Chapter 7: The Plan to Eliminate the Bandits

  "Good brother, you've completely offended Huang Zhangshi by doing this. In the future, if he wants to take revenge, what will you do? Alas, it's all because of my own incompetence, wanting to save Changsheng but having more heart than strength, and now implicating you, good brother."

  Actually, even if one's martial arts skills are superb, it doesn't necessarily mean they will encounter trouble. My brother once saw him tear apart a giant python with his bare hands and wear its skin on his body, causing all the pythons in the mountains to be terrified of him.

  "For the past two days, I've been thinking calmly about this with my brother. With our martial arts skills that can bring us long life, if we don't fight for a moment's pride, we can definitely escape from the mountain bandits' encirclement and flee safely. Ah, being concerned leads to confusion, being concerned leads to chaos."

  On the way to the barracks, Wen Han told Zhou Lin about how he got the military symbol.

  As for Li Qiang, Wen Han ordered him to go ahead and find the army's chief of staff, waiting for Wen Han to arrive and then directly inspecting the troops at the commanding platform.

  Zhou Luan blamed Wen Han for being reckless and offending the powerful, but then thought about Wen Han's purpose in "suppressing bandits" and immediately felt that he himself had not been cautious enough at the time.

  "Big Brother Zhou, don't say any more. That Guan Changsheng is Big Brother Zhou's sworn brother, how can I knowingly put him in danger and yet lend a helping hand? And that Huang Le deliberately making things difficult for us, we don't need to give him face either, offending him is offending him, what are we afraid of with our integrity?"

  Wen Han smiled and comforted Zhou Luan. In his heart, Wen Han was clear that the real purpose of this campaign to suppress bandits was to establish his own power and bring these thieves under his command.

  With the tacit consent of County Magistrate Yang, at that time, as long as this group of thieves was given a new identity, they could be sent into the gambling dens. As more and more new gambling dens were opened, Wen Han could secretly accumulate power under the cover of darkness.

  It's been a few years since the Yellow Turban Rebellion.

  Wen Han wants to stand firm in this chaotic world, he must have some power, otherwise, when the time comes, there will be lords everywhere, and everywhere will be "big bugs" that eat people. For someone like Wen Han who has no power at all, a small citizen, he would be eaten up in one bite without leaving any bones behind.

  Wen Han did not tell Zhou Yong the real purpose, fearing that Zhou Yong's deeply rooted feudal idea of 'power is supreme' would be unacceptable.

  At that time, ordinary people didn't dare think about building power, those were things done by the powerful and aristocratic families, they just took care of their family's livelihood.

  Two men chatted while walking. After a moment, the two arrived at the gate of the barracks. Wen Han showed his military token to the soldier guarding the gate and passed through unimpeded to the roll-call platform.

  "Hey, isn't that the young man who fought with Ma Zong and his gang on that day? How did he end up in the military camp, and what's with the token in his hand?"

  "I don't know, this young man is quite skilled in martial arts. I heard that he single-handedly killed dozens of Ma Zong's men that day. But I don't know why he ended up fighting with Ma Zong, who is a local tyrant in Xie County and someone ordinary people can't afford to offend."

  "This is your ignorance, my wife is the sister of 'Lin's' from that Zhou's gambling house. According to my wife, this young man was fighting with Ma Zong for the sake of Zhou's gambling house."

  Zhou Duofang is a kind and generous person, respected by the people in the county. But that despicable Ma Zong, ungrateful and disloyal, often thinks of taking over Zhou Duofang's gambling house!

  Wen Han and Zhou Lian stepped onto the observation platform, looking down at the 500 soldiers standing densely below, who were in a state of turmoil discussing among themselves.

  "Shut up, all of you! This is Wen Han, the leader sent by County Magistrate Yang to lead us in attacking Hei Feng Shan - Wen Hao Jie and Zhou Long, Zhou Du Fang. Don't embarrass me, or I won't let you off later!"

  The gate general's voice was like thunder, shaking Wen Han's ears in pain. In an instant, the soldiers below immediately quieted down. It seems that this gate general has a high prestige in the military camp.

  "This man, originally surnamed Chen and named Dian, was previously a house general in the Yang County Magistrate's mansion. He followed Yang Hong for over a decade and achieved many merits, thus being granted the surname 'Yang'. Usually loves to gamble at my casino, owing a lot of silver."

  However, for the sake of Yang County's face, he privately exempted his gambling debt. So, his relationship with Wei Brother is still not bad.

  Moreover, it is said that he and Huang Le had a very bad relationship. Originally, the position of Zhang Shi was supposed to be given to Yang Dian by Yang Hong, but Huang Le relied on his family's maternal relatives' relationship, forcing Yang Hong to give up the position of Zhang Shi to him.

  Zhou Luan whispered in Wen Han's ear. Just then, the tooth gate was about to turn towards Wen Han and reveal a big smile on his face.

  Yang Dian must have received the intel that Wen Han and Huang Yue had a falling out earlier. Otherwise, Yang Dian wouldn't be cooperating like this.

  The enemy of an enemy is a friend.

  Wen Han returned a kind smile to Yang Dian and stepped forward, saying some encouraging words to the five hundred soldiers below.

  Under Yang Dian's fierce gaze, the five hundred armored cavalrymen responded in unison with a thunderous momentum.

  That overwhelming momentum almost made Wenhan, who had never seen such a scene before, stumble.

  It's okay, in this process, Wen Han remained expressionless and silent. After the military parade ended, when Wen Han made an appointment with Yang Dian to discuss the strategy of eliminating bandits in his camp, he found that his feet had softened.

