Xu Lian has the strength of the tendon refining stage, so killing the bandits will certainly be no problem, but if he wants to capture them alive, he alone is not enough and he needs some manpower.
He glanced around, but didn't see many strong people. Most of them were skinny. Come to think of it, it makes sense. In this world where food is a problem, how can people grow strong
Finally, he set his sights on the swordsmen who were guarding the grain. Each of them was quite strong, and it would be a waste to just use them to guard the grain, so he might as well put them to use.
He walked over and asked the leading middle-aged swordsman with a smile, "I have not yet asked for your name."
The middle-aged swordsman bowed slightly and said, "I don't deserve this title. My name is Lu Kan. If Manager Xu doesn't mind, you can just call me Old Lu."
Xu Lian certainly wouldn't call him Lao Lu, "It seems like you are the captain of these swordsmen, so I'll call you Captain Lu."
Lu Kan said nothing more, just guarded the grain cart silently, looking not good at speaking.
Xu Lian asked again, "The big granary sent you to the mine to guard the mine's grain. How much salary will you get every month?"
Lu Kan said, "Other swordsmen get eight taels a month, and I get ten taels a month."
"good."
Xu Lian nodded, then smiled and said, "Is it enough for the flowers?"
Lu Kan looked at him strangely, not knowing what he wanted to do, and said slowly, "If there are not many girls in the family, it will definitely be enough. If there are too many girls, life will be a bit stressful."
After hearing this, Xu Lian knew what was going on. He stopped beating around the bush and got straight to the point, "I have an idea for making some extra money. Do you want to help your brothers make some extra money?"
Lu Kan's face changed, and he clasped his fists and said, "My duty is to guard the grain in the mine. I dare not leave my post without permission. If the grain is robbed, I cannot afford it."
Xu Lian said, "I am the manager of the mine. I have the final say on all matters of the mine. If I say you are not absent from your post, then you are not absent from your post...right?"
"this... "
Lu Kan opened his mouth, not knowing what to say.
Xu Lian continued to persuade him, "You should know a little about the background of our mine. Who dares to come to the mine to rob food? Are you tired of living? As the saying goes, a horse cannot grow fat without night grass, and a man cannot become rich without external wealth. Just leave half of the swordsmen to guard the food, and the other swordsmen can follow me to earn some external wealth to supplement the family expenses, so that we can live a comfortable life. You should understand this truth."
Lu Kan hesitated and asked, "Manager Xu, is this your order?"
Xu Lian laughed, "Just consider it my order."
Lu Kan nodded, "If that's the case, then I won't hesitate. You are the one in charge, and we have to listen to you."
If he had known that he was such an obedient person, Xu Lian would not bother to say so much and would just give the order directly, "Captain Lu, immediately select half of the swordsmen under your command who are good in skills, set up a carriage, and follow me."
"yes."
Lu Kan clasped his fists and immediately went to call out five swordsmen.
Xu Lian told Pu Lin that he had something to do outside and asked him to arrange the miners to work. Then he rode away on his horse, taking Lu Kan and the five swordsmen with him.
It’s not that he trusts Pu Lin that much, but the money and food in the mine are guarded by the other half of the swordsmen, so there is no need to worry about any trouble.
Xu Lian, riding a horse and followed by a carriage, left the mine.
The swordsman driving the car asked curiously, "Captain, where are we going with Manager Xu?"
Lu Kan shook his head, he didn’t know either.
Xu Lian turned around and said, "I'll take you to fight the bandits and make some extra money."
The five swordsmen's faces changed.
"Manager Xu, we were transferred to the mine to guard the grain, not to fight bandits."
"If he gets injured, how can we earn food to support our family?"...
Xu Lian could understand their feelings. Although they were called "swordsmen" and knew some martial arts skills, they had not yet reached the level of warriors. There were great risks in fighting bandits. If they got injured, they would not be able to earn food to support their families and might be kicked out of their homes. They did not want to take risks.
Xu Lian didn't waste any words and directly offered generous conditions.
"First, I only want 50% of the goods we get from the bandits, and you can share the remaining 50%;
Second, if anyone is injured, I will approve food subsidies until the injury is healed;
Third, when we fight the bandits, I will take the lead in charging and defeating them. You just need to help capture the bandits. I want to take them alive and sell them to the wealthy families in the city as blood slaves.
Any questions
The five swordsmen looked at each other and hesitated. It was obvious that they were tempted by such conditions.
Xu Lian put his hand on the horse's back and suddenly jumped up.
He kicked a tree trunk as big as a bowl on the side of the road.
With a "crack", the tree trunk broke!
He landed back on the horse steadily, "Any more questions?"
The five swordsmen’s eyes almost popped out.
Lu Kan was also surprised, "Is Manager Xu a real warrior?"
"You just need to tell me where there are bandits nearby."
Xu Lian didn't want to explain. He just showed his strength and let these swordsmen know that he had the ability to fight bandits. That was enough.
Lu Kan said, "I heard that there are some bandits in Shazigou. They often rob women at home when the men in the village are out working. They dare not come to the town."
"Then let's go to Shazigou."
Xu Lian turned his horse around and headed towards Shazigou.
It is worth mentioning that this horse was lent to him by Handu, and since Handu did not ask him to return it, he could just ride it first.
His mine also needs to buy a few horses for emergency use, and then he can return them to Handu when the time comes.
The mountain road was difficult to walk on, and it became narrower and narrower. The carriage behind could not move forward, so the swordsmen had to get off the carriage, unload the carriage, and lead the horses to follow Xu Lian.
When we arrived at Shazigou, we saw some caves on the cliffs with smoke coming out of them. It was obvious that the bandits were making lunch.
"Captain Lu and I will climb up from the front, and the five of you will flank them from the ridges on both sides. Don't let the bandits escape."
Xu Lian made a gesture and started climbing up immediately.
Lu Kan held the knife in his mouth and followed him to climb up. The captain was the captain and was obviously more skilled than the other swordsmen.
"call out!"
Suddenly a sharp whistle sounded.
Xu Lian looked in the direction of the sound and saw a figure on a tree on the cliff. It was obviously a stalker who had discovered them climbing up.
When the bandits in the cave heard this, they quickly grabbed their weapons and ran out. When they saw that there were only two people, they couldn't help but curse.
"Damn it! Two people dared to come to our nest in broad daylight!"
"Smash these two's heads!"...
They picked up stones and threw them down.
Xu Lian jumped left and right, as agile as a monkey. He could move freely even on the cliffs and no stone could hit him.
Lu Kan was not so flexible. He was hit on the head by a rock, feeling dizzy and almost falling down.
Seeing that he had been exposed, Xu Lian no longer needed to move stealthily. He immediately used his hands and feet to gain leverage from the steep cliffs, and leaped up like a gecko, rushing up at the fastest speed.