A fierce wife enters the house: She helps up a house full of spineless people.

Outside Yongning County, the sky was just beginning to lighten.

The air was thick with the pungent stench of blood. Corpses lay scattered haphazardly on the ground, some of them rebels, others of the defending soldiers. Broken weapons and shattered armor were strewn everywhere.

Wang Tianfang dragged a stiff rebel corpse onto a cart with a blank expression, sweat dripping down his face and into his dusty collar.

The post-war cleanup was tedious and arduous, requiring constant work to bury the dead and repair the damaged city walls.

After two days of cleaning, it's finally finished.

Zhang Kui began to arrange for people to clear out the rebel army in the surrounding area.

"Captain, I'd like to lead a team towards Chenjia Village," Wang Tianfang said to Zhang Kui.

Zhang Kui knew that Wang Tianfang was from Chenjia Village, so he nodded and said, "Okay, you take twenty men with you. Be careful, those defeated soldiers are all desperate men, they're capable of anything if pushed to the limit."

"clear."

Wang Tianfang gathered twenty men, carrying provisions and weapons, and left the county town, heading straight for Chenjia Village.

Along the way, they saw many destroyed villages. Some villages were still smoking, and the fields were full of unharvested crops, trampled and mangled by horses' hooves.

When I reached the village entrance, the village was quiet. Most of the houses had been burned down and were blackened.

Wang Tianfang led his men into the village.

They hadn't walked more than a few steps when a soldier suddenly pointed to a dilapidated courtyard ahead and shouted, "Brother Wang! Look over there!"

Wang Tianfang looked in the direction Li San pointed and his heart tightened.

Two corpses lay at the entrance of the dilapidated courtyard.

Wang Tianfang strode over. The blood on the corpse had dried and turned dark reddish-black.

"Brother Wang, there are still footprints here," another soldier said, pointing to the soil on the ground.

Wang Tianfang stood up and looked in the direction of the footprints. The footprints were messy and stretched all the way into the mountains outside the village.

"It seems the defeated soldiers came here and went into the mountains." Wang Tianfang gripped his spear tightly. "Let's go! Follow the footprints!"

Wang Tianfang led twenty brothers, following the footprints on the ground, and plunged into the deep mountains.

The mountain path became increasingly difficult to traverse, filled with thorny bushes. Wang Tianfang walked in the lead, using his spear to clear away the vines blocking his way.

"Brother Wang, this road is way too remote. Do you think the villagers would hide here?" the group muttered as they walked, a red mark on their face.

Wang Tianfang shook his head: "This road doesn't lead to the cave in the back mountain. If the people from Chenjia Village are hiding, they'll definitely be hiding in that big cave in the back mountain."

Wang Tianfang frowned. "Shitou and Shuanzi died in the village, but their footprints led to Duanhunpo. Someone must have led the defeated soldiers astray."

Thinking of this, Wang Tianfang quickened his pace.

After walking for a while, the footprints ahead suddenly became messy, and there were also signs of slipping.

Wang Tianfang walked to the steep slope and looked down. The ravine was pitch black.

"Brother Wang, there's something down there!" the person in front shouted.

Wang Tianfang slowly slid down the slope for a while and got a clear view of the bottom of the ditch.

The two bodies were thrown onto the pile of rocks, their flesh mangled and bloody.

Wang Tianfang carefully examined them and identified one of them, dressed in tattered clothes, as Chen Ergou. The other was wearing rebel leather armor and was probably a minor leader.

Wang Tianfang understood everything. Chen Ergou, who usually seemed cunning and slippery, actually showed backbone at the crucial moment, taking the fleeing soldier leader down with him.

"He's a real man." Wang Tian sighed inwardly.

He climbed the slope and said to his men above, "Chen Ergou died along with the fleeing leader. The remaining fleeing soldiers can't have gone far. Spread out and continue searching along the footprints around here! Leave no fleeing soldier alive!"

"yes!"

The twenty people split into several small teams, spreading out in a fan shape in the woods to search carefully.

Not long after, the squad on the left made a sound.

"Here they are! Defeated soldiers!"

Upon hearing the shouts, Wang Tianfang immediately grabbed his spear and rushed over.

In a small grove of trees, a dozen or so defeated soldiers were resting on the ground. Upon seeing Wang Tianfang and his men rushing towards them, the soldiers were terrified.

"The soldiers are coming! Run!"

"Kill!" Wang Tian roared and was the first to charge forward.

The spear in his hand was like a venomous snake; it suddenly thrust out and pierced the back of a fleeing soldier who was running at the very back.

Drawing his spear, Wang Tianfang charged at another fleeing soldier without stopping.

The fleeing soldier raised his knife to resist, but Wang Tianfang flicked his spear aside, deflecting the knife, and then smashed the spear shaft into the soldier's head.

With a "bang," the defeated soldier rolled his eyes and fell to the ground.

In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, more than a dozen fleeing soldiers were all cut down and none of them escaped.

"Check to see if there are any survivors," Wang Tianfang coldly ordered.

The brothers stepped forward and stabbed each of them a few times with their knives to make sure they were all dead. "Brother Wang, they're all dead. There are twelve in total."

Wang Tianfang nodded: "Bury it on the spot."

After disposing of the body, Wang Tianfang led his men and turned to walk towards the back of the mountain.

