Sweep Yuan

Chapter 18 Entering the Village to Kill the Hu Dogs
Shi Shan, with a normal expression, approached Tong Si'er, who was feeding the horses, and inquired about the situation in Huxi Village and Hu Pingren. The feedback he received was roughly the same as Zhou Shier's report.

"Go find Chang Tietou, Wen Sijiu, and Li Wu, and quietly call them over alone. After I've spoken to the three of them, then you can call Chen Cheng over. Also, keep an eye on Tan Buwei, um, the one who was talking to your club president."

When Tong Si'er led Chen Cheng over, Shi Shan got straight to the point:

"Hu Pingren wants to kill us, what's your opinion?"

"How is this possible?! Could there be some mistake—"

Chen Cheng instinctively didn't believe it and was about to speak up to defend Hu Pingren when he saw Shi Shan's hand move to the hilt of his knife, interrupting him in a chilling tone.

"Hu Pingren is secretly spreading rumors to prevent us from recruiting soldiers here. I am determined to wipe out this villain. This is a military order. Think carefully before you speak—which side are you on?"

Chen Cheng then realized that Chang Tietou, Wen Sijiu, and Li Wu all looked hostile and had him caught in the middle. Cold sweat immediately poured down his forehead, fearing that he would die on the spot if he said the wrong word.

"Of course I support the Deputy Commander."

After watching Chang Tietou and his men enter the village, Shishan loudly ordered the troops to assemble.

Behind him, Li Wu gripped a steel knife, his face filled with murderous intent. Chen Cheng, his face ashen, remained silent. Although they didn't know what had happened, the oppressive tension in the air was palpable, and the villagers' assembly speed was surprisingly faster as a result.

After the troops were assembled, Shi Shan, with a somber face, delivered a pre-battle mobilization speech.

"Gentlemen, I know that many of you did not understand what rebellion meant, and blindly followed the village magistrate to join the rebel army."

Let's skip the empty talk and lies, just this: Rebellion is a death sentence. Once you've donned this red turban, there's no turning back. It's either kill for wealth and power, or get your head chopped off for a reward! There's no third way!

At this moment, Sun Xun, Chang Tietou, and others in the village had already split up and started their own operations. Screams and shouts of pursuit and killing rushed out of the village. Hu Xi Village Chief, who had been detained by Wen Sijiu, was so frightened that he collapsed to the ground, unable to speak.

Upon hearing Deputy Commander Shi's words, the local militia stirred into a commotion. Tan Buwei, standing in the ranks, turned pale and was drenched in sweat. Despite the commotion, no one dared to shout the slogan "Kill outsiders!"

Seeing this, Shishan knew his judgment was correct, secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and shouted:
"Hu Pingren colluded with the Tartars to kill us and claim the reward from the government, but we've already subdued him. Those who want to work with me, come with me into the village, kill Hu the dog, and share his ill-gotten gains; those who don't want to, tear off your headscarves and leave now!"

Humans are social animals. The more nervous ordinary people are, the more likely they are to blindly follow the will of the group. Just moments ago, they heard Shi Shan say "there is no third way," and now they see Li Wu and others with knives in their hands and murderous intent on their faces. Even a fool would know what to choose.

"Enter the village, kill the barbarian dogs, and divide the spoils."

Tong Si'er, squeezed into the queue, was the first to shout out a slogan. The villagers, whose nerves were on edge, immediately found an outlet for their emotions and joined in the clamor.

"Kill the barbarian dogs and divide the spoils!"

"Kill the barbarian dogs and divide the spoils!"

How difficult would it be to lead a group of outsiders unfamiliar with the terrain to forcibly break into a village with a strong sense of clan identity and kill its leaders?

It can be difficult, but it can also be simple.

It's simple because even the most cohesive clans have irreconcilable conflicts within them. If you can identify and incite these conflicts, the clan will fall into chaos on its own. It's difficult because Shishan clearly doesn't have the time or the instigation to do these things.

The best course of action now is to capture the leader first, and then deal with Hu Pingren before considering anything else.

The key to this matter lies in taking them by surprise. If we wait for the untrained troops to gradually assemble and build up their morale before swarming into the village, the result will only be a chaotic battle with heavy casualties.

Shishan was well aware of the shortcomings of his team and never intended to assemble a full squad before entering the village.

His plan was for Sun Xun, Zhou Shier, and others to control Hu Pingren and his henchmen, Chang Tietou to lead his men to capture the capital and kill Hu Pingren's family, and Shi Shan to lead his troops into the village to suppress the villagers before they could spontaneously gather.

Chang Tietou was indeed a qualified desperado, and he had no psychological burden in doing this kind of dirty work.

His method of carrying out the task was simple and brutal:

Led by a group of old brothers, they pretended to assist Sun Xun in recruiting soldiers and collecting grain. After swaggering into the village, they went straight to the capital (which was actually Hu Pingren's house). Upon seeing Hu Pingren's family, they suddenly launched an attack.

The five Hu brothers had not yet divided the family property because their father was still alive. Although one of them was killed or wounded on the spot due to the sudden change in the situation, their blood ties made their desperate fight not to be underestimated. The others, relying on their familiarity with the terrain, fought and retreated, and the battle was temporarily stalemated.

Fortunately, Shi Shan led his team into the village in time. The villagers who wanted to help Hu Pingren had not yet gathered in large numbers. Seeing the bandits' strength, they feared being targeted first and immediately retreated into nearby houses to observe.

No major conflict has occurred yet, but the situation has only stabilized on the surface.

Shi Shan worried that if his rabble scattered and lost all restraint, killing and arson at will, the operation to capture and deal with Hu Pingren might turn into an extermination of the Hu family by outsiders.

If that were the case, it would inevitably provoke fierce resistance from the people of Huxi Village, and might even lead to the worst-case scenario where some of the landlords under their command would turn against them out of a sense of shared vulnerability.

Fortunately, Hu Pingren, the leader of Huxi Village, and the old village head were brought under control when the operation was launched. Without a prominent figure in charge, the villagers, scattered in various places and unaware of the situation, were unable to form a large-scale united force and effectively resist the external enemy, facing immense pressure from hundreds of villagers from other villages who rushed into the village.

Shi Shan immediately ordered the troops to gather together, ordered Wen Sijiu to support Chang Tietou, and ordered Tong Si'er to lead people to knock on doors from house to house, making it clear that this action was only aimed at Hu Pingren's family, and demanding that each household send someone to the threshing ground to publicly try Hu Pingren.

Threshing floor.

"Hu Pingren, you are a Han Chinese, why do you side with the Tartars and secretly spread rumors to hinder the righteous army from recruiting soldiers?"

Hu Pingren was slashed by Sun Xun. Although he received simple bandaging, it only slightly slowed down the rate of blood loss. At this moment, his face was ashen due to blood loss, and he looked quite weak. He was completely unlike his usual arrogant self.

Since he was controlled by Sun Xun from the start of the battle, he was unaware of the specific fate of his relatives or the true purpose of Shishan. Seeing that his clansmen were still there, Hu Pingren's will to survive was still very strong.

“I am the chief appointed by the government. It is my duty to supervise tax collection and investigate illegal activities. I feel sorry for my elders and relatives who are not living well. I advise them not to rebel, lest they be beheaded by the government army in the future. What wrong have I done?”

"I haven't done anything heinous, and I even guided you to donate. Since you're a righteous army, why are you so disloyal and try to kill me instead of distinguishing right from wrong?"

(End of this chapter)