"Brother Qi means that as the weather gets warmer day by day, will the Japanese pirates launch a large-scale invasion of Liaodong?"
"Judging by the trend, it's possible. My father is very troubled now; the thousand-household commandery lacks ships, and we are not skilled in naval warfare."
"Fighting those Japanese pirates doesn't necessarily require naval combat."
"But they loot and then flee."
"Even if they can flee, don't they have to land? As long as they set foot on shore, we'll catch them all at once."
"Heh heh, ha." Qi He particularly enjoyed hearing Fu's sister say this.
Fu Xinci hadn't finished speaking her mind. "Brother Qi, let's go to the thousand-household commandery right now. I want to tell Uncle Qi something very important."
"Mm." Qi He guessed that Fu's sister, like him, was concerned about his father's safety. Of course, there was no time to delay. They skipped dinner, and Fu Xinci, carrying a small bag, rode with Qi He directly to the thousand-household commandery.
At the thousand-household commandery, Qi Yuanshan and a few centurions had just finished a meeting and were sitting alone in the courtyard, lost in thought.
Those Japanese pirates were cunning, even resorting to kidnapping children as hostages. It was clear they had invested heavily this time.
Alas, when would they come? Qi Yuanshan wished he could have a fierce battle with them. If they dared to come, he would surely kill those heartless beasts.
Just as Qi Yuanshan was deep in thought, he heard his son call him, "Dad."
"Uncle Qi."
"Ah, ah."
Seeing Xinci arrive with his son, Qi Yuanshan guessed that this little girl must have something very important to tell him. He invited them inside.
As expected, after entering and sitting down, the little girl was straightforward, cutting to the chase.
"Uncle Qi, I just heard Brother Qi mention the interrogation of the two kidnappers. They are related to the Japanese pirates."
"Yes, they are the spies for the Japanese pirates." Bringing this up, Qi Yuanshan was filled with anger. Kidnapping children was already outrageous, and helping Japanese pirates kidnap children was unforgivable.
Old Jin and Commander Zheng had almost beaten the two kidnappers to death upon hearing the interrogation results.
It was understandable that the two fathers were extremely enraged. Thinking of the dire fate of the children if they fell into the hands of the Japanese pirates, it was hard to imagine any good outcome.
He had clenched his fists when he heard it, barely restraining himself from striking the two beasts.
"It's fortunate that you stopped the two children that day, otherwise the consequences would have been unimaginable."
"Perhaps it was fate. That day, Ning'er was organizing an outing, and the two of us secretly ran out without my mother's knowledge." Fu Xinci felt a little embarrassed by the last sentence.
Qi Yuanshan smiled knowingly, a smile filled with the care of a parent for their children.
After discussing the kidnappers, Fu Xinci feigned alertness and glanced outside. Seeing no one, she mysteriously said to Qi Yuanshan and his son, "Uncle Qi, Brother Qi, I'll teach you instant movement. This will be very useful when you are chasing people or fleeing."
Fu Xinci spoke the truth, but the expressions on the faces of Qi Yuanshan and his son were varied.
"..." Hearing the little girl mention chasing people, Qi Yuanshan's face almost broke into a laugh, but when he heard the next sentence, his face immediately fell.
Qi He, however, did not feel the same. He laughed until his cheeks ached, then stretched out his two large hands and patted his somewhat numb cheeks.
Fu Xinci did not pay much attention to their reactions. She then proceeded to demonstrate. "Uncle Qi, Brother Qi, watch carefully. I will demonstrate for you."
Fu Xinci finished speaking and slowed down her movements, demonstrating the complete steps of instant movement.
The Qi father and son were both highly intelligent. Fu Xinci only demonstrated three times, and the father and son had almost memorized it.
"In the future, you only need Uncle Qi and Brother Qi to practice more. As the saying goes, practice makes perfect, and the speed of instant movement will only increase."
The father and son, having grasped the trick of instant movement, looked at Fu Xinci with gratitude. Neither of them had expected that the little girl's next action would shock them for three days.
"Uncle Qi, please take these two hand grenades for self-defense." Fu Xinci had made a great decision in doing this. Since the Japanese pirates had thought of kidnapping children to threaten Uncle Jin and the others, they would surely make bigger moves next.
Uncle Qi was the highest commander here. The Japanese pirates might have some nasty tricks in store for him, so she had to produce something to help him defend himself.
Qi Yuanshan was knowledgeable. Looking at the heavy objects in the little girl's hand, he immediately thought of something. "Xinci, is this the thing you threw in front of us a few years ago, the one that blasted a large pit in the frozen earth?"
"Yes, Uncle Qi." Fu Xinci then began to carefully teach Uncle Qi how to use the hand grenade. She also repeatedly emphasized that it should not be used carelessly, lest it injure herself and others.
"Xinci, Uncle Qi will definitely keep this firmly in mind."
In front of the two children, Qi Yuanshan tried his best to restrain himself. After all, he was an elder; he couldn't let the children see him acting like a fool out of joy.
When it was time to leave, Fu Xinci helped Uncle Qi come up with another idea.
That was to have the villagers live together in consolidated settlements.
"Choose a good terrain, and merge several villages into one. This way, everyone can look out for each other, with patrols and sentries. If the Japanese pirates attack, everyone can work together to hold them off for a while, waiting for reinforcements."
Qi Yuanshan carefully considered it and found that what the little girl said made sense. "Tomorrow, Uncle Qi will discuss it with them, and then we will implement it."
"Mm, I hope it helps Uncle Qi." Fu Xinci had done what she intended to do and then signaled to Qi He that it was time to go back.
Qi He was still in a daze, not quite sure how he and his father had parted.
On the way back, he felt incredibly stifled.
After enduring the crossing of the small bridge and reaching a deserted area, he began to pester Fu's sister in a low voice, "Fu's sister, can you give me one of those hand grenades too?"
Fu Xinci: ...
Seeing that Fu's sister didn't respond, Qi He stopped walking altogether, reined in his mount, and began to act like a wronged party.
Fu Xinci: "Where did your usual fighting spirit go? Why do you become like a neglected little wife when you're in front of me?"
"Heh heh." Qi He gave a silly laugh and then shyly said, "A man must be strong and upright when he's outside, and gentle and kind when he's at home."
"Oh, I just found out today that you know quite a lot."
"Not that much, I learned it all by secretly observing them."
"Who did you learn from?" Fu Xinci was a little curious.
"It was Uncle Jin, Brother Zheng, and Brother Wang."
"..." Fu Xinci hadn't expected that this fellow was already learning from married men.