Chapter 74: Brutal
The Black Feather Camp soldiers escorted the group of Zheng family members, forcing them to kneel before Jinsui.
At this moment, the group had their clothes stripped down to their undergarments, their bodies covered in blood from being dragged by horses. Those who had fainted were like the dead, while those who were conscious cried out to the Zheng family for help.
Seeing the situation, the Zheng family steward stepped forward to negotiate, “Li King, you first stole my Zheng family’s concubine, and then injured my Zheng family members…”
Before he could finish his sentence, Li King waved his hand, “Hei Hu! Smash his mouth!”
Hei Hu roared, leaping directly from his horse and pouncing on the man, knocking him off his mount. Two punches later, teeth flew.
Jinsui pointed at Chen Yunniang and said to the Zheng family members, “This woman is under my command, the wife of Cheng Assistant Secretary Cheng Yu!”
“Anyone who dares to call her a Zheng family concubine again, this King will tear their mouth apart!”
Upon hearing this, the Zheng family members hadn’t even reacted when Hei Hu was the fastest to respond, actually grabbing the Zheng family steward’s mouth and tearing it.
The Zheng family steward cried out in agony, his mouth bleeding profusely. Once it was stitched up, he would surely be a clown of Yandi.
The other members of the Zheng family were stunned by Li King’s methods, especially when they heard the steward’s screams and saw their companions guarding the intersection, unsure if they were alive or dead.
Some had thoughts of retreat, shouting, “Li King, you wait! Retreat!”
Jinsui sneered, “Retreat? What kind of place do you think my border city is? You can come and go as you please?”
“Han Xing, Cheng Yu, stop them, don’t let any of them escape!”
The Zheng family members who were farther away quickly turned their horses to flee. Jinsui handed the fish oil firearm bottle to Hei Hu:
“Light the fire arrows and shoot them.”
Hei Hu, with his superb archery skills, shot a fire arrow in front of the fleeing Zheng family members. They thought it was just one arrow and didn’t take it seriously, continuing to flee.
Then they saw a glazed glass bottle following closely behind. While they were still marveling at the exquisite craftsmanship of the bottle, it landed and instantly exploded with a ‘boom,’ erupting in fierce flames.
The bottle shattered, and countless tiny pieces of glazed glass embedded themselves into the flesh of men and horses.
Immediately, cries of agony filled the air. The injured rolled on the ground, and those touched by the sparks discovered in terror that the fire was rolling on the ground and inextinguishable.
Hei Hu shot three consecutive arrows, completely sealing the Zheng family’s retreat.
Although the Zheng family was said to be a noble clan of a hundred years, their guards and thugs were ultimately no match for regular soldiers.
If they had brought the Yan Prefecture Army today, this battlefield would have undoubtedly seen countless casualties.
However, the Zheng family was too arrogant and too dismissive of Li King and the Black Feather Army.
Before Jinsui returned, the two sides could have fought for an entire night.
Once Jinsui returned, the Black Feather Army had a backbone, coupled with the deterrence of the fish oil firearms.
The battle took a sharp turn. With three fish oil firearms fired, the Zheng family dared not flee and could not attack. They were quickly surrounded by Han Xing and his men.
All their horses were confiscated, their weapons seized, and they were tied up.
Some of the Zheng family members were still defiant, “Li King, if you dare to arrest us, the gentry of Yandi will not let you go!”
Others begged for mercy, “Your Highness, why not let this humble one return to persuade the family head to make peace with Your Highness.”
Jinsui drew an arrow from Hei Hu and slowly walked up to the defiant man, pointing the arrow tip at his forehead and asking:
“If I arrest you, what will happen to the gentry of Yandi?”
Sweat poured down the man’s face, but having held a high position in the Zheng family for a long time, he was accustomed to being defiant. He braced himself and said,
“You are just a disgraced… exiled to the border.”
Before he could finish speaking, Li King, with extreme speed, grabbed his chin with one hand and the arrow with the other, and ruthlessly pierced it through his cheek.
It went through his left cheek and out the right, with the arrow held in his mouth.
He could no longer be defiant, collapsing to the ground in agonizing screams.
