Chapter 22: The Crow's Cry Swamp

  Li Qing's face was as gloomy as the bottom of a pot, and it was indeed a case of "when it rains, it pours". The impact of the barbarian army's invasion had not yet been recovered from, and now bandits had appeared in his jurisdiction, truly giving him a headache.

  "How many casualties?" turned to Tang Hu.

  "Reporting to the master, a group of bandits suddenly attacked our soldiers, killing three and injuring over ten. The rest were defeated and fled. By the time Master Wang arrived with reinforcements, the bandits had already looted the soldiers' armor and escaped. Master Wang has led his men in pursuit, and I was sent back to report to you, sir. As for what happens next, I don't know." Tang Hu said.

  "Are there many bandits within Chong County?" Li Qing asked Xu Yunfeng.

  Xu Yunfeng's face also looked somewhat unsightly, he was the original county lieutenant of Chong County, and there were bandits within the territory that couldn't be separated from him. "Sir, Chong County has many mountains but is poor, so it's no wonder that there are quite a few bandits who occupy the mountains as kings. The mountains are high and the forests are dense, making it difficult to eradicate them. With fewer people, they're often taken advantage of by the bandits; with more people, the bandits just hide in the forest, leaving the government troops helpless. That's why for so many years, the bandit problem in Chong County has never been completely eliminated."

  "What about the bandits today? What's their leader's name?" Li Qing asked, and Tang Hu and Xu Yunfeng both shook their heads. "Sir, Chong County has many mountains, and there are at least a dozen or so dens of bandits, it's hard to say who is who," Xu Yunfeng said.

  Li Qing let out a sigh, it seemed that he could only wait for Wang Qiniang to return before knowing the general situation. Wang Qiniang had taken hundreds of elite soldiers and thousands of young men on the hunting trip, so dealing with a few bandits shouldn't be difficult. The atmosphere in the tent suddenly became cold and quiet, everyone's face looked unpleasant, the joy they had just received from getting the thousand stone grain was completely washed away by this bad news.

  At dusk, Wang Qinyan returned with a gloomy face. There were about twenty men tied up with ropes in the team, presumably those bandits who had been looting. However, when Li Qing saw the wounded and dead being carried on stretchers, his mood suddenly turned extremely bad. They had lost nearly fifty people, with over ten deaths on the spot, and the rest were lightly or severely injured. In short, these people were rendered useless this winter, not only unable to work but also requiring others to take care of them. Fortunately, Huan Qiu was in the army, and the wounded soldiers' camp had been built ahead of time. At first, Li Qing had only followed the usual rules to build the wounded soldiers' camp, but he never expected it to be used so soon.

  "The wounded soldiers were sent to Huan's place, the dead were put in coffins and buried properly." Li Qing gave the order with a serious face, then turned around and entered the tent. Wang Qiyan followed him in with his head down. Inside the tent were Shang Haibo, Xu Yunfeng, Feng Guo, and Jiang Kui.

  "What's going on?"

  "Sir, when the bandits attacked, their target was clear. They first struck at this group of soldiers, and under the sudden attack, three soldiers were killed and over a dozen were injured. The rest of the young and strong men were frightened and scattered in all directions. This gang of bandits stripped the soldiers of their armor and stole their weapons. After I received the report, I gathered the soldiers to pursue them, but that gang of bandits was very cunning and we couldn't surround and annihilate them. Instead, they injured many more people as they escaped into the forest. Finally, after great difficulty, we captured a few live bandits, and after interrogating them, we learned the location of their lair. I then led the troops to attack and occupy their hideout, capturing dozens of people. However, the leader of the bandits had seen an opportunity to escape early and slipped away without a trace." Wang Qiniang knelt on the ground, his face filled with shame, and Li Qing's face was also filled with anger and incredulity at the high casualties suffered by Wang's troops in the battle against the bandits.

  "The several high-ranking generals who are now relying on themselves, although their personal martial arts are not weak, were previously just ordinary soldiers, at most they were only a sentry, and had no systematic education. Suddenly commanding large troops, it is obvious that their abilities cannot keep up. This can't be seen for the time being, but as time goes on, the flaws will appear." Thinking of this, his face couldn't help but show concern, and when he looked up, he saw that Shang Haibo was also looking at him, with a look in his eyes that obviously had also thought of this problem.

