Chapter Thirty-Eight Talents

  Sha Er Bao had several large carts and some mules in the old village, which became Xiao Tian Jian's spoils of war. They were used to load up the captured wealth, and even let the wounded sit on them, including those who were captured and injured. After burying the bodies of the dead, Xiao Tian Jian ordered his men to set fire to Sha Er Bao's old nest, and then led his troops out of the village and back towards their own lair.

  When they came, there were only more than 20 people, but when they left, Xiao Tianjian's team suddenly expanded by more than double. These new recruits had long been intimidated by Xiao Tianjian and carried out his orders with precision, without any disobedience. They followed the team honestly and stepped onto the road to the future in unison.

  Those subordinates brought by Xiao Tianjian were now one by one in high spirits, with their chests held high, as if they had won a great victory. To the new recruits, these people were the winners, so they all looked very proud and somewhat arrogant, with a hint of complacency. Psychologically, they also felt superior and unconsciously wanted to show off their differences from the newcomers. Without Xiao Tianjian's orders, they spontaneously formed two teams, standing guard on both sides of the vehicles, watching the new recruits closely, making them dare not make any unusual moves.

  Xiao Tianjian was very satisfied with this harvest, and his mood was also greatly improved. Breaking the usual practice, he did not follow these people on foot, but instead, with the help of his subordinates, he mounted a captured war horse, feeling quite majestic and powerful.

  However, after mounting the horseback, Xiao Tianjian had a bitter self-awareness. For the first half of his life, he had never ridden a horse, not even a donkey. In the past, he did capture war horses, but he didn't dare ride them. When they went out, they were all handed over to Shi Yan to ride and let Shi Yan act as a scout. But today, he was reckless and only after really getting on the horse did he realize that riding a horse wasn't a simple matter.

  Riding a horse is also a skill, although it's very impressive to ride on, but for an outsider like him, it's indeed quite challenging. He was afraid that if he wasn't careful, he would fall off the horse and lose face in front of everyone. So, Xiao Tianjian had a stiff waist on the horseback, riding with great difficulty, and had to carefully hold onto the reins all the way, with a cautious attitude. However, his buttocks and legs soon protested after riding the horse, hurting as if they had been stabbed, making Xiao Tianjian somewhat speechless.

  Some people also saw that Xiao Tianjian couldn't ride a horse anymore, looking at him on the horse's back holding onto the stiff frame, with a tense expression, but no one dared to sneak a laugh, they just forced themselves to hold in their laughter and followed behind him.

  After walking for a while, Xiao Tianjian got off the horse by himself and threw the reins to Tie Tou, muttering: "Forget it, I won't ride anymore! Riding this thing is not as comfortable as walking!"

  You bunch of rascals! What's with these expressions? Are you secretly mocking me? I don't know how to ride a horse, is that something to be ashamed of? Who the hell is born knowing how to ride a horse?! I've never even ridden a donkey before, it's only natural that I wouldn't know how to ride a horse! What's so funny about that? If you guys were made to ride, you might not be any better than me!

  Still laughing? You dare to laugh? ...Forget it! If you want to laugh, just laugh, otherwise I'll suffocate all of you bastards to death! Haha!" Xiao Tianjian said with a self-mocking smile.

  A group of guys who had been holding back their laughter suddenly burst out laughing along with him.

  This smile made the atmosphere in the team much more relaxed, and even those who had just been pulled into the group couldn't help but smile for a moment, before quickly suppressing their smiles again, with each of them blushing and puffing out their necks like fighting cocks.

  Lü Lang, who was sitting on the mule cart, couldn't help but smile wryly to himself. He thought that this palm reader wasn't always fierce all the time! Being able to chat and laugh with his subordinates showed that he still had a human touch, it's just that when dealing with Sha Er Bao and those few subordinates of his, he seemed too ruthless.

  However, Lü Rongxuan didn't think that Xiao Tianjian was too much to blame. He had stayed in Sha Erbao's mansion for a period of time and knew what kind of people Sha Erbao and his men were. These guys could be said to be the type who would die without any regrets, and killing them wouldn't be a loss at all. Xiao Tianjian's way of dealing with them was also their own fault, and by killing them, he had eliminated several troubles from the world. At the same time, Lü Rongxuan could see that Xiao Tianjian was a decisive person who didn't hesitate to take action, and was a very capable person. At least, he could intimidate these underlings, and maybe he was someone who could accomplish great things.

  Moreover, he also saw that Xiao Tianjian, although a bit stubborn, was still a man with a strong sense of justice in his heart. Unlike some bandits who relied on their physical strength to do evil, this made Lv Rongxuan somewhat admire his character and at least not feel repulsed by him.

  "Let's follow this Xiao guy and see what kind of person he is! It's not too late to talk after we've seen him!" Lü Rongxuan gazed at the back of Xiao Tianjian, secretly pondering in his heart. He was now very curious about this Xiao guy.

