Chapter Seven: Bounty

  Wu Qing's worries were soon confirmed. Just as a few sturdy men returned, the Song army carried the wounded and escorted the remaining Wu family village sturdy men, with a face full of anger, to come to Wu family village to seek justice.

  "You damned bastards! For your worthless lives, I almost lost mine!" Luo Yuan's face was pale, and he started yelling from afar. He yelled while sweating coldly, constantly shivering, and occasionally shouting loudly, apparently wanting to vent his anger on the villagers of Wujiashan Village.

  What kind of twisted logic is this?

  However, the scholar encountered a soldier and couldn't reason with him. The soldier had suffered a loss and if he didn't cause trouble for Wu's village, he wouldn't be a soldier.

  "Let him go! Let him go!"

  "Say it nicely, say it well."

  Wu Qing and the villagers of Wu Family Village looked at the several sturdy men with knives around their necks, frightened out of their wits.

  Those sturdy men had knives placed around their necks, each with a deathly pale face, constantly trembling, and unable to utter a word. They were honest and simple folk, who had never experienced such a fright before, and it was fortunate that they did not faint on the spot.

  "I won't let go, I won't let go! I want them dead!" Luo Yian's voice rose in a defeated and desperate bellow.

  "General, please show mercy and spare the lives of these young men. General, you have been injured and suffered greatly, we are willing to make amends! We are willing to make amends!" Wu Qing was truly frightened out of his wits this time, almost to the point of kowtowing in supplication.

  "My father is the Grand Duke, and this life is worth a lot of money. You have to pay 1,000 guan. Luo Yi's voice was cold sweat, but he didn't forget the word 'money', the charm of this money is really great. A pair of eyes stared at Wu Xiaoniang, a strange light flashed: "Also want her to be my concubine. If not willing, I will kill you all, leaving no chicken or dog."

  This is really too much. One thousand guan of money is one thousand liang of silver, and the Wu family village are all farmers, selling them all wouldn't even be worth one thousand guan of money.

  Not to mention, he specifically wants Wu Xiaoniang to be a concubine. Now that Wu Qiang has just died, only Wu Xiaoniang is left as a lonely and helpless person. If she were to be ruined, who would still have the face to live in this world?

  It's worth noting that everyone in Wujiacun is related by blood or marriage, and no one wants this kind of thing to happen.

  But under the pressure of the soldiers, what can be done?

  In the Song Dynasty, it often happened that soldiers killed civilians. If Luo Yuan Sheng killed people in Wu's village, he might even get a reward for his "merit". He could simply report that they were the heads of the Liao army. Such things happened one after another in the Song Dynasty, and no one dared to question Luo Yuan Sheng's words.

  "What's good about this? What's good?" Wu Qing's forehead was covered in cold sweat, but he couldn't think of a single solution.

  "Third Uncle, don't panic." Wu Ji came over to Wu Qing's side and comforted him.

  "Hmm! Jī ér, you're a scholar, with broad knowledge, think of a solution quickly." Wu Qing, as soon as he saw Wu Jī, was like seeing a lifesaver: "Jī ér, you must think of a way, this concerns the lives of 200 people!"

  He also knew that the Song army was brutal and had often killed civilians to take credit for their achievements.

  "How impressive!" Wu Ji sneered and stepped forward.

  It would be better if Wu Jie wasn't around, but as soon as he appeared, Luo Yuan's voice became like a cat with its tail stepped on, shrieking: "This is all because of you, you pretentious scholar, forcing the brothers to go bear hunting. The brothers were heavily injured and killed, I'll make you suffer."

  "Hmph!" Wu Ji snorted, saying: "Heavy casualties? Twenty soldiers can't even kill a bear. If this gets out, will we still have any face left? I'm ashamed for all of you!"

  "You, you, you..." Luo Yuan's voice was like a stimulant to Wu Ji, who became furious and shouted in a fit of rage: "I'll make sure none of you have a good death! None of you will have a good death!"

  "Twenty of you, fed by the military, can't even kill a bear, and yet you're still shouting here. Are you afraid that no one will know? Can you finish off the people of Wu Family Village? Don't say that with just twenty of you, excluding the injured, there are only sixteen of you, and you think you can commit murder and wipe out the people of Wu Family Village?" Wu Ji seemed to not see Luo Yuan's ferocious expression, and instead sneered: "As long as one person from Wu Family Village escapes, your crimes will be exposed."

  "What can you do? We are killing the enemy, we are killing the Liao dog, I will only make achievements!" Luo's voice became even more arrogant, and as soon as he mentioned making achievements, his heart moved involuntarily, and he couldn't wait to take action immediately.

  "I am a scholar, if I die, the government will send someone to investigate. With Lord Zheng's wisdom, he won't fail to uncover your crimes, and when that happens, you'll be subject to military law!" Wu Jie had no choice but to use the scholar's reputation as a threat.

