The importance of a matter varies from person to person.
For ordinary merchants like Guan Sheng, killing a few Brahmins might be considered a significant event. If the Great Ming army were to get involved, it would likely be seen as a catastrophic disaster.
However, for a Jinyiwei Hundred-Household Officer like Pei Tugu, it wouldn't even be a considerable matter to kill a few Brahmin monks, let alone slaughter all of them or even eradicate the entire Tianzhu.
Pei Tugu even wished that the Brahmin monks could be more forceful and stir up some commotion in Tianzhu.
If the matter wasn't blown out of proportion, how could the prestige of the Jinyiwei be demonstrated?
Fortunately, the Brahmin monks in Tianzhu clearly also had intentions of escalating the situation.
When Pei Tugu, along with the Jinyiwei hundred-household sub-commandery under his command, arrived at the residence of the Brahmin monk with Guan Sheng, over a hundred Kshatriya warriors, armed with "weapons" such as cleavers, clubs, hoes, and rakes, had already gathered there.
Pei Tugu was somewhat disappointed, his gaze towards Guan Sheng carrying a hint of displeasure. "Is this the thousand-plus force you spoke of? Where are they? Where are the horses?"
Guan Sheng wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and replied cautiously, "Sir, what I said was that they could mobilize over a thousand men, meaning about a thousand individuals. They don't have any proper cavalry... Besides, it's only been a short while; their men haven't all arrived yet."
Pei Tugu snorted and waved his hand, signaling the Jinyiwei officers behind him to halt. "Stop for now. Wait for these barbarians to gather their full strength. Otherwise, they'll say we Jinyiwei are bullying them with superior numbers!"
The Jinyiwei officers following Pei Tugu burst into laughter.
They were all fierce individuals chosen from various military units. No matter how timid these ruffians might be at home, perhaps cowering under their wives' scolding, when it came to a fight on the battlefield, none of them would flinch.
In the eyes of these ruffians, a hundred against a hundred was bullying. They felt it should be a hundred against a thousand.
However, the demeanor of these Jinyiwei officers made Guan Sheng feel uneasy.
After all, it was over a thousand... Even if the barbarians stood still and let them hack away, wouldn't they get tired?
After a moment of deliberation, Guan Sheng still advised in a low voice, "Sir, ancient military strategy emphasizes a swift victory. If the delay is too long, I fear more barbarians will arrive. This..."
Pei Tugu let out a cold laugh and narrowed his eyes. "I genuinely fear they won't come in large enough numbers!"
The look in Pei Tugu's eyes startled Guan Sheng, making him unsure of what to do. After a long pause, he murmured, "How could it come to this, how could it come to this."
Pei Tugu's gaze towards Guan Sheng was filled with disdain.
He had initially thought that anyone who could travel to Tianzhu to do business must possess some courage, but it turned out this man was so timid and fearful, it was a disgrace to Great Ming!
With a snort, Pei Tugu then instructed the Jinyiwei officers behind him, "Protect him later. This dog-like creature is a cowardly wretch!"
The Jinyiwei officers also looked at Guan Sheng with disdain. However, bound by Pei Tugu's orders and because Guan Sheng at least held Great Ming household registration, these Jinyiwei officers still kept him behind them.
In just this short while, the young men of Tianzhu, whom the Brahmin monk had gathered, also arrived.
However, Pei Tugu never expected that these young men of Tianzhu, holding various "weapons," seemed to have no intention of attacking. Instead, they all sat down in front of the Brahmin monk's residence.
Pei Tugu was confused by the scene before him. After regaining his senses, he turned to Guan Sheng and asked, "What are they doing?"
Guan Sheng also replied with a bewildered expression, "Reporting to sir, I... I can't say for sure. They... they might be protesting?"
Guan Sheng knew the nature of these Tianzhu barbarians; he knew that if they disagreed, they would sit down on the ground, expressing their protest through silence and non-cooperation.
But Guan Sheng hadn't expected this. At such a time, with over a hundred fully armed Jinyiwei standing before them, their fierce gazes almost capable of killing people, these Tianzhu barbarians were still playing this game.
