Chapter 25: Forced Partnership

  When they heard Shao Tianjian's words, many people in Zhaojiabao and Shao Tianjian's subordinates were stunned for a moment. However, there were also clever people in Zhaojiabao who immediately understood the meaning of Shao Tianjian's words. Suddenly, everyone was overjoyed, and Shao Tianjian's subordinates all showed knowing smiles, one after another throwing the spoils they had captured in front of the men of Zhaojiabao.

  Then over a dozen men from Zhaojia Fortress picked up the knives and guns from the ground, thanked Xiao Tianjian, and chased after the escaping officer with a loud shout. The officer saw that things were not going well, and ignoring the pain in his leg, he ran away limping while shouting: "You bunch of sticks, you don't know what justice is! You agreed not to kill me, but now you're going back on your word! Even if I become a ghost, I... Ah... Ah..."

  The military leader's leg was injured and he couldn't run fast, in an instant he was caught up by the furious men of Zhaojia village, one of them stabbed him in the back with a spear, this guy let out a miserable cry and fell to the ground, instantly surrounded by the men from Zhaojia village who had caught up, knives and guns rained down on him, not long after they chopped him into minced meat, his human form was no longer visible, only a blurry pile of flesh and blood could be seen.

  Xiao Tianjian sneered as he watched the men of Zhaojia Fortress crazily hacking at the military officer, thinking to himself: Now that you've even killed an officer, let's see if you still have any reason not to follow me!

  A group of people vented enough and returned to Xiao Tianjian's face again, knelt down on the ground with a loud noise, and cried again, knocking their heads to thank Xiao Tianjian.

  "Alright! All of you get up! Now I'd like to ask you, what are your plans for the future?" Xiao Tianjian finally spoke up and asked them.

  The men of Zhaojia Village looked at each other in dismay, exchanging glances, all with a look of confusion. Their homes had been destroyed and they had killed government soldiers, so what should they do next? Just now, they were only consumed by grief and venting their emotions, no one had thought about this question, but now that Xiao Tianjian asked, everyone was at a loss.

  "You all saw that, the two officers ran away. If you stay here, who knows if those two escaped officers will come back with more people to take revenge on you? Staying here is courting death, anyway you won't survive. Why not follow me instead? I'm also short of men right now, so consider it carefully!" Xiao Tianjian looked at these people hesitating and decided to make his intentions clear. Earlier, he had deliberately let the two officers escape, actually leaving a hidden plot to threaten these men from Zhaojia Fortress, forcing them to abandon their homes and follow him. Although this was a bit despicable, wasn't that what he risked his life to kill those officers for? In chaotic times, one can only use unscrupulous means, as long as the goal is achieved, it's all good! This was Xiao Tianjian's logic.

  These people were originally local farmers, but suddenly they were asked to go up the mountain as a stick. Some people couldn't accept this reality at once, and their faces still showed hesitation. For a while, they couldn't make up their minds.

  However, Zhao Er Liu and Feng Gouzi were relatively smart people. As soon as they saw these people still hesitating, they immediately began to persuade them in a flurry of words: "I'm telling you guys, what are you still hesitating about? In today's world, wanting to farm peacefully is simply impossible! I used to be a farmer too, wasn't I also forced to follow us and become a bandit? Today you're all watching! We may be bandits, but we won't treat you like the government soldiers do! Today, our boss took revenge for you, even if it means killing one of his own brothers. If you know what's good for you, just follow our boss and join us! Our boss is very righteous and will never mistreat you!"

  After being persuaded by these guys, the men of Zhaojia Village started to move their minds. They thought that it was indeed the case! The leader of this group of people saw that there were so many soldiers causing trouble in their village, but he still risked his life to rescue them and even killed many soldiers, including one of their own deserters. Now that their homes have been destroyed, staying here would also mean death. They couldn't just let others help them for nothing, so they could only follow these people and join them.

  Moreover, just now they were lying in the woods and saw it too. This group of people is not many, but very fierce. More than a dozen people actually killed more than twenty government soldiers. Except for one rod that fled and was killed, no one else died. They won against these government soldiers. It seems that this group of rods should be quite capable of fighting. Following them might be a way out!

  So these dozen or so desperate men from Zhaojiabao all knelt down at Xiao Tianjian's feet, one after another, and expressed their desire to follow him.

  "Alright! Since you don't despise me, Xiao by name, then from now on we'll be like brothers of the same family. As long as there's food to eat for someone with the surname Xiao, your bellies won't go hungry! It's getting late now, let's all gather our things and bury the villagers who suffered a calamity. Let's leave this place as soon as possible! Everyone lend a hand, hurry up and pack, we'll head back tonight!"

  Xiao Tianjian was overjoyed in his heart, his underlings suddenly doubled in number, making it much more convenient for him to do things from now on. It seemed that in this era, pulling strings wasn't too difficult after all, as long as you dared to take action, perhaps you could quickly become a powerful force.

  This world is still better with stronger power, so you don't have to be nervous all day! Xiao Tianjian has now made up his mind to rebel, so he thinks it's better to have more people under him.

  Zhaojia village was completely destroyed, the bandits set fire to all the houses in the village, some of the people who were killed were burned directly inside their homes. Collecting the bodies of these villagers didn't require much effort, everyone worked together to carry the bodies to a shallow ditch and then covered them with a layer of soil and grass. As for the bodies of the government soldiers, they were left for the wild dogs to deal with.

  Those women who were ravaged by the soldiers also put on their clothes, crying and helping with the tasks. Before it was dark, everyone had collected all the villagers' corpses.

  As for the grain and property, it's not a problem. These bandits had already swept the village clean, taking away all the money and grain they could find. The livestock in the village were also taken out and hitched to carts. Those bandits had done everything that needed to be done. The big oxen then came back to pull their two large carts, loaded with the wealth of Zhaojia Village, and that was the end of it.

  As the day grew darker, the group left Zhaojia Fortress, which was still shrouded in thick smoke, and set off on the road back to their temporary nest. The people of Zhaojia Fortress were in a low mood, looking back at the still-burning fortress with every step. Women sat in carts wailing loudly, clearly reluctant to leave this dilapidated place that had nurtured them for generations.

  (New book uploads are like going to war, we can only fight to the death! Another Monday, another new beginning! Three updates today, just ask my brothers to leave the red tickets for me! Help me rush up! There will be one more update each in the afternoon and evening!)