  It must be said that in the Song Dynasty, the status of scholars was quite high, and this tiger skin was a symbol of it. If Wu Ji really killed the Song army, the county magistrate of Guixian County would come to investigate, after all, scholars were different from ordinary people.

  "This place is all mountains, the people of Wu Family Village are most familiar with it. If you want to wipe them out, that's a dream! The people of Wu Family Village only need to hide in the mountains, and you'll never find them." Wu Ji didn't allow Luo Yuan to take action, and shouted again.

  Luo Yuansheng turned his neck and looked around, all he saw were mountains. The people of Wujiazhuang had retreated into the mountains, and he was really at a loss. If it weren't for Wu Jia, he would have killed everyone in Wujiazhuang, but with a scholar like him involved, things became complicated. He couldn't kill all the people of Wujiazhuang, and this matter had become too difficult to handle, so he hesitated.

  Wu Ji knew that the time had come, and he changed his tone of voice, saying: "It's very difficult to hunt down bears. Our Wu family village has already learned a bloody lesson from this new grave, where the person inside was bitten to death by a bear. You didn't manage to kill the bear, but that doesn't mean you've lost face. In military operations, casualties are unavoidable. Since you were injured while fighting the enemy, that's considered meritorious service. When you return to the army, there will be rewards waiting for you."

  Luo Yuansheng's eyes lit up, and he thought Wu Ji's words made sense. He had lost a leg and was furious, but hadn't thought of this before, so he came to seek revenge. Now that his revenge attempt had failed, he had no choice but to consider retreating. Wu Ji was right, this was a real injury, and if he returned to the army, it would definitely be considered a meritorious act, much safer than killing people in Wu's village.

  Ready-made military achievements, no risk at all!

  He was also a refined person, and with a fierce swing of his sleeve, he said: "You wait for the brutal acts of the lowly people, I will report to the Emperor myself. You lowly people just wait to be punished! Leave!"

  The soldiers let go of Ding Zhuang and carried or backed the wounded soldiers back to Xincheng.

  "Phew!" Wu Qing let out a long sigh and sat down on the ground with a thud. This crisis was finally over. It had been about the lives of two hundred people, how could he not worry?

  "Xiucai brother, you're really something! You actually managed to move the thief's troops!" Several strong men rushed up and lifted Wu Ji up.

  They had knives placed on their necks, feeling the chill of the blade, and thought they were done for. Unexpectedly, Wu Ji's eloquence actually saved them.

  Looking at Wu Ji who was thrown away, Yang Xiuxiu had a happy face. Marrying such a husband, what else could she be dissatisfied with?

  "Don't throw it away! Don't throw it away!" Wu Qing gasped for a moment, then scrambled to his feet and stopped Ding Zhuang from throwing Wu Ji. He asked: "Ji'er, will this cause any trouble? Do I need to go to the county to report to Zheng Daren?"

  To avoid future troubles, it's necessary to take a trip, Wu Ji nodded slightly.

  "Moreover, if this bear is not eliminated, it will definitely harm humans and livestock. This matter must be reported to Lord Zheng for his decision." Wu Qing never forgot about eliminating the bear, which was the greatest hidden danger in Wu's village.

  "Then let's go!" Wu Ji thought so too.

  "But, Wu Jie, what are we going to say about today's events? I'm not good at talking, why don't you come with me instead. You're weak and frail, we'll carry you into the city." Wu Qing knew he couldn't explain things clearly himself, but if he could get Wu Jie to the city, then with Wu Jie's eloquence, they would definitely be able to get to the bottom of the lotus flower affair.

  Going into the city is naturally good, but that would implicate others. Wu Ji naturally dispelled this thought and whispered to Wu Qing's ear: "Third Uncle, you can say it like that."

  Wu Qing nodded repeatedly, with a look of admiration on his face.

  Wu Jie finished speaking, and Wu Qing took a few strong men to Guixian County. Yang Xiuxiu helped Wu Jie back into the house, lit a fire for him, and repeatedly reminded him to stay in the house before going to turn over the soil. Wu Jie began his boring days again, using dryness to pass the time.

  Time passed especially slowly in the dullness, Wu Ji thousand eagerly awaited, finally it got dark. Yang Xiuxiu had just returned from the ground when Wu Qing rushed over, and as soon as she saw Wu Ji's face, she smiled and laughed, her face glowing with red light, constantly praising: "Ji'er ah, you are really a godly calculator, I followed your teachings and Zheng Daren praised me! Praised me!"

  Although Zheng County Magistrate is a seventh-grade official, in Wu Qing's eyes, that was already an official of great importance.

  "Quickly, Lord Zheng has said that he will no longer send troops to hunt the bear, but instead offer a reward. Whoever can hunt the bear will receive 50,000 coins." Wu Qing's voice suddenly rose, becoming somewhat shrill and piercing: "50,000 coins! If I had the ability, I would never have to worry about food or clothing for the rest of my life."

  Fifty thousand coins is equivalent to fifty taels of silver, which is an astronomical figure for rural people.