Zhang Chen calmly said to the old man, "Old man, are you so lacking in confidence in the county soldiers? Could it be that you want to live under the tyranny of those bandits your whole life?"
As Zhang Chen spoke, he scanned the people around him and saw that there were quite a few young men among them, his expression immediately changing.
Zhang Chen raised his voice slightly, pointed at the young men, and sternly said, "What about you? Do you think so too?"
Those young men all lowered their heads.
"Fellow villagers, nowadays, natural disasters and war are endless. The common people are already suffering immensely, yet they still have to endure the plundering of those bandits! Just yesterday, Zhang Fu led the refugees to reclaim wasteland, and these beasts didn't even spare the refugees, snatching away the oxen and trampling the farmland. What's worse, they even kidnapped over a dozen young virgins! Tell me, can we still tolerate this? Can we still use money and grain to appease them?"
Zhang Chen spoke excitedly, his eyes filled with indignation and resentment towards the weakness of these people.
"Lord is right, these bandits should have died long ago! We cannot just keep enduring!"
A hot-blooded young man stood up.
Soon, there was a second, a third...
"Lord is right, we cannot be soft on these bandits!"
"I support the County Magistrate in sending troops to suppress the bandits!"
"I support it too!"
...
Zhang Chen waved his hand and said to everyone, "Everyone, please believe in our county soldier brothers. I, Zhang Zifan, guarantee with my life that in this battle, our army will surely win! In two days, I will personally lead the expedition to conquer Black Tiger Fort. If I cannot win, I will surely die before all of you!"
"The County Magistrate will surely win!"
"The County Magistrate will surely win!"
...
For a moment, the crowd was roused.
Zhang Chen looked at everyone's expressions and felt very gratified in his heart.
The hot-bloodedness in the bones of these young people had been ignited. After this battle, the entire Guangping County would surely become united, and the people's hearts would converge.
This was extremely beneficial for his future development.
However, Zhang Chen's words about personally leading the expedition drew unanimous opposition from Steward Wu and Ping'er.
"Young Master, the battlefield is so dangerous, how can you put yourself in harm's way?"
"That's right, Young Master, if anything happens to you, how can this old servant face the Master!"
"I say, all of you are underestimating me, your Young Master."
Facing the earnest persuasion of Steward Wu and Ping'er, Zhang Chen said helplessly, "This battle is the first battle for the Guangping County soldiers. As the County Magistrate, how can I not personally go to the front line? Don't worry, with Gao Shun here, what could possibly happen to me?"
"But, Young Master..."
Ping'er wanted to say more, but was interrupted by Zhang Chen: "In front of everyone, I have already spoken my words, and I absolutely cannot break my promise. Otherwise, how can I face the people of Guangping County?"
Steward Wu also understood that Zhang Chen, now the County Magistrate, must keep his word. Since he said he would personally lead the expedition, if he went back on it, it would be difficult to gain the trust of the people in the future.
He knew that Zhang Chen's mind was made up and there was no room for change, so he could only sigh lightly and say, "Young Master, swords and spears have no eyes on the battlefield, please be sure to pay attention to safety."
Zhang Chen said confidently, "Wu Bo, don't worry, I've been practicing spear techniques with Gao Shun lately and have achieved some small success. Dealing with a few petty thieves is no problem."
His words were not false. Since he started practicing the spear, Zhang Chen woke up at the crow of the rooster every day and diligently practiced spear techniques with Gao Shun, never slacking off for a single day.
He himself was supplemented by the Superhuman Strength trait, which solidified his foundation. With Gao Shun's guidance, he improved rapidly and could now spar with Gao Shun for over thirty moves.
Gao Shun saw all this and greatly admired Zhang Chen's tenacity in his heart.
In terms of martial prowess alone, Gao Shun should be considered a second-rate general in the Three Kingdoms. Zhang Chen estimated that with his current strength, he should also be able to rank among the second-rate.
Although he was still far behind those first-rate powerhouses, dealing with some historically nameless petty thieves was still more than enough.
Moreover, just this morning, after Zhang Chen finished his practice, wiped away the sweat, and was about to go back to his room to change clothes, a prompt sounded in his ear.
