Chapter 33 General Flag General Flag
The sky was getting light. The surviving bandits were tied together and thrown to the ground, with no one bandaging their wounds. This group of bandits had killed countless people. Even if they were still alive, the laws of the Great Zhou would not let them live for too long. Those officers and soldiers would not be so kind.
Yuexi Village was bustling with activity. The village chief invited the officers and soldiers to his home and slaughtered chickens and sheep to entertain them.
After the disaster, the people of Yuexi Village were still in shock, but when they saw the soldiers carrying swords, they felt much more at ease.
Everyone in the cellar came up and went back to their homes. When they returned, they found that there was less food in each household.
The same thing happened at the village chief's house. The grain he had left behind was gone. He frowned and asked, "Where did the grain go? Could another bandit have escaped?"
"Father, what happened?" the leading officer shouted.
The village chief then explained the disappearance of the millet and added, "It was my nephew who came up with this idea. Who knew there would really be so little?"
The officer frowned and pondered, "I'm afraid the thieves have split into two groups, and some who didn't dare to kill have escaped with the grain. I'll send two men to question them."
Two of the soldiers stood up and walked out, but soon returned and said, "General Liu, the bandits said they're missing one of their men, a one-eyed man who was supposedly their military advisor. But we haven't seen him since we entered the village, so he must have already fled."
Liu Zongqi slammed the table, feeling somewhat regretful: "He got away. It's too late to chase him now."
There are many mountains and rivers in Yuexi Village, so it is impossible to chase him. Who knows where the man ran to? Fortunately, there was only one person.
The village chief was also angry and said quickly: "You soldiers have helped Yuexi Village to kill the bandits, which is already a great achievement. Why worry about this cowardly escape? Come, come, I will offer you a toast."
Liu Zongqi was also very happy. He drank a glass of wine directly and said with a smile: "No need to be polite, father-in-law. Catching this thief is a great achievement. Who knows, it may even lead to a promotion and wealth."
As they were talking, they already knew that the people coming were not constables, but soldiers from Qingzhou Guard Station, led by this General Liu, and they came specifically to chase this group of murderers and robbers.
Su Fengzhang was also left behind to accompany the guests. After hearing this, he smiled and said, "That being said, the lives of the villagers of Yuexi Village were indeed saved by you soldiers. General Liu, I will refill your glass."
Liu Zongqi laughed heartily and glanced at him a second time. "From what my father-in-law said, leaving the grain at home and taking the whole village to hide in the ancestral hall was it all your idea?"
Su Fengzhang smiled and said, "I read a few more books on weekdays. Yesterday, I found that there was something wrong with those two beggars. I am timid, so I encouraged my uncle to hide first. Who knew that he was right?"
Liu Zongqi patted his shoulder with his big hand and laughed, "You're good. You don't just study hard. Your brain is more active than mine."
"I don't dare to compare with General Liu." Su Fengzhang said quickly.
Liu Zongqi reached out and pushed him to the side, saying with a smile, "Come on, tell me how you figured it out. Before that, they had plundered three villages, leaving no one alive."
Su Fengzhang expressed his suspicions that day one by one.
After listening to this, Liu Zongqi said, "You are very observant. If the village chief hadn't said you were a scholar, I would have taken you back to be a military advisor. What a pity! Come, let's go."
The two of them drank a glass of wine. Su Fengzhang was still in mourning, so he drank tea.
Liu Zongqi asked again: "Then why did you keep the grain?"
After hearing Su Fengzhang's explanation, General Liu valued him even more and scolded the soldiers around him, "You should all learn from him. A seventeen-year-old kid can think so carefully. Unlike you, you have been chasing for more than a month and still have to rely on others to report the news."
It was obvious that his receiver had a very good relationship with him. Someone laughed at him, "Brother Liu, didn't you find anyone either?"
Liu Zongqi turned around and cursed, "I've killed at least a few of them."
After a round of scolding and laughing, Liu Zongqi pulled Su Fengzhang aside and said, "Brother Su, I think you really suit my taste. There are scholars everywhere, but there are not many who are brave and resourceful enough to kill bandits. Many of them become weak in the knees when they see the villains, without any backbone at all."
"I like people like you. Come, let's have another drink. I'll finish it. You can do whatever you want." Liu Zongqi drank another glass.
This guy also had a huge appetite. He drank several large bowls without even shaking his body. He also said, "My last name is Liu Wei. If you don't mind, you can call me Brother Liu."
"Brother Liu, don't be so formal. Just call me Fengzhang." Su Fengzhang was very happy to accept his kindness.
Liu Wei was even more delighted after hearing this. He patted his chest and said, "Feng Zhang, you are brave and resourceful. I believe you have a promising career in the future. If you ever come to Qingzhou for the imperial examination, don't forget to come and chat with me."
After eating and drinking their fill, Liu Wei led his men to take the living people away. As for the dead, they were put on the car and transported away. Not a single one was left in their village. These people could probably be exchanged for merit.
