Little Beggar

"Reporting, Hall Master."

Zhang Wenkui panted, his face indignant. "I ran here to report something important. When that rogue general passed through Wu Feng County, the county magistrate happened to be out with his family. The women in the magistrate's household were all beautiful, and the rogue saw them. He took a liking to them and led his troops to chase the magistrate's family. They didn't catch them, but instead surrounded Wu Feng County. Even if he could capture Wu Feng County, he wouldn't be able to make it by the day after tomorrow."

After speaking, Zhang Wenkui spat fiercely, his face full of disdain.

Two flanking armies had infiltrated the heartland of Jiang Prefecture. The general of one of these armies was the "rogue" Zhang Wenkui spoke of.

This man was named Wang Liu, a glutton for lust. Relying on being a confidant of the Crown Prince, no one dared to discipline him, and he acted with impunity. He had caused many problems in Yingnan Prefecture and was nicknamed the Rogue General.

He never expected that on a matter of military strategy for the entire eastern army, he would still dare to act so recklessly.

Water Monkey cursed loudly after hearing this, "Damn it! That bastard will die on a woman's belly sooner or later!"

Qin Sang also got a headache hearing about this. The magistrate of Hening County was clearly capable. Although the garrison had been withdrawn, the civilian militia and yamen runners at the city gates had been strictly trained.

The original plan was for the two flanking armies to merge their forces by dawn the day after tomorrow for a surprise attack on Hening County, which would have been foolproof. Now, Wang Liu was chasing women with his troops, and their forces were greatly reduced. How much confidence did they have in breaking the city?

If they broke the city, would they still have enough strength to suppress the rioting populace?

If they delayed by a day, they feared the news would leak.

After staring at the city gate of Hening County for a while, Qin Sang spat out a blade of grass and said in a deep voice, "If he doesn't want the credit that's being handed to him, don't blame us brothers for eating alone. This time, we brothers will put in extra effort to help General Mu take Hening County. After it's done, I will personally request commendations for you from the County Princess!"

The procession of refugees on the road suddenly became chaotic. A few refugees were arguing loudly and shoving each other, and were driven out of the soup kitchen by the household guards of a wealthy family.

The refugees on the entire road craned their necks to watch the commotion, but no one dared to leave the line.

Qin Sang curiously looked over and saw that one side consisted of three strong, burly men who looked similar, possibly brothers. The other side had seven people, all young children, both boys and girls. The oldest boy looked about thirteen or fourteen, but that wasn't certain; children from poor families in this era were often malnourished.

After listening to the discussions of the people nearby for a while, Qin Sang understood.

These three burly men called themselves the Kong Brothers. They had always bullied people with their strength and size. They never queued for porridge and often extorted people with broken bowls. They even snatched porridge from the elderly and weak.

They didn't dare to act out in front of respectable wealthy families, but if the family distributing porridge didn't want to get involved, they could have their way.

These children had been targeted by them. Not only did they want to snatch porridge, but they also wanted to snatch the children.

With a mission to complete, Qin Sang usually didn't interfere in such matters. However, the leading boy was very interesting, and he looked at him a few more times.

"My sister broke your bowl, we'll pay you for it. You can't take her away!"

The boy shielded the other six children behind him with his arms, like a mother hen protecting her chicks. A dirty little girl was hiding behind him, crying softly. It was likely she had broken the bowl.

Qin Sang had good eyesight and noticed that although the girl was covered in dirt, her features were well-proportioned. She was only a little over ten years old, and if cleaned up, she could fetch a good price. It was no wonder those three guys wanted to snatch her.

"Pah!"

The eldest of the three brothers spat fiercely, pointing at the shards on the ground of the soup kitchen. "You don't know anything! My bowl is from that... Black Kiln..."

The third brother whispered, "Big brother, White Kiln, White Kiln..."

"Ah, yes! A bowl from White Kiln! Little beggar, do you know White Kiln? A single bowl is worth several hundred taels of silver. Even selling all of you little beggars wouldn't be enough! I only want that little girl, consider it a favor to you!"

The eldest stared lecherously at the little girl. "Little sister, come with big brother, and I guarantee you'll have delicious food and drinks. What fun is there with these kids who haven't even grown their fuzz? Haha..."

The three burly men laughed obscenely.

The children were indignant, and the little girl trembled with fear.

Qin Sang almost laughed out loud in anger. White Kiln produced the most valuable porcelain in the Great Sui Dynasty, all of which were tribute items. Even ordinary wealthy merchants were not qualified to use them. He had never heard of refugees holding White Kiln porcelain while begging for porridge.

"Damn it!"

The second brother suddenly stepped forward, his chest almost touching the boy's face, and said fiercely, "Little beggar, she's not your real sister, why are you meddling? Be sensible and get out of the way!"

Qin Sang narrowed his eyes. This man was holding a knife, pressing it against the boy's stomach.

Zhang Wenkui, who had not yet recovered, saw this and became angry. He said indignantly, "Hall Master, these children are pitiful. Should we intervene?"

Qin Sang turned to Zhang Wenkui and asked coldly, "Should I call you Zhang the Hero from now on? Have you saved many pitiful people?"

Zhang Wenkui's face suddenly turned pale, and he lowered his head, not daring to speak again.

Unexpectedly, the boy, with a knife against him, was completely fearless. He stood there motionless, his head held high, his red eyes fixed on the burly man in front of him, and yelled madly.

"Go f*** yourself! If you have the guts, stab me. Kill me, and you can take whoever you want!"

The second brother was also startled by the boy's crazy behavior and instinctively took a step back. Then, enraged, he didn't dare to use the knife. He grabbed the boy by the collar and was about to strike.

The boy was also fierce and bit him.

Qin Sang called out in a low voice.

"Old Zhou!"

Water Monkey understood immediately. He scrambled up from the ground, darted between them in a few steps, pushed the burly man aside, and pounced on the youth. He grabbed the boy's face and cried out, "Son! Son! It's really you! I'm your father! I'm your father!"

Qin Sang rubbed his forehead and thought to himself, What a talent.

The boy also reacted quickly, throwing his arms around Water Monkey and crying loudly, "Dad! I finally found you! Dad, why did you take so long to come..."

Everyone was startled by Water Monkey's sudden appearance. Before they could react, they witnessed this scene of father and son reuniting and couldn't help but marvel.

Although Water Monkey was only two years older than Qin Sang, his face was covered in a thick layer of yellow mud, and his acting was superb. The 'father and son' cried passionately. No one expected it to be a play.

The three burly men were a bit dumbfounded, but when they saw Water Monkey with a broken arm, they started to get restless.

Qin Sang pursed his lips. Zhang Wenkui, who had been eager to act, finally dared to move. He ran over in a few steps, his face fierce as he stared at the three men. "Second Brother! Is this really my nephew? Don't be afraid, nephew. Tell your uncle who bullied you, and your uncle will get revenge for you!"

Zheng Kun also quietly sidled over, pulled open his shirt, revealing a section of a knife hilt at his waist.

Seeing that there was no benefit to be gained, the three burly men then cursed and walked away.