Chapter 49

"Is it a blessing or a curse? If it's a curse, you can't avoid it!"

Qiao Gui and Qiao Fu had already brought people over, their faces full of fear.

"Brother Ke, what should we do?"

Zhang Ke's face was dark, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Kill them, take out these two Tartars!"

"But if we kill them, it will alert the Tartar main force, won't it?"

"If we don't kill them, won't they go back and report? It's the same either way. If we kill them, we can hide for a little longer!"

Qiao Fu nodded, "Brother Ke is right. We're only ten miles from the village, we can run back."

Everyone could only pray as the Tartars drew closer. They were already within a hundred steps, one of them fully armored, with colorful leather hanging outside.

His horsemanship was astonishing, constantly performing tricks like hiding in the stirrups and unfurling banners in the wind, dazzling to watch. The Tartar laughed and shouted wildly in Mongolian, completely disregarding the people in front of him.

Indeed, Zhang Ke and his group didn't even have military uniforms; they were clearly a merchant caravan, how much skill could they have?

The Tartar charged forward recklessly, reaching about sixty steps away. According to past experience, the Ming archers couldn't shoot that far, let alone the muskets.

The Tartar extended his thumb downward, laughed wildly, and turned to leave.

He didn't know that several pairs of eyes had already locked onto him. Qiao Fu had been waiting for the best opportunity. As soon as the Tartar turned, the bowstring twanged, and an arrow shot accurately.

Almost simultaneously with Qiao Fu's shot, five or six others also fired. When dealing with the bandits, Zhang Ke had archers but no good strong bows. After seizing many bows and arrows, everyone had upgraded, and things were different now.

The most arrogant Tartar was hit by two arrows, one of which pierced his throat, and his horse was also hit, both collapsing to the ground.

The other Tartar couldn't escape either. Qiao Gui hit the horse's leg, causing the Tartar to fall and roll, trying to escape.

Zhang Ke fiercely whipped his horse, dashing out. Although his horsemanship wasn't great, this was a time to fight for his life. His horse galloped, and in a moment, he was behind the Tartar. He leaped off the horse like an eagle, tackling the Tartar to the ground.

Both struggled, rolling on the ground.

"Brother Ke, don't rush, we're here!"

Qiao Fu and the others rushed over. Zhang Ke's arm tightly locked the Tartar's throat, turning his face blue. Qiao Fu and Qiao Gui grabbed the Tartar's arms, pulling him up.

Zhang Ke quickly got up, drew his short sword, and was about to kill.

"How is it you?"

Zhang Ke suddenly cried out, more surprised than encountering the Tartars. The captured Tartar's eyes were wide like a bull's, his mouth open wide enough to fit two steamed buns.

"How is it you!"

Qiao Fu didn't know what was happening, hurriedly looked over, and was also stunned. The captured Tartar was someone they knew, the big man Zana they had met in the Guangning market!

This big man asked in a daze, "Why aren't you selling stoves anymore?"

Zhang Ke had a good impression of Zana, waving for Qiao Fu to let him go.

"Zana, why did you come to raid?"

Zana's face turned red, and he hurriedly waved his hands, "Brother Zhang, I know you're a good person, and I don't want to rob Han people, but there's no choice. It's the order of Sanbataiji."

"Sanbataiji, who is he?"

"He's the leader of our Wulungha tribe. Actually, Sanbataiji is also being forced. Thousands of Han slaves from the Chaohua tribe escaped, and they want to retaliate, plunder more people, and force us to join them!"

Zhang Ke finally understood the reason, taking a deep breath, "Zana, do you want to oppose me?"

Zana shook his head like a rattle, "Brother Zhang, you're an honest merchant. I brought back the clothes, and my wife liked them very much. I told more people, and they all want to do business with you."

"Good, do you see? My business has grown, and I have so many carts. I can provide you with more things. Next year, I'll drive these caravans to Guangning. But if we are killed, everything is over!"

Zana wasn't stupid, his eyes turned, and he patted his chest, "Brother Zhang, Mongolians value righteousness. I won't betray you!"

Zhang Ke nodded in relief, "Brother Zana, as long as you tell your leader that you found nothing, I will be grateful. In the future, whatever goods you want, I'll sell you at the price of the Ming mainland. I guarantee that in five years, you'll be the richest in the tribe."

Zana thought for a moment, suddenly pulled out a dagger, and started cutting his thigh, the leather coat torn, and fresh blood flowed out.

Zana gritted his teeth, "Brother Zhang, I'll say I fell off a cliff and one died, and I barely climbed up. You guys run quickly!"

"Great kindness doesn't need thanks!"

Zhang Ke bowed, and with Qiao Fu and the others, they quickly fled with the caravan. They ran for five or six miles, looked back, and saw no movement, finally feeling relieved.

Qiao Gui said with a lingering fear, "Fortunately, we met Zana, otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable!"

Zhang Ke clenched his fist, "This time we were lucky, but we won't always be. When we return to the village, everyone must train hard. Next time we meet the Tartars, we won't have to flee so pitifully!"

"The master is right, we all remember!"

The new soldiers, who had narrowly escaped, all secretly resolved.

Just as they were running, several horses suddenly appeared ahead. Zhang Ke was startled at first, but when he saw Yue Zixuan leading, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

When Yue Zixuan saw the caravan, his eyes almost popped out.