"Ding! Congratulations to the host for cultivating spear techniques, reaching the Minor Accomplishment realm, and automatically obtaining the trait 【Initial Glimpse of Spear Techniques (Green)】."
Zhang Chen didn't expect that by practicing spear techniques with Gao Shun, he would actually gain a trait.
He didn't even bother to change his clothes and hurriedly checked the trait information.
【Initial Glimpse of Spear Techniques (Green)】: You have just started practicing spear techniques and have mastered the basic essentials, but there is still a long way to go. (Slight increase in spear technique power)
Although it wasn't very powerful, it was still a trait. Moreover, Zhang Chen estimated that if his spear techniques improved in the future, the rank of this trait should also advance.
Having obtained this trait, he naturally felt more confident.
After comforting Steward Wu and Ping'er, Zhang Chen returned to the County Government to handle official business. By the time he finished, it was already afternoon.
Departing tomorrow, Zhang Chen wanted to see how Gao Shun's preparations were going, so he took two bailiffs and headed straight for the Military Camp south of the city.
Passing through the market and arriving south of the city, just as he was about to head to the Military Camp, he suddenly saw two suspicious figures.
Two men wearing simple cloth clothes, each leading a horse, were asking for directions to the Military Camp along the way.
Zhang Chen couldn't help but frown.
These two didn't know where the Military Camp was, so they were likely not locals. But what were two outsiders doing asking about the Military Camp?
Zhang Chen immediately felt something was wrong and quickly chased after them.
"Are you two heading to the Military Camp?" Zhang Chen called out to them from behind. "Where are you two from? What do you do for a living? What is your intention in asking about the location of the Military Camp?"
The two turned around. One was tall and the other short. The tall one had a sturdy build and looked like he had practiced martial arts. The short one was thin, had a mustache, and looked somewhat roguish.
The short one glanced at Zhang Chen and said coldly, "Who are you? What business is it of yours?"
"How dare you! This is the County Magistrate, how dare you be so rude!" A bailiff immediately shouted.
"County... County Magistrate?" Both were startled.
The tall one hurriedly stepped forward and said with a smile, "We didn't know the County Magistrate was here, please forgive us for being ignorant. We are horse merchants, and we thought the camp might be short on horses, so we wanted to go and take a look."
"Oh... selling horses." Zhang Chen examined the two, but quietly activated his Insight Eye.
【Name: Wang Tieshan】
【Possesses Traits: Proficient Horsemanship (Blue), Bandit (White)】
【Name: Zhou Erhu】
【Possesses Traits: Beginner Horse Appraisal (Green), Bandit (White)】
Oh! Zhang Chen's eyes lit up.
Two bandits actually delivered themselves to his doorstep!
It seemed they were here to scout for military intelligence, but... these two actually had one blue and one green trait!
【Beginner Horse Appraisal (Green)】: You have a slight understanding of horse appraisal techniques. (Able to identify horses of Green quality)
Hmm, so horses also have quality distinctions!
The Four Famous Horses of the Three Kingdoms, Red Hare, Jueying (Shadow Runner), Dilu, and Claw Yellow Lightning, must all be of high quality. If not Red, they must at least be Gold!
【Proficient Horsemanship (Blue)】: You are good at riding horses and ride quite well. (Able to ride horses of Blue quality)
It's a horsemanship-type trait!
Zhang Chen had seen Steward Wu ride a horse before, so he always thought that being able to ride a horse had nothing to do with traits. But now it seemed that those without traits could only ride ordinary horses.
Those famous horses, without a horsemanship trait, would probably be impossible to ride.
Zhang Chen was secretly delighted. These two traits were not simple. Since they delivered themselves, he wouldn't be polite!
Hand of Plunder, activate!
In an instant, the two only felt their bodies tremble, a strange sensation they couldn't describe.
【Ding! Congratulations to the host for successfully plundering the Blue trait "Proficient Horsemanship", gaining 150 Plunder Points!】
【Ding! Congratulations to the host for successfully plundering the Green trait "Beginner Horse Appraisal", gaining 100 Plunder Points!】
Hehe! Awesome!
Not only did he gain two traits, but he also gained 250 Plunder Points. Now, he had 450 Plunder Points.