Insufficient balance

  "Please don't worry, sir," Zou Jing comforted. "Although the city has fallen, Old Master He may not necessarily fall into the enemy's hands."

  "Zi Yu, Zi Yu," Qin Hui shook his head and said, "Your cleverness is wasted on self-deception. Since the escape from Jing Shan, the actions of the 800 bandits have been unpredictable, always one step ahead of me. Although Ma Chao is a thief, he has the demeanor of a famous general. With such a formidable opponent, do you think they would leave anyone alive? Don't harbor any more illusions, when the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact. Now that Fu Yang is lost, Old Master He's fate is all but sealed."

  Huang Zhong and Cai Mao were all pale with fear.

  Zou Jing thought carefully and felt that Qin Bi's words were not unreasonable. After a while, he sighed and said: "Sir, good fortune or bad luck is hard to avoid. Since things have come to this point, why don't we send more Flying Star Messengers to inform the surrounding counties? On one hand, we can strengthen our defenses to prevent those eight hundred bandits from repeating their old tricks. On the other hand, we can also investigate news about He Lao Tai Ye."

  Qin Xuan nodded gloomily and waved his hand wearily at Zou Jing.

  ……

  Fuyang County, with an area of just over ten miles in circumference, has a population of over 10,000 households and more than 30,000 people. Now the whole city is under the control of the 800 bandits.

  Beimen, Majue Mountain stood upright under the fluttering great flag. In front of Majue, more than 100 bandits had their swords drawn and bows stretched, surrounding dozens of disheveled government soldiers in the center. On the ground before the two armies lay dozens of mutilated corpses, some belonging to the government army and others to the bandits. The scarlet bloodstains on the ground testified to the fierce battle that had taken place here.

  Although this group of government soldiers had only a few dozen people, they formed a tight circle, with long guns and short knives working in perfect harmony, like a hedgehog covered in sharp quills, stubbornly holding off the repeated attacks of over a hundred bandits! Ma Chao's wolf-like gaze swept past this group of fierce government soldiers, falling on the group of people within the protective circle.

  This gang of ferocious government troops is not ordinary, their combat power is even comparable to Zhu Yun's elite northern army! How did this small county of Fuyang produce such a fierce government troop? Could it be... that there are some big shots behind the scenes? Ma Yue's heart skipped a beat, and his eyes flashed with a hint of coldness.

  Ma Yue let out a loud roar, his eyes gleaming with murderous intent, and shouted sternly: "Put down your weapons!"

  "Put down your weapons!"

  Over a hundred bandits responded with thunderous applause, their loud roars shattering the chilly dawn. However, the expressions of the dozens of government soldiers were as cold as the biting wind, chilling to the bone. They seemed oblivious to the bandits' cries, as if in their eyes, there had only ever been killing or being killed - life had long since lost all meaning for them.

  This is a gang of cold-blooded killing machines! Without hundreds and thousands of times of ruthless slaughter, it would be impossible to forge such hard nerves. Whoever can mobilize such elite government troops as their personal bodyguards is no ordinary person!

  The chaotic footsteps sounded again, and another group of bandits came from the city with a fierce momentum. The first one was a tall man, nearly ten feet tall, with a black face, two eyes staring like copper bells, who else could it be but Guan Hai? This group of more than 200 bandits rushed over and formed a thick and solid encirclement around the outside again. At this point, even if those inside had wings, they couldn't fly out.

  Guan Hai took three strides and two leaps to hurry in front of Ma Yue, saying in a deep voice: "Big Head, I've brought someone for you."

  "Who is it?"

  With a wave of his hand, he shouted loudly: "Bring him over."

  The pipe fell to the ground, and two bandits had already brought a sly-looking fellow over, then threw him in front of Ma Chao like trash. As soon as he landed, the fellow quickly got down on all fours, sticking his butt up high, and indeed knew well the way to survive in chaotic times.

  "What's your name?"

  "Little... little He San."

  "What's your name?" Ma Yue asked, "What do you do?"

  He San hung his head and replied fawningly: "I have been a miscellaneous servant in the He manor since I was young, so I know many major and minor things about the He manor. I thought these things might be useful to the leader, so I came to report specially."

  Ma Yue asked: "He San, what do you know?"

  He San replied: "As long as it's related to the He Manor, there's nothing small that I don't know."

  Ma Yue asked: "Is that so? Then you'd better say it, what's the origin of this He Manor?"

  In the besieged government army's defense circle, a middle-aged man suddenly glared and shouted loudly: "He San, you dare to be so presumptuous?"

