Meanwhile.
The Mountain Bandits escorted Li Zhen to the county entrance, left him there alone, and then returned to the mountain stronghold.
The Mountain Bandits were all wanted criminals and did not dare show themselves openly.
Li Zhen found a Yamen Runner and explained that he had the ability to annihilate the Yin Mountain Bandits. He wanted to request an audience with the County Magistrate.
The county office.
“You say you have a way to annihilate the Yin Mountain Bandits?” the County Magistrate asked.
“That’s right.”
“However, I need you, County Magistrate, to cooperate with me and put on a performance.”
The next day.
Li Zhen returned to the Yin Mountain Bandits.
“Worthy younger brother, why have you returned so quickly? Could it be that you’ve brought me good news?” The Great Village Chief was delighted to see Li Zhen.
He had not run away, which meant everything Li Zhen had said before was true!
“Village Chief.”
“Why are you still calling me Village Chief? That sounds distant. Just call me Eldest Brother.” The Great Village Chief was in an excellent Mood.
“Eldest Brother, my Father-in-law said that getting those merchants to willingly pay up won’t be easy. You need to make a big move.”
“Oh? What do you mean?”
“The day after tomorrow, a large group from the Guangshang Escort Agency will pass through here. This escort contains goods belonging to dozens of merchant families. You need to rob them. That way, the Guangshang Escort Agency’s reputation will plummet, and our escort agency can rise with the tide.”
“This...” The Village Chief hesitated.
If they truly started fighting, he still could not make up his mind.
After all, he knew about the Guangshang Escort Agency. It had quite a few capable fighters. Normally, they did not dare touch the agency’s escorts, because if they truly fought, both sides would likely suffer heavy losses.
“Eldest Brother, don’t hesitate any longer. My Father-in-law said you don’t need to fight them for real. As long as you bring out enough men, put on a show, and scare them a little, you can then fire a few cold arrows from a distance.” Li Zhen added fuel to the fire from the side.
“So that’s how it is. Then I’m relieved.” Since they did not need to fight for real, the Great Village Chief finally relaxed.
“This is a letter from my Father-in-law to you, Eldest Brother. It contains his guarantee.” Li Zhen took out a letter.
The letter was unfolded, and behind the writing was the seal of the county office.
The Great Village Chief recognized this seal. It appeared on all the wanted notices.
It stated that they would cooperate with one another and expressed the County Magistrate’s intentions.
The seal was the guarantee provided by the County Magistrate.
“Excellent, excellent, excellent!” Upon seeing this, the Great Village Chief immediately burst into laughter.
He completely lowered his guard.
After all, if the County Magistrate dared to forge this and then renege, the seal would ensure that he feared the matter being exposed.
The Great Village Chief felt that this matter was already eighty percent stable.
To celebrate, the Great Village Chief once again held a grand feast. At the dinner table, he personally acknowledged Li Zhen as a brother and introduced him to the other Mountain Bandits present.
Li Zhen also drank until he was completely drunk and did not return until the next day.
The third day.
At the mountain pass, a caravan of around a hundred people slowly approached.
There were dozens of carts just for transporting the goods.
The entire procession advanced with great momentum.
“Stop!”
As the voice rang out, a sharp arrow shot down from the mountain and struck the wheel of a carriage.
The mountain forest was crowded with people. Then, several figures emerged from the grass.
“We are the Yin Mountain Bandits. If you wish to pass through our Territory, leave behind some money for safe passage.” The one who spoke was the Second Village Chief.
The Second Village Chief was also a tall, burly man, and his voice was deep and muffled.
“Black Bear, we have always stayed out of each other’s way. Immediately withdraw, and I’ll pretend nothing happened.” A man walked out from the escort agency’s group. He held a large cleaver, and his gaze was sharp.
While the two groups faced off, Li Zhen led a group of soldiers from the county office to the Yin Mountain Bandits’ stronghold and charged straight into its heart.
The Yin Mountain Bandits’ stronghold was empty at that moment, with practically no one there.
