Everyone inside the Liujiapu fortified village didn't know that the Insurance Corps had already issued an order to attack. Several waves of spies sent out saw no movement at all. There was not a single person in the surrounding ten *li* and eight villages. After questioning the spies, Master Liu Ba and Liu Wentao couldn't detain them there to ask repeatedly without limit. Running so far, they had to eat and rest. So news about the outside gradually spread inside Liujiapu.

Views on this news varied greatly up and down Liujiapu. For the vast majority of people, this was good news. Family guards, especially those who had seen that blue-clad gunman, simply didn't want to meet that sharpshooter again. Since there was no one outside, that was naturally best. Who would want to look for trouble if they had nothing better to do?

But for a very few people, such as Master Liu Ba (Liu Wenxiu), this news made him feel chills on his back. The sudden disappearance of the blue-clad men was not strange. But nearly a thousand refugees also disappearing completely, this was really terrifying. That was not dozens of people; nearly a thousand people disappearing was by no means such an easy thing. After getting the first wave of intelligence, Master Liu Ba felt something was wrong. He specially sent a few capable subordinates to follow the road the refugees took when retreating last time, tracking the footprints carefully.

This tracking did find the refugees' former camp, but the camp was empty. Wanting to follow the refugees' footprints, they found the footprints split into several paths, going in all directions. These people were few in number originally. Asking them to track the whereabouts of the common people together, they could do it. Asking them to split up and act, these people knew deeply that when the refugees attacked the fortified village last time, a deadly feud had been formed with them. If a few solitary people fell into the hands of the common people, they really wouldn't even know how they died.

Since they dared not separate, those people had to check path by path. Finding a path and walking for a long time, the footprints still wound and extended. But no trace of the common people could be seen ahead. Seeing the sun slanting west, these people felt guilty in their hearts and ran back to Liujiapu to report hurriedly. Master Liu Ba questioned the details carefully before letting the spies go out.

"Big Brother..." Liu Wentao also felt things were a bit wrong. The two brothers discussed these things a lot these days. The surroundings were also disaster areas; even if the refugees really wanted to leave, where could they go? To take these refugees away, how many boats would be needed? Someone who could mobilize so many boats on the Huai River was definitely a local overlord. What use were those refugees to them? Having that leisure to transport refugees away by boat, it would be more cost-effective to use this strength to attack Liujiapu.

Liu Wentao accepted the result of rational deduction with great pain in his heart. When he finally confirmed that this force of unknown origin had completely targeted his own family, Liu Wentao's first feeling was not fear, but grievance. What exactly did his family's fortified village do to make those people deal with him so deliberately? Did he offend them? Or was there any deep hatred before?

While thinking wildly, he heard his eldest brother Master Liu Ba say: "Number Two, starting today, patrol the wall day and night for me."

"Yes." Liu Wentao answered subconsciously, then looked at his eldest brother and asked tentatively: "Big Brother, could this be former enemies coming to the door?"

"Enemies?" Master Liu Ba was stunned for a moment, then understood his brother's meaning, "That's impossible!" Liu Wenxiu said decisively, "Now is a disaster year. Regardless of who those people are, they are eyeing our Liu family's property. Revenge or whatever is at most an excuse. If saying there is old hatred, they don't need to dig out old accounts; just those refugees from a few days ago, what end will we have if we fall into their hands?"

Hearing this, Liu Wentao couldn't help nodding. Although listening to his eldest brother, Liu Wentao couldn't figure out who his opponent was more and more. But his eldest brother's words indeed clarified the root of the problem. The enemy absolutely didn't come for revenge.

Seeing his younger brother pursing his lips, looking solemn, but without the overwhelmed appearance just now, Master Liu Ba inexplicably felt somewhat gratified. After experiencing big events, his younger brother finally grew up a bit. Liu Wenxiu couldn't help sighing, "Second Brother, even if our fortified village is broken, you must remember this clearly. Since they are after our property and act in a disaster year, they absolutely cannot leave us alive. So even if captured, we absolutely cannot cry and beg for mercy. Since the other party will absolutely not spare us, what's the use of begging? Even if we can't keep the ancestral property, we must keep this bit of backbone."

"Big Brother, I remember," Liu Wentao nodded hurriedly, "But our fortified village is not something those people can touch just by saying so."

