Chapter 4 Shandong

  After some reorganization and arrangement, Jinglin and Lü Qian left the most complete clothing and weapons, as well as the strongest two hundred soldiers for Xi Bin. They took the rest of their troops and bid a tearful farewell to Xi Bin, rushing back to defend Wei's city of Ai.

  Only two hundred soldiers were left to guard, and the burden was much lighter. From now on, Xi Bin didn't have to rush along the way. Xi Bin led these two hundred soldiers, leisurely rushing towards Qufu.

  He knew that the news of his defeat and flight to Lu must now be on its way to Qufu, the capital of Lu. He slowed down his pace, giving the people of Lu ample time to discuss how to treat him. If he had gone earlier, the Lu people would not have made up their minds as to what treatment to accord this fugitive prince from Wu, and would inevitably have had to put him up temporarily while they awaited developments, thus putting him at a disadvantage.

  On the other hand, he also deeply understands that no matter how advanced medical skills are in this era, they have their limitations. The legendary doctor Bian Que could supposedly tell how many more days a person had to live just by looking at them; his exceptional medical skills must be true, but such exaggerated abilities must be the result of being deified over thousands of years. With injuries as severe as his own, if he were to get infected, it would be all over for him.

  Along the way, they passed through mountains and rivers, and fresh herbs were available everywhere. The military doctors treated this kind of gun wound relatively well, and Xi Bin himself also understood some basic first aid knowledge. He had people prepare two sets of bandages, which were boiled in boiling water every time they were changed, dried in the sun, and then reused, so the wound gradually healed without becoming infected.

  Along the way, they could still pick some mountain treasures and catch some wild game to supplement their bodies. Xi Bin, who had a strong physique, recovered quickly. On this day, after passing through the mountains, there were still several days of journey to Qufu. In front was a forest, and the ox cart was slowly moving forward. A scout suddenly ran over from the roadside grass, panting and saying: "Young master, two groups of people are confronting each other in the forest ahead."

  Xue Bin was startled and hastily asked: "How many people?"

  The scout reported: "One group is dressed as traveling scholars, about ten people, with a cow cart and carrying swords. Another group of over thirty people, armed with spears and wooden clubs, appears to be bandits blocking the road."

  Xie Bin listened and found that there were not many people, and they were not rushing towards him, so he waved his hand and said, "Be careful and prepared, let's go and see what's going on."

  Xi Bin's soldiers were well-trained, and as soon as they received the order, they immediately dispersed in a fan shape, protecting the cattle carts in the middle, and quietly advancing forward. In front of them was a forest of elm trees, under which there were tall and short weeds and vines, the trees were sparse, but enough to conceal their tracks.

  The soldiers under Xi Bin's command were worried that someone might be hiding in the woods to harm the young master, so they drew their Wu hooks and cleared a path through the thorns. They advanced in a carpet-like formation. On the narrow path in the middle that could accommodate a cow cart, there were also more than 40 soldiers leading the way, slowly approaching the back slope of the forest.

  Behind the forest was a vast grassy slope, with a cow cart half of its wheels stuck in a pit. Next to it were over ten men dressed as scholars, using the cow cart as cover, wielding sharp swords and short spears as they circled around each other.

  On the other hand, there were more than 30 men wearing colorful clothes, tattered and worn-out coarse linen garments, holding weapons such as a few long spears and heavy wooden clubs. Although their weapons were not sharp, they had an advantage in length and weight, and since the opponents' martial skills were limited, they were suppressed around the ox cart, with little ability to fight back.

  Among the group of warriors, two people stood at the forefront, and their martial arts skills were also the most impressive. One of them was a sword-wielding man who appeared to be in his thirties, with a straight and upright figure, a broad forehead, piercing eyes that seemed to gleam with an inner light, and a cold smile on his face. The lines around his closed lips conveyed an inexplicable sense of pride and arrogance.

  His swordsmanship was extremely sharp, with simple and swift moves, without any fancy or fake moves of later generations. With one hand holding his robe and the other holding a bronze sword, he leaped and bounded like flying, with lightning flashing, several opponents were already injured by his sword.

