Chapter 44: Chapter 44 Grain Conscription Ends (Request for Recommendation Tickets, Request for Yue Tickets!)
The village chief thought of the Martial Artist in his village, but after pondering, he still hesitated since the Martial Artist was an outsider.
“Will he agree?”
“He will; he even helped treat the Martial Artist’s plague in the village before. He won’t leave easily.”
Wang Sheng knew clearly that Xu Qu initially treated the Martial Artist’s plague to stay, so he probably would be willing to help out.
“If he doesn’t go, come find me again!”
“Okay!”
The village chief left happily and didn’t come back, which probably meant he had persuaded Xu Qu.
The next day, Wang Sheng heard a disorderly rush of footsteps, mixed with some hoofbeats.
There were no horses in the village, so he knew it must be the grain levy team.
He thought it would take a few more days, but didn’t expect them to arrive this soon.
Wang Sheng thought for a moment and followed them.
The village chief, Zhou Zhengwen, clearly was prepared and had already stored the grain.
This grain was intentionally kept from previous shipments.
Zhou Zhengwen stood somewhat stiffly before dozens of soldiers and said, “Sir, this is the grain Qingshan Village is submitting!”
As he spoke, some of the village’s able-bodied men brought out some grain.
The grain was tallied per capita, according to the rules set by King Zhou Yuanqing of the river.
However, the people who came to collect the grain clearly did not intend to leave just like that.
A seemingly leading person stepped forward, “Old man, who do you think you’re fooling with this little amount? We brothers are out there risking our lives to protect you, and this is your sincerity?”
Zhou Zhengwen clearly anticipated this and bowed again, respectfully saying, “Sir, of course we understand, so we have specially prepared a bit more.”
As he spoke, more grain was brought forward, even more than before.
“Old fellow, seems you’ve heard quite a bit. But with everything you’ve heard, you should know our demands,” said the leader, waving his hand.
His men were about to disperse, clearly intending to ransack the place under the guise of “levying grain.”
Zhou Zhengwen hurriedly said, “Sir, our village was previously afflicted by the Evil Flood Dragon, we really don’t have much left, and we need to…”
The village chief still wanted to explain.
The leading soldier had no patience, “Less nonsense, I don’t care about any Evil Flood Dragon, get out of my way!”
He even reached out to push Zhou Zhengwen.
But before his hand could touch Zhou Zhengwen, it was arrested by another hand.
“Sir, it’s not proper to strike an elderly man, is it?”
The person who intervened was Xu Qu, who had been standing right next to Zhou Zhengwen.
When Zhou Zhengwen approached him yesterday, Xu Qu readily agreed. This was an opportunity to show his valor in front of others; how could he miss it? After being confined for so long, he was more than ready.
However, the village chief instructed him only to intervene if they couldn’t resolve it themselves.
Otherwise, would he have waited until now to act?
But Xu Qu knew there would definitely be a moment to step in.
He had traveled around Great Zhou for a long time; how could he not know the character of these soldiers?
Great Zhou was in decline, and it wasn’t just the royal family’s strength that dwindled.
The army was also not what it used to be.
The time when Great Zhou was unified wasn’t only due to the presence of a Great Grandmaster.
The army also played an indispensable role.
It’s uncertain how many of those military formations, capable of temporarily contesting a Grandmaster, the army of Great Zhou could still employ.
If it had been the old army unless one was a Grandmaster himself, Xu Qu would have indeed hesitated to get involved.
Of course, the army of Great Zhou back then wouldn’t have engaged in such acts.
As for the men before him?
They were just stepping stones for him to “show his sanctity”. A group that bullies the weak and fears the strong, a little intimidation would suffice to keep them from acting further.
And indeed, that was the case.
The leading military soldier was also a lowly character, with perhaps little else he could do well.
But when it came to observing words and expressions, no one understood better than he did.
The moment Xu Qu grabbed him, the enormous strength made him realize Xu Qu’s identity.
“Martial Artist Sir!”
The leading soldier instantly softened.
In the past few days, he had also collected quite a lot of grain, and in some remote places, he had encountered quite a few martial artists. He was very clear that for ordinary villages, it was tolerable to bully and throw their weight around but, for villages with martial artists, the consequences were usually dead colleagues in unclear situations.
Some martial artists, not daring to openly offend the River King, would secretly eliminate an ordinary soldier, and who would care, especially during periods when the River King himself was struggling to survive.
The leader began to talk cautiously.
“We offended, Martial Artist Sir. You see, we are also working for the River King…”
Even when facing a martial artist, the soldier was not willing to give up. He must bring something back. If there was something to show, those above would not care. They might get a little less reward, but with nothing, they might also face death.
Immediately afraid that Xu Qu might misunderstand, he quickly added a sentence.
“Of course, we will definitely only take as much as we should!”
Xu Qu released the leader, then glanced at the village head and subtly observed Wang Sheng in the crowd.
Clearly, he was letting the village head and Wang Sheng decide.
Wang Sheng pretended not to see.
The village head, however, spoke directly, “Sir, please take the grain!”
From the beginning, the village head had not planned to use the martial artist’s influence to avoid handing over the grain; he had even prepared extra, having thought through the potential house searches for grain.
He had invited Xu Qu not to let bullying and domineering behavior occur.
But now the situation was much better than imagined. The martial artist’s deterrent power was significant.
The soldier was overjoyed upon hearing this.
Then he looked towards his subordinates.
“Go move the grain quickly, don’t take a bit more, follow the rules, got it?”
“Got it, got it!”
The subordinates nodded repeatedly. A martial artist had shown himself; they dared not act recklessly.
These soldiers were not completely useless; they at least had great strength and soon had moved the first batch of grain the village head had offered.
The leader spoke a few more respectful words to Xu Qu and then quickly left.
Once outside the village, after setting down the grain, he immediately urged departure. His subordinates were puzzled.
“Boss, why the rush?”
They had encountered martial artists before but had never been this flustered.
“Just go when I tell you to go, why the needless talk!”
Thus, they moved forward with unprecedented speed.
Meanwhile, the leader was still recalling the martial artist’s gaze.
Others might not have noticed, but he had.
The martial artist had looked into the crowd when asking for opinions last time.
Not only that, although he had stood up for the village, he could tell from the villagers’ respect, but lack of familiar warmth, that the martial artist was likely not from Qingshan Village.
Not a martial artist from Qingshan Village, yet needing to consult an ordinary village head’s opinion from Qingshan Village.
Plus that subconscious glance…
The leader felt he had guessed something.
There was probably an even stronger martial artist in Qingshan Village, because only a stronger martial artist could make another one act so obediently.
It was best to keep as far away as possible from such a village to avoid irritating the hidden martial artist.
Since that martial artist was unwilling to show himself, he better keep this matter to himself.
…
In another part of Qingshan Village, after the soldiers left, everyone dispersed.
However, the village head, Zhou Zhengwen, was pondering something.
Eventually, he stopped Wang Sheng, who was about to leave, and said, “Yun Sheng, what do you think about our village training some martial artists?”