Chapter 40 Expanding Armaments

Feng Sen still wanted to argue, but he saw Chen An raise his hand and point straight into the estate: "Bandits attacked the Feng and Wei households, plotting to murder and plunder the common people. The evidence of their crimes is conclusive!"

His voice carried through his helmet across the entire street. "Pass down the order! Uproot them completely, leave no one alive!"

"Hey, hey, hey! Look what kind of maggot just crawled out from under a rock! Do you know whose place this is? A few stinking soldiers actually dare to brandish swords and spears here! When I was swinging blades, you didn't even know where you were!"

Wei Dong, still hungover, staggered out from the room, his face bearing a look of utter disdain.

Unfortunately, before Wei Dong could even finish his sentence—

A stream of hot, gushing blood sprayed from his neck!

Right before everyone's eyes, the haughty and arrogant Wei Dong was dragged away by Wu the Dullard in a flash.

"Hmph, entirely lacking in self-awareness."

Chen An let out a cold snort and looked playfully at the crowd: "Bandits broke into a residence to commit robbery. Annihilate them!"

"No! Stop!"

The shrill shrieks and cries were drowned out by the thundering hooves.

Chen An's longsword came down. Amidst the crisp and decisive sound of the strike, the heads of Feng Sen and his son rolled to the ground, and fresh blood splattered across the vermilion gates.

"All family assets are to be confiscated," Chen An sheathed his sword, his tone returning to an icy calm. "Distribute them among the afflicted common people and our brothers."

The men of the Tiger Battalion acknowledged the command, their neat footsteps shattering the decadent atmosphere within the estate.

As they tore through the Feng residence, turning cabinets and chests upside down, even though everyone was mentally prepared, they were still shocked by the sheer wealth uncovered during the raid.

Gold and jeweler rolled out from hidden compartments, and brocade blankets and mattresses were dragged out to blanket the corridors.

Chen An stepped across the shattered jade-like porcelain as he crossed the main hall, when suddenly he heard Zhang Xiaojing's low shout coming from a distance.

Frowning, he walked toward the sound and found Wu the Dullard using his specialized wolf-toothed iron club to pry open a bluestone slab. A dark, gloomy opening was revealed beneath the stone, faintly emitting the smell of rust and mildew.

"I asked a servant just now if there were any hidden places," Zhang Xiaojing said. "At first, the little fellow stammered and wouldn't answer me for the longest time, so I had Wu the Dullard give him a little scare. Guess what?"

Wu the Dullard chuckled. "Brother, there's a dungeon down here."

When the torches illuminated the stone steps, Chen An's pupils suddenly constricted.

In the damp dungeon, more than fifty prisoners were chained to the stone walls—men, women, and children alike. The skin on their necks and wrists had long since ulcerated and festered.

They hung their heads like marionettes. When the torchlight swept across their faces, not a single one of them raised their eyes.

In their hollow eye sockets, there was no fear, no anger, not even the breath of living beings—as if their souls had long since been ripped away, leaving behind only breathing shells.

"These... what are these?" Zhang Xiaojing followed behind, covering his nose and mouth in shock.

The steward of the Feng household, who had been dragged over, trembled like a sieve, urine leaking down his trouser legs. "They... they are people bought by Master Feng from various places... some are farmers who fell into gambling debts, some are refugees fleeing disaster..."

"Why did Feng Sen buy so many people?" Zhang Xiaojing asked with a frown.

"They say... they say..."

"Say what? Out with it, or I'll pluck your head off too!" Wu the Dullard yanked the Feng family steward up by his collar!

"They say they were to be sent to Lord Cheng Qian, but as for what they were to be used for, this humble servant... this humble servant truly doesn't know."

Chen An squatted down and looked at a boy of about fourteen or fifteen.

The iron chains on the boy's wrists were deeply embedded in his flesh, and the gaps in his fingernails were packed with black mud.

