Chapter 40

"Left?"

"Everyone's gone!"

A few soldiers from Dacheng Fort peered out cautiously, gently pushing open the city gate. The crowd outside had already left during the night, leaving only a few dark red patches of sheep's blood on the ground.

"Damn, Zhang Erlang really went all out, twenty fat sheep! I haven't had a sip of mutton soup during the New Year!"

Another soldier said, "They were boiling the soup last night, and the smell wafted up to the city walls. I drooled two pounds. I just can't understand why those on the city walls are worse off than those below."

"What's there to not understand? Even a dog can eat well and drink well if it follows a good official! Zhang Erlang is educated, good at making money, and understands people, unlike our..."

"Cough, cough!"

The soldiers turned around sharply and quickly shut their mouths.

Sun Youguang and Wan Baiquan led a group of people out. Wan Baiquan glared fiercely at the ragged soldiers, while Sun Youguang looked at the empty plain with a smile.

"Zhang Ke is a capable person. He took the hot potato, and I've dodged another bullet. If a battle breaks out at Dacheng Fort, it won't be a blessing for us no matter what."

Wan Baiquan shook his head dismissively, "Sir, Dacheng Fort is impregnable and will definitely hold. If we kill these rebels, the court might even reward you! And Zhang Ke killed my nephew Wan Antai for no reason yesterday. Please punish him, sir!"

"Humph!" Sun Youguang glared fiercely at Wan Baiquan.

"Wan Baihu, if you're so confident in holding Dacheng Fort, who was too scared to go up the wall last night and was packing to flee? Your nephew was extorting and blackmailing, almost causing a civilian uprising. You turned the well-behaved people into bandits. If this gets out, we'll all be in trouble!"

Caught in the lie, Wan Baiquan's face turned red and white, his mouth twitching awkwardly.

He rolled his eyes and suddenly said, "Sir, since this shouldn't get out, Zhang Ke has fled to He Wan Village. This guy knows Wang Huazhen. If he twists the facts, we'll all be in trouble. I suggest we strike first!"

Sun Youguang looked at Wan Baiquan with disdain, pulling out a piece of paper from his chest and waving it in front of him.

"Zhang Ke is better at dealing with people. He wrote me a letter yesterday. Take a look."

Wan Baiquan took the letter in surprise and read it carefully, immediately feeling a surge of anger.

In the letter, Zhang Ke said that the conflict between the immigrants and Dacheng Fort was due to the negligence of the officials. Fortunately, the defense commissioner had planned well and handled the situation calmly, properly resettling the people and making them grateful to the court. He also listed the supplies sent by the defense commissioner, including 1,000 pounds of salt, 50 iron pots, 200 pieces of clothing, and countless other tools and utensils!

"What, what does he mean? When did he agree to send these things? This is nonsense, a dream!"

"Enough." Sun Youguang waved his hand and smiled, "This letter is for Wang Huazhen. He asked me to read it first. I think it's well-written and true. As for the supplies, it aligns with my thoughts. Send them over immediately."

"Sir, we don't have these things in Dacheng Fort. How can we send them?"

"Ha ha ha, Dacheng Fort doesn't have them, but you, Wan Baihu, do! It won't cost more than 200 to 300 taels. I think you can afford it, so you should provide them!"

"Ah!"

Wan Baiquan almost fell off his horse in shock. It would take him two or three years of lending to earn that much money. It was like cutting flesh from his body!

"Sir, I don't have that much money. Please understand!"

Sun Youguang smiled, "Wan Baihu, you must understand. If this letter falls into Wang Huazhen's hands and he investigates, I can only tell the truth. You know the consequences better than I do."

Wan Baiquan knew, but thinking of the silver, his heart bled. As a hundred-household officer, he had spent years merging land, lending at high interest, and extorting. He had barely saved up some wealth, and now he had to give it to Zhang Ke. He couldn't bear it!

Sun Youguang looked at him and smiled, "Wan Baihu, there's a saying: 'Breaking the bank avoids disaster.' You understand, right?"

"I understand, I understand!" Wan Baiquan gritted his teeth, his mind filled with Zhang Ke's mocking face.

"Zhang, I've been hunting geese all my life, but one pecked out my eye. I won't let you off!"

Wan Baiquan was almost on fire with anger but had no choice but to go back and get the silver and send the supplies, fearing that Zhang Ke would report him.

...

"Everyone, come over and help move the grain!"

Qiao Gui shouted excitedly. The young men ran out, and five neatly lined up carts were piled high with grain.

