Chapter Fifty-two Who is Behind

  In the dense forest, flying arrows flew towards the convoy, several guard soldiers were shot, and the carriage was also hit by several arrows. Due to early detection and a relatively far distance, the wounded soldiers were lightly injured. The carriage compartment was made of thick wooden boards, effectively blocking the arrows.

  Judging from the intensity of the attack, there weren't many enemies. Han Qiang looked up at the mountain and saw that there were about 30 or 40 enemies, among whom more than a dozen were archers. After they finished shooting their arrows, probably seeing that the number of guards was too great, they began to retreat.

  Han Qiang thought that he must figure out the origin of the enemy, otherwise they would be a big trouble in the dark. So he ordered the soldiers to pursue them. He personally shot and wounded two bandits with his bow. The enemy was familiar with the terrain, most of them escaped, only a few were shot dead by the soldiers with arrows, and two were captured alive.

  The captured bandits were just small fries, and after interrogation, they couldn't provide any useful information. They only knew that they were local bandits from the nearby mountains who had been entrusted to attack them. Originally, seeing that there were many of them, they didn't want to take action. It wasn't until the soldiers who were searching discovered them that the leader ordered them to shoot arrows and retreat.

  Zhuge Jun also believed that it was necessary to figure out who was behind the gang of bandits. Otherwise, one would have to sleep with their eyes open.

  Under the arrangement of Elder Brother-in-law Kuai Qi, Zhuge Jun and his party moved into the Ling Zhang County government office.

  County Lieutenant Liu Hua briefed Zhuge Jun and others on the situation of the bandits: This group of bandits was originally a remnant of the Yellow Turban Army, which had fled to this place after its main force was defeated and occupied Bai Tou Mountain. They were not many in number, with over 100 people, plus their families, totaling over 200 people. Because they occupied a place with complex terrain, the government's repeated attempts to surround and capture them were unsuccessful, and instead suffered significant losses, so they let it be.

  This gang of bandits wasn't extremely cruel or evil, nor did they randomly slaughter the common people. They would occasionally emerge to rob some wealthy households, and sometimes also plunder merchant caravans, causing County Magistrate Liu endless headaches.

  Liu County Magistrate saw that Zhuge Jun had a considerable number of men and horses, so he began to make plans for them. He wanted to use their strength to eliminate the bandits, and Zhuge Jun also had this intention, so they quickly came to an agreement. However, when it came to how to accomplish this task, everyone was at a loss.

  Han Qiang said: "We only have over a hundred people, and with the county's squad leaders and officials, there are no more than two hundred people. In terms of real fighting, the bandits are not our opponents, but as Liu County Magistrate said, they are in the mountains, familiar with the terrain, and we still can't handle them. Moreover, if we launch a strong attack, the casualties will be considerable."

  The border defense army's squad leader was also worried about the heavy casualties and didn't want to return and report.

  Zhuge Jun smiled and said, "I have a way, but it will take some time. Anyway, we don't have any urgent matters, it's just that Ma Dai and Ling'er will be inconvenienced, the wedding will have to be postponed for a few days. My plan is like this..."

  He stated his plan and everyone thought it was feasible. However, in their hearts they were thinking: "Only someone as wealthy as you can afford to do something so extravagant."

  His plan sounds stupid, but it's absolutely effective and a one-time solution.

  That morning, at the White Head Mountain bandit's lair, a sentry discovered a large group of people approaching and hastily ran to report to the leader.

  The bandit leader was not flustered in the face of the government's attack, and with his ample experience, he immediately ordered his men to prepare to retreat into the mountains according to plan and shake off the government troops. But what happened next left him stunned: on all sides, front and back, large groups of people appeared, totaling over 5,000! The mountain stronghold was surrounded, leaving no way out.

  These government troops did not launch an attack, but rather built a palisade under the cover of archers and shields, and later constructed an earth wall. It seems they plan to besiege them for a long time.

  The bandit leader was puzzled in his heart, where did the government get such a large force? For these hundreds of people, they spent so much money. You know, organizing so many people and horses, not to mention giving them wages, just feeding them would cost how much money? Not to mention a county, even a prefecture, wanting to maintain such a large number of people's long-term consumption would be unsustainable.

  He has been wandering the world for so many years, and he has never been so worried. Although there are three months' worth of grain stored on the mountain, who knows how long they will be surrounded?

  This was Zhuge's plan, and he had Liu Xianling mobilize 5,000 young men, each with a monthly salary of one or two gold coins, with food and lodging included, and compensation for injuries and deaths calculated separately. The county sent out the difference originally very normally, let alone with so much wages, so it was organized very smoothly.

  Han Qiang unified command, Ma Dai, Bianfang Army Xiaowei, Jiatou head, county Wei and others were in charge of a team to surround Baitoushan.

  Zhuge Jun ordered the craftsmen to make a dozen iron loudspeakers, and gathered dozens of people with big voices. Day and night, they shouted towards the mountain, explaining policies, nothing more than surrendering would be pardoned, those who resisted would die, and so on.

  Such a strong military and political pressure is not something that everyone can withstand. Among the more than 100 bandits, only about 30 were hardcore members, while the rest were ordinary people who had been coerced into joining them. They would not be willing to hold on for three months and then lose their lives.

  Less than five days later, half of the bandits on the mountain sneaked down and surrendered to the government.

  The bandits didn't want to break through, but after seeing the dense knives, guns and arrows behind the high fence, they retreated. In the end, under the guarantee of their lives by the government, they all surrendered.

  The entire siege operation took only 9 days, and none of the personnel participating in the siege were injured.

  Zhuge Qian thought with great satisfaction: "Money is indeed powerful. From now on, anything that can be solved with money will be solved with money. Having money is really wonderful!"

  The people around him also looked at him with reverence and thought: "This master is not to be trifled with."

  The second day after escorting the bandits down the mountain, Zhuge Jun interrogated the leader of the bandits alone. There were some things he didn't want others to know, otherwise it would be difficult to deal with later.

  The result of the interrogation, although expected, still surprised him greatly and left him deeply perplexed.

  Everyone, give the horse some more grass, and it will run even faster.