The ace special forces who dominated the Sui Dynasty's late period

  Yuan Tiangong! Another renowned figure, or rather a famous god stick. Liu Ziqiu had read many legends about him, among which the most famous story was that he told fortunes for Empress Wu Zetian. At that time, Yuan Tiangong passed by the Wu family and saw the infant Wu Zetian, who was shocked to say that she had a dragon's eyes and phoenix neck, extremely auspicious! But also regretfully said, unfortunately, it's a man, if it were a woman, she would be the master of the world. In Liu Ziqiu's impression, this guy should be a Taoist or a fortune teller, but unexpectedly he was the county magistrate of Yanping County.

  As for Yuan Tiangong lowering himself, Liu Ziqiu didn't take it to heart. He coldly smiled and said: "I'm just a rustic village husband, what's with the high surname and great name? They all call me Big Cow. There's just one thing I don't understand, how did you come up with this coincidence?"

  Others in front of the county magistrate all called themselves "small people" or "ordinary people", but this guy kept saying "I'm below" with a sarcastic tone, making the villagers sweat.

  Yuan Tiangai indeed arrived after receiving a notice from the Yang family. Of course, he didn't come to rescue the villagers, but rather to help Yang Jishan save face.

  Liu Ziqiu had already seen through his intentions, so Yuan Tiange simply told the truth: "The Yang family is too powerful, you can't defeat them. Why don't we just be kind and find another place for you to move to? What do you think?"

  It's actually a good idea. Liu Ziqiu couldn't help but look at his second uncle. His second uncle, however, said without hesitation: "Our ancestors have lived here for generations, we won't go anywhere else!"

  Yuan Tiangao no longer tried to persuade him, and turned to ask his entourage: "Is the on-site investigation complete?"

  There was already a servant who came forward, cupped his hands and said: "Master Hui, there are nine dead and three injured at the scene. Among the deceased, six were fishermen, two children, and one bandit wearing a mask. The injured are all fishermen, just..."

  Yuan Tiangao had known that the villagers would suffer heavy casualties, so he deliberately let the coroner report the numbers, just to make the villagers face reality. However, he heard the coroner stammering and asked in a low voice: "What is it?"

  The officer held up a feathered arrow in both hands: "Sir, look! The horse thief was injured by this!"

  "Carved Feather Arrow!" Yuan Tiange's face turned solemn, scanning the villagers, and asked, "Whose is this? How dare you secretly store bows and crossbows?"

  The Great Sui's legal code prohibits ordinary people from owning bows and crossbows. In the villages, there are only a small number of hunting bows, and they use bamboo arrows. As for feathered arrows, it is absolutely impossible to see them, not even in the county government's army. If the villagers had a large number of bows and crossbows, they would not be afraid of the Yang family, and could even resist the government troops.

  Liu Ziqiu calmly said: "Sir, don't bother looking anymore, this is mine."

  Yuan Tiangong seemed to be somewhat apprehensive of Liu Ziqiu, and after a moment's silence, he suddenly said: "Do you know the consequences?"

  Liu Ziqiu snorted and said: "Consequences? Half a year ago, someone shot two arrows at my back, I pulled them out for self-defense, what's wrong with that!"

  Yuan Tianxia understood what was going on as soon as he heard it, sighed and said: "It's the Yang family's doing, I'm afraid I can't help you either. The salt farm makes a fortune every day, and since the Yang family has set their sights on this place, they won't give up easily. They'll be back in a few days. You make a living by fishing every day, but it's not worth much money, why don't you listen to my advice...

  Liu Ziqiu understood what Yuan Tiange said was reasonable, and suddenly had an idea. He said: "Director Yuan, please help me convey a message to Yang Jishan. If we cooperate, both will benefit; if we fight, both will lose. If he really values this place, he can cooperate with Changshan Village. He invests money and roads, Changshan Village provides people and land, and the profits are shared equally."