Liu Wenxiu nodded, "Second Brother, don't think I only say discouraging words. Maybe there are other ways now. If those people only demand money and goods, this time as long as they ask, give them some money and goods first. Then this fortified village can still be held. What I fear is one thing: those blue-clad people are just like last time, not saying a word upon coming up, just a fierce beating. Then this fortified village may not necessarily be held."

"How do you say this?" Liu Wentao asked puzzledly.

Before Liu Wenxiu could explain, a noise suddenly rang out outside. The two brothers stood up invariably and walked out. Just arriving in the courtyard, they saw a family guard running all the way. "Eighth Master (*Ba Ye*), someone is attacking outside."

"Is it the bandits from a few days ago, or those wearing blue clothes?" Master Liu Ba asked hurriedly.

"Should be the bandits from a few days ago," the family guard said.

Is or isn't. What is "should be"? Master Liu Ba climbed up the wall, only to see that the family guards dared not expose their bodies outside the wall anymore, but hid behind the wall. As for the one responsible for ringing the bell on the watchtower, he was trembling and dared not stand up at all. He had a way too; tying a long wooden pole to the hammer handle, hiding behind the wall himself, and hitting the bell with the extended hammer. However, this long pole was not easy to operate; although the bell could be rung, the sound was uneven in weight and length. But Liu Wenxiu really didn't get angry with this guy; instead, he felt this guy was quite resourceful.

Holding the wall to look down, judging from the clothes, they were indeed the refugees from a few days ago. But obviously, they had eaten their fill these days; everyone's complexion was very different, completely without the appearance of dying. The people below stood outside the range of the fortified village's muskets, carrying long ladders, holding various guys, and were shouting curses at the wall.

Master Liu Ba shouted downwards: "Fellow villagers, it's useless for you to shout like this. I say you are for survival, we are also for survival. Since everyone wants to survive, some things can't be helped. I see you already have food to eat; why think so hard and come to us again? How about this, everyone curse a few sentences, and let it go."

These words were not unreasonable, but this was the reason of the people inside the Liujiapu fortified village, not the reason of these brothers outside. Hearing this, the refugees immediately felt like oil poured on fire. The cursing became louder. Originally just cursing Liu Wenxiu and these people for having no conscience, now they began to curse Liujiapu people for having no conscience, dying a bad death, and so on. Cursing aside, these refugees refused to approach the fortified village. Instructing the family guards to watch carefully and not be sneak-attacked by refugees, Master Liu Ba went down the wall.

"Big Brother, just let them curse here?" Liu Wentao asked.

Liu Wenxiu smiled bitterly, "Actually, it's best to send people out to kill for a while now. Suppress the arrogance of these bandits. However, our people here are not very useful. Hope those bandits just toss about like this and let it go."

"I'll take people out to kill for a while." Liu Wentao volunteered.

Although worried about his brother, the best way now was to rush out and kill for a while. Liu Wenxiu thought for a moment and nodded, "Remember, don't chase far. Pick some fast runners, rush up to kill for a while, scatter those bandits, and come back. If you encounter those wearing blue clothes, you come back immediately. Never linger in battle."

Listening to his eldest brother's instructions, Liu Wentao responded excitedly. Then went to pick people.

After a while, the common people outside the fortified village found that the people on the wall dared to straighten up. And there were some sounds at the gate. Then the gate of the fortified village, which had not been opened for months, opened just like that.

Seeing the gate open, Zhou Xingrui didn't blink an eye and shouted immediately: "Run!" The refugees threw down the ladders and ran back immediately.

When Liu Wentao rushed out with people, he saw the refugees had fled far away. Thinking for a moment, he saw a large piece of flat land in front. There couldn't be any ambush. Liu Wentao gritted his teeth and shouted: "Chase! Chase close and shoot!"

The family guards rushing out with Liu Wentao all held muskets. The refugees had run out of range. Shooting now was useless. But Liu Wentao firmly believed that his people definitely ran faster than the refugees. Since it was flat land, as long as everyone chased over and fired a volley of muskets from behind, they could definitely let these "bandits" who didn't know death know the severity. Moreover, since it was flat land in front, if blue-clad people appeared suddenly, he just needed to run back quickly, and there wouldn't be any big trouble. Thinking of this, Liu Wentao felt the strategy his eldest brother played was still very reliable. He took the lead and chased over with the family guards.