  Another person was extremely tall and wore a hemp robe, with a wooden hairpin on his hair knot already askew, only hanging loosely in his hair, and a head of long hair half falling down, looking very disheveled. This man's swordsmanship was far inferior to that of the swordsman beside him who was over thirty years old, but he was robust and powerful, and with one swing of his sword, the three robbers wielding spears could not hold him back.

  The three robbers wielding the halberds were not using infantry halberds, but rather long halberds used for chariot warfare. Although the long halberd was not agile, its hooking, chopping and slashing were extremely powerful. One of the robbers swung his halberd wildly, and the tall man was surrounded by two halberd-wielding men, unable to retreat, and could only grit his teeth and swing his sword forward.

  "With a 'ding' sound, the swords clashed, and his long sword was chopped off at the hilt by the bronze spear. A crisp cracking sound split it into two segments. The several scholars beside him were shocked, shouting: "Kong Shi, be careful!""

  Two swordsmen rushed over immediately, and the tall man called Kong Shi, holding a broken sword, retreated two steps, looked around, and saw a small tree not far away. The tree leaves had withered, whether it was due to insect infestation or being gnawed by cattle and sheep, its bark was gone.

  Kong Shi took a step forward with an arrow, his hands exerted force, and with a loud shout, he yelled: "Break!" With a cracking sound, the half-withered small tree was uprooted by him.

  This tree is not yet completely withered, the trunk still has elasticity, and this tree is said to be a small tree, also as thick as an adult's upper arm, was borrowed by him with momentum and pushed down with one push. This divine power startled those thieves, and the thief leader who was observing the enemy array couldn't help but shout loudly.

  Kong Shi grasped the tree trunk with one hand, lifted it up and let out a loud roar as he swept it horizontally. The thieves who had taken advantage of his momentary loss of his bronze sword were immediately swept away. This tree trunk was even more powerful in his hands than the bronze sword just now. Kong Shi's stature was tall and strong, with powerful arms embracing the tree trunk, shouting continuously like thunder. With this clumsy yet effective fighting style, the robbers were momentarily unable to cope with him, truly a case of "those who take the initiative will be victorious".

  Just then, Xi Bin's troops arrived. As soon as these soldiers appeared, the two sides who were entangled in combat were shocked and immediately retreated to gather their men, cautiously staring at them.

  Xí Bīn's soldiers quickly surrounded them, and on this side, four large shields were erected, with more than a dozen archers standing behind the shields, their bows strung, the sharp three-edged arrowheads aimed at them, with spearmen guarding both sides, forming a completely military combat posture.

  Three people stood facing each other, Xi Bin's ox cart creaked and groaned as it arrived, he was lying half-reclined in the broken ox cart, but his majestic demeanor was like that of the Eastern Depot Director from "New Dragon Gate Inn", extremely domineering.

  The ox cart stopped, and Xi Bin looked over with a flash of his eyes. At a glance, he saw that Mr. Kong, who was indeed impossible to ignore. He was a young scholar in a green robe, but his height was at least 1.9 meters tall, extremely majestic and powerful. He held a thick tree trunk in his hand, and his straight eyebrows and upright posture made him look even more impressive than the martial artists.

  Xie Bin couldn't help but secretly cheer when he saw such a tall and powerful man. The Qi Lu area belongs to the Eastern Yi, and the true Central Plains is only a small part of the Yellow River basin. The rest are called Eastern Yi, Western Rong, Southern Man, and Northern Di. People from the Eastern Yi and Northern Di have always been known for their height, but it's rare to see someone as tall as this.

  This sturdy and powerful man had a dark complexion, bright eyes, a prominent forehead, two thick and heavy eyebrows, a square face, high cheekbones, and a slightly curled beard that was also thick and heavy. He held a thick and clumsy tree trunk in his arms, but his movements were light and effortless, and although it was unknown how skilled he was in martial arts, at the very least this display of strength was quite intimidating.

  Xue Bin thought to himself: "Look at his appearance, he can make a good vanguard general. Judging from his attire, he is also an educated man. My side lacks nothing but strategists. If I can recruit this big fellow under my command, it will surely boost our morale."

