After everyone had gathered, the men grouped on the left, the women and children on the right, the troop commander shouted, "Don't be afraid! We are carrying out the government's mandate to provide you with work. You will be paid and well-fed! Also, the women who are selected will have jobs and a pleasant life!"
Now the commander's assistants conducted the selection. The young and strong men were immediately separated and their hands were handcuffed with long chains. Soon, more than fifty men were handcuffed with interlocking chains, and fifteen young women, both virgins and married, were also selected and forced to separate themselves and get into a prepared cart.
The women wept, both those who were taken and those who were left behind. The girls and young women had heard that those selected would get jobs, but they would be despicable and forced to serve the soldiers like prostitutes! And those who had been taken away never returned to their villages. It was also rare for men to return to the villages after they had been selected to work in the canal.
Accompanied by screams from both those who were taken prisoner and those who were left behind, the Black Uniform Troops herded the prisoners out of the village. The cracking of their whips was explosive to frighten them and to force those who were about to strike to continue. Like a herd of newly purchased livestock, the fifty village men were herded out of their village, leaving their families, homes, and village behind, perhaps forever.
According to government regulations at the time, there was no forced labor instead, there was compulsory labor, requiring people to work on the canal for one hundred days, and they were paid wages and provided with food. Women were also hired and paid, but voluntarily, to work in the canal's public kitchen.
However, it was a common problem that the implementation of an order deviated from its original purpose. Compulsory labor became forced labor, wages were emasculated or even eliminated altogether, and women were rounded up and forced to work, not on the canal, but to satisfy their animal desires!
It cannot be denied that among the officials there were also clean people who truly carried out their duties as they should. But what good is a cup of milk if it is placed in a pool filled with sewage? The milk's whiteness and purity will disappear, in fact, it will become dirty! The little will disappear, enveloped by the abundance.
The commander of the Black Uniform Troops who entered Ki Hyan Tung village was named Ban Lok Sek, a forty-year-old man who was tall and strong, had elephant ears and he had the martial art skill with a pair of machetes which was so powerful that many people feared him.
Also, there are two officers who helped him were selected people with high martial arts skill. In fact, the troops led by Ban Lok Sek were selected troops, consisting of soldiers who were skilled in martial arts. With his special troops, Ban Lok Sek seemed to be a small king who could impose his will as he pleased, without anyone daring to oppose him.
Because it was proven that by his leadership always successful in bringing in many obedient new personnel, so his superiors are not too concerned about the news that Ban Lok Sek and his troops are cruel to the people.
The villagers who were treated like prisoners staggered under the threat of whips that sometimes touched their skin and bit, dust billowed under the hooves of the horses ridden by the troops, and in the midst of the troops could be heard the sobs of women huddled in carts pulled by two horses.
Those who were left behind, namely grandfathers, grandmothers, women who were not chosen, children, gathered in groups in the village and they cried and wailed, crying for their children, husbands, fathers, wives or daughters who were taken prisoner.
When the cavalry arrived outside the village, chaos suddenly broke out in the front ranks. All the soldiers immediately mounted their horses to see what had happened. They were shocked and enraged to see how many of their comrades had fallen from their horses, and what appeared to be five mighty men slashing with their swords.
It was likely the fury of these five mighty men that had caused the five leading soldiers to fall. They were Shaolin disciples! As we know, the Shaolin Temple was burned down, and many Shaolin disciples died in the great battle when the Shaolin Temple was stormed by government forces.
The Shaolin disciples resisted, grief-stricken because their leader had burned himself to death to protest the government's actions. Only six of them managed to escape with their wounds. They then joined the Shaolin disciples who happened to be outside the temple and were spared the massacre.
The escaped disciples were led by Lie Koan Tek, a valiant Shaolin warrior. Since the temple burning, the Shaolin disciples had become hunted, scattered, and Thian Gi Monk himself, the junior brother of the Shaolin leader who had set himself on fire, was hiding in the southern region.
The five men who attacked the troops that holding the villagers from Ki Hyan Tung village were Shaolin warriors who happened to be passing by. They saw what was happening and were enraged. They drew their swords and attacked the abusive government troops. Although these warriors had lost their temple and their dormitory, they had not lost their warrior nature and energetically attacked the troops to defend the villagers who had been taken prisoner.
Naturally, the officers were enraged to see several of their comrades fall with serious injuries, some even dead. They then charged and surrounded, swarming the five warriors with their machetes and shouts, as well as Commander Ban Lok Sek and his two skilled assistant officers, who had already jumped into the fray.
The five Shaolin warriors were shocked when they saw the movement of the pair of machetes in the commander's hands! They knew that was martial art of the pair of machetes from Shaolin!
"You're a disciple of Shaolin!" snapped one of the Shaolin warriors!
Ban Lok Sek laughed and snorted mockingly. "Huh, who's the rebellious Shaolin disciple? I did learn the machete from Shaolin, but that doesn't mean I'm a Shaolin disciple!" He said this, pressing his opponent.
His two assistant officers also wielded their machetes, and dozens of soldiers joined them. No matter how skilled the five Shaolin warriors were, they were beginning to be severely outmatched!
However, they fought back tenaciously, twirling their swords to protect themselves from the threat of dozens of weapons that were lashing out fiercely. The sheer number of attackers made it difficult for the five warriors to retaliate.
They had no other opportunity, and were forced to defend themselves without retaliating. The five of them were eventually slashed and began to suffer injuries, though minor, as their strong bodies, agile movements, and the swiveling of their swords, protected them from deadly attacks.
However, if they continued, the five warriors would soon collapse and die under the onslaught of so many opponents. They understood this, but they were not afraid. Their warrior spirit made them unyielding in the face of evil and oppression. They were willing to help the villagers at the risk of their own lives.
In that extremely dangerous situation, a tall, burly young man suddenly appeared. This young man was none other than Han Beng. From afar, he had been drawn by the clamorous sounds of battle. Although he had received his teacher's warning not to interfere in other people's affairs, his heart was drawn, and he quickly ran toward the commotion.
He saw dozens of villagers shackled and bound with long chains, dozens of young women huddled in a cart, and five brave men being beaten by dozens of soldiers, all of whom were already injured. Seeing this, the astute Han Beng immediately guessed what had happened.
As a child, five years earlier, he had been forced to flee with his parents for fear of being forced into forced labor by government troops. Now, seeing dozens of peasants shackled and young women captured, he could guess that these peasants would be forced into forced labor. And these five brave men were undoubtedly men with the hearts of warriors who would defend those dozens of peasants.