Chapter 1 Liu Tongzhi's Calculation

Lu River, Anzhou area.

A contingent of the imperial court's troops, numbering in the thousands, marched along the main road, spears and halberds like a forest, banners like clouds.

Commander Liu rode his warhorse at the head of the column, glancing back at the long line of soldiers.

"Finally, I'm leading troops on an expedition. This time, I must show my skills and earn military merit…"

Commander Liu's eyes gleamed.

He was the commander of the Lu River and Anzhou area. Having received orders from the Prefect, he led thousands of Anzhou soldiers to join forces with troops from other prefectures to attack Hongyun Mountain and suppress the bandits.

In recent years, the imperial court had seen little war. Only the frontier troops occasionally fought with insignificant foreign tribes, or the northern troops sometimes suppressed bandits and rebels.

The current Emperor did not favor military affairs, and many places had not seen war for years. A large number of imperial military officers had nowhere to earn military merit. Especially in southern areas like Lu River, there was even less opportunity to fight. Soldiers rarely trained, many had become farmers, and the ranks were far from full, with many cases of drawing pay for nonexistent soldiers, the silver flowing into the pockets of officers at all levels.

The Anzhou Prefect gave him six thousand soldiers, but in reality, there were only a little over three thousand. The situation was similar in other prefectures. Everyone was making money in this way.

Commander Liu knew this well, but he wouldn't expose it, as he was also a beneficiary of the practice.

The government troops gathered from the four prefectures of Lu River this time were said to be an army of 30,000, but in Commander Liu's view, it would be good if they even broke 10,000.

However, he didn't care too much.

—It was just bandit suppression. Ten thousand government troops were enough, and he even felt it was too many.

The bandits of Hongyun, Huto, and Huangdang Mountains added up to twenty or thirty thousand, which sounded intimidating, but the number of soldiers capable of fighting was probably not more than their own.

Moreover, whether these bandits should be completely wiped out was still unknown…

Having heard that the Emperor was about to travel south for an autumn inspection, the Prefects of the Lu River prefectures might genuinely want to suppress the bandits, but their military officers had their own thoughts.

Commander Liu planned to meet with the other prefectural commanders first. If the situation allowed, it wouldn't be impossible to foster bandits for their own benefit. Otherwise, if they really killed all the bandits, where would they have the opportunity to send out troops in the future?

They didn't lack the courage to suppress bandits, but they had even more courage to collect money under the guise of bandit suppression.

However, they didn't dare to affect the Emperor's autumn inspection, so they still had to genuinely fight and win the battle. At the very least, they had to keep this group of bandits holed up in the mountains for several months.

Just as Commander Liu was pondering, a scout galloped back.

"Report! The area ahead is Huangxi County. This subordinate's investigation revealed that an incident occurred here. The County Magistrate was assassinated yesterday, and the murderer did not conceal his name, but instead issued a 'Declaration of Punishment' throughout the city, claiming to be Chen Feng. He also plundered the County Magistrate's wealth and distributed it to the people."

Commander Liu's eyes widened upon hearing this, and he said in surprise, "Chen Feng?!"

This was the first time he had heard this news.

Among the four prefectures of Lu River, Anzhou was closest to Jiangchun, and the prefectural capital was next to Jiangchun.

After Zhou Jing committed the crime in Wenshui County, he did not hide, but continued to commit crimes along the way. Now he had committed crimes in three counties, and the last place he committed the crime was Huangxi County.

Coincidentally, Commander Liu set out from the prefectural capital and missed the news. And his direction of march was exactly the opposite of Zhou Jing's. It was only when he passed through this place that he stumbled upon this matter.

"Commander, please take a look. This is the 'Declaration of Punishment' written by the bandit Chen Feng…"

The scout presented a piece of tattered cloth.

Commander Liu hurriedly took it and looked down, discovering that the evil deeds of the Huangxi County Magistrate and others were written on it in charcoal pencil, and finally there was Chen Feng's "Declaration of Punishment."

"Swearing to kill all corrupt officials and local bullies in the world? Humph, ignorant child, not knowing the immensity of the universe!"

Commander Liu snorted coldly, his face full of disgust.

As the commander of a prefecture, he always looked down on outlaws. Now, seeing Chen Feng making such a boast, he instinctively felt disgusted.

Just a commoner, no matter how skilled in martial arts, how could you change this world?

"This bandit Chen Feng is wanted by the prefectures of Lu River. Instead of hiding his name and lurking in the shadows, he dares to swagger through the streets and kill people everywhere. How arrogant!"

He thought that after Chen Feng left Hongyun Mountain, he would disappear temporarily, but he didn't expect to discover this person's whereabouts here.

Commander Liu's eyes darted around, and he immediately had an idea.

