The world of film and television begins with the God of Medicine.

Chapter 1645 The Shadow of War
Sun Tian never imagined that his life would change so drastically one day.

They were just chatting idly with their boss at the city gate when they ran into a group of outsiders. Suddenly, their boss died. To survive, they had no choice but to kill their boss's boss and join Wang Yan, their new boss.

Then Wang Yan instructed him to gather his brothers and prepare their weapons as soon as he saw the fireworks. Immediately afterward, while he was still in a daze, Wang Yan led them to wipe out the Bai family, subdue the Yang and Liu families, settle accounts with the government, and become the largest power in Huoshan County.

Then he received fifty taels of silver and thirty mu of prime farmland. When he brought the land deeds home, he would never forget the shock on the faces of his parents, brother, and sister-in-law. That was the first time he could hold his head high at home. His sister-in-law never raised her voice at him again, and he became the pillar of the family.

He made up his mind to work hard for the old man, who treated his subordinates well. Although the old man was cruel and ruthless, he never hesitated to praise and reward those who did good work, and working under him was very fair.

The martial arts school needed to expand its staff, so he went to find people he knew who were physically fit. The old man taught them martial arts, and he gritted his teeth and persevered, striving to be the best. The old man taught them how to write route maps and research reports, and he practically studied himself to the bone, learning with great diligence. In the assessment, he even outperformed the second and third masters, winning first place.

After practicing martial arts for a few days and taking tonics for a few days, the old man sent out a caravan to escort the county's produce. He volunteered to be the first manager to lead the team.

After his successful return, under the guidance of the old man, he summarized the gains from the trip, then practiced martial arts and used medicine to strengthen his body. After ten days of rest, he was even stronger and led a team out again. This time, he went to Lu'an to take on business. After winning the business with a low price, he began to try to gain a foothold in Lu'an.

He was very nervous because his martial arts skills weren't very high. These kinds of business dealings, where people stand on sticks to steal customers, often involve bloodshed. It was the old man who encouraged him and explained the situation to him.

The old man said that the situation in Huoshan County was no secret in Lu'an and Shucheng. The White Lotus Sect had even come out into the open, but they hadn't been suppressed. Even if others had a lot of courage, they wouldn't be so foolish as to go against the people from Huoshan. He also told him to be tough and not to be afraid of anyone. Only in this way could he make others hesitate to act against him.

He faithfully carried out the tasks assigned by his master, and as expected, he gained a foothold in Lu'an and established himself there. With Qian Boyuan's introduction, he took on more business and extended his reach to distant places. He also used the information he had gathered from his previous escort missions to buy and sell some goods, and with some of the profits he made along the way, he managed to break even.

After all, they are constantly expanding, and no amount of money is enough to cover their expenses. The reason they break even is because their expansion is not fast enough.

Huoshan County has a limited number of able-bodied men available. Local production needs to be carried out, and the old settlements in the mountains need to be built. So, after establishing a foothold in Lu'an, the county began to recruit able-bodied men from outside the area. Some were added to the manpower to increase the construction efforts in Huoshan, while others were assigned to the escort agency. After receiving training and taking tonics, they were able to expand their ranks, extend their reach, and broaden their influence.

As one of the earliest followers and ranked fourth in the entire force, Sun Tian's status rose accordingly as the force expanded. However, he still frequently engaged in escort missions, as he needed to arrange various matters in other cities.

Just as he was leading a team to Nanyang again, he was robbed by a group of people while passing through Xinyang, and he was also arrested and a ransom was demanded...

In a village at the foot of Tongbai Mountain, Sun Tian was being held captive in a dilapidated house. Although he had been imprisoned for ten days, he wasn't too worried, as many people had run back to warn others. He believed that by now, the old man he served should have received the news and organized a rescue effort.

After doing business for several months, I used to follow the routes operated by the Huoshan Martial Arts School. Along the way, it was easy to talk things over and settle things with a little money. This was the first time I had been robbed and kidnapped.

Based on his understanding of his own father, he knew this was a matter that needed to establish authority and demonstrate power. Moreover, it concerned the strategic development of the route through Guanzhong, and absolutely no problems could be allowed to arise…

Just as Sun Tian was confidently welcoming another night, the relatively quiet village was shattered by a painful scream. Immediately afterwards, shouts of battle erupted…

After a quarter of an hour, the shouts of battle gradually weakened, with only occasional loud yells and shrill screams heard.

