Two Realms: A cartload of rice arrived at the end of the Ming Dynasty

0016 Prepare for Japanese Pirates

"If this girl gained a few dozen pounds and put on some makeup, she would definitely be a factory beauty."

"Looks like next time we can't just buy work clothes; we need to prepare a few different styles for her to ensure she's in the lead position," Zhu Shiting muttered to himself, his eyes narrowing.

As his primary agent and mouthpiece in the late Ming Dynasty, he had high expectations for reforming Sun Lu.

However, we have only been in contact with them for a short time, and the character and conduct of these mountain people still need to be investigated.

Zhu Shiting then turned off the stun gun in his hand and said in a clear voice, "Ignorance is no excuse. Since it is Miss Sun who pleaded for you, this immortal will not punish you this time."

"Thank you for your forgiveness, sir!"

"Thank you for pleading, Miss Sun!"

Zhou Rencheng, filled with trepidation, led a group of clansmen in a hasty bow.

Just now, he personally witnessed this immortal lord appear out of thin air, carrying a stack of immortal rice, as if by magic.

Adding to that the magical staff that could unleash lightning, Zhou Ren's awe of Zhu Shiting reached its peak.

The Jade Emperor, Buddha, and Guanyin Bodhisattva are all just clay sculptures of deities in temples.

Only by witnessing the gods descend to earth before their very eyes can the people of these mountains be truly persuaded.

"Your Excellency, this is Zhou Ren, the second-in-command of Zhou Family Village, and the one lying on the stretcher is their leader, Zhou Gang."

"Brother Zhou Gang was previously injured by a bird gun and has been in and out of consciousness, and is no longer aware of his surroundings."

"I have also sent people to deliver messages to the other three villages, but the journey is a bit far, so I estimate we will receive a reply in an hour or two."

Sun Lu moved closer and began to introduce the unfamiliar faces in the village in detail.

"You're saying this person was wounded by a shotgun?"

Zhu Shiting's eyelids twitched upon hearing this.

A bird gun—isn't that just a Ming Dynasty version of a matchlock gun?

Although Ming dynasty firearms were often nicknamed "useless bird shooters" due to their bird-beak shape and limited power, they were just as deadly as modern air guns when they hit a person at close range.

Upon hearing the immortal's question, before Sun Lu could even reply, Zhou Ren stepped forward, wailing, "Please, immortal, save my brother!"

……

A few minutes later, after Zhou Ren's tearful account and Sun Lu's description of the various villages in the Jiyun Mountains yesterday, Zhu Shiting roughly understood the situation of the villagers in Zhoujia Village by comparing the two accounts.

The Zhou family, currently numbering over eighty members, were originally soldiers and civilians of a rather special military unit in Wenzhou Prefecture, the Anti-Japanese Pirate Garrison Army.

Before the Jiajing era, this force belonged to the Anti-Japanese Pirate Command. Later, due to the corruption of local garrisons and the frequent occurrence of Japanese pirates along the coast, it was transferred to the Qi Family Army under the command of General Qi Jiguang for further orders.

During busy farming seasons, they would cultivate the land and practice martial arts during slack seasons. If Japanese pirates attacked, they would obey orders and go to various coastal areas of Zhejiang and Fujian to fight.

However, since the Tumu Crisis, the war in the north has continued to deteriorate, and a large number of young men in the anti-Japanese army have been transferred north. The Zhou family has suffered an extremely cruel situation of two men being conscripted for every one man.

Due to years of conscription, the clan's labor force has been greatly reduced, and the once large clan of several hundred people has been reduced to only eighty people.

Every year, they had to pay exorbitant grain taxes and land rents to the local gentry and landlords. Left with no other choice, they were forced to move their entire family to the mountains and make a living by robbing wealthy households in various parts of Wenzhou Prefecture.

"An army stationed to defend against Japanese pirates?"

"So he came from a militia-like organization. No wonder he looks a bit different from the Sun family."

After listening, Zhu Shiting carefully examined Zhou Ren and his group of people.

Although the Zhou family group was also thin and malnourished, they stood upright and lined up in formation, showing more aggression than the relatively mild-mannered Sun family members.

Moreover, according to Sun Lu in private, the Zhou brothers, Zhou Ren and Zhou Gang, both had people in debt for their lives and were truly ruthless people who had killed and seen blood.

Especially Zhou Gang, who was in a coma, was unusually tall even when he was lying there. Zhu Shiting estimated that he was definitely 1.9 meters tall.

It's worth noting that the average height of adult men in the south is around 170 centimeters, and the further south you go, the shorter the average height becomes.

During the late Ming Dynasty, malnutrition was widespread among the common people, yet Zhou Gang was able to grow to a height of 1.9 meters. He was definitely a promising talent for fighting on the battlefield.

This inevitably drew Zhu Shiting's attention.

After all, we are in a time of chaos and desperately need outstanding generals who can charge into battle!

"Imperial Immortal, this is the gunshot wound on my brother's back."

"We desperately hope that you, Immortal Master, can grant us this healing. We would be eternally grateful and our entire Zhou family would serve you like slaves for generations to come!"

As Zhou Ren spoke, he turned Zhou Gang over and lifted his clothes for a closer look. A purplish-black wound the size of an infant's fist, located on the side of Zhou Gang's shoulder blade, caught Zhu Shiting's attention.

The wound was festering and oozing pus, with a bright red rim around it, clearly indicating that it had been infected by pathogenic bacteria due to inadequate treatment.

"This kind of injury might be treatable in a modern hospital."

"Let me do it? Isn't that a bit too risky?" Zhu Shiting wondered to himself.

He's just a driver for Lalamove, what does he know about treating patients and saving lives?

However, when he crouched down to examine Zhou Gang's injuries more closely, he secretly noticed that the surrounding villagers were all looking at him with expectant eyes.

Perhaps in the eyes of these mountain people, he, as a deity descended from heaven, must have a way to heal such bird gun wounds.

Seeing this, Zhu Shiting stood up and shook his head with a sigh, pretending to be troubled: "Zhou Ren, if your brother had met me a few months earlier, I would have had dozens of ways to ensure his recovery."

"Unfortunately, the poison has already seeped into his bones, and even a Great Immortal would find it difficult to save him. Although I possess considerable supernatural powers, I am not proficient in the art of immortal medicine, and I only have a 50% chance of saving him with my own magic. Moreover, the treatment process will be extremely dangerous, so it depends on whether you are willing to gamble your brother's life with the King of Hell."

Zhou Ren trembled upon hearing this, muttering bitterly, "Gambling with the King of Hell?"

He thought that if a true immortal descended to earth, his brother would have a chance to be cured.

I never expected that this gunshot wound would be so difficult to treat, even a true immortal descending from heaven could not heal it.

Seeing that the gunshot wound seemed to have stumped Zhu Shiting, Sun Lu, who was standing to the side, also looked thoughtful and muttered to herself, "It seems that this immortal is really just a minor official who delivers goods for the Heavenly Court, just as he said."

Imagining the other party's frequent unauthorized descents to the mortal realm, and the mercenary air about him revealing a greed for worldly wealth, Sun Lu chimed in, "Immortal, if we have offerings and incense to offer, could we ask the Heavenly Physician to exchange some elixirs and medicines for Brother Zhou Gang, thus increasing his chances of survival?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Ren, who was almost in despair, suddenly remembered something: "That's right! Immortal, we have offerings!"

After saying this, the second-in-command of Zhoujiazhai called over his clansmen to hand him a wooden box they had brought.

When the wooden box was opened, three gold ingots the size of bowls almost blinded Zhu Shiting!