All Life-Saving Stuff, and the Brothers Loved Hearing It

The battle on the Guangji River did not end until only the lingering glow of the setting sun remained.

The fighting on the three large ships had ended, but the bandits who had dived underwater, jumped into the river, or already fled into the forests on the far bank had yet to be completely cleared out.

The Yong'an County Magistrate, shouting that they had to finish the job to the very end, gripped his ceremonial sword and, under the protection of a group of young men and yamen runners, chased down and hacked at several isolated bandits, sweat drenching his body.

By the riverbank, the Martial Guard Bureau soldiers who had disembarked gathered together.

Zhang Yuan wore his armor, one hand resting on his sword hilt as he strode quickly through the area, inspecting the casualties in his team.

Even with armor on, seven or eight men had suffered minor wounds.

He took out the medicine he had brought and told the soldiers to apply it when bandaging their wounds.

Chen Wu led seven or eight soldiers as they gathered the scattered weapons, as well as the arrows and short spears fired earlier.

All these military supplies had to be counted after battle. Anything that could be recovered was recovered; anything that could not was reported as battle losses.

Feng Cheng and several new recruits were sprawled by the riverbank, vomiting violently.

They had felt nothing during the battle, but after coming ashore, the yamen runners began carrying out the bandits' bodies—whole ones, broken ones—and piling them into a massive heap.

Only then did the recruits begin to feel fear in hindsight, their stomachs churning like rivers and seas.

Not far away, a thirty-something official in a blue-green official robe—the Yong'an County Magistrate—was also crouched by a reef, vomiting.

After returning to shore, he had insisted on inspecting the battlefield and boarded one of the wooden ships that had not yet been cleaned up.

"This is a Musk Pill. It can focus and steady the mind." After giving several pills to Feng Cheng and the others, Zhang Yuan walked over to the Yong'an County Magistrate in blue-green robes and handed him one.

"Thank you, Commandant Zhang." The constable Gao Tong beside him accepted the pill, carefully fed it to the magistrate, then scooped up two handfuls of river water to help him swallow it.

When Zhang Yuan had walked several Zhang away, he heard a voice sound behind him.

"This pill is good. The moment it went down, I felt calmer."

"By the way, Constable Gao, what water did you give me?"

"River water?"

"Urgh..."

The soldiers of the prefectural Martial Guard Bureau set up camp on the riverbank, unloading all the tents and rations from the seven carriages.

The first thing they did after setting up the great cauldrons was boil water.

Buckets of river water were carried over and boiled. Half was left to cool and poured into bamboo tubes; the other half was sent to the wounded to clean their injuries.

The three great cauldrons boiled water without pause, delivering it into the erected tents.

The soldiers who had already removed their armor needed to wash their clothes, armor, and weapons, then coat them in oil.

The bloodstains on their bodies also had to be washed clean, and they changed into dry clothes.

Zhang Yuan, Qi Junliang, Chen Wu, and the others remained in armor, weapons in hand, patrolling the camp.

Yong'an County Lieutenant Xu Xianzhong led several young men over with two sides of pork, along with some rice and flour.

Xu Xianzhong had originally intended to send the soldiers to the post station to rest, then invite Zhang Yuan and the other commanding officers, along with the military clerk, into the county city for several banquet tables.

Unfortunately, taking stock of the battlefield consumed too much time, and the soldiers could only camp by the river.

Military rules dictated that once camp was established, the accompanying officers had to arrange sentries. Even while resting, they could not possibly go off to a feast and drink.

"Commandant Zhang, your courage in today's battle was unmatched. Xu truly admires you." Xu Xianzhong clasped his hands toward Zhang Yuan, his expression solemn.

He, too, had come from the military. Naturally, he admired Zhang Yuan's fierce courage and killing prowess.

What was more, he had learned from the military clerk that Zhang Yuan was none other than that Righteous and Loyal Second Master Zhang.

"It was merely my duty. I do not deserve County Lieutenant Xu's praise." Zhang Yuan waved a hand and escorted Xu Xianzhong toward the edge of the camp.

After chatting for a few moments, Zhang Yuan gained a general understanding of the gains from this bandit-suppression mission.

These bandits were one of several water-bandit gangs that had long entrenched themselves on the Guangji River. In the past, they had simply broken into homes, robbed travelers, and plundered along the waterways.

The Guangji River connected to the Guangling River, and there were many water bandits upon it. Across several hundred li, the authorities could never suppress them all.

Recently, border trade had flourished, stirring thoughts among these bandits. Many had begun forming shipping gangs and claiming they wanted to do honest business.

That should have been a good thing, but how could water bandits truly know how to conduct business?

They preyed on one another in the shadows and seized whatever they wanted by force. This time, they had been bold enough to smuggle prohibited iron ore.

More than eighty thousand jin of iron ore had been found aboard the three wooden ships, worth a thousand taels of silver.

More importantly, this iron ore had been stolen from a mine in the neighboring county.

It truly was business without capital.

"This time, the Jihe Gang is more or less finished. Apart from Gang Leader Liu Datou and a few good swimmers who escaped by diving, every other gang member was swept up in one net."

"With this, Yong'an County's waterways should remain peaceful for at least three years."

"The County Magistrate will probably earn himself a promotion this time. Perhaps he may even meet you in the prefectural city, Commandant Zhang."

The bandit suppression had succeeded brilliantly and yielded great gains. Xu Xianzhong was delighted, so he spoke a little more with Zhang Yuan.

