Chapter Fourteen: Courage Is Not Just Talk

  Ma Tie was really frightened and pulled him: "Are you crazy? Killing people is against the law!"

  "Damn it! I didn't even take him as a human being! What kind of yamen would send someone to peck at my balls?" Yang Yan was about to make his move, but then he saw Jiu Ge holding a gleaming wooden sword and wearing shiny armor. What style, what majesty? He himself was holding a broken wooden knife - how embarrassing was that? Catching sight of Ma Tai's broad axe, he reached out to snatch it. This time Ma Tai reacted quickly, refusing to let go. How could he let his own weapon become a murder instrument?

  The two men were so anxious that their faces turned red and their ears were burning, but the thief could no longer bear this fear, this torture. He suddenly stood up, let out a loud roar, and said: "I'd rather die!" After speaking, he used his last bit of strength to dash his head against the stone lion in front of the Xu family gate, causing his brains to splatter everywhere, and died with a sad cry. Yang Yan saw this and rushed forward in a rage, kicking him several times and cursing loudly.

  The two thieves who were previously arrogant and domineering both died, and the people of Xu's village with some status looked at each other in dismay. This is the end! If the bandits find out, they will surely take revenge crazily! Old Nine Xu has killed someone! But at this moment, not one of them dared to blame Xu Wei half a sentence, because on the ground there were two living examples, no, dead examples.

  Bao Zheng and Yong Tou stared at Xu Taigong with eager eyes, hoping he would say a few words to put Xu Wei away. But Taigong's gaze was fixed on his son for a long time before he gritted out one word: "Prepare for battle!"

  It was unclear whether Xu Wei's method of boosting morale through murder had taken effect, or if the prestige and virtue of Xu Taigong had inspired the troops, but upon hearing the words "prepare for battle", many people's eyes flashed with excitement as they gripped their weapons tightly.

  The sound of horseshoes grew louder and closer, Xu Wei listened intently and strode towards the direction outside the village. Indeed! Zhang Qing led two young men on horseback, rushing towards them at full speed. Before the horses had even stopped, he leapt off his mount. Xu Jiu grabbed him and looked him up and down: "Nothing's wrong, is it?"

  Zhang Qing clenched his fists and nodded, "Nothing's wrong!" After a pause, he swallowed a mouthful of saliva, "The bandits are approximately three thousand in number, and they're heading straight for Xu Family Village. At their marching speed, they'll arrive within the time it takes to eat one meal!"

  It is said that more than 3,000 bandits will arrive at Xujiayuan in the time it takes to eat a meal. The militiamen who had barely mustered up some courage earlier were mostly silent. One hundred versus three thousand, one versus thirty, there was no chance of winning whatsoever. A few young and inexperienced ones shouted loudly: "Let's fight! In twenty years..." Before they could finish their words, they were slapped on the head by their elders at home and didn't dare say another word.

  Xu Wei really hated this fearful silence, no matter what era it was, the brave would be killed, and the timid would starve to death. At present, at most there were only a few more months, and the Jin army would go south to destroy the Song dynasty. Saving the people from water and fire, and turning back the tide that was about to collapse, that was what national heroes did. I thought it was very simple, today I, Xu Wei, had clothes to wear, food to eat, money to spend, no longer had to live a life of drifting from place to place, with the four seas as my home, and no one would point a gun at my head again. But if the Jurchen people were to attack, everything would be over. Could I just watch this happen without being moved? Grandma!

  How things are done is a matter of ability, whether to do them or not is a matter of attitude! Or I may not be able to stop the Jin cavalry, but even if I die, I'll still bite off a piece of your flesh! I won't let you live in peace!

  The question is, how many pieces of meat can I bite off by myself? So, there must be a group of people, a crowd of people, a large crowd of people, following me to take a bite! Is this group of people the local farmers who are lowering their heads, looking terrified, and secretly thinking about how to escape with their wives and children without resisting? The answer is obviously no.

