Chapter 55: Lucky Escape

  Xiao Tianjian's subordinates were also suffering, they were now very passive, and could only hold up these large wooden boards in front of them. The strongmen on the wall of the Zhuang village would occasionally shoot arrows and fire guns at them, causing their shields to shake violently.

  The arrow shafts were somewhat easier to deal with, but the penetrating power was insufficient. After being nailed to the wooden board, they all stayed on the wooden board. However, at such a close distance, those muskets of the Zhuang Ding's posed a greater threat to them.

  At a distance of thirty paces, the firearms of this era already had considerable power. The wooden board was not thick, and the lead bullet hit the door panel, often punching a hole in it with one shot. Some bullets penetrated the door panel and hit people hiding behind, immediately knocking some to the ground.

  It wasn't long before several of Xiao Tianjian's subordinates were shot and fell to the ground, letting out painful cries.

  Watching the casualties under his command, Xiao Tianjian was so angry that he almost died. Without saying a word, he held up a rattan shield and followed the tenants who were forced to charge forward.

  He rushed to the front and replaced a wounded subordinate, shouldering the plank he was holding, and shouted at the tenants who were running to the front of the trench and throwing things down: "Don't run! Take my brother down! Don't run! My men are blocking arrows for you, if you dare to run, I'll withdraw my brothers now! Hurry up and take them down..."

  Although these tenants were nervous to the point of cramping, they also saw that this group of men was more sympathetic to them than the other group, and they were genuinely taking arrows and bullets for their own people. So although they were scared to death, some people still came over, either carrying or backing, and took several of Xiao Tianjian's injured subordinates back.

  Many of his subordinates saw that Xiao Tianjian had also rushed up personally, and they were all very moved. One by one, they worked even harder to hold up the large shields, shielding the tenant farmers from the arrows and bullets shot down from above. At the same time, Yan Zhongxi and another archer also worked hard to keep shooting arrows, hoping to suppress the archers and gunmen above.

  But the good times didn't last long, another archer was hiding behind a large shield and shooting arrows, soon he was spotted by Zhuang Ding on top of the wall. When he poked his head out to shoot again, two gunshots rang out from the top of the wall at the same time, and the archer happened to poke his head out, and was hit in the chest by a bullet.

  That archer let out a miserable cry, and then fell backwards to the ground, motionless after landing, apparently on the verge of death.

  After repeated back-and-forth trips, after suffering quite heavy casualties, these tenants finally filled out a narrow passage in the trench. At this time, at least a dozen tenant corpses had fallen beside the trench. These people were either shot dead by arrows or killed by gunfire. Fresh blood flowed everywhere, and the air was filled with the smell of gunpowder and blood.

  Just as the trench was almost filled, a bullet from a rifle struck the wooden board held by Xiao Tianjian. Xiao Tianjian felt his arms shake violently, and then the wood splintered into fragments. The bullet pierced the wood and hit Xiao Tianjian's left chest. He let out a dull groan, dropped the board, and fell to the ground with a thud.

  A burst of exclamations erupted around them, and a group of subordinates immediately raised whatever they were holding in their hands to shield Xiao Tianjian. Tie Tou threw away his knife and shield, rushed to Xiao Tianjian's side, and shouted loudly: "Big brother! Boss... Palm disk..." For a moment, even Tie Tou was shocked and didn't know what to call out. His nose and eyes were streaming with tears.

  Xiao Tianjian only felt a suffocating sensation in his chest, his ribs aching to death, and a wave of sweetness in his mouth. He thought to himself, "Is this the end of my road as a fierce bandit?" He covered the spot where he was shot with his hand and started coughing loudly.

  But after coughing, he suddenly found that except for some pain in his ribs, the bullet seemed to have not entered his chest. He quickly struggled to sit up and looked down at his chest.

  Only to see that there was an extra hole in the cotton armor on his chest, but no blood seeped out. He then used his fingers to dig at this hole and unexpectedly dug out a deformed bullet. It turned out that after this bullet penetrated the wooden board, it had lost a lot of its force, and then hit his cotton armor again. After penetrating the cotton armor, it was blocked by an iron plate underneath and did not enter his body. The energy carried by the bullet only knocked him onto his back, and all the force was dissipated. As a result, he could be said to have escaped unscathed.

  Luckily, the door panel blocked it, otherwise, at such a close distance, even if he was wearing a quilted armor, he would probably not be able to escape death. The penetrating power of bullets in this era is not good, but killing him should not be a big problem.

  Looking at the panicked subordinates around him, Xiao Tianjian coughed a few times and felt relieved in his heart, thinking that these bastards still remembered his kindness and hadn't wasted his efforts in raising them for so long.

  He took another look at Tie Tou, who was lying beside him, and rubbed his head with his hand. He forced a smile and said, "It's nothing! They want to beat me to death? It's too early for that! Let's retreat! First, let's pull back, I think it's about time!"

  Seeing Xiao Tianjian was fine, Tie Tou wiped away the tears on his face and grinned: "Heh... heh... it's all good! It's all good!"

