Three Kingdoms: A Million Soldiers Grown from the Fields

Chapter 99 Young Man (The title only has three characters, so an extra 4k words were added)

Zhang Xian watched coldly.

A soldier stepped forward, checked the patient's breath, and clasped his hands in a fist salute, saying, "He is still breathing."

"Put him in jail and keep him under strict guard!"

"promise!"

The soldier responded and dragged Xu Ji off the banquet hall like a dead dog.

Zhang Xian withdrew his gaze and looked at He Jin, who was still crying at his feet.

"Guards, seize them and throw them all in jail!"

With two loud crashes, two more soldiers entered from outside the door and dragged He Jin, who was shouting, away.

The banquet hall was eerily quiet.

The powerful figures looked like chicks, unable to look directly into Zhang Xian's eyes.

It's too fast.

Zhang Xian had just arrived today when Lüchi underwent a complete upheaval. The two former local tyrants were both imprisoned in less than half a day, and their fates were already clear without needing to be elaborated upon.

"You should not have colluded with these two families, should you?"

Zhang Xian handed the wooden tablet to Han Ji and pointed it out to the group of powerful figures, indicating that they should all take a look.

Han Ji bowed and accepted it, but turned around with his back straight.

"May Patriarch Wu take a look?"

He reached out and handed it to the head of the Wu family.

The latter trembled all over, shaking like a sieve, and dared not take it, repeatedly shouting.

"No, no! The Wu family has always been law-abiding citizens. How could we associate with such lawbreakers? They only coerced us by abusing their family power. We had no choice but to play along. We beg the county judge to make a fair judgment!"

"Yes! It was the He and Xu families who forced us; we would never dare to do anything illegal."

"The county magistrate is wise."

"The county magistrate made a fair judgment!"

All the powerful figures expressed their opinions.

Seeing that no one dared to look, Han Ji put away the wooden tablet and stood up behind the person at the head of the table again.

Zhang Xian raised his hand, and the hall fell silent once more.

"Since they are all law-abiding citizens, that's good. I only want to see how things will turn out in the future, otherwise..."

"Three-legged toads are hard to find, but countless people aspire to become clerks!"

"Let me tell you straight: if you don't do it right, there are plenty of others who will!"

"We will obey the county magistrate without question! We will follow his lead!"

All the powerful figures breathed a sigh of relief. This sentence had already told them that the bone spur that needed to be removed in Lüqi County had been removed, and as long as they obeyed obediently from now on, no more accidents would happen.

"Your Excellency has arrived!"

"Your Excellency is here."

Han Ji bowed with his hands clasped in greeting.

"Leading Hansheng and a hundred or so soldiers, I wiped out the He and Xu families. Traitors and rebels must not be tolerated!"

"only!"

All the powerful figures kept their eyes down and pretended not to hear anything.

However, there were exceptions. One of the youngest heads of powerful families immediately stepped forward upon hearing this.

He cupped his hands and said, "Your Excellency, the He and Xu families have hundreds or even thousands of servants. I am not talented, but I am willing to share your burden."

"oh,"

Zhang Xian glanced at him disdainfully: "Since Patriarch Gu is willing to lend a hand, then let's go together."

Gu Yu's face lit up with joy, knowing that he had essentially pledged his loyalty. He bowed again and said, "I am willing to serve the county magistrate faithfully!"

After saying that, he followed Han Ji out of the banquet hall.

Seeing that the hall was in a mess, Zhang Xian waved his hand, realizing that he had achieved his goal.

"You may all leave now. Tomorrow, the county magistrate will send people to remeasure the fields and register the land again. You may all leave."

"Take care of yourself!"

"I will strictly abide by the county's laws and regulations!"

The heads of each family were already soaked with sweat. They bowed in unison and retreated from the banquet hall in small steps.

The banquet has come to an end.

Zhang Xian, looking somewhat tired, sat back down at the low table.

He picked up the mutton that was still on the plate but had cooled down and began to tear and chew it in large bites.

Suddenly sensing a subtle gaze from behind, he didn't turn around but continued eating his cold mutton and shouted.

"Hey, stop hiding behind the screen, come out. Your hiding method is really clumsy."

There was a rustling sound behind him, and soon a young man came up to him with a smirk.

Zhang Xian rested his elbows on his knees and gnawed on a lamb leg. Looking at the boy, he could more or less guess who he was.

The boy shuddered as if he were being stared at by a tiger.

He quickly clasped his hands in a salute and said, "This humble one, Zhang Liao, greets my lord!"

"Zhang Liao, hmm, Gongzhi mentioned you in his reply, saying you became Hansheng's apprentice. What, why were you spying on me?"

He swallowed the cold, roasted meat in his mouth, tossed the lamb bone back into the plate, and asked with amusement.

His smile diminished his aura considerably, and he regained a gentle and refined demeanor.

However, he was covered in bloodstains all over his body, and Zhang Liao couldn't possibly associate him with gentleness and refinement. But strangely enough, that was exactly the feeling he gave off.

