My eunuch godfather

Chapter 12 Save Beauty

"Blow the horn!"

Zhang Kun led his horse out of the woods and saw that the servants were still in pursuit. He then gave instructions to Xu Xin.

Upon hearing the horn, the servants stopped their pursuit and gathered in the direction of the sound.

"Let's go to the wedding procession first; there might still be quite a few thieves and civilians there."

Zhang Kun gave orders to Wei Sengteng and Zhao Qiguan, who had rushed over.

"Sir, the thieves left behind quite a few horses. Capture these horses first..."

Zhao, the flag officer, was overjoyed after his victory and made a suggestion to Zhang Kun.

"The foreman wants us to go check out the convoy first!"

Before Zhang Kun could speak, the impatient servant interrupted Zhao Qiguan.

"None of us are from this area. Catching horses could easily lead to an ambush by bandits. Besides, saving the people is the priority."

Zhang Kun memorized the appearance of the impatient servant and spoke to Zhao Qiguan.

Then, smiling, he assured the skilled fighters and servants:

"Everyone has made a contribution today! Those who want an official position, I will ask Governor Xu to commend you for your achievements."

"Those who want silver, I will give you some when I enter Renqiu City. The rest will be given in Dezhou, how about that?"

"I'll do as the foreman says!" "Thank you, foreman!" "Alright!"

These bandits were inland outlaws, and the reward for their heads was as follows:

The chief thief is a notorious bandit, and he is promoted to the rank of one or awarded 30 taels of silver.

Minor leaders and armored bandits are notorious thieves; they will be promoted one rank or rewarded with 10 taels of silver.

Unarmored bandits are thieves, and the reward is 5 taels of silver. If you collect three taels, you can be promoted to the next rank.

In practice, because the official salary was too low, people preferred to receive bonuses.

Zhang Kun was previously a banner commander, and he only received 1 shi (a unit of dry measure) of rice per month.

Now that he has been promoted to a hundred households, in addition to one shi of rice per month, he also receives less than 1.24 taels of silver.

Suppose Zhang Kun achieves merit by beheading a notorious bandit, and chooses to be promoted one rank, becoming a deputy commander.

So, excluding the monthly rice allowance of one shi (a unit of dry measure), the monthly silver allowance only increased to less than 1.36 taels.

It would take approximately 28 years to earn the 30 taels of silver reward through the increasing monthly allowance.

The imperial court was facing financial difficulties, so it demanded more promotions and fewer rewards. Those who did not want to become officials had no choice but to accept them, and the silver rewards became the most generous form of reward.

The process of obtaining a first-class merit certificate still needs to be followed. If you're lucky, it can take several months, or even one or two years. If you're unlucky, it can drag on for four or five years.

Zhang Kun promised to give a portion of the reward money upon arrival in Renqiu City, which made the skilled fighters and servants cheer in unison.

......

Upon arriving at the wedding procession, the bandits had all withdrawn, leaving behind only a dozen or so corpses of those who had died in the attack on the procession.

There were also about thirty members of the caravan who resisted and were killed, including the gang leaders, guards, and drivers.

There were about 120 members of the convoy who surrendered or were captured. They were all tied up and locked in the vehicles.

The convoy consisted of 36 vehicles, more than half of which were loaded with valuables, no wonder it attracted so many bandits.

The bandits didn't steal much valuables, but they took all the horses with them.

Zhang Kun questioned the rescued convoy members to understand the situation:

The woman is the daughter of a wealthy man surnamed Sun in Changfeng Town.

Old Sun made his living by brewing wine. He was quite wealthy and had five sons and only one daughter, so he was very generous with the dowry.

The man was a student surnamed Guo from Renqiu County. His father was a Juren (a successful candidate in the imperial examinations at the provincial level), so they were a good match.

"Help! Miss is trying to commit suicide!"

When the old woman called out to him, the steward of the Sun family apologized to Zhang Kun and hurriedly ran towards the float.

Zhang Kun went over to check the situation:

After being rescued, the bride learned that her two brothers had been killed by bandits, and she hanged herself with her belt inside the carriage.

The Sun family hurriedly carried the bride out of the bridal car, but the bride's face was pale and bluish, and she did not respond to shouts or pats.

Breathing is slow, with short inhalations and long exhalations occurring every few seconds, sounding like sighs.

This is dying breath!

"Oh heavens!" "Miss is about to die, what should we do..." "Quickly pinch her philtrum!" "Bring the horse over here and bounce it a few times!"

