Lu Qing knew that Wu Facai was the key to making this work. After a brief silence, Wu Facai looked at Lu Qing. That moment of quiet allowed him to calm down, recovering from the initial shock. He knew very well—Lu Qing was not a reckless man.
“Xiao Qing, do you already have a plan?” Wu Facai finally asked.
That one question was enough to show that Wu Facai had been swayed.
“Father…” Wu Hai looked at Wu Facai. His father’s words clearly meant he was agreeing with Lu Qing’s idea. But that was Green Dragon Stronghold—they were mountain bandits.
“Father, how could we possibly be a match for those bandits?” Wu Hai asked seriously.
“Warfare is the art of deception. The best strategy is to attack with cunning. When two armies clash, brute force alone isn’t enough. We must use our heads. I’ve calculated—we have three advantages,” Lu Qing smiled.
“What a phrase—‘attack with cunning’.” Wu Facai’s eyes lit up at the four words. Those few words captured the very essence of military strategy.
“What advantages?” Wu He asked, looking at Lu Qing.
“First, Green Dragon Stronghold doesn’t know Qian Mang is dead. That gives us enough time to prepare. We have the advantage of time.
Second, we are familiar with them, but they know nothing about us. As they say, ‘they’re in the light, we’re in the dark’—we have the advantage of information.
Third, they’ll never expect us to strike first. That is the key. We can catch them off guard.”
Lu Qing laid it all out calmly.
“Exactly.” Wu Facai nodded. “Xiao Qing, I didn’t expect you to understand military tactics like this.” The more he saw, the more he realized how deep Lu Qing truly was.
“As long as we prepare thoroughly, I believe we can wipe out Green Dragon Stronghold,” Lu Qing said with a serious expression.
“But it’s just a few of us…” Wu He began to express doubt, but before he could finish, Wu Facai suddenly turned around, shouting, “Who’s there? Come out now!”
At that, Tian Erwang and Zhao Tiezhu stepped out with sheepish grins.
“Uncle Facai!” “Erwang, Tiezhu? What are you two doing here?” Wu Hai asked.
“Uncle Facai, we figured you and Lu Qing must be planning some way to make money. Why not take us with you?” Tian Erwang said with a grin.
When everyone else had left earlier, Lu Qing had intentionally kept Wu Facai, Wu Hai, and Wu He behind. That made Tian Erwang suspect Lu Qing was working on another money-making plan, so he brought Zhao Tiezhu to check.
“What about what we just said…” Lu Qing started.
“They didn’t hear it,” Wu Facai said in a low voice. He was sure Tian Erwang and the others had just arrived.
“Them?” Lu Qing frowned slightly.
“Tian Erwang’s clever. Zhao Tiezhu is simple and honest. They’re both reliable,” Wu Facai said, introducing them to Lu Qing.
“There is indeed a way to make money, but it’s dangerous. You could lose your life. Are you willing to risk it?” Lu Qing looked at them seriously.
“Yes!” Tian Erwang clenched his fists. “I’m already too poor to even eat. What do I have to fear?”
“That’s right! Brother Qing, take us with you. We won’t let you down,” Zhao Tiezhu added, also clenching his fists.
“Then come here,” Lu Qing gestured for them to step forward.
“Okay!” They both walked up.
“If I told you we’re going to Green Dragon Stronghold, would you dare?”
“G-G-Green Dragon Stronghold?” Tian Erwang stuttered. That was one of the most notorious bandit dens in Luliang. Why go there? Wasn’t that suicide?
“That’s right,” Wu He nodded.
“Do you dare or not?” Wu Hai pressed again.
“Me…?” Tian Erwang hesitated.
“If you don’t, it’s fine. You can leave now. But you must never speak of this to anyone. If you do, don’t blame me, Wu Facai, for turning hostile,” Wu Facai warned darkly.
The plan to strike Green Dragon Stronghold had to remain absolutely secret.
“I’ll do it,” Tian Erwang said after a moment.
“So will I,” Zhao Tiezhu followed.
“Good. From now on, it’s me, Uncle Facai, Wu He, Wu Hai, Erwang, and Tiezhu—six of us. Whether we bring in more later is up for discussion. But this matter about Green Dragon Stronghold must be kept secret. Not even your wives can know,” Lu Qing reminded them.
“Understood,” Zhao Tiezhu nodded.
Though Lu Qing knew everyone hated the bandits for the suffering they caused, hatred alone didn’t mean they wouldn’t cower in fear. If the secret leaked, the entire plan would be ruined.
“In the coming days, everyone has their own tasks. Wu He and Erwang, you two come with me,” Lu Qing said.
“Got it,” Wu He and Tian Erwang nodded.
After finalizing the plan, everyone left. Lu Qing took Wu He and Tian Erwang into the mountains.
“Brother Qing, why are we going into the mountains?” Tian Erwang asked, confused.
“To pick mushrooms,” Lu Qing smiled.
Soon, Lu Qing picked a few mushrooms.
“Remember, we need this kind,” he said, holding up a bright red mushroom.
“Aren’t those poisonous?” Wu He, who often foraged for wild vegetables, immediately recognized them.
“Exactly. We want the poisonous ones,” Lu Qing replied with a mysterious smile.
The three of them started picking. Since no one dared eat poisonous mushrooms, by sunset they had filled a large basket.
They brought the mushrooms back home.
“Put them here,” Lu Qing instructed Wu He and Tian Erwang.
“Brother Qing, we’ll head out now.”
“Alright,” Lu Qing saw them off.
“Husband, you’re back!” Hearing noise outside, Han Qiuniang and the others came out from the inner room.
“Mhm.” Lu Qing nodded.
“You went picking mushrooms?” Han Qiuniang looked at the basket, but frowned when she saw the contents. “These are all poisonous mushrooms, aren’t they?”
“They are,” Lu Qing replied, the corners of his mouth curling into a smile. “Clean them for me and soak them in water. I’ll need them later.”
“Alright.” Han Qiuniang nodded.
By nightfall, Han Qiuniang and the others had already cleaned the poisonous mushrooms and soaked them all in water, just as Lu Qing instructed.
Though they didn’t understand, they believed Lu Qing must have a plan.
The next day, as agreed, the carpenter from Luliang County arrived at Manglong Village to install doors and windows for Lu Qing’s house.
“Wow, what a grand house.”
“I’ve been making doors and windows for years and have never seen a house this impressive. Whose is it? Must’ve cost hundreds of taels,” the head carpenter marveled at the structure before him.
“Mine,” Lu Qing said, walking over with a smile.
“So it belongs to Young Master Lu. Truly impressive. Even in the city, I haven’t seen anything this magnificent,” the old carpenter said, giving him a big thumbs-up.