My eunuch godfather

Chapter 10 Encountering the Enemy

"Tell me, who sent you?"

Zhang Kun's face darkened. He strode over, stepped on the thief's finger, and ground it down hard, shouting sternly:

"Don't try to be a hero, I have plenty of ways to deal with you!"

The thief screamed in agony, but when Zhang Kun lifted his foot, he stubbornly said:

"My lord, please understand! I have no one to serve me; I was just momentarily blinded by greed and wanted to steal some money!"

"So you're not going to tell?"

Zhang Kun bent down and pulled up the thief's right sleeve, then his left sleeve, revealing a cold smile:

"Do you know that for theft, first-time offenders are tattooed on their right forearm, repeat offenders on their left, and third-time offenders are hanged?!"

"Hanging, hanging..."

The thief was so terrified when he heard the words "hanging" that he stammered and couldn't utter a word.

In fact, during the Wanli era, theft was not punished as severely as it was during the Hongwu era:

Thieves who were caught were usually only punished with caning, not branded.

Even if someone is tattooed twice, they are not easily sentenced to death, and even if they are sentenced to death, they are very likely to be pardoned through a general amnesty.

"I, being a compassionate official, will spare your life."

Zhang Kun stood up and instructed Xu Xin, "Find a shopkeeper and buy some fine salt, and also a basin of charcoal."

Then he instructed Wei Sengteng: "Cut off his left forearm."

The thief was terrified and struggled desperately, saying:

"Sir! I said, it was Master Yang—it was Yang Hai! It was Yang Hai who called me..."

"Gag him!"

Wei Sengteng nodded in agreement to Zhang Kun and gestured to the skilled fighters beside him.

The skilled men held the thief down, and Wei Sengteng drew his waist knife, cut off the thief's left sleeve, rolled it up, and stuffed it into the thief's mouth.

When Xu Xin returned with the salt and charcoal, he heated the blade over the charcoal a few times and then stepped on the thief's left upper arm.

Cut open the elbow crease with one stroke, grab the left forearm, forcefully twist it in the opposite direction of the joint, and then cut it off completely with another stroke!

Then he grabbed some fine salt and sprinkled it on the wound, causing the thief to scream in pain and faint instantly.

"Shopkeeper, take him to the doctor."

Zhang Kun, who had heard the screams and ran into the lobby, was terrified when the shop owner threw him a silver bean.

Then, addressing the crowd in a deep voice, he said, "Prepare to depart!"

......

"Big Boss, that corrupt official not only burned down Tian Wu's shop, but also broke Lao Bai's arm!"

The young scholar, clad in leather armor with veins bulging on his forehead, angrily addressed Yang Hai, the middle-aged shoemaker in chainmail:

"If you don't avenge your brothers, how will you have the face to be a chief secretary in the future?!"

As the old saying goes, "The common people can't fight against officials, even if they're thieves."

Yang Hai sneered and said sternly to the young scholar:

"Besides, it was you, Scholar Dong, who was greedy and insisted on sending them to provoke the government troops!"

Old Bai is incredibly lucky to have survived.

The other bandit leaders and bandits also stared coldly at Dong Xiucai:

Everyone had their eyes on the target and was about to pull off a big heist, but you had to create this unexpected trouble at this crucial moment!

"I......"

Just as Dong Xiucai was about to argue, Yang Hai raised his hand to interrupt him, saying, "Shut up!"

In the distance, the faint sounds of drums and music commonly heard during wedding processions could be heard, indicating that the bandits' target was approaching.

......

"Brother Kun, I feel something's not right ahead."

Wei Sengteng sniffed, touched his ear, turned his horse around, came to Zhang Kun's side, and frowned, saying:

"There was a smell of blood, and people were screaming."

"Oh?"

Zhang Kun decided it was better to err on the side of caution and ordered everyone, "Put on your armor!"

Zhao, the flag officer, felt that Zhang Kun was being overly paranoid, but dared not say anything. He then mocked Wei Sengteng, saying:

"Wei Zhuangshi is truly quick-witted."

Wei Sengteng ignored Zhao Qiguan and said to Zhang Kun in a deep voice:

"I'll go ahead and take a look. Could you lend me your pistol, Master Kun? If there are any thieves, I'll fire it as a warning."

Zhang Kun nodded, drew a short gun and handed it to Wei Sengteng, "Be careful, some of the bandits might be good marksmen."

Wei Sengteng invited a skilled horseman named Yang Desheng, who had worked as a stable boy and was an excellent rider, to join him in the investigation.

A moment later, Wei Sengteng and Yang Desheng returned without firing a shot.