Yet when Chen An unfastened his shackles, the boy only mechanically shook his arm, without even a trace of struggle.

"How long has it been since they last saw the sun?"

"Over a month..."

Chen An's knuckles turned white.

What these people had been stripped of was not merely freedom, but their very dignity as human beings.

He stood up, his voice exceptionally clear within the damp dungeon: "Unbind them, take them outside to wash their wounds, and give them clean clothes."

When the prisoners were led into the courtyard, even the moonlight was so blinding that they instinctively raised their hands to shield their eyes.

Chen An gazed at the figures huddled in the corners, then suddenly drew his long sword and cast the scabbard onto the ground: "The Feng and Wei families took your lives and cut off your paths to survival. Now they have been completely wiped out. Do you want to live?"

No one answered. In the dead silence, only the sound of the wind blowing through the treetops could be heard.

"I am giving you a chance." Chen An's gaze swept across every numb face. "Become my soldiers. The young ones will follow me to slay bandits, exact revenge, and protect the peace of this region; the older ones will till the land and support their families, relying on their own labor."

"If you perform well, I will grant you fertile land and houses so you can live as proud and upright human beings. If you die, I, Chen An, will personally erect a monument for you and carve your names upon it."

These words were like a pebble cast into stagnant water.

The fourteen- or fifteen-year-old boy slowly raised his head, a faint glimmer finally flickering in his turbid eyes.

He cracked a smile, revealing a row of teeth missing half a tooth, and his voice was as hoarse as a broken gong: "Is what you said true?"

News of the eradication of the Feng and Wei families spread throughout Youushan Pass early the next morning.

In the assembly hall of the Chu residence, Chu Feng, the head of the Chu clan, slammed his hand onto the table, splashing tea all over the surface: "Good! What a fine Chen An!"

Although Qiao Dafang had given him a heads-up beforehand, telling him that Chen An was no ordinary man, he had originally thought this young man would merely be a flash in the pan. He never expected his methods to be so ruthless and decisive.

"Prepare the carriage! Load up the twenty oxen and fifty piculs of rice from the granary, and fetch five hundred taels of silver as well. Follow me to Chen An's military camp!"

"Clan Head, do we really need to go to such lengths?" the steward asked, puzzled.

"You fool!" Chu Feng glared at him. "The Feng and Wei families were Cheng Qian's men. For Chen An to dare touch them means he has completely broken ties with Cheng Qian! We've long had a grudge against Cheng Qian; if we don't cozy up to Chen An right now, when else?"

As the Chu family's grand convoy set off toward Youushan Pass, Han Li, the head of the Han clan, was already standing at the pass holding a gift box.

Stooping slightly, he watched Chen An stride forward, a flattering smile plastered across his face: "Commander Chen is young and accomplished, truly a model for us all! In fact, I had long heard that the Feng and Wei families were duplicitous and disloyal, but we simply lacked the evidence!"

"Now that Commander Chen has acted on behalf of heaven, it is truly a blessing for us all."

As he spoke, he slipped bank notes into Zhang Xiaojing's hands. "From now on, Youushan Pass will naturally follow Commander Chen's lead in all things!"

Compared to Han Li's cleverness, Chen An found him remarkably visionary.

No wonder the Han family had managed to stay clear of liquidation through multiple political shifts in Youushan Pass.

Chen An looked at the various military supplies, his fingertips tapping lightly against the brickwork.

The soldiers pulled from the Feng family dungeon were currently drilling on the parade ground. The teenagers' arms were still trembling as they held their wooden spears, and it looked like they would need some time to be forged into shape.

Li Duo and the women were sewing clothes for them.

"Chen An, where should we unload the provisions sent by the Chu family?" Zhang Xiaojing came to report.

Chen An looked toward the distant, rolling mountain ranges, a cold, sharp arc forming at the corner of his mouth: "Store them for now. Tell Clan Head Chu that I appreciate the gesture, but the brothers of Youushan Pass do not take handouts from outsiders."