Han official!

Chapter 155: Three Commandments of a Gentleman
Not long after Guo Jie left Yizi Mansion, Su Jia behind him suddenly stopped, gripped the iron halberd tightly, gritted his teeth and made a decision.

"Teacher."

Su Jia said sternly, "If Yao Youzhi is ruthless and burns down the warehouse, this patrol will yield nothing and be a wasted trip. I will follow my master to Yao Youzhi's house, sneak into the warehouse, and guard the door."

Although he didn't know how much money and silk his mentor still needed to buy a title to atone for his sins, time was pressing and Wei Guang couldn't continue to serve as the Wei Hou Sima of Maoling Tun.

It is necessary to buy the title to atone for his sins and resolve all future troubles before Wei Guang is transferred from Maoling.

Every time the property of the powerful was confiscated.

There is no room for error.

Guo Jie stopped and looked at Su Jia, who looked determined, and said, "Pingshan Township has all the bows and crossbows, as well as flammable ointments. It's very dangerous for you to stay alone in the warehouse. You might even lose your life there."

Su Jia held up the iron halberd and bowed deeply, without answering Guo Jie's question.

Now that he had said it, he was determined to die.

Sacrifice one's life for righteousness.

Su Jia turned around and left without saying a word, heading towards the government office of Pingshan Township.

Yao Ji gripped her dagger tightly and followed Su Jia to the warehouse.

"You and I, husband and wife, shall sleep together in life and be buried together in death!"

Guo Jie looked at the backs of Su Jia and Yao Ji as they left together and hurried to stop them. But before he could say anything, the two people who were familiar with the Pingshan Township Government disappeared around the corner of the alley.

When Guo Jie and his companions arrived at the gate of the Sun-shaped house, they saw dozens of armored men standing at the gate with official crossbows in their hands, with arrows nocked on their crossbows, ready to shoot powerful arrows at any time.

Captain Yao opened the five armories of the government office. Each of the five armored men held an official crossbow, and the shiny black crossbow arrows emitted a cold light.

The military equipment reserves of the counties and prefectures of the Western Han Dynasty were extremely large.

The "Warrior's Collection of Military Vehicles and Equipment in the Fourth Year of Yongshi" records that it stored 53.7 crossbows, 1145.8 million crossbow arrows, 7.7 bows, 119.9 million arrows, and hundreds of thousands of sets of armor, helmets, long and short weapons, etc. The total amount was enough to arm a million troops.

Below the county is the county, below the county is the township, below the township is the pavilion and village.

There are many weapons stored in the five military warehouses in each township.

The military equipment recorded in the daily log included hundreds of official crossbows alone, as well as longbows made of various large and small stones.

When Guo Jie and his companions reached the entrance of the alleyway of the Sun-shaped house and saw dozens of official crossbows at the door, their faces changed.

"put!"

Captain Yao was wearing red fish-scale armor, an iron helmet, red trousers, and hook shoes. He had his hand on the hilt of his ring-handled sword. The moment he saw Guo Jie and his companions appear, he shouted loudly.

Following a command from Captain Yao, dozens of armored soldiers took advantage of Wangshan to aim at Guo Jie and others and pulled the trigger on their crossbows.

"boom!"

"boom!"

"boom!"

The official crossbow was very powerful, making a series of dull sounds, and dozens of crossbow arrows shot towards Guo Jie and others.

There were many tung trees planted at the Pingshan Township government office, which provided a good hiding place. Guo Jie turned around and hid behind a thick tung tree, escaping in time.

Mang Tong and Chong Huangrou also hid behind the tung tree. Most of the crossbow arrows were shot out from the alley entrance and hit the rammed earth walls of the houses of varying heights.

There was only a small part of the crossbow arrow on the trunk of the Chinese tallow tree, but the arrow was deeply embedded in the trunk, leaving only a small piece of feather tail.

Only Yao Xiangzuo could not escape.

He eventually died at the hands of his own people, killed by a crossbow arrow fired by an armored soldier that pierced Yao Xiangzuo's body.

The crossbow arrows shot by the five armored men were very accurate. If Guo Jie and the other two had not dodged in time, they would have been pierced by the crossbow arrows.

The Han Dynasty inherited the Qin system and the system of military merit titles.

It's universal conscription again.

The armored soldiers have high military literacy, are familiar with military formations, and are skilled in using bows, crossbows and other five weapons. They are completely incomparable to the scattered soldiers like the knights-errant.

What's more, the five people from Pingshan Township were fully armed, wearing red armor and holding official crossbows. Only ten of them were needed to disperse hundreds of rangers.

Guo Jie was facing a total of 170 armored soldiers.

They were all fully armed with armor and crossbows.

"Mr. Guo."

Mang Tong clenched his iron hammer and said in a deep voice, "Given the current situation, we should leave Pingshan Township as soon as possible. The township patrol has taken over a hundred men out to apprehend the bandits. If we don't leave now, when the township patrol returns, we won't be able to leave even if we want to."

The village assistant and village historian are civil officials, while the village patrol are military officials.

