Late Ming Dynasty: Special Forces in 1645

The bandit leader failed to escape. He was knocked off his horse by a young man from the village with a pickaxe and then captured by the pursuing assault team!

In addition to the assault team's pursuit, seeing the bandits defeated, the villagers also joined in, with five or six people chasing one person, armed with wooden sticks, hoes, hammers and other tools. If they couldn't catch up, they would pick up stones and throw them.

In no time, the entire band of bandits was captured, and none escaped.

The villagers' behavior greatly broadened the horizons of the commando team. They had initially thought the villagers were a group of sheep barely clinging to life, devoid of any spirit and waiting to be slaughtered, but this performance completely overturned their perception.

The images of these ordinary people at the bottom of society are different from the apathetic and indifferent images of the lower class depicted by Lu Xun later in his works.

These villagers weren't incapable of resisting; they understood clearly that facing twenty or thirty knife-wielding bandits, any resistance would mean certain death, so they could only endure it.

Seeing the bandits being utterly defeated, the villagers, recognizing a chance of victory, stepped forward to beat the fleeing bandits and vent their pent-up anger.

A group of shrewd conservatives! That was Li Chengming's impression of these villagers.

The lives of ordinary people at the end of a dynasty are different from those at the end of a dynasty.

Although the common people at the bottom of society in the late Ming Dynasty also lived a difficult life, their backbone had not been broken and their backs were still straight. They longed to climb up and had opportunities.

Given the right opportunity, they are fearless in the face of all dangers, dare to overcome all obstacles, and are willing to risk their lives to fight for a visible future!

This is precisely why a peasant uprising swept across most of the Ming Dynasty and lasted for more than 20 years!

Only Li Zicheng seemed completely unsurprised by the villagers' behavior, as if he had known all along that they would do this.

Indeed, Li Zicheng himself was the leader of a peasant uprising. When it comes to understanding the grassroots, ten Li Chengmings couldn't compare to one Li Zicheng!

Post-battle statistics show that 5 members of the bandit gang were killed on the spot, 8 were seriously wounded, and 14 were slightly wounded or captured.

The surviving bandits were bound and made to kneel in the threshing ground, their heads hanging low and looking dejected. The situation had reversed, and it seemed as if these bandits were the lambs to the slaughter.

The little girl's father, the middle-aged farmer, walked over, clasped his hands in a respectful bow to Li Chengming, smiled憨厚ly, and said, "Good sir, thank you for your help! If it weren't for you, my daughter would have been kidnapped, and all the grain would have been lost!"

Li Chengming's lips twitched. "You call those bandits 'Hero Lord,' so you call me 'Hero Lord' too."

It made me feel like a bandit.

But he politely replied, "It was just an act of kindness, no need to take it to heart!"

Then, looking at the kneeling bandits, he asked, "What do you plan to do with those bandits?"

An old man approached the assault team members, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and then, seeing that the team members were all led by Li Chengming, respectfully said to Li Chengming, "I am Zhao Yan, and I am considered a senior member of the Zhao family in Zhao Village. Thank you all for your help. If it weren't for your assistance, most of the people in Zhao Village might not have survived until the summer harvest. I will never forget your great kindness. If you have any requests, I will certainly do my best to fulfill them!"

He paused, then added, "How to deal with these bandits is entirely up to you, sir!"

Li Chengming thought about it. If he followed Li Zicheng's approach, he would naturally kill them all. However, Li Chengming could not bring himself to treat human life as worthless. As long as they were not the inhumane Qing army, Li Chengming was willing to give those who had not committed many evil deeds a way out.

So he asked, "Old man, did you know about this band of bandits before?"

Zhao Yan nodded: "That leader is called Song Fulong. I heard that he used to be in General Zuo's army. After General Zuo was defeated by Li Zicheng, Song Fulong fled here and became an outlaw. Every now and then he would come down the mountain to plunder and steal grain, making the villagers in this area suffer greatly."

Li Chengming then asked, "Has he ever killed anyone?"