  This time, the showdown with Sha Er Bao ended in Xiao Tianjian's complete victory. For those brothers who followed Xiao Tianjian from the beginning, this undoubtedly gave them another shot of confidence, making them even more confident in Xiao Tianjian. Moreover, after returning this time, Xiao Tianjian also took out a portion of the silver he had seized and distributed it to everyone who participated in the battle, which made these people so happy that they felt like they were following the right person. They thought that their future days would be even more promising, and who knows, maybe following Xiao Tianjian could lead to something big!

  So these old brothers who followed Xiao Tianjian from the very beginning can be described as being extremely loyal to him.

  Upon returning to their old nest, Xiao Tianjian's first act was to gather everyone to pay their respects to the three brothers who had died in battle. He not only lit incense and burned paper money for them but also gave ten taels of silver to the widow of one of the deceased as compensation for her loss and promised to take care of her living situation, ensuring that she would not be neglected.

  This point was recognized by everyone, and most people in this era believed that after death, they would go to another world. Although burning incense and paper money is just a formality, these people were very moved, thinking that even if these people died, there would still be someone who remembered them, burned some paper money for them, and let them have money to spend underground. Who knows when they themselves might die and receive the same treatment? For them, this was also a kind of psychological comfort. Therefore, when mourning those who had died in battle, everyone was very solemn, and they were deeply moved by Xiao Tianjian's actions.

  Moreover, Xiao Tianjian also had Jing Fuzi register the names of these martyrs and record the day they died in battle. Later, every three to five days, he would hold memorial services for them. This was even more comforting to his subordinates, who felt that after their own deaths, at least someone would remember their names.

  Jiang Fuzi was even more grief-stricken in front of the rough spirit tablets of the three fallen brothers, crying to the point of being dizzy and faint-headed. He repeatedly kowtowed to thank them for giving their lives to save his own life as Jiang Fuzi. It took a lot of persuasion before he finally calmed down. From then on, everyone's attitude towards Jiang Fuzi was no longer so hateful.

  Next, Xiao Tianjian asked each new partner a few questions, asking about their strengths and what they could do. This inquiry yielded some gains, as some were former carpenters, others were leather workers, and surprisingly, even a literate person was found among them, which made Xiao Tianjian quite happy. At this time, he needed such talents, but unexpectedly, he had poached them from under Sha Erbao's nose.

  The carpenter and the leather worker are easy to talk to, but for this literate person, Xiao Tianjian attaches more importance to him. After asking, Xiao Tianjian learned that this person is called Luo Yingjie. His father was a poor scholar, but he never managed to obtain a higher official title in his life. He was also very stubborn and didn't understand the ways of the world. Although he was a scholar, he mixed poorly with others. Although his family had about ten acres of thin land, he was lazy and didn't bother to work on it. His wife supported him alone, and occasionally, he would write or paint something for people in exchange for some grain to supplement their household expenses. He refused to do anything else. After the drought hit Shaanxi Province, his family became even poorer, unable to afford food, and eventually, both he and his wife starved to death, leaving only Luo Yingjie behind to struggle on.

  Luojingjie had followed his father to read books for several years since he was a child, and was considered a child prodigy. Although he couldn't be said to be proficient in all four arts of qin, qi, shu, and hua, under the education of his stubborn old father, he still practiced writing decent characters, and also learned some painting skills. He could handle writing and arithmetic tasks, and even drawing door gods was manageable for him.

  However, after his family was hit by disaster, the family situation quickly deteriorated. His father, in order to survive, first sold the land and struggled for a short time before losing his livelihood. Later, both his parents starved to death, and he had no choice but to beg on the streets. Eventually, he was taken in by Sha Er Bao and became one of his followers, barely managing to stay alive.

  After being discovered by Xiao Tianjian, his days became much better. Xiao Tianjian immediately gave him a job, which was to use paper and pen to sort out all the rules he had set for his subordinates during this period of time, and draft a set of regulations that could be followed in the future when doing things under his command. The advantage of doing so is that in the future, when he does things, there will be rules to follow and laws to rely on, making it more just and able to make his subordinates believe.

  Luojingjie did not disappoint his expectations and soon compiled a draft, which he handed over to Xiaotianjian for review. Xiaotianjian took one look at his handwriting and couldn't help but sweat profusely. He was considered an educated person, but compared to the scholars of this era, his writing was simply embarrassing. Moreover, he was unaccustomed to using a brush pen and had limited knowledge of complex characters, which is why he had entrusted Luojingjie with the task. Now it seemed that anyone who had read a few years' worth of books would have handwriting far superior to his own, a university student from a later generation.

  With this organized charter, Xiao Tianjian immediately had Luo Yingjie read it to all his subordinates and required everyone to memorize it, so that they would not unknowingly break the rules in the future.

  Let these uncultured guys fight and kill, it's barely acceptable, but once they're asked to memorize these rules and regulations, they become collectively numb, each one being tormented to the point of crying out in suffering. However, under Xiao Tianjian's "tyrannical" rule, they have no choice but to memorize by rote, and fortunately, the rules set by Xiao Tianjian aren't too many, so after a few days, they've all managed to remember them more or less.

  Xiao Tianjian had even secretly pondered whether it would be better to teach these people some literacy skills, but for now he didn't have the time and could only put it off until later.

  (It's still three more! Help those with tickets! Don't miss out if you're passing by, please collect it if you haven't!)