The village patrol is responsible for arresting thieves, patrolling the village, and maintaining public order in the village.

The Youjiao from Pingshan Township was surnamed Han. He was the youngest brother of the concubine Mrs. Han, and the brother-in-law of Yao Youzhi, the patriarch of the Yao family.

A few days ago, Han Youjiao led a group of night watchmen with over a hundred men to the County Official Temple to dredge a canal, and today happened to be the day they were returning.

The five armored men at the Pingshan Township government office were increased by another hundred men. The abundant military force completely blocked the gate, and no one could escape from the government office.

The Pingshan Township government office is another small city with very high rammed earth walls that cannot be climbed over, so one can only leave through the main gate of the government office.

"I remember that the time I agreed with Yi Zong was tomorrow morning (6:00-6:45)."

Chong Huangrou examined the high walls of the mansion for a few seconds and made another suggestion: "Climb over the wall, find Yan Yi and leave together. Then hurry back to the warehouse where Su Jia is and wait for Yi Zong to arrive with reinforcements."

Guo Jie had already obtained the daily work book that concealed the five counts. With the irrefutable evidence in hand, Yi Zong's leading the bandits and the police to leave the official temple was not an unauthorized mobilization of troops.

As long as there was evidence, Yi Zong not only did not violate the Han law of arbitrarily mobilizing troops, but also made great contributions in capturing Yao from the north.

“You can’t stay stuck in one place.”

Mang Tong retorted, "The ointment workshop at the Pingshan Township government office stored a large amount of oil residue and dried cakes, which would have been excellent firewood for arson. Yao Youzhi had the audacity to set fire to the warehouse. He was trapped by staying there and was burned alive."

The two of them each insisted on their own opinion and reached a stalemate.

One thought that they should leave Pingshan Township, while the other thought that they should stay in the warehouse.

At this moment, thick smoke billowed from the Pingshan Township Government Office.

Burning firewood!
When Han Youjiao and the nearby tyrants saw the thick smoke, they must have immediately taken people to the Pingshan Township Government Office.

There is not much time left for Guo Jie.

"Go and capture Yao Youzhi first."

Guo Jie made up his mind: "Whether we leave or hold on, we must first capture Yao Youzhi and take Yan Yi with us. We cannot leave Yan Yi alone in Pingshan Township."

Time was running out, and the more dangerous the situation became, the calmer Guo Jie became and the more he found the most advantageous approach.

Guo Jie, holding his white leather shoes, took a few steps back, ran quickly towards the rammed earth wall of the sun-shaped house, jumped up, and flipped over the wall directly.

"Cuckoo-"

There happened to be a chicken coop on the other side of the rammed earth wall, which startled more than a dozen pheasants, who flapped their wings and flew around, also startling a young slave who was feeding the chickens.

"Oh!"

"Oh!"

Then there were two more sounds of landing. Chonghuangrou and Mangtong followed behind, climbed over the rammed earth wall, and looked at everything around them vigilantly.

Fortunately, there was only a frightened little slave who was standing there blankly with a basket of cabbage for feeding the chickens.

Guo Jie's gaze swept across the courtyard's chicken coop, vegetable patch, and house, finally landing on the veranda. He ran over, his ring-handled sword in hand, and along the veranda toward the guest room. Before long, Guo Jie spotted a group of twenty armored men standing in the courtyard, armed with official crossbows, aiming at the door of a house.

A scholar wearing a linen jacket, hemp shoes, a jade ring on his waist, and holding a two-foot sword stood at the door.

The Confucian scholar was Yan Yi.

Guo Jie made a hushing gesture, glanced around the guest room, and found a relatively high window.

In order to avoid alerting the five armored men in the yard, he pointed toward the window, walked slowly over, and climbed into the guest room through the window.

Mang Tong and Chong Huangrou nodded, followed behind, and climbed into the guest room together.

"Clap clap-"

In the quiet guest room, three sounds of shoes stepping on the floor were heard one after another, startling the two people standing in the room.

One is Yan Yi and the other is Yao Youzhi.

"who!"

Yan Yi was startled and turned his head to look over, and saw that Guo Jie, Mang Tong and Chong Huangrou suddenly appeared in the guest room.

He breathed a sigh of relief.

Yan Yi said: "You are finally back."

Guo Jie nodded slightly, walked over, lifted the collar of Yao Youzhi's cloth robe, placed the ring-handled sword on his neck, and shouted loudly to the increasing number of armored soldiers in the yard:
"I am the accountant of the Right Internal Affairs Secretary. I'm here to conduct an inspection. Youzhi from Pingshan Township has concealed Xijun's age and evaded paying the full five-year tax. Today, I'm only trying to arrest him. This matter has nothing to do with you, the five-member army. Don't be stubborn! If you help Yao Youzhi rebel against the government, you will become accomplices once the Right Internal Affairs Secretary's bandit-catching officers arrive. It's not too late to withdraw now."