However, thinking is simple, but really implementing it was far from easy. The "bandits" who attacked the Liujiapu fortified village seemed to have eaten their fill these days. Running speed was really not slow. They ran early, and these people threw things while running. First the obstructive ladders, then wooden sticks. Finally, even precious farm tools like hoes and forks were simply thrown away. Just running forward desperately. Although looking like they were just in front, really wanting to chase, it was really not easy to catch up. Fortunately, the "bandits" came and went on that one trodden path these days; they didn't run aimlessly. Two groups of people raced one after another.

However, Liu Wentao and others were indeed physically stronger than the refugees. Although the refugees finally had food these days, after so many days of tossing, their bodies were still very weak. Running for a while, lacking stamina, Liu Wentao finally chased close. The refugees had entered the range. Although the effect of aimed shooting might not be very good, Liu Wentao still remembered his eldest brother's words and didn't linger in battle. He ordered the family guards to line up in a row and fire a volley at the backs of the refugees.

The effect of the volley was barely satisfactory. Looking from afar, about three or five people were hit. But Liu Wentao didn't intend to kill all these people this time; mainly to make them dare not approach the fortified village. Some people were hit; presumably, these "bandits" would also know the severity. Just preparing to withdraw troops back to the fortified village, suddenly a sharp bugle sound came from not far away. This was different from that deep ox horn sound; this bugle sound "Di Di Da Da" was sharp and piercing. Just wondering what was going on, a group of people pounced from behind. Unknown when, a group of people actually dug pits in the nearby sandy soil and hid inside. Hearing the bugle sound, the people hiding under the sand immediately leaped up and killed their way over.

And these people could really endure. They didn't attack fiercely until Liu Wentao and the others fired a round of muskets. These muskets were not repeating; single-shot muskets had no time to load bullets now. Where was the time to resist? Those people hiding in the sand all wore dark blue clothes. Liu Wentao only felt incomparably regretful. Although always guarding against these people, he never expected that these people actually hid under his eyelids like this.

Regret was useless. These blue-clad people were agile one by one, killing their way over with long spears. Several resisting family guards were poked down instantly. Seeing they couldn't resist, the remaining family guards threw down the heavy muskets in their hands and ran forward, trying to avoid these plague gods. But they obviously made a wrong choice. The blue-clad Insurance Corps poked down a few people but didn't aim for vital parts. And those family guards fleeing forward met the refugees killing their way back head-on. The refugees who dared to come as bait this time were those whose bodies recovered relatively fast and who had deep hatred for Liujiapu. Either having family members beaten to death in front of Liujiapu, or blaming the cause of family members' death on Liujiapu. These refugees and the people inside the fortified village could be said to be irreconcilable. Having the opportunity for revenge finally, how could they let it go? As soon as the Insurance Corps bugle sounded, the refugees had killed their way back. Zhou Xingrui's nephew and sister's son were beaten to death and burned to death in front of the fortified village. He was now the leader of the refugees. Originally retreating at the back, now he held a broadsword borrowed from the Insurance Corps and rushed in front.

Seeing a family guard coming head-on, Zhou Xingrui slashed at the head. The family guard dodged to the side immediately. Behind Zhou Xingrui, two refugees caught up. They held sharpened wooden spears. Seeing the family guard dodge, they jumped sideways in front of them. The two refugees thrust their spears at the family guard simultaneously. One spear pierced deeply into the family guard's lower abdomen, and the other spear broke one of the family guard's ribs but failed to pierce deeper. The family guard was in so much pain that he couldn't even scream. That severe pain made his whole person freeze in place. And this family guard was destined to have no chance to emit the last scream. The refugee following behind held a hoe. He chopped into the family guard's skull with one hoe. Then gouged forcefully like farming. Accompanied by the sound of skull cracking, red and white brain matter was gouged out. The family guard's two eyeballs really turned completely white, then he fell to the ground, twitched a few times, and died.

The common people swarmed up howling. Different from last time. Last time the howling was full of despair, while this time there was only one concept in the voice, "Revenge! Revenge!"

