Chapter 3: The War of Attrition

At this moment, Huang Peizhi beside him also looked much better. Although half of his subordinates had already fled, the key point was that the bandits had run away first. Therefore, with more than thirty soldiers of the imperial army still remaining, they could proudly announce that they had won this battle

Naturally, there will be people from the Lin family who will follow along, bringing wealth to treat the officials at the county office to a grand feast, and there will also be a steward who presents a generous gift to Huang Peizhi

At this moment, Wang Jiaotou also began to sweat from his forehead. The large ring-headed knife in his hand had already been drawn out. As he watched the bandits charging closer, he shouted, "Stop!"

Huang Peizhi, upon hearing this, displayed a serious expression and said: "How can I let Brother Lin bear the expense? You regard me as an outsider. Ensuring the safety of the country and its people is originally my responsibility!"

Watching them continue to fight, Lin Zhe sighed deeply: This is a battle of who is worse!

Although the government troops appeared to be much weaker than the Lin family's private army, they were still allies, and one could not stand by and watch them perish. Moreover, if those bandits defeated the government troops, it was likely that the situation for their own people would not be much better.

Even now, it is still the same few individuals following Master Wang at the forefront, while more than twenty ordinary guards armed with firearms lag two steps behind. As for the common village militia, although they are envious of the reward money, very few dare to truly engage in battle, and they can only fall back a few more steps to follow.

Although the Lin family does not treat him poorly on ordinary days, his monthly salary is only a few dozen taels of silver. In this era, silver is still quite valuable, and it is difficult for an ordinary person to earn even a few taels in a month, let alone as much as five hundred taels. The five hundred taels that Lin Zhe awarded him is enough to compare with Wang Luyun's income for more than half a year, which is enough to make him excited

This task is not about sending someone into the Lin family's residence to serve as a servant, which is the responsibility of household slaves. This particular task refers specifically to the commercial affairs of the Lin family outside, namely the clerks in the shops.

Subsequently, Lin Zhe saw Instructor Wang leading his men to turn right and then fiercely charge towards the flank of the bandits. At that moment, the bandits were engaged in combat with the government troops at the front, and with this sudden assault from Lin's group at the rear, they quickly fell into disarray.

Lin Zhe chuckled and said: "My elderly parents have overpraised me. If it weren't for the adults stabilizing the situation by my side just now, my subordinates would likely have found it difficult to seize the opportunity to defeat them!"

At this moment, Lin Zhe also rode forward with the support of several guards and first said to Master Wang: "Thank you for your hard work, Master Wang. You will receive five hundred taels of reward silver when you return to the residence"

This small-scale skirmish did not last long. Once Master Wang, like a reincarnation of a warlord, charged into the bandit ranks, he found no opponents to contend with, or rather, it should be said that no one among the bandits dared to fight him to the death. Upon seeing Master Wang rushing over, they all took the initiative to flee.

Wang Jiaotou, whose full name is Wang Luyun, was originally a notorious bandit from northern Henan. He possessed exceptional martial skills. Later, after being wanted by the authorities, he fled to Jiangnan. Eventually, he was recruited by Lin Zhe's father with a substantial sum of money to serve as a guard for the Lin family. Settling down under the protection of the Lin family, he married and had children, and eventually became the chief instructor of the Lin family's guards

Huang Peizhi is indeed greedy, but being able to carve out a path from countless candidate officials to fill a genuine vacancy indicates that he is not foolish. Upon hearing Lin Zhe proactively offer a generous gift, and estimating that the amount would not be insignificant, he waved his hand and summoned the officials and constables around him to return to the city

Such flattering words are naturally pleasing to everyone. Shortly after, he heard Lin Zhe say: "I truly feel unworthy of your efforts in personally leading the team this time. Later, I will host a grand feast for all the brothers at the county office!"

As a result, today’s incident has led to the deaths of three members of the Lin family, with an additional eight individuals injured. Although the casualty figures do not compare to a random large-scale rural conflict in this era, Lin Zhe cannot afford to take it lightly. He announced on the spot that a compensation of fifty taels would be awarded to the families of the deceased, and also permitted that any eligible young members of the deceased's families could be recruited to work in the shops of the estate.

Today, Zhuangzi was besieged, with over 100 bandits attacking. During the assault on Zhuangzi, the guards and farmhands suffered some casualties, resulting in two deaths on the spot and four or five others sustaining varying degrees of injuries. Subsequently, Lin Zhe led the guards and farmhands from the estate to engage in another battle with the bandits. Although the entire combat process was quite absurd, the Lin family's rifle team maintained a relatively organized approach throughout, while the fighting largely depended on Wang Jiaotou and several guards with backgrounds as fierce bandits.

Then, lowering his voice slightly, he said: "Naturally, we will send a token of appreciation to the esteemed sir at your residence later!"

Lin Zhe then entered Zhuangzi to handle the aftermath after sending off Huang Peizhi

At this moment, Lin Zhe pointed towards the remaining bandits outside the village and shouted to the people of the Lin residence: "The residence will not be stingy with rewards for everyone. For every enemy killed, a reward of ten taels will be given; for every enemy injured, a reward of five taels will be given"

In Lin Zhe's eyes, he saw Captain Wang leading his men forward. However, Captain Wang did not directly charge into melee combat with his troops; instead, he stopped a hundred paces away, and then the more than twenty musketeers stepped forward to begin firing in formation.

