is still holding up the sky of Xiacheng County!

  Xu Taigong understood in his heart that he had not made any arrangements. This plan must have been thought of by Zhang Qing, that child's mind has always been quick-witted, unlike his own useless son? For the time being, he didn't expose it, fearing to shake everyone's confidence, and signaled to Xu Wei: "You continue to tell the elders."

  Since Zhang Qing was able to think of gathering intelligence on the enemy, he must have already had a well-thought-out plan.

  "The most urgent task is to evacuate the elderly, women and children. It's too late to go to the county town, and it's not safe either. Behind Xujiacun, there is a big mountain with steep terrain, and only one small road can be climbed up. First, withdraw the people to the top of the mountain, and dispatch 10-20 people to guard the mountain pass." Xu Wei spoke fluently, but others didn't think much of it, while Yang Yan and Ma Tai were delighted. Looking at these dignitaries in the countryside listening attentively to Xu Wei's explanation like students listening to their teacher, they also felt a sense of pride on their faces.

  Xu Tai Gong nodded repeatedly, not bad, not bad, it's a perfect plan. Zhang Qing is indeed a rare talent, at such a young age he already has such insight. If my son had half of his ability, I would die with my eyes closed.

  Just as Bao Zheng was about to ask about the next plan, he suddenly heard a commotion outside. Everyone turned their heads to look outwards. Two strangers were seen walking towards the main hall surrounded by over ten Han men. Only when they got closer did it become clear that both of them were around thirty years old, with long knives at their waists. Not only were their heights similar, but even the expressions on their faces were identical - looking down on everything and not putting anyone in front of them in their eyes. Despite being surrounded by over ten strong men holding knives and guns, they remained expressionless, it was unknown what their background was.

  They stopped outside the main hall, still surrounding it. The two men didn't look around, their hands on the hilts of their knives. One of them shouted loudly: "Where is Xu Tianfu?"

  As soon as the words were spoken, they were immediately drowned out by a chorus of scolding voices. Not to mention in Xujiazhuang, even in Xiacheng County, who dared to call Xu Taigong by his name? Even when seeing the county magistrate, one had to address him with a "respectful old gentleman", you this rascal, is simply intolerable! A few hot-headed ones immediately wanted to take action.

  "Halt!" Xu Taigong intervened just in time. "Let them come in and talk."

  The men finally retreated to the side, and the two of them stepped into the hall, pushing aside Xu Wei and the others. Yang Yan was small in stature, and he stumbled forward when pushed, just about to get angry, but was stopped by Xu Wei.

  In the hall, the two men stared at Xu Taigong. The man who had just spoken asked again: "Are you Xu Tianfu?" His tone was extremely disdainful. The head of the village militia slapped the armrest of his chair and stood up in anger, wanting to curse loudly, but another person pointed at his nose and said: "Sit down! You don't have the right to speak!" This man was not tall, but he was short and sturdy, with a face full of cruel and poisonous color. His eyes were filled with murderous intent. The head of the village militia felt a chill, and did not dare to look him in the eye, slowly sitting back down.

  Xu Tai Gong has after all come through mountains of corpses and seas of blood, what great scene hasn't he seen? He replied steadily as Mount Tai: "Indeed."

  "My brother and I, on the orders of Great King, the leader of Qian Niu Mountain stronghold, have come to inform Xu Family Village." As he spoke, the man paused for a moment, looking around, but everyone who met his gaze quickly looked away. What a bold move! Two people dared to come to Xu Family Village and were so arrogant; if they didn't have at least 12% of real power, how could they be so presumptuous?

  With a satisfied smile, he continued: "My master is leading the brothers to attack Xiajin County tonight, to kill corrupt officials and uphold justice. You people of Xujiazhuang are all honest and law-abiding citizens, our master has ordered that no one from Xujiazhuang be harmed, as a demonstration..."

  Everyone in the hall pricked up their ears to listen to his declaration, and when they heard "don't kill Xujiashan", some people were secretly delighted. What's good about this? As long as Xujiashan is not moved, even if Xiajin County is trampled flat, what does it have to do with me?

  Just then, Xu Wei suddenly shouted: "Nonsense! Skip the first half and go straight to the conditions!" What he meant was that if they didn't kill anyone from Xu's village, it was because they were somewhat afraid of Xu's village reputation for martial valor, and didn't want to use their limited strength to tangle with Xu's village. They would scare them first, then propose conditions, hoping to gain an advantage without a fight.

