Chapter Fifteen: Misfortunes Never Come Alone

  Lin Chunhong, although excited to have met a former high-ranking official, soon realized that Qiu Shi's help was of no use to his current life. He couldn't help but think: some things still rely on oneself; relying on the powerful may be effective, but not everyone has such luck. So he took ten workers and returned to Qingjiang.

  They didn't mention Lin Chunhong and others returning to Geheyan, but after Baiyadong's Longguan Temple decided to wait and see how things developed, they didn't relax their vigilance either. From time to time, they sent people to check the situation around Qingjiangkou, seeing that Lin Chunhong and others hadn't made any further moves, they secretly put their minds at ease. But on this day, Peng received an urgent report: a large number of government soldiers appeared at Qingjiangkou! Peng was flustered and hastily convened a meeting with the elders. After considering that they had not paid tribute to the imperial court for many years, everyone formed a unanimous view: the woodcutters colluded with the government soldiers, they must have an ulterior motive, and their target is Baiyadong's Longguan Temple.

  Peng Jian inquired about how to deal with the situation, and all the elders said to move to this place to avoid the sharp edge of the official soldiers. Only Elder Peng Xin disagreed: "We moved once a year ago, where can we escape to this time? Wherever it is, it's all under the jurisdiction of the Ming dynasty!"

  Everyone heard this and couldn't help but feel even more discouraged, saying: "Is it that we can't even hide from this one?"

  Peng Xinwei hesitated for a moment and said: "We can shift the disaster to the east!"

  "How to shift the disaster to someone else?"

  "We have a feud with Si Nan and his gang, we can send dozens of agile and strong men to provoke Si Nan's people, they will definitely chase after them, and lead the pursuers to the Han people, they will inevitably clash. As long as they engage in battle, we'll be worry-free!"

  Everyone heard this and took a deep breath, thinking that if the people of Si Nan didn't come to attack them, they should be grateful. Instead, they actually wanted to provoke them and stir up trouble with the Han people. Everyone was shocked by Peng Xin's madness.

  Just as everyone was about to veto the plan, Peng Xin shouted: "Anyway, it's a dead end, we might as well give it a try. If we succeed, our White Cliff Cave will be safe!"

  Let the Hans and the Thais kill each other, this plan is quite tempting and difficult for everyone to give up, so they all agree to try it out. However, when discussing who will execute it, everyone turns their eyes to Peng Xin, thinking: This trick was thought of by you, so you should be the one to die.

  Peng Xin's heart sank, and he gritted his teeth: "I'll go!" In his heart, he couldn't stop cursing the clan leader and elder, looking down on them even more.

  Peng Xin chose over a dozen men from the Zhuang Ding, and when these men heard they were going to provoke the Sichuan authorities, they all hesitated. Peng Xin offered a generous reward, but the men reluctantly set off, and for a time, the White Cliff Cave was filled with wailing, as their families believed they had gone to their deaths and would not return.

  And the scouts of Baiyadong saw that a large number of officials and soldiers were the officials and soldiers of Shizhou Wei Datianguo. They appeared at Qingjiangkou to extort Lin Chunhong and others. As the wood was continuously transported out of the deep mountains, Lin Chunhong finally accumulated his first bucket of gold. This inevitably led to the covetousness of Commander Ran Zhehuan of the Datianguo Garrison.

  Datian Village, under the jurisdiction of Shizhou Garrison, is about 70-80 miles away from Gehexiang. Ruan Zhihuan heard that Lin Chunhong and others made a lot of money by cutting wood in Gehexiang, so he wanted to extort them. He then sent more than 100 people to block the Qingjiang River mouth.

  On this day, Lin Deshao was urging the woodcutters to transport the timber to Qingjiangkou when five boats suddenly rushed out of the river and blocked the way of the small wooden raft. The hundred households stood at the bow of the boat, with an extremely arrogant attitude, shouting: "By order of Commander Da Tian, investigate the private transportation of timber!"

