The world is like a prison, my body is holy

Chapter 237 Arrogant Soldiers and Fierce Generals
The following day at noon, more than ten riders arrived at Zhongli County, the seat of Haozhou, covered in dust.

"Captain, there are so many refugees!"

A tall, muscular man with an exaggeratedly large chest stretched his neck like a white goose, gazing at the swarm of disheveled, dark-skinned refugees outside the city, and said with no small amount of excitement.

The burly, strong man at the head of the group said without turning his head, "I'm not blind!"

The burly man asked excitedly, "Captain, wouldn't this be considered occupying a position without doing anything and standing idly by?"

The leading man frowned, turned around, and looked at the dozen or so riders behind him who could not hide their excitement. He said in a deep voice, "Think before you speak. Don't just open your mouth and send people to the guillotine."

The burly man wouldn't listen at all, instead emphasizing, "Captain, this is Haozhou!"

The leader of the men said, "Of course I know this is Haozhou!"

The burly man said, "It's one thing for there to be some refugees elsewhere, but to put on this show right in front of our Yangzhou home is just deliberately trying to annoy our General."

"Yes, it's easy to negotiate in other places, but not in Haozhou!"

"The General has already made it very clear: they are not afraid of death, so why should we be afraid of theirs?"

The burly man at the head of the group remained silent, his gaze sweeping over his ten squad leaders. On their faces, he saw only a burning desire for glory and achievement…

"Before we left, General Xu gathered us captains together and gave us detailed instructions."

He pondered for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "The more discretionary the General gives us, the more cautious we will be. We will never resort to killing unless the problem cannot be solved without taking lives. Even if we must kill someone, we must ensure that the evidence is conclusive and that we can silence outsiders. The General is upright and honest, and he is wholeheartedly devoted to the country and its people. We will never give outsiders the opportunity to attack the General!"

After he finished speaking, the excitement on the faces of the group of young officers finally subsided somewhat.

Seeing this, he pressed on, saying, "There are some things the General trusts us to keep quiet about, but I have to say them here... As long as we do the right thing and the good thing, even if the sky falls, the General will hold it up for us. But if anyone uses the name of our General's Mansion to do those shameful and dirty things and tarnish the General's reputation, I, Zhang the Blacksmith, will be the first to skin him alive!"

Upon hearing this, the group of young officers exchanged thoughtful glances, their expressions showing no sign of tension or apprehension.

"That's why I say you're a capable captain."

The burly man with an exaggeratedly large chest grinned and crossed his arms at Zhang the blacksmith: "You've got a much more comprehensive plan than us common soldiers!"

"Yes, if our old Shi does anything disgraceful to the General or our General's Mansion, don't bother getting your hands dirty, I'll bring my own head to him!"

"You fucking really want to do something shameful?"

"Fuck your motherfucker!"

Zhang the blacksmith waved his hand to stop his young officers from fooling around: "Alright, get to work!"

A group of young officers simultaneously suppressed their smiles, solemnly clasped their hands, and then the dozen or so riders automatically split into three groups.

The three riders turned their horses around and headed back the way they came to meet the main force.

The three riders dismounted, first hanging their waist knives on the saddles, then taking off their black Demon Suppression Guard uniforms. They pulled out tattered hemp clothing from the bundles hanging on the saddles and hastily put it on. Finally, each of them stuffed a small bundle full of dry rations into their pockets and strode towards the refugees.

Only four riders, led by Zhang the blacksmith, remained to guard the horses.

Before long, the three young officers who had mingled with the group of refugees to gather information returned one after another.

"Damn it, that corrupt official only gives out ten buckets of moldy millet porridge a day, so clear you can see your reflection in it, and then he just lets these refugees eat firewood cakes and clay, left to fend for themselves..."

"The price of grain in the market hasn't gone up, but these migrants can't even get into the market. And all the cooked food sold in the city is ridiculously expensive. Captain, guess how much a steamed bun costs? It's a whopping fifty coins! Fifty coins! Not to mention they can't afford it, even I wouldn't dare to spend that much!"