Hei Hu grabbed his hair and dragged him to the steward whose mouth had been torn, and disdainfully tossed him aside:
“Tsk, you two have both become mouth-ripped messes.”
Instantly, all the Zheng family members fell silent, their pleas and curses silenced.
Only one thought remained in their minds: Li King is truly brutal!
Jinsui sneered:
“A pack of dogs, do you really think your masters will value you? Today, if I kill all of you here, no one will dare to question it!”
“Cheng Assistant Secretary, pick one to return to the Zheng family with a message. They know the border is short on people, send these slaves of mine, and I will accept them!”
“Within three days, send Chen Yunniang’s deed of sale. Otherwise, this King will not hesitate to dig up the Zheng family’s ancestral tomb again!”
Cheng Yu loudly agreed, his inner excitement hard to conceal. He secretly glanced at Chen Yunniang in the distance, once again feeling fortunate to be under the King’s command.
Jinsui then had Han Xing send a message to Li Heng. Miss Yan had risked coming here, and she would only owe the Yan family a favor, never Li Heng.
A dignified official of the Imperial Court, has he been scared witless by the gentry of Yandi, or is he preparing to be their dog?
This King does not want fence-sitters. If you, the Prefect, cannot do your job well, then hand over your military authority, and this King will manage it for you!
Finally, there was the matter of settling the nearly thousand Zheng family members. Upon hearing this number, Jinsui’s heart skipped a beat.
Just one Zheng family alone could mobilize a thousand people to surround the city, which showed the great power of the gentry in Yandi.
They enclosed land to build manors, kept tenant farmers and guards, disrespected the Imperial Court, and did not abide by Xia Law. They were practically a state within a state!
The old Emperor in Chang’an was playing power games and factional struggles, with father and son turning against each other, yet he hadn’t thought of dealing with the gentry of Yandi?
Jinsui shook her head in disdain, wondering how long she would have to play the fake Li King. If she continued, she might be tempted to act on behalf of heaven.
How to deal with these people? Of course, they couldn’t be killed; it would be too wasteful.
Her eyes flickered, and an idea struck her, “Where is our Lord Niu?”
Han Xing naturally understood who she was asking about and quickly sent someone to fetch Huo Zi’an.
When they found Huo Zi’an, he and Niu Da were still carrying dung buckets, ready to counterattack the Zheng family’s assault at any moment.
Upon hearing the King summon him, his first reaction was to change his clothes, as he reeked terribly.
But then he remembered the fake Li King throwing him into an ant nest, making him a dung carrier, and wanting him to beat the Prefect.
He also harbored a mischievous thought: he couldn’t beat them, and he couldn’t run away, so he’d just disgust them.
Not only did he not change his clothes, but he deliberately scuffed his foot against the dung bucket before going to see Jinsui.
From ten paces away, Jinsui pinched her nose, “What are you doing? I told you to carry dung, did you fall into a cesspit?”
Then Huo Zi’an explained that he and the soldiers of the Tuntian Camp, lacking weapons, could only use tools to defend themselves.
And the tools he received were a dung scoop and dung water.
Jinsui’s lips twitched. While disgusted, she was also filled with apprehension. If the Zheng family had truly broken into the Tuntian Camp, there were women and children there.
Looking at the Zheng family members again, she became even more indignant. This was her first battle since arriving at the border city, and she had to make a name for herself, making the gentry of Yandi revere her.
She pointed at the Zheng family members and said, “These are the new cattle and horses this King has acquired for the border city. You will train them.”
New cattle and horses naturally needed to be trained by old cattle and horses. Reclaiming land, carrying dung, fermenting fertilizer, and digging river channels were all physically demanding tasks, which would allow the soldiers of the Tuntian Camp to rest.
If the sun-drying salt method didn’t need to be kept secret, it would have been even better to send them to the seaside to level the salt fields.
After speaking, she thought of something and looked at Huo Zi’an with a half-smile:
“You didn’t tell the Zheng family your identity? This King thought that Huo Imperial Guard would escape in the chaos!”
Huo Zi’an: …
I told them, but they didn’t believe me.