  Lin De Shao hastily ordered the loggers to stop, and stepped forward shouting: "We are not smuggling wood, we have a certificate from the Yiling State Government!" Lin Chun Hong's logging business was already registered in Yiling State, so Lin De Shao had this to say.

  "We don't care about Yiling State, you've already taken away the timber from Datianqian's household, we're going to investigate today!" One of the hundred households said rudely.

  "Gentlemen soldiers, this is Changyang, under Yiling Prefecture." Lin Deshao replied cautiously.

  "But our village's timber is also gone, it must be your doing!" Bai Hu became more and more unreasonable.

  Linde and the lumberjacks grew more indignant, cursing: "You didn't take care of it yourselves, how can you frame us?"

  A hundred households saw the woodcutter's boldness and threatened: "What? Do you want to rebel?"

  After finishing speaking, he ordered his subordinates to raise their knives and guns. The woodcutter also couldn't bear it anymore, picked up the pole in his hand.

  Just as swords were drawn and bows were stretched, a sudden voice came from behind, shouting: "Halt!" It was Lin Chunhong who had arrived. It turned out that Xiao Dazi was checking the wood at Qingjiangkou and saw the government soldiers blocking the mouth of the river, so he rushed to report to Lin Chunhong.

  Lin Chunhong was greatly alarmed and immediately ordered Xiao Dazi to inform Zhou Wang, telling him to gather all his men and horses and rush to the river mouth to prepare for battle. He himself led a team of men and horses who were in training, with swords and bows at the ready, and rushed towards Qingjiangkou.

  The woodcutter saw that it was Lin Chunhong, and immediately put down the pole in his hand. He reported the events of just now with a flurry of words. Lin Chunhong also listened to the general idea, suppressing the anger in his heart, and said coldly: "Gentlemen soldiers, you have come from afar, why not go into the valley and have some tea?"

  A hundred households saw the official coming, and also saw the knife light flashing behind him. His heart couldn't help but beat a little faster. But since things had come to this point, he didn't want to admit defeat, so he forced himself to be brave, stared with both eyes and said: "We're busy, we just need to check for private transportation of wood!"

  After finishing speaking, in order to stir up the crowd, he turned his head and shouted at the soldiers behind him: "Brothers, isn't that right? They stole our wood and won't even let us investigate?"

  The soldiers also shouted: "That's right, how can Da Tian tolerate the arrogance of the barbarians?"

  Lin Chunhong stared at the falsely stern Bai Hu, saw his legs slightly trembling, and understood in his heart. He coldly smiled and said: "Fine, this matter is easy to discuss. The wood is all piled up here, you gentlemen can search as you please!"

  Bai Hu saw Lin Chunhong not taking this matter seriously, turned around and ordered his subordinates: "From now on, block the river mouth, not a single wood is allowed to be transported out. If our wood is not found, we will continue to block it!"

  Lin Chunhong was furious, how dare these hundred households trample on his nose and eyes, and still want to block the river mouth? After blocking the river mouth, how can the wood be transported to Jingzhou, and how can they get the silver coins? His right hand tightly grasped the handle of the wooden sword, his chest heaving with rage, would he make a move or not?

  Bai Hu saw Lin Chunhong's face turn iron-green, not saying a word. He thought Lin Chunhong was afraid of him and felt complacent, waving his hand and shouting: "Brothers, disembark! We're not leaving this place!"

  The soldiers jumped off the boat one after another and rushed towards the piled up wood, the workers did not dare to stop them, retreated to the side, daring to be angry but not daring to speak.

  Lin Chunhong could no longer bear it, and snatched the hunting bow from Zhou Shiliang's hand. He took an arrow from the quiver, drew the string to its fullest extent in an instant, aimed at Bai Hu's shoulder, and shouted loudly: "Halt! Those who don't want to die, halt for me!"

  As soon as he finished speaking, his right hand released the bowstring, and with a "whoosh" sound, the arrow accurately hit Bai Hu's right shoulder. Bai Hu let out a miserable cry and fell to the ground. The soldiers were shocked, and no matter what they couldn't believe that Lin Chunhong dared to openly defy the government troops, and even injured Bai Hu with one arrow, they all stopped in their tracks, standing there at a loss for what to do.

