The First Killer God of the Tang Dynasty

Early the next morning, before Liu Yun'er and Liu Qiao'er had gotten up, Zhang Yang had already gotten up.

I chopped up the horse meat and made a big pot of brown rice porridge. After all, horse meat is precious and we can't eat it all in one meal.

Zhang Yang planned to smoke the rest into cured meat. Although it wasn't much, it would be enough to add to the dishes for his two wives to enjoy.

A meaty aroma wafted over to the gift shop, and Liu Qiao'er, wrapped in a tattered cloth, got up from the kang (a heated brick bed).

Upon hearing the commotion, Zhang Yang immediately ran into the room.

Seeing Liu Qiao'er's hesitant and coy manner, I couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Husband, what are you doing? It smells so good."

"It smells good, doesn't it? It's horse meat porridge. Get up and have breakfast."

As he spoke, Zhang Yang reached out and gently hooked Liu Qiao'er's delicate nose, which delighted her.

"We've got meat porridge!"

Actually, you can't blame the two sisters for not getting up. The key is that Zhang Yang is too "capable," and even the two sisters together can't take care of him.

They didn't fall asleep until well past midnight. Both girls were still young and unripe; they couldn't withstand such torment.

Soon the two sisters got dressed and got off the kang (a heated brick bed). After they finished washing up, horse meat porridge was placed on the table, with a bowl in front of each of them.

When Liu Yun'er picked up the bowl of porridge, her body trembled slightly, and tears streamed down her face.

"What's wrong, Yunniang?" Zhang Yang asked, looking puzzled.

"Husband, are you going to sell us? Is this our last meal?"

After all, in chaotic times, women are worth as little as dirt, especially those like them who were exchanged for labor. They were only fit to do manual labor and would never get to eat meat porridge.

Zhang Yang chuckled and reached out to pinch Yun Niang's little face.

"Silly girl, you two are so good to me, how could I bear to sell you? Don't worry, with your husband, you'll have meat to eat every day!"

Zhang Yang himself trembled after making such a boast.

However, Yunniang held Zhang Yang's hand and responded earnestly.

"Yunniang doesn't want meat. All Yunniang wants is for her husband to keep us here. As long as our family is safe and sound, all the suffering is nothing."

Zhang Yang felt a pang of sorrow. This was the prayer of women in chaotic times.

A great war is imminent, and the world is in chaos; wherever you flee, it will become a battlefield.

If one cannot become a hero on the battlefield and establish a foundation, it is likely that one will find it difficult to have peace wherever one goes.

The peace and safety that my wife speaks of seems simple, but it is actually the most complicated thing.

However, Zhang Yang was not afraid. With his combat strength and innovative thinking, he was sure he could carve out a world that belonged to him and the people he cherished.

Zhang Yang reached out his large hand and stroked Yunniang's delicate face, then reached out and touched Liu Qiao'er's round head.

She smiled and said, "Don't worry, you two. With your husband here, he will definitely protect you."

The two women gazed earnestly into their husbands' sincere eyes, tears streaming down their faces.

After breakfast, Guo Shitou and his eight brothers arrived in the courtyard.

Everyone looked at Zhang Yang with fervent enthusiasm, having already regarded him as the backbone of these passionate young people.

"Brother, the brothers have all arrived."

Guo Shitou said excitedly, waiting for Zhang Yang's instructions.

Zhang Yang nodded and gestured for his men to sit down and chat.

Each of the brothers carried a wooden stake and sat around Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang's eyes sharpened, and he said in a heavy tone, "Brothers, in these chaotic times, the Yan army has rebelled and occupied Chang'an. The Tang Dynasty, together with a coalition of 200,000 troops from Shuofang, Anxi, Uyghur, Nanman, and Dashi, wants to retake Chang'an. Our small place is a necessary passage outside Chang'an. Do you all think we can escape this hellish battlefield?"

The An Lushan Rebellion killed and injured tens of millions of people; how many of them managed to escape unscathed?

Upon hearing this, everyone's faces turned deathly pale.

One of the younger brothers, sixteen-year-old Guo Gouzi, even had his arms trembling slightly.

In recent years, the war has never stopped. Although no one has joined the army, they have all witnessed the horrific scene of corpses strewn across the land.

What surprised everyone even more was that Zhang Yang was just an ordinary man from the village, so how could he have such a deep understanding of the world situation?

Just then, Guo Shitou steadied himself and mustered his courage to ask.

"Brother Zhang, do you think the Yan army or the Tang army will win?"

Upon hearing this question, Zhang Yang gave a wry smile.

According to historical developments, the Tang Dynasty ultimately emerged victorious. However, after this battle, the Tang Dynasty lost all its elite troops and no longer had the ability to control the overall situation of the world.

