Chapter 5

This group of people must have underestimated us.

Therefore, Wang Ju made a gesture to launch an attack.

Seeing his gesture, Uncle Er and the others got up from the ground, crouched down, and their bows and arrows were already prepared. All they had to do now was to draw the bowstring.

Compared to the fine bows of Xixia and the composite bows used by the Song army, the bows and arrows in the villagers' hands were pitiful, but... they could still kill.

The harsh and adverse living environment forced the villagers to be similar to the Jurchens in certain aspects. They became farmers when facing crops, herders when facing cattle and sheep, and excellent hunters when entering the forest. In fact, there were quite a few villagers in Wangjiazhai who were skilled in archery. Once they decided to resist, many became first-class archers.

In the blink of an eye, over a dozen bandits fell.

Thus, the inherent nature of the Song army flared up again. Dozens of bandits on the mountain path were in chaos, and the more chaotic they became, the more people fell.

But Wang Ju saw very clearly.

This was different from the previous village feuds, which were merely about showing off toughness. This was a battle, a fight to the death.

And they were killing the notorious Black Bee Bandits.

So the villagers were very nervous, and many arrows missed their targets. If it were the Baojie Army, these two or three rounds of arrows would probably leave no one alive among the bandits.

But if it were himself, wouldn't he be nervous?

Extremely nervous. Despite the occasional cries of pain, his heart was still pounding, as if it would jump out of his throat.

This could not yet be called a victory, and his eyes turned to the mountain below.

Those five horsemen were the key to this battle.

The five horsemen were about to catch up with the villagers but heard the cries of pain from the mountain path. They had to rein in their horses and turn to look, and what they saw made them shudder.

The salt smugglers were hated by the court.

However, they were also hated by everyone in the Baoan Army.

"Could it be that the salt smugglers know the truth and deliberately used these dozens of carts of salt as bait, then hired mercenaries to ambush here?" their leader thought.

Knowing the truth... so many officials, clerks, soldiers, merchants, and powerful households in Yan Prefecture and Baoan Army, even the mule drivers, relied on the private traders for their livelihood. If the truth were known, he felt a chill just thinking about it.

Those damned mountain people actually dared to turn back!

However, what was on his mind was not the mountain people but how to deal with the aftermath.

So he shouted, "Charge back!"

He led his four subordinates back to the mountain path.

The ambush was centered behind the carts of salt.

When he charged back, almost half of his subordinates had fallen.

He shouted again, "Kill them, and we retreat."

As he spoke, his eyes swept over the area. To make it easier to shoot, the villagers all stood up. He immediately saw Zhu Qing, for no other reason than that Zhu Qing was the best dressed, standing out like a crane among chickens. So he spurred his horse, charged into the bushes, and with a swift movement, killed a villager. He then charged straight at Zhu Qing, heading towards Wang Ju and the others.

Wang Ju stood up urgently.

He didn't know much about military tactics, but he understood simple principles, and he understood more than anyone else present. If this person could boost morale, many more people in the village would die today.

So he drew his bow.

The bow was a simple mulberry wood bow, the most primitive single-material bow, with only a bowstring, bow arms, and a handle. Unlike the bows in the hands of the bandits, which had tendon layers on the core, and horn layers on the belly, made of wood, ox sinew, and animal horns. Therefore, it shot faster, farther, and more accurately. Additionally, the composite bow had a more significant advantage: unlike the single-material bow, it did not need to have the bowstring removed when not in use to prevent the bowstring from loosening and reducing elasticity.

But it was still a weapon.

He calmly aimed at the target, thinking about what Uncle Er had taught him: "Use your heart, Big Ox. The three points in a line you mentioned don't work. The arrows in our hands are not straight. Where did you learn that term? Even if the arrows were straight, the animals are moving. Rabbits are quick, so you have to shoot fast and quickly judge their escape direction. Tigers and leopards are fierce, so you can't be intimidated by their presence. So shooting is not just about aiming; you have to use your arms, your eyes, and your heart..."

Wang Ju was also thinking about another issue: Could this arrow take him to the East Huamen to announce his name...

Indeed, this was his life goal, though if it were known, everyone would probably laugh.

