Transmigrated into a minor official in a county government, with children at home waiting for rice t

The hoe crashed to the ground, rolling to a stop beside the pile of corpses. He covered his face with both hands, his shoulders trembling for a long time, unable to believe that he would actually kill someone in his life.

A scene flashed through his mind: at the height of the bandits' attack, five men bypassed Wu Yan and his group, climbed over into the ranks of the righteous warriors, and, with fierce glints in their eyes, drew their knives and began to slash.

Driven by their survival instinct, these inexperienced and ruthless men instinctively flailed out whatever they were holding without any strategy. Before the five men could even regain their footing, they were riddled with holes, like tattered rags.

An archer was rummaging through a pile of corpses, searching for something. Suddenly, he stopped, pulled a cloth bag from the waist of one of the corpses, opened it, glanced at it, and then threw it back.

The sack fell into the pool of blood, splattering blood onto his boots. He cursed, squatted down, wiped his boots on the corpse's clothes, then stood up again, his face a mixture of disgust and numbness.

When the last bandit was tied up, Wu Yan, who was holding on by his last breath, collapsed to the ground and rested for a full quarter of an hour before he regained a third of his strength.

His face was expressionless, and the long sword in his hand was still unsheathed, its blade covered with a layer of dark red scabs. This blade was completely useless; it could only be used as a saw from now on.

He struggled to his feet, his boots making a sticky sound as they sank into the bloody mud. He stopped in front of Sun Jizu, opened his mouth, swallowed hard, and said in a hoarse voice, "Brother Sun, what's next…?"

Sun Jizu nodded, slammed the gun on the ground, and braced his one arm on the shaft, his shoulder heaving more heavily than usual. He glanced around at the archers and volunteers lying paralyzed in the village, and suddenly raised his voice.

"Don't rest for too long! Get up and count the number of people! Count our own people first, then the bandits. Count both the living and the dead. Carry the wounded to a nearby courtyard, and don't move the dead yet. Wait for the village head to register them before we deal with them."

His voice echoed through the village, carrying an undeniable air of authority. The people who had been sprawled on the ground slowly rose to their feet, as if they had just been pulled from the water.

But no one dared to disobey; they all stood up.

The archers had been shooting arrows incessantly, and now they couldn't even lift their arms.

Those volunteers who still had the strength began cleaning up the battlefield, led by the village heads. They searched through the piles of corpses for those still alive, dragged them out, tied them up, and threw them against the wall.

One by one, the prisoners were brought out and made to squat in the open space at the entrance of the village. Their hands were bound with hemp rope, and they sat in rows. The prisoners were dressed in tattered clothes, their faces covered in blood, and they huddled together, trembling.

Some people were groaning softly, while others were muttering in a foreign language.

The archers kept shooting at the bandits with their arrows, while the volunteers took cover behind cover. As a result, although dozens were wounded, no one was killed.

Most of the dead were bandits, along with four or five long-time residents of Wangjiazhuang, who were killed by the bandits in a fit of rage. These bodies were carried to both sides of the alleyway and lined up neatly in a row.

A quarter of an hour later, Zhao Xie walked up to Sun Jizu, his face somewhat gloomy. "That Master Wang isn't at the manor. We only caught a few collateral relatives; they're not really connected to him."

"Sixty-one bandits died, and one hundred and thirty-two were captured alive, most of whom were wounded. Three archers were seriously wounded, and seven were slightly wounded. Six volunteers were seriously wounded, and eighteen were slightly wounded."

Sun Jizu nodded. "Those shot at the end of the village, those hacked to death in the courtyard, and those found in the alleyways, it's about the same number..."

Elder Liu and the village heads, along with three hundred able-bodied men who hadn't entered the village, squatted on the ridges of the fields outside the village, watching for any movement at the entrance. They didn't lift a finger, but they were very effective at blocking the road.

They widened the drainage ditch on the east side of the village, making it impossible to jump over. The west side was already a muddy pond, so there was no way to run there. Three rows of people stood on the ridge of the field to the north, holding hoes and carrying poles, ready to whack anyone who tried to run that way with a hoe.

Dozens of villagers acted quickly, and as soon as the fight broke out, they ran away. When they saw brave men blocking their way, those who knew each other asked them what was going on.

Upon learning that the new laborers were indeed bandits, the old villagers all showed expressions of "I knew it" mixed with relief at surviving a disaster.

After the fighting in the village completely stopped, Sun Jizu sent several volunteers to find Liu Qizhang and the village heads, asking them to enter the village and register the names of the people.

Hearing that all the bandits had been captured, the old villagers of Wangjiazhuang finally mustered the courage to return to the village. Some of the more shrewd ones brought out grain cakes from their kitchens and delivered them to the village entrance.

An old woman carrying a bamboo basket filled with a dozen or so boiled eggs handed them one by one to the archers who were resting on the ground.

Another old man squatted by the well, scooping water for the young men, muttering, "The officials in our county government are the real deal. That's what a proper government looks like. When those outsiders come, they even steal half of the chickens and ducks from the village..."

After Liu Qizhang and others entered the village, Sun Jizu waved his hand and ordered the archers carrying bamboo baskets to neatly stack the heavy baskets in the alley.

When he lifted the burlap sack and pulled out strings of copper coins from the bamboo basket, the eyes of the young men squatting nearby lit up.

Liu Qizhang took the document from Sun Jizu, quickly glanced at it, and couldn't help but grin. "County Commandant Sun, is this for real?"

"Real hair."

Liu Qi was overjoyed and shouted towards the open space at the entrance of the village: "Come here, line up! County Magistrate Sun will collect the reward money on the spot. Those who participated in capturing the bandits alive will receive it first, three hundred coins each!"

The village entrance suddenly became lively.

The young men at the front of the line reached out and took the strings of coins, weighed them in their hands, and grinned. The people behind them started to push forward, but Wu Yan and his men blocked their way and they were able to line up again.

Two teams of volunteers, totaling one hundred people, actually entered the village to participate. Everyone who saw them got a share, and they quickly divided up thirty strings of cash, leaving three bamboo baskets empty.

After glancing at the document, Elder Liu shouted again, "Every righteous and brave man who killed the bandits, come and collect another two hundred coins!"

There weren't many people this time, only a dozen or so. They had already received three hundred coins, and now they had two hundred more. They barely suppressed the fear of their blood-stained hands, and the corners of their mouths turned up slightly.

Another three strings of cash were distributed.

However, upon returning to the volunteer group, under the envious and awe-inspiring praise of their comrades, the fear in their eyes slowly faded, and a hint of arrogance gradually rose on their faces.

Elder Liu shouted again, "Each of the wounded volunteers, come and collect one string of cash!"

A tall, thin man stepped out from the line, one hand on his waist, walking with a limp, and stopped in front of Sun Jizu.

"Magistrate Sun, I was chasing a bandit just now and tripped and twisted my back. I'm afraid I won't be able to do heavy work for about ten days. May I accept this reward?"

Sun Jizu glanced at him. The man's clothes were indeed torn in a large patch at the waist, revealing bruises on his waist, and his trousers were also torn at the knees. Sun Jizu didn't say anything, but nodded to the village head who was distributing the money, and the man took out a string of coins and handed it over.