Chapter 29: Street Brawl

  "Hmm"

  The long spear pierced into Zhao Dongjia's back, and his body shape suddenly became twisted. The Japanese warrior in front of him took advantage of the situation and stabbed a knife into his abdomen. Blood gushed out from the wound, and Zhao Dongjia let out a loud cry of pain. Several voices shouted out at the same time: "Big brother!" "Master!", everyone's attention was focused on Zhao Dongjia, no one noticed Chen Xin behind the shield.

  The "Boom" of the blunderbuss finally sounded, and a lead bullet weighing one or two liang and five qian effortlessly tore open the Korean's body, blasting a shocking blood hole in his lower abdomen. The Korean was hit and fell to the side, colliding with the ship's hull before bouncing back onto the deck, with fresh blood gushing out of the blood hole, mixed with some fragments of internal organs.

  The Japanese samurai thrust the Japanese sword into Zhao's abdomen, made a strong stir, and then pulled it out violently. Zhao vomited blood and fell to the ground. Old Wang and others arrived just in time to see this, their eyes wide with anger. The Japanese samurai was already exhausted, panting and not daring to stay. The other Japanese sailors were at a disadvantage, surrounded by the sailors on the Fuku ship. The outcome was already decided. This samurai had just killed the opponent's leader, knowing that he had no way out, but only wanted to take down a few more people with him. Taking advantage of Old Wang and others not arriving yet, he turned over and jumped over the ship's bulwark, landing on the deck of the Fuku ship. As he landed, he stumbled and almost fell.

  Just as he saw the situation on the deck, a black long object flew in front of him. The samurai hurriedly swung his sword to block it, but that thing was actually a large fire lance, very heavy. After a fierce battle, the samurai couldn't hold on, and his Japanese sword flew out of his hand. Immediately, another Japanese sword swept over, and the Japanese samurai's physical strength was exhausted, unable to retreat in time, being cut under the ribs, but not deep into the flesh. The person opposite him followed up with a fierce kick, kicking his lower abdomen, the force was average, but this samurai couldn't hold on anymore, kicked back several steps, and fell to the deck. With this delay, Black Cannon Old Wang and others had already arrived, surrounding the unarmed samurai, swinging their swords wildly.

  Chen Xin kicked the man down, but didn't press him. Just now when he was chopping and killing with his knife, his heart was actually also trembling, his hand was soft and couldn't exert any strength. Looking at Old Wang and others' knives continuously waving, the blood beads splashing everywhere, that warrior let out a miserable cry for a while before slowly losing his voice. Those few people still didn't show any mercy, until that warrior was chopped into a bloody pulp, his limbs broken, his internal organs and intestines flowing everywhere.

  At this time, the outcome of the battle on Zhu's ship had already been decided. The Japanese sailors were left with less than ten men, almost all of whom were injured and kneeling on the ground in surrender. The others had become corpses on the deck. Chen Xin saw Lu Zizi's figure among the standing crowd. His naked body was also covered in bloodstains, but judging from his movements, he should not have been seriously injured. Chen Xin finally put down his worries and felt fortunate to be on the stronger side, having safely survived his first battle.

  "Brother Chen, let's go take a look at Zhao Dazhang together."

  Chen Xin turned his head to look, and Song Wenxian had already arrived behind him at some point. Chen Xin looked at him suspiciously with two eyes, wondering if he had arrived on the deck earlier and saw what happened just now? But Song Wenxian's expression was as usual, and Chen Xin didn't dare ask him, so he nodded hastily and jumped over the ship's side to pick up Song Wenxian.

  The deck was filled with blood and water, and Chen Xin grabbed a rope to support Song Wenxian as he made his way to Zhao Dongjia's side. Pockmark was holding him in his arms, pressing a garment tightly against Zhao Dongjia's abdomen, which had already turned red from the blood. Blood was flowing out from between his fingers, and Zhao Dongjia's face was pale with a lifeless gaze. Song Wenxian grasped his hand, his voice trembling with tears: "Big boss, this is...this is..."

  Lao Wang, Hei Pao Han Bin and others also returned to this side, looking at his wound, already without any signs of life. They all knelt down on the ground crying. Chen Xin's eyes turned red, tears almost flowing out. Song Wen Xian wiped his eyes, choking with sobs: "Don't worry, Big Master, we won. The two who injured you just now were both killed by Chen Account House. You just focus on recovering from your injuries, don't think too much."

