Chapter Nineteenth: Government Troops Like Bandits

  Feng Gouzi found a good location for them, and as soon as they left the valley, after turning a few corners, they could quickly step onto the official road. No matter which direction they went, the road was not too far away. Moreover, there were few people around here, and whether it was fellow travelers or government soldiers, they rarely appeared in this area, so fewer people would discover their existence. Therefore, whether hiding or moving out, this place was very suitable.

  They had been in the valley for over twenty days and were not very clear about the situation outside, so when Xiao Tianjian led these people out of the mountain gorge, he also added a few more precautions, fearing that they would encounter a large number of government soldiers. Even if they encountered a large number of their own kind, it was not a good thing for them.

  After more than 20 days of recuperation, the injury on the leg of the horse they had captured at first was already recovered under the care of Da Niu and Tie Tou, and it could be ridden now. However, Xiao Tian Jian did not occupy this horse but handed it over to a man named Shi Yan under his command.

  This Shi Ran is about thirty years old, and in the team, he is a silent and inconspicuous one. Although he is not outstanding in any aspect, he is quiet and steady, but also agile. In his daily life, he doesn't stand out among these people, and if you're not careful, it's easy to overlook his existence. Xiao Tianjian has been thinking about finding someone to temporarily serve as their scout, and after asking who can ride a horse, only Shi Ran stood up besides Da Niu.

  Considering the big cow's personality is relatively dull, and he takes good care of livestock, he wants to drive with Hu Zi together, so Shi Ran becomes the only person who can be selected as a candidate.

  As for whether Shi Rang can really handle this job, Xiao Tianjian is not clear either, but for now, he can only push the boat along and let Shi Rang do it temporarily.

  Everyone was excited about going out to do things, for two reasons: first, they felt that after this period of training, they had all become much bolder and stronger, their confidence began to swell; second, because going out to do things would bring rewards if they managed to grab something, making it even more enjoyable. As for whether they would die while doing so, few really thought about it - originally, these people should have starved to death long ago, now every extra day of life was a bonus, and not going out to grab things meant they had nothing to do, so rather than sit idly by and starve, they might as well risk their lives to grab something, at least dying with a full stomach.

  No one knows this area better than Feng Gouzi, and at his suggestion, they chose a place called Zhaojia Fortress about thirty miles away from here. It's located in a remote area, and the war has rarely affected them over the years. Moreover, it's said that the village wall is relatively low, with less than twenty households, and there are only two relatively wealthy families inside the village, with very few strong men, so this kind of village is their best target, and it's safer to do it.

  Xiao Tianjian, as an outsider, can only listen to others' opinions on this matter. As for moral issues, they are not his concern for the time being. This world is originally a place where the strong survive, and if you don't snatch from others, others will snatch from you. As long as he doesn't kill people indiscriminately, Xiao Tianjian's current standard for robbery is not considered an immoral thing.

  Before leaving, Xiao Tianjian handed the horse over to Shi Yan and instructed him: "Shi Yan, you temporarily act as our scout! You are more steady in nature, so I can rest assured if you do this. However, remember to be careful when going out, don't be too ostentatious, investigate the situation at Zhaojia Fortress after that, and hurry back as soon as possible, don't be careless on the way!"

  For Xiao Tianjian's order, Shi Yan was also a little grateful. Although he had never been a soldier, he had heard that scouts were the most elite people in the team who could do this job. Xiao Tianjian let him do this, which meant that Xiao Tianjian valued him very much. So he immediately knelt down and said: "Thank you for trusting me, please rest assured, I will be careful!"

  Just as Shi Ran was about to mount the horse, Big Cow came over and said with some concern: "Shi Tou Ge, this horse's leg injury has just healed, you must take good care of it! Don't let it run too fast, or when you need to escape, its strength will be gone! You have to control the speed! When tying up the horse, loosen the reins a bit so it can eat some grass...

  "Got it! We used to raise livestock for Lao Cai's family and let out horses, so you don't have to worry about that! Hold the plate, I'm going!" Shi Rangxian replied somewhat impatiently to Da Niu's mother.

  As for how to ride a horse, Xiao Tianjian thought he was an idiot. Listening to the expert's words made sense, but since Shi Yan was doing this, he could only trust him and nodded: "Okay, be careful on the road!"

  Shi Rang shook his reins and rode away on horseback, quickly disappearing from everyone's line of sight.

  "This guy won't ride a horse that runs away and never comes back, will he? Now one horse is very valuable!" Zhao Erdui muttered to himself as he watched Shi Yan's figure disappear into the distance.

  "Shut up! Zhao Erdui, you're thinking too much. I treat each of you as brothers, and Shi Ran is no exception. I trust him just like I trust all of you. Don't dare to conspire behind my back again, or let me hear you speaking nonsense again, or else I'll make sure you face the consequences!" Xiao Tianjian shouted angrily at Zhao Erdui.