Scratching his head sheepishly, Zhang Liao laughed and said, "I just want to see what kind of lord Master is talking about."

"Now you see it? How does it feel?" Zhang Xian straightened his back, making himself appear more sculpted.

"I don't know," Zhang Liao said with a forced smile.

"At first, I saw my lord as domineering and extraordinary, with a dragon coiled around him and a tiger crouching around him. But now, I feel as if my lord is just a scholar who studies books day and night."

"I am blind and cannot tell which one is the true lord, but it seems that no matter which lord it is, they are all extraordinary."

"Hahaha, you sure know how to flatter, buddy." Zhang Xian burst into laughter.

Seeing that his gaze kept drifting towards the armor on the ground, he waved his hand and said, "What? You like armor? Go ahead and try it yourself. There are usually few rules here."

"Hehe, here you go!"

Zhang Liao had been eagerly anticipating this for a while. He had seen his lord walk in wearing this armor, which was as thick as an ox and extremely rare.

He stepped forward and touched the patterns on the armor, then reached out and lifted up both sides of the armor.

'You're quite strong.'

Zhang Xian smiled. His two back armors were the heaviest of all his armor pieces, weighing a total of sixty pounds, with the back armor alone accounting for most of the weight.

That's right, his armor has been revamped. After several modifications, the armor is now about ten pounds lighter than the original version, but its defensive capabilities are much stronger.

The style is also becoming increasingly similar to that of the Song Dynasty infantry armor.

"What exquisite nail plates!" Zhang Liao's eyes lit up as he ran his fingers along the edge of one of the nail plates, his delight evident in his expression.

"Try?"

Zhang Xian also felt a bit playful. He wasn't as excited as he was when he first met Zhao Yun when facing Zhang Liao, but he still had a slight bias towards him.

"Kid, can you give it a try?"

Zhang Liao was overjoyed.

Zhang Xian waved his hand: "If you're not afraid of taking a shower later, then go ahead and try it on. It's just a piece of armor. Everyone in Taoyuan has one. It's just that the thickness varies."

Seeing that Zhang Liao was having some difficulty putting on his armor, he got up and went over to help him put on the two back plates.

The weight of several dozen kilograms suddenly pressed down on Zhang Liao's shoulders, and the hem of the garment covered half of Zhang Liao's thighs up to his pelvis.

"Ouch, it's so heavy."

Zhang Liao grinned, somewhat surprised that the armor was so heavy; holding it in his hand was a completely different experience from wearing it. "Do we need anything else to match?" Zhang Xian asked, amusedly examining it.

The young man looked at the remaining accessories on the ground and the iron halberd in the center of the banquet hall and nodded: "Is it alright, my lord?"

"What a question! Come on, stand still, I'll get you your armor."

The advantage of lamellar armor is that it can be worn by almost anyone, as long as their body shape is not drastically different.

Zhang Xian happily helped Zhang Liao put on all his armor pieces.

Finally, they even put a faceplate on his helmet.

Sixty pounds isn't much of a weight unless you're doing strenuous activity; at least Zhang Liao didn't show much pain.

Of course, it's also possible that he couldn't see it because the mask was blocking his view.

"How is it?" he asked.

"It's so heavy, I feel like I can't breathe properly."

"The straps are probably too tight. Just adjust them and try moving it around a bit."

Zhang Liao, clad in armor, moved slightly like a tin can, his movements were alright, though somewhat slow.

"May I try out the lord's weapon?" Zhang Liao's voice, hidden beneath his helmet, was slightly muffled, yet it revealed his eagerness.

"Haha, are you sure?"

Zhang Xian laughed even more heartily. He quickly gestured with his hand: "Try it, go ahead and try it. As long as you can pick up my weapon and put on the armor to walk to the back room, I promise you that I will personally make a set of weapons and armor for you in the future!"

"Is it true, my lord!"

"It's real, really!" Zhang Xian gave a thumbs up.

Zhang Liao was greatly encouraged and moved to the center of the banquet hall, intending to pick up the iron halberd.

Little did he know that, from the outside there was nothing special about it, but once he actually got his hands on it, he discovered that this iron halberd was no less heavy than a set of armor!
"Hiss, my lord, just how heavy is that halberd?!"

"It used to weigh 40 jin, now it's a little over 40 jin."

"How come it's getting heavier?" Zhang Liao struggled to pull out the Overlord Halberd embedded in the stone slab. He staggered several times when the halberd's tail was pulled out, but he managed to steady himself and then withdrew his arm.

"It's bloodied, the halberd tassels have become heavier after absorbing the blood."

"How are you doing? Can you hold on?"

Seeing Zhang Liao adjust the position of the halberd, it seemed the kid was actually planning to carry it to the back courtyard.

She also has a personality that doesn't easily admit defeat.

"We can manage!"

Zhang Liao, carrying a halberd on his shoulder and moving his body halfway up the wall, slowly made his way towards the back of the house.