  Zhao Dongjia listened and his eyes regained some spirit. He looked at Chen Xin, his lips moved twice, but he didn't say anything.

  Chen Xinpeng immediately knelt beside Zhao Dong's body, tears streaming down his face, and stuttered: "I was late, and the young master was injured... Please punish me, sir."

  Lao Wang and Hei Pao also cried out: "Please, Master, punish us."

  Zhao Dangjia gently shook his head, his eyes softer than usual. Song Wenxian still held his hand and said, "Master, please rest assured and recover from your injuries. As for the matters on the ship, please arrange for someone to take temporary care of them."

  Zhao's lips moved slightly, his voice very low. Second Master Han Bin was just about to lean in when Song Wenxian stretched his head to Zhao's mouth and pressed his ear against it, blocking the view of others. After a while, he raised his head and said: "I understand."

  。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。

  Tianjin City, in a courtyard on Erdao Street, Dai Zhenggang was telling Liu Min the news he had heard.

  "A few days ago, a grain-transporting sea ship returned and it was said that the Tartars failed to take Ningyuan and turned back to attack Jinzhou instead. Brother Chen's words were indeed accurate, it seems that Jian Nu can only retreat on his own this time."

  Liu Min felt relieved, and Dai Zhenggang, who was on the road, had also heard about the Tartar invasion and was worried about his brothers. He rushed back to Tianjin and found out that Chen Xin and Lu Lüzhi had set sail. When they talked about the battle outside the pass during their leisure time, Liu Min told Dai Zhenggang what Chen Xin had originally said. Chen Xin already knew the outcome, and now it was naturally confirmed. However, Dai Zhenggang's admiration for Chen Xin increased again.

  Wang Dai Xi and three followers were tidying up two counters, they asked Zhou Lai Fu to make a few dresses, which were hung on clothes racks, and a human-shaped wooden model was placed in the corner of the door. This was made by Chen Xin according to later styles, considering some superstitions of this era, it couldn't be made headless or footless. The carpenter took a long time to make it, costing more than budgeted, because of the constant war, pearls were not available, and silver money was tight for the time being.

  Since the war began, Tianjin was once in a state of panic, and the market was depressed. However, after twenty days passed without seeing any enemy invasion, everyone's emotions gradually calmed down, and market activities also recovered. Liu Minyou decided that it was time to open his clothing store now, so that everyone would have something to do.

  These days, Dài Zhènggāng was also in charge of training a few followers with tasks, and he showed great interest in these formations. Especially when he heard that it was Chen Xīndìng's rules, he executed them flawlessly. Even Liu Mínyǒu, who had the eyesight of a military blind man, saw that Hǎigōuzǐ and others had a kind of military demeanor, walking, sitting, and standing as if they were all molded from the same template. Along with this, Dài Zhènggāng's temperament also changed somewhat; now when he sat at the stone table, he would place his hands flat on his knees.

  "On the second brother's behalf, I plan to open the clothing store tomorrow. Apart from the store itself, I've had some flyers printed at the bookshop and intend to have them spread around by saleswomen in the inner quarters. Does the second brother know these saleswomen?"

  Dai Zhenggang shook his head: "Liu Dage, you asked the right person, I really have never been in contact with a midwife, in rural areas there are only stable women, and goods are all carried by porters, let alone Tianjin."

  Liu Min thought about it and felt that this generation was just a foreigner, similar to himself, where could he find any matchmaker? He estimated in his heart that Zhou Laifu and Jiang Wang should know, and he could go find them tonight. Besides, Chen Xin had also mentioned the marketing of brothels, but Liu Min had never been to such a place before, so he didn't know where to start, nor did he think of finding someone to do business with brothels.

  At this time, a commotion came from the second street, and it sounded like someone was being chased. The two of them exchanged a glance, stood up simultaneously, and went outside to take a look. It turned out that Deng Keshan had run over in a sorry state, with more than ten people wielding knives and clubs chasing after him. Deng Keshan's mouth and nose were bleeding, his hat was gone, and he stumbled and fell to the ground.

  Liu Minyou hurriedly went up to support him, and more than a dozen people behind turned around and chased after them, waving their sticks and hitting. Deng Keshan dodged behind Liu Minyou's back, but those few people didn't care about Liu Minyou in front of them and continued to hit. Dai Zhengang saw that things were not going well, let out a loud roar, grabbed one person with his right hand, easily picked him up and threw him at the others, pushing open the people in front, shouting: "Haigouzai, bring out your sticks!"