"Master, you didn't encounter the Tartars, did you?"

"Fortunately, we managed to avoid them. Is the village safe? Did the bandits attack?"

Yue Zixuan hurriedly smiled, "No, that guy retreated to the south, about five miles away, and set up camp in the valley. Master, with so many carts, did you empty Heishankou?"

"Hahaha, not only did we empty it, but we also burned it down!" Qiao Fu laughed.

Yue Zixuan's eyes widened, "I heard the bandits plundered for years and had a lot of wealth?"

Zhang Ke smiled ambiguously, "Let's get back to the village quickly. The Tartars might come at any time. We'll talk when we get home!"

They galloped all the way and finally returned to the village with the caravan.

Qiao Tieshan led a large group of soldiers, even Shen Shi and Xiao Xue came out. When they saw Zhang Ke return, both mother and daughter's eyes welled up with tears.

"Ke'er, why didn't you tell your mother before leading people out? My heart was with you all the time!"

Zhang Ke's nose felt a bit sore, hugging his mother and smiling, "Mother, didn't I come back safely?"

Shen Shi glared at Zhang Ke angrily, "Ke'er, do you know? Just now, the beacon fires were everywhere, and there were cannon sounds. People said the Tartars had invaded. How scared I was!"

Not just Shen Shi, even Zhang Ke was still shaken. He chuckled, "Mother, from now on, you can rest assured. Your son has a foundation and won't take risks anymore!"

Zhang Ke waved his hand and laughed, "Brothers, take the things out of the carts and let everyone see!"

The soldiers, hearing this, all excitedly jumped off the carts and lifted the tarpaulins.

Seeing the carts full of supplies, everyone's mouths dropped open, even Qiao Tieshan showed a look of shock.

He trembled, picked up a chainmail, examined it carefully, and said with a choked voice, "Good, good stuff. Many children were injured yesterday because they had no armor! Master, we must arm everyone quickly!"

"Right!" Zhang Ke smiled, "We'll distribute them one by one. We seized five hundred stones of grain, giving one stone to each family, and the rest will be kept as military rations. With this grain, we can eat until the New Year! There are also many clothes and furs, which will be distributed, and everyone will have winter clothing."

"Master's great virtue, we are very grateful!"

The villagers all knelt down, bowing and thanking, gratefully carrying away the grain and clothes.

The remaining items were silver and weapons. The soldiers all gathered around Zhang Ke, looking eagerly.

"We seized many swords and muskets, but these need training. Therefore, the main equipment will still be long spears, one spear and one waist knife. We have five squads of soldiers, four of which will be equipped with long spears, and each squad will get twenty sets of armor."

Zhang Ke then looked at Qiao Fu, "Your archery is the best. I'll assign fifty skilled archers to you for training."

"Understood!"

Zhang Ke distributed the last items, which were the muskets. Qiao Tieshan suddenly said, "The current Ming army considers muskets as a burden, firing randomly in battle and then running away. But in Korea, I saw a group of musketeers firing together, smoke filling the sky, and the Japanese pirates were scattered and bloodied, truly impressive!"

Zhang Ke smiled, "Uncle Qiao is right. Muskets are indeed powerful when used well, but the Tartars might attack at any time, and we don't have time to train. First, set up the eight tiger-squat cannons on the city walls. As for the musketeers, we'll select them from the young men aged fifteen to eighteen, and tell everyone to be prepared!"

With these weapons, the soldiers quickly equipped themselves. Thinking of how they were all defenseless a few days ago, now with weapons and armor, it felt like a dream. The new soldiers admired Zhang Ke immensely, and their morale soared.

Zhang Ke also knew that the Tartar invasion was no small matter. He and Qiao Tieshan took turns patrolling the city walls and sent many scouts to monitor the Tartars' every move. In the village, they seized every moment to train the new soldiers and stockpile supplies, preparing for the upcoming challenge.

For two days, it was all bad news. The surrounding watchtowers and villages were all ravaged by the Tartars, leaving no living thing in their wake. At least a hundred villagers were captured, and if not for the previous retreat, the losses would have been even greater.

In the anxious wait, the scouts returned one after another.

"Reporting to the master, the Tartars attacked Dacheng Fort for half a day but failed to break through. They have abandoned Dacheng Fort and are now attacking us. They will be here in about an hour!"

Qiao Tieshan's brows furrowed, his eyes red from lack of sleep.

"Master, something doesn't seem right. The Tartars invaded to plunder money, food, and people. They should focus on Dacheng Fort. Why would they abandon the rich target to attack us? What do we have to offer? Could they know we raided Heishankou?"

Zhang Ke smiled, "There's nothing strange. Xu Bangyan is in Dacheng Fort! They can hire bandits to attack us, and they can use the Tartars. But no matter what, they've miscalculated!"

Zhang Ke walked out of the room with several squad leaders. Outside, the courtyard was filled with villagers, all having heard that the Tartars were coming, their fists clenched in anger and sorrow.

"Master, we will never be slaves to the Tartars again!"

"Right, we must win!"

Seeing the excited crowd, Zhang Ke waved his fist and shouted loudly, "Fellow villagers, we finally have a place to live. We must be like nails, firmly holding our ground. The bandits couldn't drive us away, and the Tartars won't either!"