The Fallen Nation System, Turning the Tide - Chapter 73: Eradication of Bandits

Chapter 73: Eradication of Bandits

“How many troops has the imperial court sent?”

The bearded man hoisted Zhao Yingzhong up and tossed him toward Skinny Monkey’s feet. “Take him back to the stronghold. We’ll follow the Second Chief’s orders.”

The bandits acknowledged the command, with four or five of them carrying Zhao Yingzhong on their shoulders. They chanted work songs as they marched forward.

After Zhao Yingzhong was captured by the mountain bandits, one surviving guard who had been escorting him to Huzhou dragged his weakened body to seek help and report the inspector’s abduction.

Li Nengliang, the magistrate of Jiahe County, soon learned of the incident. He sprang from his chair, trembling as he raised a hand. His lips quivered as he strained to force out the words stuck in his throat: “What did you say? Where was he taken?”

The guard replied: “Your Honor, it was the bandits from Black Wind Stronghold on Golden Swallow Mountain.”

Li Nengliang immediately collapsed, his feet flipping upward. Those nearby cried out in alarm, scrambling to lift him while pressing hard on his philtrum.

After a while, Li Nengliang gradually regained consciousness. Stretching out his hand, he rasped: “Before this gets reported upstream – everyone who wants to keep their jobs – grab your weapons and follow me to exterminate the bandits!”

The officials exchanged uncertain glances, hesitating briefly before thinking: “If Zhao Yingzhong really dies, we’ll surely lose our positions. Better to risk everything and fight to protect our jobs.”

With this realization, everyone suddenly became filled with determination. Compared to being killed by bandits, losing their official positions seemed far more unbearable. They raised their arms and shouted: “Exterminate the bandits! Exterminate the bandits!”

The entire yamen staff immediately scrambled for whatever weapons they could find – those with swords took swords, those without went to butchers’ homes to borrow cleavers and axes. They gathered intimidation sticks, brooms, and when those ran out, dismantled torture devices from the prison. Forming orderly ranks, they set out with fierce determination.

Time was limited. They had to retrieve the inspector before news of his capture spread, otherwise their families would be left with nothing.

Everyone resolved that today either the bandits would die, or they would perish. Even if Zhao Yingzhong died at the bandits’ hands, they would have done their utmost.

Meanwhile, Zhao Yingzhong was being carried up the mountain by the bandits. The stronghold was filled with joyous celebration and bustling activity. One bandit leaped onto a hillock, slapping his mouth while making whooping sounds to entertain the crowd.

The bearded man was the Great Chief of the stronghold, while Skinny Monkey ranked third.

The Great Chief beamed as he greeted his fellow bandits. When he spotted a figure in blue robes, his eyes lit up. Raising his hand high above the crowd, he raised his voice and called out from afar: “Second Brother, look what fine prize we’ve captured this time!”

The Second Chief waved back through the crowd, glancing down at the path before lifting his head. When he saw the official robes on the captive in the bandits’ hands, his pupils contracted violently and the smile on his face instantly froze.

As the Great Chief approached, the Second Chief stood stunned like wood, painfully twisting his arm to point a trembling finger at the official robes. Quivering, he asked: “What is this?”

The Great Chief leaned on his shoulder, laughing heartily. “Second Brother, how can you not recognize official robes? Let me tell you, this is no ordinary person – he’s the inspection official sent by the emperor to monitor local officials! Second Brother, where are you going…”

Upon hearing the words “inspecting official,” the Second Stronghold Leader could no longer contain himself. His face turned deathly pale as he retreated two steps, then turned and fled. The Great Stronghold Leader, seeing this, suppressed his laughter and scratched his head in confusion, unable to comprehend such a reaction.

Little Skinny Monkey approached to divert the Great Stronghold Leader’s attention: “Big Brother, look quicklythis is gold!”

The Great Stronghold Leader’s gaze immediately shifted. He ordered the crowd to divide the loot seized during their latest raid down the mountain, intending to discuss with the Second Stronghold Leader upon his return their plan to infiltrate the official circles by impersonating the inspecting official. But after waiting left and right, there was still no sign of him. Finally unable to bear it any longer, he sent someone to find the Second Leader.

After a while, a young bandit, flushed and panting heavily, came running over. Before even catching his breath, he urgently reported: “It’s terrible, Great Stronghold Leader! The guards at the gate say they saw the Second Stronghold Leader running away with a bundle on his back!”

The Great Stronghold Leader sprang to his feet, his eyes widening as his voice involuntarily rose: “What did you say?”

The young bandit repeated: “Great Stronghold Leader, it’s bad! The Second Stronghold Leader packed his clothes and old belongings and secretly escaped through the back gate!”

“How could this be?”

The Great Stronghold Leader’s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. Amid his fury was profound bewilderment. The stronghold had never wronged the Second Leaderthey always saved him a share of any good plunder, and consulted him on all matters great and small within the stronghold. What grievance could have driven him to betray the Black Wind Stronghold!

Before the Great Stronghold Leader could figure it out, another bandit came stumbling in, panic-stricken: “Great Stronghold Leader, it’s bad, it’s terrible! Government troops are attacking! Great Stronghold Leader, we must flee quickly!”

The Great Stronghold Leader’s eyelid twitched violently. He drew a sharp breath, strode forward in three quick steps, grabbed the reporting bandit by the collar, and hurled him to the ground, cursing sharply: “What’s there to panic about? They’re just a bunch of drunken good-for-nothings! Nothing to fearwe can send those worthless scum running with their tails between their legs in no time!”