  Those few people were blocked like this, and they saw that Dairen was as tough as an iron tower, and the fierce flames slightly reduced. The leader of them looked at the two and said: "We only look for this swindler, others who intervene will not blame me for being ruthless."

  Several men rushed out of the door with sticks, each holding a 5-foot-5-inch long hardwood stick. Haigouzi also brought out Dai Zhenggang's iron rod and handed it over to him with difficulty. With the iron rod in hand, Dai Zhenggang felt even more confident.

  He didn't even bother talking to the other party, thinking of Chen Xin's trick, wondering what effect it would have, and loudly shouted: "Form an array."

  "Kill!"

  Dai Zhenggang and the four sea dog sons stood in a row, three feet apart, each with their left leg forward and right leg backward, standing sideways, shouting loudly at the same time, holding their sticks obliquely forward. The several people's movements were neat and uniform, suddenly giving rise to a stern and murderous atmosphere. Those people in front involuntarily retreated one step, their faces revealing surprise, while the sea dog sons felt a sense of pride in their hearts.

  Other neighbors on Erdao Street also rushed over at this time, holding sticks and other objects in their hands. Some people who came to buy things watched from a distance.

  Liu Min, seeing that a fight was about to break out, worried that someone would get hurt, hastily stepped in between them and bowed his hands towards the dozen or so people on the other side: "I am Liu Min from this neighborhood, I don't know why you are chasing and beating up Deng Gongzi. Can we all sit down and talk things over peacefully, without resorting to violence?"

  A middle-aged man came out and said to Liu Min, "This swindler found a beggar girl, seduced my young master to do that thing, and then pretended to be the beggar girl's husband. Not only did he extort a large sum of money from my young master, but they also beat him up. We've been looking for him for a long time, and today we must catch him and let our young master get revenge."

  Liu Min had a listen and suddenly felt bound by his hands. This Deng Ke mountain, as a neighbor, was still okay, usually seen every day, shouting "Liu Ge" from afar, but everyone knew he was a swindler, if he helped him, wouldn't he be helping to harm people?

  Deng Keshan saw Liu Min's hesitant expression and was afraid that he would give himself away, so he quickly poked his head out to scold the people on the other side: "You few merchants rely on your numbers to bully our Tianjin Garrison people. There are so many neighbors here, I ask you, do you have evidence that I cheated your young master? Are there any witnesses? And where did that beggar girl go?" Deng Keshan's words awakened the neighbors, these people were all from outside and didn't fear revenge, now although there were over a dozen of them, they wouldn't increase too much.

  The neighbors naturally knew that Deng Keshan had deceived people, but they also stood up for reason. When seeing an official, you need a witness and evidence. You can't just grab someone with empty words. At this time, two of Deng Keshan's friends started to stir up trouble. The number of onlookers gradually increased, with seven or eight men, all holding clubs in their hands, confronting the outsiders.

  Liu Min saw the situation and Deng Keshan also made sense, if he didn't intervene at all, it would be impossible to stand in the neighborhood in the future. He said to those dozen or so people: "If this Mr. Deng has indeed cheated you, you can go to the Qing Military Hall to report him, and let the governor handle it according to law. We won't have anything to say about it. But we cannot allow you to arrest someone without any evidence, please forgive us."

  The middle-aged man on the other side was still talking, but a sturdy man next to him saw that the crowd on the street was slowly gathering more and more. If they dragged it down, it would be bad for them. He shouted loudly at others: "Don't bother with them, this dog is cheating our young master, catch him back and get a reward!" After finishing, he took the lead and rushed over fiercely. Among the dozen or so people, some reacted quickly, while others slowly followed, with only two or three rushing to the front.

  "Two men, one bullet."

  As Dai Zhenggang shouted loudly, the Sea Dogzi and Zhang Dahuai formed a group to deal with one person on the left. Since Zhang Erhui was small in stature, he was led by Dai Zhenggang. Several people shouted "Kill" at the same time, their front legs slightly bent, their back legs stretched out, and the long clubs in their hands became spears, swiftly stabbing out, targeting the opponent's chest and abdomen. They only practiced two moves every day: one was a thrust, and the other was a split-headed rod. After practicing hundreds of times each day, each thrust kill carried an unprecedented ferocity.

