Chapter 39: Sword Drawn and Bowstring Taut

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  Zhang's family, that is a well-known hundred-year-old landlord, with thousands of hectares of good land, and also has business transactions extending from Shanxi, Shanxi, Henan to Inner and Outer Mongolia. What kind of wealth is hidden? To say that they are rich enough to rival a country is not an exaggeration. If only half of this is true, it would be tens of millions of silver coins, not to mention the overflowing grain and cloth.

  Fifty taels of silver to these rustic heroes is a decade's worth of hard work, and one hundred taels? That's ten years of carefree life for their families. At this time, with natural disasters and human calamities, every single tael is capital for survival. This rotten life isn't worth much anyway; if losing it can exchange for the survival of a whole family, then that's a good deal.

  It is true that wealth moves people's hearts, and heavy rewards have brave men. The two families of village braves heard about such a reward and immediately changed their attitude towards the village head, from being servile and timid to being bold and fierce, with a determination to sacrifice themselves to destroy the bandits.

  Even the king's head who initiated the withdrawal of troops began to move his mind, and as long as this war is successful, it will be a fortune, and if not, it will be a worry-free life for several generations. Looking at the wall of Zhangjia Village, there are not many thieves, only three or four hundred. Here, with two villages and Chen's family, there are nearly a thousand village braves and guests, and winning is also uncertain. The last time Chen's family lost was just because they were at a disadvantage in terms of the bandits' bows and arrows. As long as we prepare more door boards and shields, we can overcome them. Looking at the brothers who are eager to try in front of and behind him, no longer sparing their lives like before, it is indeed a usable military spirit.

  He stepped forward, his face stern and his voice loud: "Since Zhangsun has spoken, silver and money are trivial, great righteousness comes first. Now that the military's heart and spirit can be used, I will sacrifice this body for the great righteousness of Lianzhuang, and I must destroy these bandits to bring peace to the people."

  "Alright, thank you, Chief Wang, for your kindness. So, what does Clan Leader Zhao say?"

  Now Zhao Zongchang is suffering in his heart, after all, people get more cunning with age, and he thinks that young people are short-sighted. He secretly thought to himself that although there were still a thousand or so men on their side, the Art of War says "ten times the enemy's strength", but here they only had one or two times the number of bandits, how could they attack the bandits who had sharp longbows and held the high ground? You are cheering and fighting to the death for that ill-gotten silver, do you know that those bandits are not fighting to the death just for the silver that has already been obtained?

  Isn't this contrast enough to guarantee defeat? Playing with the lives of one's own family members and recruited militiamen is not a joke. Although the militiamen are recruited from refugees, they are still human lives, and human lives are not worthless. For those empty and elusive rewards, throwing away these people's lives is really not worth it. The Zhao family has been engaged in poetry, books, and farming for generations, although they have not produced any high-ranking officials, but the simplest benevolence of being a person still exists.

  But looking at the already eager Wang family leader, he knew that saying anything would be futile, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly. He didn't say much more, and with a bow to Chen Jiaolong and the Wang family leader, said: "Chen Jiaolong, my Zhao family is small in number, and indeed cannot provide great assistance for your grand undertaking. Moreover, there are many matters to attend to in our village, and I must not tarry. Here, I bid farewell to everyone, and offer my best wishes that you all may achieve victory and success." Having spoken, he bowed again and began to slowly withdraw with his men.

  Zhao's decision immediately sparked divisions among his own ranks.

  The young men in the clan did not dare to disobey the clan elder, and those who were dissatisfied followed the clan elder away. However, the militiamen recruited from the refugees stood their ground, unwilling to retreat. These refugee militiamen had received promises from Chen Jialang's grandson, Xu Nu, that they would be rewarded with wealth and riches if they fought bravely, so how could they give up this great fortune? They looked at Zhao family's elder with hope, wishing for the Zhao family to agree.

  Zhao's family saw that the militia they had brought up actually appeared to be divided, and couldn't help but let out a long sigh. Of course, he also understood the thoughts of those militiamen. Usually, according to the rules, those militiamen who were taken in would do some odd jobs for the wealthy households on the estate, taking turns day and night to guard the safety of the estate, and all they got was barely enough to keep their families from starving. Now, suddenly having a hundred taels of silver, how could they not have thoughts of leaving their poverty behind?

  Zhao's family head could have spoken about the gains and losses in front of everyone, but Chen's family eldest son was watching with a tiger's gaze, there was no need to ruin the alliance between the two villages for some refugees who were blinded by money, let everything be up to him.

  "When the time comes, you will all return to the Zhao family village and reunite with your wives and children. Let us end our master-servant relationship on a good note. Take care of yourselves, I bid you farewell."

  What else can be said? Everyone has their own fate, wealth and nobility are in heaven, and there's no need to block others from taking the path of exchanging life for wealth. It's better to just follow the flow of human relationships.

  After this, those original militiamen didn't dare to make a move, after all the Zhao family was different from other landlords and wealthy families, they had always treated these refugees kindly, so some people began to hesitate again.

