Chapter 1144: Lü Family Manor

The deepest hours of the night were truly hard to endure. Zhao Jin couldn't help yawning, stopping several times to go to a nearby stream to splash water on his face. By this hour, the stream was nearly frozen over. The bone-chilling water thrown on his face could indeed wake a man. By the time they faintly glimpsed the first light of dawn, everyone's spirits had pulled through, though the mounts' exhaustion remained.

This season was no longer the busy farming period, but there were still plenty of people who rose before the sky was fully bright. There were many villages and hamlets near the official road, and it wasn't as if no one saw Zhao Jin's troop pass by in the early morning. However, having lived long in these troubled times, when they saw this murderous-looking column march past without heading toward their own homes, they all held their breath and dared not make a sound.

Several dozen men in Zhao Jin's troop wore no armor. They rode light, roaming around the column's perimeter, keeping a tight watch on the surrounding villages. If anyone went to report or inexplicably headed off in another direction, they would immediately ride them down and kill them. But most people understood what was at stake, and no one sought their own death. Even traveling merchants on the official road, hurrying to reach the city, scrambled frantically to the roadside to get out of the way.

The Zhao camp did not ignore these traveling merchants, however. They directly seized a few and questioned them, asking if they knew the location of Lü Family Manor. By the fourth man they asked, someone said he knew. That Lü Family Manor was the estate of Old Master Lü's family. This Lü Xuefeng had been a clerk in the Military Office of Mengyin County years ago. By his thirties, he had given his position to his younger brother and returned to the countryside to manage his properties, using cunning and force to become one of the few great households in Mengyin. It was said that while Old Master Lü had no official connections on the surface, he secretly had men who could fight and kill, so no one dared provoke him.

After obtaining this information, it was easy to deduce that the so-called stronghold occupied by desperadoes was very likely this Old Master Lü's private army. No wonder they could hide in this manor as soon as trouble broke out. Once the news was reported, the man who knew the location of Lü Family Manor received a few taels of silver and was promised a heavy reward after leading the way there. At this point, he had no other choice and could only obediently comply.

"That guide seems to have suffered some grievance at the hands of the Lü family. Frightened as he is, he's still gritting his teeth and determined to go."

"In a poor, desolate, and remote place like this, to amass a great family fortune and keep a gang of desperadoes on hand—how could it be possible without drinking the blood of the local people, without murder and plunder? All these country squires and local tyrants are the same. Even if one has a good reputation, as long as he wants to build up a family fortune, he has to flay the skin and drink the blood of those beneath him. If we sweep all these people away, the common folk's lives will certainly be better than before. But at the very start, no one will feel grateful to us; they'll only resent us," Zhao Jin said with feeling.

By the time the walls of Mengyin County town came into view, the location of Lü Family Manor was also visible. There were many households here, with hamlets connecting into a continuous stretch. The movements of the Zhao camp's several hundred cavalry could not be concealed at all. Under Zhao Jin's orders, some of the household troops changed into plain clothes and rode two to a horse with the guide to reconnoiter the route, while the rest veered away from the official road and temporarily rested outside one of the villages.

The sun had not yet risen, but many in the village were already awake. The sudden approach of such a large mounted force struck terror into every heart. Yet at this moment, trying to flee was impossible—how could they leave with their wives and children, and they couldn't take their household belongings with them either, especially with the other side having so many horses. The villagers panicked for a while, then a few elders came out trembling with fear to ask what they had come for.

The people of this small village never expected that the moment these fierce, armor-clad, blade-wielding men showed themselves, they would first toss down a few ingots of silver. They said they wanted hot water and hot food, and also a guide who knew the ins and outs of Lü Family Manor. As long as everyone else stayed inside their homes and didn't move around recklessly, there would be no trouble. The villagers who came out didn't believe these words, but the gleaming silver left them no choice but to believe, and the naked blades and spears gave them even less of a choice. They hastily and obsequiously agreed and went back to prepare.

Every household had to boil water and cook in the morning anyway, so these preparations were made quickly. At market price, buying this hot water and hot food wouldn't have cost a single ingot. With so much silver given and no one entering the village to cause havoc, of course everyone was eager to oblige.

By the time the Zhao camp's household troops and guide returned, the guide from the village had also come over. He was a bachelor in his thirties, alone and unattached. After receiving silver from the Zhao camp, he beamed and chattered away nonstop.

This Lü Family Manor had over a hundred households, but its scale matched places with several hundred. It had a mill, an oil press, shops, and everything else, plus a drill ground for training its own militia. If there was a dispute over water or land, they could openly muster nearly two hundred able-bodied men. They also had three hired martial instructors at high pay, all said to be fierce fighters each worth a hundred men. This information was probably no secret; the people of Lü Family Manor would constantly boast of their strength to outsiders so that no one would dare offend them.

Though it was less than ten li from the county town, Lü Family Manor still had earthen walls reinforced with stone, a moat dug around it, and entry and exit only possible via a drawbridge. Moreover, their stout guards patrolled and kept night watch without ever relaxing. It was said that a band of bold outlaws once tried to launch a sneak attack, but lost over a dozen lives without ever breaking in. As for the location and roads, the bachelor leading the way knew them even better. There was a market fair outside Lü Family Manor that peddlers and idlers all liked to visit, and this bachelor often went there himself.