  Lin Chunhong swiftly pulled out an arrow from Zhou Shiliang's quiver, quickly strung his bow and pointed the arrowhead at the soldiers, menacingly warning: "Whoever dares to take one step forward, don't blame me for being merciless!"

  The workers saw Lin Chunhong take action, and although they were a little afraid in their hearts, they involuntarily picked up the tools in their hands and pointed them at the soldiers. Zhou Shiliang even shouted: "Take out your tools, damn it!"

  Intimidated by the momentum of the workers, the soldiers were terrified and retreated step by step. When they saw Zhou Wang arriving with a large group of people, the soldiers could no longer hold on and jumped onto the boats one after another, trying to escape, without even thinking about their hundred-household leader. In the chaos, the boats kept turning around in all directions, amidst great confusion.

  Luckily, there were a few loyal men around Ba Hu who quickly set up a stretcher and rushed him away. Ba Hu was shouting loudly: "Stop everyone! Let's see if they dare to kill me..."

  In an instant, the soldiers of the Da Tian government vanished without a trace, leaving behind only the bewildered loggers.

  Back at the logging base, the workers looked gloomy and were extremely uneasy in their hearts. This was a matter of killing an official and rebelling, and no one had any confidence. Everyone's heart was racing, and they involuntarily looked towards Lin Chunhong, but saw that Lin Chunhong was acting as if nothing had happened, and had somewhat regained his composure. Under the leadership of the team leader, he began to busy himself with his own affairs.

  Lin Chunhong immediately gathered Zhou Wang, the team leaders and Li Mujia and others to discuss.

  Apart from Lin Chunhong and Zhou Wang, these people were not much better than the workers. Although they did not openly sigh, each of them had a deadpan expression, with suspicious eyes constantly shifting between Lin Chunhong and Zhou Wang.

  Lin Chunhong was not in the least anxious, he knew that Ruan Zhihuan's dispatch of troops to come forward was nothing more than seeking wealth, which could be completely resolved with a silver bullet. Even if he were to strike down the hundred households on the spot today, there would still be room for maneuver. Taking a step back, even if Ruan Zhihuan had gone mad and vowed to take revenge, at worst he could just leave with his men. After experiencing the tragic change in his family, Lin Chunhong was not afraid of any setbacks or blows from the bottom of his heart.

  Lin Chunhong sat upright in his chair, with both hands resting on the armrests, and said calmly: "Cutting off someone's financial resources is like killing their parents. If Ruan Zihuan wants to cut off our financial resources, we must definitely counterattack!"

  Guo Mingyan sneered and said: "The reason is this reason, but we are hurting the court's officials and soldiers today, this... this..."

  Guo Mingyan was at a loss for words, suddenly stopped there, his face flushed red with embarrassment, and looked at everyone with pleading eyes.

  Lin Chunhong stood up, patted Guo Mingyan's shoulder to comfort him, then turned his head and said to everyone: "Don't worry about it, I'm the one who hurt people, it has nothing to do with you all. As the saying goes, 'one person does something, one person takes responsibility'!"

  Everyone disagreed and started arguing, claiming that they would go through thick and thin together.

  Li Mujiang cursed non-stop, currently Li Mujiang is the most popular among the loggers, everyone fawned on him, all of this came from Lin Chunhong's trust. Subconsciously he treated Lin Chunhong as his own son: "Damn it, I've been bullied by these officials for a lifetime, these bastards don't even have the guts to fight in battle, but they're great at bullying ordinary people. Boss Lin, if you lead the team to kill Ran Zhihuan, this old bone won't fall behind half a step!"

  Lin Chunhong saw that everyone was deeply moved, and his heart was filled with emotion. After being moved, he also felt a hint of pride. He raised his hand to stop the commotion, and said loudly: "This matter is not so serious, Ruan Zhihuan just wants money, sending him some money will do! However, after spending this money, we must get some other benefits from Ruan Zhihuan!"

