Chapter 66: Arrangements

  "You all heard that? Brother Zhao has shown us kindness, taking us in. We can't be ungrateful and heartless, from now on our lives belong to Commander Zhao. If anyone is unwilling, they can leave now. But if you stay, and later betray him, even if we have to chase you to the ends of the earth, we'll take your head and present it to Commander Zhao. Now, those who agree to stay, kneel down and pay respects to Commander Zhao. Those who want to leave, get out!"

  After saying these words, he didn't look at anyone else and immediately knelt down on the ground, loudly saying: "Thank you, Commander, for your kindness in taking me in."

  He took the lead, and the remaining two hundred or so people knelt down in a swoop. Except for Zhao Shi and the few salt workers behind him who were at a loss, there was not a single person standing at the village entrance. Even those who were originally lying on the camel cart struggled to get off the cart, and they all said in unison: "Thank you, General Zhao, for taking us in."

  Although Zhao Shi had cultivated a heart of iron and stone, at this moment, his heart was also warm. These people were all seasoned warriors and the ones who could get his good impression. He quickly stepped forward, wanting to pull Du Shantiger up, but Du Shantiger insisted on leading the way by knocking three loud heads before standing up again.

  It wasn't until many years later that Zhao Shi realized from Du Shantian's words, spoken after he had become drunk on wine, that this man who seemed straightforward and chivalrous also had his own small abacus.

  Firstly, they can't abandon these heavily injured brothers after leaving the Xianfeng Army. Secondly, this guy thinks that Zhao Shi is incredibly intelligent and brave at a young age, although his foundation is somewhat lacking. But following someone like him, who knows what heights he might reach in the future? What Zhao Shi lacks is just an opportunity to soar to great heights.

  These three are also related to their own future, the Western Qin military system, as long as they have an official rank of fourth grade, they can form their own guard troops. These guards and the commander-in-chief often share a relationship of honor and shame that cannot be abandoned. Once released, their prospects will be limitless. At this time, Zhao Shi was just a traveling general, but in the future, once he became a general, these people would become his trusted confidants, the best choice for guard troops, and they would rise with him.

  At that time, Zhao Shi naturally didn't know about these private thoughts. By the time he found out, both of them had already become high-ranking officials and had been through many years of battles together, forming a bond of life and death. Even if they knew, it would only be a matter of laughing it off, with a hint of admiration for each other's farsightedness in their hearts.

  All these are later stories. For now, let's not mention them. As Zhao Shi said, Zhaojia Village was built on the mountain, with only about 100 households. It is natural and simple, but also very crude. Suddenly so many people came, where can they live?

  Fortunately, none of these people have never suffered before. As long as there is a place with food and drink, they can get by for some days.

  It's not necessary to make a fuss. These simple villagers have always been very enthusiastic about outsiders, and after these people entered the village, it didn't take long for everyone to be holding a bowl of hot water in their hands, and soon steaming hot food was served...

  "What's going on here with swords and guns drawn? Is there some kind of trouble?" Du Shantiger followed Zhao Shi, walking alongside him as he asked.

  "There's a bandit uprising here, I caught a few and asked them. They were originally planning to gather at our village, and we're discussing what to do about it..."

  Du Shantiger heard the news, not surprised but delighted, rubbed his palms together and excitedly smiled: "Arriving early is not as good as arriving at the right time, are you a mountain bandit? It's not me Du Shantiger bragging, my brothers can take on ten of them, Commander, we can't lose this battle."

  Seeing Du Shantiger following himself with every step, always half a step behind, Zhao Shi's heart was somewhat unaccustomed to it. Originally, Du Shantiger's grade had told him that he wasn't even a little bit inferior, but now this appearance also made Zhao Shi feel uncomfortable.

  "From now on, just call me by my name, or even 'stone' if you like... this matter can't be done without your help..."

