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

The abandoned dock was built during the previous dynasty and is much smaller than the dock outside the east gate of Juancheng.

Two secondhand warehouses stood by the riverbank, with several shacks erected outside. Dozens of tattered clothes hung to dry at the entrances of the shacks, making them not much different from beggars.

Huo Laoda led two hundred brothers to hide here. They usually received grain from Wangjiazhuang's servants, so they were doing alright.

On the surface, they were heroes who roamed the mountains and forests, but in reality, they lived a life of uncertainty, with the first thing they did upon waking was to eat. They didn't care about anything else; filling their stomachs was the most important thing.

Huo Laoda recalled last autumn when his army suffered a crushing defeat.

He was one of the commanders of the Jingdong Road Garrison, leading five hundred men who were being rotated to escort supplies. Before they even reached their destination, news arrived from scattered defeated soldiers that the front lines had suffered a major defeat!

He had originally planned to go and provide support, but after walking less than three miles, he encountered the Imperial Guards who were also fleeing, only to learn even worse news:

The officials have all run away!

Without saying a word, Boss Huo led his men and abandoned most of the supplies before running away.

There was no way to avoid running.

Of his five hundred garrison troops, only five captains were armored, while every member of the Imperial Guards was fully armored. With the Imperial Guards all gone, his few hundred garrison troops wouldn't even be enough to fill the teeth of the Northern cavalry!

After escaping the battlefield, Huo Laoda's command structure was still relatively intact, and he sent his men to scout around in preparation for rejoining the unit. However, the news that kept coming back left him feeling helpless.

Someone has to take responsibility for such a crushing defeat, right?

So who's responsible?

The Supreme Commander-in-Chief's family?

A trusted and experienced minister close to the emperor?

No one was willing to hand over their head and admit responsibility.

Therefore, several commanders of the garrison were demoted, and several commanders of the army were exiled.

He killed dozens of commanders like Huo Laoda who fled the battlefield!

Got it!

Knowing that going back would be pointless, Huo Laoda simply encouraged his men to escape into the mountains together.

At first, things were alright; with their well-organized structure, they had the power to go down the mountain and rob money and grain. But as time went on, some people secretly ran away, some were captured by local officials, some fell ill and died…

Winter is the hardest time.

After a snowfall, you can't find anything in the mountains.

Rabbits, pheasants, and even mice have all burrowed into the holes.

When you walk in the snow, your toes get so cold that you can't feel them. When you come back and take off your shoes, your toenails fall off as soon as you lift them.

There is no shortage of firewood for heating on the mountain, but there is a shortage of food to fill one's stomach.

Elm bark can be dried, ground into powder, and mixed with grains to make a meal. But there aren't many elm trees in the mountains; most are pine and cypress trees, whose bark is hard and bitter, doesn't soften when cooked, and hurts the throat when swallowed.

Someone ate too much and couldn't defecate, so they squatted in the snow, their face turning purple from holding it in...

After spring, the snow melted, and people appeared on the mountain paths.

The team has only three hundred people left.

After descending the mountain, their days of licking blood from knives were endless, all for the sake of a bite to eat.

When Master Wang promised to provide food and lodging, he arrived with his last two hundred brothers.

Upon arriving at the abandoned dock in Juancheng, Boss Huo discovered that food was indeed provided—plenty of mixed grain porridge, and occasionally a bit of meat. But he knew in his heart that this kind of life wouldn't last long.

Why should Master Wang support them for free?

An army is raised for a thousand days, but used for only one.

When it really comes down to risking their lives, how many of the two hundred men behind him will survive?

These memories, though so long, flashed through Old Huo's mind in an instant.

The reed marshes stretched as far as the eye could see, and when the wind blew, they were filled with heads. Rows of dark figures were crouching behind the riverbank, and even on the distant official road, people were still hurrying this way.

The sight of withered yellow leaves was irritating.

He glanced back at his brothers inside the warehouse.

Some people were peering out of the window, their faces pale. Others were crouching in the corner, their hands trembling as they gripped their machetes. The lookouts outside the shack had long since run back, even losing their shoes in the process.

Huo Laoda turned around with difficulty.

Thousands of volunteers and civilians lined the perimeter of the dock, ensuring that not even a rat could escape. Some crouched in the reeds, some lay prone behind the riverbank, and some stood at the only entrance to the dock, carrying hoes.

The archers occupied the high ground, their arrows aimed at the doors and windows of the warehouse, each window being targeted by three to five arrows at the same time.

With a wave of Sun Jizu's hand, the five archers closest to Huo Laoda drew their bows to their fullest extent, arrows pointed at his chest. The nearby villagers, carrying hoes, also stared at him menacingly.

Suddenly, he felt as if he were surrounded by thousands of ferocious beasts. If he made the slightest movement, countless sharp teeth and claws would pounce on him and tear him to pieces.

He glanced at the river with resentment. Thirty or forty ferries and fishing boats had completely blocked both ends of the river. The people standing on the boats held poles and oars, and their faces were all ferocious.

He couldn't walk on the water, and there was no way he could walk on the shore; more than a thousand pairs of eyes were watching him.

Old Master Huo sighed.

He threw the knife on the ground, the blade stuck in the mud, and the handle wobbled a couple of times.

"Brothers, lay down your swords! They are not northern barbarians..."

There was a clanging and banging noise in the warehouse.

The sound of metal hitting the ground lasted for about ten breaths before stopping.

Two hundred men filed out of the warehouses and shacks, empty-handed and heads bowed, and squatted in rows on the open ground of the dock. The two groups of volunteers, who were used to this, rushed forward, took off their belts, and tied their hands with hemp rope.

The archers surrounded the area; the arrows were nocked, but the bows remained in place, their hands still resting on the bow arms.

Thousands of Yi Yong and civilians stood on the outer perimeter, hoes slung over their shoulders, carrying poles on the ground, and kitchen knives tucked into their belts. Their expressions were somewhat strange.

A young man stood at the front, holding a short stick with a piece of old iron wrapped around the end.

He looked at the two hundred bandits squatting neatly opposite him, then looked down at the stick in his hand.

"That's it?"

A middle-aged man next to him put his hoe down from his shoulder, planted it on the ground, and rested his hands on the handle. "I haven't even lifted a finger, and they've already surrendered. What do you mean by that..."

"Fight back? If you do, you'll get stabbed. You think you can win?" a younger man said, but his tone carried a hint of resentment. "But we've already come all this way, are we just going to leave?"

The buzzing from the crowd grew louder and louder.

Some people started glancing towards Sun Jizu, while others squatted down to tie their shoelaces, as if preparing to leave. But no one was willing to be the first to go.

More than a thousand people stood still, gripping their weapons tightly, as if waiting for an explanation.

After settling the two hundred prisoners, Sun Jizu ordered ten archers and fifty volunteers to guard them on the spot. Only then did he walk over from the warehouse and stand on the earthen slope at the edge of the dock.

He glanced at the thousands of faces, and his brows slowly furrowed.

Zhao Xie stood three steps behind him, his sword already sheathed. Meeting Sun Jizu's gaze, he raised a hand and stroked his chin. "County Commandant Sun, shall we distribute the reward money?"

Sun Jizu couldn't help but smile wryly, "So many people. If we reward each person three hundred coins for participating in capturing the bandits, that would be three hundred strings of cash. This... I'm afraid the magistrate won't agree."