Chapter 4: Eliminating Bandits

  A hundred sturdy soldiers, neither too many nor too few, it all depends on how they are used.

  If the equipment is excellent and the training is thorough, using it to eliminate hundreds of pirates will naturally be no problem.

  Even if there were ten times as many, without even a decent weapon, let alone Chen Dian and his ilk leading the charge, they would only end up being led by the nose by the pirates, not to mention suffering heavy casualties, and might even be captured alive.

  Zhou Jian divided one hundred people into twenty attendants, each leading five men.

  The required weapons and equipment are not many, some of which are in the warehouse, and the rest are newly purchased.

  Chen Dian, although embezzling most of the military expenses, still managed to procure some military equipment for show in the warehouse. The remaining several dozen sets were bought back with money, and soon a hundred robust soldiers were armed.

  Although the armor is just skin-deep, it's still better than nothing.

  Outside Anhui County Town

  Zhou Jian rode a tall horse, while his twenty attendants and one hundred soldiers had no horses to ride.

  The Central Plains lacked horses, and in the Jiangyang area, warhorses were even more scarce, with only a tiny minority of people having horses to ride.

  Twenty attendants each led five men, forming a neat square formation, and there was also a bit of style.

  Zhou Wu and others received hellish training, their spirit was naturally unyielding, each one's waist was straight as a pen, standing posture standard, without orders, they didn't even blink an eye, like a wooden stake.

  In contrast, a hundred robust men, lax in training, although equipped with leather armor and sharp weapons, were quite dispirited.

  There were a few very lazy ones, who kept twisting their shoulders and turning their necks, as if they were uncomfortable all over.

  Such a team, on the battlefield, will only drag others down.

  Even if a sheep puts on a tiger's skin, it is still a sheep and cannot become a tiger.

  Zhou Jian's mouth corners quietly curled up with a sly smile, and he shouted loudly: "Depart."

  Twenty attendants didn't say a word and immediately took off in a sprint, quickly leaving the hundred soldiers far behind.

  "Bang!"

  The last soldier who fell behind was immediately lashed with a whip on his back as soon as he slowed down.

  Although there is armor protection, the places where the armor cannot be blocked are scorched and painful, almost reaching the bone marrow.

  "Run quickly."

  Zhuang Han let out a sudden hiss of cold air, and the thunderous roar exploded right next to his ear, causing him to shiver involuntarily. He quickly spread his legs apart and used all his might to chase after the person in front of him at incredible speed.

  Zhou Jian followed closely behind, his face stern and his eyes gleaming with a fierce light.

  Seeing a lagging soldier, he spurred his horse forward, whipping him with a loud 'crack', showing no mercy.

  These men are all lazy and used to being idle, they don't have the slightest awareness of going to the battlefield to fight, they're simply a mob.

  Even if there were five times as many of these motley troops, twenty attendants would be enough to kill them all without leaving a single piece of armor intact.

  If we don't seize the time to train hard, I'm afraid that once we go into battle, there will be a possibility of collapse.

  Twenty miles away, but it will arrive in less than half a time.

  Zhou Wu and others ran 200 miles in one night, which was normal for them. They had only warmed up after running 20 miles, so it was nothing to talk about.

  One hundred soldiers ran away one by one, panting like oxen, collapsed on the ground like rotten mud, and couldn't get up for half a day.

  Zhou Jian swept his eyes and said coldly: "Form ranks."

  "Get up, don't pretend to be dead."

  "Hurry up and fall in line."

  "A group of girls, this won't do."

  Zhou Wu and others immediately shouted loudly, looking down on these long-untrained soldiers with contempt.

  Twenty attendants, each wearing dozens of kilograms of iron armor, without a hint of redness or shortness of breath.

  These soldiers were just lightly armored with leather armor and after running twenty miles they all collapsed.

  "Get up."

