Chapter Fifty-Three: Pursuing the Bandits

  Lu Qi saw that among the fleeing bandits, one was carrying a woman on his back, and three of them had bundles on their bodies. He immediately shouted: "The fugitive is the leader of the bandits, follow me quickly to get rich."

  This statement was the most attractive, and sixteen government soldiers immediately abandoned the bandits at the back door and followed Lu Qi to pursue the bandits. Lu Qi knew that if the leader of the bandits escaped, there would be endless troubles, and no matter what, he had to chase them down and kill them all. He led the government soldiers in a rapid pursuit.

  Three fugitive bandits were agile and quick, escaping into the woods, making it difficult for Lu Qi to hit them with arrows. After a chase, one of the bandits was shot in the left leg by Lu Qi and fell to the ground, eventually being caught by the pursuing government troops and turned into a hedgehog.

  The remaining two bandits fled in a panic, Lu Qi ordered the government troops to chase after the slower one, he alone chased after the bandit who was carrying a woman on his back, the bandit who was carrying a person on his back ran as lightly as a leopard.

  The bandit was fast, but the arrow was faster. In the pursuit of a hundred meters, when he saw the upper reaches of the Xiaolong River, due to the sparse trees, Lu Qi's arrow ruthlessly nailed into the bandit's right thigh.

  A bandit suddenly turned around and grabbed the woman off his back, then spun around with a knife held horizontally at the woman's nape.

  "Halt, or I'll kill her!" The bandit threatened loudly, using the woman as a human shield to intimidate Lu Qi.

  Lu Qi stopped in his tracks, five steps away from the bandit, and drew his bow with two arrows aimed at him. He saw that the bandit was a burly man with a scar above his eyebrow, his large mouth gasping for air, his sturdy body trying to shrink back, while the woman in front of him seemed to be unconscious, her back against Lu Qi as she was held by the bandit.

  "You're using a woman to threaten me, don't you think that's laughable?" Lu Qi sneered.

  "Of course, it's not funny. This woman is the young lady of the Wang family from Qili Fort, and Mr. Wang has already agreed to pay 1,000 taels of silver for her ransom. You are an official soldier, you can kill me, but this woman is a good citizen. Even if you accidentally killed her, it would be a great sin. Let me go, I just need to get into the river and I will release this woman." The bandit spoke with a sinister expression.

  Lu Qi coldly said: "This trick won't fool me, this woman is indeed the bandit leader."

  "The bandit hastily said: 'Don't mess around, she's really a good citizen miss.'"

  Lu Qi's face showed hesitation, the bandit looked at him holding the woman and retreated, while retreating he threatened: "Don't mess around, I'll release her once I enter the river, I will definitely let her go, you take her back it's a great achievement, ah..."

  A loud bowstring sound was followed by the bandit's mournful cry, an arrow shot ruthlessly into the woman's back, piercing through and entering the bandit's heart. Thud! After another bowstring sound, an arrow nailed itself into the bandit's brow.

  The bandit's eyes widened in terror as he gasped with difficulty: "You dare to lay hands on a respectable woman..."

  Lu Qi took a sudden step forward, kicking the bandit into the air. His body followed, drawing his sword to behead the bandit leader. With his left hand, he grasped the head and looked at it as blood dripped from its open eyes. He said coldly, "I didn't take action, but later you will shed tears. You are a bandit, you should know better than me."

  Killed the bandit leader, Lu Qi thought for a moment, and finally threw the head and body into the small dragon river ten meters away. Then he quickly buried the package on the bandit's body in a hole, and after finishing, he rushed back to the woman's side, first kicking away the bloodstains on the ground, and then lifted up the woman who was lying on the ground. He saw that it was a beautiful young girl with a pale face, still breathing weakly.

  Lu Qi's bitter and astringent head shook, his hand ruthlessly pulled out the arrow shaft and threw it into the river. This arrow was shot with restraint, although it passed through the girl's body, but the position of the shot may not have injured her vital organs. Whether this girl can live or not depends on her fate.

  That bandit said he would let her go, but in reality, he wouldn't. If this young girl falls into the bandits' hands and is humiliated, it's better to die from an arrow wound than to live with shame.

  A moment later, sixteen officers and soldiers rushed over. The bandit had already been shot dead. The officers and soldiers brought two bundles to Lu Qi and looked at him with expectant eyes one by one. They did not dare to embezzle and cause trouble, so they all came to Lu Qi for instructions.

  Lu Qi was speechless, opened a package and saw that it was all filled with 10-tael gold ingots, totaling 50 ingots. He reached out and took two ingots and put them in his pocket, then threw 16 more gold ingots on the ground. He then opened another package and poured the remaining gold ingots into it, and carelessly tore the empty package into shreds.