"Sir, the person is locked up right here."

"Open the door!"

"Yes, yes, sir, I'll open the door right away, I'll open the door right away..."

The simple conversation revealed a trembling, obsequious fawning born of a desperate need to survive.

With a clanging sound of chains being pulled away, the old wooden door was opened, and Sun Tian, ​​whose hands and feet were bound by ropes and whose face still bore some bruises, finally relaxed.

"Grandpa~" His cry was truly heartbreaking and brought tears to the eyes of anyone who heard it.

Wang Yan had his men untie everyone in the room, and waved his hand with a smile: "You've all suffered, so I won't waste any more words. Once this matter is settled, you'll all get your share of the benefits. Alright, have some food and drink, and rest well. Let's see which kind of deity dared to cause us trouble."

When the group arrived in the courtyard, his men brought Wang Yan a chair and then helped over two men, one strong and one thin.

Wang Yan, fiddling with his pipe and pressing down the tobacco, glanced at the two men and said calmly, "You both have at least three things to say."

The thin man kneeling on the ground tentatively spoke, "The stolen goods were divided among the Weiyuan and Changtu escort agencies, as well as the Zhou and Wang families in Xinyang City. They harbor resentment because you set up escort agencies in Xinyang and stole their business. They instigated us to rob goods, kidnap people, and extort money. Sir, the grievances have their source, and the debts have their debtors. It's all their doing. We're just doing our jobs. Sir, please just let us go..."

Wang Yan shook his head regretfully, because he didn't get a chance to say "No, not that sentence" or "Not that sentence either." His three sentences were simple: where the goods were, who ordered it, and where the person was. The first sentence was to mitigate his own losses, while the latter two were about retaliation and maximizing his gains. This skinny man was sensible; he explained everything clearly.

Sun Tian added from the side, "Uncle, I know all these people. They didn't say a word when we were running our escort agency in Xinyang, but now they're causing us trouble."

"Why do you care when they're going to cause trouble? They can't possibly give you a heads-up, can they? Chop them both down, regroup, and head to Xinyang City. We'll wipe them out today."

Sun Tian was taken aback for a moment, then quickly said, "Sir, please think it over. There are quite a few families involved, and it's in the city. If we make a big fuss, it might be difficult to explain to the authorities."

"You think too much and too little. You only think about how to explain things to the government if you make a big fuss, but you don't realize that we are bandits who sneaked into the city, committed a big crime, and ran away as soon as we left the city. The government can't catch us, so what explanation do we have? It's nothing more than bribing the higher-ups and lower-ups when we take over these people's property later, and everyone will understand without saying a word."

Otherwise, do you think they'd dare cause us trouble? There's a war going on in the south, right now heading towards Hubei. How could they dare to really force us into a rebellion? If another rebellion breaks out in this Henan-Anhui region, what will they do with their official hats?

Sun Tian suddenly realized the key: Wang Yan and his group truly possessed the ability to rebel. After all, Wang Yan had already gathered several hundred men, all of whom had practiced martial arts and learned some military formations. They were, without a doubt, capable of obeying orders. If such a force were to rebel, engulfing the civilians outside the city, it would instantly lead to a great calamity…

So, that very day, before it even got dark, Wang Yan arrogantly led over a hundred men into the city and launched a deadly attack on those who had caused trouble. The people in the city were terrified, thinking that rebels had invaded, only to later realize that it was a targeted act of revenge against a few families.

But at the same time, they were even more worried. After all, this group had easily entered the city and killed people. What would they do when the Taiping Army actually attacked? In the face of these rebellious armies, officials, merchants, and civilians were not cared for. The common people were all conscripted into the army, and the wealthy had their homes ransacked...

The next morning, a large man, still covered in blood, left the city laughing and joking, seemingly unnoticed by the gatekeepers. After the bandits left, some news finally began to circulate.

Over a hundred people died overnight, the blood flowing like a river. The reason was that Shunfeng Escort Agency had taken on a shipment for a group of bandits. Several escort agencies and wealthy families in the city had embezzled the goods, and the bandit gang, enraged, traveled a long distance to seek revenge.

Nobody believes it.

Everyone knows it was the Shunfeng Escort Agency that did it, because they didn't even bother to pretend; they directly took over the inheritances of several families. Whoever profited was the mastermind—that's obvious.