Pei Tugu looked at Guan Sheng, then at the Tianzhu barbarians, and combined this with some internal Jinyiwei archives, his mind was in utter chaos, as if trampled by tens of thousands of alpacas.
If this were in Great Ming's territory, such a situation would almost be impossible. If the Jinyiwei were to arrest a respected individual in a village, they would usually do so with lightning speed before the village could react, otherwise, it could lead to trouble.
After a moment of silence, Pei Tugu took a deep breath and instructed Guan Sheng, "Tell them to get lost immediately. If they delay me from apprehending the target, they'll all be taken as laborers!"
Guan Sheng was taken aback, then asked softly, "Sir, this..."
Pei Tugu's expression turned cold, and he shouted, "Do as I say!"
Guan Sheng dared not ask further. He quickly nodded and bowed in agreement, silently grumbling in his heart as he shouted to the Tianzhu barbarians gathered in front of the Brahmin monk's house, "Hurry up and leave! If you don't leave, you'll be captured and made to work as laborers, and you'll never be human again!"
As Guan Sheng's words fell, the Tianzhu barbarians stirred. However, after these barbarians exchanged whispers amongst themselves, they calmly sat down again, seemingly unafraid of being taken as laborers.
Guan Sheng looked at Pei Tugu and said in a low voice, "Sir..."
Pei Tugu let out a cold laugh, then instructed again, "Tell them that we are about to arrest them now. Anyone who resists will be killed without mercy!"
Guan Sheng continued to be bewildered, then dutifully translated Pei Tugu's words. The Jinyiwei officers also took handcuffs from their waists and walked towards the Tianzhu barbarians.
Then, these barbarians were obediently bound by the Jinyiwei officers. Strangely, there were only about twenty Jinyiwei officers doing the binding, but there were over a thousand Tianzhu barbarians being bound, to the extent that the handcuffs the Jinyiwei officers had were insufficient.
Even more strangely, throughout the entire process of binding, not a single one of these Tianzhu barbarians resisted. A large number of Tianzhu barbarians allowed themselves to be bound and apprehended by the Jinyiwei officers.
Only near the monk's door did a few Tianzhu barbarians brandish long swords, shouting something in their language.
Pei Tugu once again turned to Guan Sheng and asked, "What nonsense are they yelling?"
Guan Sheng replied with a troubled expression, "Reporting to sir, they say that this is the residence of a high-ranking Brahmin monk. You are arbitrarily arresting people here, which will offend the gods."
"Also, they say that it's one thing to arrest those Vaisyas and Shudras, the low-caste people, but they are noble Kshatriyas. You cannot simply arrest them like this. Even if you must arrest them, it must be with the consent of the high-ranking Brahmin monk first."
"In addition, they say that they should not be confined with those low-caste Vaisyas and Shudras, and they must be given treatment that matches their status and position."
After hearing Guan Sheng's translation, Pei Tugu, who had been curious, became impatient. He shouted, "Damn it all! Those who know will say I'm here to arrest people, but those who don't will think I'm here to serve them! You, kill them!"
As Pei Tugu's words fell, the Jinyiwei officers all took out the firearms from their backs. Within a few breaths, they formed neat ranks. The Jinyiwei officers who had been responsible for binding retreated, and the first line of Jinyiwei officers immediately pulled the triggers.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
After a few shots like popping beans, these Kshatriyas who were shouting for preferential treatment collectively met their end.
The Jinyiwei never left any survivors.
Pei Tugu snorted and, with a few Jinyiwei officers, bypassed the bodies of the Kshatriyas. Upon reaching the monk's door, he forcefully kicked it open and shouted, "Men! Seize everyone in the courtyard!"
The Jinyiwei soldiers following Pei Tugu then grinned and rushed into the courtyard.
However, to the utter bewilderment of Pei Tugu and all the Jinyiwei officers, there were no ambushes or anything of the sort in the entire courtyard. There was only an old monk and a few young novices.