  Yang Dian saw the subtlety, haha laughed loudly, patted Wen Han's shoulder: "I was just wondering, you who have not experienced military life, how can you be so calm, I thought you were a little demon from somewhere."

  You're just a coward, that's all. Do you know that when Huang Zhangshi reviewed the troops for the first time, my soldiers and horses almost scared his soul away, and he fell to the ground in shame?

  Wen Han couldn't help but smile wryly, discovering that Zhou Lian and Li Qiang were in the same situation. It seemed that the military camp was indeed a place not to be underestimated. Often, those who walked out of here had already decided their allegiance to the great cause. The people here, with blood shed and flesh fallen, far outnumbered any other affiliation.

  Wen Han gazed at the military flag fluttering in the air, and stood up with reverence. This gesture was seen by Yang Dian, who suddenly felt a great increase in goodwill. Because those who understand how to respect this place will not casually sacrifice the lives of soldiers.

  A while later, in Yang Dian's camp.

  Wen Han found the location of Hei Feng Shan on the map under Yang Dian's guidance. Upon discovering Hei Feng Shan, they realized that its terrain was treacherous and easy to defend but hard to attack.

  Wen Hansi pondered for a moment, and he already had an idea in his mind. When he came to himself, however, he found that everyone's eyes in the camp were focused on him.

  "Brother Xian, how are you? Have you thought of a strategy to counter the enemy?" Zhou Lin asked.

  "I have a plan. What about you?"

  "We are all waiting for your clever plan. I am a military general, and matters of strategy are not my concern." Yang Dian said with a shrug of his shoulders, speaking in a straightforward and confident manner.

  Zhou Leng and Li Qiang even gave Wen Han a "you tell us what to do, we'll do it" kind of look, telling him that they hadn't thought about it at all.

  Wen Han's face turned red with rage.

  "Alright, I'll make a fool of myself then." Wen Han's expression turned serious as he pointed to the location of Black Wind Mountain on the map.

  "Heifeng Mountain is easy to defend but hard to attack. If we launch a strong attack, there will definitely be many casualties. Moreover, if that Pei Yuanshao secretly sets up an ambush, our military strength is insufficient and it's difficult to spare manpower to set up defenses."

  So we can only lure him into making the first move. Let's use a trick to lure the snake out of its hole, and then find a place to set up an ambush, so that Pei Yuanshao will not be able to return.

  "Wonderful! How can we get Pei Yuanshao out of the mountain?" Yang Dian asked with an excited expression.

  Then trouble Yang Ya to lead the way, please have Yang Ya lead 200 light cavalry to Heifeng Mountain to challenge. When Pei Yuanshao sees that you have few soldiers, he will definitely fight with you.

  You allowed defeat but not victory, and after a fierce battle with Pei Yuanshao, you retreated with your troops. After three consecutive times, Pei Yuanshao will definitely lower his guard, become arrogant, and lead a large number of bandits to surround and kill you.

  "When the time comes, you will lead him into this valley. I will set up 300 archers, first block his path with rocks and then shoot arrows at him randomly. When Pei Yuanshao sees that he has no power to turn back, he will automatically surrender."

  Wen Han became more and more spirited as he spoke, pointing frequently at the map with a flourish, so that Yang Dian and Zhou Lun were completely absorbed in his words.

  "What a brilliant plan! Wen Haojie, you have great talent! In the future, I hope to interact with you more often and learn from your military strategies."

  Yang Dian found himself increasingly fond of the young man in front of him. He couldn't help but want to immediately recruit him into the army as his military advisor.

  Of course, this is impossible. Yang Dian also knew that someone like Wen Han, who had both pride and talent, would not easily submit to others.

  "General Yang has been rewarded. Also, please trouble General Yang to quickly tidy up the troops and set a date for the expedition, so that we can capture Pei Yuanshao as soon as possible and complete the task of eliminating bandits issued by County Magistrate Yang."

  Wen Han humbly clasped his hands and bowed, although he currently held the military symbol, but these soldiers and horses were not his own after all. If Yang Dian refused to cooperate, this bandit-eradication mission would become extremely difficult.

  "Wen Haojie, you can rest assured. I only need one day to arrange the troops and horses, and tomorrow we can set out for Heifeng Mountain with you." Yang Dian was very pleased, it seemed he also agreed with Wen Han's plan.

  "That's all for now, Yang. One more thing, please have Yang dispatch a few scouts to investigate the hunters around Black Wind Mountain and find out if there is a hero named Guan Yu who has recently passed through and been ambushed."

  "But then, what about Guan Yu? Is Guan Zhang Sheng?"

  Yang Dian's face changed suddenly when he heard the two words 'Guan Yu'.

  "That's right. Would Yang Ya recognize this good fellow?"

  "Rest assured, Wenhuajie, Pei Yuanshao cannot take Guan Changsheng's life. Speaking of my acquaintance with Guan Changsheng, there is a story here."

  That Guan Changsheng was a martial arts fanatic. At the age of 18, his martial skills had reached a plateau. He came to our army and boldly told me that he could challenge 100 soldiers with just one person's strength. I thought he was crazy at first and didn't take him seriously. Later, he kept pestering me day and night, and I got annoyed, so I agreed to his request.

  "Little did I know, within three days, he consecutively challenged my ten teams of a hundred soldiers each! In this military camp, no one doesn't recognize this demon. It scared me so much that even in my dreams, thinking of that red-faced man would make me wake up with a start!"