Fierce Bandits

"This... is an Iron-Core Bow?!"

As the leading brute among the laborers, Wu Tiehu unceremoniously donned the only other piece of iron-plated armor besides his own, slung a Hundred Refinements Steel Saber at his waist, and took Zhao Song's.

These two, as the leaders, picked a few more who knew how to use bows and arrows. They grabbed their horn bows, slung quivers over their shoulders, and then saw the military-grade Iron-Core Bow in Feng Han's hand, their expressions changing again.

At this time, anyone who could shoot two hundred paces was considered to have a good bow, but the Iron-Core Bow had a range of three hundred paces, making it a killing weapon.

Seeing Wu Ming's expression, they inwardly shivered, knowing something big was about to happen.

"Guards!"

Wu Ming waved his hand, and two house servants brought out wooden trays. They lifted the red silk, revealing piles of gleaming white silver, each weighing five taels. The silver light dazzled the eyes.

"I won't say much else... This time, when we go out to apprehend bandits, I'll decide who gets killed! If anyone dies or gets injured, I'll provide full compensation! Their families will be taken care of. For now, each of you gets ten taels of silver!"

Wu Ming waved his hand grandly and personally handed the silver to each person.

The two heavy Ingots immediately made the Village Militia and Laborers' eyes turn red, and they shouted, "We are willing to die for the young master!"

"Very good, let's depart!"

Wu Ming led Feng Han and the others to set off immediately. Looking at the rural scenery, he suddenly smiled, "Isn't the uniform of the Inspector's office quite useful? When we go out to deal with bandits, we're officials! What's there to be afraid of?"

"The young master is right!"

Wu Tiehu sneered and tightened the leather armor on his body.

In these chaotic times, it was understandable to keep weapons in the Fortified Village, but to openly carry them out like this – was it a sign of rebellion?

Even when house servants went to collect taxes, they only used cudgels, out of caution.

But using the Inspector's office's name made it legitimate.

"The place we're going this time is Spoon Mountain, you all know it, right?"

Since they were already out, Wu Ming didn't hide anything. He waved his hand slightly, and Feng Han explained the situation.

"Of course, we know. Spoon Mountain guards the mountain pass west of our Yunping County. A group of Fierce Bandits has taken roost there, led by Jie Tianfeng!"

Wu Tiehu sneered, "Rumor has it that Jie Tianfeng has some skills. I heard he's been to prison before. Tiger Lord here would like to have a go with him!"

"Cough cough..."

Wu Ming coughed, and the entire group immediately fell silent. These men were originally his family's tenant farmers and Village Militia. They had been appeased with silver, and he had established his authority these past few days. As long as they didn't openly oppose the government or rebel, they could basically be used. "To be honest, our family has a feud with the Zhou Family. This time, one of their merchant caravans happens to be passing by Spoon Mountain... Heh heh..."

"It's normal to accidentally injure someone during bandit suppression..."

Wu Tiehu was stunned for a moment, then immediately shouted loudly, "Perhaps... before we even get there, this merchant caravan will be robbed by Jie Tianfeng!"

"Exactly!"

He hadn't expected this man to be so understanding. To speak of framing the innocent and claiming merit so righteously – he was truly a talent.

Wu Ming said, "This battle is to apprehend bandits and protect the peace of the region. Not only will the spoils of war be yours, but I will also write to the magistrate to request commendations for you!"

As this decision was made, everyone cheered.

Wu Ming and Feng Han exchanged a subtle glance and smiled slightly.

This time, Wu Ming truly intended to kill. If Jie Tianfeng made a move, they would be wiped out together. If not, they would directly ambush the Zhou Family's merchant caravan and then proceed to raid Jie Tianfeng's mountain stronghold.

As long as they killed everyone involved, leaving no witnesses, they could claim that the Zhou Family's merchant caravan had already been destroyed by Jie Tianfeng, and the remaining goods would naturally be spoils of war! They would even receive credit for suppressing the bandits!

As for the caravan's goods? They were the bandits' spoils! How could they be given away just like that?

Moreover, it was perfectly normal for goods to go missing during the course of battle.

In short, this time they would hit the Zhou Family hard, and push all the blame onto the bandits. The authorities would have no grounds to act, which would be enough to make the Zhou Family spit blood!

With the plan settled, Wu Ming waved his hand, and the group dispersed, resuming their usual patrols of the villages.

Under the cover of night, a group appeared to be returning, but Wu Ming led the elite forces towards the Spoon Mountain area.

Spoon Mountain is located west of Yunping County. Its peaks are continuous, resembling a long handle. The main peak, however, is sunken, with a celestial pond, shaped like a leaky spoon, hence its name.

On this mountain, there was the group of Fierce Bandits led by Jie Tianfeng.

There are no wrongly named nicknames, only wrongly used ones. Jie Tianfeng lived up to his name. His two prominent, flared ears were quite noticeable. At this moment, he was drinking bowl after bowl of wine. Before him lay a long table laden with large pieces of dried meat, steamed buns, mountain fowl, wild rabbits, and entire jars of old wine, exuding a fragrant aroma.

Although the bandits lived a carefree life, their actual days were quite hard. This meal was equivalent to about ten days' worth of provisions.

"Big Brother, is there business coming our way?"

While his subordinates were wolfing down their food, the second-in-command, a one-eyed man, stared intently at Jie Tianfeng.

"Heh heh... That's right. A subordinate offered a map of a merchant caravan route. It's just about to pass through our territory. The goods inside will be enough for all the brothers to have a prosperous New Year!"

