Chapter 74: Exterminate Bandits

  "There is Zhao's village." Chu Shu Huan looked at the distant village and thought to himself, casting a glance at his brothers riding on horseback, each looking listless, and involuntarily cursed in his heart.

  I don't know what kind of madness the old master has, sending his brothers to do such a business. From Lintao to Gongyi County, the road is not far, but this deal makes people feel puzzled. Looking for someone? In such a big place, how can they find them with just over 60 people? They have to search village by village, which is time-consuming and laborious. The main person hasn't even been seen, and the risk is too great. Although the brothers all have horses, who knows when they'll be blocked by government troops? It's said that finding the person will get them 100,000 taels of silver, but now it seems that their chances of success are as likely as plucking the moon from the sky.

  I recall the fellow I saw on the mountain, who was hiding and sneaking around. With Chu Shu's discerning eye, one glance told me that this guy wasn't up to any good. The heroes of the Green Forest most despise those who collude with the authorities. If people were to find out that the hero of Qi Cai Mountain had become a pawn for the government, their reputation would be ruined. Is it worth it for 100,000 taels of silver?

  Thinking of this, Chu Shu Huan felt a bit annoyed and shook his head. A thin man next to him saw his gloomy face and approached him with a smile, saying: "Second Master, isn't this the last place we've come to? Shouldn't we let our brothers have some fun? These days have been tough on them. We can't even drink wine. As outlaws living in the green forest, isn't it all about living life to the fullest, with no lack of women, money, or anything else? The brothers are all waiting for your word, aren't they?"

  The men beside him, upon hearing his words, seemed to regain their spirits instantly, and their eyes gleamed with a fierce light, like a pack of starving wolves.

  Chu Shu Huan was stirred up by that thin man, and her heart also felt a warmth. The worries she had just now were immediately thrown away, and she licked her dry lips, laughing loudly: "Alright, we're going to do this with our lives on the line! I was too strict with you brothers the other day, after all, this isn't the base of our Seven Ingenious Mountains. Isn't it said that carefulness can make a boat last for ten thousand years? However, today is the last time, once we're done, we'll return to the mountains and live freely! Brothers, let loose and ransack this village..."

  But let's be frank, whoever finds the woman gets to keep her, no one else can take her away. If anyone breaks the rules and starts a fight with their own brothers, we'll deal with them according to the mountain rules...

  As soon as he spoke out, a burst of responses immediately arose. The faces of these fugitives all showed a few hints of red light, and their eyes were even more filled with ferocity.

  "Second Master, rest assured, brothers all understand the rules, it's not worth it for a woman..."

  "It's just that, but since you're being the first, can't let me be the fifteenth? Brothers are good at this kind of thing, don't say I broke the rules later..."

  Vulgar nonsense immediately resonated into a chorus, Chu Shu Huan swung his big hand and shouted: "What are you brothers waiting for? There are women waiting for us to comfort them in front, first come first served, those who fall behind will have nothing..."

  Having said that, he urged his horse on and sped towards the village ahead of time. The mountain bandits behind him also shouted loudly and urged their war horses to speed up, with dozens of riders galloping in a cloud of dust, rapidly approaching the village.

  Du Shantiger's eyes narrowed. He muttered a sentence. "Die early and be reborn, this group of bastards really can't wait to see King Yan." He turned his head and ordered, "All of you hide well, after they pass by, we'll block their retreat and let these bastards see our prowess. I'm telling you, we've just found a new boss, whoever loses face for us at this critical moment doesn't need me to say anything, get out early, did you hear that? Can't let one of them escape."

  This group of mountain bandits, since entering Fengxiang Prefecture, had not encountered much resistance along the way and had lost their basic vigilance. They actually rushed into the village in a big way, and Zhao Shi had specially arranged for some agile people to walk around the village to confuse them. Now it seems that he overestimated the intelligence of these mountain bandits, and it didn't have any effect at all.

  The villagers had long been told what to do at such times, and the mountain bandits were still far away. These people shouted loudly and scattered into the houses in the village, disappearing without a trace.

  Some bandits rushed into the village, dismounted and entered the houses in the village. Immediately, the sound of rummaging through boxes and cursing filled the air... mixed with some mournful cries...

  Mixed in the team, Chu Shu Huan immediately noticed something was wrong. The village was too quiet, as if except for them, there were no other people here... it seemed like there was nobody else... No familiar cries and shouts, no brothers dragging people out of their houses, everything was different from what he had experienced before...