This is why Shunfeng Escort Agency's business near Xinyang was booming. Their prices were fair, they didn't cheat customers, and they were even willing to commit serious crimes to resolve issues for their goods – their attitude was impeccable. Naturally, cargo owners preferred to hire a reliable escort agency to deliver their goods.

As for other escort agencies lowering their prices, that's not a matter of good fortune.

Thanks to this incident, Shunfeng Escort Agency enhanced its reputation in the area, gained more business to make money, and purposefully expanded its influence and gathered information through escort services.

The number of people increased day by day, and business improved day by day, especially now that there was war; the escort agency's business was even better. Even though the north hadn't been affected yet, all sorts of shady characters were taking advantage of the chaos to make money...

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, a piece of news has thrown both banks of the Yangtze River into chaos.

Wuchang was captured by the Taiping Army.

As a crucial hub for both land and water transportation, the fall of Wuchang was a significant loss in itself. Simultaneously, it signified that both banks of the Yangtze River had become a war zone. These banks were fertile lands, and no one would relinquish their wealth. The Taiping Rebellion, in particular, which relied on warfare to sustain its operations, naturally coveted these riches even more…

"Brother, our business has been booming lately, it's all refugees fleeing the country," Zhao Erhu laughed. "We've recruited more people, and they're not paying much."

"When war breaks out, human life is the cheapest thing." Wang Yan shook his head. "Second brother, we're all poor brothers, why are you gloating?"

"I just wanted to earn more money so that we could have more brothers and live a better life."

“Our good days are numbered. If we don’t fight this year, we’ll have to face the Taiping Army next year. We’ve spread ourselves too thin and have to take care of everything. I’m overwhelmed, and the third brother is still far from ready. You’ll have to take charge on your own.”

Before Zhao Erhu could speak, Jiang Wuyang became unhappy: "Big brother, I'll be fifteen soon too."

"Your body isn't fully developed yet. If you want to go out, you'll have to wait another two years. Keep training. Even if you can't stop bullets, you'll at least be able to react faster and dodge more nimbly. In a real fight, knives and guns have no eyes, and bullets have even fewer eyes. Whether you survive or not depends on who's tougher."

Zhao Erhu said, "Do we really have to fight?"

"If you want to become rich and powerful, you have to fight. We are insignificant here. We need to let the Taiping Army and the Qing government know that we are not to be trifled with. Only then can we play both sides and snatch chestnuts from the fire! Alright, let's get on with our work and practice our martial arts."

Wang Yan didn't say anything more to the two men and went out to watch his disciples practice martial arts. Right outside the city, Wang Yan openly built a row of houses as dormitories and fenced off a training ground. He now lives there, specifically to teach his subordinates martial arts and academics.

The area outside the drill ground was also bustling with activity, filled with ordinary people watching the spectacle, and some refugees also camped out there. After a period of development, Huoshan was no longer what it used to be; the population had increased, commerce was thriving, and even the number of outsiders had risen, which explained the presence of refugees. They had heard of the stability here and come seeking refuge.

However, having more outsiders doesn't make it too safe, as there are always some people with ill intentions mixed in.

A light rain was falling from the sky. Wang Yan, holding an umbrella, led his men to inspect the sanitation conditions of the refugees and to recruit available personnel into the team.

Not all the refugees were illiterate; some could write and calculate. Even those who were illiterate, there were some physically fit among them. They were all useful people.

Wang Yan did not object to the arrival of refugees. He was not afraid that there would be too many refugees to take care of and that they would destroy his granaries. On the contrary, he was afraid that there would be too few refugees and that they would not be enough for him to grow stronger.

Death, flight, and injury affected hundreds of millions of people, but what about rebellion and war? A few hundred thousand are enough. The path to redemption lies among these driven refugees, treated like pigs and dogs.

He showed great concern for the refugees, asking them where they came from and what their experiences had been like, thus gaining their trust...

Just as he was winning people's hearts, he suddenly turned his head to look.

In the gap of a shack not far away, a dark gun barrel could be seen protruding, accompanied by the smoke of burning gunpowder.

That's not all; there were also two gun barrels in several nearby shacks.

Within a few dozen meters of him, there were also more than a dozen pairs of eyes filled with malice staring at him.

The next instant, three gunshots rang out.

Wang Yan let out a barely perceptible sigh. Why was he always the one being assassinated...?

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