  This problem must be solved. Li Qing thought to himself that it was unrealistic for him to have experienced generals at this time, and he could only dig up potential among his existing subordinates. Fortunately, there wouldn't be any battles in the near future, so he had time to hone their skills. The bandits in Chong County were a good thing, as they could use them to practice and improve their military combat abilities.

  "The bandits who raided you are that gang. Have you asked clearly?"

  Without Li Qingfan's words, Wang Qiniang did not dare to get up and remained kneeling there, saying: "Ask what it is called, the Over-the-Mountain Wind!"

  "Over the mountain wind?" Xun Yunfeng exclaimed on one side.

  "What's this, is this mountain wind very famous?" Li Qing turned his head around.

  Xu Yunfeng nodded: "Guo Shanfeng has been entrenched in Chong County for years, not to say that he is the most ruthless, but this man is the most cunning and elusive. Often when the government troops arrive, he disappears without a trace, but before the government troops have gone far, he reappears, frequently plundering the rear of the government troops' column. He has great prestige among the bandits in Chong County."

  Li Qing nodded, regardless of whether you have prestige or not, if you provoke me, I will make it difficult for you to sleep peacefully in your dormitory.

  "Where did the mountain wind escape to?"

  "Wang Qinyan said, 'Your Honor, we chased after them in a hurry, but the mountain wind blew westward and they escaped into a swamp. We followed them in, and before we knew it, several of our men had fallen in. If it weren't for the timely rescue, these people would have lost their lives.'"

  "They escaped to Jī Míng Zé?" Xǔ Yún Fēng said in surprise, "That's a dead land, no one can enter Jī Míng Zé and come out alive. Guō Shān Fēng is an old bandit from Chóng County, how could he run to Jī Míng Zé?"

  "What's going on with Ji Mingze?" Li Qing asked in confusion.

  "Sir, the Chicken Crowing Marsh is dozens of miles long and wide, with pitfalls all over it. Not to mention humans, even if animals enter, they will fall into the pits. Although Chong County is said to not border the barbarian tribes, in fact, it's thanks to the protection of the Chicken Crowing Marsh. The other end of the marsh is the territory of the barbarian tribes, but because of the marsh, their troops cannot attack us from here. Other places have steep mountains and are extremely treacherous, making it difficult for people to pass through, let alone armies. That's why Chong County has never suffered from invasions... if not for this great defeat..." Xu Yunfeng trailed off.

  "Why did this mountain wind escape here?" Li Qing asked in puzzlement.

  "Looks like he's being chased by Wang School Lieutenant and is in a hurry! He's flustered and doesn't care about the path." said Xu Yunfeng.

  Wang Qinyan on the ground raised his head: "No, there is a road in Jī Míng Zé."

  Li Qing, Shang Haibo, and Xu Yunfeng were all shocked. "How is this possible? Even if someone has lived in Chong County for generations, they would know that it's impossible to walk inside Ji Mingze." Xu Yunfeng exclaimed, while Li Qing and Shang Haibo were worried about something else. If there really was a road in Ji Mingze, wouldn't the barbarians be able to attack Chong County at any time? The two men turned their eyes to Wang Qinyan: "Wang Qinyan, why did you say that? This is a big deal, it's not child's play."

  "Sir, I understand," said Wang Qiniang, "but when I chased the Mountain Wind Bandits to Jimingze Lake, those people didn't hesitate at all and went straight into the lake. They went far away, and after my men were trapped, these bandits still shouted insults from a distance. Obviously, they are familiar with the terrain. It seems that they often come in and out of Jimingze Lake, so there must be an unknown path inside."

  Li Qing and Shang Haibo both changed color, "Get up!"

  "Thank you, sir."

  "What was discussed in the account today is absolutely confidential and no one is allowed to leak it." Li Qing said seriously.

  "It's under the jurisdiction of our province!" everyone exclaimed in unison.

  "Feng Guo, take your elite troops and set up an ambush outside of Chicken Ridge. No matter if it's ten days or half a month, or even longer, you must capture this bandit alive." Li Qing ordered. Feng Guo's subordinates were all individually skilled in martial arts, and going to catch these slippery bandits in the forest was exactly their strong suit.

  "I will understand later." Feng Guo bowed his fist and accepted the order.