  But at this time, the people around him didn't have the heart to care about these things. Their minds were already filled with nothing else but the tender skin of women, their gentle moans, and even their cries...

  Chu Shu Huan wanted to shout, letting his brothers stop, but an arrow accompanied by a sharp sound flew out from the corner, as if it had eyes and instantly pierced his throat. A hot blood immediately blocked all his voices, and with the splashing of fresh blood, Chu Shu Huan's body tilted and fell down along the horseback...

  Chu Shuhan's last glance swept over, and the guy in front of him fell into a huge pit with his horse. The mournful howl echoed from the mouth, but disappeared instantly. In just an instant, the mournful cry seemed to have spread out. Chu Shuhan's last thought was ambush... Then he felt a severe pain in his chest. He didn't know anything anymore. A horse hoof had trampled through his chest, and his corpse entangled with the warhorse that had been tripped up like a toy. When the warhorse struggled to get up with a mournful whinny, Chu Shuhan's corpse was already blurred with blood and flesh, no longer human in shape.

  At this time, Du Shantiger had led his men to kill their way out and blocked the retreat of the mountain bandits. These people knew at a glance that they were in a military formation. As soon as they appeared, they quickly formed into three rows, forming a team. Although the formation was quick, but the advance was not fast, just slow steps forward. The people in front held horizontal knives, and the people behind held short knives. The speed of advancement was slow, but step by step, the formation gave people an absolute sense of pressure. As long as any mountain bandit rushed up, they would be greeted with several horizontal knives, and every knife would see blood. In an instant, the person would be chopped into a bloody man. Even if there were mountain bandits riding war horses to rush up, the war horses that lost their speed in the eyes of these people were almost the same as the cows and sheep waiting to be slaughtered. The surrounding people went up and cut down the person on the horse with one knife. After that, they chopped down the war horse, and then turned it over. It was like performing the art of killing, and the people behind quickly cut off the heads of the men and hung them from their waists. The fresh blood made them look even more ferocious than the people in front.

  Again, the fugitive mountain bandits are just that, compared to these military men who disregard life and death. Being called fugitives is only relative to ordinary people, but in a situation where it's clear that going up would be suicidal, no mountain bandit dares to engage with these people anymore.

  The bandits hiding in the mountains immediately became like headless flies, crying and shouting incessantly. The salt workers grasped the opportunity not very well, until these bandits rushed into the surrounding houses, they appeared one after another, pressing some of the bandits in between.

  Zhao Shi led his men to slowly surround the village from behind. Looking at the gradually closing encirclement, some of the mountain bandits' eyes had already shown a desperate color, some desperately resisted, wanting to kill their way out, while others simply knelt down on the spot, shouting loudly, "Don't kill me, I surrender, don't kill me..."

  The battle ended quickly, with more than sixty mountain bandits surrounded by four or five hundred people, leaving no room for resistance. Only a few individuals managed to escape from the two sides guarded by Yan Ding, but were caught up and killed by the Red Devils patrolling outside the village, without any suspense.

  Quickly swept the battlefield, beheaded corpses were directly pushed into the big pit dug in the village and buried. Zhao Shi's requirement was to leave no trace of the battle here, then continued to guard the stake waiting for rabbits.

  ……。。。。

  In the following three days, these mountain bandits who had been making trouble in Gongyi County for over a month came one after another like bees attracted by honey.

  No matter whether they were heroes from Ba Gua Ridge or heroes from Cang Mang Mountain, apart from adding many resentful spirits to the village, nothing else was stirred up, causing Du Shanhu to mutter about being unfulfilled for several days. It wasn't until a group of only a dozen or so bandits rushed headlong into the net that, after waiting another four or five days, no signs of mountain bandits were seen and the battle could be considered officially over.

  In this battle, 364 mountain bandits were killed and 45 captured. Our casualties were only in the tens, with only three being killed on the spot by desperate bandits, while the rest were either lightly or severely injured but all survived.

  These mountain bandits were quite wealthy, and among the items they surrendered were 5,000 taels of silver, 20 taels of gold, over 680 horses that were unharmed and could be ridden immediately, as well as various knives, guns, food, and other supplies.

  Everyone was overjoyed, and Du Shantiger said, "Damn it, these bandits are no good at fighting, but they live a pretty good life. If I don't have a way out in the future, I'll go be a mountain bandit..."

