Following the sound and looking ahead, a large crowd of people were surrounding something in the distance.

  This caught Wang Zhenyus attention, he turned back to glance at Ma Xicheng, then strode forward, walking behind the crowd of onlookers.

  "Hey, sir, please be kind to me, an old man. Its not easy for me to raise these few chickens, and Im counting on selling them for a little money to buy some cloth for my wife to make new clothes for the New Year. You cant just take them away, can you? Please, sir, have mercy on me, what if I dont sell them?" A thin, white-haired old man in coarse clothing was tugging at the soldiers sleeve, bowing his head and speaking kindly to him.

  This old mans accent is clearly local, and the villagers in town are familiar with him. The villagers, consciously or unconsciously, surrounded the masters in the middle, if it werent for one of the parties involved being a newly arrived outsider soldier, according to their usual temperament, they would have swarmed up long ago.

  Only to see that the soldiers build was not ordinary, a big man of one meter eight, plus his broad shoulders and narrow waist, looked very majestic. Such a physique is rare in all of Hunan, unexpectedly there is such a person in his own army.

  The big soldier easily shook off the old mans hand grasping his sleeve, lowered his head and roared: "Old fellow, if you know whats good for you, dont make trouble. We three havent been paid in months, yet we have to run all the way here to fight for your lives, you ordinary people. Even if I didnt give you any money, so what? Look, this is all I have on me, its all yours. You still want more? Alas, when the fate of the nation is at stake, its our responsibility, but you ordinary people just watch us shed blood!"

  "General, look at the little money you gave me, its really too little. Even if I were to buy a small chicken from my son, it wouldnt be worth this price, please raise your hand! My son doesnt want this money, return the chickens to my son. Youre being kind, my son has had a hard time raising these chickens...". The old man said, his body sinking down, wanting to grab the soldiers pant leg. But his legs were tightly wrapped with bandages, there was no place to grab, so the old man directly fell to the ground and hugged the soldiers thigh, his face covered in snot and tears, determined not to let him leave.

  According to the usual melodramatic plot, as the leader Wang Zhenyu should have stepped out at this time, and shouted angrily. First, he would sternly stop the evil deeds of the bandits, then publicly announce the strict discipline of our armys love for the people, and finally, with an iron face, order the execution of the soldier in public, followed by the praise of the people and the respect of other officers and soldiers. However, the experience of later generations told him that when encountering things, dont rush, its better to take another look...

  The big soldier struggled a few times but couldnt break free, while the onlookers around him grew more and more numerous, their murmurs growing louder. Dont be fooled by his size, hes got a small mind, as an old soldier, he knew that if they continued to tangle like this, it would likely bring big trouble, so he had to get away quickly. Realizing this point, he was furious with the old man and shouted: "Youre such an uninteresting old man, you dont know how to give face, these few chickens are going to be mine today, dont force me to take drastic measures, were also helpless, who can blame who in this world?"

  When he finished speaking, he struggled to free his foot again, but the old man held him tightly. The young onlookers couldnt help but feel uncomfortable. Some of them chimed in, saying that the big soldiers behavior was unacceptable, while others quietly rolled up their sleeves and grasped their clubs, ready to intervene. The big soldier looked around and saw that things were not going his way, so he turned his head and shouted loudly: "Yunzi, you stupid kid, what are you standing there for? Why arent you coming over to help?"

  Following the sound, another soldier was still standing a few dozen meters away, with a pale face and a slightly slender figure. Looking at his expression, he was hesitant, not daring to come over for half a day, but only responded: "Zhao San Ge, lets just forget it, well think of another way, okay?"

  "Cloud Nephew, what nonsense are you talking about? What about your elder brothers illness? Hurry up and lend a hand!"

  After finishing, the big soldier didnt hesitate anymore. He directly grabbed the old mans collar with one hand and pulled him up from the ground: "Old fellow, let go! If you dont let go, Ill really beat you up!"

  After finishing speaking, the big soldier really let go of the few chickens in his hand, swung his fist as big as a sand pot, and made a gesture to beat that old man.

  "Halt!" Wang Zhenyu knew that if he didnt come out now, and this big soldier started a fight, the situation would be irretrievable.

  "Which unit are you from? Whats your name? Who is your commanding officer?" Before the big soldier could react, Wang Zhenyu went up and asked a series of stern questions.

  Afterwards, Wang Zhenyu couldnt help but admire the quick thinking of his brother-in-law Ma Xi Cheng. Before he had even finished speaking, Ma Xi Cheng and his guards had already slipped out from behind him. Taking advantage of the momentary distraction of the big soldier, one person on each side grabbed his arms and pressed down on his shoulders, pinning him to the ground, successfully controlling the situation.

  Unexpectedly, this big guy had a lot of strength and was able to struggle to his feet again after being pressed down by two people.