Yue Zixuan grabbed a bag and opened it, finding it full of high-quality rice. He asked in surprise, "Qiao, is this all?"

Qiao Gui nodded with a smile, "Yes, the official specifically instructed it!"

"No, no, we're used to hardship. In the Tartar lands, we ate irregularly. A bit of coarse grain is enough. We don't need such good food."

Qiao Gui laughed, "If you want coarse grain, talk to the official. I was ordered to buy the best."

"Hehehe!" Yue Zixuan scratched his head, "I do want good food, but I'm afraid it will cost too much! Wu and his people should be arriving soon. With a thousand people, eating so well every day, I'm afraid we'll bankrupt the official!"

Qiao Gui laughed, "Yue, to be honest, the official has over a thousand taels, but he gave it all to me to buy grain. The court hasn't given us a penny."

Yue Zixuan's expression turned serious, "We eat the official's food, so we must think of him. We can't spend all the money on grain. We need to plant fields, buy seeds, oxen, and tools. We need money!"

"Ha ha ha, Yue, you're thinking long-term!"

Yue Zixuan and Qiao Gui turned around as Zhang Ke approached.

Yue Zixuan bowed deeply, showing great respect. Although they had only met for a day, Zhang Ke's actions had won him over.

After eating mutton soup last night, Zhang Ke led everyone to He Wan Village in batches. He arranged the best houses for the elderly, women, and children, patrolled the village all night, and now bought as much grain as possible, making the neglected people feel warm and quickly accept him.

Zhang Ke smiled and walked up to Yue Zixuan, "Yue, you don't know. Dacheng Fort is small, and with a thousand more people, the grain won't be enough. We need to buy more good grain to help everyone recover. Others can hibernate, but we can't. We need to work hard to settle down and find ways to earn money. Now everyone is grateful, but when it's time to work, they might complain!"

"Not a chance!" Yue Zixuan laughed, extending his strong arm.

"Sir, we're not afraid of hardship. Just tell us what to do!"

Zhang Ke nodded with a smile. He valued Yue Zixuan and others for their resilience. They had endured much hardship and would become the best workers and soldiers. Only by being tough on themselves could they survive in these chaotic times.

As they were moving the grain, a commotion came from the distance. Zhang Ke and the others climbed to a high point and saw a large group approaching.

"Sir, Brother Yue, it's Brother Wu!" Ma Rufeng shouted.

Zhang Ke and Yue Zixuan ran over to the ragged group.

"Brother Yue, I almost didn't see you again!"

A young man with a bruised face hugged Yue Zixuan, sobbing.

"Old Wu, what happened? Who beat you?"

The young man sighed, "Brother Yue, we split up, and I had bad luck! We were ambushed by a group of cavalry. Thinking they were our own, I didn't guard against them. They herded us into a valley and demanded our valuables. No matter how we explained, they took our silver and even stripped some of us of our coats."

Yue Zixuan's face turned green with anger, "Brother Wu, how did you escape?"

"Brother Yue, at night, we were cold and hungry. I asked for food, but overheard two soldiers talking about freezing us to death and cutting off our heads to claim credit. Fortunately, I found a small path in the valley and led everyone over the ridge, escaping by luck. We thought coming to the Ming would be better, but we didn't expect the Ming officials to be even more despicable, cruel, and shameless..."

Yue Zixuan was stunned, shaking his head, "Brother Wu, let me tell you, there are good officials in the Ming. This official, Zhang, is our savior. Without him, we would have starved to death!"

Yue Zixuan briefly explained the situation and led the young man to Zhang Ke.

"Sir, this is Brother Wu Boyan. He came up with the plan to escape."

Zhang Ke looked at the young man, who was in his early twenties, thin but strong and agile, with sharp eyes, clearly a clever and resourceful person.

Zhang Ke smiled, "Everyone has worked hard. We'll talk about your grievances later. Let's go inside, warm up, and have something to eat!"

"Thank you, sir!" Wu Boyan, overjoyed, led four or five hundred people into He Wan Village, where they recounted their ordeals, crying and laughing.

Zhang Ke didn't interfere but found Qiao Tieshan.

"Uncle Qiao, how are the houses and walls?"

Qiao Tieshan looked grim, "The houses are manageable, but the walls are full of holes. If we encounter bandits, we're finished. It's too cold to mix mud and build walls. I'm at a loss!"

Zhang Ke frowned, "What can we do?"

...

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