"How dare these corrupt officials! This is Huainan, this is Haozhou!"

"If even Haozhou is this rotten, I really can't imagine how rotten other places are!"

"It's hard to believe the general would be so angry. Our brothers have risked their lives to protect this region, and these corrupt officials treat the people like pigs and dogs..."

"Your pigs and dogs only get one meal of moldy corn porridge a day?"

"Fuck them, kill them all!"

The three young officers who had mingled with the refugees to gather information were so angry that they gritted their teeth and their forehead veins throbbed.

As Zhang the blacksmith listened to their story, he gritted his teeth, his face turning bright red...

"Change your clothes!"

He spat out each word through gritted teeth: "Niu Er, go ask the people behind us, are they all women who came for a spring outing and picnic?"

"Here!"

One rider clasped his hands in a fist salute, turned his horse around, and galloped away.

Soon, a series of muffled and explosive hoofbeats, like cannon fire, rapidly approached from afar. The momentum of more than ninety elite Demon-Suppressing Guards in black clothes and black swords galloping on horseback was like a thick dark cloud drifting over from the other side of the mountain, obscuring the sky.

"Raise the flag!"

Without uttering a single unnecessary word, Zhang the blacksmith clenched his fist, raised it high, and shouted loudly.

Amidst the stares of everyone, a flagpole over two zhang tall was erected amidst the numerous demon-suppressing guards. The rolled-up banners unfurled, revealing a large red background with black characters: King!

"Enter the city!"

Zhang the blacksmith shouted, then spurred his horse and galloped off towards Zhongli County, followed closely by a hundred riders.

"Rumble..."

The thunderous sound of hooves echoed as over a hundred riders drifted towards Zhongli City like a dark cloud. The guards at the city gate, seeing the red banner with the character "王" (King) in black characters from afar, immediately rushed out of the city gate as if their eyebrows were on fire. They pulled the city gate and barricades to their maximum extent while driving away the refugees who were blocking the city gate.

There are probably many generals in the world with the surname "Wang".

However, in Huainan Province, there is only one general under his command who possesses such imposing presence: Wang Wen, the Demon-Slaying General of Huainan Province!
In the blink of an eye, more than a hundred riders had surged to the city gate.

"Shut up!"

With a flick of Zhang the blacksmith's hand, over a hundred riders reined in their horses simultaneously, and the entire procession completed the journey from high speed to deceleration and then to a complete stop in just three or four snaps of the fingers.

"This humble servant, Zhang Baoping, the head constable of the prefectural government office, greets all esteemed officials..."

The head constable guarding the city gate, all smiles, bowed and scraped as he stepped forward, reaching out to take the reins from Zhang the blacksmith's green horse.

"Snapped."

Zhang the blacksmith brandished his sheathed sword, swatting away Zhang Baoping's hand. He stared expressionlessly down at the dark-skinned, thin, monkey-like constable, who bore no trace of military bearing. A feeling of utter displeasure washed over him: 'What class are you? You share my surname…'

He glanced expressionlessly at the head constable, then turned to look at the group of thugs around him—men, women, and children alike, all exuding an air of premature death—whose eyes were vacant and their movements slow. He put on a smiling face, clasped his hands, and gestured to the crowd: “Gentlemen, I am Zhang the Blacksmith, the head constable of the Huainan Demon-Slaying General’s Mansion. I have been ordered by my General to come here to provide disaster relief and help the people. Please bring your elderly, weak, women, and children to the government office in a quarter of an hour to collect your porridge… No need to fight, no need to rush, everyone will have plenty to eat today!”

The dense crowd thronging both sides of the city gate were all taken aback when they heard the niche phrase "all you can eat."

Soon, the crowd stirred. Although there was some doubt and disbelief in their numb eyes, they finally showed some life and were no longer just walking corpses waiting to die.

Although the food shortage this year is particularly severe, it has only just begun and is far from reaching the point where people are starving.