Jie Tianfeng's eyes flashed with a cold light as he spoke.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's take them down!" the third-in-command, a dark-faced and ruthless brute, immediately shouted, "With so many brothers here, what do we have to fear?"

"This opportunity is a bit tricky. It's goods from the Zhou Family in the county, and the leader is Song Jingang!"

Jie Tianfeng said.

"The Zhou Family? Song Jingang?" the second-in-command gasped, "That is indeed difficult to handle. It's practically poking a hole in the sky..."

He knew very well the influence of such wealthy families, and that they even had ties with several bandit groups. If they were to act, they would truly have nowhere to hide.

"A missing head is just a scar the size of a bowl, what's there to fear?"

The third-in-command, fueled by two ounces of wine, thumped his chest and declared with great bravado, "As long as Big Brother gives the order, I'll do the deed immediately. At worst, we can just hide in the mountains; we won't fear a siege by the entire army!"

"Second Brother and Third Brother both make valid points, but you've missed one thing: where did this news come from?"

Jie Tianfeng smiled faintly. "Since I established my stronghold, I've avoided contact with powerful aristocratic families. I don't want to be a pawn. Someone's scheme to use a borrowed knife to kill is too obvious, but they still can't trick me…"

"To tell you the truth, my plan is foolproof. I know this is entirely a dispute between the county's powerful families. We'll monitor them closely, stay in the shadows, and let these two sides clash first. Afterward, whether we profit like a fisherman, or support one side at will to curry favor, we'll have plenty of room to maneuver! Even if things go wrong, we can still retreat!"

"The Chief is brilliant!"

The second-in-command was so impressed he prostrated himself, thinking that if someone else were the leader, he could only be second-in-command. It was indeed for good reason.

"What a perfect 'sit and watch the tigers fight'!"

At this moment, a voice suddenly came from the entrance of the hall.

Jie Tianfeng looked over and saw a young man in leather armor standing at the hall entrance, sneering. A squad of armored soldiers poured in, and his drunkenness dissipated by more than half. "Who are you?"

"I am naturally the snipe and clam you spoke of. However, you don't know that this time, I only need your heads!"

Wu Ming, too lazy for further talk, waved his hand. "Kill them all!"

Swish swish!

Hearing the order, Zhao Song immediately drew his bow and nocked an arrow. The arrows rained down. After two volleys, Wu Tiehu roared and charged forward with the rest of his men. Blood immediately began to splatter.

"As expected, they couldn't withstand a single blow!"

Wu Ming shook his head upon seeing this.

He had surrounded the mountain by surprise this time. What defenses could a small bandit lair possibly have? He and Feng Han, two masters, moved like phantoms, instantly eliminating the few sentries on the perimeter.

A wave of people surged in. At this time, the bandits were still feasting and drinking. How could they be a match?

On one side were the well-trained and well-equipped Village Militia and Inspectors, and on the other were a disorganized mob, most of whom didn't even have weapons, let alone leather armor for protection. And they were under attack. The outcome, naturally, goes without saying.

Half an hour later, Zhao Song, his leather armor stained with blood, returned to report, "Young Master, fifty-three bandits, not a single one escaped! We've cleared the entire mountain stronghold. We found eight shi of coarse grains, two hundred and thirty-seven taels of silver, and countless miscellaneous items, as well as some broken iron weapons that can be reforged…"

"Haha, Young Master, I've already killed Jie Tianfeng and presented his dog's head!"

Feng Han, confident in his mastery, remained stationary after breaching the stronghold's defenses, letting the Village Militia do their work.

Wu Tiehu, however, had a thrilling fight. With injuries on his body, he brought over a head with eyes wide open in disbelief – it was Jie Tianfeng.

"This villain's head is yours, your first merit!"

Wu Ming nodded, knowing in his heart that although both Zhao Song and Wu Tiehu possessed the talent of a captain, Zhao Song leaned more towards command, while Wu Tiehu was purely a fierce general.

"What are the casualties?"

When asked this, Wu Tiehu was dumbfounded. Zhao Song bowed and said, "Fortunately, we had armor protection. We only had one person seriously injured and six lightly injured!"

"Excellent!"

Whether or not one had armor protection made a world of difference in battle. This time, Wu Ming had emptied his treasury to arm these subordinates to the teeth, and the effect was quite good.

"With this head, many things can be explained clearly…"

Wu Ming scanned his surroundings. After intercepting the merchant caravan, he would first throw out this head, then let his subordinates shed blood and prove their loyalty. This would be flawless, and the Zhou Family would have to swallow this loss officially without recourse!

"This mountain stronghold, if repaired, would be an excellent base!"

Wu Ming looked at the terrain, especially the continuous deep mountains behind the stronghold, and was quite satisfied.

And his ambition had only just begun to reveal itself!

Intercepting a merchant caravan was nothing. Even if it could be done seamlessly, leaving the Zhou Family with no trace of fault officially, and even if they had to endure it, it would only be a bit more difficult. As long as their land remained, their foundation would be unharmed!

But what Wu Ming wanted was definitely not that simple.

Cutting off the merchant caravan and depriving the Zhou Family of their blood supply was only the first step!

And next, even if the authorities couldn't find fault, would the Zhou Family just endure it? How could that be possible?

The Wu Family was merely a newly risen powerful clan. A single move could lead to the destruction of a mountain stronghold. What kind of power did the established Zhou Family possess?