  Yuan Tiangong was taken aback and said, "Brave warrior, you have a great idea! Don't worry, I'll definitely help you convey the message. Cow Xiangshi, may I borrow your ear for a word?"

  Liu Ziqiu warned: "What's going on?"

  Yuan Tiangong smiled and said: "Yuan saw that the strong man's facial features were extraordinary, and wanted to cast a divination for the strong man. He hoped the strong man..."

  "Enough!" Liu Ziqiu waved his hand and said, "Thank you for your kindness, sir. I have no interest in this matter! If there's nothing else, please leave, sir!"

  Yuan Tian Gang didn't get angry either, and smiled: "Take care of yourself, brave warrior, we'll meet again!"

  "This doesn't sound like something the county magistrate would say, it's clearly a bandit. Liu Ziqiu shook his head and turned to the villagers saying: 'I didn't ask for everyone's opinion, I just proposed cooperating with Yang Jishan, you all...'"

  Some villagers' faces showed a hint of anger, and Second Uncle hastily stepped forward and said: "Big Cow, Longshan Village has a deep blood feud with the Yang family, we were originally unwilling to cooperate. But if it weren't for you today, Longshan Village would probably have no one left alive by now. From today on, you are our mainstay, we will all listen to you!"

  Everyone is clear about today's situation, and they have all died once. After hearing what Ershu said, everyone didn't have any opinions and nodded in agreement one after another.

  Liu Ziqiu waved his hand and said, "Alright! Since everyone trusts me, I will not let you down. Now that the sky is already dark, everyone should go home and have dinner first. If my guess is correct, the Yang family will come again tonight, and we'll launch a beautiful ambush to make them know that Changshan Village is not easy to mess with!"

  A dilapidated small courtyard, with reeds woven into a fence around the earthen wall, and two thatched cottages made of rammed earth. This was the home of Big Cow. Liu Ziqiu put down his fish basket, took a look, and exclaimed in surprise: "This is all your harvest for today? It's really not bad."

  Gaixiu'er shook her head and said, "I won't go fishing. These were all given to me by the uncles and aunts. Tomorrow I'll take them to town to sell for money to buy medicine for Xiangcao."

  Vanilla?

  "It's my sister."

  Just now on the beach, Gao Xiuer was desperately pulling the fish basket back home. Liu Ziqiu only then realized that the fish basket was filled with money for saving lives.

  Inside the room, a girl of eleven or twelve years old was lying on the bed. In fact, it couldn't be called a bed, just a few wooden boards placed on top of an earth mound. The girl's body was covered with thick quilts, her eyes tightly closed, and her face as pale as golden paper. Liu Ziqiu reached out to touch the girl's forehead, and suddenly lifted up the quilt.

  "Gaixiu'er exclaimed: "What are you going to do?!"

  "She's burning with fever, how can she still be covered in a quilt? We need to get her cooled down quickly!" Liu Ziqiu turned around and anxiously asked, "Where is the cool water?"

  "Gaixiu'er hesitated: 'What do you want cold water for?'"

  "Apply a cold compress to her forehead! And help her wipe her armpits again."

  Although Gao Xiuer didn't believe her elder sister, she still followed Liu Ziqiu's instructions.

  After a long time, the little girl finally opened her eyes and saw Gao Xiuer, murmuring: "Little... sister, am I dead?"

  "Vanilla, you finally woke up, big brother's method really works."

  "Big brother?"

  "Ah, you're back, Big Brother Niú. He's teaching what he calls 'physical cooling method'."

  Hearing the noise, Liu Ziqiu, who was cooking, ran in and touched Xiangcao's forehead with his hand, nodding: "En, much better. Continue to apply, feed more water."

  "Ah!" Gao Xiuer let out a sharp cry, reached out to help Xiangcao pull the quilt up, and scolded, "What's wrong with you, coming in without saying a word?"

