The bandit stronghold wasn't huge, but it wasn't small, either.
There were four hundred and thirty-two people in all.
After the young man's rampage, only a little over three hundred and seventy remained.
The bandits around Heyin were made up of several groups: some were commoners forced by circumstance to take to the hills; some were wandering knights with a little martial skill who had committed crimes and were wanted; and others were retainers kept by powerful local clans.
It sounded unbelievable, but that was the truth. They were bandits in name only. The real goal was to use that name as cover to secretly drill troops and build up an armed force. They were both the players and the referees—how could any campaign to suppress bandits ever wipe them out?
Shen Tang had no idea what kind of bandit den she'd stumbled into.
One word: screw it!
Kill the Head of the Household and all the other leaders' trusted men, then deal with any underlings who resisted. Use a show of overwhelming force to cow the rest, and have the "hype squad" she'd planted among them howl a few times. With the herd mentality at work, the remaining bandits would join in. And if that still didn't work—
Shen Tang had no qualms about killing a few more.
Or killing them all!
What purpose did bandits serve if they couldn't be recruited?
Shen Tang returned to the main hall with her sword in hand. She kicked aside the Head of the Household's decapitated corpse and took his seat.
She ordered the bandits to bring her their account books.
With a lazy air, she flipped through them at random, then tossed them to the floor. The bandits below, all hunched shoulders and bowed heads, shuddered in fright. They considered themselves