Chapter 62

Zhu Chong's subordinates and military households were still chasing and looting around the village. Zhao Cheng and Mei Zhihuan were also leading a large group of people up the mountain to the village. Liu Jun hid most of the gold and silver, then sent people to seal and guard the important buildings in the village, such as the warehouse and the meeting hall, to prevent the guards from entering.

Those subordinates of Zhu Chong clearly saw that these buildings were important, but seeing the Nine-Headed Bird team members holding guns and swords tightly guarding the doors, they had no choice but to turn away reluctantly. The fierce fighting ability of the Nine-Headed Bird team earlier made them wary of this local militia.

They dared not attack the halls and warehouses guarded by the Nine-Headed Bird soldiers, so they began to loot other houses that were not guarded.

A group of military households rushed into a nearby courtyard, where a group of women screamed in fear.

Liu Jun and his men had not searched that house before, "Are those the women of the village?"

An old bandit who had surrendered to the Nine-Headed Bird team quickly said, "Those are not the women of the village, they are hostages."

Liu Jun asked in feigned surprise, "How many people are inside, are they all hostages?"

"There are five, they were captured by the second leader yesterday from the foot of the mountain. One is a young lady, two are maids, and two are older women. It's said that the young lady is from a wealthy family in Wuchang. She was traveling from Luoyang to Wuchang on the Guanghuang Road when she was captured by our second leader. He killed the guards and brought her back, planning to extort a large ransom."

Li Chunjiang, hearing this, could not stand by idly.

He ran over and shouted at the Huangzhou guards who were laughing happily, "Those inside are hostages, don't do anything rash."

The guards, who had been cowardly during the battle, were now driven by lust and refused to back down. Liu Jun, seeing this, immediately rushed over and struck them with the back of his sword. The guards, hit hard, turned purple, but they still tried to fight back. However, when they saw the Nine-Headed Bird soldiers aiming their guns at them, they finally realized who they were facing.

"Get out!" Liu Jun shouted harshly.

The guards fled in fear.

Li Chunjiang entered the house first, where a group of women huddled together, trembling.

Liu Jun glanced around and noticed that there were more than five people in the room, but he did see a young woman, about seventeen or eighteen years old, with two maids and two older women. These five must be the hostages the bandits mentioned. Next to them were several more women.

The women, seeing a group of men burst in, screamed in panic.

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. We are the government troops, here to defeat the bandits and save everyone. The bandits have been defeated, and we will rescue you immediately," Li Chunjiang said, stepping forward to reassure them.

The young lady, hearing this, couldn't help but smile through her tears, "Really?"

Li Chunjiang, looking at the girl's radiant smile, also smiled, "Of course. By the way, I have some good news for you. The second leader who captured you has just been shot by my men."

As he spoke, he moved forward to untie the ropes on the women's hands.

Just then, one of the women, about thirty years old, suddenly lunged at Li Chunjiang, holding a sharp knife.

Liu Jun's heart sank. He had felt something was off earlier, and now he realized it. Since these women were not hostages, they were likely the bandits' family members, who had somehow hidden here. Liu Jun had not thought of this earlier, mistaking them for hostages and another group of victims.

"Protect the public safety officer!" Liu Jun shouted, rushing towards the woman with his sword.

Unfortunately, Li Chunjiang's martial skills were not very good, and he was focused on the young lady, leaving him unprepared. The woman attacked suddenly and managed to strike him.

She lunged into Li Chunjiang's arms, stabbing him in the thigh.

Fortunately, at the critical moment, Li Chunjiang managed to block the attack. Although he was still stabbed, the knife that was originally aimed at his chest ended up in his thigh.

The woman tried to pull the knife out and stab Li Chunjiang in the chest again, but Liu Jun, who had leaped over, grabbed her and stabbed her, killing her.

The remaining women also attacked, but Liu Jun slashed left and right, cutting them all down.

"Public safety officer, how are you?" Liu Jun, holding a blood-dripping sword, walked to Li Chunjiang, who was sitting on the ground, gasping in pain. "I won't die, I was careless," Li Chunjiang said with a bitter smile.

