Water Margin: I am Zhu Biao

Chapter 116 The Zhu Family Produces a General

The sky was bright.

A raging fire broke out at Baihu Village, with thick smoke obscuring the sky.

At the foot of the mountain, on the official road leading to Zhujiazhuang, a procession resembling a giant python was slowly and meandering across the snow.

At the very front of the group, Zhu Biao led the way, followed by Luan Tingyu and other leaders.

Behind the procession followed thirty-five or thirty-six large carts belonging to the Zhu family.

This was something he had arranged long ago, specifically for transporting the wounded and spoils of war. The village prostitutes, who were half-human and half-ghost, were also huddled in the cart at this time.

Zhu Biao is also a thrifty person.

Not to mention copper coins and old grains, they even slaughtered the dried meat, coarse salt, and penned pigs and chickens in the mountain stronghold and brought them down the mountain.

In the middle of the group were more than two hundred bandits, their hands tied behind their backs, bound together in rows with hemp ropes, being escorted by local soldiers, and walking unsteadily.

They were quite well-behaved; no one dared to cause trouble.

They were just lowly people, eating the worst food and doing the hardest work on the mountain. They were barely better off than the disaster victims, just barely surviving from the cold and hunger.

Last night, Zhu Biao slaughtered them all; anyone with a shred of courage was killed. The rest were terrified and, having lost their weapons and been frozen and starved all night, were even less able to resist.

"Third Brother, these scoundrels commit countless atrocities, including burning, killing, and looting. Are we really going to take them back and keep them for nothing?"

Pang Qiutang spurred her horse forward a few steps, moved closer to his side, and asked with a frown.

"Why would you keep them for nothing?"

Zhu Biao replied with a smile.

"These are all strong laborers. We need them to set up camp in Huchoujian after the New Year and to clear the roads. The best part is that we don't have to pay them."

"And what about those women? What do you plan to do with them?"

'

That's what she really wanted to ask.

Zhu Biao was still smiling.

"Let them rest well for a few days, then find a doctor to check their health. Don't worry, I will not let them work as prostitutes again, nor will I abandon them."

He paused, then added.

"In the future, I'll be counting on them to help me make a lot of money."

"How do you make money?"

"It's a secret, but I guarantee it's clean money, money you can trust."

"Hey~" Pang Qiutang laughed upon hearing this.

"Third brother, what's wrong with your brain? You should go into business; you'd definitely make a fortune and never suffer a loss."

"Going into business? Making a fortune?"

Zhu Biao pursed his lips, took out two pieces of dried mutton, handed one to her, and kept the other for himself.

"In this day and age, if you don't have a knife in your hand, doing business will just mean losing money to others."

"That's right, Sanlang is becoming more and more insightful."

Hearing their conversation, Luan Tingyu also spoke up.

"But Sanlang, there are so many people, and they're all bandits and prostitutes. How should we house them if we bring them back to the manor so easily?"

Zhu Biao shook his head: "I won't go back to the village, I'll go straight to Tiger Sorrow Ravine."

"Tiger's Sorrow Valley?"

Luan Tingyu was slightly taken aback, but then he understood.

"You want to put them in that abandoned patrol camp?"

"Um."

Zhu Biao nodded.

"Uncle Tang went to inspect the place the day before yesterday and said that it could be moved in after a simple tidying up."

He paused, then cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards Luan Tingyu: "Speaking of which, I'll have to trouble you, Master, to keep an eye on them. We won't be able to celebrate the New Year this year, but there will definitely be plenty of food and drink."

.

"Hahaha!"

Luan Tingyu smiled.

"Sanlang, you're overthinking it. I have no one to reunite with anyway. As long as there's wine and meat, it's like celebrating the New Year anywhere."

New Year's Day, afternoon, Zhujiazhuang.

As soon as Zhu Biao returned to the guest house, before he even dismounted, Zhu Chaofeng rushed out to greet him.

"Is my youngest son alright?"

After a few days apart, the fat old man had lost a lot of weight; his cheeks were slightly sunken, and his lips were covered with large blisters.

Moreover, his steps were unsteady, and he almost fell after taking two quick steps. Zhu Biao hurriedly jumped off his horse and helped him up.

"Dad, Happy New Year! Your son wishes you a Happy New Year!"

Zhu Chaofeng didn't answer, but looked him up and down before punching him in the shoulder, his eyes red as he cursed, "Auspicious my foot! You wretched wretch, instead of enjoying a peaceful life, you insist on doing that dangerous, life-threatening work during the New Year!"

This old man is not senile.

Although Zhu Biao had already taken off his leather armor and changed into robes, the acrid smell of blood still lingered on his body. Moreover, his boots and trouser legs were still stained with blood.

Despite being scolded and punched, Zhu Biao was not angry at all; instead, he felt warm inside.

He put his arm around Zhu Chaofeng's shoulder, patted his back, and laughed, "Father, don't worry. Look, I'm back safe and sound. By the way, you've gotten thinner in the last few days. Your two older brothers must have been taking care of you."

