Chapter Seven: Pointing

  "Haha, I said so, however... this old man's eldest grandson is quite something, in this era, to have gone abroad at his own expense, no matter what he learned overseas, just having spent seven years in Germany is a huge asset, compared to China during this era..."

  Listening to Shi Tou's introduction, Li Han became somewhat interested in Fang Lao's grandson whom he had never met before!

  At this time, a group of people came from afar, with a thin middle-aged man being supported by his mother and daughter at the front. As he walked over with the stone, they immediately knew his identity and nodded to the mother and daughter supporting him on the side. Several people quickened their pace and walked towards him, "You must be Li Zhuangshi, thank you...thank you, Li Zhuangshi...if it weren't for you, our family's daughter would have been insulted by that beast Kuisheng... Fourth Daughter, Third Daughter, don't you quickly support me to kneel down to the benefactor..."

  The middle-aged man's speech was trembling, and Li Han saw that he still had a bandage wrapped around his head, with bloodstains on the bandage. He also saw that his eyes were somewhat dazed and confused, and even walking made him stumble. He knew that he must have been heavily hit on the head before, so how could he let him kneel down to himself? He quickly stepped forward, supported the middle-aged man, and said: "Brother, encountering such a rascal in a small town, any hot-blooded man would be unable to bear it. Don't mention anything about gratitude anymore. It's you, brother, who must have been injured while fighting with that bandit before. Hurry up...you guys quickly help him back to rest..."

  "Thanks..."

  "Thank you..."

  The two women also knew the importance of this moment, and previously did not allow him to get out of bed. As a result, the middle-aged man turned out to be a grateful person, although he was dizzy and uncomfortable, but still insisted on coming out to greet him with a bow, only then agreeing to let the two men escort him back to his room. However, before leaving, she also had her little daughter kowtow to him several times, only then did she stop!

  "Alas... people of this generation are indeed ungrateful..." He shook his head, and after a moment's thought about the future, Li Han let out a deep sigh. From his pocket, he pulled out a pack of cigarettes, lit one for himself, and saw that Shi Tou had already gathered a group of young villagers beside him. Only then did he take a fierce drag, inhaling the entire cigarette in one go, exhaling a massive ring of smoke, and stubbing out the butt before speaking to the crowd: "Today's events have already transpired; the people from Yi Zhuang Kui Jia won't be able to see their dispatched men return, and after a while, they'll definitely send someone to look for them. When that time comes, revenge is inevitable. If you all don't want to die, don't want your villagers and loved ones to suffer the same treatment as before, there's only one way... which is - resistance!"

  The scene fell silent for a moment, after all, he was telling the truth. However, soon the crowd began to buzz with discussion. As young people, they were naturally impulsive and hot-headed. Some suggested ambushing the bandits in a forest that was a must-pass location between Yizhuang and Lou Village, ten miles away. Most of them would use shotguns to hunt birds, but it didn't occur to them that their shotguns were outdated Qing dynasty equipment, far inferior to the Mauser rifle system in terms of range and accuracy. It was also unknown how many of these young villagers had marksmanship skills comparable to those of the bandits. Therefore, the suggestion to ambush made sense! However, considering that there was more than one way into the village, if the bandits took a detour, it would undoubtedly be a disaster. So, this idea was quickly overturned.

  There were also suggestions to go to Lujiazhuang and ask Mr. Lu to send his servants to help, Li Han knew that the landlords of this era were not as good as they were later publicized, almost every one of them became a symbol of stinginess and toxicity like "Huang Shiren". On the contrary, in this era, landlords had the responsibility of protecting their territory. The farmers who rented his land and paid taxes to him also had the responsibility of protection. Usually, it was to deal with some hooligans, bandits, and robbers. Of course, there were also harms that could not be avoided. However, after Lu Dabao lost his new army commander's badge, coupled with Mr. Lu's current age, now if he were to compare with the vigorous Quan, it would already be a serious case of being unable to keep up!

  Fang Lao had already sent someone to Lu's village to report the news, but as for how many people would come to help, that was a difficult question!

  "Alright, alright, don't think too much about it... I'll take care of the matter with Kui Sheng and Yi Zhuang. But for now, let's teach you how to properly hold a gun, aim, and fire. The correct shooting posture not only improves your accuracy but also reduces the recoil on your arms and shoulders. Everyone watch closely..."

  Li Han shook his head and didn't take the shotgun handed over by Shi Tou, the history of that bird was really too long ago. He had little experience with that flintlock gun using black powder. Under the envious eyes of the crowd, Li Han chose one of the best-preserved old rifles from the dozen or so captured ones, and seriously recalled the information about it in his mind.

  Type 88 rifle, also known as the Hanyang Type 88 rifle, is a Chinese-made bolt-action rifle based on the German Gewehr 88.

  "Ah!"

  His hands, still quite skilled, disassembled the old revolver into several components. Li Han furrowed his brow slightly; what he held was not a post-1910 improved version but a 1894 model, which differed from the one his grandfather had collected in some ways. That's why he repeatedly disassembled and reassembled it several times to deepen his familiarity with the weapon in his hand.

  "When shooting, try to keep your legs shoulder-width apart, pay attention to your body slightly leaning forward, the amplitude should not be too large, and the left arm should be strong, especially the left arm, must ensure stability when holding the gun... then, reload... standard sight... fire!"