In truth, it was because he knew Zhang Yuan's identity and deliberately wished to build ties with him. Otherwise, there was no reason to reveal so much information to a Martial Guard commander.

After seeing Xu Xianzhong off, Zhang Yuan returned to camp, where the fragrance of food already drifted through the air.

Only after some soldiers changed shifts did he remove his armor, wash up, eat several large bowls of white rice and meat, then return to his military tent to rest.

Inside the tent, Zhang Yuan lay down still clothed. True essence and vitality slowly circulated through his body, while a faint Golden Light Screen emerged in his mind.

Zhang Yuan

Identity: Great Qin Luyang Prefecture Eighth-Rank Black Robe Guard Zhang Yuan, Black Ice Platform Black Armored Captain Black Tiger, Bounty Hunter Black Tiger, Crimson Fox Caravan Commander Crimson Fox, Lord of Eighteen Green Mountains Strongholds Zhang Erhe

Cultivation: Late Xiantian Realm. Advancement requires 849 Vitality Beads, 358 True Essence Beads, Grandmaster Tribulation, Heavenly Dao Opportunity

Martial Way Cultivation: Mountains and Rivers Move Great Perfection

Battle Formation: Azure Wolf Formation Great Perfection, Tiger Walk Battle Formation Great Perfection

Chaos Space: 3,572 Vitality Beads, 769 Insight Beads, 562 True Essence Beads, 221 Demonic Qi Beads

Chaos Auxiliary Battle: Not Activated

Now, killing ordinary martial artists could only accumulate a negligible amount of vitality and insight for Zhang Yuan.

Fortunately, he had long overcome the desires in his heart and would not slaughter at will merely to gather resources for cultivation.

The Chaos Screen in his mind faded away. Zhang Yuan lay with his eyes closed, recalling the gains and losses from today's march and battle.

Reviewing gains and losses, making up for his own shortcomings—this was the method he had devised for seeking a Heavenly Dao Opportunity and stepping into the Grandmaster Realm.

At this moment, in a military tent not far away, more than ten soldiers had also gathered together to review the gains and losses of this battle.

Chen Wu and Huang Sanliang presided over the review, with several veteran soldiers such as Yu Changlong at their side.

Feng Cheng and the other new recruits who had recently entered the Martial Guard Bureau sat to one side, their backs straight.

When Zhang Yuan had eaten dinner earlier, he had specifically instructed Feng Cheng to come listen to Chen Wu and the others review the battle.

"Today, the battle formation was assembled too slowly. It gave the bandits an opportunity to dive underwater."

"Also, the arcing volleys did not form suppression. The three-stage volleys were not smooth enough."

"I won't even mention the fighting aboard the ships. Armored soldiers were actually blocked on the deck by bandits for a hundred breaths and could not break into the cabin. If the enemy had also worn armor and carried bows and crossbows, we would have been cut down like wheat."

As Chen Wu spoke, he turned to look at Huang Sanliang.

"Sanliang, how was your team?"

Huang Sanliang shook his head, a hint of envy revealed on his face.

"How could we compare to you?"

"You had Brother Yuan holding the line. Before, whenever Brother Yuan was at the yamen, Uncle Hu Yang had him teach battle formations. Now, Seventh Team is probably already the most capable fighting team in the bureau."

His words made several new recruits unconsciously grin, smiles appearing on their faces.

"But your recruits are poorly trained. They have seen too little blood. Why weren't they assigned to carry corpses and count heads after the battle?" Huang Sanliang's gaze fell upon Feng Cheng and the others.

Their faces turned pale, and the corners of their mouths twitched.

Chen Wu, Yu Changlong, and the other veteran soldiers burst into laughter.

Outside the tent, the Yong'an County Magistrate in his blue-green official robes revealed a curious expression and turned to look at the military clerk beside him.

"Lord Qian, your Martial Guard Bureau actually has such a tradition?"

"Post-battle reviews are a rule found only among elite troops."

A smile rested on the military clerk's face as he raised a hand, signaling for the magistrate to continue walking.

The Yong'an County Magistrate was the lord of this place and had the duty to inspect and offer condolences. As the chief officer of the Martial Guard Bureau, the military clerk also needed to inspect the encampment.

"Five years ago, eight soldiers from our Luyang Prefecture Martial Guard Bureau went to reinforce Fengtian County City. In the end, only one returned."

"At the time, fewer than thirty men remained in the Martial Guard Bureau, and its fighting strength was extremely weak."

"By chance, that kid Erhe had fought at the front for three months and had gained some insights into staying alive, so he would take time to tell everyone about them."

"They were all life-saving things, and the brothers loved hearing them."

A trace of emotion showed on the military clerk's face as he looked toward the distant wilderness.

"Without anyone noticing, the practice was passed down."

"Post-battle reviews and strict training have indeed strengthened the Martial Guard Bureau considerably over these past few years."

The magistrate nodded and said with a smile, "No wonder the two teams of Martial Guard soldiers today could so easily rout nearly three times their number of bandits. Their fighting strength truly is—"

At this point, he suddenly stopped and turned toward the military clerk. "The battle of Fengtian County five years ago, Zhang Erhe—"

Before he could finish, a shrill whistle came from the river bend not far away, followed by a burst of fireworks rising into the sky.

Boom—

Golden-red fireworks exploded ten Zhang overhead.

Enemy attack!

Zhang Yuan, sleeping fully clothed, flipped upright and shot out of the tent.

I do not know how this book is written either. I have not read it yet; when I have time, I will take a look.