  He was sizing up these people, and the two gangs were also vigilantly sizing him up. The two gangs exchanged glances with each other, whispered to each other for a moment, and then the leader of the robbers stood out, holding a spear and loudly asking Xibin fearlessly: "What kind of people are you?"

  Ah Q glanced at Xi Bin, and Xi Bin slightly nodded his head. Ah Q then loudly replied: "Wu Guo Gongzi Qing Ji, passing through this place."

  "What's this about?" The two groups of people were shocked, and the leader of the robbers was also extremely surprised. He hesitated for a moment, but his expression calmed down, and he laughed loudly: "So it's actually Wu Guo's brave warrior Qing Ji Gongzi, I've long heard of your great name. We're just passing by to rob, and we don't have anything to do with you, Gongzi. Why are you surrounding us?"

  Xī Bīn had never seen a robber so brazen, and he couldn't help but laugh as he retorted: "Since robbing me has nothing to do with you, why should rescuing this passing traveler have anything to do with you?"

  That man was taken aback, his expression somewhat irritated, and he said loudly: "The heroic spirit of Qingji Gongzi's self-restraint is admired by heroes all over the world. My family leader has always praised Qingji Gongzi, which is why I treated him with courtesy. Don't think that I'm afraid of you. Has Qingji Gongzi ever heard of my family leader Zhan Kui's great name?"

  What's the hurry, Shi Bin didn't even have this person in his mind, he coldly smiled and was about to order his men to take him away when one of his subordinates suddenly rushed to his car and whispered: "Young Master, don't be rash!"

  Xī Bīn slightly tilted his head and asked: "What?"

  "That man said in a low voice: 'Young master, this Zhan Zhen is quite famous in the Qi and Lu regions. Many thieves in various parts of Qi and Lu obey his orders. His accomplices are scattered all over the place, robbing and looting. Once something happens, with one order from Zhan Zhen, they can gather thousands of people and horses, roaming freely in the land of Qi and Lu, coming and going as they please. Kings, princes, and nobles all have headaches because of this. Young master is just passing through Lu, it's really not advisable to make enemies with such a powerful outlaw.'"

  Xī Bīn's eyebrows furrowed, he hadn't expected these few insignificant thieves to have such a deep background. Given his current situation, it was indeed not suitable to provoke strong enemies, but since he had already set up this formation, could he just retreat and give up?

  Xue Bin hesitated for a moment, then smiled and said: "So you're from the Zhang Jue's faction. Since you're one of his people, I suppose I have to give you face. This young master won't be too stubborn, take your people and leave quickly."

  The bandit leader was furious, he didn't expect that after announcing the name of Zhan Yan, Qing Ji would still intervene. At this moment, he was alone and outnumbered, while Qing Ji's two hundred guards were all fierce warriors, how could he fight them? He opened his mouth, let out a cold laugh, and without saying anything, he just bowed with his fist and turned to leave.

  As soon as Qing Ji stood on their side, the scholars all breathed a sigh of relief and put away their swords and weapons. The tall Kong Shi threw away the thick tree trunk in his hand, patted the mud off his hands, shook out his wrinkled robe, tidied up his hair, and hastily walked towards Xi Bin.

  Xī Bīn stood in front with a large shield, and behind the shield stood archers. As soon as Kong Shi took a step forward, several sharp Wu halberds suddenly shot out from behind the shield, blocking his path.

  Xue Bin waved his hand and ordered: "Let him come over!"

  The guards parted to the left and right, clearing a path. Kongzi took large strides to stand before Xiqin's chariot, clasped his hands together in respect, and spoke in a loud, clear voice using the Spring and Autumn period Shandong dialect: "Kong Qiu of Nancheng has seen Duke Qingji, thank you for your kindness in lending a helping hand."

  Xī Bīn was stunned: "Kǒng... Kǒng Qiū! This... this Shandong **, is it really the Great Sage Confucius? My god, is this what Confucius looks like? This physique... truly worthy of being called the Great Saint Confucius..."