Liu Jun carefully examined him and found that the injury was not too serious. The knife had stabbed deep into his thigh, but fortunately, it had not hit an artery. He had lost a lot of blood, but it was not fatal. If the knife had been a bit higher, Li Chunjiang might have been unable to have children in the future.

The doctor in the team immediately ran over to stop the bleeding and apply medicine.

Li Zhen stood there, stunned, unable to react. The sudden series of events had frightened her. However, strangely, the young officer who had rushed out later left a deep impression on her.

His brave leap, his agile sword skills, his thick eyebrows, and his tall, imposing figure had instantly captivated Li Zhen, a young lady from a noble family.

"Miss Li, thank you for saving me. I don't know your name," Li Zhen suddenly did something that surprised her maids and older women. Ignoring the bloodstains on the ground and the bodies of the female bandits, she boldly walked over to the young officer with the sword and asked him directly.

Liu Jun was focused on Li Chunjiang and did not pay much attention to the hostages. He was thinking that it was fortunate Li Chunjiang was not seriously injured, otherwise, the Nine-Headed Bird team might have had to disband. Even if Li Chunjiang was doing well now, this injury might still have a significant impact on the Nine-Headed Bird team.

If the Li family decided to have Li Chunjiang leave the Nine-Headed Bird team, even if the team could be preserved, it would be difficult for Liu Jun to manage without the Li family and Li Chunjiang.

While thinking about these things, he heard the young lady's bold question.

Liu Jun was not in the mood to deal with her, his expression cold, and he replied, "Liu Jun." Then he ignored her.

Li Zhen, surprised by his cold response to her bold approach, felt deeply wronged. Thinking about being captured and brought up the mountain on her way home, she could no longer hold back her tears and began to cry.

Liu Jun was afraid of women crying, but he did not comfort Li Zhen. Instead, he walked away, pretending not to see her.

Seeing this, Li Zhen felt even more wronged and became rebellious. She continued to cry and followed Liu Jun.

Liu Jun walked away, and she followed. He walked further, and she followed further. Liu Jun found this young lady interesting and had some character. However, he maintained his attitude, indifferent to whether she followed or not. "I'm not a mother hen, and you're not a chick. What are you following me for?"

Zhao Cheng, Mei Zhihuan, Lu Jinxin, Zhu Chong, and other officials entered the village and immediately saw this interesting scene. The Nine-Headed Bird team leader, who had performed outstandingly in the battle, was lying on a stretcher, while the equally excellent deputy was circling around Li Chunjiang's stretcher. Behind him, a young, beautiful girl was wiping her eyes and crying, following Liu Jun.

Seeing this, Zhao Cheng immediately had a bad feeling. Liu Jun must have molested the girl. Not only did he think so, but Mei Zhihuan and the others also had the same thought.

The scene before them left no room for other interpretations.

"What happened?" Liu Jun was his subordinate, so Mei Zhihuan asked first. "Liu Jun, what did you do to this girl, and what happened to Li Chunjiang?"

Liu Jun walked forward and briefly explained Li Chunjiang's injury, then turned to look at the angry young lady who had followed him, saying innocently, "It has nothing to do with me."

"How could it not be your fault? If it wasn't your fault, why would the girl keep following you? Why doesn't she follow me? Did you take advantage of her because she's pretty?" Mei Zhihuan scolded, though he was a scholar, he had spent most of his career in border regions, often leading troops to suppress bandits, and his temper had become more fiery, often using coarse language.

Liu Jun shrugged, not knowing what to say.

At this moment, Li Zhen spoke up, defending Liu Jun.

"Liu Jun did not bully me."

Mei Zhihuan became interested, "If he didn't bully you, why are you following her?"

"I just want to thank Liu Jun for saving my life."

Liu Jun said helplessly, "I accept your gratitude, now you don't need to follow me anymore."

However, Li Zhen insisted, "No, since you saved me, you should see it through. You need to protect me until my family comes to pick me up."

"Do you mean you will follow me until your family comes to pick you up?"