After several rounds of gunfire, several bandits fell to the ground. In the next moment, those bandits scattered and fled. Once the first person started to run, the second followed suit. Before long, nearly a hundred remaining bandits had all fled, leaving only seven or eight bandits on the ground, howling in distress

Master Wang's face was filled with excitement: "Thank you, Young Master Xie, for your generous reward. I will surely make them flee in terror today!"

Seeing their companion fall, the footsteps of the bandits paused slightly, but soon a seemingly leading bandit let out a strange cry and charged forward again. However, this time they slightly altered their direction; they did not rush directly towards the Lin family members, but instead headed towards Huang Peizhi's officers and constables.

The entire process of this battle was tedious and uninteresting, chaotic to the extreme, and even Lin Zhe, who experienced war for the first time, did not sense any atmosphere of warfare

Huang Peizhi, who was supervising from the rear like Lin Zhe, saw the Lin family's forces charging forward. In particular, the leading figure, Coach Wang, displayed remarkable bravery and strength, crashing through the enemy lines. In a matter of moments, he had already slain two or three fierce bandits, truly reminiscent of the legendary warrior Zhang Fei, exhibiting extraordinary valor.

One of the knights beside him immediately rode out, quickly reached the side of Master Wang, whispered a few words, and then turned back.

Upon seeing this, Coach Wang immediately shouted several times. Lin Zhe, who was behind, could not hear clearly what he said, but soon he witnessed more than twenty musketeers from the Lin family’s front line swiftly change formation. They then jogged forward for more than ten steps before stopping, followed by a series of gunshots. Several more bandits from the Tu and Shu faction fell to the ground.

Lin Zhe looked at the imperial troops, who had yet to begin fighting, and felt as if he was on the verge of collapse. He immediately turned to the knight beside him and said, "Tell Commander Wang to send support to the imperial troops over there"

However, after this bout of fighting, a hapless guard was killed in the fray, and several others were injured, while the head instructor Wang and the other guards who participated the most in the skirmish were completely unscathed

Perhaps future generations will consider that being assigned as a clerk is of little significance. However, this is not the case; for the impoverished commoners of this era, securing a position as a clerk in a large commercial firm is already a rare opportunity. Without even mentioning future prospects or social status, having such a job at least ensures a full meal.

However, Lin Zhe, who was watching from the sidelines, shook his head increasingly as he observed. Although he was not from a military background and did not understand military formations or combat techniques, even an ordinary person could see that the battle between these two armies—no, rather, three armies—was simply unbearable to witness

The compensation is approximately equivalent to one and a half years' salary, which cannot be considered particularly generous. However, in this day and age, if you enlist and die in battle, you may not receive any compensation at all. The Lin family providing compensation to the deceased is already a privilege. More importantly, another provision allows the eligible children of the deceased to be admitted to work in the family’s shops.

At this moment, those bandits had already charged close to the front lines of the imperial troops, and some of the timid soldiers had turned and fled

As his voice fell, the already extremely tense Lin family sharpshooters eagerly pulled the triggers of their firearms, and a plume of white smoke erupted from their guns in unison. Soon, the battlefield was shrouded in white smoke, and at that moment, several bandits on the opposite side fell to the ground.

To be able to have enough to eat has become the lifelong pursuit of countless individuals in this era

In the recent battle, I owe a great deal to your assistance, Lin Zhe; otherwise, my men would have all fled!" After saying this, Huang Peizhi specifically glanced at the officers still remaining by his side, vowing fiercely in his heart: "I will definitely deal with these bastards severely later; how dare they run away in the face of battle!"

Moreover, Lin Zhe took the initiative to present a generous gift to Huang Peizhi, precisely to prevent Huang Peizhi and a group of soldiers from harboring any inappropriate thoughts about the wealth in the village.

The government troops were in disarray, with several individuals already turning to flee. Among the Lin family, aside from Coach Wang leading a few trusted subordinates into the fray, the others were merely holding knives and guns, unsure of what to do, and no one dared to step forward. The bandits nearby were not faring any better; having just engaged in battle, seven or eight of them had already turned to run.

At this moment, he no longer felt the initial tension, and the county magistrate, Huang Peizhi, was also completely devoid of the previous panic, instead sharing light-hearted conversations with Lin Zhe.

In less than a quarter of an hour, that group of bandits had already fled almost completely

Subsequently, Coach Wang led the guards and the estate workers out in a rush, with the guards being the first to charge ahead. These guards had dedicated their lives to this line of work, and most of them were quite skilled. Moreover, several of them came from backgrounds as ruthless bandits, known for their cold-bloodedness in killing. It was precisely these few bandits who had followed Coach Wang into the fray just moments ago.

At this moment, Master Wang, covered in blood, rode to the front of the battlefield and shouted: "Kill! Kill for the reward!"

Lin Zhe did not take it to heart after hearing this; he had long been aware of Huang Peizhi's greed. Although he said he did not want it now, he was certain that he would have to present him with a generous gift later. Otherwise, it was likely that he would find trouble with him the next day