The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the border troops, it was overthrown and the Qing Dynasty was destro

Chapter 35 Jingbian Camp

The morning chill seeped in through the gap in the curtains, and Jiang Han, wrapped in a blanket, groggily opened his eyes.

A commotion could be faintly heard outside the tent. He rubbed his sleepy eyes, got up and saw that Li Laowai and Shao Yong were standing guard at the door, keeping watch for him.

Jiang Han found it a little strange, but didn't take it to heart. He picked up the basin and was about to go out to fetch water to wash up.

Just as Jiang Han picked up the wooden basin, Li Laowai rushed in from outside, snatched the basin from his hands, and said with a fawning expression:
"Lord Jiang, there's no need for you to do such a small thing yourself. Let Old Li handle it."

Jiang Han raised an eyebrow, looking at the guy with surprise, his tone tinged with a hint of mockery:

"You rascal, don't you usually hate these kinds of trivial matters the most?"

"You're usually the most resistant to being told to pay attention to hygiene, so why the sudden change of heart today?"

Ever since Jiang Han took over this border army, he has repeatedly emphasized the importance of hygiene to these rough men, making them drink hot water and wash themselves frequently.

But these guys didn't buy it at all.

Li Laowai, in particular, was the most stubborn, preferring to be punished rather than wash his hands.

They even had the audacity to say that they were all peasants who might die on the battlefield tomorrow, so why should they care about hygiene?
His overly attentive manner today is really strange.

Jiang Han was pondering this when Shao Yong walked in carrying several steaming hot pancakes.
"Lord Jiang, I specially went to the city to buy your breakfast. It's still warm. Please eat it while it's hot."

Jiang Han took the steamed bun, but his brows furrowed even more.

Seeing the two people's obsequious behavior, Jiang Han felt something was wrong and his heart sank.

Well, to give an inappropriate example,
He suddenly remembered the days when he raised dogs in his previous life. Every time he came home, if the dog had caused trouble, it would always come over quietly, wagging its tail and trying to please him.

Whenever he sees his dog acting like this, he becomes very alert, wondering if the little guy has gotten into some trouble.

Upon realizing this, Jiang Han felt a sense of foreboding and became alert:
"Have you two gotten into some trouble?"

Li Laowai and Shao Yong exchanged a glance, quickly waving their hands in denial and swearing that they were absolutely loyal, with heaven and earth as their witness.
Seeing this, Jiang Han felt even more that the two were hiding something, so he stopped asking them and instead went to find Yu Chengye who was standing to the side.

He smiled and waved to Yu Chengye:
"Hey kid, come here, I have a question for you."

"What did those two do yesterday?"

Yu Chengye was speechless for a moment, and looked to Shao Yong and Li Laowai behind him for help.

"Look at me! Tell the truth! Otherwise, I'll make you do the millstone work for another ten days when we get back!" Jiang Han threatened, feigning ferocity.

Faced with Jiang Han's threat, Yu Chengye could no longer hide it and stammered:

"Uncle Jiang, Uncle Lao Wai went out last night and set the Li family's house on fire."

"Uncle Shao Yong went to the City God Temple and beat up the thugs again, killing more than a dozen on the spot."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Han almost jumped up:

"what?!"

He pointed at Li Laowai and Shao Yong, incredulous:

"You set someone's house on fire? And then you went out and killed someone?"

Li Laowai and Shao Yong scratched their heads, their voices unconsciously lowering a few decibels:

"Lord Jiang, we brothers just can't swallow this insult, so we thought we'd go out tonight to stretch our muscles and have some fun."

Jiang Han gasped.

These murderers are incredibly audacious!

He took a deep breath and continued to ask:
"Have the Li family come to cause trouble? What about the people from the county government? Are there any guards?"

Li Laowai chuckled:
“Our brothers kept watch all night, and nothing happened.”

"The Li family is busy putting out the fire, they don't have time to bother with us."

"Besides, with just that small number of people in the Li family, how could they possibly stop us brothers?"

Jiang Han rubbed his temples and shook his head helplessly.

These border troops are undoubtedly capable in combat, but they're also incredibly hot-tempered, always ready to set fires and kill people.

It seems I'll have to go back and come up with a plan to properly reorganize things.