But as the saying goes, "A hemp rope always breaks at its thinnest point, and misfortune always finds its way to the unfortunate." These refugees in Zhongli County, and even the starving victims in Jiangnan, were all among the most unfortunate on the thinnest part of the hemp rope. Their precarious lives, oppressed by countless mountains, were already too fragile to withstand any storm. Even a gentle breeze before a tempest could destroy decades of hard work, toiling in the fields overnight. Even more tragically, these unfortunate people constituted the vast majority of the Great Zhou Dynasty…

Faced with the skeptical and disbelieving looks of these refugees, Zhang the blacksmith, who was about to go straight into the city, said one more thing: "Ladies and gentlemen, when we, the General of Huainan, do things, we mean what we say. If there is even a single falsehood, my general will not let me off easily... Fight Zhang the blacksmith, and I await you, ladies and gentlemen!"

After saying that, he clasped his hands in a fist and gestured to all four directions, then spurred his horse and shouted, "Giddy up!"

"Qin Daoming, Li the Carpenter, Niu Er, Huang Jingzu, seal the city gates. No one is allowed to enter but no one is allowed to leave. Anyone who tries to break through will be executed on the spot!"

"Here!"

The four riders responded loudly, signaling their comrades to break away from the main force and head towards the various city gates.

"He Renyi, Zhou Xingwang, Hu Wuxiu, martial law is hereby declared throughout the city. Anyone who causes trouble will be executed on the spot!"

"Here!"

Three more riders responded loudly and led their comrades-in-arms to separate and head in different directions.

"Cao Wulang, take your men and search the granary!"

"Here!"

In the end, only Li the blacksmith and twenty demon-suppressing guards remained of the main force. Holding high the "King" banner, they rushed straight towards the prefectural government office like wolves and tigers.

The head constable outside the city gate watched their departing figures on horseback, his scalp tingling with fear, stamping his feet and wailing, "Disaster! Disaster!"

The Demon-Slaying General's Mansion's Demon-Suppressing Guards called all the refugees to the state government office to collect porridge.

But he could see clearly that these demon-suppressing guards were not carrying a cartload of grain.
After a cup of tea, Li the blacksmith reined in his horse and stopped it outside the Haozhou government office.

He glanced at the plaque above the gate that read "Haozhou Prefecture Government Office," then at the tightly closed main gate and the side gate that could only accommodate one person at a time. He suddenly thought of the two decorative gates of his own general's mansion that had never been closed...

"Te!"

With a chilling look in his eyes, he spat out a mouthful of phlegm from his crooked mouth and waved his hand, saying, "Come in!"

A group of demon-suppressing guards dismounted, grabbed their sabers, and charged towards the gate, startling the group of constables guarding it. They hurriedly raised their nine-foot-long, rusty white waxwood spears, pointing them at the guards, and shouted in a fierce but weak voice, "Who are you? Stop!"

"I'm your grandpa!"

An impatient demon-suppressing guard stepped forward, swung his sheathed saber, and twisted all the white waxwood spears pointed at him to the ground. He then punched and kicked a group of guards at the gate, knocking them to the ground and making them cry out in pain.

As soon as the constables made way, the burly man with exaggeratedly large pectoral muscles took a running start, grabbed his sword, and kicked the tightly closed gate.

"Boom."

The two large iron-clad, copper-inlaid doors, along with their frames, flew off.

A group of demon-suppressing guards rushed in, their swords drawn, and the once peaceful state office was immediately filled with a cacophony of chickens and dogs running around in disarray.

"How dare you! Who gave you the audacity to cause trouble in our prefectural government office? Summon Wei Zizhen to see me... Ah!"

"I am Cao Shangjian, the Vice Prefect of Haozhou. You shall not be so insolent... Ahh!"

"Wei Zizhen, do you want to rebel? Wei Zizhen, Wei Zizhen... Ahhh!"

Just then, Zhang the blacksmith, holding onto the "King" banner with one hand, glared menacingly at a group of black-clad, black-sworded demon-suppressing guards who were hurriedly escorting a sedan chair.

The sedan chair stopped outside the gate of the prefectural government office, and a civil official over forty years old emerged from it. This official had a handsome and refined appearance, and his red round-necked official robe gave him the air of a scholar with a tall hat and wide belt.