  Just now, according to Liu Ziqiu's instructions, Gao Xiuer helped Xiangcao wipe her armpits with cold water and took off her top, leaving only a light-colored bellyband.

  "Whatever, a little kid like that, who cares about watching. For a girl as big as Xianghuai, Liu Ziqiu really hadn't considered the difference between boys and girls yet. Besides, she was still wearing a bellyband, in her original place, it's popular for women to wear less and men to wear more."

  Gao Xiuer looked a bit neurotic, like a small cow protecting its calf. Liu Ziqiu pitied her and didn't want to argue with her, so he reluctantly said: "Dinner is ready, you can serve yourself later and give some rice porridge to Xiangcao. I'll go take a look at the village entrance."

  Tonight, there is no moonlight, and the outside is foggy. Except for the insect sounds in the grass, not a single sound can be heard. The villagers who have been hiding outside the village for half the night, enduring mosquito bites, are getting impatient.

  The stick lying next to Liu Ziqiu also looked anxiously ahead and asked nervously, "Big Bull Brother, are they definitely coming today?"

  "Come, they will definitely come!" Liu Ziqiu said confidently. "When doing this kind of thing, most people choose the darkest time before dawn when everyone is sleeping soundly. Tell everyone to calm down, it should be soon."

  It was as if to confirm Liu Ziqiu's judgment, a mournful cry suddenly came from the front, which sounded particularly mournful in the quiet black night, making people's hair stand on end. Immediately afterwards, there were second and third cries, interspersed with vicious curses.

  "Wow, Big Brother Niu, you're amazing! They fell into the trap!"

  Liu Ziqiu said in a low voice: "Get things ready. If these people still don't know what's good for them, let's give them a show of force!"

  The traps outside the village are not fatal, but enough to make the intruder covered in scars. Sharp bamboo stakes were inserted into the ground, whether it was a person or a horse, as long as they stepped on them, they would immediately pierce through their feet. If they fell to the ground, they would also be stabbed in other places. Entering such a stake array is indeed difficult to move forward.

  However, Liu Ziqiu did not hear the neighing of horses, and it seemed that the Yang family had not resorted to using cavalry this time. In addition to the bamboo stakes, there were also pitfalls dug at intervals. The pits were not deep, but they were filled with crushed shells, enough to make one drink a pot if he fell in.

  As a top special forces operative, Liu Ziqiu would naturally set up many formidable traps. However, he had already planned to cooperate with the Yang family and didn't want to make more enemies, so he showed mercy. Of course, Liu Ziqiu was even more aware of the villagers' situation - after all, they didn't have the same power as the Yang family, and if too many people died, the authorities wouldn't let them off, and that old fox Yuan Tiangai certainly wouldn't help them cover their tracks.

  The mournful cries outside the village gradually faded away, and the villagers cheered in unison. This battle was won too easily, without even seeing the enemy's face.

  Liu Ziqiu remained extremely calm, waved his hand and said: "Everyone be quiet, beware of the enemy's trickery!"

  Sure, here is the translation:

  As expected, a rustling sound came from the direction of the dock. The Yang family was relentless and actually took a detour around the sea to launch a sneak attack from the east.

  Liu Ziqiu coldly smiled and said: "Zhuangzi, tell everyone to get ready, listen for my command!"

  The rustling sound was getting closer and closer, and it was almost at the village entrance. Liu Ziqiu suddenly stood up and shouted: "Release!"

  The villagers worked together. All that could be heard was the "whooshing" sound of breaking air, as countless black shadows flew towards the front of the village. This was the simple stone-throwing machine that Liu Zi Qiu had everyone prepare. Behind the village was a large area of bamboo forest, which was the best defensive material. Long bamboo poles were split in half, one end deeply buried underground, and the other end pulled back with rope, forming a huge slingshot that could launch stones, although it couldn't reach far, its killing power wasn't any less.

  "Oh no!" "Ouch!" "My goodness!" "Run quickly!"

  The village in front quickly returned to calmness again.