Meanwhile, the Li family's house was in complete disarray. Old Master Li stood in front of the ruins of his own house, covered in dust and trembling with anger.

He pointed at his second son, Li Lihui's nose, and began to hurl insults:

"Waste! It's all waste!"

"Forty or fifty people can't take down a dozen or so people!"

"Not only did we pay the ransom for nothing, but they even let someone sneak in at night and set the house on fire!" He got angrier and angrier as he spoke, and raised his hand to slap Li Lihui across the face. With a "smack," Li Lihui covered his face, daring not to speak out.

Still seething with anger, Master Li turned and pointed at the constables who had come to help, shouting angrily:
"You lot are all useless! Has my Li family ever shortchanged you in any way?"

"These thieves are so arrogant, are you all just sitting around doing nothing?"

The constables looked at each other, and one of them, forcing a smile, replied:
"Master Li, it's not that we didn't want to help, it's just that the thieves were too fierce!"

“Those aren’t ordinary bandits; they’re all former border soldiers, all clad in armor and helmets. We brothers really have no choice!”

Upon hearing this, Master Li's expression turned serious, and he narrowed his eyes as he stared at him:
"Is this true?"

The constable nodded quickly:
"Absolutely true!"

"I saw it with my own eyes; every one of Jiang's men was using standard-issue weapons from the border army. There's no mistake!"

After listening, Master Li frowned and muttered:

"I once heard the prefect mention that the imperial court had issued an official document."

"It mentions that the loyalist army in Yansui Town mutinied in Zhengding Prefecture, and the leader seems to be surnamed Jiang, named Jiang Han."

"Could it be this person?"

The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed. So, Master Li summoned the head steward, Li Yang, and whispered the instructions:

"Go to Yan'an Prefecture immediately and inform the prefect that Jiang Han, whom the court is looking for, may be active in Ansai."

He sighed, then looked at Li Lihui beside him and said:

"Don't rush. Let's go back to Yan'an Prefecture first and hear what Lord Zhang has to say."

"Do not act rashly before news arrives from Yan'an!"

Li Lihui panicked upon hearing this:

"Father, are we just going to let this go?!"

"That Jiang fellow burned down our house, can you really swallow this insult?"

Master Li glared at him:
"What do you know!"

"This guy surnamed Jiang might have quite a few soldiers under his command. We should think this through carefully!"

"Let's see what the prefect has to say first, then we'll deal with him later!"

Just as the Li family was rushing back to Yan'an Prefecture, Jiang Han had already returned to Baijiagou with more than a dozen large trucks loaded with supplies.

He even sent someone to buy some meat, including mutton, horse meat, and pork.

Although not much, it was one of the few meat dishes that could be found in Ansai.

As soon as they arrived at the village entrance, they saw Hei Zi leading a large group of people blocking the way. Although they were all carrying weapons, they all looked emaciated and listless.

Jiang Han frowned and strode forward:

"Hey Hei Zi, what's going on? Why are there so many people?"

When Heizi saw him, his face lit up with a smile:

"Boss Qi, you're finally back! I've brought you back two or three hundred more brothers!"

Jiang Han frowned: "What's going on? Where did you bring so many people back from?"

Kuroko explained with a smug look on his face:
"Didn't I lead the cavalry out to look for wealthy households? I traveled all the way from Luguanling to Jingbianying, but I didn't see many wealthy households. So I immediately prepared to rest and return."

"As a result, when the brothers of Jingbian Camp saw us eating flatbread, they were extremely envious. Several hundred of them rushed out, wanting us to take them in, and we couldn't stop them."

After hearing this, Jiang Han quickly pulled Hei Zi aside and asked in a low voice:

"You brat, don't you know how much food we have left? How dare you bring people here like this?"

"If we can't afford to eat, there will be huge trouble!"

Kuroko chuckled awkwardly and explained:

“They were all brothers from the border army. I saw that they were so hungry that they were skin and bones, and I couldn’t bear it, so I brought them all back.”

"Should I send them back?"

Jiang Han waved his hand and sighed:
"Forget it, if we go back we might just end up joining some bandits. Let's stay."

"I'll think of something."

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(End of this chapter)