  Of course, with these things, Zhao Shi's silver money was also quite sufficient. The three salt workers who died in battle were each given 200 taels of white silver, which is a considerable sum for an ordinary family, and could be enough for a family to use for ten years if they were frugal. As for the injured, each received 20 taels, while the others received 5 taels each. Du Shantiger and the others were all amazed, having never seen such generosity from a commander in the garrison before. It was indeed easy to come and go without any trouble.

  Zhao's village was saved, and everyone, whether villagers or helpers, benefited. After one round, 5,000 taels of silver were halved, but everyone was overjoyed. The deputy manager Ding, who received 50 taels of silver as a thank you gift, had a smile on his face that was as wide as a blooming flower. Lian promised to look for him next time something like this happened, and having 400-500 people would not be a problem, which made Du Shantiger mock him repeatedly.

  They had a bountiful harvest here and were all delighted, but inside the Gongyi Prefecture government office, the atmosphere was already tense to the point of swords being drawn.

  "This official has received the imperial court's grace, guarding one side, for the sake of protecting the border and pacifying the people. It is not for this official hat, now the bandit disaster is rampant, this official as a parent of one side, cannot bring fortune to the countryside, ashamed in front of the governed common people. Now that we have received news about those thieves, you want us to disregard the life and death of the common people and go catch some imperial fugitives for you. This official will not agree."

  Xu heard these words, his face turned red with anger, and his eyes seemed to be spitting fire as he glared at the person in front of him. "Do you know how many more innocent people will be harmed by the bandits because of your delay?"

  The man opposite him narrowed his eyes, seemingly not having heard Xu Wen's questioning at all. His tone was extremely calm, but the meaning behind it was surprisingly tough: "This official has come here to capture the imperial fugitive, as for the banditry... That is none of this official's business. This official has a document from the Ministry of Justice, asking you to cooperate with the matter. Even in extreme circumstances, this official can immediately take away your black hat... Xu gentleman, it's hard to disobey an official order, I hope you understand..."

  As soon as he said this, Xu Wen was so angry that his hands and feet were trembling. He took off his official hat and slammed it to the ground in front of him, saying loudly: "I've been a county magistrate for ten years, I don't want to be one anymore! Ha ha, you're just a small official from the Ministry of Punishment, even if you have a document from the Ministry of Punishment, can you really take over my duties? The imperial court may have officials like you who disregard the lives of the people, but there is no such law...

  "King Shi Ze. The official orders you to lead all the forbidden soldiers under your command to quickly go to Zhao Jia Village and annihilate the rebels. There must be no delay..."

  County Captain Wang Shize was somewhat hesitant and secretly lamented. In his mind, arresting the imperial envoy could be done at any time, but it was just a personal matter, and the suppression of bandits should not be taken lightly. However, this small official from the Ministry of Justice actually dared to confront County Magistrate, and it was really impossible to guess what this official from the Ministry of Justice was thinking. The two had fallen out, and the one who suffered in between was Wang Shize - what a mess!

  That Guan Yong did not expect that the magistrate of Gongyi County was such an unscrupulous master, and he also became somewhat anxious. A pair of narrow and long eyes flashed with cold light, biting his teeth and smiling: "It's really a toast that doesn't drink, drinking penalty wine, I think this county magistrate is indeed doing it to the end."

  After finishing speaking, he made a face at the two people behind him. These two people understood in their hearts, simultaneously drew out the horizontal knives by their sides, and stepped forward to press on.

  Xu Wen's face turned pale, he was a civil official, seeing the two men with ferocious expressions walking towards him, couldn't help but feel some fear. In a flash of thought, however, he stiffened his neck and laughed angrily: "This official is an imperial appointee, see if you dare to touch a single hair on this official's head?"

  "The imperial law is in effect, and in this county government's great hall, I am the one in charge. Without permission from the official, no one is allowed to draw their sword on this stage. You two have already committed a capital offense against the imperial court. Come, take down these two madmen who dare to harm the official!"

  Here is the county government, and above the main hall, the quarrel between the two had already spread out, those county government attendants were all squeezed outside the hall not far away listening, Xu Wen has been the county magistrate of Gongyi County for ten years, and his official reputation is also good. This time it was a dispute for the sake of the people in the whole county, these attendants are mostly local born and bred, some older and more mature attendants still want to think about whether they should get involved in this muddy water, but some younger ones, who were already impulsive by nature, were now burning with anger, hating that they couldn't rush onto the hall and give those two bastards from the Ministry of Punishment a good beating.