  "Be more careful, the gold in Shitou cannot be exchanged for silver without an official body. You have risked your lives with me, and I can exchange the gold you found yourself into silver for free. However, I can only go to a neighboring county to exchange it. If you trust me, come to Liu Ming Wine House in ten days to collect the silver. If not, take away the gold you picked up yourself." Lu Qi said calmly.

  Sixteen officers and soldiers looked at each other hesitantly, then bent down to pick up the gold and hand it over to Lu Qi. Lu Qi silently put it in his pocket, threw a large bundle to one of the officers, and carried the unconscious and seriously injured girl, ordering the officers to follow him to turn themselves in.

  This time the government army made a big move to suppress bandits, with astonishing results. A total of 127 bandits were eliminated, including those in Chen's mansion. Plunder worth 370 taels of gold, over 8,000 taels of silver, and jewelry valued at over 4,000 taels of silver was recovered. Wang Zhongbo made the greatest contribution to the suppression of bandits, followed by the three county lieutenants, while the team leaders, fire chiefs, and others were also rewarded for their merits.

  Three days later, the county magistrate's secretary came to Wang Zhuzi's office in ordinary clothes and asked for leave. He wanted to go to Qingyang County to visit his sister, and secretly exchange gold for silver. The package he had buried by the Xiao Long River was quietly retrieved at night, but the contents only included ten gold bars, mostly clothing and an official seal with documents.

  He only found out afterwards that the leader of the bandits at Bao Wang Temple was actually a secret agent employed by Zhou Guo, with the official title of Zhenwei Deputy Captain. Logically speaking, handing them over would be a great achievement, but Lu Qi didn't dare to hand them over and secretly buried them outside the city for future use.

  When Wang Zhubu saw Lu Qi, he was beaming with joy. This time, the suppression of bandits added a touch of elegance to his governance, and the upper and lower levels of Shitou County were full of praise. In the hearts of the people, Wang Zhubu was the county's big master, while the county magistrate surnamed Sun was just a useless, incompetent scholar.

  After Lu Qi sat down and explained his intention, Wang Zhubu listened with concern: "Lu sir, the bandit situation is still severe now. If you are not there, in case the bandits invade the countryside, the consequences will be very serious."

  "Please be assured, sir. I have specially trained ten messengers, and they can handle matters independently when I am not around. Especially messenger Du Meng is exceptionally talented, he can now act on my behalf and has the ability to deal with bandit affairs in a timely manner."

  Wang Zhubu nodded and said in a harmonious tone: "Since you have already made arrangements, I will grant you three days' leave."

  Lu Qi Gong Li Dao said: "Thank you, sir."

  Wang Zhubu smiled and said in a harmonious tone, "General Lu, your military prowess is indeed formidable. I was thinking of eradicating the bandits in one swift motion in the near future. What do you think? Is it feasible?"

  Lu Qi listened and shook his head without hesitation: "I think it's not feasible."

  Wang Zhubu hummed and said in a harmonious tone: "Lord Lu, can you tell us why it's not feasible?"

  "Your Excellency, this time we successfully suppressed the bandits at Ba Wang Temple for three reasons: first, we eliminated a portion of the bandit crowd; second, we used disguises to paralyze the bandits; third, our military strength had a significant advantage."

  Wang Zhubu nodded after listening, and Lu Qi continued: "If the adults go to suppress the bandits openly now, the bandits will be prepared, and the government army will be at a disadvantage. The bandits occupy many strategic locations, and if they defend themselves in these locations, the government army will suffer heavy casualties if they launch a strong attack. Moreover, with our current military strength, even if we successfully capture the bandit's lair, the bandits will disperse and escape into the mountains and wilderness, and once the government army leaves, the bandits will regroup. Therefore, it is unlikely that we will succeed in actively suppressing the bandits, and instead, we will pay a great price."

  Wang Zhubu frowned and said: "Then according to Mr. Lu's opinion, how can the bandit disaster be exterminated?"

  "Your Excellency, we cannot afford to fail. If the suppression of bandits fails, we will fall into a situation where officials and civilians are dissatisfied. For now, we can only wait for an opportunity without seeking merit, but rather avoiding mistakes. We should wait for an opportunity like the surprise attack on Ba Wang Temple. Another method is to mobilize a large army to surround and annihilate them. Only by using superior military force can we prevent the bandits from escaping and reassembling."

  Wang Zhubu thought for a moment, then nodded solemnly: "You're right, we can't afford to suffer another defeat. From now on, let's build more beacon towers and focus on defense using beacons."

  "Sir, what you're doing is right. As long as the bandits don't dare to come and plunder in broad daylight, it's equivalent to suppressing the banditry, which is also a sign of successful bandit suppression."

  Wang Zhubu glanced at Lu Qi and smiled: "The benefits that Lord Lu has brought to this official are not small."

  Lu Qi smiled and said: "The adults also gave me the job I wanted."