Chapter 23: Thunderous Strings Stir the Night (Part 1)

Li Liuge led the way, with Wang Jiu walking beside him. In this dire situation, Han Gang's heart became even more calm. He had the ability to remain composed in critical moments. In the past, whether in exams or interviews, he always performed beyond expectations. Recalling the plane crash that brought him to this era, he was also calm to the point of indifference before the accident.

The spare military arsenal in Chengji County was about two or three acres in size, with five long, side-by-side warehouses. On both sides of each warehouse, six large water jars, nearly five feet tall and filled with water, were lined up. These jars, when full, were large enough to drown a person, perhaps even the same type that Sima Guang smashed as a child. The water in the jars, filled with duckweed, clearly indicated that the safety of this arsenal was not low. Unlike the county office, which had been burned down three times in the past twenty years.

In the corner of the eastern warehouse, there was a small house built against the wall. Li Liuge led Han Gang to the door of the small house and shouted inside, "Zhou Feng! Come out!"

A plain-looking young man of medium height came out of the house. He was about twenty-three or twenty-four years old. Seeing Li Liuge and Han Gang standing at the door with serious expressions, he looked somewhat nervous. When he saw Wang Jiu behind them, he trembled all over. "It's Brother Li, what's the matter? Is there something you need me to do?"

Li Liuge pointed to Han Gang beside him and said, "Your job will be taken over by Scholar Han from today on. Hurry up and pack your things; I need to go back and report."

Zhou Feng was stunned, his eyes widening. "This... this... this can't be! I won't change, I spent eighty guan! Eighty guan! That's enough to buy a good house in Jingzhao Prefecture!"

Zhou Feng used his hands to gesture in front of Han Gang, Wang Jiu, and Li Liuge, trying to emphasize how much eighty guan was. Wang Jiu, impatient, kicked Zhou Feng. "If I tell you to go, you go. No more nonsense!"

Zhou Feng was kicked to the ground, and the twenty-something man did not get up. He lay there, crying loudly, "Half of my family's wealth is gone, more than half of my family's wealth is gone..."

"What are you wailing about?" Wang Jiu shouted angrily. He stepped forward again and kicked Zhou Feng harder. Zhou Feng's cries were silenced as he was dragged out of the door.

Han Gang watched Zhou Feng being dragged away, his face scraping the ground, and felt a chill. It was truly a world where people were not treated as people.

Li Liuge, seemingly oblivious, turned to Han Gang and said, "Scholar Han, you are truly lucky. Clerk Liu saw that you are a scholar and promoted you. Don't disappoint Clerk Liu's kindness."

Han Gang calmed himself and bowed. "I will not forget Clerk Liu's kindness and will repay it with all my heart!" He then looked back at the warehouse. "I wonder how the handover of the arsenal will be conducted? Shouldn't the weapons in the warehouse be counted during the handover?"

Li Liuge waved his hand dismissively. "We'll deal with that tomorrow!"

"What if something is missing from the warehouse?" Han Gang asked directly.

"Even if this is just a county arsenal, no one dares to steal from it. Stealing military equipment can result in exile for three thousand miles or even death. Who has the nerve?" Li Liuge, perhaps fearing Han Gang's further questioning, turned to leave. "Stay here for the night. We'll count the inventory tomorrow."

"Yes, yes, I understand!" Han Gang nodded repeatedly at Li Liuge's back. He added Clerk Liu and Li Liuge to his list of enemies. A position worth eighty guan was given to a poor scholar who had not paid, and this poor scholar had just offended a powerful colleague... Could it be out of kindness? Only a fool would believe that. 'This is too obvious; they must be planning to deal with me in the next few days.' Positions in the county office were often sold, and an eighty-guan position was not something Clerk Liu or Huang Daliu could monopolize. It was usually shared among the insiders. Han Gang did not doubt his judgment; human nature had not changed in a thousand years, and the character of officials could be traced back just as far. Now, Huang Daliu was trying to take everyone's share for a three-acre vegetable field and a twelve-year-old girl, but he did not have the qualifications or the power.

Receiving money from Zhou Feng and then driving him away, taking his money and breaking his promise, would cause even greater damage to his credibility. Even in illegal transactions, credit was important. As the leader of the faction, Chen Ju would not tolerate Huang Daliu tarnishing his reputation. In a few days, the position of arsenal supervisor would likely be returned to Zhou Feng, and Huang Daliu would have only two or three days, or even act tonight.

The lack of information led to a misjudgment, but understanding human nature allowed him to deduce the correct result. Han Gang hummed a tune as he searched the arsenal for what he needed. Knowing the enemy's plan made it much easier to respond.

'Bring it on, I'm hoping for a big commotion!'

A half-moon gradually rose in the east, casting a silver glow on the courtyard of the arsenal. A dark night was perfect for murder, but even a bright, starry night could be used for the same purpose. Thirty steps away, at the arsenal's gate, Wang Wu and Wang Jiu, the two guards, were staying in the gatehouse. With the enemy so close and his life at stake, Han Gang did not dare to sleep tonight.