Some members of the Sun family cried and screamed or wandered aimlessly, while others tried all sorts of bizarre methods to cure him.

Zhang Kun pushed aside the Sun family members, walked to the bride, and shouted:

"Make way, all of you! I possess a secret medical technique from the Imperial Medical Academy in the capital!"

He knelt down on one knee, trying hard to recall the first aid training he had received at work, pulled open the bride's shirt, and began chest compressions.

Some members of the Sun family immediately became agitated and tried to rush over to stop Zhang Kun, but they were blocked by skilled fighters and servants.

Press firmly on the midpoint of the line connecting the two points 30 times, lift the chin forward, pinch the nose and give two artificial respirations.

"You lecherous scoundrel!" "You corrupt official!" "Fuck your mother!"

Upon seeing this, the Sun family members who were blocked from view immediately started cursing.

"Shut up, all of you!"

Wei Sengteng drew his sword and shouted at the cursing Sun family members, "Anyone who curses again, I'll chop them to death with one stroke!"

After several repetitions, the bride's chest and abdomen began to rise and fall rhythmically, she started to try moving her hands and feet, and her complexion gradually became rosy.

"He's alive!"

Zhang Kun, relieved to see that the bride had resumed breathing, stood up and explained to the Sun family:

"This is a secret technique of the Imperial Medical Academy. It may seem astonishing, but it can indeed cure those who have died."

Then he gestured to Wei Sengteng to put the sword back in its sheath.

The Sun family remained silent, except for the Sun family steward who spoke to Zhang Kun to express his gratitude:

"Thank you, sir, for rescuing my young lady."

He then quickly walked to the bride's side, helped her up, and said gently, "Miss, how are you feeling?"

The bride's eyes were red and swollen, tears streaming down her face as she sobbed, "I...I killed my third and fifth brothers..."

The fifth son of the Sun family was only a teenager when he was killed by bandits; he was holding a knife in his hand.

On the contrary, the groom, upon seeing the bandits appear, immediately rode away.

"Sir,"

The steward of the Sun family approached Zhang Kun and pleaded, "Could you please send my young lady to Renqiu City as soon as possible?"

"That's certainly the case; I will make the arrangements."

"Not spending the night outside will best protect the bride's chastity," Zhang Kun nodded to the Sun family steward.

"I need to clear the battlefield first. Give me some men who can ride horses."

"Yes, yes, I'll go and choose someone right away!"

Zhang Kun first sent Wei Sengteng with five skilled fighters and ten servants, including the impatient one among the servants.

With ten men selected from the caravan, who rode spare horses and pack animals, they went to clear the battlefield and collect heads.

"Leave a few with minor injuries alive as witnesses; I want to interrogate them."

To Zhang Kun's surprise, Wei Sengteng actually managed to restrain the skilled fighters and servants.

Not only did they bring back horses and armor, but they also handed over the spoils of war, such as silver, obtained from looting the corpses!

It's certain that someone kept it for themselves, but it's truly remarkable that someone was able to hand over more than five hundred taels of silver.

After clearing the battlefield, Zhang Kun had Xu Xin take the Embroidered Uniform Guard's waist token and lead four skilled men.

Together with several members of the Sun family, they escorted the bride's bridal car to Renqiu City.

The remaining members of the Sun family and the convoy, along with Zhang Kun, his skilled fighters, and his servants, set up camp for the night.

That night, Zhang Kun, who had just experienced his first battle, was too excited to sleep and stayed up with Wei Sengteng until dawn.

Renqiu County dispatched fifty strongmen from the county government office, along with more than twenty horses, to go out of the city and meet with Zhang Kun.

They assisted Zhang Kun in escorting the entire wedding procession into Renqiu City.

The county magistrate arrived at the post station and inquired about the details of the encounter with the bandits the previous day.

Zhang Kun sensed from the county magistrate's words that the Renqiu county government wanted him to downplay the scale of the incident.

After all, the occurrence of such a large-scale banditry within the territory would certainly have an impact on the performance evaluation of county magistrates and assistant magistrates.

Of course, to put it mildly, one could share some of the credit with the county government as a way to make up for past mistakes.

Southern Hebei was severely affected by disasters, and banditry was on the rise. The Renqiu County government was able to suppress this gang of thieves in time, and they might even be rewarded.

"My men suffered considerable losses in this campaign to suppress the bandits..."

Zhang Kun quoted a price to the county magistrate.