The Unexpected

This group had actually arrived last night, but Thousand-Household Commander Su did not trust them at all. In the pitch-black of night, it was difficult to see anything clearly.

Not to mention, it was impossible to distinguish whether this group was truly a defeated remnant or if spies from the roving bandits had infiltrated their ranks.

None of them were allowed to hold important positions; they were all assigned to manual labor, such as guarding the city gates and walls. These tasks were primarily handled by the local military households of Liangcheng to prevent any spies from sneaking in and opening the gates in the middle of the night.

As a local power broker in the Liangcheng region, Thousand-Household Commander Su was the most panicked of all. Although his cultivation realm was profound, he remained terrified. If the roving bandits arrived, the low-level officers might survive, but he would certainly be killed by the bandits so they could divide his land and property.

That was why he was so thorough in his deliberations now, striving to make no mistakes, hoping that once reinforcements arrived, everything would be settled.

The army led by Inspector Li Baisheng was an elite force that had just finished training. They had been dispatched by Emperor Chongyan to suppress the bandits. Not only did the army possess a generally high martial arts level, but they were also equipped with superior firearms and cannons. As long as they met the enemy head-on, victory was all but certain.

As for Inspector Li, he was a top-tier martial artist, a rarity even in the Great Jin. In a place like the Liangcheng Thousand-Household Office, he could single-handedly flatten the entire garrison.

The band of roving bandits that had breached Linshui County likely belonged to "King Cui" Zhao Chengde.

Zhao Chengde was originally a carpenter whose family was too poor to survive, so he joined the roving bandits.

Because of his strong military aptitude, he rose through the ranks to become the leader of the bandits. Today, he occupies half of Tianzhong Province and half of Jinyuan Province, commanding an army of fifty thousand, and is very close to Wuqu Province.

The reason the imperial court had not suppressed them was the lack of available troops; previously, this army under Inspector Li had been defending against the Qiangqu People outside the passes.

Now that the imperial court had reached a peace agreement with the Qiangqu People, they had gained a brief respite, naturally allowing this army to return to suppress the rebels.

However, Thousand-Household Commander Su did not believe Inspector Li would have a good ending. After all, Emperor Chongyan had been in power for ten years, having already framed several governors and executed dozens of civil officials. Someone like Inspector Li, if he defeated the bandits, would likely not escape the Emperor's suspicion.

The Liangcheng Guard did not have firearms or cannons. It was not that the Great Jin imperial court did not know how to build them, but they simply could not afford to use them. Equipping the elite forces with such weapons was already a severe economic burden; if they wanted to equip every Garrison in the country with firearms...

The issue would no longer be whether the treasury was sufficient, but that they would fall directly into debt.

Lin Xuan arrived at the drill ground and used a stone weight to test his strength. He could now lift five hundred catties steadily, though five hundred and fifty catties was still a bit of a struggle.

Despite the boost from [Super Strength], the effects brought by the medicinal efficacy were quite impressive.

Today, Lin Xuan's task was to patrol the vicinity. If any disaster victims were destroying fields or attacking the residences of commoners, he was to kill them on the spot. At the same time, he was to keep an eye on the movements of the roving bandits; if he discovered any clues, he was to return to the Garrison immediately.

As luck would have it, Lin Jie was assigned to the Squad Leader unit he managed.

Because the Garrison was short on personnel, each Flag Commander could generally only command three Squad Leaders, with each Squad Leader leading ten men.

The other two were Liu Jiye and Qin Huai.

Qin Huai, who had hunted the Black Bear Spirit with him last time, was now his subordinate.

This situation made even Qin Huai feel it was unbelievable.

Once Lin Jie entered Lin Xuan's team, he instantly became incredibly docile, losing all his previous arrogance. Lin Xuan was now his Shangguan.

Lin Xuan only patrolled within two hundred zhang of the Garrison. Any further, and he would have no time to react if the bandits arrived. For now, everything seemed normal, and he felt his patrol duty was becoming somewhat boring.

There were some refugees on the road, but perhaps because they saw Lin Xuan's group patrolling in armor, they remained well-behaved and did not do anything out of line.

At noon that day, trouble struck. A dark, dense mass of people arrived from the west.

Their attire was uneven; some wore brand-new armor and carried new bows and spears, while others wore tattered armor, and some wore no armor at all, carrying simple weapons fashioned from farm tools.

Even the colors of their clothes were chaotic, with no uniform dress code.

Seeing this, Lin Xuan turned and ran.

He shouted to the few Squad Leaders and soldiers: "Go! Back to the city."

Across a distance of several hundred meters, Lin Xuan fled at full speed, returning to the Liangcheng Thousand-Household Office in an instant.

The garrison troops at the Liangcheng Thousand-Household Office also saw Lin Xuan fleeing back and prepared to close the gates as soon as he entered.

After the group of men entered the city, the gates, which had already been prepared for closure, were slammed shut.

The hinges creaked, and once they were closed, everyone felt a sense of relief. Immediately, Thousand-Household Commander Su ordered the entire army to stand at full alert, preparing logs and giant boulders.

However, the group of roving bandits did not attack the Thousand-Household Office as they had expected, nor did they go to plunder the commoners' homes.

Lin Xuan watched from the city walls, having already prepared for battle, but seeing that this force was not coming to attack the city, he pondered the reason.

"Could it be... they aren't aiming for us at all... but rather...

Rather... they are aiming to plunder the wealthy households!"

Those capable of becoming military leaders of thousands were generally not fools. The Liangcheng Thousand-Household Office was already prepared for a siege, waiting in comfort for the exhausted enemy; a rash attack would inevitably result in heavy losses.

The composition of the roving bandits was complex, and the lower-level soldiers lacked military discipline. If they failed to take the city in one wave, their morale would collapse instantly.

Therefore, attacking the Thousand-Household Office was not their best choice.

The leader of this force was named Liu Zuolong, a fierce general under King Cui, Zhao Chengde.

He had dark skin and a lean, wiry build, wearing a brand-new set of Jin officer's armor—a trophy he had seized from fighting the Jin imperial troops.

Leading five thousand men, he had captured two undefended county towns and plundered the money and grain of the wealthy, landlords, and officials.

His subordinates, seeing the state of the Garrison, were unsure of what to do next and asked him for instructions:

"General Liu, the Garrison has closed its gates tight and is standing at full alert on the walls. It seems they are prepared for defense. Shall we attack them?"

After a moment of thought, Liu Zuolong shook his head, his tone flat: "By now, the nearby county towns and military Garrisons are all on guard. There is no need to attack fortified positions. Do not harm the commoners; focus on robbing the wealthy and the landlords."

After all, the rebel army was composed of poor families; the commoners would be the future soldiers of the rebel army and its future supporters.

As for the wealthy and the landlords, most had committed evil deeds. Robbing them might meet with a little resistance, but the commoners would only applaud.

Regardless of whether the Thousand-Household Office saved the wealthy or not, he was guaranteed to win.

If they dared to come out, he would annihilate the Garrison troops. If they didn't come out, he could rob without resistance, and it would also damage the government's standing with the people.

After all, if they were robbed now and the government didn't save them, the government would face huge resistance the next time they collected grain, conscripted soldiers, or requisitioned supplies. If the government didn't come to save them when they were in trouble, what face did it have to collect taxes?