He used a thin rope to encircle the small house, attaching dozens of bronze crossbows covered in verdigris as an alarm system. He also brought out eight heavy crossbows and a bundle of six-inch-long, three-sided steel-tipped arrows with narrow wooden fletchings. As he set up the alarm traps, a smile played on his lips. The arsenal was indeed a treasure trove of miscellaneous items, though it was not convenient to use them.

To string the eight heavy crossbows, Han Gang used all his strength. The crossbows he found in the arsenal had a draw weight of about three to four stones, not the strongest, but no one could draw them with arm strength alone. Han Gang sat on the ground, using his feet to brace the crossbow, and used his arms, legs, and back to string the bow. The crossbow, known as a "foot-pulled" or "waist-drawn" crossbow, clearly indicated that to draw the bow, one needed to use both feet and waist.

Han Gang sat on the ground, panting and sweating. He had just recovered from an illness and was still weak. The effort left him exhausted. He thought about asking a craftsman to make a stringing device. While a complex pulley system was impractical, using a lever principle was not difficult for someone who had studied junior high school physics.

A sharp sound. The sharp tip of the arrow deeply embedded itself in the leg of the wooden table. The six-inch arrow, shot from a distance of six or seven steps, pierced through the table leg as thick as a teacup.

Han Gang put down the empty crossbow and looked at the three arrows nailed into the table leg from top to bottom. It seemed that, excluding the effort of stringing the bow, crossbows were much more reliable than bows. Even with his current shooting skills, he could easily send an arrow into a person's body.

"Today, tomorrow, the day after."

He placed the eight re-strung heavy crossbows near the door and windows for easy access, then blew out the oil lamp. In the dark room, he bent his fingers to calculate. Huang Daliu would have to act within the next three days. Lying in bed, Han Gang hoped Huang Daliu would come soon, so as not to delay his three days of study.

The creaking sound of the gate opening drifted into the small house through the door crack, interrupting Han Gang's calculations. He sprang up and picked up the already strung and loaded heavy crossbow. Through the wide door crack, he saw three figures walking confidently from the arsenal gate. They were not the two guards, and the thin, monkey-like figure in front was clearly Liu San, and the others were likely Huang Daliu's two accomplices.

"Didn't expect you to be so eager to die? Well, I'll send you on your way early!" Han Gang gripped the heavy crossbow tightly, using a barely audible whisper to ease his tension. In just a few steps, his palms were drenched in sweat, making them sticky and uncomfortable.

"Scholar Han! Open the door, I'm here to drink with you..." Liu San called out to Han Gang from a dozen steps away, but his words turned into a scream as the crossbow mechanism clattered and he fell to the ground with a thud.

Han Gang chuckled in the room, his tension vanishing with Liu San's embarrassment.

Liu San, who was feeling smug, tripped over the warning line Han Gang had set up, falling in a daze and cutting his hand on the rusty crossbow. Supported by the two men behind him, Liu San picked up the broken rope and screamed, "What is this?"

"Deep in the night, disturbing my sleep. Liu San, do you know how to rob someone?"

The door of the guard house creaked open, and Han Gang, whom Liu San hated, stood inside with his hands behind his back. He was still wearing the round-collar, wide-sleeved blue robe typical of scholars, which was completely out of place in the arsenal. A faint smile played on his lips, which, under the moonlight, seemed to mock Liu San deeply.

Liu San glared at Han Gang's smiling face, his anger gradually turning to a sneer. "You're still smiling at the brink of death! Come on, give him a good beating, don't let him die too easily!"

At Liu San's command, the two guards who had been ridiculed with Huang Daliu earlier rushed at Han Gang. They were eager to teach the village scholar a lesson.

"Be careful, don't kill him, just break his arms and legs. I want to see him suffer..."

Liu San's words were cut off again. The sound of the string twanging, followed by a buzzing tail, and the guard who had rushed forward fell backward. The other guard stopped, frozen in fear.

Liu San looked in shock at his motionless companion, unable to see anything wrong with him. But when he saw the heavy crossbow in Han Gang's hands, which had just been fired, he was stunned.

"Scholar Han, you... you..."

"What's the matter?"

Han Gang smiled warmly. The more tense the situation, the more calm and composed he became. The frown on his forehead, which had been involuntarily furrowed due to Huang Daliu's plot, finally relaxed. His heart raced with excitement, and his body felt hot. The resentment and hatred that had been building up for days reached a boiling point with this one arrow.

He had only test-fired the crossbow three times after stringing it, gaining some confidence but still feeling a bit nervous. But he had just shot an arrow into the eye socket of the attacker, the six-inch arrow piercing through the skull. Now, he realized that with the accuracy of the crossbow, at a distance of ten steps or less, he would not miss.

Liu San, after a moment of shock, suddenly came to his senses, drew his short knife, and shouted to the other guard a few steps away, "He's out of arrows!"

"Is that so?" Han Gang laughed, throwing the empty crossbow at the guard who was rushing at him again. He took a half-step back, bent his waist, and straightened it. In his hands, he now held another fully strung heavy crossbow.

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