  The people around also showed relieved expressions, everyone was really worried about Xiao Tianjian to death, they were very clear that the good days they were living now were all given by Xiao Tianjian, if Xiao Tianjian died, they really didn't know what to do in the future!

  Looking at the chaotic scene in front of him, Wang Tiandong also saw Xiao Tianjian being beaten and thrown out. At that moment, he didn't feel surprised or worried, but instead felt a little schadenfreude, even some secret joy, because he was really jealous of Xiao Tianjian having such subordinates. These people carried wooden shields, standing at the forefront, although there were continuous casualties, but no one retreated, compared to his own subordinates, they were much stronger!

  If Xiao Tianjian were to be killed like this, then these people would be leaderless and it would be easy for him to take over. He just needs to reach out and he can take control of Xiao Tianjian's followers. Wouldn't he become even more powerful afterwards? Wouldn't this region be dominated by him?

  Unfortunately, he soon became unhappy again because he saw Xiao Tianjian get up and, after a while, led his men to escort those tenants back: "Damn! This bastard's life is really hard enough!" Wang Tiandragon muttered a curse under his breath.

  After Xiao Tianjian returned, he greeted Wang Tianglong. Wang Tianglong hypocritically asked about Xiao Tianjian's injury and how he was doing. Xiao Tianjian covered his chest, smiled bitterly, and shook his head: "It's nothing! I got shot, but the bullet didn't penetrate! Thanks, Wang! Let me catch my breath first, we'll discuss how to attack the bandits later!"

  Tie Tou helped Xiao Tian Jian back to their temporary camp, where Xiao Tian Jian didn't even bother to check his own injuries and hurriedly went to see the several injured subordinates who had been rescued.

  This made Xiao Tianjian feel heartbroken to death. Just a moment ago, two of his brothers had died and three were injured. The archer's death was relatively easier; although he wore a suit of leather armor, he was still killed instantly when Zhuang Ding struck him in the chest with his spear at close range. He didn't suffer much! However, another subordinate was hit in the lower abdomen. Although he was rescued back, Lv Rongxuan was also helpless against such an injury and could only watch as he slowly died in agony.

  The firearms of this era are not as good as the bullets of later generations, with poor penetration power. As long as they hit a person, in general, it is unlikely to penetrate, and the kinetic energy of the bullet is all transmitted to the person's body through the wound, basically, if you're shot, you're done for!

  Among the other four people, one was shot in the waist and is now unconscious. It's hard to say whether he can be saved or not. The two lightly injured ones are not a big problem, they were hit by arrows. Under Lv Rongxuan's rescue, they have been bandaged properly this time, their lives will not be in danger, nor will they be disabled. This made Xiao Tianjian feel a little better.

  "Let's find a good place to bury the dead brothers, remember their names, and we'll pay our respects when we return! The wounded need to be taken care of properly, change their dressings frequently, that's where Dr. Lü comes in! Everyone take a rest for now, it's getting late today, see if there's anything else we can do! Also, trouble Dr. Lü to take a look at those injured tenants, and help treat the ones with lighter injuries too! They're all poor folks, can't just sit back and do nothing! Thanks!" Xiao Tianjian coughed twice before straightening up and speaking to Lü Langzhong.

  Lü Rongxuan nodded in satisfaction that Xiao Tianjian had let him go to help rescue the injured tenant, which further proved that Xiao Tianjian was a kind-hearted person who cared about the poor people, at least much better than Wang Tiandragon. This was also one of the reasons why Lü Rongxuan admired Xiao Tianjian.

  "Don't call me a divine doctor anymore! I don't dare to be one! Let me handle this matter! Wait, don't go! Palm Panzi, you've also been shot, let me take a look at your injury!" Seeing Xiao Tianjian turn his head to leave, Lü Rongxuan called out to stop him.

  Xiao Tianjian suddenly remembered that he had also narrowly escaped death, and after feeling around a bit, he shook his head and said: "It's nothing! No need to look! I know myself! Thank you, Doctor Lü!"

  Watching Xiao Tianjian walk away with big strides, Lü Rongxuan nodded again, then turned around and walked towards the tenants who were being watched.

  Wang Tiandong's men blocked Lu Rongxuan, not letting him pass. Lu Rongxuan glared at them and said: "Our master has given orders to let me bandage those injured tenant farmers! You still don't hurry up and get out of the way?"

  Those underlings of Wang Tianglong looked at Xiao Tianjian, who was tall and sturdy, and didn't dare to insist too much. They turned their heads and shouted at the tenants: "Consider yourselves lucky! Bring over the injured, we have a doctor to take a look!"

  These tenants do not know whether to thank these poles or hate them, but now their loved ones are injured and moaning in pain. They are anxious and don't know what to do. Now that there is a doctor who has come to treat them, they are naturally willing to accept it! So they hurriedly carried those injured people over and asked Lü Róngxuān to help treat them...

  After seeing this scene, Wang Tianlong cursed in a low voice: "What kind of thing is this? I offended people, but this rascal bought people's hearts and sincerely exposed my ugliness?"

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