Zhao Yan said hatefully, "How come this beast has never killed anyone? There are at least seven or eight people who have died by his blade, if not ten. He especially bullies orphans and widows who have no one to rely on..."

Hearing Zhao Yan angrily denounce the bandit Song Fulong, and several villagers come forward to testify, Li Chengming nodded, already having made up his mind.

Summon the villagers, have them identify the bandits' crimes, and let the villagers decide their fate.

Based on the villagers' descriptions and identifications, Li Chengming roughly learned about the origins and evil deeds of this band of mountain bandits.

This band of mountain bandits was small, numbering less than forty in total. Apart from those who came down the mountain to plunder grain, about ten others remained in the stronghold on the mountain.

Besides the gang leader Song Fulong, two other people were confirmed to have blood on their hands.

Li Chengming was quite decisive. After a public execution, he killed Song Fulong and the others right there in the threshing ground, which terrified the other bandits.

As for the remaining bandits, although no one accused them of killing anyone, Li Chengming did not intend to release them directly, since he still needed people to collect the bodies!

......

Having spent a considerable amount of time in this village, Li Chengming, after resolving the matter there, had the remaining bandits lead the way to raid their stronghold.

Originally, Li Chengming also wanted to leave, but when he heard that there were still people in the bandit's stronghold and a lot of wealth and food, he suddenly had a change of heart.

Having witnessed the poverty of that era, Li Chengming truly understood the preciousness of food.

In this era, as long as you have food, people will risk their lives for you. They only ask that they have enough to eat and that they can bring back a little food to feed their families before they are willing to risk their lives for you!

So when Li Chengming learned from the surviving bandits that their stronghold had at least 10,000 jin of grain stored up, he was tempted.

Although it's not much, it's an easy sum of money to be made, so why not take it?

As for the dozen or so bandits left behind in the stronghold, Li Chengming didn't take them seriously.

Sure enough, the assault team easily took over the stronghold without any casualties... and the bandits also escaped with their lives, all of them captured alive!

After killing two bandits with blood on their hands, Li Chengming went to take stock of the mountain stronghold's money and provisions.

"Sir, here are 12,300 catties of rice, 142 taels of silver, and 37 strings of copper coins. They are all yours now!"

A bandit of about sixteen or seventeen years old, named Chen Qiliang, followed behind Li Chengming and said with a fawning expression.

Li Chengming glanced at him.

This boy was clever and quick-witted. His parents sold him to a landlord surnamed Chen for seven taels of silver when he was young. The landlord named him Chen Qiliang (meaning "Seven Taels of Silver"). He was bullied badly in the landlord's house from a young age.

Forced into becoming an outlaw, he did not commit any evil deeds. On the contrary, when he used to go down the mountain to beg for alms, he would speak up for the villagers openly and secretly. Therefore, the villagers remembered him and specifically instructed Li Chengming to give him a way out after capturing him.

When the other bandits were interrogated separately, they showed no ill will towards him. After much deliberation, Li Chengming decided to let him lead the way to count the supplies.

The amount of money and grain here is neither too much nor too little; if all of it were exchanged for grain, it would barely be enough to feed two hundred people for a year.

Since the grain couldn't be taken away immediately, Li Chengming had no choice but to ask Chen Qiliang to go down the mountain and call the villagers to come up and move the grain.

After giving them a certain reward, they asked the villagers to keep the grain for them. They also handed over the bandits' weapons to the villagers to take away, giving the villagers a certain ability to defend themselves.

After securing the food supplies, the commando team and Li Zicheng rested in the mountain stronghold for one night before leaving the next day with the remaining silver and copper coins.

The money and grain looted from the mountain stronghold gave Li Chengming an idea.

When you don't have many men, obtaining money and supplies by eliminating bandits and outlaws is also a viable option.

Hubei is mountainous, and there are many bandits and outlaws who have taken to the mountains. Many of them were originally government troops who were scattered and then became outlaws.

These people may have also looted a lot of money and grain, which they can use as military supplies!