  When everyone else was at a loss, Xu Wei's heart was also uncertain. After all, taking more than 100 people to fight against more than 3,000 people was no different from hitting a stone with an egg. This time, no matter how you looked at it, Xujiacun had no chance of winning. But looking at the dull eyes around him, Xu Wei knew that he couldn't let fear defeat these people.

  "Are you seeing things wrong? Are there really three thousand people?" Xu Wei's question attracted everyone's attention. Everyone was waiting for an answer, and with Zhang Qing's intelligence, he should know how to respond.

  He glanced at Xu Wei, and Zhang Qing let out a sigh, his expression somewhat helpless as he replied: "At least three thousand men, fully equipped with long spears and large swords, and even... nearly a hundred cavalrymen." The consequences of these words were undoubtedly devastating. At least three thousand men? Fully equipped? And nearly a hundred cavalrymen?!

  The crowd was in an uproar! Countless voices shouted "Run for your life!" "You can't win!" "Xu Jiu shouldn't have killed him!" "He's caused a lot of harm!" The shouting grew more intense, and almost everyone forgot that when Xu Wei beheaded the bandit, they had all cheered from the bottom of their hearts.

  Zhang Qing saw Xu Wei silent, unbearable in his heart, stepped forward and comforted: "Brother, sometimes escaping is not..."

  "Run? Where can you run to? Today, three thousand bandits came, and if you run away, after the bandits leave, you can still come back, even though your home has been looted and burned. Xu Wei's voice grew louder, "But one day, tens of millions of bandits will attack, and forever occupy your home, where can you escape to then?"

  His loud cry drowned out all other sounds and the noisy crowd fell silent.

  "Hmph, several hundred thousand? Are there even several hundred thousand bandits in this world? Don't think..." A discordant voice came from the crowd. Before Xu Wei could speak, Yang Yan had already lost his patience and suddenly rushed into the crowd, grabbing someone's hair and punching him in the face. He beat him until his mouth and nose were bleeding, and when he reached out to touch him, he actually pulled out two teeth.

  "Damn it!" He spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, his eyes turned red, and he raised the long knife in his hand to fight to the death. Suddenly, he caught sight of Xu Wei walking towards him with a stern face, so he had no choice but to put down the knife.

  Yang Yan's pale face turned bright red with anger, even becoming somewhat distorted. Seeing Xu Wei arrive by his side, he took a deep breath and gritted his teeth: "Ninth brother! I'll follow you to the death! Even if it kills me, I'll take your place first! My surname is Yang, and today I'll use this old broken knife that my parents used to chop firewood to ensure their safety!" This young man was usually as reckless as Xu Wei, but at this moment, his words were like a thunderclap, heroic and awe-inspiring!

  Ma Tie, being timid by nature, was also provoked by Xu Wei and Yang Yan to the point of being like a ball of fire burning in his heart and lungs. He stomped his feet anxiously and shouted loudly: "I'll do it! I'll do it...!" After struggling for half a day, he couldn't come up with anything, and seeing many people staring at him, which made him even more anxious, he finally had no choice but to slam the board axe onto the bluestone road with all his might. The thick stone slab, over half an inch thick, was actually shattered into pieces by this forceful strike! This guy has incredible strength!

  "Brother Jiu, take us with you!" The two young men who had gone to the river to gather information with Zhang Qing shouted in unison. These few took the lead, and the young and vigorous youths in the village could no longer hold back, all expressing their willingness to fight to the death to defend their homes. Roughly counting, there were more than thirty people. Xu Wei loudly praised them, but he knew that relying on these few dozen young men alone would not be enough to stop the brutal bandits.

  Just as he was about to mobilize others, the village head and several men supported Xu Taigong in rushing out. Seeing two dead bodies on the ground, they looked at each other without a word. Xu Wei thought that since Old Master Xu was highly respected in Xujiacun, he had to invite him to take charge of this matter to boost morale.