Pei Tugu couldn't help but look at Guan Sheng, who had been brought over, with a bewildered expression and ask, "This old bald donkey can subdue all these Tianzhu barbarians here? And you, you can't even deal with such an old cunning monk?"
Guan Sheng replied with a pained expression, "Sir, this is no ordinary monk. He is a high-ranking Brahmin monk. All the Tianzhu barbarians within ten li of here obey his command. How could I possibly contend with him?"
Pei Tugu finally lost his temper. He kicked Guan Sheng to the ground again and cursed, "You can't contend! Damn you! Even if you felt you couldn't contend with him, couldn't you have sought out the Great Ming army? You dog, you've completely disgraced Great Ming! And a 'high-ranking monk'! Look at him, how is he high!"
The high-ranking monk was indeed not very high at the moment. His hands were cuffed behind his back by the Jinyiwei, forcing him to kneel on the ground. No matter how high a monk was, he couldn't stand tall.
After Guan Sheng carefully stood up again, Pei Tugu continued to shout, "I've now arrested some of the Tianzhu barbarians he summoned and killed others. Ask this old cunning monk if he can still call for more barbarians!"
Guan Sheng quickly called out to the Brahmin high-ranking monk, "Can you find more men? If you can, this lord from Great Ming will give you a chance. If you cannot find more men, he will take you to be a laborer!"
However, as Guan Sheng's words fell, the Brahmin high-ranking monk closed his eyes and began to mutter scriptures.
Seeing the high-ranking monk's demeanor, Pei Tugu understood that this high-ranking monk would not be able to call for more Tianzhu barbarians to their deaths.
With this in mind, Pei Tugu simply waved his hand and instructed the Jinyiwei officers, "Take all these barbarians back to await the Emperor's judgment!"
After all the Jinyiwei officers had responded in unison, Pei Tugu snorted again and looked at Guan Sheng, saying, "You remember this: you are a merchant of Great Ming. When you leave the mainland of Great Ming, you represent the face of Great Ming. If you are bullied, it is equivalent to Great Ming being bullied. Understand?"
"Yes, yes, yes, sir, what you say is correct."
Guan Sheng nodded his head like a pecking chicken, cautiously replying, "I will never make the same mistake again in the future. If I am wronged, I will go directly to our Great Ming army."
Pei Tugu then snorted and shouted, "Get lost! Just looking at a coward like you makes me angry!"
After Guan Sheng left and the Jinyiwei officers, escorting the Brahmin high-ranking monk and the captured prisoners, embarked on their return journey, a Staff Officer accompanying Pei Tugu chuckled and said, "Hundred-Household Officer, you truly possess great authority!"
Pei Tugu snorted, "Damn it, dealing with so few Tianzhu barbarians, that idiot named Guan couldn't handle them. It really infuriates me!"
The Jinyiwei Staff Officer gave a thumbs up and clicked his tongue twice, praising, "I say, Hundred-Household Officer, if you dared to show even one-tenth of this authority at home, you wouldn't be left with only a few copper coins for pocket money!"
Another Staff Officer also laughed and said, "Exactly. Do you remember what our Hundred-Household Officer said when we invited him for drinks back then? Oh, he said that drinking too much would harm his health and warned us not to drink excessively."
The first Staff Officer continued, "What do you know? When we drink too much, we just sleep it off. But when our Hundred-Household Officer drinks too much, he has to kneel on a washboard. Can't that harm his health! Also, our Hundred-Household Officer never carries much money in his pocket, at most a few copper coins for pocket money. Do you know where that money went?"
Another minor officer said, "Where else could it go? It must have been collected by your wife, otherwise wouldn't he still have to kneel on the washboard?"
Hearing his two Staff Officers bad-mouthing him, Pei Tugu couldn't help but exclaim, "Can you two bastards shut your mouths! You think I'm afraid of my wife? Qi Taibao even had his wife review his troops!"
After scolding, Pei Tugu then threatened, "What happened today is just the beginning. If you two bastards don't want to be left behind and sit on the cold bench, you'd better behave! Also, be extra careful on the way, don't flip your boat in a ditch and tarnish the reputation of our Jinyiwei!"