  He San's eyebrows jumped, and he replied: "Report to the leader, this He Mansion is the residence of General He Jin of the imperial court. The one who rushed at me just now was He Ling, the steward of He Mansion. This scoundrel, relying on being the steward of He Mansion, actually forced Xiaofeng to become his concubine. Poor Xiaofeng has been with me since childhood, and after marrying He Ling, she cries every day, in pain and unable to bear it. I hope the leader will take charge for me."

  In the circular defense circle of the government army, the middle-aged man was already red in the face with anger, loudly shouting: "He San, you treacherous thief, reversing black and white, spouting blood from your mouth, it's clear that you have evil intentions, seeing an opportunity to take advantage, colluding with that lowly woman, and yet you turn around and falsely accuse me, this is truly infuriating!"

  He San wanted to say more, but Ma Yue said coldly: "He San, less nonsense! Later I will reward Xiaofeng to you."

  He San was overjoyed, even the black mole on his face cracked a smile, and he fawned: "Great leader, the one who scolded me just now is He Ling, the steward of the He manor. The old fellow beside him is He Zhen, He Jin's father! And next to He Zhen, look, the one on the left is Chen Zhen, the magistrate of Fuyang County, and the one on the right is the county lieutenant of Fuyang. The others are just some minor officials."

  Ma Yu's eyebrows suddenly jumped up, and he was silent for a long time. After a good while, he looked up at the sky and burst out laughing.

  Guan Hai didn't understand and asked in puzzlement: "Great leader, why are you laughing?"

  Ma Yue's laughter stopped abruptly, and he said: "Old Guan, we're rich! We've made it, I'm going to be the boss now, hahaha..."

  "Uh..."

  Guan Hai scratched his head in confusion, having no idea what the boss meant. But since the big leader had spoken, he naturally had to follow suit. Nowadays, Guan Hai looked up to Ma Yue as if he were a god, and even if Ma Yue told him that someone's fart smelled good, he might have believed it and gone to take a sniff.

  Like a wolf, he walked to the front of the bandit array, Guan Hai held up his long knife high in the sky and shouted loudly: "Brothers, the big leader just gave orders, from today on, no one is allowed to call him the big leader again, we must call him boss, did you all hear clearly?"

  "Got it."

  "Boss!"

  He brandished his arms and let out a loud roar.

  "Boss~~ Boss~~~"

  Hundreds of bandits responded to the call, their voices shaking the mountains and startling people.

  "What?"

  Ma Yue rolled his eyes and almost choked on his breath. But a boss is a boss, after all, it's just a title, Ma Yue didn't bother to correct him, and instead turned to Guan Hai: "Guan Hai, this group of government troops will be handed over to you, except for the soldiers holding weapons, the rest must be captured alive, do you understand?"

  The fierce glint in his eyes was overwhelming as he said solemnly, "I'll take it from here."

  ……

  Twenty miles north of Fuyang City, a lone horseman galloped swiftly towards the direction of Luoyang in the north, with a triangular flag fluttering behind him, embroidered with the character "He".

  ……

  Luoyang, General-in-Chief He Jin's mansion, Cavalry General He Miao hastily entered the inner courtyard.

  He Miao came in, He Jin was standing at the window with his hands behind his back, staring blankly at the thick spring snow outside. Perhaps it was He Miao's footsteps that startled He Jin out of his thoughts, he let out a sigh and turned around.

  "Second brother, you're here?"

  He Miao bowed respectfully and asked: "Big brother, you're looking for me with something urgent?"

  He Jin nodded, his face growing increasingly worried, and replied evasively: "The fortunes of the great Han are many and calamities do not come alone. The uprising in Yingchuan and Nanyang has just been put down, and now we have a rare snowstorm that will surely kill countless people and crops. I fear that the bandits who have just been pacified will rise again."

  He Miao didn't understand and said, "Big brother, the bandit disaster has died down and revived, it's up to the imperial court officials and soldiers from all over the place to suppress them. What does the life and death of these humble people have to do with you and me brothers? Is that why big brother called little brother here today?"

  He Jin shook his head and said, "This is just the eldest brother's temporary feeling. Second brother, Father has been living in Hu Li, Nanyang for some time now. The eldest brother's heart is still not at ease. Moreover, the Yellow Turbans in Yingchuan and Nanyang have already been eliminated, and the road is unobstructed. Why don't you take a trip to bring Father back to Luoyang?"

  He Jin was overjoyed. He Miao knew his elder brother's temper and immediately replied, "Elder brother, I will return to the mansion to make some preparations before setting off at once."

  He Jin said, "Alright, I'll let Yuan Shu bring 500 northern soldiers to escort you on your way. Second brother, be careful and leave early to return early."

  "My little brother is reasonable."

  He Miao nodded to He Jin and took his leave.