Fight them to the death!

Don't be fooled by these villagers listening to him; this was only temporary.

People's hearts were still scattered, merely suppressed by his martial might for the time being.

But the intimidating power and deterrent force of the imperial court and government officials were deeply ingrained in people's hearts, rooted in the very core of the common folk of the Great Song Dynasty for over four hundred years.

Don't think that because this crowd listened to him now, they would dare to resist if Tran Mac ordered them to fight when enough government soldiers arrived.

The so-called "common people do not fight with officials."

This kind of mentality was very difficult to change.

Otherwise, even though they were so severely oppressed and exploited, they still dared not resist. Firstly, because of this mentality, and secondly, because there was no one to lead them.

Therefore, Tran Mac, as the leader, naturally wanted to shatter this mentality of theirs.

He had to lead them to fight openly and honorably against the government officials. Only by winning, by driving away the government officials, by letting them see that they too could resist the authorities, would the fear of the government in their hearts naturally dissipate.

And only by driving away the government officials could their worries be dispelled.

Only then could Tran Mac prove that he could truly shelter them.

That his promise of dividing the land could be realized.

Only at that point could Tran Mac forge them into a single rope.

Only then would they be of some help to him.

But for now, he needed to incite them.

He gave Han Vu a meaningful glance, signaling for everyone to quiet down.

Quickly, Han Vu shouted sharply, "All of you motherf*ckers quiet down! Immortal Master Tran has something to say!"

The commotion gradually subsided.

Tran Mac, bathed in an expanse of purple qi, looked at the surrounding crowd and said, "The reason you have fallen into this state, did you bring it upon yourselves? No! It was the imperial court that forced us, the dog officials in the county seat that forced us!

We only want to have a few acres of barren land, to live through the days of plowing in spring, working in summer, and harvesting in autumn. We only want a mouthful to eat. Are we wrong?"

"That's right!" Just as Truong Ha was about to speak, Han Vu beside him suddenly let out a sharp cry. The twenty Dai Han Village men behind him also chimed in, causing Truong Ha's eyes to immediately show a hint of jealousy.

"We only want a mouthful to eat, but that wild dog of a dynasty refuses! Hunting tax, head tax, fishing tax, land tax – they exploit and oppress us with all sorts of taxes, not to mention we occasionally have to endure corvée labor, working ourselves to near death. But even so, the government officials ignore us! Robbery, arson, and murder outside the city, the officials don't care a whit, treating us like pigs and sheep! We have no gate to sue officials, no road to redress grievances! They even condone the Qinghe Gang raiding our villages, condone the Qinghe Gang oppressing us..."

Tran Mac spoke with overflowing emotion, and everyone's mood began to be stirred.

"But even so, did the government officials stop? No! The government officials started conscripting, and unfairly at that, starting with us from outside the city! They want our wives scattered, our children separated, our flesh and blood torn apart! They want us dead!"

When he said "dead," Tran Mac's voice rose several notches, then he said, "We endured hardships, managed to escape with our lives after great difficulty, but they still refuse to let us go! Now they even want to arrest our wives, children, and parents! Do you agree to this or not..."

"We don't agree!" This time, Truong Ha spoke up a step earlier.

Just as he was about to give Han Vu a provocative glance, the latter raised his blood-stained official saber and shouted, "Those wild dog officials are too damn insulting! This old grandpa has long had enough of these dog officials' bullshit! Let's fight them to the death!" (Translator's Note: "gia gia" / grandpa is used by Han Vu to refer to himself, an arrogant/tough way of saying "I").

After saying this, Han Vu still hadn't had enough. He looked towards Tran Mac and continued, "Immortal Master Tran, this life of mine is yours from now on! Wherever you say go, I'll go!"

Truong Ha: "..."

The other Dai Han Village men didn't hesitate, responding one after another:

"Fight them to the death! Fight them to the death!"

The villagers were also stirred up, as if a fire was burning in their hearts:

"Fight them to the death! Since they don't want us to live, then we won't let them live either!"

"Good! All of you have guts!"

Tran Mac nodded with satisfaction, then drew the Tang saber from his back and said loudly, "Fight them to the death!"

"Fight to the death!"

The others also shouted one after another.

More than eight hundred people shouting in unison, their presence was astonishing.

...

At this time.

Towards the end of the Hour of the Dragon (around 9 AM).

All the constables from the yamen were dispatched, and two hundred garrison troops were also mobilized to leave the city and arrest people.

They were divided into several teams, heading to different villages to arrest people.

Of course, the authorities weren't fools. They didn't classify these people who had fled to Phung Tien as rebels, but rather treated them as deserters.

According to the laws of the Great Song Dynasty, if a soldier deserted, the authorities could arrest his wife and children for interrogation, to find out his whereabouts.

After all, if they were to classify it as rebellion, how many people would they need to arrest? The yamen couldn't handle that.

Of course, Han Tam, as the ringleader who killed officials and incited the crowd to flee, was naturally charged with a serious crime, and his nine generations would also be implicated.

In Tieu Cao Thon, more than thirty garrison troops and several constables had already captured the wives and children of those deserters in the village and brought them to the village center.

Just as they were preparing to interrogate them about the deserters' whereabouts.

"Boss, not good! There are... bandits attacking the village!"

"Ah..."

The Decurion in charge of Tieu Cao Thon heard the voice and looked over. He saw a soldier appear in his sight at the bottom, running towards him. The next second, that soldier fell into a pool of blood.

The killer was a black-clad youth, holding a straight saber.

And behind him, hundreds of people followed.

In no time, they were surrounded.

Seeing Tran Mac cut down a government soldier with one slash without a second word, the faces of the villagers still showed panic, but swept up by the great momentum, they didn't retreat.

That Decurion forced himself to remain calm, swallowed, and shouted sharply, "Bold and treacherous commoners! How dare you..."

Before he could finish his words, a flash of saber light fell upon his face.

The Decurion let out a miserable scream and fell to the ground, his body split into two, instantly silenced.

"Ah..."

The wives and children captured by the government soldiers, some of the timid ones, were directly scared unconscious.

Those government soldiers and constables, seeing this scene, their legs felt a bit like jelly. They then hurriedly grabbed the wives and children of those deserters as hostages, shouting for Tran Mac not to come closer.

Tran Mac approached step by step.

"Don't come any closer! If you come any closer, Laozi will..." (Translator's Note: "Laozi" is an arrogant way of saying "I").

Before he could finish speaking, Truong Ha, Han Vu, and others had不知何时 (buzhi heshi - unknowingly/at some point) surrounded them from behind, their large sabers slashing at their backs.

With a groan, before the government soldiers could react.

Those deserters from Tieu Cao Thon immediately pounced.

Fresh blood splattered everywhere, bloody and colorful entrails scattered on the ground.

When they rescued their wives and children, seeing those government soldiers and constables, dead beyond dead, their ears were ringing, and they felt a bit dizzy. They could barely hear what people beside them were saying.

After they slowly recovered, looking again at the corpses of those government soldiers and constables, there was no longer fear or terror. Instead, their eyes flashed with excitement, and they felt their blood boiling throughout their bodies.

With the "experience" at Tieu Cao Thon, later when Tran Mac gave the order to attack the government soldiers in Lieu Village and other villages, they charged forward to kill...