Chapter Sixteen: Conquering Bandits (Part 2)

  "This monk, you're lucky to have met me, otherwise... haha..." Zhou Ping said with a hidden smile in his heart, but with a worried look on his face, "May I ask, Master Chan, what is this great calamity you speak of?"

  "It's the Jurchen people!" Zhi Shan said in a deep voice: "A tribe that has recently risen in Liaodong, counting from when they started their rebellion against Liao, it's only been four or five years, but they've won battle after battle, and already possess the land of Liaodong, with an army of over 100,000. The Liao army is terrified at the mere mention of them. Their leader is also a top-notch heroic figure, if we let him destroy Liao and take its place, I'm afraid our Great Song's northern border will never know peace!"

  "Halt! Halt!"

  Just then, a shrill cry came from the front of the team. Zhou Ping hurriedly stopped his footsteps and saw that the recognition flag representing Xue Liangchen had already stopped in front. Was there something wrong ahead? But nothing was seen?

  A few minutes later, the flag began to move again, and its speed was much faster. Zhou Ping could see a cavalryman galloping rapidly northeastward on the dry official road, kicking up clouds of dust.

  "The thief must have received the news and is planning to escape, the scout has sent back the message!" Zhi Shan said in a low voice, he tightened the silk straps on his leather armor, with a look of readiness for battle.

  "Hmm!" Zhou Ping nodded, his throat a bit dry. Although it wasn't his first time on the battlefield, facing an opponent with handheld weapons was a new experience for him. Zhishan glanced at him and smiled: "Don't worry, just do what you normally practice!"

  "Hmm!" Zhou Ping lowered his head with a hint of embarrassment, and for some reason, the tension he felt earlier had dissipated somewhat.

  Qili Gang, Qujia Village. The thieves were heading northeast, and compared to yesterday, their team had grown significantly, with more than a dozen large carts added to the ranks, loaded with grain and fine goods, and several young women tied up behind the carts, all of which were their spoils of war. However, there was no triumphant look on the faces of the thieves after their successful robbery, but rather, the vast majority of people's faces were filled with tension and panic, clearly aware of the dangerous situation they were in.

  "Hurry, hurry!" Yang Wu rode on a stolen mule, shouting loudly. Most of the bandits were riding on stolen horses and mules, some even on donkeys. There were many such animals in Anyang. However, this did not make the bandits' movement much faster. The reason was simple: they had too much baggage. These large carts were used to transport grain and fertilizer between villages and nearby fields, and were not suitable for long-distance transportation. The creaking of the cart axles and wheels mixed with the wailing of the kidnapped women, like a file constantly grinding against Yang Wu's patience.

  "The pursuers are coming, the pursuers are coming!" A sudden cry of alarm rose from the bandit group, like a strong gust of wind blowing through the dense reeds by the river. Yang Hui turned his head to look back and saw several horsemen appearing on a small hill over a hundred paces behind them, looking in their direction. They were clearly the enemy scouts who had killed five of their own men earlier. He gritted his teeth and shouted loudly: "Everyone abandon the carts and women! A large group of pursuers is about to arrive, we must quicken our pace!"

  "What the...?!" A dissatisfied murmur burst out from among the thieves. For them, it was a difficult decision to abandon the things they had painstakingly stolen and the women before even seeing the enemy, especially after having just eaten their fill of chestnuts and wild fruits for a few days.

  "No way, this is our staple food!"

  "Yes, indeed! Before even catching a glimpse of the enemy's shadow, they've already abandoned their food and cloth - what kind of thing is this?!"

  "We outnumber them eight or nine times, they have horses, we also have horses, what's there to be afraid of!"

  Facing the opposition from the thieves, Yang Wu's eyebrows furrowed, his mind clearer than these underlings. If it were up to him, they should have abandoned the stolen goods and fled over the Seven Li Ridge as soon as they discovered the scouts. Now, abandoning the loot and women would be too late; his men on mules and inferior horses could never outrun those skilled riders in pursuit.

  "We have horses, but the horses are not the same. None of the five brothers returned, these officials' running dogs must have good hands at riding and shooting, who among you can shoot arrows and dance with knives on horseback?"

  Facing Yang Wu's inquiry, the thieves quieted down. They all knew that not falling off a horse was one thing, but driving a warhorse to gallop freely, crossing gullies and walls, and wielding a bow and spear was another matter altogether. Not to mention the difference between a warhorse and an ordinary nag was even greater than that between a donkey and a mule. If those few were really skilled archers, then they would be in trouble - the reason being simple: although the enemy's numbers were small, their mobility and range of attack had absolute superiority, and the initiative to fight or not, and where to fight, was in the enemy's hands.

  Seeing that his subordinates no longer dared to speak out against him, Yang Wu loudly shouted: "Everyone take some dry rations for the road, hurry up and set off, otherwise if the large group of bowmen arrive we won't be able to leave!"

