Chapter 314: Kill Them, Kill Them All

Gaojia Village welcomed the first batch of “returning bandits” who entered Chengcheng County from Zhengjia Village.The leader’s nickname was “Bull Push,” a native of Chengcheng County.

He was an old hand who had started rebellions in Year Seven of Tianqi. Back when Bai Shui Wang Er led the uprising, Bull Push rallied over forty villagers to rebel, starting their nomadic life as bandits all over. Later, “Bai Shui Wang Er was killed by Cheng Xu, and his head was hung at the Chengcheng County town gate as a warning,” which greatly weakened the rebels’ momentum.

Bull Push felt it was no longer safe in Chengcheng County, so he escaped to neighboring Heyang County. After some back and forth, he ended up following Fan Shanyue.

A few days prior, Fan Shanyue accepted the court’s “amnesty,” suddenly becoming the government’s “Defender of Heyang.” He disbanded his forces, telling most of his subordinates to “return to their villages,” so Bull Push had no choice but to journey back to his hometown in Chengcheng County.

Crossing the slope ahead would bring them to Zhengjia Village in Chengcheng County.

Bull Push was consumed with thoughts: What to do from now on?

Although the rebellion charge had been pardoned by the authorities, going home to farm? Don’t be foolish! The severe drought still raged; farming could yield nothing worthwhile.

One subordinate moved closer and whispered, “Leader, look, Zhengjia Village seems untouched by disaster. You can see green crops in the fields on the slope.”

Bull Push looked ahead and indeed it was!

It was early autumn in Chongzhen Year Two, and the fields were full of crops almost ripe for harvest, growing robustly and hinting at an imminent bumper yield.

Bull Push exclaimed joyfully, “So it rained in our Chengcheng County?”

The subordinate murmured softly, “If we plundered a village like this, we could make a tidy haul, couldn’t we?”

Hearing this, Bull Push hesitated.

As he was weighing whether to be good or bad,

an army suddenly appeared ahead—five hundred soldiers, not a large number, but imposing. All five hundred were armored and armed with firearms, spears, hand crossbows, and the like, each appearing ready for all-out combat.

At the front stood a masked general in Mountain-patterned Armor, who greeted them amiably, “Are you under Fan Shanyue of Heyang? Returning home after acceptance into the fold?”

Bull Push was startled by the troops’ appearance and quickly confirmed, “Yes! Yes!”

Cheng Xu chuckled, “Since you’ve been pardoned, you’re upstanding citizens now, so you get food.”

He waved his hand, and a cooking team stepped forward from behind, placing pre-prepared large pots in front. Cooked food inside emitted a savory aroma.

Cheng Xu’s tone immediately hardened, “But if you still plan to engage in illegal activities… then… heh heh… our weapons aren’t ornamental.”

Bull Push didn’t dare cause trouble. The enemy force looked too intimidating, and any fleeting bad thoughts vanished. He urgently directed his dozens of men to eat meekly and stay orderly.

As they ate obediently, Cheng Xu approached and stood beside Bull Push, “Are you their leader?”

Bull Push nodded, “These villagers have been following me around for over a year.”

Cheng Xu snickered, “Feeling lost? You return home, can’t farm due to the drought, and might only rebel again?”

Bull Push felt awkward but didn’t dare admit it, replying fast, “No, no, I’ll quietly farm when I return.”

Cheng Xu shot back, “You can’t fool me. You know you can’t farm.”

Bull Push: “…”

Cheng Xu patted him hard twice on the shoulder, “Instead of dealing with Fan Shanyue, why not join me? I guarantee you’ll eat your fill, stay warm, and get top-notch weapons and armor. Isn’t that ten times better than messing with Fan Shanyue?”

This terrified Bull Push, “Eh? I thought you were a court general, but that sounds like… you’re also a bandit? Who… which group are you part of? Wang Zuogua of Yichuan? Bu Zhan Ni?”

Cheng Xu grinned and chuckled: “Gaojia Village Hao Jiu.”

That title didn’t sound right!

Bull Push felt a lot of pressure.

Then he looked closely at Cheng Xu’s excellent equipment and imposing military appearance, gritted his teeth, and said: “Fine, I’m joining you.”

Meanwhile, in Shijia Gou,

Another group of returning bandits arrived there, but they numbered far more than Bull Push’s group, totaling over three hundred men. Their leader, with the nickname Bullfrog, was a fierce bandit under Fan Shanyue’s command.

Old Nan Feng, like Cheng Xu, brought out food to serve these three hundred men a full meal. Then he asked them if they wanted to join Gaojia Village, promising that they would have enough to eat and warm clothes in the future.

Bullfrog wore a strange smile: “Of course, no problem—we also want a good life.”

While he was dealing with Old Nan Feng, he turned his hand behind his back and gestured a “slit the throat” motion to a subordinate.

The subordinate understood, quietly retreated into the ranks of the returning bandits, and whispered to each captain: “Wait for the boss’s order later, then suddenly attack and kill all those guys who claim to be from Gaojia Village.”

“They just gave us food—do we really kill them?”

“Hey, instead of letting them give us grain as charity, we should kill them and grab the grain to split it ourselves. Doesn’t that make sense?”

The subordinates listened, and agreed it made sense.

“Anyway, we’ve been robbing everything along the way to kill our way home—that’s a real grand return, hahaha.”

These three hundred men, having just eaten their fill and regained strength, agreed on their plan and decided to premeditate a surprise assault.

They picked up their weapons and quietly surrounded Old Nan Feng’s group.

Everyone gathered their strength, waiting only for Boss Bullfrog’s command to strike all at once and wreak havoc.

Bullfrog put one hand on Old Nan Feng’s shoulder, looking like they were close brothers: “Brother Nan Feng, you’re part of Gaojia Village?”

Old Nan Feng said: “Yes, want to join us? Eat well, dress warm—life’s good.”

Bullfrog laughed heartily: “I see, we’ll go to Gaojia Village soon…”

Here, his tone suddenly changed, his voice turning vicious: “And plunder it to our heart’s content!”

As the words leapt out, his free hand swiftly drew his waist knife and slashed down toward Old Nan Feng’s face.

At the same time, three hundred subordinates also drew their weapons and charged at Old Nan Feng’s group.

Bullfrog thought his premeditated strike was certain to succeed.

But he never expected that Old Nan Feng seemed fully prepared. With a reach, he grabbed Bullfrog’s knife-wielding hand, twisted it gently, spun the knife around, and cut it back against Bullfrog’s neck with a thud.

Blood from Bullfrog’s neck artery sprayed out half a zhang far.

The three hundred subordinates were only halfway through their charge and stared in shock.

Old Nan Feng “hmphed” and shouted loudly: “Kill them, kill them all!”

His one hundred fierce border army soldiers roared in unison and charged at those three hundred brigands.