Although the target of the expedition was to attack Hongyun Mountain, Chen Feng had committed the crime of killing an official, which was a serious crime in the imperial court. This expedition to suppress bandits was even related to this person. Capturing him would be a great achievement.

Although he still had to march, since he had discovered this person's whereabouts, how could he sit idly by and let this great opportunity slip away?

Commander Liu was secretly excited, feeling that he was having good luck.

"Release all scout squads and search along the road for this person's whereabouts. Once you find the bandit, stick to him and report back. I will temporarily set up camp near Huangxi County."

Without hesitation, he immediately made arrangements.

This trip was just to join forces, so he wasn't worried about delaying military affairs. Delaying here for two or three days wouldn't be a big problem.

If he couldn't find Chen Feng's whereabouts in a few days, then this person had probably gone far away and would be difficult to catch again. It wouldn't be too late to turn around and march then. He naturally knew how to choose.

…

On the other side.

Zhou Jing and his party passed by a rural tea shed. Seeing the blazing sun, they stopped to rest temporarily.

There were no other guests in the tea shop. They sat down, ordered tea, and chatted casually.

"Following Brother around to act on behalf of Heaven these past few days has been really enjoyable. I feel like I've been living in vain before,"

Hong Dingxian said softly, his tone quite excited.

Ever since Zhou Jing helped him avenge his family, his respect for Zhou Jing had risen to a new level.

Moreover, he had gained a lot of experience these past few days. Chen Feng's fierce nature made his heart surge. He felt that a real man should be like this, drawing his sword to eliminate evil when he sees injustice. He didn't care if the evildoers were powerful or influential. He would chop them without hesitation, never looking ahead or behind.

Hong Dingxian couldn't help but be glad that he had left Hongyun Mountain with Zhou Jing. There was no such excitement to be found if he had stayed on the mountain.

"That's right. When I followed Second Brother to make a scene in Anlin Prefecture, I had the same thought,"

Fang Zhen laughed and said, deeply understanding.

Guo Haishen was more mature and worried, "Second Brother, are you really going to kill your way to Jiangchun in such a high-profile manner? If we do, I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to move an inch in the future. Once we show our faces, we will inevitably attract the pursuit of government troops."

Zhou Jing took a sip of tea and waved his hand, "We are scattered all over the place and there are only a few of us. Even if the government troops mobilize, it will be difficult to surround and capture us."

Lin Song didn't dare to speak.

Having seen Zhou Jing's way of doing things these past few days, he realized that this person was lawless. He was timid in his heart and didn't dare to provoke him easily.

Just as the group was drinking tea, several sweaty travelers walked in.

Seeing this group of strong men, the travelers hesitated for a moment and sat in the corner.

When Zhou Jing and the others saw outsiders, they stopped talking and drank their tea.

After a while, the travelers began to chat. Because they were afraid of disturbing the strong men like Zhou Jing, they kept their voices very low, so ordinary people couldn't hear what they were saying.

However, many of Zhou Jing's party were skilled in martial arts and had excellent hearing. They heard a series of words such as "imperial troops", "Hongyun Mountain", and "bandit suppression".

Hearing these words, everyone's eyes flashed and they exchanged glances.

Guo Haishen immediately got up, holding a bowl of tea, and approached with a smile to chat.

He had traveled north and south, so he was good at this kind of social interaction.

Guo Haishen chatted with the travelers for a while before returning to the group, winking to indicate that this was not the place to talk in detail.

Everyone understood, paid for the tea, left the tea shop, and walked a short distance before asking about the reason.

"I just inquired that the four prefectures of Lu River are joining forces to send troops, claiming to have 30,000 men, to attack Hongyun Mountain. Anzhou sent 6,000 soldiers, and they just happened to be marching nearby. Those travelers saw it yesterday."

Guo Haishen's tone was solemn.

Everyone was shocked.

"30,000 soldiers to suppress bandits? Why are there so many this time?"

Hong Dingxian was greatly shocked.

During his life as a bandit in Huto Mountain, he had also seen government troops suppressing bandits, but this was the first time he had heard of such a large scale.

Fang Zhen snorted coldly, "Hey, there are many who draw pay for nonexistent soldiers in the army. It would be good if there are half of these 30,000 people."

"Half is also 15,000 people, which is not a small number. Second Brother helped Hongyun Mountain expand, and the three strongholds merged into one, becoming a major bandit in Lu River. It is estimated that the prefects of the various prefectures couldn't sit still and decided to send troops on a large scale… Hongyun Mountain is in danger this time, Second Brother, what should we do?"

Guo Haishen asked.

Everyone turned to look at Zhou Jing.

Zhou Jing touched his chin and pondered, "What are your thoughts?"

"Return to Hongyun Mountain and help Chief Yu defeat the government troops."

Guo Haishen said without hesitation.

Zhou Jing shook his head, noncommittal.