When the five armored soldiers heard that they were officials from the Right Secretary of the Interior, they were all frightened. Attacking officials was a serious crime, let alone officials from the Secretary of the Interior.

Many armored soldiers subconsciously took a step back, not daring to harm the accountant of the Right Secretary.

All common people who have served at the border will receive cultural education from the army. The border has a complete education system to teach the soldiers guarding the beacon towers to read and write.

The Western Han Dynasty was a time when universal military service was practiced and basic education was widely available.

The armored soldiers had learned some important Han laws and knew that if they attacked officials in government temples, even their families would be implicated. When they learned of Guo Jie's identity, they all retreated.

However, it is not certain whether Guo Jie’s identity as a clerk is true or false.

Guo Jie noticed the hesitation of the armored men and shouted again, "As long as you go back and guard the gate of the government office, no one can escape. Tomorrow morning, you will know whether this official's identity is true or false."

The five armored soldiers were tempted and went back to guard the door. They would not be charged with killing the accountant, but they would not let the thief who pretended to be the accountant go.

As for Yao Youzhi's life or death, it is definitely not as important as the lives of the armored soldiers themselves.

The armored soldiers were shaken, and some of them gradually put away their crossbows and prepared to turn around and head for the gate of the government office.

One person, two people, three people.
The number of armored soldiers who were shaken in their hearts gradually increased, and they put away their official crossbows one after another.

Yao, the village chief, looked anxious and shouted, "These people are bandits pretending to be accountants. Don't listen to their nonsense. Don't forget that among the young ladies who are lying about their ages are your sisters or daughters. If we pay the five-hundred-yuan tax, have you decided whether you can come up with six hundred coins?"

This one sentence stopped the five armored men from leaving.

The five armored men fell silent.

Yes.

To make up for one or several years of the five-year debt requires a large amount of money.

The five armored soldiers could not come up with so many three-zhu coins.

Because the five armored men made way, Captain Yao, who was behind them, was exposed and could see Guo Jie and others at the door of the guest room.

Village Chief Yao looked at the five armored men who were coming back with a look of contempt on his face, as if to say, "Just wait to die."

Guo Jie pulled out the two-foot sword stained with the blood of the workshop's housekeeper, and without any hesitation, threw it with all his might towards the exposed Yao Tunchang.

"what!"

Captain Yao screamed in pain, his eyes widened, his mouth pierced by a two-foot sword, and he fell to the ground with blood oozing from his hair.

As if he was nailed to the ground by Guo Jie.

Killing people in public?
Or did he kill a village chief in Huaili County?
nonexistent.

Now that Guo Jie had a daily record, he had procedural justice in killing people.

No matter how many people saw him killing Village Chief Yao, he was just killing a prisoner who tried to resist.

No more killing for no reason.

"Thief!"

Yao Youzhi watched his eldest son die in front of him, cried out in grief, and rushed towards Village Chief Yao.

His cloth robe made a rustling sound and seemed to be torn apart, and it slipped out of Guo Jie's hand and escaped under the corridor.

"stop!"

Yan Yi stood at the door and quickly attacked, pressing the scabbard of his two-foot sword against Yao Youzhi's neck: "If you dare to move again, I'll pierce your neck with this two-foot sword."

While stopping Yao Youzhi, he walked out of the guest room and separated from Guo Jie and others in the room.

There is a door in the middle.

Yan Yi hid behind the pillars of the corridor to avoid being shot by the crossbows of the armored soldiers.

Yao Youzhi's life and death fell into the hands of Yan Yi alone.

There were many armored men in the yard who were intimidating Guo Jie and his companions. As long as they walked out of the door, they would be shot to death by dense crossbow arrows.

Yan Yi let go of the scabbard.

Yao has a stable life.

Yan Yi's scabbard was always against Yao Youzhi's neck.

Yao Youzhi died.

"Brother!"

Captain Zheng, accompanied by five armored men, finally arrived at the Rizi Mansion. Seeing the tragic death of Captain Yao, he was filled with grief and angrily stared at the guest room and said, "Go and bring Cai Huijun here."

A young lady wearing a tight blue and white silk dress came over and walked step by step to Yan Yi, pointed at by an official crossbow.

It was Cai Huijun from Shu County, whose beauty was no less than that of Zhuo Wenjun.

It amazed everyone present.

Even Yan Yi, who held himself to the moral standards of a gentleman from the Spring and Autumn Period, was stunned when he saw Cai Huijun.

It was like seeing Xi Shi in history books.

Captain Zheng shouted, "As long as you release my uncle, I will give Cai Huijun to Mr. Yan."

Guo Jie and the others felt a sinking feeling in their hearts.

With Cai Huijun's beauty, even Yan Yi might not be able to resist the temptation of bringing such a stunning beauty home.

"puff!"

Unexpectedly, Yan Yi directly drew out a two-foot-long sword and stabbed Cai Huijun to death with one blow, with a look of contempt on his face.

"The Jishi chapter of the Analects says that a gentleman has three things to avoid: young people should avoid sex."

"How can such a mere beauty disturb my heart?"

(End of this chapter)