Chapter 92

In front of him lay the register of Shuangshantai, which listed over four hundred people, but in reality, the population of Shuangshantai was just over two hundred. However, the continuous Yiwulü Mountain bordering Shuangshantai, with its overlapping valleys and numerous streams, was rich in gold mines. To the west was the Xihé River, with flat and fertile farmland along its banks, extending downward to connect with the River Bend Village.

Zhang Ke quickly calculated that controlling Shuangshantai would increase the arable land by at least one-third, allowing for the resettlement of a thousand more people.

According to the standard of one in ten, this would allow for the formation of two squads of a hundred soldiers! It was now the forty-eighth year of the Wanli era, and the old emperor was about to pass away. The following year, the old slave would capture Liaoyang and Shenyang, and in the second year of Tianqi, Guangning would suffer a devastating defeat, leading to Yizhou falling into the hands of the old slave.

Time was indeed running out!

Zhang Ke silently planned, determined not to miss any opportunity to expand his strength. Although two years was not enough to grow into a giant, he aimed to become a man-eating ant among ants!

Having made up his mind, Zhang Ke hurriedly called for Qiao Tieshan and the others.

"I am preparing to truly take in all the refugees and settle them, making them a force under our control," Zhang Ke said firmly.

Qiao Tieshan still frowned, worriedly saying, "Yongzhen, the nugget of gold is indeed a treasure, but what we lack now is food. Feeding hundreds of mouths, I fear we won't have enough grain."

"Ha ha ha, in the past, we couldn't buy grain with silver, but now that we have a gold mine, we won't worry about not having anyone to supply us with grain!"

Zhang Ke smiled, "Spread the word that whoever can bring grain will be allowed to come and pan for gold in the spring. Which merchant can resist the allure of gold? Even though it's not yet past the Lantern Festival, they will still obediently bring grain."

Money allows one to act as they please, and with a gold mine, one can practically walk with impunity. Zhang Ke was full of confidence.

Qiao Tieshan frowned, surprised, and asked, "Yongzhen, how can you let merchants get involved in the gold mine? That's our gold!"

Qiao Fu and Yue Zixuan also nodded instinctively, thinking that the gold mine must not be given away.

Zhang Ke, seeing their protective demeanor, couldn't help but shake his head and smile bitterly.

"Uncle Tieshan, although I don't know much, mining gold is a labor-intensive and limited-yield job. We might as well lease the gold mine to merchants, have them pay a mining fee upfront, and then share the gold they mine. This way, we can have a sum of silver to cultivate land and train troops, strengthening our power. Remember, when we raided Xiaoshanhu's lair, we obtained five hundred taels of gold. When Shuangshantai was at its peak, how much gold was mined! As long as we become strong, we can seize more and larger gold mines!"

Zhang Ke continued, "Don't underestimate merchants. They can obtain all kinds of supplies we need and sell what we produce. With merchants, it's like having a source of living water, making our entire body flow smoothly. Think about it, isn't that the case?"

As a leader, the most important thing is to know how to share benefits and continuously bring in more allies, so that power can grow like a snowball, getting bigger and bigger.

Zhang Ke's explanation made some understand, and others pondered. Regardless of their reactions, Zhang Ke had made his decision, and they still trusted his abilities.

Having convinced them, Zhang Ke prepared to communicate with the people and discuss the plan for cultivating land and mining. At this moment, his elder brother Zhang Feng rushed in.

"Second brother, I've discovered a group of soldiers, about three to four hundred, about ten miles away from Shuangshantai. They seem to be Xu Daqian's troops!"

Since they have come to the door, there's no need to be polite!

Zhang Ke stood up abruptly and said, "Brothers, form up and march out of the city, prepare for battle."

Zhang Ke led two squads of a hundred soldiers, and Qiao Fu led twenty archers as a long-range striking force.

The weapons in Dacheng Fort were mostly broken and rusty, so Zhang Ke had sought help from Wang Huazhen, hoping for some weapons. However, Wang Huazhen was not well-off and had to go through a complicated procedure, so the weapons wouldn't arrive anytime soon.

Almost all the soldiers used weapons seized from Xiaoshanhu. In the two squads, ninety percent of the soldiers used long spears, while the rest, who were better at martial arts, used waist knives and shields to protect the flanks, with the archers following behind.

The formation was relatively simple, but fortunately, almost everyone had armor, making them more luxurious than the Ming army. Zhang Ke personally led the soldiers to the outside of the south gate.

