In ancient times, this was even more so. There was not a single year in Qin without war. In theory, each person would only be conscripted twice, but this law became nothing more than an empty promise. In reality, under the will of the King of Qin, every soldier had to go to war year after year, fighting countless battles. On the battlefield, younger brothers watched their elder brothers die, fathers lost their sons, and the bellies of fellow villagers were split open by sharp swords... Even those who survived the first ten battles might still break down in the eleventh.

Thus, there were deserters, there were the missing, and in the Qin legal code, such people were already synonymous with the dead and with slaves.

“In Qin, if you desert once, you can never be a soldier again, nor return to your hometown. Even if you do, your parents and brothers have long since been implicated and punished.” Bearded Man's voice lowered—this was the story of how he was forced to become an outlaw.

Henry was silent. This bandit reminded him of the historical Henry brothers; perhaps, with just a single wrong thought, they could have ended up just like this man.

In another ten-odd years, even Liu Bang, the future Emperor Gaozu of Han, would likely be in a similar situation—hiding in the mountains, hoping for a general amnesty that never came, his wife and children arrested and thrown in prison, until finally, he simply rebelled.

“You tell me, when you’re a soldier, you’re as insignificant as grass, worth nothing at all, but once you become a bandit, your value doubles. Isn’t that funny?”

Edward scratched his head, but then steeled his heart, kicked Bearded Man again, and cursed, “But you’ve been a bandit in Yunmengze, surely you’ve killed plenty and robbed plenty! You deserve what’s coming to you!”

Bearded Man looked as if he’d suffered a great injustice, his face flushed red. He spat on the ground, spitting out a tooth lost in the fight, and cursed loudly, “Nonsense! It’s true I’ve taken a few lives, but all I ever met were paupers. Forget about fourteen gold coins, I’ve never even seen a single one!”

Edward ignored him and suggested, “Henry brother, since we’re heading to the county to serve, and it’s only twenty or thirty li away, if we hurry, we’ll get there by nightfall. Let’s just escort these three bandits there, hand them over to the county jail for the reward, and then we can rest easy.”

“Sounds reasonable.” Henry nodded. Though he felt a pang of sorrow for the fallen, his own life and future were at stake—he couldn’t afford to be soft-hearted, and could only use these men as stepping stones to his own fortune.

Bearded Man, hands bound behind his back and tied together with the other two, was still shouting, “From the moment I deserted the army, I knew this day would come. Whether I’m cooked or butchered, I’m ready for it. I just have one request…”

Henry looked at him. “Speak.”

Bearded Man, with a face that was half crying, half laughing, said, “After you hand me over to the authorities, if you get the reward, let me see it, let me touch it! Let me know I was really worth that much money!”

“Shut up!” Edward suddenly felt a pang of sorrow, and kicked the big man again, though this time, not as hard.

Henry and Edward hoisted the three bandits up and forced them onto the road. But just then, a group of people came running down the road, fully armed with bows, spears, short swords, and shields—one of them was even on horseback.

From a distance, the horseman spotted Henry and the others, spurred his horse to a gallop, and shouted loudly, “Where are the bandits?” When he was just a few steps from Henry, he pulled the reins to stop, and the dust kicked up by the horse’s hooves covered Henry and his companion’s faces.

Edward spat out the dirt and cursed, “You scoundrel, what do you want?”

The horseman was in his twenties, wearing a red headscarf, leather armor, a crimson tunic underneath, a sword at his waist, and had a long, horse-like face.

Seeing the three bandits bound, the newcomer looked pleased and was about to dismount to inspect them, but Henry, displeased by his arrogance, reached out to block his way.

The man immediately looked annoyed and said sternly, “How dare you! Do you know who I am?”

“No, I only know that the bandits have already been captured by me.” Henry refused to back down.

The two locked eyes, and for a moment, the atmosphere was tense, as if swords were drawn and bows bent!

“Gentlemen, Captain... it’s a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding.”

At that moment, the merchant who had earlier fled from the bandits came running up, panting, and hurriedly stepped forward to mediate. He bowed to Henry and his companion, saying, “Thank you both for saving my life.”

Then he introduced the newcomer: “This is the local Huyang Captain, whom I brought as reinforcements. Captain, these are the bandits who ambushed and attacked me here…”

“Captain?”

Henry thought to himself that this was bad. Sure enough, just then, the armed men arrived one after another—there were four of them in total—and they surrounded Henry and his companion, weapons pointed just a few feet from their chests!

Chapter 0006: Stealing the Credit

A “ting” was a basic administrative unit in Qin, usually set up along roads, responsible for law and order within a ten-li radius. Each ting had a “Captain,” also called a “ting sifu,” who was in charge of patrolling the villages, investigating crimes, and capturing bandits—much like a modern police station chief.

Under the Captain were several subordinates, called qiudao and tingzu, who could carry military-grade weapons such as bows, crossbows, halberds, and swords.

Running into their counterparts in ancient times, Henry felt no joy at all, because he sensed not a shred of goodwill from these “policemen.” They surrounded Henry and Edward, weapons pointed just a few feet from their chests.