Legend of Swordsman

Upon thinking about this, he slowly nodded and said, “I was serious about what I said yesterday. However, I did underestimate the situation at Sha Family Pass. But since big brother has support within the yamen, Sha Family Pass is indeed our best choice!”

The four of them agreed unanimously.

They immediately decided to take down Sha Family Town and seize Sha Family Pass.

However, they currently only had about a hundred people.

Manpower was an issue.

Seeing this, Scarred Xuan patted his chest and said, “That’s easy. We have plenty of captives; we can recruit them into our ranks!”

“I’ll handle this!” Xiang Yang stood up.

Although he still had the aura of a noble, he had a knack for winning people’s hearts.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to recruit so many retainers in the Xiang family back then.

Speaking of which, Jian Wushuang was someone he had managed to recruit.

Unfortunately, this recruitment had brought disaster to the Xiang family.

Everyone had clear assignments.

Jian Wushuang and Wang Lun went to the Loyalty Hall to analyze the details of their next steps.

Scarred Xuan began preparing equipment, specifically military arms.

There were indeed quite a few in the warehouse.

These were military arms that the nobles had embezzled and planned to sell in the Tang Dynasty.

With such corruption, it was no wonder the Jiang Kingdom had fallen.

By the afternoon.

The sun was still high in the sky.

The manpower had already been arranged.

Xiang Yang’s eloquence had gathered fifty people.

Scarred Xuan had also brought in those who had been chopping wood in the mountains from among the families.

They had managed to gather another fifty people.

This made a total of one hundred people.

Including the original one hundred experienced individuals.

A two hundred-strong team appeared in the large Loyalty Hall.

Wang Lun was the first to speak.

“Brothers, in these chaotic times, our lives are worth less than ants. Our families are displaced, without a place to call home. Now there’s an opportunity right before us. Are you willing to fight for it?”

“Yes!” everyone shouted in unison.

But those captives among them didn’t sound as confident.

Because their families were still scattered everywhere.

Next, it was Jian Wushuang’s turn.

He looked at everyone and continued, “We fight for the future. You may not see the great prospects ahead, so let me explain them clearly. Everyone here today can receive ten taels of silver each. And that’s not all. If something happens, the money will go to your families, including yours!”

Jian Wushuang pointed at the captives.

He took out a piece of paper.

On it, each address was written clearly.

This was also a threat.

If they dared to betray, their families would be finished.

“Your families will receive twenty taels of silver. If you survive tonight, you can go home tomorrow. You can choose to bring your families to the small dock or continue living like pigs and dogs in these chaotic times. The choice is yours!”

But when they heard they could immediately receive ten taels of silver, they all became so excited their faces turned red.

In the mundane world:

A tael of gold was equivalent to ten taels of silver, which was worth a hundred strings of coins, or ten thousand copper coins.

A single copper coin could buy a steamed bun.

Ten copper coins could buy a pound of meat.

For a family of five, even if they ate meat at every meal, they wouldn’t spend more than five strings of coins in a month.

Ten taels of silver could last two to three years of good eating and drinking.

Or ten years of being well-fed.

How could these people not be excited?

Furthermore, Jian Wushuang issued a bounty.

Killing an enemy would earn one tael of silver.

To prevent them from killing innocents, he also issued a military order.

This immediately united these people into a cohesive group.

Each one was filled with murderous intent.

This set of rules made Wang Lun highly admire Jian Wushuang.

Jian Wushuang was akin to a military strategist, effortlessly forming a formal army with just a few words.

And they were full of killing intent.

After finishing these arrangements,

Jian Wushuang had Xiang Yang and Scar lead a hundred people each to wait in the bamboo forest near Sha Family Town for his signal.

He and Wang Lun then rushed to Sha Family Town.

They didn’t bring anyone with them.

When they arrived in Sha Family Town, night had already fallen.

There were few people on the streets.

Sha Family Town had a small port called Sha Family Port.

Normally, passing ships would pay port fees, and some merchant ships would unload goods.

They needed many laborers.

So most of the young and strong in Sha Family Town worked at the dock.

There were more than five hundred laborers at the dock.

However, these laborers were much better than those at the Chishui Dock.

The laborers at Chishui Dock worked day and night, and one person could do the work of seven or eight here.

Although the pay was decent, the wages were heavily deducted.

These laborers were full of grievances but didn’t dare to vent.

At this moment, each one left the dock, passed through the street, bought some grain, oil, and salt, and their pockets were cleaner than their faces.

And all of this was due to a bully at the dock.

The bully “Chen Mazi.”

This man was ruthless and had dozens of thugs under him.

He also had connections with the yamen.

The yamen stationed in Sha Family Town had ten constables, and the head constable was Chen Mazi’s brother-in-law.

So he could act arrogantly.

Not only did he deduct wages, but he also held power at Sha Family Port, easing the court’s pressure.

Usually, no bandits dared to rob.

“The total usable force in Sha Family Town doesn’t exceed fifty people, and most of them have no weapons. It’s not a threat!”

Jian Wushuang and Wang Lun surveyed the area and entered a tavern following the light.

The port of Sha Family Town was right next to them.

Usually, Chen Mazi came here to drink.

The two found a seat by the window.

After sitting down, Wang Lun lowered his voice and asked, “Brother Wushuang, you didn’t bring me here just to scout, did you?”

The scouting had long been done.

The yamen people would drink here with Chen Mazi today, a perfect opportunity to catch them all in one net.

Two hundred men against fifty was not a casual fight!

But Jian Wushuang didn’t think so.

He wanted to be thorough.

The real threat was not the drunkards and small-time thugs of Sha Family Town.

The greatest threat was still over in Yong City.

Among the nearby towns of Yong City, only Qingshu Town had three hundred soldiers.

Including a team of light cavalry, at least fifty men.

The archers from that day were soldiers from Qingshu Town.

These soldiers could reach Sha Family Town in an hour at the fastest speed.

The cavalry could arrive even quicker, in just half an hour.

If they acted rashly and took Sha Family Town, it would be easy.

But finding respite would be difficult.

They might have just taken the town when the soldiers from Qingshu Town arrived.

At that time, facing a regular army, they would be unable to resist.

Especially the cavalry.

Even with his motivation, the conscripts had the will to kill.

But having the will without experience was useless!

Facing the cavalry, they would be sending themselves to their deaths.

So he didn’t plan to let the two hundred men directly enter Sha Family Town to act but had them ambush the paths leading into Sha Family Town.

“Brother, don’t worry. I’ve already arranged for Xiang Yang to lead a team to dig traps. Our opponents are the soldiers from Qingshu Town, not these small fry!”

Wang Lun smiled upon hearing this, “I knew you had a thorough plan. I was worried at first…”