  Ma Xi Cheng took one look at this guy and felt a bit awkward, without saying another word, he directly kicked the guys leg crevice. The big soldiers legs suddenly lost strength, unable to stand steadily, and immediately knelt down on the ground again. Two guards quickly turned his arms around, making it impossible for him to exert any force, only then was he truly subdued. The small soldier standing aside was also controlled by the guards. The surrounding crowd was shocked, even the old man selling chickens was scared and hastily let go of the big soldiers leg, sitting on the ground staring at Wang Zhenyu, this half-road killer who suddenly appeared, no one knew what had happened.

  This also includes Wang Zhenyu himself, who was also stunned by the actions of Ma Xicheng and others. He had not thought about how to deal with it before calling a halt, so would he really kill this big-headed soldier like those melodramatic plots, win the praise of the people, and then have flattering words come pouring in, saying that he is a model of civilization and righteousness? Would he then be revered by the three armies for his strict discipline? And finally, would he be included among the top five thousand famous Chinese generals of all time?

  Looking at the big soldier kneeling on the ground with his hands cuffed behind him, yet still panting heavily like a fire-breathing dragon, Wang Zhenyus heart was indeed moved to kill. In later life, Wang Zhenyu would come to detest this type of person who is stubborn, rough and rude, and doesnt know when to give up, because whenever he dealt with such people, he rarely came out unscathed, unless he himself didnt care about losing face and followed suit in being arrogant and domineering.

  Its not that big of a deal, why dont I just learn from Cao Cao and use this little brats head as an example? Anyway, I dont like the look of him either, so killing him off would seem to be justified both publicly and privately.

  Before Wang Zhenyu could indulge in his fantasy, the small soldier who was called Yunergezi seemed to recognize who Wang Zhenyu was. He suddenly knelt down and said: "We were wrong, Captain! We are from the first squad of the front team. This is our deputy commander Zhao Dongsheng, and I am Second-Class Soldier Song Haomin. We had no choice. If you want to punish us, please punish me, it has nothing to do with Third Brother Zhao! Please spare us!"

  He finished speaking and was about to kowtow, but was tightly held by two tense guards on his shoulders, unable to bow down. He looked like he was only 15 or 16 years old, a clever little fellow.

  Wang Zhenyu had not yet come back to his senses when a big man named Zhao Dongsheng suddenly shouted:

  "Alas, dont bother asking them, these corrupt officials only care about their own promotion and wealth, when have they ever treated us common soldiers as human beings? If they want to kill us, just let them, whats the point of being afraid!"

  The words had not been spoken yet, when Ma Xi Cheng slapped a palm heavily on the back of his head. Then two guards each stretched out one hand to press down on this big fellows head, and although Zhao Dong Sheng struggled fiercely, he could not lift up his head.

  Wang Zhenyu didnt like hearing this, "Brother, Ive only been in office for one day and havent even had a chance to do anything bad, how can I be considered a corrupt official? Ha ha, the tiger isnt showing its might, you think Im a sick cat? I am the dignified Lord Wang, and I exist on the same level as the renowned Deng Shichang."

  Wang Zhenyu thought to himself as he looked at this thick-browed and big-eyed stubborn man, the more he looked, the more he felt out of place.

  "You scoundrel, you dare to force a sale and still have the nerve? As a soldier, dont you know military regulations? Are you not afraid? Do you believe I can shoot you dead right now?"

  Song Haomin, although young in years, had a discerning eye. Seeing the whites of Guan Daorens eyes rolling wildly in their sockets, he understood that Guan Daoren was not just trying to intimidate people, but had truly turned murderous.

  In a state of panic, he quickly dodged his guards and rushed forward, kneeling down and grabbing onto Wang Zhenyus legs. No matter how hard the guards tried to pull him away, he refused to let go, crying: "Commander Wang, please listen to me! We really have no other choice. My second brother, Song Haoran, is also in our squad and has fallen seriously ill over the past two days, with a high fever that comes and goes. We dont know what to do. Todays relocation was only possible because Zhao Sange carried him on his back. Our camp doesnt have a military doctor, and we want to spend money to send him for treatment, but since August, we havent received any pay. Were at our wits end! Theres a local remedy that says eating a few mother hens can cure the illness, but we cant even afford that. Please spare Zhao Sanges life, Im willing to die in his place!"

  The crowd of onlookers suddenly began to discuss, some saying that these soldiers are actually quite pitiful, while others said that the officials really dont consider the soldiers as human beings. Anyway, their voices were not loud, just enough for Wang Zhenyu to hear.

  The problem actually lies with these "dog officials" themselves. Wang Zhenyu suddenly became red-faced and awkwardly said, "Cough cough, why didnt you say so earlier? If theres a difficulty, why not find the team leader instead of resorting to such strong-arm tactics?"

  Song Haomins eyes rolled: You didnt ask, did you? You came up and directly took us away, when did we have a chance to speak?

  But he had read books and also followed his uncle to listen, knowing that this sentence could not be answered in any way. He only saw him hurriedly let go and took a step back, saying nothing, but kept kowtowing to Wang Zhenyu with all his might.