Chapter 119: The Child Was Thrown Into a Pot of Boiling Water

Bai Wei had a chat with Xiao Moting.

Now, she had a grocery store in the Daliang Kingdom.

"Goddess, the soap and laundry detergent sold for over forty thousand taels of silver in just an hour."

"So much! Xiao Moting, you really know how to do business,"

Bai Wei could not help but admire him from the bottom of her heart.

She never expected that Xiao Moting was not only valiant in battle but also quite formidable at earning money!

He was handsome, valued loyalty and righteousness, and held extremely high prestige in the army. Everything he promised her, he fulfilled completely, never forgetting a single thing, and he would even mold Mud Figurines to cheer her up.

It was a pity Xiao Moting was born in the wrong era; if he were in the modern age, there is no telling how popular he would be with girls.

Bai Wei regained her focus and immediately picked up her phone to call the manufacturer and place an order.

Now that soap and laundry detergent were selling like hotcakes in the Daliang Kingdom, she had to strike while the iron was hot and make a fortune.

"Xiao Moting, I've ordered a few more truckloads of soap and laundry detergent; as soon as the goods arrive, I'll send them over to you."

"By the way, I'll send you another batch of liquor tomorrow; take it to the grocery store and see if it can be sold."

Bai Wei had already sent the porcelain liquor bottles transported from the porcelain factory to the distillery, having Li Bo fill them with liquor.

Since Xiao Moting helped her open a grocery store, it was the perfect chance to try selling liquor.

After Bai Wei finished writing the message, she did not receive a reply from Xiao Moting.

She found it strange.

Usually, Xiao Moting replied to messages in seconds; what was wrong today?

……

Daliang Kingdom.

Xiao Moting stood outside the camp tent, his expression dark to the extreme.

"Speak, what exactly happened?"

Before him knelt over a hundred ragged commoners, covered in blood, most of them injured.

Qin Zhan stepped forward.

"Prince, these are villagers from beneath the Altai Snow Mountain. A group of Rakshasa Bandits attacked five villages at the foot of the mountain. They are the ones who escaped. The villagers wish to beg you to dispatch troops to drive back the Rakshasa Bandits."

Xiao Moting's sword-like brows furrowed.

"Altai Snow Mountain? Isn't that area within the territory of Yannan? If bandits are to be fought, Yuan Canghai should be the one to dispatch troops. Why have they come all the way to Beijiang?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than the villagers began to wail and plead.

"Fourth Prince, General Yuan sent two thousand of the Yuan Family Army, but they were no match for these bandits at all and have already retreated."

"What?" Xiao Moting's brows knitted even tighter. "The Yuan Family Army is well-equipped and strictly trained; how could they not even defeat a group of bandits?"

"These Rakshasa Bandits colluded with the Rakshasa army stationed at the border and formed a Matchlock Team."

"The bandits occupied the village and built a Bunker on the high ground. Relying on a twenty-man Matchlock Team, they beat the Yuan Family Army into a rout."

"The Yuan Family Army lost many men but couldn't even take the high ground, so they had no choice but to retreat."

A Matchlock Team!

Xiao Moting's gaze turned sharp.

The Beijiang soldiers nearby also had their expressions change drastically.

They had witnessed the power of the Matchlock on the Tablet Computer sent by Shennü Daren!

The Yuan Family Army's Bow and Arrow and Long Sword were simply no match for the Matchlock.

The villagers knelt on the ground, weeping bitterly.

"After the Yuan Family Army was soundly defeated, they refused to send troops again, so we had no choice but to come and beg the Prince."

"Our families have been captured by the Rakshasa Bandits; we beg the Prince to dispatch troops."

A disheveled woman pushed Qin Zhan aside, rushed before Xiao Moting, and knelt, kowtowing desperately.

"My daughter is only eleven years old. The Rakshasa Bandits dragged her into the Bunker and took turns violating her... I beg the Prince to save this humble woman's daughter! This humble woman is willing to be a beast of burden for the Prince!"

One of her eyes had been beaten blind, and half her face was smeared with black-red blood clots, terrifying and pitiful.

The woman's shrill, miserable wailing was like a fuse.

All the villagers kneeling on the ground began to wail along with her.

"My wife and two daughters were all dragged into the Bunker. This gang of bandits stripped off their clothes and hung them up to torture them day and night. I beg the Prince to save our lives."

"My mother was also captured. Every day, women are tortured to death in the Bunker. The corpses of the women thrown out are all naked, covered in wounds, black and blue, without a single piece of intact flesh."

"The bandits snatch nursing infants from their mothers' arms and, right in front of the mothers, throw the children into a pot of boiling water to be boiled alive, all while clapping and laughing on the side."

The villagers wept tears of blood, their cries filled with absolute despair.

The surrounding Beijiang soldiers were burning with rage as they listened!

When two nations go to war, both sides meet on the battlefield with weapons in hand.

But this gang of Rakshasa Bandits was devoid of humanity; not only did they specifically target defenseless villagers, but they also used various cruel tortures on women and children for amusement. It was simply insane!

Facing the villagers' weeping, Xiao Moting's thin lips were pressed tight.

It was not that he did not want to fight.

It was that although the Altai Snow Mountain area was adjacent to Beijiang, it was Yannan territory and fell under Yuan Canghai's jurisdiction.

If the Beijiang army took action, it would be equivalent to invading another's territory and provoking Yuan Canghai's authority.

Yuan Canghai would certainly memorialize the Emperor and demand severe punishment.

Perhaps, in a fit of rage, he would even dispatch troops to attack Beijiang.

However, Xiao Moting now took orders from Bai Wei and did not care about the imperial court at all.

What he truly cared about was the Matchlock in the hands of the bandits.

This type of weapon has immense power; even if the Northern Frontier Army takes the Bunker, they will certainly suffer heavy casualties, making the cost outweigh the gains.

Xiao Moting raised his head and gave the order.

"Wu Da, settle the commoners first; as for sending out troops, I will consider it later."

But the villagers would not leave; they lay flat on the ground, weeping bitterly and kowtowing.

"Prince, we beg you."

Their families, their children... were all in the devil's den; if the Northern Frontier Army did not send troops, their families and children would all be tortured to death.

The sky began to rain.

The villagers did not move; mothers held their young children, children supported their parents, all of them drenched in the rain.

They were soaked through, yet they knelt before the military tent without making a fuss, weeping silently.

"What are you doing?" Wu Da shouted sternly, "Trying to force the Prince to send troops? You are people of Yannan; if you want to find someone, you should be looking for Yuan Canghai!"

Someone cried out, "General Yuan ignores us; he will not let the Yuan Family Army fight the Firearm Squad for the sake of us common folk."

Wu Da's face darkened, "If Yuan Canghai won't send troops, do you think our Northern Frontier Army won't suffer casualties if we go to fight the Firearm Squad?"

The villagers remained silent, merely lowering their heads and sobbing softly.

Xiao Moting scanned the crowd, his sword-like brows tightly knit.

These commoners wanted him to send troops.

But if he gave the order, it would be the Northern Frontier Army that suffered the casualties!

The Firearm Squad's power was too great; if a battle started, the Northern Frontier Army's casualties would number in the tens of thousands.

A large number of soldiers would likely be killed halfway there before they even charged up the high ground.

Xiao Moting took a deep breath, his heart in extreme conflict.

He subconsciously turned his head and looked at the Wardrobe in the military tent.

On the Wardrobe, there was a message from Bai Wei.

Xiao Moting walked over.

"Shennü Daren, I was dealing with urgent military intelligence just now and didn't have time to reply to you."