Each step seemed very strenuous, but he walked steadily.

"Calling to my lord."

"Ok?"

To prevent any accidents, Zhang Xian walked with his hands behind his back.

"May I ask my lord a rude question?"

"You know it's rude, yet you still ask? Fine, go ahead and ask."

"If my lord and my master were to compete, who would win?" Zhang Liao felt extremely tired after walking about twenty steps, and could only distract himself by talking.

“This,” he replied after a moment’s thought.

"In close combat, I will win if I am fully armored."

"If we are a hundred meters apart, and I have no horse, I will lose."

"My lord is more skilled in mounted combat?" Zhang Liao asked curiously.

Zhang Xian shook his head: "Not really. Your master, Han Sheng, has an unparalleled skill in archery. His four-stone bow can hit any target. If I can't draw the bow quickly enough, his arrow can penetrate my body through several weak points."

"Of course, that's assuming I'm not on guard and he can shoot at me."

"So that's how it is," Zhang Liao said, suddenly realizing.

As he walked further, each step became slower and slower. What used to take two or three breaths to take a step now took ten or more breaths.

"Don't push yourself too hard; slow down when you're exhausted," Zhang Xian advised, already aware of Zhang Liao's perseverance.

"Only a dozen or so steps left, I can keep going!"

After taking a few more steps, Zhang Liao continued walking forward, albeit at a slower pace.

Zhang Xian nodded in agreement. History is history after all; no matter how detailed it is written, it's not as good as seeing it with your own eyes.

Regardless of Zhang Wenyuan's future achievements, his perseverance alone is already beyond that of ordinary people.

Keep in mind that this was done without any pressure whatsoever.

The inner quarters.

As Zhang was mending her son's robe, she suddenly heard heavy footsteps accompanied by a rustling sound.

Curious, she went outside to take a look and saw a heavily armored man carrying a dark iron halberd walking towards her.

There was another person following behind her. She took a closer look and exclaimed in surprise, then hurriedly stepped forward and bowed: "This humble woman, Zhang, greets the County Lord."

Zhang Xian chuckled and waved his hand: "No need for formalities. Madam Zhang has indeed given birth to a fine son. I have only ever seen such perseverance in my younger brother."

"Is the lord's younger brother also a military general?"

A dull thud accompanied by breathing came from under the helmet, and Zhang realized that the person wearing the armor was her son.

"Wen Yuan?!"

"Mother, please move aside, we're just a few steps away!"

As he spoke, Zhang Liao took another step forward, now only three or four steps away from the side room.

Zhang Xian nodded, gesturing for Zhang Shi to move aside, and echoed Zhang Liao's words.

"My brother is incredibly brave. In a battle with ten thousand troops, he would surely charge in and out seven times, striking fear into the hearts of the enemy general!"

"Call me, and I'll definitely succeed!"

Zhang Liao shouted and took the last two strides to reach the finish line.

Zhang Xian was faster than his feet. The moment Zhang Liao arrived, he had already taken the Overlord Halberd and threw it into the small courtyard outside the corridor. The Overlord Halberd was firmly stuck in the snow.

"Yes, I, Wen Yuan, am sure to have the valor to charge in and out seven times!"

He reached out and unfastened the hidden clasps connecting Zhang Liao's armor, then removed his helmet. Zhang Liao's face was already soaked with sweat.

In a few quick movements, he removed all his armor, and Zhang Liao groaned comfortably.

"What a relaxing feeling!"

Zhang glared at him and stepped forward, grabbing his ear: "You're really acting recklessly, actually dragging the county magistrate into this mess!"

"Hey, sister-in-law, that's a biased view. How do you know it wasn't me dragging Wen Yuan into fooling around? Hahaha, that kid's got guts! Sister-in-law, you've done a good job raising him."

As he spoke, he kicked Zhang Liao in the buttocks a few times: "Don't sit there, get up and move around, then take a shower quickly."

"Hehe. My lord, you promised."

Zhang Liao chuckled, his eyes full of anticipation.

"Don't worry, a gentleman's word is as good as gold. I'll grant you whatever weight of armor you desire, and I'll personally forge the type of weapon you're skilled in!"

"Haha, Liao thanks you for the reward, my lord!"

Zhang Liao was overjoyed, while his wife, Zhang, kept tugging at his sleeve to remind her son not to be so dissolute.

"Haha, you're the kind of person who won't act until you see the benefit. Alright, hurry up and take a shower, catching a cold at this time of year could be a problem."

Zhang Liao clasped his hands in a fist salute: "Yes, sir!"

The moon and stars are hidden behind the clouds.

Today's events are destined to be anything but peaceful.

Han Ji, Huang Zhong, and Gu Yu led a hundred or so Taoyuan soldiers and several hundred servants from the Gu family to raid the Xu and He families that night.

If met with stubborn resistance, he would draw his sword and kill.

Overnight, the prison in Luqi was overflowing with people!

(End of this chapter)