Wang Wei was a licentiate from a large coastal county. He had poured all his wealth into organizing a local militia to strike at the westerners who came ashore to plunder.
Drawing on his familiarity with the terrain and the firearms and ammunition issued by the court, he had achieved considerable success.
The militia had 230 combat soldiers and 400 farmers. Over the past three months, they had killed or wounded a total of forty-one westerners and their colonial servants.
That number was remarkable.
The County Magistrate had been preparing to report his merits for a reward, but the westerners soon breached the county seat and killed the magistrate. The commendation documents came to nothing.
This was the westerners' newest tactic.
They cruised freely along the vast coastline, occasionally picking out a poorly defended county seat and coming ashore to plunder it.
The enemy was a fist, while their own side was a long, sprawling line. There was simply no way to contend with them.
This time, it was merely the county where Wang Wei lived that had been chosen.
Watching flames rise from his hometown, he ground his teeth in fury.
"Damn Foreign Devils! They should have stayed in their own homes instead of coming here to wreak havoc. Damn them!" he cursed viciously.
"Master Wang, we're almost out of food, and ammunition is running short too. County Magistrate Cheng used to supply it all, but now that he's dead, no one is handling our provisions or arms." His Advisor sighed heavily.
"Looks like we can only seek shelter with another nearby chief." Scholar Wang gazed into the distance.
He had originally hoped to take the path of a regional warlord. Yet here he was, with even his hometown lost.
He set his sights on the Bright Light Army.