Chapter 48: Uncertain Future

  When the departing people gathered on the empty land of their old nest, Xiao Tianjian also put on his tattered cotton armor and, after inspecting his dozens of subordinates, had Jing Fuzi present to everyone the fruits of his busy work over the past few days.

  Before long, someone came running over with a pile of things and put them under Xiao Tianjian's feet. The brothers standing in the empty space widened their eyes at once.

  It turned out that among these things, there were not only two bundles of iron-headed spears, but also more than a dozen brand new cowhide armors. This kind of armor is not easy to come by, even among the official soldiers, only those military officers and their personal bodyguards could be equipped with it. Ordinary official soldiers could at most get a set of swan-patterned battle jackets, which were mostly tattered and worn out. If they had iron wire sewn into them, that was already considered good. So in this era, being able to wear armor, even just leather armor, was already quite impressive.

  "Brothers! At present, our abilities are limited. I, Xiao, can't afford to buy too much armor for everyone, but as long as it's within my power, I won't hide and hesitate to bring them out for everyone to use!"

  A few days ago, our cow was killed, and the reason for killing the cow is to make some leather armor for everyone, so that everyone can have an extra layer of protection! Because in my eyes, you are all my brothers, as long as I can protect you, even if it's something precious, I'm willing to give it up!" Xiao Tianjian stood upright, with his hands behind his back, loudly shouting at the subordinates in front of him.

  These people suddenly became excited, from following Xiao Tianjian they saw that Xiao Tianjian was indeed very good to them, even willing to kill the ox for them to make these leather armors, it can be seen that Xiao Tianjian indeed regarded them as his own people! So this group of people immediately shouted: "Thank you, Master! We are willing to die for Master!"

  Xiao Tianjian raised his right hand, stopping their cheers, and smiled: "Thank you, brothers, for treating me like this! I will not disappoint all of you brothers! However, at present our strength is limited, we can only afford to prepare more than a dozen pieces of leather armor. Obviously, it's impossible to issue one set per person!"

  "So today, the brothers who are carrying guns will have to make do with less for now. These leather armors will be distributed first to the brothers who use knives and shields. I won't say more about the reason, everyone understands it already. The remaining few sets will be given to each squad leader, and after we take down Fanjia Fortress, if we can get some more leather, we'll distribute them to the rest of the brothers. Don't blame me for being unfair!"

  Although those who didn't receive the leather armor were slightly disappointed, this was also a realistic situation. When the knife shield team went into formation, they had to engage in close combat with the enemy. When encountering enemies firing arrows and guns, they also had to stand at the front of the formation to block the arrows and bullets for everyone else. The work they did was the most dangerous, so it made sense that they were issued the armor first, and no one could say anything about it. As for the remaining squad leaders, they were all people who followed Xiao Tianjian from the very beginning and were also the bravest in battle. When they put on the leather armor, it was only natural, and no one would argue with them over it. So even those who didn't receive the leather armor had nothing to complain about, and could only hope that after their strength increased in the future, they too could be equipped with this gear.

  For those who have received their armor, this mood is even more unnecessary. Xiao Tianjian treats them like this, what else can they say besides sacrificing their lives?

  As they put on their leather armor one by one, they suddenly became much more majestic. The tattered clothes were covered underneath the armor, and the large pieces of leather hid their vital parts, making them feel much safer. Their morale naturally rose even higher, and each of them smiled with pride, puffing out their chests and standing tall. Those who hadn't been equipped with leather armor looked on in envy, drooling with desire.

  Each of the long gunners had two spears, which were quickly distributed. Yan Zhongxi and another shield bearer, who knew how to shoot arrows, also carried a hard bow on their backs, with a quiver of arrows, making them look even more majestic.

  Xiao Tianjian, on the other hand, gave all the new armor to his subordinates and was now wearing a tattered cotton armor, which made him look even more shabby than his subordinates. However, he didn't mind, holding a wooden sword in his hand, with a waist knife hanging from his waist, and two short axes tucked into his belt. With his tall stature, he still looked quite majestic.

  Apart from the leather armor, during this period of time, Xiao Tianjian also had the women here use the nights to make some fur hats for these soldiers using the fur coats they looted from Guzhuang. Each person made one and they were all distributed. It seems that his troops have become even more tidy, gathering together and having a sense of being like a forest of guns and a wall of shields. Compared to before when it was a group of people wearing messy and tattered clothes, now at least they had some semblance of an army's appearance.

  "Alright! Brothers, let's take our own hands and pave our own way to survival! Let's set off!" Xiao Tianjian stood with his left hand on his waist and his right hand waving towards the mountain pass, shouting loudly in a somewhat mock-heroic tone, which was quite amusing.

  At every squad leader's command, the soldiers turned right in unison, then marched out of the valley in large strides to the rhythm of their leaders' orders.

