Chapter 113 I thank you, Thirteenth Miss.
Zhou Congxian can now mount and dismount horses extremely smoothly using only his left hand.
Even when riding a horse, as long as it's not galloping at high speed, he can do it with one hand. His right hand is still weak, but he holds the reins lightly, so no one can see any flaws.
Three days later, when the southwestern army arrived, the entire Ding County was in an uproar.
The cheers could be heard for miles around.
Even the bandits who had become lazy and complacent these days were startled.
Some of the villagers, who were imprisoned together, overheard the conversation between the bandits.
"We're saved!"
"The imperial court has sent troops to rescue us!"
"We're finally going to be saved!"
Tears welled in the eyes of the desperate villagers, and their dry, cracked lips uttered soft sobs.
Some children even fainted from hunger.
Apart from the more robust young men, almost all the villagers huddled together listlessly.
These bandits didn't care whether they lived or died.
If they have two bites of food left, the villagers can have some vegetable soup.
If they don't leave a single bite, the villagers will starve.
If they had gone hungry for another two days, they might have starved to death.
The people of Ding County cheered, and the bandits also became excited.
After being granted amnesty, they were also government soldiers who received pay!
"Hehe! I was a bandit leader for the first half of my life, I never thought I could become a commander of a thousand households."
Some bandits mocked him, "Pah! You can't even beat Brother Dao, you're only good for being a centurion at best."
"Hahaha, who cares about a thousand or a hundred households? I'm going to marry seven or eight of them, and they'd better serve me well!"
The bandits were still laughing and joking, still dreaming of being recruited into the army.
Meanwhile, the soldiers in the county town, who had suffered humiliation for days and could only watch helplessly as their brothers were wounded or killed, were already seething with rage.
A fierce fire ignited in their eyes.
He wished he could devour those bandits outside the city alive to avenge his dead brothers!
Zhou Congxian sat on horseback, his eyes fixed intently on the officers and soldiers who were poised to attack.
"kill!"
One call and a hundred responses.
"kill!--"
Dao Ge, who was outside the city, sensed something was wrong. "Why did they start killing each other? Has anyone sent a message?"
"No." The person next to him also noticed that something was wrong.
"Didn't they say they came to offer us amnesty?"
As the two were talking, a large number of soldiers poured out of Dingxian County.
They surged towards the bandits who hadn't even had a chance to react.
"Kill them!—"
"Avenge our fallen brothers!—"
"Kill! I'll chop you scum to pieces!"
Outside the city, smoke and fire filled the air, and blood and flesh flew everywhere!
When the bandits finally realized what was happening and fought back, very few of their brothers remained!
How could the bandits possibly stand a chance against the well-equipped government troops?
"Brother Dao, we only have a little over a thousand men! Let's go!"
Brother Dao clutched his stomach wound, watching his brothers fall one by one.
"They told me to feign an attack, surrender, and offer amnesty! In the end, they betrayed all my brothers!"
He gritted his teeth, turned around, and led the remaining men into the deep forest.
A young general sat astride a tall horse, his expression full of arrogance.
"These are the bandits that Lord Jiang has been waiting for for so many days?"
"I've only deployed half of my forces!"
Jiang Xingyao gritted his teeth and said, "I am certainly not as brave as General He. More than two hundred people have defended the city and its more than eight thousand inhabitants."
"And the three thousand brave soldiers of the Southwest Army swept away a thousand bandits in the mountains."
General He didn't feel that Jiang Xingyao was mocking him at all; he simply raised his chin.
"My dad said that as long as you win a battle, you're a good soldier. Who cares about the number of soldiers or the number of soldiers? As long as you win!"
Zhou Congxian rode forward on his horse, "Young Master He? Where is General He?"
He Ran said, "My father was kept drinking by His Highness Prince Cheng, and he probably hasn't woken up yet."
“My dad sent me to handle this little matter.”
Jiang Xingyao's eyes were blazing with fury. "Knowing that Ding County was in dire straits, he still kept his general drinking!"
He Ran had just turned eighteen, a time when he was naturally unruly.
He wasn't interested in anything else, and raised his hand to hold the red-tasseled spear horizontally in front of Zhou Congxian.
"You're Zhou Congxian?"
Zhou Congxian held the reins in one hand, coldly watching his provocative expression.
"It is I."
He Ran smiled and said, "That's perfect. It means my trip wasn't in vain."
"I've heard you're quite skilled in martial arts. How about a match?"
Zhou Congxian pursed his lips.
Jiang Xingyao stepped sideways, blocking the two of them, and grabbed He Ran's red-tasseled spear.
"Is General He here to suppress bandits or to fight?"
He Ran was extremely impatient with talking to pedantic scholars, and he frowned.
"Let go! What business is it of yours whether I fight or not!"
Jiang Xingyao snorted, "I am the magistrate of Ding County. You are here to suppress bandits, so it has something to do with me."
Zhou Congxian glanced at the two arguing, then picked up the reins with one hand and spurred his horse to trot away.
In his eyes, He Ran was just a child.
But now he can't even beat a child.
"Hey, don't go!"
He Ran watched Zhou Congxian's departing figure, then turned his head and called out.
Jiang Xingyao was tall, and when he turned his body to the side, he completely blocked He Ran's view.
He raised an eyebrow. "General He doesn't seem to be growing any taller."
"You bookworm, say that again if you dare!"
He Ran hates it when people say he's short!
Jiang Xingyao turned his horse around and said, "General He, don't be discouraged. Time goes by, and perhaps a miracle awaits you."