  Zhou Wu stood in front of a soldier who was rolling his eyes and refused to get up, shouting loudly, "If you don't want to be a soldier, I'll ask the young master to remove your military status immediately, and you can go back to do whatever you want."

  The soldier was startled and quickly turned over and stood up.

  Just kidding, don't let him join the army, how will he support his family afterwards?

  These sturdy men, coming to be soldiers is just for the rich pay, otherwise who would come to be a soldier with nothing better to do.

  Discharge from military service is more effective than any threat.

  Soon, a hundred soldiers were reorganized under the command of Zhou Wu and others, and their formation was rearranged.

  Not far away, Ting Chang had already led several Han men to rush forward quickly.

  "I have seen the young master."

  The pavilion master recognized Zhou Jian and hastily paid his respects.

  Zhou Jian nodded slightly on horseback and asked, "Is there any news about the water bandits?"

  The head of the pavilion hurriedly said: "Yesterday afternoon, the water bandits robbed Zhao's house in Hetan Town three miles west, and this morning they went to a nearby small village called Wangzhuang. Just received the news, the water bandits have not left yet."

  "Where is the pirate's ship?"

  Zhou Jian asked.

  "The Temple Master said: 'Just at Jinniu Ferry, there are about three large ships and more than fifty small boats.'"

  Zhou Jian nodded and suddenly shouted: "Zhou Wu."

  Zhou Wu hastily stepped forward and said, "Present."

  Zhou Jian shouted loudly: "Immediately rush to Jinniu Ferry and seize the pirate ships."

  "Yes."

  Zhou Wu loudly acknowledged the order and immediately gave a command, whereupon 120 men rushed towards the Jin Niu Du ferry.

  "This..."

  The pavilion master was taken aback for a moment, and then said: "Isn't the young master going to pursue and wipe out the water bandits?"

  Zhou Jian explained, "Pursuing and eliminating the water bandits also requires strategy. We can't just follow behind them and chase after them recklessly. That would only allow the water bandits to lead us by the nose, exhausting us in the process. The water bandits' reliance is that once things don't go their way, they'll retreat into the river and escape on their boats. If I launch a surprise attack on Jin Niu Du, cutting off their rear route, the water bandits will surely panic. There's no need for me to chase after them; they'll come running on their own."

  The pavilion is long and leisurely, and I admire it in my heart, this is really a gain in knowledge.

  County Magistrate Chen had also pursued and suppressed the water bandits several times before, but he never thought of this method, and was always led by the nose by the water bandits.

  Not only did they fail to eliminate the water bandits, but on one occasion they were even ambushed by them, losing hundreds of soldiers and almost being captured alive.

  However, County Master's young master is said to be exceptionally brave and martial, but this time he came to hunt down the water bandits with too few men.

  The temple master hesitated and said: "Young Master only brought a hundred soldiers, while the water bandits have at least five hundred men. I'm afraid it's..."

  "Don't worry, I have a plan."

  Having said that, he urged his war horse and galloped away quickly.

  Jīn Niú Dù is twenty li away from the pavilion, and it's less than two li of road. It takes no more than the time to burn an incense stick to get there.

  Along the simple dock, 50 or 60 large and small boats were moored.

  On the vast beach, more than a hundred robust water bandits set up a bonfire and were roasting a stolen fat sheep. Next to them were several large wine jars, each one drinking with red faces and thick necks.

  The pirates aren't stupid either, they've obviously left enough men to guard the dock.

  However, it was clear that the pirates who stayed behind had not expected the government troops to directly kill their way onto the dock.

  So when they received the news that the government troops were rushing here, one by one they stared with wide eyes in shock, and eyeballs rolled around wildly.

  "Brothers, draw your swords and cut people down."

  Soon, a sturdy water thief was the first to react, shouting loudly and quickly picking up his steel knife.