He knew the village chief and his men were still hiding in the caves behind the mountain. Now that the defeated soldiers were dealt with, he needed to go and inform them so they could rest assured.

When they reached the vicinity of the cave on the back mountain, Wang Tianfang stopped.

He saw that the entrance to the cave was completely blocked by stones and branches, leaving no gaps.

Wang Tianfang stepped forward and patted the stone blocking the entrance to the cave, but received no response.

Wang Tianfang cleared his throat and shouted, "Village Chief! It's me, Tianfang! I've brought people to pick you up!"

"Tianfang, it's Tianfang's voice! We're saved! Oh, Tianfang! You've finally come!" Chen Defu quickly called for people to move the stones.

When he saw Wang Tianfang standing outside, dressed in military leather armor and holding a long spear, his eyes immediately reddened.

He grabbed Wang Tianfang's hand, tears streaming down his face: "Tianfang, you've finally come. We've been living in constant fear in this cave, afraid the rebels would come looking for us. Er Gou and the other two ran down the mountain last night and never came back."

Wang Tianfang's smile vanished. He gripped Chen Defu's hand and said in a deep voice, "Village Chief, Shitou and Shuanzi died in the village. Ergou lured the fleeing soldiers to Broken Soul Slope to prevent them from finding this place, and he fell into the ravine with the fleeing soldiers' leader and died."

Upon hearing this, the villagers who had just crawled out of the cave were all stunned.

Chen Ergou's wife, Cui'er, who was heavily pregnant, fainted upon hearing this.

"Cui'er!" Several women nearby quickly helped her up and pinched her philtrum.

Chen Defu's lips trembled, and he couldn't utter a single word for a long time.

He never expected that Chen Ergou, who usually stole chickens and dogs and was cunning and sly in the village, would turn out to be a good guy in the end.

Looking at the grieving villagers, Wang Tianfang shouted, "Fellow villagers, the main force of the rebel army has dispersed. But there will definitely be scattered stragglers wandering the mountains in the next few days. After you return to the village, don't let your guard down. Men, take turns standing guard at night. If you encounter any small groups of stragglers, everyone attack together; you can kill them even with hoes and machetes!"

"Listen to Heaven! We can't be cowards anymore!" Chen Defu shouted through gritted teeth.

Wang Tianfang left a few of his men to help the villagers pack up and go down the mountain, while he led the rest of his men and rushed towards Wangjia Village without stopping.

Unlike the tragic scene in Chenjia Village, no one died in Wangjia Village, and only a few houses at the entrance of the village were burned down.

Wang Tian breathed a slight sigh of relief, but he dared not be careless. He gripped his spear tightly and led his men slowly into the village.

Wang Tianfang led his men directly towards the back mountain of Wangjia Village.

There are several hidden caves in the back mountain of Wangjia Village, which were used by hunters to spend the night.

Just as we reached the halfway point up the mountain, a sudden rustling sound came from the bushes ahead.

"Who's there! Show yourself!" Wang Tianfang shouted.

"Don't lay a hand on them! Don't lay a hand on them! They're on our side!"

Two men emerged from the bushes, carrying sharpened bamboo poles; they were from Wangjia Village.

Wang Tianfang took a closer look and laughed.

"Uncle! I am Tianfang, Wang Jinzhu's husband."

The two men paused, startled by someone calling their names. They looked closely at Wang Tianfang. "Hey! It's Tianfang! Goodness, Tianfang, you've become an official? You look very smart!"

Wang Tianfang waved his hand with a smile: "Uncles, don't joke with me. Where are the villagers? Are they all alright?"

The middle-aged man puffed out his chest and said, "It's alright! Everything's fine! It's all thanks to your father-in-law and Jinzhu for specifically instructing us before they left that things weren't peaceful outside, and that everyone should hide their grain in advance so that if anything happens, we can hide in the mountains."

"Yes," another man continued, "A few days ago, before the rebels entered the village, the village chief told everyone to take their bedding and dry rations and hide in one of the caves in the back mountain. These past few days, we haven't even dared to light a fire and have been eating dry rations to get by."

"Come on, take me to meet the village chief and the villagers," Wang Tianfang said.

Two men led the way, taking Wang Tianfang and his group to the largest cave.

The cave was packed with people. When they saw Wang Tianfang leading the government troops, they were initially startled, but once they recognized him, they all cheered.

The village chief of Wangjia Village, an old man with a white beard, walked over with a cane, took Wang Tianfang's hand, and nodded repeatedly: "Tianfang, we have so much to thank your father-in-law's family. If it weren't for that girl Jinzhu sending someone to deliver a message, our village probably wouldn't have been able to escape this time."

Wang Tian loudly announced to the villagers, "Fellow villagers, the rebels have been driven away. It's safe outside now, you can all go down the mountain and go home!"

A thunderous cheer erupted from inside the cave.

"But everyone still needs to be careful." Wang Tianfang gestured for everyone to be quiet. "There are still some stragglers wandering around in the mountains. After we get back to the village, the men need to organize themselves, grab their gear, and patrol day and night. If you spot anything amiss, report it immediately. As long as we work together, a few small fry can't cause any big trouble!"

"Don't worry, Tianfang! The men in our village aren't pushovers either!" the men of Wangjia Village shouted, waving their fists.