  "Is the old clan leader going to ignore the mutual protection of Lianzhuang just like that? Are they just going to leave with a pat on the back?" Chen Jia's grandson asked sternly. No matter what, he couldn't let Zhao's family take people away, which would be a huge blow to military morale and soldier's spirits, so he loudly spoke out to stop them.

  "I'm old and worn out, this killing and fighting business was never something I could do. If it weren't for the consideration of mutual protection between our villages, I wouldn't have come to join in on this commotion. I just want to live a peaceful life, tilling and reading."

  "Hahaha." Chen Jialong, seeing that Zhao's determination was already made, no longer cared about anything else and burst into loud laughter. His laughter stopped abruptly, and he said in a stern voice: "Since you've come, there are only two paths for you to take with me. One, join me in breaking through Zhangjiabao and annihilating this band of thieves. If we succeed, you will naturally get your share."

  "What if I don't?"

  "You are a traitor to the alliance, you are the traitor of this village. I will take care of you first today." Long Sun said sternly at that time.

  Although the head of the Zhao family was well-bred, he was summoned by his juniors and scolded in front of these young whippersnappers. How could he tolerate it? He also turned red with rage and laughed: "Haha, I didn't expect that this would turn into you being a vassal of the Chen family! Is your Chen family an official government?"

  "You..." Chen Jia's eldest grandson was at a loss for words. But he immediately became overbearing and said, "You don't respect the alliance treaty, I have the right to represent the other villages to deal with you."

  The Zhao family and the Chen family have adjacent lands, and they often quarrel over land and water sources. The Chen family is a prominent clan that relies on the Zhang family, making them arrogant and domineering. The Zhao family has suffered losses in village disputes, harboring resentment. However, this was all behind closed doors. Now, being publicly scolded by the Chen family's eldest grandson in front of outsiders is unbearable. At that moment, he retorted, "You're just a foolish child from the Chen family! You've always boasted about your family's tradition of poetry and agriculture, but have you read those classics to the dogs? Have you forgotten the basic virtues of respecting the elderly and honoring the wise? Is this how your family taught you? I'm just following the mutual respect agreed upon by everyone; are you really not afraid of me?"

  The most rapid-fire questioning at that time made Lang Sun speechless, but it also ignited his fierce and unyielding fire. His face flushed red as he shouted: "Old rascal, I respect you as a senior, which is why I stoop to speak with you in such a lowly manner. Since you don't know what's good for you, then don't blame me for being disrespectful to my elders."

  Being called an old matchmaker, the Zhao family head immediately became furious, and after hearing the eldest grandson's threatening words, he was even more enraged. Pointing at the eldest grandson's nose, he loudly shouted: "You little brat, I'll leave right now, what can you do to me?"

  The Zhao family members saw that the eldest grandson was so contemptuous of the head of the Zhao family, and they were all indignant, waving their swords and spears, pointing and scolding loudly. At this time, public sentiment was turbulent, and the scene had already lost control.

  The king's leader saw Chen and Zhao's two families conflict, at that time was in a dilemma.

  The Chen family is powerful and has strong combat strength, which is not something that can be provoked easily. However, the Zhao family is a neighboring family, with close ties and mutual support, often secretly collaborating to counter the Chen and Zhang families. Moreover, it was I who suggested retreating in the first place. Now that things have turned out this way, how could King Wang not feel torn?

  "Everyone, everyone, calm down your anger. We are all here to fight against the enemy together, our goal is the same. Let's talk things over and don't let our own people start a feud." King Wang was now sweating profusely as he mediated in the middle, hoping to reconcile the two families.

  "What else is there to discuss with him?" Zhangsun glared at Zhao, his face red and eyes bulging.

  The king leader shrunk his neck, it seems being a good person is difficult.

  "Leader Wang, don't try to persuade me anymore. I'd like to see how this young whippersnapper can stop me. Let's go, men!" Zhao Zonglao, the elder of the Zhao clan, was even more hot-tempered and didn't care about Leader Wang's feelings at all. He led his own clansmen away with big strides.

  It's all because of you, Wang the leader, and now you want to play the good guy, letting my tribesmen risk their lives for that hopeless silver money? Is there such a good thing in the world?

  Chen's eldest grandson saw that Zhao's family had given up all hope, and immediately shouted loudly: "Brothers, take down these unscrupulous guys for me!"

  Zhang Sun shouted, and the Chen family cavalry, who had already moved to the outer edge of the crowd, let out a loud shout. In an instant, they drew their large knives from their waists and surrounded the Zhao family members in unison.

  That Zhao clan leader did not expect things to turn out this way, and his face changed greatly. Looking at the more than 100 Chen family cavalry with their eager appearance, he suddenly laughed in a hurry, "Really can't see through it, your Chen family has really made progress, could it be that you want to claim kingship here?"

  "I dare not claim to be king or overlord; I am merely upholding the mutual defense pact of the allied villages."

  "Alright, from today on, I'll take care of this family's safety myself. If anything happens to my family, it will have nothing to do with any of you."

  "Unfortunately, you're launching now is too late."

  "What can you do to me even if I quit?"

  "Either you retreat a step further today," said Zhangsun coldly, "or this will be your burial ground."