  Zhao Erdui lost interest, as soon as he hid behind a group of people, he didn't dare to say anything more. Instead, he was still strongly despised by others.

  Everyone except Da Niu and Hu Zi, who were driving the mule cart, formed a column under Xiao Tianjian's command and marched towards Zhaojia Fortress in big strides. Xiao Tianjian controlled the pace of the team by walking on one side, doing so to help these people develop a habit of considering themselves as a unit, lest they become too scattered and difficult to control.

  Thirty miles of road was not too far for them, and within the borders of Shaanxi Province, after years of disaster and banditry, it had long been desolate and barren, with hardly any pedestrians on the road, which meant they didn't have to worry about being discovered.

  Feng Dogzi Road familiar, in front of the way, carrying his long gun, quite a bit self-satisfied feeling.

  After leaving the mountain, Xiao Tianjian did not rush to hurry along in order to maintain everyone's physical strength, maintaining a speed of about five to six kilometers per hour, heading towards Zhaojia Fortress. After more than 20 days of training and rest, these people's physical strength had also increased significantly, walking this distance didn't feel tiring at all, and it took just over an hour or so to reach within ten miles of Zhaojia Fortress.

  They were very careful all the way, afraid of running into any government soldiers, but as they walked along, they basically didn't see anyone along the way, which also made them gradually relax a bit. Just at this moment, the sound of horseshoes echoed from afar, and Xiao Tianjian immediately had everyone form a horizontal line, blocking the road and taking on a vigilant posture.

  Before long, Shi Yan rode his horse over quickly. After seeing that it was indeed Shi Yan, everyone finally relaxed.

  Shi Yan jumped down from the horseback and walked quickly towards Xiao Tianjian. Seeing Shi Yan's expression didn't look good, Xiao Tianjian immediately asked: "What's the situation with Zhaojia Fortress?"

  Shi Rang hastily clasped his fists and said: "The Zhao family's village is finished!"

  "What? Tell me slowly!" Xiao Tianjian hastily asked as soon as he heard it.

  "Hold the tray, it seems we've come in vain this time! I just went to Zhaojia Fortress and saw that it's already been taken over. Many houses have been burned down! I carefully took a closer look and found out that more than 20 soldiers are wreaking havoc inside the fortress. It's terrible! Let's change our plans and avoid running into those soldiers after they're done causing trouble. Those soldiers are even more ruthless than us, we're just trying to make a living, but they...are truly inhuman, all of them are beasts!" Stone Yan said, his face filled with indignation.

  After the crowd heard this, they also shook their heads. This kind of thing was nothing new to them. By this time in the Ming dynasty, military discipline had long been lax. Although they were supposed to be government soldiers, they were more ruthless than bandits towards ordinary people. There's a saying that goes: "Bandits are like combs, soldiers are like razors." When bandits pass through, they just rob some wealthy households and take their grain, money, and valuables, but for ordinary people, it's not too brutal. However, the army is even more ruthless than the bandits, leaving nothing behind, like a razor cutting everything in its path.

  Among the people under Xiao Tianjian, there were several villages that were not destroyed by bandits, but by government soldiers. The government soldiers, under the banner of suppressing bandits, went around plundering and harming civilians, which was their strong suit, rather than fighting bandits. In order to gain merit, they even killed innocent people and presented their heads as proof of their achievements, seeking rewards from above. This kind of thing happened frequently at that time. So everyone saw nothing unusual in it and waited for Xiao Tianjian to speak before leaving to change locations.

  "What's the specific situation in the village now?" Xiao Tianjian originally wanted to lead his men to retreat, but he couldn't help asking another question.

  Shi Ran shook his head and replied in a depressed tone: "I don't know how these soldiers ended up here, but I think they were scattered by the big stick and ran here. There aren't many of them, only about twenty, and some are injured. They probably had nowhere to vent their anger, so they took it out on the people of Zhaojia Village. From a distance, I saw that they drove everyone out of the village, looted all the food and livestock, and killed almost everyone who remained in the village. They even beheaded them! These bastards are now harassing the women inside the village! There were still over ten young men from Zhaojia Village who managed to escape, and I saw them hiding far away, crying. I couldn't do anything, so I quietly retreated back here!"

  "Damn it to hell!" Tie Tou squatted on the ground, heavily punching the ground with his fist, and began to curse loudly. The others also followed suit and started cursing loudly.

  Xiao Tianjian's heart skipped a beat when he heard that there were not many government soldiers, and then those things. When he heard that Zhaojia Fortress still had more than a dozen young men alive, his heartbeat accelerated even faster.

  Old rules, you read books, I code words, so would you please leave the red ticket behind? Give me some encouragement!

  ，！