  The burly man who led the way thought that two half-grown children would be knocked down with one stick, but he didn't expect to come out with such momentum. Instead, he panicked and stumbled forward. The two wooden sticks in front of him stabbed at his chest and abdomen from left and right, coming at him fiercely. The stick in his hand was still raised above his head, rushing forward quickly. At this moment, he hesitated for a moment, hadn't even considered which one to block, and had already been stabbed by the two long sticks at the same time.

  This is the double-person bayonet tactic of later generations, simple and effective. The key is that both people launch at the same time, with their waist, legs, and hands working together to exert force. Because the bayonet has a strong killing power, they all emphasize winning with one blow, and momentum is very important. Chen Xin knows a bit about this tactic and uses it to train several people, and now he sees its effectiveness.

  "Oh no!"

  Zhuang Han clutched his stomach and curled up into a ball, writhing in agony. Meanwhile, Dai Zhenggang and Zhang Erhui had also knocked down another person, causing the two to tumble, and the people behind them were thrown into disarray, with only one person on each side still charging forward.

  "Kill!" "Kill!"

  Four people simultaneously burst into loud shouting, with Haitian and three others being particularly loud. After shouting, they seemed to gain some strength. The two people who came from both sides fell to the ground again. In an instant, four people were lying on the ground, rolling around in pain, while the other party's people seemed stunned, frozen for a moment.

  The neighbors on Erdao Street were also stunned, Deng Keshan's eyes widened in surprise. He thought that with Dairenzheng's strength, this man was not like an ordinary person, but he never expected that these few half-grown kids would easily knock down four strong men. He was indeed a veteran, quickly reacting and shouting loudly: "Dare to bully our neighbors, everyone beat them up!!"

  These neighbors have been together for decades, and in their eyes, the affection between neighbors is far more important than right or wrong. It's just that there are many people on the other side, so they're also a bit worried. At this time, seeing Liu's family being so fierce, with a backbone, the men in the neighborhood have greatly increased their courage, and they all shouted and rushed over to fight those people with sticks, causing a big commotion on the street.

  Dai Zhenggang took a glance and shouted: "Two people in a group, charge!"

  "Kill!"

  The two brothers, Hai Gouz and Zhang Dahuai, were excited and flushed in the face. They had been practicing for a long time, every day doing some inexplicable drills, push-ups, and combination killings. They were full of energy but had nowhere to vent it, and they always had the urge to fight with someone. The scene just now made them feel a sense of accomplishment. The simple things that Brother Chen taught really had such an effect.

  As they clashed, several people roared and charged forward under the stimulation of adrenaline. The two-man combination proved to be particularly effective in the melee, while their opponents were a disorganized mob who had relied on their numerical superiority to intimidate others. Now, however, they were being held back by the crowd and were unable to cope with the combined stabbing attacks, and soon found themselves beaten and routed.

  Deng Keshan picked up a stick from the ground and followed behind the four men. He found the leader, a sturdy man, lying on the ground and started beating him wildly while cursing: "You hit me, you hit me, didn't you enjoy hitting me just now?"

  Liu Minyou also picked up a stick, turning it around, unable to help. He had never fought before and didn't dare hit anyone with the stick. Seeing Deng Keshan beating the man on the ground until he was bleeding, Liu quickly went over to pull him away, not letting him hit again. Deng Keshan dropped that person and ran off to beat others on the ground.

  "Everyone run!" The middle-aged man who led the other side also got hit several times on the head, and seven or eight people on this side had already fallen to the ground. In the chaos, they couldn't care about anything else, turned around and ran away. The few remaining ones who were still resisting also scattered and ran.

  Hai Gouz and Zhang Dahuai were killing with great enthusiasm, howling and leading several neighbors to chase after them. Liu Min was anxious and didn't know what to do, as there were already seven or eight people lying on the ground, with several still bleeding. Suddenly, he saw Deng Keshan still hitting someone, and his anger reached a boiling point. He went over and grabbed his hand, saying: "Brother Deng, do you want to kill someone or what?"

  Deng Keshan heard his tone was not good, his eyes rolled around, he stopped his hand and smiled: "Liu brother, this guy almost hit Haigouzhi brothers just now, I was furious for a moment, look at my temper."

  Liu Min knew he was a smooth talker, and his words were not reliable. He worried about the people who had chased after Haigouzai and others, and they rushed to the other side of the street. Halfway there, Haigouzai and others returned, with Zhang Dahu's head bleeding, but their faces were all smiling and excited. Two neighbors were holding a finely dressed young master, dragging him in this direction.