"Samuel Carter refused all his life to serve as an official for the Yuan dynasty. He painted orchids but never the earth beneath them. When others asked him why, he replied, 'The land has all been taken—don’t you know?' Only such a loyal and steadfast man is worthy of being called a true scholar. But you, and Franklin Reed, willingly serve as lapdogs for the Yuan court, and yet you dare come before the righteous army, strutting and baring your fangs, disgracing the elders and people of your hometown!"

These words were scathing and satisfying; all the commanders present couldn’t help but burst out laughing, finally venting their anger.

Stephen Wood never expected that this band of rebels could actually speak with such reason; he was clearly rattled.

"One who eats the lord’s grain must serve the lord loyally. Samuel Carter failed to recognize the times. The Great Yuan has ruled for decades, its might awe-inspiring, all under heaven submit... The Song dynasty has long since perished. You rebel against the court—you are courting your own destruction!"

"Is that so? The Yuan court opened the rivers and changed the currency, and now there are not just a million Red Turban rebels across the land. On both banks of the Yellow River, north and south of the great rivers, all are righteous armies. In just over a year, the Yuan court has already lost half its territory, and you still dare to boast shamelessly? You should know, the rule of the barbarian invaders will not last a hundred years—the Yuan court’s time is up!"

John Washington certainly hadn’t attended William Bolton’s lessons in vain. His words were well-organized and forceful, completely overpowering Stephen Wood.

He pressed his hand to his sword hilt and advanced step by step.

"A lackey like you is not fit to be called a man in life, and after death, you won’t even be allowed into your ancestral tomb. For generations, you’ll only be despised and spat upon by your hometown elders."

John Washington closed in on Stephen Wood, the two of them less than a foot apart, staring into each other’s eyes. For no reason, Stephen Wood’s heart began to panic.

Furious and flustered, he cursed through gritted teeth, "You are the real bandits! Just wait until the imperial troops arrive—then we’ll all perish together!"

"To reclaim the Han lands and recover our homeland, to die is to die with honor!" John Washington replied calmly. "But you, though alive, are no better than a pig or a dog. When you die, you’ll be the little ghost trailing behind Andrew Lane and Matthew Fox. We’ll carve your words and deeds on a stone tablet and send it to your hometown, set it beside your ancestral tomb, so your ancestors will be shamed by you! Even a thousand years from now, your descendants will never be able to hold their heads high, never be real men!"

As John Washington spoke, he signaled to both sides, and someone immediately agreed to carry out his orders.

"You!"

Stephen Wood’s old face flushed bright red, his anger surging—cursing someone’s descendants was too vicious! Scholars of this era hadn’t yet developed the thick skin to ignore such insults. If it really came to that, he’d rather be dead!

"You are too vicious!"

In his panic, Stephen Wood stumbled back two steps and fell to the ground, his forehead beaded with cold sweat...

Chapter Six: On Defending the City

Stephen Wood was dragged out of the command post. Once outside, townsfolk appeared from who knows where, pointing and cursing at him. Some had even come all the way from Anfeng.

"This is the dog! A few years ago, he passed the imperial exam and became a jinshi. At home, he was the center of attention—they even built him an archway and held banquets for half a month straight..."

The Yuan dynasty had suspended the imperial exams for a long time, only restoring them during the reign of Emperor Renzong. Coincidentally, William Bolton’s great-uncle Henry Bolton was the chief examiner for the first session. In total, the Yuan held the exams only sixteen times, and each time, very few were selected.

So producing a jinshi was indeed something to be celebrated.

The elders and people of his hometown shared in the glory.

But soon after, the Yellow River flooded, and Anfeng suffered disaster. Some people hoped Stephen Wood would speak up for his hometown, asking for tax and labor relief... But unfortunately, Stephen Wood didn’t dare utter a word—he just enjoyed his beautiful women and golden house in peace.

"You don’t care whether your elders live or die, and now you’re a lapdog for the Yuan court! You beast!"

Someone grabbed a handful of rotten vegetable leaves and hurled them at Stephen Wood.

That set off the crowd’s emotions—even the people of Haozhou were furious. They knew all too well what the court was like. If these people broke into Haozhou, no one would survive.

If you dare come to persuade us to surrender, we’ll beat you to death!

In an instant, rotten leaves, clods of dirt, stinky shoes, cow dung... everything was thrown at Stephen Wood.

Even the Red Turban soldiers dragging Stephen Wood were caught in the crossfire.

"Fellow villagers, the two armies are at war, but we don’t kill envoys. The commander just wants us to send him out!"

"We won’t kill the envoy—we don’t want to kill him. But can’t we at least spit on him?"

This once-proud jinshi, when he left Haozhou, was covered in filth, his face and head battered... But what terrified him most was that his reputation was now utterly ruined. At least in his native Huaixi, no one would ever speak well of him again. He might as well be dead!

In stark contrast to Stephen Wood, John Washington had never been so triumphant in his life—not even on his wedding night!

He, a lowly monk who’d barely attended school, had managed to curse a scholar-official into sitting on the ground, drenched in sweat, his face ashen, looking like a drowned rat.

What more could he say? Just two words: utterly satisfying!

And it wasn’t just about venting his anger. John Washington had joined the Haozhou Red Turbans less than a year ago, but thanks to his outstanding performance in battle, he’d become the commander’s personal guard and even married the commander’s adopted daughter—he’d risen to the top in one leap.

Naturally, there was plenty of gossip, but John Washington had a strong heart and could handle it—still, he wanted to prove himself.

Refuting Stephen Wood wasn’t just about winning a war of words.