That officer was none other than the squad leader of Julu Dun, Goldie Carter. He was tall and thin, with a pale, bluish complexion, which always gave him a rather odd and eerie appearance. His younger sister, The Carter Family, had married Thomas Bell, making him Thomas Bell's brother-in-law. Now, leading a few men to rescue Thomas Bell, he was indeed showing loyalty and affection to his family.

Goldie Carter's voice was soft and effeminate: "We're all family here, no need to be so polite."

He glanced at the bloody scene in front of the fort, let out a long sigh, and asked, "The Tartars are gone?"

Thomas Bell replied with relief, "They're gone, but a few commoners were unlucky and got caught up in it."

The two exchanged a few words, and at this moment, Thomas Bell's wife, The Carter Family, also came to greet Goldie Carter, addressing him as "brother." A smile appeared on Goldie Carter's face: "It's good that you're alright, Third Sister."

He asked about what had just happened, and Thomas Bell explained. When he heard that Henry Carter had shot down a Later Jin white-armored soldier with a single arrow, and that the three inside the fort could exchange fire with the Later Jin troops, he was a bit surprised. His effeminate gaze swept over Henry Carter, Charles Grant, and John Grant, and he said with a hint of envy, "Looks like my brother-in-law has some capable men under him."

Thomas Bell suppressed his pride: "The three of them are indeed brave, just a bit hot-tempered in daily life."

At this, he recalled how Henry Carter had been disrespectful to him the other day, and his face darkened again.

Just then, someone behind Goldie Carter suddenly snorted coldly, and Henry Carter felt a provocative gaze shoot toward him. Henry Carter looked back coldly and saw it was a man dressed as a night patrol behind Goldie Carter. This man looked to be about thirty, with a face full of coarse flesh, a tall and burly figure that stretched his tattered mandarin duck battle jacket tight, and his right hand loosely gripping a waist saber.

From memory, Henry Carter knew this man was Richard Hill, one of the two night patrols of Julu Dun, known for his brutality and for having once killed innocents to claim merit. In the past, Henry Carter had suffered bullying at his hands.

Hearing that this weakling in front of him had supposedly shot down a Later Jin white-armored soldier, Richard Hill didn't believe it for a second. If it had been the Charles Grant brothers, maybe, but Henry Carter? Richard Hill sneered inwardly. He knew Henry Carter well—though tall and big, he was a coward. Back when Richard Hill beat him to the ground, Henry Carter didn't even have the guts to fight back. He could shoot down a Tartar white-armored soldier with one arrow? Who would believe that? The thought made his hands itch.

The others at Julu Dun had also heard of Henry Carter's "reputation." Hearing Thomas Bell say this, they began whispering among themselves, their gazes toward Henry Carter full of doubt.

At this moment, Goldie Carter's gaze shifted to the nearby commoners, and he asked in a low voice, "What's the story with these refugees?"

Thomas Bell quietly explained, then said, "Brother-in-law, may I have a word in private?"

He quietly pulled Goldie Carter aside, and the two whispered for a bit. As Goldie Carter listened, he nodded, his gloomy gaze shifting over the commoners. Finally, he chuckled darkly, "Alright then, we'll split the heads fifty-fifty. We can exchange them for some reward silver, and maybe even get promoted."

The old man and the surviving commoners stood dumbly to the side. Sensing the increasingly hostile attitude of the government troops, they grew more and more uneasy. The old man, still the leader, stammered, "Sirs, we still need to go to Weizhou to seek out relatives. If there are no other orders, we will take our leave."

At this, Goldie Carter gave a signal, and Richard Hill and several Ming soldiers from Julu Dun stepped forward. Each drew their waist sabers, their faces showing greedy and cruel smiles. Richard Hill strode toward a younger-looking man with a vicious grin: "Hey there, brother, let me borrow your head for a bit!"

The commoners immediately screamed and wept in terror, huddling together in fear. They had just escaped the slaughter of the Later Jin army, only to fall into the hands of the government troops. The old man wept and shouted, "Heaven bears witness! Heaven bears witness!"

Seeing this, the people from Jingbian Dun all looked away in shame, unable to bear it. John Grant opened his mouth to say something, but Charles Grant quickly pulled him back.

Henry Carter felt a chill all over. He had long known that military discipline in the late Ming was corrupt, and that killing innocents for merit was common. There was even a Ming soldier who was highly respected in the army for being able to dress female corpses as males. Every time he read about such things in history books, he was filled with indignation, but he never expected to witness such inhuman acts right before his eyes.

Richard Hill was about to grab the young man's topknot when a disdainful voice sounded nearby: "You have the guts to kill commoners, but not to kill Tartars. What kind of man are you?"

Richard Hill roared, "Who said that?"

He spun around, only to see Henry Carter staring at him coldly.

Richard Hill strode over with a vicious grin and shouted, "You bastard, was it you talking?"

He tossed his saber to the ground and swung a punch at Henry Carter's face, wanting to show off by using his fists instead of his blade, so he could better teach a lesson to this Big Fool Carter. But before his fist could reach Henry Carter's face, a huge fist was already in front of his eyes. Richard Hill was shocked and hurriedly tried to block and retreat.