There were more than twenty family guards following Liu Wentao out. And surging opposite were more than three hundred people. Insurance Corps soldiers knocked down six or seven family guards. The fifteen or sixteen fleeing family guards collided head-on with these more than three hundred people. All refugees who went to battle rushed over. Even those few injured refugees didn't stop. Although their movement was not so convenient, their anger was greater.

One against twenty, the family guards had no chance of winning. They were drowned by the torrent of common people in a blink of an eye. Every commoner approached the enemy who had slaughtered their relatives, beating the enemy desperately with various weapons. Even people who threw down their weapons when retreating and were empty-handed now also tried hard to lean over, trying hard to kick a foot, punch a fist. How the family guards died could no longer be verified. Because they suffered countless blows. Layers of stabs, strikes, hammerings were all fatal. Which blow was the most fatal was no longer important at all. Some of them could still emit some shouts before dying, and some were beaten to death without even emitting the last sound.

These people also once showed off their power on the high wall, but once separated from the wall and falling into the hands of the common people, they were just as fragile as ants.

"Beat these dogs to death!" "Beat these dogs to death!" Everyone roared like this. Under the blows falling like raindrops, the family guards were beaten to death instantly. And the vengeful common people didn't even know what they were roaring.

Liu Wentao had never seen what it looked like for more than three hundred people to rush towards him. When he finally saw it, he was scared motionless by such a scene. That stream of people pressing black like a flood charged over. That thrilling feeling was indescribable. Everyone was looking at Liu Wentao, while Liu Wentao couldn't pay attention to so many people one by one. And during this period, those murderous people got closer and closer to him. Then came a desperate feeling of having no way to escape. Liu Wentao froze in place.

But fortunately, precisely because Liu Wentao didn't resist, this saved his life instead. The *Three Rules of Discipline and Eight Points for Attention* song of the Insurance Corps clearly pointed out that abusing captives is not allowed. Whether those family guards who resisted desperately and were beaten down counted as captives on the battlefield, everyone had no experience and couldn't determine easily. But when Liu Wentao, scared motionless, was caught by Insurance Corps soldiers, he was powerless to resist. So everyone counted him as a captive. The common people beat the fleeing family guards to death, then charged towards those few family guards who fell to the ground. Insurance Corps soldiers only had time to drag Liu Wentao to jump away. Then a bloody and hearty beating happened before their eyes. The few family guards falling on the ground were beaten to death instantly.

The anger depressed in the chests of refugees for a long time was finally vented. Many people beat until exhausted, then suddenly knelt on the ground crying *woo woo*, some simply stood crying. Liu Xingrui (*Zhou*) looked everywhere on the "battlefield" with a broadsword, but saw every family guard was dead. Turning his eyes, he saw Liu Wentao being twisted by the arms by several Insurance Corps soldiers, being tied up. Seeing a Liu family person, Zhou Xingrui's eyes turned red. He raised the broadsword and rushed up.

Insurance Corps soldiers hurriedly stopped Zhou Xingrui, "Fellow villager, fellow villager. My Insurance Corps doesn't allow killing captives."

"You hand him to me; I'll kill him." Zhou Xingrui shouted.

"We hand him to you; what's the difference from us killing him ourselves? Fellow villager, our Insurance Corps doesn't allow killing captives. That means not allowing killing." Lu Zhengping stopped Zhou Xingrui.

Seeing Lu Zhengping, who had been very active in the action of saving refugees, stopping him, Zhou Xingrui knew the Insurance Corps probably really didn't allow killing captives. He sighed deeply and put down the broadsword. But a moment later, Zhou Xingrui suddenly grabbed the lapel of Lu Zhengping's chest and asked loudly: "Brother, why did you come only at this time? When we suffered disaster, why didn't you come earlier!" This voice contained unwillingness, pain, regret, resentment. Various intense emotions turned into accusations rushing towards Lu Zhengping.

Lu Zhengping didn't defend himself. He let Zhou Xingrui grab his clothes on the chest, complaining, scolding, resenting. Until Zhou Xingrui couldn't go on and paused. Lu Zhengping said loudly: "Brother Zhou, we are here now. Rest assured, this time we will resolutely not leave without thoroughly defeating these bad people."

Zhou Xingrui was shouting out of breath just now. Hearing Lu Zhengping's decisive words, he grabbed Lu Zhengping's clothes again, then cried.