"Jiang Xingyao!"
He Ran was furious and raised his hand to thrust the red-tasseled spear out.
"Young master."
General He's personal bodyguard stepped forward and whispered, "We've found out..."
He Ran's expression sharpened. "Let's go."
Inside the county government office.
While wolfing down his steamed bun, Uncle Sun took Zhou Congxian's pulse.
Wei Xun immediately brought Sun Bo from the medicinal herb field over.
Uncle Sun was so hungry he was dizzy and lightheaded. If it weren't for the pills he had on him, which he would eat when he was starving, he probably would have starved to death.
Shuang'er handed him a bowl of rice porridge. "Take your time. Have some porridge to tide you over. We'll serve you some better dishes tonight."
Uncle Sun finished the steamed bun in no time, choking so badly that his neck almost stretched out two miles!
After finishing a bowl of rice porridge, he felt as if his soul had returned.
He had eaten and drunk his fill, and his pulse had been taken.
"Dr. Sun, can his hand ever fully recover?"
Yao Shisan looked at him with hopeful eyes.
After letting out a long burp, Uncle Sun uttered a single word.
"Disaster."
Everyone's expression changed.
Zhou Congxian's face turned ashen.
"It's difficult, but it's not without hope."
The people inside almost jumped up.
"Dr. Sun, could you please stop breathing so heavily? It's terrifying!"
Uncle Sun burped again, "I can only speak after I've caught my breath."
Yao Shisan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Zhou Congxian's hand was like a heavy stone weighing on her heart.
He became like this to save her.
If Zhou Congxian's life were to be altered because of her hands, she would feel guilty for the rest of her life.
A warm hand took her hand.
Zhou Congxian said in a low voice, "Thank you, Shi..."
Yao Shisan brushed his hand away, "I am Yao Shisan now, and I have absolutely no connection with Lord Zhou."
He looked at her pretty profile and chuckled, "Yes, thank you, Miss Thirteen."
Yao Shisan rubbed his arms and moved a little further away from him, saying, "Don't be disgusting, I'm not used to it."
In the evening, a large bath tub was carried into the back office of the county government.
The medicinal soup made from the herbs was poured into the bath tub.
Broken bones can regenerate tendons.
These names sound painful.
But the back office was quiet all night.
Shuang'er looked at Wei Xun, "Why is the young master not making a sound, yet you seem to be in so much pain?"
Wei Xun's expression stiffened, and he pushed her out, saying, "Don't listen, don't look, don't ask."
No sooner had Shuang'er left than Yao Shisan entered.
"Why is there not a sound at all?"
Wei Xun, “…”
*
"Hey, you surnamed Jiang, don't think I won't dare to hit you!"
He Ran stared at Jiang Xingyao, who was blocking his way, his eyes blazing with fury.
"If you want to burn the mountain, you'll have to step over my dead body!"
Jiang Xingyao gritted his teeth as he stared at the audacious young man.
He wanted to burn the mountain to force out the bandits.
But Chicken Wing Mountain is not a single mountain; there are mountains behind it, stretching as far as the eye can see.
If the fire gets out of control, the number of civilians who die will be many times greater than the number of bandits!
He Ran sneered, "As expected, scholars are useless. Why have these bandits been able to entrenched themselves here for so many years?"
"It's all because of you soft-hearted, bookish scholars!"
Jiang Xingyao: "General He has followed General He in the army for so many years, have you only ever used brute force?"
"There are a hundred ways to defend against enemies, but what exactly has General He learned?!"
He Ran gripped the red-tasseled spear tightly, a cold glint in his eyes.
"Does Lord Jiang think these bandits are worth dealing with using military strategy?"
Jiang Xingyao retorted without backing down, "Does General He perhaps think that bandits are born bandits?"
"If they burn it this time, what about next time? Will they burn the mountain every time?"
He Ran scoffed, "Does Lord Jiang mean to persuade these people to do good?"
"Young master, I think you shouldn't be the county magistrate anymore. You should call the Buddha statue in the temple 'Make way,' and you'd be more suitable to sit there."
Jiang Xingyao was not to be outdone, saying, "General He, you shouldn't fight any more battles. Why don't you ask the King of Hell to give you the Book of Life and Death, so you don't waste your time burning the mountain?"
He Ran gritted his teeth, "If I had the Book of Life and Death, I'd cross you out first and throw you into the Hell of Tongue-Pulling!"
Two guards stood close together not far from the two.
"Finally, someone can deal with the Third Miss... and the Young Master."
"I'm really afraid that Lord Jiang will be stabbed to death."
"I don't think so. Lord Jiang and the young master are evenly matched."
"Don't be too optimistic. Didn't that young master from some wealthy family get beaten up and his face was swollen and black?"
"That guy deserved to be beaten, but I still have high hopes for Lord Jiang..."
"Hey! Young master..."
As the two were talking, it looked as He Ran was about to explode.
The next moment, the two covered their eyes and turned away.
"Shall we... leave first?"
"Let's go, our lives matter too."
All I could see was this end.
Jiang Xingyao only wanted to snatch He Ran's red-tasseled spear, and the two of them pulled and tugged at each other.
His footing was unsteady, and he slipped on a pebble, causing He Ran to fall to the ground.
His hand was also placed where it shouldn't have been.
"Are you still cold even though you're wearing such thick clothes?"
He raised his head and uttered these words.
He Ran's face turned completely red.
"Jiang Xingyao, you're asking for death!"
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