  Over a hundred water bandits immediately dropped their wine and meat, rose up in unison, holding steel knives in formation, awaiting the enemy. They showed no attachment or reluctance to part with the wine and meat in their hands, but rather displayed a sense of decorum, clearly having experienced such scenes many times before.

  Soon, amidst the chaotic footsteps, more than 100 officers and soldiers rushed over and stopped in formation at a distance of two arrows.

  "Is this all the people who came?"

  The leader of the group, a sturdy and robust man, let out a sneer, his eyes filled with intense disdain.

  They were pursued and suppressed by the government troops countless times, but these fierce water bandits really didn't put a few hundred government troops in their eyes. Every time they either exhausted the government troops or killed them until they fled in disarray. As for the mere 100-odd government troops, it was even less of an issue.

  "Haha!"

  "These trash, when did they become so bold."

  "It's not possible, with just over a hundred men, they dare to rush to Jinniu Du."

  Over a hundred fierce pirates also burst out laughing loudly, and their vigilance relaxed a lot.

  After all, there were only over a hundred government soldiers, and in a situation where the number of people was similar, the water bandits who had become accustomed to adding blood to their knives and struggling on the edge of death for many years really didn't put the incompetent government soldiers in their eyes.

  "Form up."

  Zhou Wu raised his horse knife and let out a loud shout.

  Twenty attendants controlled one hundred people, each only needing to bring five soldiers under their command, it was really easy.

  Soon, 120 people were lined up in formation.

  Zhou Jian led his horse to stand in front of the formation, his iron spear pointing forward, twenty attendants firmly controlling the team's shape, and immediately rushed over.

  "Something's off!"

  The first sharp-eyed otter soon discovered something out of the ordinary.

  Although there were few soldiers, the formation was very strict and there was no chaos. Moreover, all of them wore leather armor, and even twenty soldiers wore iron armor, which was completely different from those undisciplined and combat-ineffective soldiers encountered before.

  "Kill!"

  The leader of the pirates let out a loud whoop and more than 100 pirates immediately charged forward.

  Although they found these officers and soldiers different from those they had met before, they only paid a little more attention to them and didn't take it to heart.

  Zhou Jian rode forward on his horse, charging swiftly and sweeping his iron spear horizontally, sending three water bandits flying.

  The pirates and government troops clashed fiercely.

  Blood flowers burst forth, severed limbs fly wildly, and mournful wails rise and fall in a dismal cadence.

  These water bandits are all bloodthirsty and ruthless, extremely cruel, and completely disregard casualties.

  It turned out that the hundred or so officers and soldiers were really unable to hold their ground, having been intimidated by the ruthless pirates. If it weren't for Zhou Wu and his twenty followers, who fought one against many and held their formation tightly, they would have collapsed at a single touch.

  In the midst of the ear-piercing sound of clashing steel.

  Zhou Wu and Jing Zhuang fiercely collided with each other, both of their spirits were shocked, and they retreated separately.

  "This guy is really strong."

  Zhou Wu was secretly shocked, never expecting such a person to be among the water thieves.

  "Corrupt official, you will die."

  The robust and powerful bandit, although he had already sensed that the imperial soldiers in front of him were not weaker than himself with just one blow, was still fearless, let out a loud shout, and once again swung his sword to charge forward.

  The two men clashed swords, exchanging blows in a flurry of steel and sparks, but after more than ten rounds, neither had gained the upper hand.

  "Let me through, I'll handle it."

  Zhou Jian rode up on horseback and with a swing of his iron spear, fiercely swept towards the robust water bandits.

  Zhou Wu hastily slashed with his sword and quickly retreated while fighting, gathering his troops at the same time.

  Period.

  "Bang!"

  The robust water thief only felt a wild and violent force surging back, as if he had been hit head-on by a galloping horse at high speed. In the midst of the ear-piercing sound of clashing steel, his chest felt like it had been struck by lightning, his mind was in a state of utter chaos, and the large knife in his hand almost flew out of his grasp.

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