Just as Zhao Qiguan was about to speak sarcastically, he saw that the two men looked solemn. Wei Sengteng said to Zhang Kun in a deep voice:

"Master Kun, about three miles ahead, there are at least a hundred bandits who are robbing and killing a wedding procession!"

"May I ask, Master Kun, what's our next step?"

To fight or to flee?

Everyone looked at Zhang Kun, waiting for his decision.

Zhang Kun fell silent:

Reason told him he should flee. The enemy numbered at least a hundred, while his own side had only thirty, putting him at a significant numerical disadvantage.

Even if one's own side has better equipment and higher-quality soldiers, in battle, swords and spears have no eyes; a single arrow could kill him.

He is a time traveler; he should preserve his usefulness and turn around to escape, instead of putting on a brave face.

Besides, most of the people present probably wanted to escape too, right?

"...The grain we eat, paid by the emperor, is all contributed by the people."

After a long silence, Zhang Kun turned to look at Zhao Qiguan and said:

"Now that the bandits are slaughtering the people, if we don't even fire a single arrow, how can we face the imperial grain we've eaten?"

Chaos is approaching. Even if we escape today, we will always face stronger enemies in the future. Should we keep running away?

Even if we can't defeat this band of bandits, we should at least fire a few arrows from a distance, right?

Upon hearing Zhang Kun's words, Zhao Qiguan bit his lip tightly:

He wanted to disobey orders, but he was also worried about being punished by Chen Jizong when he returned.

Regardless of Zhang Kun's fate, Chen Jizong still intended to punish him upon their return.

His wives, concubines, and children are all being supported by the Chen family. If he doesn't go back, his fate will surely be tragic.

As for the servants, some shared Zhao Qiguan's thoughts, while others wanted to fight:

They either thought the bandits were easy to deal with, or they were brave enough to agree with Zhang Kun's words and felt that they should at least fire a few arrows.

Upon hearing Zhang Kun's words, Wei Sengteng's eyes widened, his body trembled slightly, and he shouted:

"What Master Kun said is true! Few of those thieves were armored, and the weapons they used were not good either, so they were easy to kill!"

"If you're a true hero, follow me to defeat them, cut off their heads, and let Master Kun commend us!"

Zhao Qiguan was about to persuade Zhang Kun when several riders suddenly appeared on the distant slope.

One of the sirens drew his bow and released an arrow; the arrow whistled through the sky with a sharp sound.

......

A moment earlier, a sharp-eyed bandit pointed north and reported to Scholar Dong:

"Scholar, I saw two men on horseback coming from over there. They turned and ran away when they saw us."

"What's the big deal—look at what they're wearing, don't they look like they're wearing armor?"

Suddenly realizing what was happening, Dong Xiucai urgently asked the sharp-eyed bandit.

"It's bulging and somewhat resembles one."

"Take a few and chase after them immediately!"

Upon hearing this, Scholar Dong was overjoyed and ordered the sharp-eyed bandits, "If it's that group of government troops, fire the signal arrows immediately!"

After the sharp-eyed bandit led his men in pursuit, Dong Xiucai turned his horse around, found Yang Hai, and said urgently:

"Big Boss, those government troops are also taking this route; their scouts have already spotted us!"

"What did you say?!"

Yang Hai frowned and ordered the bandits beside him, "Quickly summon all the managers!"

"Big Boss, let's chase after them and drive off those government troops to avenge Lao Bai and the others!"

Dong Xiucai suggested to Yang Hai with an excited expression.

"Don't talk nonsense!"

Yang Hai shouted at Dong Xiucai, "If you want to die, go ahead and die! Don't drag the brothers down with you!"

"...Big cabinet, I wasn't talking nonsense before,"

Scholar Dong devised an explanation, and after the other bandit leaders gathered, he explained the situation and then persuaded them:

"We lost many horses and injured many brothers because of the guards protecting the wagon. We can't just leave them here."

And much of the wealth we seized can only be hauled away by large carts. Are we just going to leave it to the government troops?

These days, most officials are cowardly cowards who fear death. With so many of us pressing down on him, we'll definitely scare him away!

The other bandit leaders all agreed with Dong Xiucai this time.

They had seized the wedding procession of a winery owner's daughter, whose dowry consisted mainly of fine wines, cloth, and other tangible goods.

If we withdraw, wouldn't this job be a complete waste?

Moreover, they had dealt with many government troops and found that most of them were indeed cowards who were afraid of death and good-for-nothings.

It looks like it's fully armored, but there might not be many plates left inside the cloth armor!

Looking into the eyes of the bandit leaders, Yang Hai sneered inwardly, mocking their greed and blinding judgment, and agreed:

"Then let's listen to the scholar's suggestion, push them over, and scare away those government troops!"