  The thieves rushed forward, pouncing on the large cart, but they were more interested in grabbing copper coins and gold and silver treasures than taking dry rations. Soon, people began to fight over them, and Yang Wu had to step forward to mediate. Just then, a shrill cry of despair echoed through the air, followed by a chorus of sharp, frightened screams from women.

  "Halt, what are you doing?" Yang Wu pushed through the crowd and walked towards the direction of the mournful cry. He saw a young woman's corpse lying on the ground, with a youth thief standing beside her, holding a bloody knife. It was Zhang Sheng. He coldly glanced at Yang Wu and replied: "These women can't be taken away anyway, might as well kill them off!"

  "You——" Yang Wu was furious, but he immediately saw the thieves behind Zhang Sheng with their hands on the handles of their knives. He suppressed his anger and said in a low voice: "We are just seeking wealth, what's the benefit of killing more people? Let them go home and accumulate some good karma!"

  "What's the meaning of 'hidden virtue'?" Zhang Sheng suddenly burst out laughing: "Yang Wu, do you think we are what? If we wanted to be virtuous, we would have thrown away our knives and guns and gone to a temple to become monks, eating vegetarian food and reciting Buddhist scriptures. What kind of bandits would that make us?" As he spoke, he reached out and grabbed the hair of a woman, yanking her over, ready to raise his knife and kill her.

  "Halt!" Yang Wu shouted in a low voice, his long spear sinking down, its tip already aimed at Zhang Sheng's throat: "Release that woman, otherwise I know you, but the spear in my hand may not know you!"

  "Ah—" Zhang Sheng's movements immediately froze, the dark gun muzzle gathering at his throat only five or six feet away. A bitter taste spread in his mouth, and he glanced at his comrades on either side with the corner of his eye, but no one came forward. Zhang Sheng could only carefully swallow his saliva and laugh: "If you don't kill me, then don't, we're all brothers after all, why bother?" As he spoke, he released the woman's hair bun.

  Yang Wulang snorted, looking around at the scattered thieves, most of whom were standing idly by with an air of indifference. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly, knowing he was different from these local people and not a native of Xiangzhou. If it weren't for his exceptional martial arts skills, he wouldn't have become the second-in-command when Zhang Chao was alive. Now that problems had arisen, he didn't even have a few reliable subordinates by his side. Thinking this, he turned to Yang Shun'er, who was staring at him in shock, and said: "Shun'er, untie the ropes on these women and let them go home!"

  Yang Shun'er responded with a sound, went forward and cut off the remaining ropes of several women. Those women fled in a hurry, only the woman who had just escaped the disaster of being beheaded walked to Yang Wu's face, kowtowed to him, and then got up and left.

  "Are the dry rations all prepared?" Yang Wu's gaze swept over the group of bandits, and he said in a deep voice: "This time is different from usual. If you are greedy for wealth, there will only be one dead end. Whoever dares to disobey orders will be like this tree!" As he spoke, Yang Wu raised his gun and stabbed it into a nearby poplar tree with a trunk as thick as an arm. With another twist of force, the tree suddenly snapped in two. This display of marksmanship and strength was truly impressive, and the bandits were all amazed, unanimously acknowledging him.

  The thieves' actions became much faster, and in less than half the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, they abandoned the excess grain and cloth, driving their livestock northeast. Not far away, Xue Liangyu saw the urgency and shouted: "Damn it, the bandits are escaping! Why hasn't Second Brother arrived yet?"

  At this moment, about half a mile away on the mountain ridge, a banner rose, which was Xue Liangchen's recognition flag. Liu Sheng had sharp eyes and saw it clearly, laughing: "As soon as we mention Cao Cao, he arrives! Old Fourth and I will go to hold off the bandits, while others go to welcome your second brother!"

  "Haha!" Xue Liangyu jumped onto his blue-maned horse and laughed, saying: "Let's see who gets more kills between you and me!"

  "Good!"

  "Those two riders are catching up!" a bandit shouted loudly, pointing at the horse shadows behind them.

  "Don't mind him, let's hurry up and get going!" Yang Wu's eyebrows furrowed, although he hadn't seen the pursuing soldiers' shadows yet, but a bad omen had already risen in his heart. Soon, his premonition became reality, half a moment later, on that mountain ridge six or seven meters above the official road, a flag appeared, followed by row after row of long spears with sharp blades, the pursuers had arrived.

  "Second Brother!" Xue Liangyu jumped off his warhorse and stood beside Xue Liangchen, shouting loudly: "I'm here to help you kill the bandits!"

  "No need!" Xue Liangchen said without turning his head: "You and the cavalry go to the back of the mountain ridge, let both men and horses take a breath, when you hear the sound of the golden drum, rush out and attack the enemy's rear, capture the bandit leader!"

  Xue Liangyu heard that his brother would give him the opportunity to capture the bandit leader, and he was overjoyed: "Great! I will definitely twist off the bandit leader's head and kick it around like a ball for you, Second Brother!" After saying this, he excitedly led his horse to retreat behind the mountain ridge.