Chapter 65

"Can't fight, can't fight, run quickly."

Wenzhong was so frightened that his soul almost left his body. With a great effort, he managed to pull out the arrow, which fortunately had not penetrated deeply. Blood flowed continuously, and he threw away his shield and ran backward.

Wang Changfu saw this and shouted, "The master is still here, who dares to run?"

The porters hesitated upon hearing this, and the bandits also paused for a moment. But someone shouted, "Life is your own, no amount of silver can buy it. What does the master mean? Run quickly."

At this, the dozen or so bandits did not stop. They all threw away their weapons and started running backward.

"No porter is allowed to move. Libin, if you run, you will be dismissed. Your wife and eldest son are helping in the shop. If you run, your whole family will be kicked out. Try it if you dare."

"No one is allowed to run," Liang Xing, who had been a guard for Zhang Han, also shouted angrily, "Yang Sisun, if you run, I will destroy your home when I return!"

Zhang Han was calm at this moment. His musket was already loaded, and he began to aim on horseback. Zhang Chun did the same, and Liang Xing, seeing the two of them start to aim, quickly raised his own musket.

One bird musket and two Lu Mi muskets were all aimed at the archers.

Lai Shiyi instinctively felt the threat. These servants had been border soldiers before they were selected. Although there were fewer battles in the Datong region, small-scale conflicts were frequent. The Mongols were not gentle; they would rob whenever they could, not bothering to trade honestly. Shepherds could turn into bandits in an instant, and the border soldiers, who were often night patrols and scouts, had ample battlefield experience. As soon as Zhang Han aimed at him, Lai Shiyi instinctively felt the danger.

He squinted, no longer caring about shooting arrows, and sized up the situation on the opposite side.

The escort team from Yusheng was already in chaos, with a dozen people running, having thrown away their weapons and running empty-handed. There were still about twenty people holding the line, but Lai Shiyi knew that with the numbers already so uneven and their morale shattered, defeat was inevitable. But why did he feel threatened?

Lai Shiyi's gaze finally fell on Zhang Han.

His body trembled as he saw Zhang Han's musket, which was already level with his shoulder and had been aiming at him for a while.

Subtly, Lai Shiyi even felt Zhang Han smile slightly.

He also saw the muzzle flash, the white smoke rising from the dragon's head, and then Zhang Han slightly extended the musket forward to avoid the sparks and white smoke affecting his vision.

"Is this aimed at me?"

Lai Shiyi had only this thought. From the moment he saw the flash, he then heard the "bang" of the explosion, and then a lead ball whizzed through the air. Lai Shiyi felt as if he had been hit by a heavy hammer on his chest. He looked down in shock and saw a hole in his chest. Since the musket used lead balls, which are relatively soft, all the kinetic energy was released upon impact, forming a conical cavity inside Lai Shiyi's wound. The nerves and blood vessels around his chest were all destroyed. At a distance of less than sixty steps, and with Zhang Han using a powerful Lu Mi musket, Lai Shiyi made a few "uh" sounds, trying to touch his wound, but his hand could not lift. Then he felt his legs go weak, and he could only feel disbelief. He had been a servant for many years, known for his skills and archery, and his battlefield experience. Yet, he was shot dead by a musket in a fight with a group of bandits and escort team. This outcome, he truly could not believe.

Lai Shiyi fell heavily to the ground. There were still faint shouts and screams around him, and the sound of muskets firing. He was anxious and wanted to get up, but his mind grew increasingly tired, and his eyelids felt as heavy as mountains. Soon, the servant knew nothing more.

Zhang Han's shot hit Lai Shiyi, and the best archer among the servants fell without even a groan, dying within a minute.

This shot greatly intimidated the bandits. Many stopped in their tracks, looking at Zhang Han and his musket with suspicion.

Zhang Han calmly reloaded, first using a ramrod to clear the barrel, then loading the powder, pressing the bullet, and adding the primer, all done methodically and without haste.

At the same time, Zhang Chun and Liang Xing also fired their guns.

They aimed at the other two archers, but with Lai Shiyi in front, the experienced archer servants crouched and hid in the crowd. After two gunshots, Zhang Chun's shot missed, the bullet hitting the ground and raising dust. Liang Xing's shot hit a bandit in the head, the bullet shattering his skull, mixing red blood and white brain matter, with half the head hanging down.

Such a scene, many had never even dreamed of. All the bandits were stunned, frozen in place.

At a distance of only thirty to forty steps, where they could soon engage in close combat, these musket shots made them feel extremely panicked.

At this moment, Wang Changfu's gun also fired, aiming at Zhou Bin!

