Chapter Six: The Grand Success

  The bandits descended the mountain with all their might, which was already within Song Qing's expectations. However, he still underestimated the low level of combat effectiveness of the Wei Suo officers and soldiers. As a team that performed well this time, those who had followed him to kill people before were arranged to guard the two sides of the mountain, while the other two sides were given to another hundred households, Sun De's subordinates. The mistake was made here. Sun's subordinates did not experience that heart-wrenching journey of killing bandits, and their combat effectiveness naturally could not be improved. It seemed that retreating in defeat was also a matter of course.

  In fact, when the bandits rushed over, Sun Bailing's subordinates still resisted. After all, Song Qing had fought so well before, and these people hadn't seen the previous defeat, so they subconsciously thought that the bandits weren't very capable. Moreover, the enemy had been starving on the mountain for a few days, and their morale wouldn't be too good either.

  It turned out that these thieves were originally the bravest among their kind, and they knew that this time the government troops would put them to death. Having not eaten a full meal for two or three days, they were like starving wolves. The first few who could fight rushed forward, wielding various weapons and shouting loudly as they charged towards Sun De's soldiers. In the first moment, they killed four people, and the rest of the soldiers were frightened. Some even urinated in their pants, and someone shouted, and dozens of people turned around and ran away, regretting that their parents had not given birth to two more legs for them.

  The formation was in disarray, and it would not be easy to regroup again. Moreover, these soldiers were eager to escape with their lives, and no one thought of regrouping. In the chaos, the thinking of the officers prevailed, and a group of people rushed towards the tents of Sun De and Wang Chang, the military officers. The officers had just received the news and had not yet made arrangements when they were already disrupted by their own fleeing soldiers. Wang Chang and others tried to stop them but could not, and the enemy followed closely behind, charging down towards the officers' position in an instant.

  Song Hu saw the situation was not good, swung his big knife and rushed up, intercepted two thieves to fight, the remaining brave flags also began to welcome the enemy, but the rest of the thieves could not stop, seeing Wang Chang and Sun De wearing different clothes from ordinary people, knowing that this was a high-ranking official, immediately rushed over.

  Wang Chang and Sun De's martial arts skills were not high, let alone at this moment when they were caught off guard. Wang Chang managed to grab a knife, but Sun De only had a horse whip in his hand that he had picked up from who-knows-where. He was no match for the tall and sturdy bandit, who kicked him to the ground with one foot. As a large knife came crashing down towards him, he instinctively closed his eyes.

  In the blink of an eye, Sun De found himself not dead, and slowly opened his eyes to see that the bandit was already dead. At this moment, a long spear was stuck in his throat, and the one holding the spear was Song Qing, who was said to be powerful and extraordinary. Sun Baihu immediately let out a sigh of relief, and before he could even get up, Officer Wang's dignified expression had returned, and he solemnly ordered: "Song Qing, quickly drive the bandits back!"

  "Yes, sir!" Song Qing didn't hesitate either and immediately charged forward with his gun again. Just in time to see Wang Chang being sandwiched by two bandits, struggling left and right, seeing that the long spear was not easy to wield in the crowd, he simply held it in his hand like a javelin and threw it out. Although it was off by a few inches, it still blocked the two bandits for a moment, and Wang Chang took advantage of the situation to retreat.

  Seeing Wang Chang escape, Song Qing finally breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't particularly concerned about this Wang Baihu, but his own father had a good relationship with the other party, and his own future was likely to depend on this person. Wang Chang was considered to have a connection, and if he really died here, Song Hu and Xue Ping would not be able to escape responsibility. Even if they used silver to bribe their way out, the newly appointed Baihu might find it difficult to communicate with Wang Chang in the same way, so saving this person's life was very necessary.

  Wang Chang had just retreated from the battlefield when Ding Kui and other military households rushed over to kill him. The place where they were stationed was not far from here, and it is said that after hearing about the incident, they immediately hurried over and surrounded those thieves, finally stopping the rout. Song Qing didn't care about the long spear anymore, drew out the long knife from his waist, led the soldiers who had just been gathered to charge forward, and launched a pincer attack with Ding Kui on both sides. After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, they finally subdued all those starving thieves, except for those killed, and captured five more prisoners.

  Song Hu looked at the last bandit being tied up by the soldiers, let out a long sigh of relief, and then turned to his son. His eyes were filled with even more comfort. Today's situation had even made him a little afraid, especially after he himself went into battle. The camp was in such disarray that no one could withstand the bandits' sudden attack. If Song Qing hadn't stepped forward, it was likely that both battalion commanders would have lost their lives here today. By then, their subordinates might not have been killed, but they would have been lucky if they had escaped with their heads still attached. As for their official positions and future prospects, they would probably have been completely ruined.

  The gaze of the others towards Song Qing was also somewhat different. These people had only heard about Song Qing's bravery before, but they hadn't seen it with their own eyes. Now, however, he had single-handedly turned the tide under their very noses, almost pulling them from the jaws of death. This kind of thing, witnessed and experienced in person, left a much deeper impression.

  "Good nephew!" Wang Chang had been calling out Song Qing's name, but as soon as he saw him kill someone with his own hands, he immediately changed his tone and said with a smile: "Your brother Wang Jian has mentioned you many times at home and has long wanted to make friends with you. It's just that there hasn't been an opportunity before. This time when we go back, come to my house for a drink and I'll introduce you two brothers to each other. You're both young people, and in the future, you should take care of each other more often. Just like me and your father, help each other out a bit more. What do you think?"

  Wang Jian is the eldest son of Wang Chang's family, and Wang Chang has two sons and a daughter. The youngest son, Wang Ding, is still young, but Wang Jian and Song Qing are about the same age, both 16 years old. However, Wang Jian comes from a good family background and has excellent skills, so he usually looks down on Song Qing as a useless person. It's not that he wants to be friends with him, it's just that Wang Chang sees that Song Qing's abilities have greatly improved recently, and he is likely to have a bright future, so he comes early to help his son build a relationship with him.

  However, Song Qing would not refuse. After all, his own future depended on Wang Chang's hands, and it was good to establish a relationship with the other person's son in advance. Moreover, Wang Jian himself had decent martial arts skills. If they could really get along, it would be useful in the future. So he smiled and said: "I've long heard of Big Brother Wang's name and have been wanting to find an opportunity to make friends. When I return, you just call me, and I'll come whenever you need me!"

  "Alright, alright, you're always on call!" Wang Chang looked relieved, stroking his chin with three short beards, and said with a smile: "It's settled, there's no need for you to bother about this side of things, just leave it to them. You go get some rest early, tomorrow morning we'll head back to the Wei camp!"

  "Thank you, sir!" Song Qing responded with a single voice, but did not leave immediately. Instead, he helped the soldiers gather the bodies and treat the wounded. It wasn't until after a long while that they finished, and many people looked on, nodding in secret admiration. They all thought that Song Qing was now exceptionally brave and also very good at handling relationships, without any arrogance at all. He might really have a bright future ahead of him.