Then, upon seeing the red banner with black characters fluttering in the wind beside Zhang the blacksmith, he instantly lost all his scholarly demeanor and, as if without a teacher, grasped the essence of a famous Sichuan craft. The speed at which his expression changed was truly astonishing.

Finally, he waved his hand to stop his many Demon-Suppressing Guards, then forced a smile and politely stepped forward, bowing and saying, "I am Wei Zizhen, Junior Supervisor of the Demon-Suppressing Division of Haozhou. May I ask, sir, does the General's Mansion have any official business passing through Haozhou? Do you need my cooperation?"

Zhang the blacksmith stared at him coldly, asking in a sarcastic tone, "What, do we, the Demon-Slaying General's Mansion, have to report to Lord Wei before we can do anything?"

Upon hearing this, Wei Zizhen's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly bowed, saying, "This humble official had no such intention. It was just that I heard some comrades-in-arms from the General's Mansion had come here..."

"If you don't have it, then get out of here!"

Zhang the blacksmith rudely interrupted his explanation: "You're blocking my sunbathing!"

His shouts startled Wei Zizhen for two seconds. He looked at the black-clad Zhang and wanted to ask him what position he held in the General of Demon Suppression's Mansion.

But after glancing up at the banners fluttering beside him, he immediately suppressed the anger in his heart.

'Forget it, forget it. A scholar can't reason with a soldier.'

He sighed inwardly, not daring to be angry or speak, and bowed again to Zhang the blacksmith before bowing and retreating down the steps.

Before long, countless displaced people, staggering and crooked, slowly crawled along the long street to the vicinity of the prefectural government office gate. Looking at Wei Zizhen and his men blocking the gate, they hesitated and dared not approach.

Seeing this, Zhang the blacksmith felt both pity for their misfortune and anger at their lack of self-control. He could only vent his anger on Wei Zizhen and his gang: "Are those two holes in your faces just for breathing? If you don't get out of here, I'll cut them all off!"

It's no wonder he was so unfriendly to his colleagues. He was also a member of the Demon Suppression Guard, and he knew very well that ever since the White Lotus Sect caused trouble, the Demon Suppression Guard had been upgraded to the Emperor's personal guard, independent of the local government, and had a certain degree of supervisory power over local officials.

In other words, as long as Lord Wei Zizhen was willing to take charge, he was able to intervene in the disaster relief and aid work of Haozhou Prefecture.

But it was clear that this Lord Wei did not care about the lives of these refugees.

Despite the repeated emphasis from the Demon-Slaying General's Mansion on disaster relief and people's aid work in Huainan Province...

In other words, this guy neither took charge nor gave face to the Demon-Slaying General's Mansion.

This guy didn't even give the Demon-Slaying General's Mansion any face, and he expects Zhang the Blacksmith to give them a good look?

If it weren't for the fact that they were also wearing the same clothes, he would have wanted to kill all these incompetent bastards!

"you……"

Hearing Zhang the blacksmith's loud curses, the Demon Suppression Guards behind Wei Zizhen all showed anger on their faces, thinking to themselves, "We are all Demon Suppression Guards, so why is your Demon Suppression General's Mansion so powerful?"
But Wei Zizhen's expression changed drastically several times, and beads of sweat even appeared on his forehead.

"Yes Yes Yes……"

He silenced his subordinates' angry outbursts, bowing and scraping as he turned and moved toward the other end of the long street: "We'll step back, step back!"

Just then, the group of Demon-Suppressing Guards from the General's Mansion who had stormed into the prefectural government also dragged out civil officials, their faces bruised and swollen, groaning in pain, dressed in red and green robes, like dead dogs.

Seeing this, Zhang the blacksmith didn't waste any more words. He handed the banner to a demon-suppressing guard and then directed another guard to escort a civil official in a red robe to the area between two stone lions at the bottom of the steps, where he knelt and bowed his head in front of the many refugees.

Then, amidst the horrified gazes of countless people, he drew his waist knife and raised it high.

"Pfft."

The huge head rolled off, and blood splattered more than ten feet away.

(End of this chapter)