Zhang Feng led Yang Long and others on a gallop to relay the reconnaissance information.

"Come on!"

Zhang Ke hurriedly looked into the distance and indeed saw a large, dark mass surging towards them. The number of people was at least twice as many as his own, making his heart race. Although he had fought several battles and even defeated He Guangguang's men in a field battle, this Xu Daqian was different. He was known for wielding a fifty-pound great saber, with astonishing strength, and was a notable figure in Yizhou, earning the nickname "Xu Dadao."

"Everyone listen up, once the battle starts, act as you have trained. The people in front of you are just a bunch of wooden stakes or cabbages, just stab them!"

"Understood!" the soldiers responded loudly.

...

Xu Daqian led his troops to Shuangshantai and saw that the battle formation was already set up outside the city. Xu Daqian immediately sneered.

"A bunch of brats want to fight me, they're just asking for death!"

Xu Daqian led his men to Zhang Ke's side, stopping about a hundred steps away. His subordinates stood loosely in a few rows.

Xu Daqian, hugging his great saber, roared, "Who is Zhang Ke? Get out here!"

What a big shot!

Zhang Ke sneered and retorted, "Are you Xu Dadao?"

"Ha ha ha, since you know my reputation, why don't you quickly leave Shuangshantai? Are you tired of living?"

Zhang Ke suddenly burst into laughter, his voice carrying far, exuding arrogance.

"Xu Dadao, do you really consider yourself a figure? Driving away the people under your jurisdiction to my Dacheng Fort, do you not understand the responsibility of a military officer to protect the land and the people? Driving away the people will cause chaos, and if bandits take advantage of the situation, what will you do?"

Zhang Ke smiled slightly, "I will certainly report your dereliction of duty. Since you can't protect the people, hand over the land and the people to me, and I will take on this responsibility! Xu Dadao, go back to Zhenyibao and reflect on your crimes. Perhaps the court will show mercy and give you a chance to live!"

Zhang Ke preemptively accused Xu Daqian and lashed out, making Xu Daqian fume.

"What a smooth-talking brat, but a general is judged by his sword, not his words! Brat, Xu Dadao has one thing to say: hand over the goods, or I won't let you off!"

Zhang Ke smiled, "I've taken the goods, and there's no way I'll give them back. Give up on that!"

Xu Daqian gritted his teeth, "Fine, you refuse the wine and take the punishment, men, attack!"

Aaah...

Xu Daqian's men charged forward, not taking Zhang Ke's young soldiers seriously, thinking they could easily defeat them with one charge.

As they got closer, the archers in the front row almost simultaneously raised their bows.

"Fire!"

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, arrows flew through the air. Qiao Fu squinted, and his arrow hit a soldier in the neck, causing blood to gush out and the soldier to fall dead.

Four or five more soldiers in the front were injured and fell, causing a commotion among the living soldiers.

At this moment, the second wave of arrows arrived, and after three rounds, nearly twenty soldiers had lost their lives before reaching the front.

Xu Daqian was furious, and his archers were not only fewer but also less skilled than Qiao Fu's. Xu Daqian could only shout, "Charge, get close, and cut these brats to pieces!"

As the distance between the two sides decreased, the archers decisively retreated to the back, revealing the spear soldiers.

The most brutal part of a battle is the close combat, and Zhang Ke felt his blood boil, a sense of exhilaration surging from deep within his soul.

Kill, kill, kill, kill to your heart's content!

"Raise your spears!"

A loud command, and the spears were raised in unison. Compared to the battle with Han Gui, everyone was more relaxed, gripping their spears tighter and with more determination.

"Stab!"

A decisive order, and the spears were thrust out almost instinctively. The sound of screams filled the air as at least seven or eight people were impaled by the spears. One man was hit by three spears, skewered like a kebab.

"Stab!"

"Stab again!"

Zhang Ke was not moved by the bloodshed, calmly and coldly giving orders. The spears were thrust out repeatedly, and the opponents kept falling. The seemingly fierce attackers were like moths drawn to a flame, quickly losing their lives.

The men behind could only see the rows of spears advancing like a tidal wave, and a deep fear spread through their bodies!

Are these brats even human? How can they be more ruthless than machines? Facing the整齐的枪林, no matter how good one's martial arts, they lose all value. If they don't run, they will only be skewered to death!

Even the new soldiers didn't expect to be so strong, and they shouted excitedly.

"Kill, kill the paper tigers!"

---

(End of the page)