NCCnovel Chapter 697 Officials and Soldiers Are Like Bandits
Chapter 697 Officials and Soldiers Are Like Bandits
Not wanting to cause any more trouble, Liu Heizi stopped Huang Gan, who wanted to argue with the other party, and said calmly, "Twenty coins for a box, right? We'll pay."
Seeing that the other party was so straightforward, the flag bearer rolled his eyes and changed his tune, saying, "I was wrong. Twenty coins is the price for locals, while it's fifty coins for a box for out-of-towners."
"Damn it, they're trying to rip me off!"
Huang Gan cursed and reached for his gun, but Liu Heizi grabbed him and said loudly, "Fifty coins it is, let him go now, or my brother will lose his temper and things will get ugly for none of us!"
"Brother, let me go! I'm going to shoot him dead! Damn it, I've never been treated like this in the Ministry of War in the capital. How dare a few lowly soldiers in this godforsaken place act so arrogantly..." Huang Gan tried his best to break free, but Liu Heizi was worried that since he was unfamiliar with the area, even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake, and a conflict might ruin the general's important business, so he held on tightly and dared not let go.
Upon hearing the words "Ministry of War," the flag bearer hesitated for a moment, then said, "Hurry up and pay the money and leave."
Liu Heizi calmed down the enraged Huang Gan, had his men hand over five taels of silver, and then successfully entered the county town.
The soldiers at the city gate exchanged covetous glances as they looked at the hundred or so boxes on the carriage. A flag bearer gave a signal, and one soldier quietly followed the convoy.
The guide helped find a dilapidated temple to house the hundreds of people. Although it was a bit desolate, at least they had a place to shelter from the wind and bullets. Huang Gan, seething with anger, found a dry patch of ground, lay down, and went to sleep.
Liu Heizi felt uneasy, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong. Logically, now that they were in the county town and there were no bandits to bother them, they should be able to get a good night's sleep, but he felt even more uneasy than when they were outside the town.
At this moment, the guide came over and hesitated before saying, "Sir, there's something I'm not sure if I should say?"
“Go ahead,” Liu Heizi said. “I was just about to ask, why are the officials and soldiers in Kaifeng behaving so rudely? They’re supposed to be government officials…”
"Sir, you may not know this, but there have been many bandit raids in Henan. Even the Eighth Prince and Cao Cao have come here, not to mention countless other smaller groups of bandits. The old and weak have been killed, the young and strong have been taken hostage, and the fields have been abandoned. People are starving to death every day. The soldiers have been going hungry for years and are even more ruthless than bandits. It's no wonder they're trying to extort you, an outsider. I'm only doing this because you're a soldier; otherwise, I would have kept half of the box..."
After listening to the guide's words, Liu Heizi silently pondered for a long time, then suddenly stood up abruptly: "Damn, I knew something was off. We paid too readily; those soldiers will definitely get a taste of it and want to cause trouble again. The way they looked at us when they left was suspicious..."
Upon hearing this, Huang Gan jumped up and asked, "Should we strike first?"
Liu Heizi rolled his eyes, whispered a few words in Huang Gan's ear, and Huang Gan nodded repeatedly.
As dusk fell, small groups of soldiers slowly appeared on the streets surrounding the temple, gathering together and heading towards where the convoy would be staying. Their eyes gleamed with greed and excitement, and they gripped sharp blades in their hands. No one spoke; they moved forward in perfect unison.
At the temple entrance, the special forces soldiers on guard shouted, "Who goes there?"
The leading officer, who appeared to be a centurion, stepped forward: "We are from the Fengqiu Thousand-Household Garrison of Kaifeng Guard. Someone has reported that you are colluding with bandits. Quickly open your boxes and let us inspect them!"
The special forces soldiers looked at each other in bewilderment. It was true that they had colluded with bandits, but how did the other side know?
Liu Heizi stepped forward and asked, "Whether or not they colluded with bandits is not your business, is it? Since when did local garrisons start investigating cases?"
Baihu coughed twice: "Enough with the nonsense. This place is under our jurisdiction now. If you know what's good for you, hurry up and open the box!"
The box did indeed contain contraband, as well as disassembled and repacked mountain gun parts. Opening the box for inspection was absolutely out of the question. Liu Heizi asked, "What if I say no?"
The centurion seemed to be hoping for that answer, chuckled, and waved his hand: "You'll have to ask my brothers if they agree."
Nearly a hundred soldiers, armed with sharp blades, surrounded Liu Heizi and his men, looking at them with ill intent.
Liu Heizi snorted: "You think you're the only one with connections and weapons?"
Special forces soldiers stepped forward, raised their pistols, and aimed them forward.
The centurion was startled when he saw the musket, then burst into laughter: "You even have a short gun? Do you think you can escape like this? The entire Fengqiu County is under the command of our thousand-household garrison. Do you think you can get away with so many boxes?"
One of the soldiers put his thumb and forefinger in his mouth and whistled a mournful whistle. After a while, footsteps sounded from all directions, and more soldiers ran over, along with many people dressed as civilians, completely surrounding the temple.
These soldiers and civilians shared a common characteristic: they were dressed in tattered clothes, most were unarmed, only a few carried sticks, and some were completely unarmed. Although they appeared thin, pale, and expressionless, their eyes shone with a burning desire, as if Liu Heizi and the others were delicious Tang Sanzang flesh.
Liu Heizi felt very uncomfortable looking at them, and had a strange feeling: that if the leader gave the order, these people would pounce on him like wild dogs hunting for food and tear him to shreds. He could never experience this feeling in Lingao.
He couldn't help but spit out his anger, thinking to himself: These aren't the government's soldiers, they're just bandits, a den of soldiers and bandits.
When the centurion saw his helpers arrive, he said smugly, "Well? If you know what's good for you, open the box, or don't blame us for being impolite. Look at your few muskets, how many people can they kill? Besides, once the gun goes off, the whole county will be alerted, and you won't be able to escape even if you grow wings."
Liu Heizi said angrily, "The officers and soldiers have degenerated into nothingness, no different from bandits. Doesn't the local government care?"
"Hehe, this place is where our commander-in-chief calls the shots, and even the county magistrate wouldn't dare utter a single word."
Just then, a disdainful voice came from behind: "Don't be too smug. Turn around and take a look..."
The centurion and his soldiers turned around and were shocked to see Huang Gan holding a middle-aged military officer hostage, with a short knife to his neck.
"Lord Commander?"
Huang Gan said, "If you know what's good for you, get your men out of here right away. I'll release this guy once I'm out of the city."
The military officer, addressed as Commander of a Thousand Households, waved his hand helplessly: "You all step back..."
After hesitating for a moment, these people chose to back down, abandoning the convoy and boxes that were right in front of them.
Under the watchful eyes of hundreds of greedy men, Huang Gan and Liu Heizi, holding the commander of the Fengqiu Thousand-Household Garrison hostage, drove their carriage out of the city through the west gate. Once they were sure no one was following, Huang Gan kicked the commander off the carriage, and the convoy sped away without stopping, kicking up clouds of dust.