Li Zhen even greeted the Mountain Bandits standing guard. “It’s me.”
When the guards saw Li Zhen, they stood there foolishly without stopping him and directly opened the stronghold’s gate.
By the time they realized what was happening, it was already too late.
A large group of soldiers appeared and, in less than ten minutes, rounded up the dozen or so Bandits remaining inside.
“You! You deceived me!”
The Great Village Chief was thrown to the ground with his limbs bound. Upon seeing Li Zhen, he bared his teeth in fury, his eyes bloodshot.
Li Zhen glanced at him Lightly and did not say anything more to him.
Meanwhile.
After making a few harsh threats, the Second Village Chief did not actually fight the people from the escort agency either. After the Mountain Bandits withdrew, they fired a few cold arrows from a distance to make a show of it, then led their men back to the stronghold.
As they neared the stronghold, they were ambushed by the soldiers, and more than a dozen were instantly killed or wounded.
“It’s an ambush! Flee back!”
The Second Village Chief immediately shouted the order.
Pity, they had barely fled a short distance when they encountered another ambush. The people lying in wait for them were none other than the members of the Guangshang Escort Agency who had just faced them.
It had happened far too suddenly, and another dozen or so men were lost in an instant.
“This infuriates me!”
The Second Village Chief realized that he had been tricked and was so enraged that smoke seemed to pour from his seven orifices.
Just as he was about to lead the remaining Bandits in a desperate final struggle, a voice rang out.
“Everyone, stop!”
The one shouting was their Great Village Chief.
The other Mountain Bandits looked at the Great Village Chief being forced out ahead of them by several men. They were utterly surprised and wore bewildered expressions.
“Eldest Brother!”
The Second Village Chief appeared extremely agitated upon seeing the Great Village Chief.
“Those who surrender will not be killed. Brothers, put down your Weapons and stop resisting.” The Great Village Chief advised them helplessly.
When some Mountain Bandits saw that even their Great Village Chief had been captured, they lost the will to resist. They threw the Weapons in their hands onto the ground.
“Sigh!”
The Second Village Chief sighed heavily. He also knew that the situation was beyond saving, so he forcefully threw away the knife in his hand.
The soldiers seized the opportunity to step forward and bind all the Mountain Bandits.
When the soldiers escorted a group of Bandits into the city, it caused a Huge commotion.
The Common People all ran out to watch. Upon learning that the captured men were Bandits, many Common People began throwing stones at them.
“They’re all bad people! Throw them!”
Other Common People threw rotten vegetables and stinking eggs at them.
For a while, the scene was incredibly raucous.
··············
Inside the county office.
“Excellent, excellent! The scourge of the Yin Mountain Bandits has finally been eliminated.” The County Magistrate was very satisfied after hearing his subordinate’s report.
This was a tremendous achievement.
“Lord, your strategy this time was brilliant. May I ask which strategist came up with the idea?” someone from the Guangshang Escort Agency asked.
They had not expected the County Magistrate to invite them to join in annihilating the Mountain Bandits, much less use such a brilliant strategy.
Now that their Guangshang Escort Agency had annihilated the Yin Mountain Bandits, its reputation was even more resounding than before.
“This time, we have Young Master Li Zhen to thank. He came up with the entire plan.”
“Where is Young Master Li? Someone, quickly invite Young Master Li inside.” The County Magistrate called out.
“Lord, Young Master Li has already left. He said he had an important matter and could not stay.” A servant answered.
He had actually left.
The County Magistrate could not help feeling somewhat stunned.
“Ah, what a pity, what a pity. If someone like him could remain at your side, County Magistrate, it would certainly be a blessing for our county.” The person from the Guangshang Escort Agency spoke from beside him.
“Sigh, yes. What a pity.” The County Magistrate shook his head and sighed.
He had originally wanted to invite Li Zhen to devise strategies for him and govern the county.
If Li Zhen assisted him well, perhaps he could even be promoted several more times during his lifetime.
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