Only after sending the people away completely did the village chief breathe a sigh of relief. Although General Liu spoke in a gentle manner, he was a soldier after all, and he was still wary of him.
Only then did the village chief have time to speak to Qi the Hunter: "Akang, this time it's all thanks to you. If you hadn't brought in reinforcements, I'm afraid that more than a hundred people in Yuexi Village, big and small, would have died last night."
Qi Kang still had a tired look on his face, but knowing that his mother, wife and son were all alive, he was in very good spirits.
"Village Chief, I'm also from Yuexi Village. This is what I should do. Besides, this time it's all thanks to Erlang. If he hadn't noticed something was wrong and made preparations in advance, I wouldn't have made it in time even if I ran myself to pieces."
As soon as this was said, the villagers also spoke up: "That's right, Erlang is indeed a scholar, he is really smart."
"Looking at beggars, one can tell they're bandits. This skill is no worse than that of an official."
"Let's not talk about anything else. With Erlang in the Su family, I'm afraid that the ancestral graves will be filled with smoke in the future."
Su Fengzhang quickly stepped forward and said, "Uncles, please stop praising me. Yuexi Village was able to escape this crisis because everyone worked together with hoes and kitchen knives to defend it. First, I have to thank Uncle Qi for risking his life to rush to the county town to bring in reinforcements. Second, I have to thank the village chief for his prompt decision and for repairing the ancestral hall every year, which gave us a place to hide."
"For the third one, we have to thank ourselves. It was because of everyone's concerted efforts that we were able to keep the bandits out of the house and keep our families safe and sound without suffering any harm."
These words made the villagers happy, as if everyone had made a great contribution and protected their families and children.
The village chief nodded with a smile, then said, "Erlang, don't underestimate yourself. In that case, I'll rank you fourth. Although you're younger, you're smart. If it weren't for you, I definitely wouldn't have been able to see through those two spies."
Su Fengzhang also smiled: "Alright, alright, uncles, let's stop bragging here. Those who need to go home should go home to clean up, and those who need to go home to sleep should go home to sleep. After a night of hard work, everyone is about to get tired."
Every villager was terrified by the life-and-death crisis the night before, but at this moment the fear faded away, and when they came out of the village chief's house, they all had smiles on their faces.
Su Fengzhang and Second Uncle Su walked out of the door one after another. Second Uncle Su patted his shoulder and said with a smile: "Erlang, you are just like your father. You will definitely be a promising person in the future."
Not only Uncle Su changed his opinion of him, most people in the village felt the same way.
Before this, the villagers might have respected Su Fengzhang, but this respect was directed at a scholar and the enlightenment teacher of their children. But after this night, things were different.
This young man, who is only seventeen years old, is no longer a child in the eyes of many people, but a wise young man. They all look at him as the head of the family.
Even after the village chief sent the man away, he told his son twice that he was amazing and that the young were to be feared.
But in fact, the young and formidable Su Fengzhang only felt numbness in his arms. The spiritual spring water he had been drinking for more than two years was indeed effective. The most obvious change was the improvement of his physical fitness, and he had not been sick for nearly three years.
The side effect was that his strength also increased. After discovering this, Su Fengzhang began to exercise consciously. The muscles in his arms became much stronger than at the beginning, and his height also increased.
Even so, last night he instantly exerted force and thrust out the bamboo spear, killing one person and injuring several others. His arm was slightly numb, with the sequelae of excessive force. After all, he had never received any targeted weapon training.
He returned home rubbing his arm. No one, including his two children, had slept yet and was waiting for him in the hall.
Seeing him come in, Su Zhao finally breathed a sigh of relief and told her about the situation at home: "The grain and copper coins we left behind are gone, but everything else is intact. It seems that whoever entered the house didn't want to waste the effort."
"Are you hungry? Madam Wei has cooked dinner and is heating it up for you."
Su Fengzhang was actually a little hungry, as he had just been busy drinking tea.
Su Lanzhang leaned beside him mysteriously, looked up and said, "Second brother, my Dahong is not dead, she is alive and well."
Dahong is the red carp that had been kept in a broken water tank in the backyard and luckily escaped the disaster.
Su Fengzhang smiled and rubbed his head, then pulled Su Huihui in front of him and said with a smile: "Lan Zhang, you did a great job yesterday. You protected everyone and fulfilled your promise."
"Huihui is also very well behaved. I heard that many children cried when the fight broke out, but you didn't. My Huihui is a brave little girl." He was afraid that what happened last night would bring psychological trauma to the child.
Sure enough, after hearing his words, Su Lanzhang and Su Huihui's eyes lit up and they grinned happily.
Su Zhao shook her head helplessly, but did not disturb her son from teaching his younger siblings.
Aunt Bai's eyes flashed slightly, and she lowered her head to wipe away the tears from the corners of her eyes. She was once again glad that she had entered the Su family. Although the master passed away early, Erlang was a good brother. He truly treated Lan Zhang Huihui as his own brother and sister.
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