Chapter 108
"Damn it, these sons of bitches! Attacking when people are unprepared, may you all die horribly!"
Huo Shu led his men charging into the Wild Tiger Stronghold, catching these bandits completely off guard.
The Wild Tiger Stronghold had just robbed a merchant family traveling on the official road. Among them were several young girls and gers. This bunch of scoundrels had people to violate and were currently celebrating.
When the attackers rushed into the stronghold, the people inside were half-drunk. Before they could even grab their weapons, they were hit by several arrows.
The men from Lin Village and Caochang Village had been training for over half a year. They were well-disciplined, and their skills showed clear improvement. Having hunted in the mountains and seen blood, and having gone through many twists and turns, they had already experienced major storms and waves. They were no longer the simple farmers buried in the land from before, when it came to fighting others, they had long since lost any unfamiliarity or fear.
Huo Shu went straight into the main camp and captured the stronghold leader.
"Goddamn it, you sure know how to curse. A sneak attack is supposed to happen when you're unprepared. Should we send you a message first to let you know?"
The men tying up the bandits in the main hall were annoyed by their shouting. Simply, they tore off a piece of filthy, black hemp cloth and stuffed it into their mouths.
Huo Shu had the people cleared out one by one. There were over thirty armed men in the stronghold, half died during the fight. The number of captured farmers, however, was not large, only about ten or so.
"There are only about ten mu of cultivated land around the stronghold, all planted with vegetables."
Huo Shu listened to his subordinate's report, his brow slightly furrowing. Judging by the stronghold's construction, it hadn't been built just three or five months ago. Surprisingly, they hadn't cultivated any cropland.
For such a long time without producing their own grain, they must have relied entirely on robbery for survival.
But Huo Shu had just inspected the entire stronghold and only found about a hundred jin of grain in the kitchen. Based on the number of people in the village, that wouldn't last more than a few days.
"This bunch has a pretty carefree mindset. With just that little bit of leftover grain, they still have the nerve to eat and drink lavishly. They truly live meal to meal."
Huo Shu found it strange—by all reasoning, the situation made no sense.
After winter began, there were few people traveling outside. Merchant caravans and wealthy households rarely passed on the official roads. Even if they set their sights on villages, it was an unwise move.
As the new year approached, almost all the able-bodied men who had left the villages to make a living had returned, so the available manpower was greater than usual. Furthermore, the grain harvested in the autumn had already been handed over to the court as taxes or exchanged for money, leaving little surplus grain in the villagers' hands.
Just as Huo Shu was puzzled, a trembling voice spoke up: "The granary... the granary is in the back mountain. Over there, over there……"
Huo Shu looked towards the sound. An old man with half-gray hair was offering information, but when he met Huo Shu's gaze, he immediately shrank back and closed his mouth.
"Do you know the location?"
Huo Shu asked, but the old man hung his head and didn't dare speak again.
Seeing this, he thought that perhaps he looked more vicious and ruthless than the stronghold leader here. He patiently softened his voice a little and said, "We are not bandits. After we finish clearing this place out, we will send you all away."
Hearing this, the old man hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded.
The group followed the old man out through the stronghold's back door. Turning left and right, after about quarter of an hour, they entered a concealed area.
There were additional dwellings built here.
"Brother Huo, the granary is here!"
Huo Shu went over towards the voice. Entering through a small door, the spacious room inside had no other furnishings, only large wooden barrels and hemp sacks.
The barrels were clearly filled with rice. He stabbed a knife into one of the sacks, and grain immediately poured out. He caught a handful; from its color and smell, it appeared to be grain harvested just this autumn.
"Do you know where these came from?"
The old man said, "Stolen... stolen. After the autumn harvest, there are many grain convoys on the official road. They brought back a lot of grain every time they went out."
"This time... this time they robbed a grain merchant, and... and also stole the government's tax grain..."
Huo Shu looked at this stockpile of no less than a hundred dan (5000 kg) of grain. No wonder they could live in decadent comfort within the stronghold.
"They have quite the nerve. Daring to rob a grain merchant is one thing, but even the government's tax grain?"
Mentioning this, the old man's face showed disappointment: "Banditry is rampant. If the authorities were more effective, the common people wouldn't have to suffer so much."
The bandit problem in Yuchang was an old, difficult issue. If the imperial court were more effective, things wouldn't have come to this.
However, in recent years the border regions had been unstable, with constant external threats, leaving no capacity to deal with internal problems. If the court had been able to act, the rebels in Tongzhou would never have gained such momentum.
"Brother Huo, over here! There are people locked up here!"
Huo Shu heard the shout and looked over.
While searching the buildings in the area, his men had discovered one that was particularly sturdy, secured with not one but two door locks, and the windows were boarded up.
When they tried to open it and just started banging on the door, they heard sounds from inside, and not just one or two voices.
Huo Shu walked to the door and looked at the old man. "Who is locked in there?"
The old man said with grief and indignation, "They are the girls and gers they captured!"
Huo Shu's brow tightened. The door was locked, and no one knew where the key was.
His eyes darkened. He directly swung his knife at the chain lock, then kicked it several times, breaking the lock hasp clean off.
The door creaked open, and panicked, chaotic sounds immediately came from inside the room.
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