  This shout not only startled the people of Xu's village, but also surprised the two bandits. They turned their heads to look at Xu Wei. The man who had threatened Yang Yong earlier wanted to speak again, but was interrupted by Yang Yan, who loudly shouted: "Shut your filthy mouth! Let you talk, you'll quickly talk! If you delay for a moment and annoy my ninth brother, I'll stab you through with a single thrust!"

  The leading figures on the platform suddenly tightened their faces, "Oh my god, how can Xu's village produce such idiots! Are these people easy to provoke? You few ignorant young men, do you know how to write the word 'death'? Your blood is still hot, don't drag down the whole village! Go and die somewhere else! Xu Taigong, can't you control your good-for-nothing son? Stop harming others!"

  Xu Taigong still sat calmly on the couch, as steady as a mountain, and seemed to be unmoved even if Mount Tai were to collapse in front of him.

  It's unclear whether he was truly afraid of the few foolish young men or simply didn't bother to waste his breath on them, but the man continued: "As long as Xu Family Village offers 500 stones of grain, 50 horses, 60 heads of cattle, and 2,000 strings of cash, our bandit chief guarantees that not a single person will set foot in Xu Family Village!"

  He spoke with confidence, his voice loud and clear, both inside and outside could be heard clearly. The crowd outside immediately boiled over, such harsh conditions, it's simply forcing Xujiacun to sell their pots and pans. Not to mention the 500 stones of grain, can they even come up with 2,000 strings of cash? Those cattle are the farmers' lifeblood, if you take them away, how will we farm next year? Are we supposed to just go hungry? That's also dependent on good weather, what about when there's no northwest wind?

  It seems that he had expected such a reaction, and the man let out a cold snort, saying to himself: "If Xu family village has even half a word of dissent!" As soon as his voice fell, the outside commotion stopped.

  "I'll have you all thrown out of the Zhuang, not a single chicken or dog will be left behind! Wu Cheng County is your model!" After shouting this with a fierce tone and a menacing glare, both men's eyes fell on Xu Taigong, waiting for his response.

  Inside and outside the main hall, it was quiet and still. Everyone's heart was racing with anxiety, their faces filled with worry. How would Master Xu respond? Would he compromise and agree to their demands, or would he refuse and risk a confrontation? If they had to fight, could the hundred or so militiamen from Xu Village really hold off the thousands of bandits? Many people were secretly praying for Master Xu to give in, thinking that it was better to tighten their belts and make do with less. After all, they were used to living a hard life as farmers, and as long as they could save their lives and keep their families safe, that was all that mattered.

  Ba Zheng's eyeballs rolled dozens of times, seeing that Xu Taigong was still motionless, he couldn't help but lean forward and say: "Taigong, perhaps..."

  Xu Taigong waved his hand to stop him, gazing at the two thieves. His face, like a knife chiseled with an axe, looked even more terrifying. Leaning on his cane, he struggled to stand up and said slowly: "What if my Xu family village says no?"

  The two of them were stunned at the same time, fortunately, the village owner had instructed beforehand that Xu Tianfu used to be an official and was said to be a military commander who would not back down from a fight. As long as he was made aware of the benefits and drawbacks, there was no need to fear him not submitting. Those in power are all afraid of death, otherwise, the Song Dynasty would not have become like this.

  "Hmph, Xu Tianfu, our great king respects your former identity and has intentionally left a way out for the Xu family village. If you insist on resisting, then everyone in the Xu family village will have to be buried with you! Don't think that just because you've led troops and fought battles, you can stop my mountain stronghold army. Hmph, when the time comes and we break in, I'm afraid we won't just take this much. You've been an official for so many years, haven't you embezzled a lot of money? Old thing, let me tell you the truth..."

  This guy is still talking nonsense, Xu Wei suddenly raised his weapon and said in a low voice: "Let's get to work." After that, he rushed towards the two of them. Yang Yan was overjoyed and quickly followed up. Ma Tai was still stunned on the spot, but after a moment, he also picked up his axe and went up.

  Just as he was getting into the swing of things, Xu Wei's gloomy face suddenly appeared in front of him, and he subconsciously asked, "What do you want to do?" Another person rushed forward, stretching out his hand to hit him, but unexpectedly Xu Wei was even faster, slapping him on the face with a loud slap! The sound echoed clearly inside and outside the hall! That guy let out a strange cry, and before he could counterattack, a cleaver and an axe were placed on his neck.

  Encountering a drastic change, the people in the hall were stunned like wooden chickens. What kind of situation is this? Patriarch, patriarch, are you still going to manage this troublemaker?! (From now on, two updates per day, brothers, votes, and collections!)