  This remark is quite a leap in thinking, and everyone is puzzled. It's already good if they can send some money to get rid of Ruan Zihuan, but instead, they're thinking of taking advantage of the situation. What kind of logic is this? Since ancient times, ordinary people have never fought against officials, this is indeed a timeless saying.

  Lin Chunhong smiled and said, "As for how to deal with Rang Zhihuan, I've already thought it through. Tomorrow, I'll personally go to the Great Field and resolve this matter as soon as possible. This can't be delayed!"

  Everyone was stunned, and they all opposed it in unison. Zhou Wang, in particular, kept advising against it: "We've just hurt their people, and now we're going to enter their home? Isn't that just asking to be bullied?"

  Just as everyone was persuading, suddenly saw Er Gouzi push open the wooden door and rush in, with blood stains on his legs scratched by thorns. As soon as Er Gouzi entered the door, he said anxiously: "There are barbarians breaking in from the north! Probably over a hundred people!"

  Since the start of training, Zhou Wang had arranged for three people to take turns keeping watch on the surrounding roads. Today it was Er Gouzi's turn. Lin Chunhong jumped up from his chair as soon as he heard this and cursed loudly: "Damn it! The government soldiers are here to extort us, and the local people have come too - they all think we're easy to bully? Brothers, let's get them!"

  Everyone was outraged, feeling that being bullied by officials and soldiers was nothing new, after all it had been this way for over a thousand years. But what are the natives? How dare they move earth on the emperor's birthday?

  The great Han nation has been proud since ancient times and cannot bear to compromise, and they all shouted: "Boss Lin, hurry up and give the order, we'll fight our way out!"

  "Brother Zhou, Lin Dehai, quickly gather the hunting team and the first squad, take up arms and be on guard! Lin Deshao and Guo Mingyan, quickly gather the second and third squads, grab whatever you can find that's handy, assemble here in two moments! Then proceed northward. Brother Li, take the women and hide them far away for now!"

  Everyone saw Lin Chunhong's determination and decisiveness, and they all responded in unison, hastily rushing out the door. Zhou Wang saw that Lin Chunhong had arranged everything in an orderly manner, and he couldn't help but feel secretly satisfied.

  In a moment, the team of hunters gathered together. Lin Chunhong held a large chopping knife and carried a bow and arrow on his back, leading everyone northward. On the way, Lin Chunhong saw that except for Zhou Wang and the hunting party who had weapons, everyone else was holding bamboo spears, which made him secretly anxious. He consulted with Zhou Wang: "Later, I'll lead the hunting party as the vanguard, hoping to crush the enemy's morale. Uncle Zhou, you command the people in the back." Zhou Wang shook his head, about to deny it, but Lin Chunhong continued: "I have no experience commanding, my ability to seize opportunities is insufficient, and besides, I'm young, so it's just right to get a taste of battle." Zhou Wang was also worried about Lin Chunhong's ability to grasp the opportunity for battle, so he didn't object anymore.

  About a mile ahead, they saw two groups of people chasing each other, with more than ten people in front shouting for help. Lin Chunhong and Zhou Wang looked at each other, feeling very puzzled. Seeing that the group was about to rush over, Zhou Wang shouted loudly: "You run to both sides, kill anyone who rushes over!"

  Those dozen or so people were the Zhuang men led by Peng Xin, who heard Zhou Wang's shout and finally put his heart at ease. He hastily ordered the Zhuang men to scatter in both directions, running until they reached Lin Chunhong's formation before stopping, panting heavily as they watched how things would unfold between the two sides. The fifty or so people behind them also stopped when they saw someone blocking their way, looking around curiously.

  At this time, one person walked out of the crowd and shouted: "Make way for those in front! We only want to catch those few bastards. Don't block our way, otherwise we'll kill you all too!"

  Lin Chunhong's men were furious upon hearing this. The bolder ones cursed, "We'll block your way and kill you bunch of bastards!"