The musket fired, the flash appeared, and the lead ball flew forward. Zhou Bin almost fell immediately, the shot hitting his thigh, blood gushing out, and white bone exposed. Zhou Bin fell to the ground, emitting a loud scream.

The four musket shots immediately stabilized the situation!

"Charge!" Zhou Wu, seeing his brother's condition, his eyes red, held two short axes and strode forward, shouting, "They only have four muskets, what's there to be afraid of?"

As he walked, he kicked a hiding archer, scolding, "We charge, you shoot from behind, they won't dare aim at you."

The remaining archers finally stood up, reloaded their bows, and this time aimed at Zhang Han and his group.

The fleeing escort team was stunned, the remaining members reformed their ranks. Yang Qiu led his men, dismounting about a hundred steps away, forming small teams in the Mandarin Duck formation, and then running over.

The bandits continued to charge forward, but their steps were clearly slower. Many looked at Zhang Han and his group's muskets as they ran, this weapon being uncommon and seemingly much more powerful than bows, at least in terms of its impact. Everyone felt afraid.

"Spread out, spread out!"

Zhang Han and his group had only about twenty people in front of them, while the bandits numbered over a hundred. However, their momentum was not as strong as before, and Yang Qiu and his men would take another fifteen minutes to arrive. They were advancing in a column to maintain formation, and if they moved too fast, they would become disorganized and engage in a chaotic battle.

At this moment, it was clear that Wang Changfu's training was effective, at least for the porters. Although the bandits had fled, the porters remained calm and transformed the column formation into a line, with long spears, long knives, and tridents all extended forward. The long weapons were held with the left hand at the front and the right hand at the back, making it easier to thrust and apply force, as Wang Changfu had repeatedly emphasized during training.

Zhang Han was very grateful that he had somehow found Wang Changfu. If it were not for Wang Changfu today, and if he had not been training the porters regularly, the situation would be unknown.

He was also deeply disappointed with the bandits. These guys were only good for brawls and bullying, but when they saw bandits, a few casualties were enough to make them flee in disarray. No wonder Qi Jiguang's military manual repeatedly emphasized not recruiting ruffians and those with wandering eyes and looking around. Zhang Han had not taken it seriously before, as he himself was a person between the black and white, and he had not looked down on the bandits. After this battle, Zhang Han finally understood that some things cannot be taken for granted. The wisdom and experience of the ancients were not for nothing. Each word in Qi Jiguang's military manual was written with the lives and blood of people. To look down on such a person and such a book was indeed arrogant.

Zhang Han shook his head on horseback, not understanding why he was still distracted at this moment. The archers on the opposite side were shooting again, the first round aimed at Zhang Han and his group. However, the distance was a bit far, and they did not dare to aim carefully. The arrows that aimed at Zhang Han landed a dozen steps away from him. Zhang Han glanced at them, not taking them seriously.

His musket was still held level, the muzzle aimed at the archer servants. Under the black muzzle, their movements became stiff, and the archers who had previously never missed a shot now lost their accuracy. They shot a second round, but it still did not pose a threat to Zhang Han and his group.

"Bang!"

Zhang Han's second shot rang out, this time aiming at a fierce bandit charging at the front. The shot hit the bandit's abdomen, creating a large hole, and his intestines and flesh spilled out. The bandit held his intestines with both hands, blood gushing out, and seeing the state of his abdomen, he let out a terrifying scream.

Zhang Chun, Liang Xing, and Wang Changfu also fired their guns, aiming at the bandits charging at the front. This round, every shot hit its mark. The archers on the opposite side were panicked, and their arrows posed no threat, so they were happy to aim at the easier targets.

After the second round, the bandits were almost in disarray, but they saw Zhang Han and his group reloading. At a distance of only about thirty steps, they could quickly run to them, and with Zhou Wu charging forward, the remaining bandits mustered their spirits and charged again.

"Master, this round is too late." Wang Changfu had just cleared his gun barrel and saw the bandits charging. He felt that with only twenty porters, they could not hold the line. He called out and then spurred his horse, grabbing Zhang Han's reins and pulling him back.

Zhang Chun and Liang Xing also retreated. As they turned their horses, the front row of the escort team finally engaged the bandits.

"Thrust!"

Li Bin's eyes were red. He was a long spearman and had not been injured when he and Wang Yikui were supporting the beam. He felt full of energy. On his left were two other spearman, and on his right were a trident man and a long knife man. Each held their weapons extended forward. Li Bin saw a bandit with an axe charging at him, a long scar on his face, looking very fierce. His heart raced, but the training by Wang Changfu suddenly took over. Li Bin stood steadily, legs spread, and both hands exerting force. Then he slightly bent his left leg and shouted, "Brothers, thrust forward!"

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