Chapter 2: The Oath of Allegiance

  Two fools were staring at each other, and a group of peasants next to them were also staring at us like we were some kind of freaks. The eleventh year of the Xianfeng Emperor? So that means the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom has already been in revolt for eleven years? My god! It seems like it's almost over! Although I'm not very good at history (after all, ancient wars are too primitive, and the revolutionary struggle history of the Communist Party of China is more exciting, and closer to us, plus my parents were both in the Liberation Army, so it's impossible for me not to know about its glorious fighting history), but I do know that the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom lasted from the Jintian Uprising to its annihilation in just over a decade! Should we join the Qing army instead? I wonder where Li Hongzhang is?

  "Big brother! It seems like we've arrived in ancient times! What are we going to do now?!"

  "My goodness! Don't you have any culture?! We've arrived in modern times, not ancient times! Before the Opium War is ancient history, after it is modern history! Don't you have some knowledge?!"

  "What should we do now?"

  Yes! What to do now?! Actually ran to the Qing Dynasty! Leave head not leave hair, leave hair not leave head, can't we grow a pig tail on the back of our heads?! Too scary! Ah! Fortunately ran into the territory of the insurgent army, otherwise those Manchu Tartars would have "beheaded" us! !! Just for my lovely hair, I couldn't join the Qing Dynasty!

  "What's to be done?! Now there's only joining the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom! Look at your hair! Do you want those Qing soldiers to cut it off like a bandit?!"

  Shi Bingyu rubbed his head and made a terrified expression. This kid! Does he know what terror is? Although he says fighting is not allowed, he often talks about how he would be if he were born in a chaotic world. Now it's come to this, the chaos has really arrived!

  "Big brother, it seems like the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom won't last for many years, is it very dangerous to join them?"

  "Nonsense! It's a natural danger! But didn't you always say that you are a hero in troubled times?! Maybe our joining can change the fate of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom?!"

  "It seems like you're the one who thinks you're a hero in a chaotic world, big brother! I'm just your chief advisor!"

  “……！”

  "Big brother! It seems like this era allows polygamy! Wow! If you become a king, wouldn't you have three palaces and six courtyards with 72 concubines?!" Shi Bingyu said with a look of intoxication.

  I glared at him, "You're so pretty! You might just die as soon as you step onto the battlefield!"

  "Shoo! Shoo! Shoo! Crow's mouth! Big brother, don't curse me!"

  I ignored him and walked up to the woman.

  "Sister, how do we put this... We're from the future. Because China was in danger, our government at that time sent us to ancient times to help with the war, but it seems like there's been a problem with the timeline adjustment. It looks like we've arrived too late..." Shi Bingyu started rambling.

  "Oh? Really? Then what time were you originally going to arrive?" The woman looked at us with an expression of disbelief. "Of course it's true! We were originally supposed to come to China before the Opium War in 1840, but who knew..." Xiao Shi said with a regretful face. "May I ask your surname, big sister?"

  "My surname is Lu, you can just call me Seventh Aunt!"

  "Seventh Aunt!" we both exclaimed in unison.

  "What are your names? How can you prove that you have come to help China?"

  "We are all Chinese, if we don't help China, who will? My name is Yang Huisheng, his name is Shi Bingyu. As for helping China, that depends on our wisdom." I said calmly.

  "Are you helping Qing Yao?" Lu Qiguo asked in confusion.

  "Expel the barbarians?! Hmph! If it weren't for the dark rule of the Manchu Qing, how could China have lost so much territory?! How could we Chinese be called the Sick Men of East Asia by foreigners?! Our purpose in coming here is to drive out the Tartars and restore the Great Han!" Shi Bingyu said with hatred. This guy! He's even more patriotic than me! What a joke!

  "Seventh Aunt, can we join your team?" I asked.

  It's been a long time since we've eaten, and I'm starving now. Maybe if we join them, we'll get to eat soon? "Okay! (Wow, great! We get to eat!) But you have to prove that you're truly joining us." "How do we prove it?" The two of us asked excitedly. Looking at Bingyu's excitement, I believe he's just as hungry as I am. "Bring back the heads of two Clear Spirits to prove it!"

  Huh?!!

  No way! Do you have to kill someone before eating a meal?!

  ※※※

  "Brother! Wait for us!" I shouted at the two of Lu Qi's men walking ahead.

  "Damn it! Walking down the snowy mountain road in leather shoes is really suffering!" Shi Bingyu muttered, cursing. "I'm freezing to death!" In order to prove that we two were truly surrendering to Lu Qigong (she didn't believe that we came from the future and were genuinely helping China), Xiaoshi and I carried automatic rifles and followed her two hands to go prove it - bringing two clean demon heads to see her.

  "Big brother, why are you calling us to kill someone in the middle of the night? Can't our handsome and elegant appearance prove that we have a kind and pure heart?"

  "Damn it! You're somewhat knowledgeable, aren't you?! This is called a letter of introduction! The two Qing dynasty officials' heads are our passes!"

  "Alas! I'm so damn tired from walking! How much farther for the two brothers?" (We've been walking on this mountain road for three hours already)

  "We're almost there! Just over the next mountain, there's a Qingyao outpost!" A young man in front turned back to respond. Do we have to climb another mountain?! I'm so hungry!!"

  Let's sit down and take a rest first!

  "Hey, big brothers! Can we take a break first? Let's have a smoke!" I shouted.

  I took out a pack of Red Eagle cigarettes and handed one to each of them. I pulled out my lighter and lit up a smoke. Wow, it really is fragrant! Huh? Why are these two guys staring blankly at my lighter?