  Lin Chunhong stepped forward and asked: "Who are you? Why did you barge into our place?"

  "That man replied: 'We are from the Si Nan government office. Those few bandits in front robbed us of our medicinal herbs, we must catch them!'"

  Lin Chunhong turned his head to look at Peng Xin, with a puzzled expression. Peng Xin replied: "How dare we rob them? A year ago they killed many of our tribesmen and forced us to give up our territory! Now they still want to wipe us out!"

  Lin Chunhong believed this without a doubt, after all, he and Xiao Dazi had seen the miserable state of the White Cliff Cave residence before.

  "Don't worry, once we're on our turf, at least those scoundrels won't be able to catch you. Later, you'll listen to Uncle Zhou's orders!" He said, pointing to Zhou Wang with his hand. Lin Chunhong's words made Peng Xin completely put his mind at ease.

  Zhou Wang listened and immediately ordered Peng Xin and ten others to join the formation, then said to Lin Chunhong: "Things have come to this, it's impossible to end well, might as well take the initiative!"

  Lin Chunhong nodded and said, "When I count to three, you order the brothers to charge!" After finishing, he took out an arrow from his quiver on his back, strung it, pointed at the leader of the opposite side, and ordered: "Now I'll count down. If you don't retreat, we'll meet with swords and arrows!"

  After finishing speaking, loudly counted: "One, two, three..."

  As soon as the word "three" fell, Zhou Wang roared: "Brothers, follow me and charge!" Zhou Wang took the lead, charging out first. Lin Chunhong dropped an arrow, threw away his bow and arrow, pulled out a large chopping knife, and followed closely behind to charge out. The brothers were stunned for a moment, seeing that Lin Chunhong and Zhou Wang had already charged out. Although some people's legs were trembling with fear, although there was a desire to escape backwards, under the control of the psychology of following the crowd, they also involuntarily charged out.

  As Lin Chunhong took out his bow and arrow in the opponent's formation, five people also drew their bows and arrows, intending to counterattack. When they heard Lin Chunhong counting, everyone was in a panic, looking at the leader with their eyes, and the leader was also hesitating whether to continue fighting or not. However, Lin Chunhong used a trick, counting to three before rushing out, causing the archers to become flustered and randomly release arrows. Although the accuracy was poor and the force was not strong, it still caused trouble for Lin Chunhong's group, with two people being shot and falling to the ground in agony.

  Blood and fear stimulated the loggers, who didn't dare to look at the fallen man, only knowing to charge forward. But as they got closer to the enemy, the gleam of knives made more people's hearts tremble, and those with a conscience slowed down their pace. However, the charging arrowhead was Lin Chunhong and Zhou Wang, assisted by Lin Chunyi and others, whose momentum was still quite fierce. In an instant, the two groups were entangled together, fighting in a melee. Lin Chunhong held a large knife, chopping at anyone he saw, and no one could withstand him. The leader of the other group ordered many people to surround and attack Lin Chunhong, but Li Zuguang and Zhou Sheliang behind him blocked the knives and swords, making it impossible for anyone to harm a single hair on his head. And Lin Chunhong just chopped away with his knife, not defending himself at all, truly unstoppable. The others also formed a battle formation according to their usual training, passively defending and attacking. The first time they killed someone and got injured left these muddy-legged men's minds blank, mechanically stabbing out with their bamboo spears.

  The other side wasn't doing much better, especially when they found that even if they cut off the opponent's bamboo spear with a steel knife, they couldn't stop the shortened bamboo spear from continuing to thrust out, and were on the verge of psychological collapse. Both sides were struggling to hold on.

  At this time, Lin Dehai and Lin Deshao led more than 40 people to arrive in time, shouting strangely and joining the battle group. The people of Si Nan could no longer support it, and with a loud shout, they turned around and escaped. Lin Chunhong's men were killing red-eyed, pursuing closely, and chasing out two miles before being stopped by Zhou Wang and Lin Chunhong, and then withdrawing troops back to camp.