  The scene was silent, with everyone in their hearts calculating. Things had reached this point, and except for fighting, there was only escape. Fighting would certainly end in defeat, while escaping might still leave a thread of hope. Xu He, the local headman, was just because his family had some land and he listened to and obeyed those above him, bowing his head and scraping with his ears. At this critical moment, he knew that Xu's village would definitely be in trouble, and waiting one more moment would add another share of danger, so it was better to hurry up and escape. But if they brought all the old and young people of the whole village to escape, what if they really encountered bandits on the way? Their lives wouldn't be guaranteed...

  At this thought, he suddenly shouted loudly: "Things have come to this, everyone hurry up and escape for your lives!"

  This shout was like a huge stone, heavily smashing on everyone's heart! Xu Wei and Xu Taigong both changed their faces, just about to scold him, but the head of the village militia quickly grabbed him and hastily said: "Xu Baozheng, how can you say go and leave? You arrange..." Before he finished speaking, Baozheng pushed him away with all his might and ran away in a flash.

  He left, and many of the local militiamen also began to discuss it among themselves.

  "There's no way out, let's escape."

  "Yes, with just over a hundred of us, we can't hold out no matter what."

  "Then go home and arrange, leave."

  At that moment, more than a dozen people left the team and walked towards their homes. The remaining people saw this and wanted to follow suit, causing the military morale to waver and everyone to be in danger. Fear is contagious, if things are allowed to develop, the consequences will be that the soldiers of Xujiacun will scatter like birds and beasts, and the entire village will be destroyed by the enemy. What's more serious is that these farmers, what they can't bear to part with most is their family's pots and pans, jars and jugs, they will definitely take away everything they can carry, dragging pigs and cows, carrying grain and wrapping clothes. In this way, when the enemy rushes into the village, Xujiacun may not have a few households left to evacuate. Xu Wei saw that the situation was urgent and did not dare to delay, he quickly stepped up to the platform and whispered to Xu Taigong in front of everyone. Everyone looked at the two father and son, only to see Xu Taigong's face reveal surprise after listening, just as he was about to speak, Xu Wei had already walked towards the direction of the wheat field with his knife, without saying a word.

  Yang Yan didn't hesitate at all, carrying a hatchet tightly behind Xu Jiu's back. Ma Tai gritted his teeth and shouldered an axe, also chasing after them in big strides.

  What are they doing? Why don't they escape for their lives? They're heading towards the village, do they think a few kids can resist thousands of bandits? It has to be said that Xu Jia's ninth son is usually up to no good, but this time he's a real man! Someone else looked at Zhang Qing who was standing still on the spot and knew he was always quick-witted, so they went forward to ask him. But Zhang Qing didn't say a word, after a while, he also walked towards the direction of the wheat field.

  "My goodness! I don't believe it, I'm not even as good as that little fatty Ma Er! It's really a case of the king being raised in a jar, getting more and more muddle-headed with age!" A middle-aged man holding a steel fork cursed loudly.

  Just after that, another bare-chested, muscular man with a iron hammer in his hand kicked him in the butt: "Get out of my sight! What's wrong with my son? He's got more guts than you!" Then these two men also walked towards the village exit.

  The remaining people were at a loss, if they escaped with their lives, perhaps there would be a glimmer of hope, but the ancestral home where generations had lived would have to be destroyed by the bandits. They thought that when they returned one day, all that would be left would be a pile of rubble and broken walls. At this time, they once again habitually looked to Xu Taigong for guidance.

  But then he saw Xu Taigong staring in the direction where Xu Jiu had gone for a long time, and suddenly tears were streaming down his face! What's wrong with the old man?

  One of them stepped forward and asked: "Taigong, what shall we do?"

  "What's going on?" Xu Tai Gong glared at him and said sternly, "I believe in my son!" (First update, please vote and collect!)

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