  Du Shantiger shook his head and said, "What's the point of not having rules? Since we followed you, we are your subordinates. Where is the reason for a subordinate to call their superior by name?" He looked around and smiled, "Hmm, this village is not bad, it has mountains and water, but the surroundings are too flat, not suitable for fighting with them, otherwise there will be too many casualties..."

  "Haha, this isn't to say that my brothers are afraid of them. I think it's better to let them into the village and block both ends... what's it called? Ah yes, catching a turtle in a jar! But there can't be too many of them, if there are too many, they'll scatter as soon as we charge, and the battle won't go well..."

  Zhao Shi looked at him and didn't think that this rough-looking guy could come up with such an idea in just one sentence, exactly what he was thinking in his heart, it seems that this person is also a refined man.

  His facial expression didn't change, he just pointed to the surrounding village and said: "There aren't many of them, at most three or four hundred people, it's just that I'm afraid if we let them in, they'll harm the villagers."

  Du Shantiger listened to the nonchalant words: "What's difficult about this? Gather all the villagers, assign people to guard them. Bandits are bandits after all, they can't escape being a thief. If you play with their lives, they'll be scared out of their wits. As long as my brothers have knives in hand, once they see blood, we can tell who's a hero and who's a coward. I don't believe these mountain bandits can withstand us, the killing gods who crawled out from piles of corpses..."

  Zhao Shi looked at him and thought for a moment before asking another question: "What if I want to annihilate them all here?"

  Du Shantiger shook his head again, with an expression of not having mistaken the person. "We knew that the traveling general had this kind of thinking. Since these thieves dared to come and provoke us, if we don't leave their heads behind, what's the point?"

  "Speaking of which, he turned around and shouted, 'Huli, Chi Mo, you two come here...'"

  Not far away, two soldiers who were eating with gusto immediately stood up like conditioned reflexes and replied loudly: "Subordinates are here."

  The people around fell silent. Then came a few low laughs, and someone even laughed and shouted: "You two fools are sick? Scaring me with a start, this is not Qingyang anymore, damn it, I haven't heard that being a soldier can also make you stupid..."

  The two of them blushed and glared fiercely at the crowd for a few moments before quickly running over.

  Du Shantiger burst out laughing and pointed at the short, stout man with a refined face. He introduced him to Zhao Shi: "This is Hu Li, formerly the commander of the scouting team in the military. This little guy is clever and knows all sorts of mechanisms and traps. He's the most cunning one, and when it comes to tracking skills, he dares to claim second place, but no one else dares to claim first place..."

  "I've seen General Travel." Hu Li dismounted and knelt on one knee to pay his respects to Zhao Shi, but was pulled up by the latter. At this moment, Zhao Shi's heart was somewhat excited, for the person in front of him was a scout of this era, and he wondered whether he was better or worse than himself.

  "When we have some free time, shall we try it out?" Zhao Shi said, unable to hold back the urge in his heart.

  Hu Li smiled wryly. They didn't take Zhao Shi's words to heart, these people were all elite soldiers, although they had been with the Imperial Guard for a period of time, but in their hearts, they still looked down on those Imperial Guards. Even more so, they wouldn't notice Zhao Shi, this small team leader, on the road, although Du Shantiger mentioned some stories about this young general, it didn't sink into his heart, so now, although he was humble and respectful, but in his heart, he still didn't have much respect for him.

  Zhao Shi may not be very familiar with other things, but he is extremely familiar with the ideas and behavior of soldiers, and also knows that it's not easy to gain their respect overnight. So he just said one sentence and let it go.

  "This is Chi Mo, a Tubo man with dark and rough skin but exceptionally strong physique. He killed a noble of the Tubo tribe and ran away. His horseback riding skills are top-notch, but he's a bit straightforward and is a non-Han person. He has been unable to get the position he deserves. As a team leader in the cavalry, his original name was Mo Chi. He took on a Han surname, Li, and this kid goes crazy as soon as he steps onto the battlefield, so everyone gave him the nickname 'Chi Mo'."