From then on, regional warlords held sway, barbarians ravaged the land, and the Tang imperial family eked out a living.

Most importantly, these ordinary people can only be swept away by the tide of the times, becoming a speck of dust.

With a gust of wind, it vanished without a trace.

"The Great Tang Dynasty," Zhang Yang said without hesitation, "However, no matter who wins, we ordinary people will all die."

These words immediately shattered everyone's spirits, and they all hung their heads low.

Then, Zhang Yang's words reignited the tinder in their hearts.

Zhang Yang suddenly stood up, and all nine brothers looked up at him.

It was as if they were seeing a savior descend from the heavens.

Zhang Yang's gaze swept over his brothers, his tone firm and resolute.

"Brothers, if you don't want to be hastily conscripted, if you don't want to lose your lives so easily, then we need to find a different way to live!"

The crowd looked at each other, feeling a surge of excitement, but no one understood what Zhang Yang meant.

After all, the idea of ​​living a different life has never crossed these people's minds.

They were just ordinary people, with neither powerful figures in the court nor support from the military.

Changing your way of life is easier said than done.

Seeing the confused looks in his brothers' eyes, Zhang Yang spoke earnestly once again.

"We must have knives and arrows in our hands, and the ability to protect ourselves. Whether it is the Tang Dynasty or the Yan Dynasty, as long as others dare to provoke our brothers, we will fight back one by one and defend our homeland to the death."

Zhang Yang immediately ignited everyone's spirits.

Knowing that Zhang Yang had a plan in mind, they all stood up and looked at him with firm eyes.

"Brother Zhang, just tell us, what are we going to do! We've had enough of this shitty life!"

"We can't do without weapons, and those few broken knives won't do either. Let's pool some money, go to Du Family Fort, and ask Du the blacksmith to make some new bows and arrows. With these things, we brothers will have a foundation for survival."

In reality, Zhang Yang wanted to create recurve bows and triangular arrowheads.

These people are currently without armor, and the armor of the Dragon Martial Army is also unusable. Once they engage in battle with the regular army of Great Yan, regardless of their numbers, they will all face certain death.

To break through the armor of the Great Yan regular army, only a recurve bow and a triangular arrowhead would suffice.

After listening, Guo Shitou immediately pulled out a package from his pocket.

Upon opening it, they found a few taels of loose silver and dozens of copper coins.

With a determined look in his eyes, he said, "Brother Zhang, I believe you. This package contains everything that Shi Tou has. It's all yours. As long as you can get the brothers something that can save their lives, I'll even mortgage my old house for it."

With Shi Tou taking the lead, the other brothers followed suit without hesitation.

They all took out all the money they had left, and Gouzi even slammed his family heirloom, a silver longevity lock, onto the table.

Zhang Yang clasped his hands together and bowed deeply to his brothers.

"Brothers, Zhang Yang thanks you!"

Guojia Village and Dujiabao are collectively known as Guodu Town, which is the site of the Battle of Xiangji Temple.

Besides having a larger and wealthier population than Guojia Village, Dujiabao also had something that Guojia Village lacked: several blacksmith shops.

These blacksmith shops held a high status because they had been forging military equipment for the army for many years.

Zhang Yang took the silver he had collected from his brothers and went to a blacksmith shop that wasn't very big.

Previously, Zhang Yang often delivered charcoal to this area and was quite familiar with the blacksmith.

Seeing that it was Zhang Yang, the blacksmith Sun came out with a smile.

"Little Zhang, here again? How much charcoal are you bringing this time? There's been a lot of demand for weapons in the army lately, and even my little shop has taken on a lot of work. You'd better bring me plenty."

Zhang Yang smiled faintly: "Uncle Sun, I didn't come to deliver charcoal to you this time. I want to forge some weapons."

Upon hearing this, the blacksmith Sun was visibly taken aback.

Before the An Lushan Rebellion, the manufacture of weapons was strictly prohibited among the common people in the Tang Dynasty.

During the An Lushan Rebellion, the Tang Dynasty lost its centralized manufacturing institutions and had to entrust private workshops to speed up the production of weapons, although civilians were still not openly allowed to manufacture weapons.

Immediately afterwards, Sun the blacksmith pulled Zhang Yang into the blacksmith shop.

He said with a worried expression, "You brat, are you trying to get yourself killed? The imperial court has explicitly forbidden commoners from forging weapons. How dare you come to me to make weapons? If the army finds out, they'll kill you as a sacrifice to the flag!"

Zhang Yang smiled faintly.

"Uncle Sun, I know you mean well. But with war raging, it's really impossible to be unarmed. Last time during the war, many bandits stormed into the village, and how many unarmed people were killed? Besides, there are so many bandits these days, I can't be completely unprepared."