The arrow flew out.

The sharp arrowhead, trailing white feathers, drew a beautiful curve in the air and quickly fell.

The bandit leader on horseback extended his hand and deflected the arrow with a slash.

But Wang Ju had anticipated this. If there were no surprises, this person was the second leader of the Three Bee Bandits, the Blade Bandit. So after shooting one arrow, he quickly took the second arrow from his quiver and drew his bow again.

The bandit had to deflect the flying arrow again.

But this slowed him down, and two more villagers shot arrows at him.

Reflecting on his skills, he was still quite good, managing to deflect the two arrows.

The horse continued to run, and the phoenix-mouthed saber fell, splitting another of Zhu Qing's servants in two.

Two women screamed simultaneously and stood up.

The man and the two riders behind him were stunned. These were salt smugglers, how could there be two beautiful women in the group?

But the horse galloped through the bushes. The horse might avoid the dense bushes, but it didn't have the intelligence to consider its rider. A branch of hawthorn extended and struck the Blade Bandit.

He had to duck to avoid it.

Wang Ju's third arrow flew out.

The goose feather arrow quickly fell and splashed a flower of blood on the Blade Bandit's back...

The Song army was not powerful, but it could not be underestimated. Even though they suffered defeats at Sanchuan Pass and Hao Shui Pass, they still inflicted heavy losses on the Xixia. However, it depended on who was in command. If it were Ge Huaimin, the defeat would have been catastrophic.

The man screamed and rolled off the horse. The horse continued to run, but his foot was caught in the stirrup, and the screaming stopped—he was dead!

"Commander Meng," another horseman shouted.

But distracted, Li Sandog calmly aimed and shot him down.

Uncle Er Wang Wei and another villager took advantage of the situation and, with their clumsy woodcutting knives, chopped down another horseman. But sensing the danger, he fiercely spurred his horse and fled down the mountain. This was the only one of the five horsemen to escape.

There was no need for Wang Ju to give orders. Those who could ride horses must have had a high status, and cavalry were more dangerous than infantry. Almost simultaneously, everyone exerted their strength, and dozens of arrows shot towards the remaining two horsemen.

With Wang Ju's third arrow, the tide of the battle finally turned.

Four horsemen were killed, and one escaped.

Without their leader, the bandits' morale, which had barely rallied, dispersed again. Moreover, to avoid drawing attention, they had not worn armor or carried shields...

Dozens of bandits quickly scattered, fleeing in all directions.

"Did we really succeed?" Zhu Qing seemed to be in a dream. A group of mountain people, and mainly Han people, actually defeated the notorious Black Bee Bandits and protected the goods?

If this were known, who would believe it?

Wang Ju looked at Zhu Qing's surprised expression and sneered inwardly. If the Black Bee Bandits were at their peak, today would have been disastrous. But now, just seeing that flag, everyone fled. Overconfidence leads to defeat!

At least they gradually lost their vigilance, which was the reason he dared to fight.

But a cold sweat also broke out on his back...

The battle ended, and although the goods were protected, Zhu Qing's face still looked grim.

More trouble was coming.

At this point, even ordinary villagers knew that these people were not just bandits but also soldiers of the court.

The Song army was known for its love of the people, as evidenced by several events. For example, the actions of the Song army during their several entries into Shu, or the troops under the famous Song general Wang Shao. In the Song dynasty, two types of people were branded: serious criminals, whose marks were on their foreheads, and soldiers, whose marks were often on their temples or faces. At one point, the local militia in Shaanxi were also branded on their faces, but this led to multiple uprisings and was later changed to branding on the hands. However, the ethnic troops and even ordinary civilians in Qin Prefecture voluntarily requested the court to brand them on their faces to avoid being killed by the court soldiers and to claim military merit...

If the majority of the bandits who came to plunder were killed, and the soldiers knew it was their village that did it, what would be the consequences?

The villagers didn't know as much as Wang Ju, but they knew that soldiers were preceded by the word "official." They were the sky and the earth, and the people were the mules and the beasts.

"How could they be soldiers?" Wang Quan muttered.

PS: Request for recommendations and collections.

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