  "What is this treasure? How can fire come out of it?"

  "Huh? Ah, this is... the Divine Flame Engine. It's our treasure! Heh heh, ordinary people can't use it!" Should I tell them the truth?! Not to mention confiscating it from me?!

  Those two people learned from us and took a strong drag on their cigarettes...

  "Cough, cough... What is this stuff? How can it be so disgusting?! Cough, cough... It's choking me to death!" The two guys coughed and threw their cigarettes on the ground. "I quit smoking!"

  "This is a cigarette! Wow! Haven't you guys ever smoked before?!" Shi Bingyu exclaimed in surprise.

  "Nonsense! Did the Qing dynasty have filtered cigarettes?" I glared at Shi Bingyu.

  "What are your names, brothers? We can't just keep calling you 'feed' all the time?" I asked.

  "I am Zhang Tiedan." "I am Liu Shitou." The two said.

  Iron egg, stone? How did their dad give them this name?!

  Both of them were less than 1.7 meters tall, Tie Dan was thinner, and Shi Tou had a face full of flesh - they looked like bandit material at first glance. "What are you holding in your hands? Why is there a stick on it?"

  "What's this thing? This is an automatic rifle! Hehe, its power is quite impressive!" Shi Bingyu picked up the gun and made a aiming pose. "Automatic rifle? Never heard of it! Tie Dan, have you ever heard of it?"

  "I've never heard of it!"

  Shi Bingyue almost fell over.

  "Hehe, you'll know what an automatic rifle is soon!" I said with a smile. "By the way, how many people are in the Clearing Demon's sentry post?"

  "Not many, about thirty or so!"

  Bang! Shi Bingyu finally fell to the ground. "Thirty or so is not a lot?! Boss, what do you mean by many?!" "Anyway, you're just killing two Clear Demons, and the other leaders didn't ask you to kill them!"

  "Will you two help us?" Shi Bingyu looked at the two allies eagerly. Maybe they could be of some use? After all, if it came down to a melee fight, the two of them wouldn't even be enough to fill the gaps between their teeth!

  "We won't help! We'll just supervise you from behind! If you succeed, we'll take you back with us. If you fail, we can report to the leader!"

  ……

  Another hour passed.

  "We've arrived! Look, after the roadblock in front is Qingyao's checkpoint! Take care, brothers, we're heading to the back! Don't worry, my brother and I will support you spiritually!"

  Those two rascals slipped away to the back, leaving us two brothers with frozen and purple faces.

  Behind the roadblock, a high platform was erected with two sentries pacing back and forth. It's about 100 meters away from where we're hiding. "Brother, if only we had brought the grenade launcher! Two grenades at that wooden house would solve all our problems!"

  "You think you're so great! Your dad would let you carry a grenade launcher?! I'll give you a slap!"

  "Hehe, I was just kidding! What now?"

  "Mount silencer! Single shot! You take the one on the left, I'll take the one on the right. I'll count to three and we fire together! Aim for the heart, it's a kill shot!"

  "Unfair big brother! Which of your goals is bigger than mine?! And when they hit the heart, they will scream!"

  "What's fair or not?! Who doesn't get hit?! Are you the boss or am I the boss?! Haha, it's just to make them scream! That way we can lure out the people hiding in the house! Idiot! Don't say anything more!"

  "One, two, three!"

  Puff puff! Two soft sounds.

  Ah!~~~~~ The two sentries on the high platform almost simultaneously let out a mournful cry and one of them fell down.

  "Take off the silencer! Switch to rapid fire!!"

  The lamp at the sentry post lit up and several people rushed out in a flurry.

  "What's going on?! Quick! See if it's the bandits coming!"

  The next big beard under the sight seems to be shouting loudly on his head.

  "Heizi, Lao Liu aren't moving! Ah?! Are they dead?!"

  "The bandits have come! The bandits have come! Quick, smoke!"

  The sentry post was in a state of confusion, with several people holding guns that looked like fire irons firing randomly.

  "Idiot! Didn't you see anyone around? What are you firing at randomly?"

  One of them kicked a soldier who was squatting down to shoot in the butt.

  Several Qing soldiers climbed up onto the high platform.

  "Hit!" I shouted loudly.

  "Tap tap tap, tap tap tap"

  Several shots rang out, and several of those climbing the ladder fell down from the top.

  "Take down the one who's leading!"

  "Alright!"

  Bang, bang, bang - which big beard and the guy next to him fell to the ground with a thud - Shi Bingyu gave each of them a gift on their heads.

  The Qing army was even more chaotic! A few guys holding muskets had just fired a shot when they were knocked down by us.

  "Surrender your guns and we won't kill you! The Liberation Army treats its prisoners of war with kindness!" Shi Bingyu shouted loudly.

  "Damn it! Who do you think you are?! This is the Qing dynasty! The Liberation Army hasn't even arrived yet! Idiot!" I knocked down a fleeing Qing soldier and cursed at him.

  "Don't shoot! Don't shoot! We surrender!" A white sheet was stretched out from the door of the guardhouse.

  How can it be so easy?! Won't they be faking surrender?! I thought suspiciously.

  "Throw out your weapons! Put your hands on your head! Come out!" I shouted loudly.

  Only a few broken guns (compared to our automatic rifles, those things are purely children's toys!) and knives were thrown out of the house, and one by one, the soldiers came out of the house with their heads bowed. Iron Egg and Stone ran over from behind, surprised to find more than ten corpses lying on the ground in front of the sentry post, next to which more than ten Qing soldiers were huddled together, shivering with cold and clutching their heads.