The bandit cried out as he hit the ground, quickly rolling over like a turtle. Remembering the scene he had just witnessed, he still felt lingering fear. Shaking his head rapidly, his lips trembling, he said: “It’s different this time, it’s different! Great Stronghold Leader… for some reason, those government troops have suddenly become much more powerful. They’re all like madmen, killing frenziedly at the stronghold entrancebeating anyone they see, cutting down everyone they encounter! Dozens of our brothers are already dead! When I left, those troops were about to break in!”

“Worthless!”

The Great Stronghold Leader didn’t believe him. He delivered a fierce kick to the man’s chest, then turned to grab his broadsword and headed outside.

After exiting, he hadn’t gone far when he saw bandits fleeing back in disarray. One of them kept looking back, failed to watch his step, tripped over a stone on the ground, staggered a few steps, and fell at the Great Stronghold Leader’s feet. From behind came a distant but powerful roar: “Kill!”

This formation was more like a specialized anti-bandit army dispatched by the imperial courthow could those worthless officials who could barely chop firewood possibly possess such capability!

The Great Stronghold Leader’s heart sank. He realized he might have been deceivedthese weren’t the usual lazy government troops but the imperial army itself! That inspecting official they had captured was nothing but bait.

No wonder the Second Leader had fled with his bundle before he could even finish speakinghe must have realized earlier that this was an imperial trap.

What a fool I’ve been!

The chief slapped his forehead and immediately panicked. He could no longer blame the second-in-command for failing to warn them. Swallowing hard, he grabbed the bandit by the collar and growled, “How many troops has the court sent?”

The bandit stammered, “A-about a few hundred. They’re too fiercewe couldn’t hold them off at all…”

The chief shoved the bandit aside, who scrambled away the moment he was freed. The chief took two steps forward with his blade but abruptly halted, turning instead toward where the inspector was being held.

In the past, bandits fought cohesively and leveraged the terrain to their advantage, making it difficult for government troops to storm the stronghold. But this time, all officials and constables from Jiahe County launched a surprise attack on Black Wind Stronghold, catching the bandits completely off guard.

Moreover, every one of them was prepared to die. When a person fears no death, their combat prowess becomes terrifying.

The government troops swiftly breached the stronghold gates, and the scattered bandits were even easier to pick off.

In addition, through collective brainstorming, they had devised a strategy to crush the bandits. Two teams traversed the flanks of Golden Swallow Mountain, circled around to the rear of the stronghold, and captured a man in blue robes, who was identified as the second-in-command of Black Wind Stronghold. A few men escorted this second-in-command inside to search for Zhao Yingzhong, while the rest surrounded the stronghold as planned.

By the time the chief rushed over, intending to take Zhao Yingzhong hostage and force the troops to let him escape, he kicked the door open with a crash and roared rudely, “Get over here!”

As the words left his mouth, his vision cleared abruptly, revealing the room packed with government troops armed with blades or clubs, their demeanor righteous and imposing.

At the sound, all eyes turned in unison, focusing squarely on the chief.

The chief’s pupils involuntarily contracted. With a thud, he felt as if his chest had exploded, a piercing pain rooting him to the spot like a tree buried deep in the earth, unable to move.

Zhao Yingzhong dropped the half-untied ropes and scrambled to a corner, hiding behind the troops. The tightly bound second-in-command twisted halfway to look at the newcomer, his face full of astonishment.

After a long pause, the second-in-command moved his lips, breaking the eerie silence: “Big brother…”

“You’ve mistaken me for someone else.”

The chief snapped back to reality, flung his arms wide, and fled.

“After him!”

The troops gave chase. One man sprinted forward, threw himself with all his might, and pinned the chief down, using his body weight to hold him firmly. But the chief stabbed him in the chest with his blade.

The chief tried to escape, but time was against him. The others had already caught up, swarming over him like schooling fish, one after another. The strength of numbers prevailedseveral grown men pressed down on him until he felt like a flattened pancake, suddenly unable to breathe.

Within just a few hours, the Jiahe County troops achieved victory. Not only did they rescue Inspector Zhao Yingzhong, but they also completely eradicated the bandits of Black Wind Stronghold on Golden Swallow Mountain and inventoried the loot.

With Zhao Yingzhong present, the magistrate of Jiahe County had no choice but to interrogate the bandits, identify the owners of the stolen goods, register them, and return what could be returned. The remaining unclaimed items were converted into compensation funds.

Seeing the magistrate’s pained expression, Zhao Yingzhong put on a dignified air, cleared his throat, and said, “Your Honor, rest assured, I will report your merits. His Majesty will surely reward you handsomely.”

The magistrate’s eyebrows shot up, and his heart seemed to take a sudden blow. He hastily grabbed Zhao Yingzhong’s sleeve and urgently protested, “Don’t…”

What official position does Zhao Yingzhong hold? As an inspector tasked with identifying errors, nothing favorable could escape his brushstrokes. If he reported this incident, whether he would receive rewards remained uncertain, but the mere fact that Zhao Yingzhong had been abducted by mountain bandits within his jurisdiction would undoubtedly warrant a charge of dereliction of duty!

Better to achieve no merit than to bear any blame.

The magistrate of Jiahe County forced a smile and said, “Eradicating mountain bandits is my inherent responsibility. That the inspector was alarmed is my fault. His Majesty attends to myriad affairs dailylet us not trouble him with such trivial matters.”

After several rounds of polite exchanges, the magistrate insisted that Zhao Yingzhong not report any merits on his behalf. Zhao Yingzhong could only sigh helplessly, inwardly reflecting, “During my months in Jiahe County, how did I fail to recognize the magistrate as such a noble and virtuous gentleman?”

Ashamed, Zhao Yingzhong lowered his head, his face flushing red. He questioned whether he had been too cowardly, allowing mere blows to compromise his integrity and descend into bureaucratic scheming.

He ought to act in a manner worthy of his official position.