Li Zhen, with her bright eyes, nodded vigorously.

Liu Jun slapped his forehead. Was this girl scared silly by the bandits? Saving her had turned into a problem. Besides, if you want to thank someone, you should thank Li Chunjiang, who was the first to come to your rescue.

Unfortunately, this girl was determined to follow Liu Jun, stubborn like a mule, and no one could persuade her.

Liu Jun had hoped Mei Zhihuan and Zhao Cheng would help him, but after learning the situation, they found out the girl was not a bandit or a bandit's family member but a noble lady who had just been captured. They patted their hands and left, leaving an order, "Since you saved the girl and she trusts you so much, you should see it through. If the girl is wronged in any way, we will hold you accountable."

Zhao Cheng and Mei Zhihuan went to count the spoils. The bandits were mostly captured and beheaded, their headless bodies piled up.

The village was thoroughly searched, and a lot of money and grain were found, including hundreds of stones of grain, over a hundred taels of gold, and over three thousand taels of silver. There were also many gold and silver ornaments, silk, and cloth. They also seized over a hundred horses, dozens of oxen, over a hundred pigs, and a batch of tea and salt.

These spoils exceeded everyone's expectations, and everyone was very happy. Zhao Cheng ordered the pigs and sheep to be slaughtered and cooked in large pots.

"Each participant will receive two pounds of meat and one pound of wine, and one tael of silver and one dou of rice as a reward."

"Additionally, for each bandit killed, a reward of five taels of silver will be given based on the head."

Zhao Cheng's orders were met with cheers throughout the village.

The spoils were substantial, and Zhao Cheng distributed a portion to the soldiers who had participated in the battle. The rest was divided among Zhao Cheng, Mei Zhihuan, Lu Jinxin, and Zhu Chong.

"This time, the Nine-Headed Bird team deserves the most credit," Zhao Cheng unexpectedly mentioned the Nine-Headed Bird team, suggesting that they should also have the right to share in the spoils.

"Indeed," Mei Zhihuan nodded with a smile.

Zhu Chong, seeing that the two leaders were supporting the Nine-Headed Bird team, did not oppose it. After all, he had paid for the Nine-Headed Bird team's help in capturing the village, and they had done an excellent job. He also nodded in agreement.

Liu Jun did not care much about the spoils. He had already hidden the most valuable part, which the soldiers had not found. That included nearly thirty thousand taels of silver worth of gold and silver, as well as many antiques and paintings. This time, he had made at least thirty thousand taels. However, since they were willing to let him share, he was happy to accept.

There wasn't much to share, as most of the grain and silver were used to reward the soldiers. In the end, only about three thousand taels of silver were left to be divided, not including the silver Liu Jun had hidden. The three thousand taels of silver were mostly used to reward the troops.

The three thousand taels of silver were actually private property seized from the bandits, not the village's public property. In addition to the silver, there were a few hundred taels of gold and many gold and silver ornaments.

Of course, what Liu Jun valued most were the horses. Over a hundred horses were seized from the village, along with some oxen and mules, and most of the horses were good ones.

Liu Jun had his eye on these horses and proposed that he would not take any gold, silver, grain, or cloth, but only wanted to add thirty horses to his team.

Thirty horses were worth about two thousand taels of silver, and in eastern Hubei, the price of good horses would only rise. Liu Jun's request was not low, but Zhao Cheng agreed.

After all, Liu Jun had given up his share of other spoils, which were also valuable.

Mei Zhihuan also agreed, but he looked at Liu Jun with a scrutinizing eye. The Nine-Headed Bird team had already received fifty-three good horses in the previous battle, and now they were asking for thirty more. With a hundred-man local militia, they already had two hundred horses. He did not want money or grain, only these good horses, indicating that this young man had big ambitions.

(The new book period is almost over, and the new book has been uploaded for almost a month. On average, I update over six thousand words a day, totaling nearly two hundred thousand words. It's already quite substantial, so you can start reading and remember to vote and, if you like it, consider a small donation of a couple of dollars!)