  This man's Mandarin was still a bit stiff, his right knee slightly bent, and after a moment of hesitation, he performed the familiar Tibetan greeting that Zhao Shi knew well, "Greetings, Commander."

  "Isn't it easy to annihilate these bandits? Let the fox lead people in the village to set up traps and mechanisms, wait for them to be in chaos, and then we'll rush up to disperse them. The remaining brothers will block the village entrance, and even if there are a few who escape, they'll all be handed over to Chi Mo. I saw earlier that there were so many horses here, just enough to use. Among these brothers, twenty cavalrymen can be selected, fighting hard may not be their strong point, but chasing those lucky bandits who escaped with their lives will be a piece of cake."

  After a conversation with Du Shantiger, Zhao Shi's heart was more at ease, and he immediately ordered the deployment to begin. There were not many weapons, only over 120 short knives, over 60 long knives, and the rest were all kitchen knives. There were also eight strong bows that could be gathered together. One reason for this was that more than 20 people in the village had participated in the grain protection army and brought back their horizontal knives. The salt workers mostly used short knives, while the others were from the group of bandits killed by Zhao Shi. Of course, these weapons would first be provided to the soldiers of the Xianfeng Army, ensuring that each soldier had a weapon in hand, and only then would they be distributed to others.

  Others didn't have much to complain about, the soldiers of the Xianfeng Army in front of them were all seasoned veterans who had been through many battles, and they were clearly different from ordinary people in terms of momentum. They handled things in an orderly manner, occasionally cracking jokes, and quickly calmed down those who were panicked.

  Everything is ready, and the conspicuous people have also been withdrawn, only sending out foxes and others to patrol outside. The village has finally returned to calm, but these are just appearances. The center of the village is now a trap everywhere, every step is a pit. If you don't enter the village, you can't see the changes in the village at all.

  Xian Fengjun's soldiers were divided into two groups, one led by Du Shantiger and concentrated at the village head, while the other was personally led by Zhao Shi and concentrated at the village tail. The remaining salt workers were responsible for protecting the villagers, with some hiding in houses. At this point, the entire Zhaojia Village seemed to have become a miniature version of the Ten-Faced Ambush.

  During this time, Zhao Shi still discussed with Shang Yan Zu and Du Shan Hu, and finally sent someone to inform the county town to send troops over. Originally, Du Shan Hu did not quite agree, he resigned and did not serve, but it does not mean that he did not want to return to the military and make a name for himself. Since he had the ability to single-handedly annihilate these mountain bandits, why should he let someone else take credit? How could Zhao Shi now be the commander of the Imperial Guard, and these heads are all real military achievements?

  But this time Zhao Shi thought it through thoroughly. Having suffered a loss in Qingyang once, he didn't want to suffer again. Not reporting to the county seat wasn't an option, but suppressing bandits definitely wasn't their responsibility either. If another person like Li Wu were to stand out, no one would get any credit for this achievement. It was better to simply and openly notify the county officials, send them a favor, although the outcome was still uncertain, in the end it was necessary to leave some face.

  Here is the translation:

  So, Du Shantiger didn't say another word, but in his heart, he was different. This young man had let go of a great achievement in Qingyang and left quietly, without making a fuss. At first, he thought it wasn't worth it, feeling that it was a bit too much to give up, but after thinking about it carefully, he realized that it was actually a wise move. Even if they had made a big deal out of it, nothing would have come of it, and they might have even lost their lives in the process. But as for facing such a great achievement, Du Shantiger acknowledged that he couldn't be as carefree as Zhao Shi. He secretly admired Zhao Shi's decisiveness. Without saying another word, Shang Yanzu also nodded in agreement, and the matter was settled. Zhao Shi immediately sent someone to report to the county government.

  However, although it's only a four or five days' journey back and forth from the county town, by the time the soldiers and horses arrive from the county town, the battle will already be over...