Once all this was said, and the accounts of the two guides corroborated each other, the troop led by Zhao Jin had also finished their breakfast. With hot soup and hot food in their bellies, much of the fatigue and cold from the night march dissipated. The villagers who brought the food wore ingratiating smiles, but watching these ferocious, fiendish men feed the food to their horses, they thought it was utterly wasteful, yet dared not say a word. Many of them couldn't normally afford to eat such food and had only brought it out because the "bandit kings" had come. But since the other side had given so much silver, they had nothing to complain about.

"Mount up! Third Company to the back gate. Fourth Company, detach five squads to patrol the perimeter. The rest follow me in a frontal assault on the main gate!" Zhao Jin called out loudly. The men roared their assent and each swung into the saddle. They had not taken off their armor all night.

The village bachelor was also on a horse. He was badly jolted by the animal's gait, but his stricken expression wasn't from that. He knew Lü Family Manor's defenses were tight. He had even heard soldiers at the city gate say that even two thousand government troops might not be able to crack this manor. Yet these men were just charging over on horseback. Though he'd never seen battle, he knew horses couldn't charge over those earthen walls. He had stepped forward this time hoping to earn a quick profit, but he desperately hoped the Lü family wouldn't hold a grudge against him.

Never mind the bachelor's wild, fearful thoughts. As Zhao Jin led the mounted column forward, even without a full gallop, their momentum was still considerable. The earthen fortifications of Lü Family Manor were constantly manned by lookouts, who quickly spotted them. No one dared ignore a force of several hundred cavalry; everyone watched nervously. Once they realized the force was heading straight for them, they immediately beat gongs and shouted the alarm.

Upon hearing the gongs, the bachelor serving as guide nearly tumbled off his horse, but by now he was trapped and could only ride forward with a bitter face. From a distance of over a hundred paces, they saw the earthen walls lined with men. Someone was shouting out at them: "Which brotherhood on the path is that out there? If it's money, grain, food, or drink you want, everything is negotiable. Don't harm the harmony of the rivers and lakes. This place is only eight li from the county town. If things blow up, the soldiers and local militia in the city will come pouring out, and no one will escape!"

The troop led by Zhao Jin halted at a hundred paces. The men dismounted one after another. The moment they dismounted, an arrow shot out from the manor gate, swift and accurate, striking the ground about forty paces in front of the Zhao camp's line. A cheer rose from the earthen walls. That arrow was both a show of force and a warning: this manor was not to be trifled with. One had to know that for bandit gangs and outlaws, a bow and arrow was a fearsome killing tool. If the shot was accurate, there was no need for close combat; one could kill or wound enemies on the fortifications. If a manor or stronghold had this, it meant the enemy couldn't get close.

A skilled archer like that could draw full pay anywhere, and among bandits and thieves, could claim an extra share of the loot. For Lü Family Manor to have such a strong hand was quite something in the Mengyin area.

Both guides wished they could bury themselves in the ground and didn't dare raise their heads. But Zhao Jin's side didn't care in the slightest. Ji Xiang and Zhao Jin exchanged a glance, then Ji Xiang raised his hand and spoke: "Firearms, prepare! Volley fire at the wall top. Don't let them stand up!"

The firearm troops were methodically loading their weapons. They were all drawn from the most elite household troops, men who could ride and skillfully use firearms to shoot. Even within the Zhao camp, such troops were not too numerous.

Inside Lü Family Manor, thick columns of smoke were already rising. It seemed they were setting fires to call for help. It was unclear whether there was a beacon-fire distress protocol around Mengyin County, but with such a conspicuous disturbance at a manor outside the city, and one belonging to a local tyrant like the Lü family, the town authorities would certainly not ignore it. However, Zhao Jin's troop wasn't worried. The opening and closing of the city gates followed fixed hours. Before the appointed time, the gates would absolutely not open. Judging by the sky, it would be more than another two hours before they did.

Besides the smoke signals raising the alarm, gongs, drums, and suona horns were sounding nonstop inside Lü Family Manor. This was to call for help from the surrounding villages. Manors and hamlets outside the city mostly had mutual defense pacts: when one family was in trouble, aid came from all directions. Seeing the smoke signals and hearing the clamor of gongs and drums, the two guides turned deathly pale and trembled all over.

"Change the first volley to thirty firearms firing as one, then volley by tens!" Zhao Jin altered the firing order.

Before long, the loading was complete. The fire pan was filled with charcoal borrowed from the village where they had breakfast. They lit the fuses, and the firearm troops, after a brief alignment, began advancing. From a hundred paces away, the men on the earthen walls of Lü Family Manor could clearly see the general outline of Zhao Jin's troop, and naturally saw that the enemy was carrying firearms.

"When they get close to the ditch, everyone duck! All archers, make ready! The Old Master has decreed: for every bandit shot dead, a reward of five taels of silver!" The men in the manor had certainly seen firearms before and knew their approximate range. In their thinking, for firearms to kill or wound, one had to close within thirty paces. What's more, this was an uphill assault from below, so they'd have to get even closer. At this distance, bows and arrows were deadlier; even thrown spears and rocks would be more effective than firearms.

This band of toughs that had suddenly appeared looked vicious and murderous, and the manor's people had been extremely tense at first. But when they saw the enemy bring out firearms, they couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Men who didn't dare fight it out in a real, bloody clash of blades couldn't be considered true warriors.

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