"Does Brother plan to ignore it?" Guo Haishen was surprised.

Zhou Jing waved his hand, "The Anzhou soldiers are nearby. I will go to find out the truth. If there is an opportunity, I can disrupt this army and break off a finger of the government troops. As for Hongyun Mountain, we don't have to go back."

He didn't want to go back to Hongyun Mountain to help. After all, they weren't a gang. He had already helped Yu Feng expand, which was his way of repaying the kindness of taking him in. Although this led to the government troops' campaign, it was best for Hongyun Mountain to get through this on their own. They couldn't take the benefits and completely rely on him to clean up the mess.

The government troops were powerful. If he didn't go back, the Green Forest Path wouldn't say anything. But standing completely by was not in line with Chen Feng's personality, so Zhou Jing decided to indirectly help, which was to fulfill the Green Forest loyalty, and by the way, expand his own reputation.

Fang Zhen was shocked, "Second Brother, there are 6,000 soldiers in Anzhou, how are you going to disrupt them?"

Zhou Jing said in a deep voice, "I have my own plans. You don't need to follow me. It will be enough for me alone."

"How can we let Brother take the risk alone?!"

Everyone was in an uproar and immediately opposed.

"The fewer people involved, the better. If you intervene, it will only add to the risk."

Zhou Jing's tone was firm, dissuading everyone, and told them his plan.

After hearing it, everyone was secretly stunned, calling it bold.

However, everyone had witnessed Zhou Jing's amazing martial arts skills, so after hesitating again and again, they were persuaded and decided to let Zhou Jing act alone.

…

That night.

Beside Huangxi County, Commander Liu's thousands of soldiers set up camp and rested in place, awaiting orders.

At the same time, Zhou Jing was lying on a dirt slope, observing the camp below, his eyes gleaming.

"The defensive works and sentry patrols are quite reliable, much better than the bandits. The commander is somewhat knowledgeable about military affairs… Unfortunately, they are still useless to me."

The imperial court's troops did not hide their tracks, so Zhou Jing only made a slight inquiry during the day and learned the location of the Anzhou soldiers' camp.

On the way, he also found that there were government troop scouts searching for him everywhere, so he figured out the whole story… It was obvious that this army passed through Huangxi County, discovered the traces of his crimes, and so temporarily stopped marching to try to capture him.

Guo Haishen and others continued to move forward, revealing their tracks to the passers-by, deliberately attracting the pursuing troops, making people think that they were moving away.

Zhou Jing himself quietly turned back and, taking advantage of the night, sneaked into the camp of the Anzhou soldiers.

He didn't plan to break through the thousands of soldiers in Anzhou, but commanding the soldiers required officers at all levels, and the plan was also crude and simple—kill the officers seven or eight out of ten, and this army would be almost paralyzed.

He was currently unable to directly charge into thousands of troops. His skills in assassination were the most efficient way to cause destruction.

He couldn't make a move on the way, but the troops always needed to set up camp, and that was the opportunity. No matter how vigilant the government troops were, with his skills, he could always find a loophole to sneak in alone.

"Anzhou claims to have sent 6,000 soldiers, but how come it doesn't even look like half of that?"

Zhou Jing muttered to himself, observing the camp.

This was good news. It would be easier for him to sneak in and kill people.

He took a deep breath, opened the map radar, and quietly sneaked towards the camp under the cover of the night.

…

Inside the camp, in the main tent.

Commander Liu was wearing armor and reading by the lamplight, looking at the military intelligence that the scouts reported back during the day.

"This Chen Feng really hasn't gone far… This official is really lucky!"

Commander Liu was radiant and excited.

If he could capture Chen Feng, he would definitely receive an imperial reward.

Moreover, Chen Feng had injured a disciple of Prime Minister Qin. If he made this contribution, he might even be able to climb onto the Qin Party, and a bright future would be just around the corner!

Commander Liu was secretly excited, determined to win, and felt that the future of promotion and wealth was beckoning to him.

Just then, the curtain was suddenly lifted.

A soldier dressed as a soldier walked in without reporting.

Commander Liu was stunned and instinctively shouted, "Which camp are you a soldier of? Who let you in? Where are the guards outside?"

Zhou Jing didn't say a word and suddenly drew his saber.

At this time, Commander Liu realized that something was wrong, his face changed greatly, and he hurriedly drew his sword, shouting:

"Someone! Save…"

Swish!

A flash of bright light disappeared in an instant.

Commander Liu's body froze, a line of blood appeared on his neck, seeping out dense beads of blood.

He widened his eyes in disbelief, made two "ho ho" sounds in his throat, fell backward, and fell to the ground with a bang.

'This official has not yet shown his skills, how can he die here…'

A strong unwillingness appeared on Commander Liu's face, struggling to raise his hand, as if trying to grab something, but his palm finally hung down powerlessly.

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