"Don't try to fool me!"

Zhu Chaofeng, however, turned pale and pushed him away, angrily interrupting him.

"Explain yourself clearly: where did you go yesterday? And what about your men?"

When Zhu Biao returned this time, he was only accompanied by Su Fang, Wu Song, and Lin Chong. Even Pang Qiutang, who always followed him around, was not with him.

She was indispensable in guarding so many bandits, thanks to her archery skills. But she also couldn't rest easy about the village prostitutes.

Wu Song and Lin Chong, after all, have families, so they should return to let their families know they are safe and sound, and spend the New Year with them.

As for Su Fang, although Zhu Jiu was there, his injuries had not fully healed. There was a job that required running around, and Zhu Biao couldn't very well do it himself, could he?

"Say it then!"

Zhu Chaofeng seemed genuinely angry, urging him on furiously.

After thinking for a moment, Zhu Biao decided to tell the truth. He leaned close to Zhu Chaofeng's ear and whispered, "Yesterday, I went to White Tiger Mountain. I've already leveled the stronghold there."

"What?"

Zhu Chaofeng's eyes widened suddenly, filled with disbelief.

He knew Baihu Mountain too well; it was right next to Dulonggang, and for years, it had been like a thorn in his side, a thorn in the side of the road west to Qingzhou.

Traveling merchants and travelers were inevitably exploited, robbed, or even slaughtered.

The three villages of Dulonggang, Yuncheng County, and Qingzhou Prefecture all wanted to remove this thorn in their side and had sent troops to suppress it several times.

However, due to the dense forest and numerous bandits, and the fact that they had spies in several villages at the foot of the mountain, they had not been able to succeed and had not even found the stronghold.

Now, Zhu Biao actually claims that he destroyed White Tiger Village.

How many soldiers does he have under his command? At most, less than a hundred. Isn't that absurd?

Zhu Biao didn't explain much, he just called out to Su Fang.

"Go and bring me the New Year's gift I prepared for my father."

"yes!"

Su Fang responded and ran off in a flash, soon returning with a heavy wooden box in his arms, which he presented to Zhu Chaofeng with both hands.

"Happy New Year, Master. This is a New Year's gift that the young master has chosen for you to enjoy."

"Oh, this, this~"

Upon seeing the wooden box, Zhu Biao was not pleased but alarmed, and instinctively stepped back.

Zhu Chaofeng misunderstood. The size of this wooden box was just right to hold a human head, and there were even a few congealed bloodstains on the edge.

"Father, don't be afraid!"

Zhu Biao immediately understood, glared at Su Fang with annoyance, and quickly grabbed Zhu Chaofeng, yanking open the wooden box.

"Look, these are all fine jade."

Zhu Chaofeng craned his neck and glanced at it, his gaze immediately becoming fixed on it.

Under the sunlight, the wooden box shimmered with light, filled with various kinds of jade.

It has everything: Hetian jade, Dushan jade, turquoise, agate, malachite, bloodstone, and even a small piece of Lingbi stone.

As the saying goes, what the superiors do, the inferiors follow. The emperor and high-ranking officials are all obsessed with granite and rare stones. In recent years, Zhu Chaofeng has also become fascinated with this stuff.

"My little one, is all of this...is it for me?"

In the next instant, he lunged forward and snatched the wooden box from his hands, examining each piece one by one while asking in a trembling voice.

Although Zhu Chaofeng was obsessed with jade, he was also stingy with money and hadn't acquired many pieces over the years. This box of jade contained more pieces than his entire collection.

"That's right, they were all seized from White Tiger Stronghold."

Upon hearing this, he abruptly stopped, remembering his business, and looked up again.

"Young man, did you really wipe out that village?"

"Um.

""

Zhu Biao said calmly, "Kongming and Kong Liang have both been executed, and I burned the mountain stronghold to the ground."

"Where are those bandits?"

Zhu Chaofeng did not breathe a sigh of relief; instead, he anxiously pressed for answers.

"I killed half of them, and the remaining few hundred henchmen were imprisoned in Tiger Sorrow Gorge, with none escaping."

"How many men do you have left? Where is Master Luan?"

Zhu Biao said sadly, "Two died, three were crippled, and Master Luan is leading the rest to guard the bandits."

Zhu Chaofeng gasped, his pupils contracted sharply, and he stared at him without blinking.

"You led a few dozen men to raze White Tiger Stronghold, killing and capturing hundreds of bandits, yet you only suffered five casualties? Is that true?"

Zhu Biao didn't reply, but just nodded firmly at him.

"This is terrible, absolutely terrible!"

Zhu Chaofeng's face suddenly turned red. He shoved the wooden box into Su Fang's hands and grabbed Zhu Biao's arm.

"Let's go to the ancestral hall! To pay respects to our ancestors! I want to tell them that our Zhu family has produced a general!"