  "Hmm~~"

  About 5.60 meters away, a deep hole suddenly appeared on the trunk of a big tree as thick as an arm, almost piercing through it.

  "Not bad!"

  Li Han nodded slightly, shifting about 3-5 degrees to the side, and moved up and down by about three or four centimeters, fortunately without deviating from the big tree.

  It's not his fault, although he had received professional sniper training for a period of time, but that was using the latest standard sniper rifles. If it weren't for his late grandfather giving him his treasured 1912-made old rifle before he passed away, and he often took it out to play with, who knows where the first shot would have gone?

  "I'm terribly sorry, I neglected to mention that none of you have ever used the old-fashioned muzzle-loading firearms in your hands, let alone bird guns. It's possible that using them might not be as effective as what each of you are capable of... Later on, I will select around ten or so people with the most accurate marksmanship from among all of you, and they will use the rifles I captured to fight..."

  "Long live..."

  "Really...it's too good..."

  When Li Han agreed to give away the old rifles he had captured as rewards for the best shooters, dozens of people present cheered, no reason, no explanation.

  The crowd was in an uproar, and Li Han let them have their fun for a while. About half a minute later, he clapped his hands and continued, "Alright, young men, now who among you thinks your marksmanship is divine, please step forward!"

  The crowd quieted down for a few seconds, and after the young villager named Shi Tou was the first to stand up, five or six villagers who had been silent for a while also stood up.

  "Alright, guys, has anyone used this gun before?"

  A brief silence fell over the crowd. "No, Brother Li. In our village, we use flintlocks with black powder and iron sand..."

  He gazed enviously at the old-fashioned revolver in his hand, indeed, in this era, such an old-fashioned revolver was a luxury that only new armies or court troops from various regions could afford, occasionally some flowed out, but it wasn't that they fell into the hands of the village brave militia, but were bought by horse thieves and mountain bandits, how could ordinary civilians possibly see one?!

  "Next!"

  He nodded, and Li Han threw the old rifle to Shi Tou, then handed out six more to the remaining six people. "88-style rifle, manufactured by Hanyang Arsenal, it's a gun with relatively strong recoil, be careful. The bullets are on the ground, take them yourself, one at a time later. The target is that fist-sized book 60 steps away, on the tree trunk less than two meters high, shoot a hole in it! Remember the key points of shooting I mentioned earlier..."

  Li Han gestured for the people behind him to move closer, then picked up a rifle from the ground and inspected it briefly. He pulled out the magazine, took out a clip, inserted it into the magazine, and pulled back the bolt. He signaled for everyone to take a good look, demonstrating how to load the gun. Next, he placed the butt of the rifle firmly on his right shoulder and instructed the others to do the same with their guns. The Mauser rifles had considerable recoil, and although the Hanyang Arsenal had modified them to reduce this issue when they were introduced, there was still significant kickback. If the rifle wasn't held firmly against the shoulder, the massive recoil would cause the muzzle to jump upwards when fired, making it impossible to hit the target. Furthermore, the powerful recoil could also lead to injury, such as strained arm muscles or even broken bones for thinner individuals.

  After finishing all this, Li Han hinted to the crowd to take a closer look, and once again raised the old rifle, his left hand constantly adjusting the shooting position, his eyes slightly closed, targeting the bullet hole he had hit before, and suddenly pressed the trigger!

  "Bang!" A gunshot sounded, and as expected, the bullet shot into the hole!

  Seeing some villagers around him wanting to check the bullet holes, Li Han nodded and said, "If you want to take a look, go ahead..."

  Many people suddenly became interested, and the crowd rushed to the front of the tree, "Come and see, Li Zhuang's two shots hit the same spot..."

  The crowd was in an uproar, fortunately, he had previously fired several shots that many villagers had witnessed, and now they saw such accurate marksmanship again. Although they felt a bit frightened, they were also impressed. At this time, many people discovered that his two bullets had hit the same spot, and because the tree was not large, the bullets had penetrated the trunk, both of them entering the wall of an abandoned grass hut not far away. Many villagers who saw the smokeless rifle for the first time were shocked, muttering to themselves, thinking that this soldier's skills were really formidable! If he hit a person, it would definitely be a hole!

  "Alright, you come one by one, each person is limited to three shots... our bullets are limited..."

  After the person who looked good retreated, he pointed to the stone with his hand, indicating that he was the first. Then, he saw him excitedly pick up three bullets from the bandit's coat wrapped around the ground, imitating Li Han's previous move, adding ammunition first, then taking a deep breath, standing in front of Li Han's position with a slightly trembling hand, stabilizing his hand for half a day, and firing a shot, which rubbed against the bark of that tree and entered the earth wall behind.

  "Bang bang bang~~~"

  Li Han smiled and led the applause, "Not bad, hands a little higher, steady, don't rush, next shot will definitely hit!"

  Upon hearing his encouragement, Shi's face was no longer as tense as before. He nodded, exited the shell, reloaded a bullet, raised his gun and squinted at the target for a while. This time it took him slightly less than before, then "Boom!" - another hit on the tree trunk! Another shot, still hitting the tree trunk. Li Han nodded in approval, "He's got potential!"

  Then, the scene was filled with the sound of gunfire, and for a moment, almost all other sounds in the village were drowned out, until...