  As soon as Xu Wen's shout was heard, more than a dozen people grasped the water fire pokers in their hands and rushed in, surrounding the two men holding steel knives.

  "Rabbit son, quickly put down the knife, otherwise don't blame us for being impolite."

  "How dare you behave wildly in our Gongyi County, and even urinate on the mirror to see how many heads you have?"

  "Dare to bully us adults? First ask if Grandpa's stick agrees."

  ……

  These yamen were talking while using their hands to push and shove the two men with knives. One of them was reckless, and as soon as he went up, he gave one of them a stick on the knee. This is the yamen's specialty, specially used to hit the knees of those who are disobedient. If they don't hold back, one strike can break the person's knee entirely.

  With a burst of energy, it was merciless, and with a crisp sound, the man who was hit let out a miserable cry, his hand loosening its grip on the horizontal knife, which flew out of his hand as he rolled to the ground, wailing incessantly.

  Originally, most people didn't think of doing anything to these two, as long as they put down their weapons. But when one person was injured and fell to the ground, after a moment's hesitation, someone shouted "Fight!" and immediately clubs and sticks rained down on the other guy, beating him until his head was bloody and battered, not much better off than the one whose knee had been smashed.

  These two people wouldn't normally be so incompetent, but their subordinates were also cautious. The purpose of this visit was naturally self-evident and couldn't be too ostentatious. Drawing out a knife was just to scare people, they didn't plan on thoroughly turning against each other. But those bailiffs didn't care about these things. Actually, the smaller the person, the more fearless they are, as the saying goes "the ignorant are fearless". However, they generally can't accomplish anything big, but dealing with two people who didn't intend to fight was more than enough for them.

  In the great hall, sticks rose and fell, filthy language flew back and forth. Not only did it make the two main clerks and county magistrates who had been standing by without saying a word look stunned, but even Xu Wenxu, who had just called someone in, was also dizzy and trembling with fear.

  Xu suddenly came to his senses and shouted loudly, "Hurry up and stop it!" The two people on the ground were already unrecognizable, with blood flowing all over their faces. Their clothes were also stained with black and purple marks, and their bodies kept twitching, with only half of their lives left.

  That Guan Yong was even more furious, his face turned iron-green, his whole body trembling. The calm and composed image he had before was gone, and the words that came out of his mouth seemed to be squeezed out one by one: "Good, good, good... a certain Xu gentleman, beating up an upper servant, really... really... is being overbearing to the extreme, you... you just wait for the punishment..."

  After saying this sentence, he turned around and left, without even taking care of the two followers.

  Things have gotten to this point, Xu Wen never thought of it, but he felt that the reason was on his side. He took a deep breath and spat at Guan Tao's back, saying: "This official is waiting for you, this official will accompany you in court, just afraid you don't have the guts..."

  He turned around and said sternly, "Wang Shize, hurry up and take people to Zhaojia Village. After being delayed for so many days, those thieves may have escaped again. If a few more lives are lost, I will not need him to impeach me, I will risk my official position and go to the capital to report to the Ministry of Punishment...

  "What are you still dawdling for? Quickly treat these two people well and take care of them for me. There can't be any mistakes. With the testimony of these two, what do we have to fear from the Ministry of Punishment?"

  Xu Wen was indeed a seasoned official, and after some deliberation, he had already made up his mind. This time, the banditry in Gongyi County had really gotten him into a predicament, and with this new development, he couldn't help but feel anxious and frustrated. However, upon careful consideration, he thought that this might not necessarily be a bad thing after all. The Ministry of Justice's obstruction of the anti-banditry efforts was plain to see, so the banditry issue could be entirely blamed on the Ministry of Justice's suppression. In this way, it was possible that he would even gain a reputation as a strong and capable county magistrate... The only concern was that the Ministry of Justice might try to cover up the incident and secretly retaliate against him instead.

  Thinking of this, Xu Wen sneered, what can the Ministry of Punishment do? Don't look at me as a small county magistrate, but I may not be unable to reach the sky. At that time, this imperial court case will be won, and my reputation will likely reach the heavens. Losing is certainly a dead end, but if I win by any chance, it would be a vast and boundless future...

  He never thought that his self-preservation would lead to a huge lawsuit in the Zhengde era, involving nearly half of the court officials, causing many people to lose their heads and families to be destroyed.