  After tallying the results of the battle, they found that twenty-eight of the enemy were killed or wounded, while twelve of their own men were injured and two had died. The crowd stood silently in front of the bodies of the two dead men, unable to speak a word. Some people were quietly sobbing, while others were vomiting. Among the twelve injured men, two were seriously hurt, although not fatally so, but it was estimated that they would be left with disabilities. The rest had only minor injuries and would recover after some time.

  Lin Chunhong immediately ordered the five old ladies to use boiled white cloth to bandage the wounded, and also ordered Xiao Dazi to go down the mountain immediately to find a doctor who was good at treating knife wounds. Lin Chunhong saw that everyone was very sad, and immediately announced that each of the brothers who died in battle would receive 50 taels of silver as consolation money to support their parents and children at home; those who were seriously injured would be supported for life. Everyone's mood improved somewhat, but they still couldn't shake off the gloomy atmosphere.

  Lin Chunhong and Zhou Wang called over Peng Xin to ask him, only then did they understand that Peng Xin and others were picking herbs in the mountains when they ran into people from the Sichuan government office. Due to past grievances, a fight broke out. Peng Xin and others couldn't withstand it, so they escaped, but didn't expect to rush blindly and end up here. Moreover, Peng Xin repeatedly thanked everyone for saving his life. Peng Xin had brought out 18 people, now only 9 were left, which was also a heavy casualty.

  Lin Chunhong and Zhou Wang listened, half believing and half doubting. After sending Peng Xin away, Lin Chunhong said: "These aborigines are always digging in the mountains all day long, how can they possibly rush to our place in a panic?"

  Zhou Wang Shen thought so, feeling that Peng Xin's eyes were flashing, and estimated that it was intentional. Thinking of Si Nan and Bai Ya Dong's grudges, the purpose of Peng Xin and others was clear. Lin Chun Hong and Zhou Wang thought of their fallen brothers, and really had an urge to beat up Peng Xin, barely suppressing the anger in their hearts. Lin Chun Hong said: "The people of Bai Ya Dong have a mastermind layout, they know that at this time we have offended Si Nan's people, and will not retaliate against them again!"

  Zhou Wang thought about it and felt more and more frightened. If they were to clash with the people of Bai Ya Cave again, they would have no choice but to leave this place and flee with their tails between their legs. Zhou Wang said: "Now we can only unite with the people of Bai Ya Cave to deal with Si Nan together, it's the only way."

  Lin Chunhong sighed, "Benefits, benefits, can only think about getting the greatest benefit. This is a阳谋, knowing that you can see through it, but have to follow their ideas! The two fell silent, bit by bit suppressing their anger, yes, emotions can only make things worse, decision-making has only one standard: benefits!"

  "Uncle Zhou, I want to select those who are willing to fight and train them specially. After all, not everyone is willing to fight with others." Lin Chunhong asked for Zhou Wang's opinion, considering that some people were so scared during the big battle today that they couldn't move their feet, and there were even those who fled. Zhou Wang also had this intention and suggested: "Although the three-person combat team has a good effect, we still need to train larger formations; otherwise, we can only rush forward like a swarm of bees. By the way, the bamboo spear is effective, but it can be cut off and continue to stab the enemy. However, our brothers don't have knives or shields, so next time there will be heavy casualties."

  Lin Chunhong sighed: "After all, it's still a lack of weapons! Tomorrow I have to go to Datian immediately."

  Zhou Wang was shocked: "Lacking weapons and going to Da Tian? We have offended the people of Da Tian, this matter is not over yet!"

  Zhou Wang only felt that his brain was not enough, and he couldn't see through Lin Chunhong more and more. He wanted to continue asking questions, but Lin Chunhong waved his hand and said decisively: "Uncle Zhou, I have my own plan. Now we are facing threats from both Si Nan and Da Tian. This is a critical moment of life and death, and we can't delay any longer!"

  After finishing speaking, Lin Chunhong left the room, leaving behind a stunned and uncertain Zhou Wang.