  After the vanguard teams of Zhan Bing and Shi Rang set out, those twenty or so auxiliary soldiers who had been selected also followed behind them, excitedly setting out. Jiang Fuzi led the remaining people to see them off all the way to the valley entrance, where Fang Mu saw off Xiao Tianjian and his group as they left their old nest.

  Forty miles of road is nothing to these people, who undergo high-intensity training every day. Not only has their willpower been tempered, but their physical strength has also increased significantly. Xiao Tianjian controls the speed of their actions, resting for fifteen minutes after every ten miles to ensure that even on the march, they can maintain a certain level of physical strength. This allows his subordinates to have sufficient ability to respond to sudden events.

  Shi Rang still led the way with Da Niu and several other scouts, walking ahead of the group to clear the path and investigate any situations that might arise. Xiao Tianjian, whose strength had greatly increased, also became bolder this time around, especially since he had his own people leading the way. He directly led his men onto the official road, which made their journey even faster.

  Although there were not many pedestrians on the official road, it did not mean that there were no pedestrians. Along the way, I still met a number of refugees in an endless stream. At times, I even encountered teams of over a dozen small merchants and peddlers.

  These refugees are easy to deal with, and when they encounter them, they don't get too scared and won't scatter and run away. Instead, they hide by the side of the road, sizing them up in surprise. As long as it's not the government army, there's no big problem. They're so poor that they have nothing left to lose, and the government army is unlikely to be interested in them. On the other hand, the government army will occasionally get the idea to kill innocent people to advance their own careers, so encountering a yamen runner like Xiao Tianjian is actually safer.

  It was those small vendors who, when they encountered Xiao Tianjian and his gang, were so scared that they hastily retreated with their goods, fleeing in all directions, fearing that they would be robbed.

  Xiao Tianjian was not interested in these small peddlers, first because they didn't have much profit, and second because these people were just struggling to survive. Others might bully them, but he didn't hold any hostility towards them. Even when he saw them from afar, he wouldn't bother with them, instead pressing on with large strides at the head of his group.

  But they didn't walk far on the official road before leaving it and taking the path to Fanjia Fortress, gradually encountering fewer people along the way, until eventually walking several miles without meeting anyone.

  "Everyone rest!" After calculating the route, Xiao Tianjian gave the order to rest again.

  Everyone immediately stopped advancing and sat down by the roadside, took off the bamboo tubes on their backs, tilted their heads to drink a few mouthfuls, and then began discussing the situation they might encounter when going to Fanjia Fortress.

  Xiao Tianjian also took the water bag handed over by Tie Tou and drank a few mouthfuls. For now, he still had to march with the troops on foot. Riding a horse was still a bit difficult for him. Although it looked effortless, his two legs were sore from rubbing against the saddle, so whenever possible, he would rather walk. This made his subordinates feel more affectionate towards him, thinking that their leader was willing to share the hardships with them.

  However, Xiao Tianjian still decided that he must take out time to practice horse riding well, even if he can't master the riding skills, at least he can ride horses and run, this kind of skill is very helpful for him to survive in this world in the future, relying on two legs is really troublesome when encountering big troubles, it's impossible to outrun four-legged beasts by running away, but now he is busy every day and has little time to practice riding skills, so for now he can only rely on this eleven-road vehicle to move around.

  In addition, Xiao Tianjian has been considering how to attack Fanjia Fort for the past two days. To be honest, this time going to attack Fanjia Fort is his first time leading a group of people to attack a heavily guarded fort, unlike before when they were picking soft persimmons and squeezing them. As for whether he can really take down Fanjia Fort, Xiao Tianjian is still uncertain.

  But not fighting is also not an option, he wants to expand his territory and must have more grain, small skirmishes won't solve the problem, only by taking down a larger village can he possibly gain a large amount of grain, this step can be said to be inevitable.

  However, taking this step, Xiao Tianjian was also uncertain. Although he now had a few more people under his command, they basically didn't have much experience in attacking strongholds. Dealing with such a fortified village would be very difficult and might even come at a considerable cost.

  But the urgency of time made him have to do so now, who knows when the rebel army will come back again, if he doesn't expand his power before that, he's afraid there won't be a chance later.

  So no matter what, he has to go and do it this time, even if he can't bring it down, he must take the opportunity to accumulate some experience. This time, just consider it a practice run, first go and see the situation before saying anything else! As for the outcome, Xiao Tianjian couldn't guess, he could only take it one step at a time.

  Still asking for votes, just a few more days and it'll be off the new book charts! At this critical moment, don't let the ones below burst my chrysanthemum! This is a matter of personal integrity! Red tickets, red tickets, I want red tickets! Please, brothers, lend me a hand and top it up!