Phoenix Mountain, located a hundred li southeast of Laizhou.
Mount Ni, located southwest of Qufu.
Mount Yunmen, located in Qingzhou.
Lingyan Temple, located in Qizhou.
Weishan Lake, from Jining in the north to Pengcheng in the south, bordering Peixian to the east and Zaozhuang to the west.
Fang Er had a bad premonition. The incident had happened days ago; these people couldn't possibly be waiting in their lair to be apprehended.
Moreover, linking six factions of bandits must involve a mastermind behind the scenes.
Who could this person be?
Such a grand scheme could never be just for a mere two million guan of silver!
With this thought, he suddenly looked up at the Melon King.
"How many men does the Hundred Cavalry Division have?"
"Reporting, Your Highness. Some of the Hundred Cavalry Division men from Shandong Road are still en route. We currently have just over seventeen hundred."
The Melon King replied with a bow.
"Dispatch a thousand men to keep a close eye on the Kong family! I want to know who has entered or exited the Kong family these past few days! What they did, what they said, all of it must be investigated!"
"What? The Kong family!" The Melon King looked at Fang Er in disbelief. "That's a thousand-year-old aristocratic family! The sacred land of Confucianism! Such a major incident has occurred in Shandong Road, with six forces spread across different prefectures and counties. Who has the ability to connect them? So many troops moving about, yet not a single official reported it! Do they truly not know, or do they know but not report?!"
"To think someone wants to prevent me from leaving Shandong Road! How can a mere mountain bandit be so confident!"
Fang Er stood up, analyzing his suspicions sentence by sentence. The more he thought, the more suspicious the Kong family became!
Hearing this, the Melon King’s hair stood on end. He dared not think further. If it were truly the Kong family's doing, it might shake the entire Great Tang!
"I will go down and make the arrangements now!"
"And also! We must dispatch men to Langya Commandery as well! These six factions of bandits are spread across the northeast, northwest, southwest, and central Shandong Road, but there are no bandits from Langya Commandery!"
"Yes!"
After a moment's thought, Fang Er summoned Lai Yifa again. Worried that the Hundred Cavalry Division's manpower would be insufficient, he also dispatched the Eastern Depot agents who had just gathered.
Suddenly, a torrent of horses galloped along the main roads from Laizhou Prefecture to various locations, heading towards their destinations. In Laizhou Prefecture, only the Eighteen Riders of Yan Yun, Tie Lao Ba's Sixth Division, and the Special Forces remained.
The next morning, Lai Yifa reported that the bodies of all the brothers from the Third Division, Second Regiment, had been tidied up. In fact, the collection had been completed two days prior. However, the way the brothers had died made Fang Er unwilling to proceed, so he ordered that the fallen Heavenly Fire Army soldiers be given a proper send-off. Hence the delay.
"Bring those bandits here to see the brothers off!"
"Yes!"
Ten li southeast of Laizhou.
The large rocks and fallen trees in the mountain valley had been cleared. Rows of firewood piles were neatly arranged in formation. Thirteen in total, each formation with a hundred men! Each firewood pile carried the remains of a Heavenly Fire Army soldier. The additional three formations carried the bodies of the Hundred Cavalry Division brothers.
"Your Highness!"
The Eastern Depot agents here spotted Fang Er, who was being escorted by Lai Yifa, and immediately recognized his identity.
"Are they all collected?"
"Reporting, Your Highness, they are all collected. However, the buttons on these brothers' uniforms have been removed, making it impossible to fasten their shirts."
The agent pointed to a firewood pile beside him. Fang Er looked over and saw that, as he said, none of the glazed buttons on the soldier's uniform remained.
"Tie Lao Ba!"
"Here!"
"Have the artillery battalion change these brothers' clothes. Let them go on their way with dignity!"
"Yes!"
Tie Lao Ba looked at the dense rows of firewood piles, tears welling up in his eyes. He was the first to take off his uniform. The artillerymen behind him quickly followed suit, taking off their shirts, and then walked to each firewood pile to change the fallen Heavenly Fire Army soldiers.
After finishing this, Fang Er looked at the agent.
"Is anything else missing?"
"Your Highness, all the brothers' firearms are gone."
"I know that. Besides that?" Fang Er had noticed this the first time he came to the valley. All the soldiers of the Second Regiment were missing their sidearms, and even the tractors used to transport the national bonds were gone.
"Nothing else is missing," the agent replied, nodding after a moment's thought.
Fang Er looked up at the sky. Large flocks of crows were circling overhead, their harsh caws annoying him.
"Have these birds shot down for me! Don't disturb the brothers' send-off!"
"Yes!"
The soldiers of the Yan Yun Cavalry, Special Forces, and Artillery Division raised their rifles and pulled their triggers, aiming at the crows in the sky. In an instant, birds rained down. Soon, not a single bird could be seen in the sky. Apart from those shot down, the rest had flown away.
Fang Er stood at the mouth of the valley and gave a military salute.
"Brothers, may you have a good journey!"
"Salute!" Lai Yifa shouted. Everyone simultaneously raised their right hands in a military salute.
The First Regiment of the Artillery Division stepped out and walked into the valley. One person was left by each firewood pile, holding a torch and awaiting orders. Seeing this, the Melon King quickly assigned three hundred men from the Hundred Cavalry Division to accompany them.
"Light the fires!"
"Fire the cannons!"
"Kill the bandits!"
"See them off!"
Four commands were issued consecutively by Fang Er. The soldiers in the valley threw the torches in their hands onto the firewood piles before them and retreated.
Boom boom boom boom boom boom!
Boom boom boom boom boom boom!
~~~~
Six mortars fired simultaneously, a total of eleven rounds, sixty-six shots. May these fallen soldiers have smooth sailing in their next lives.
Executioners, impersonated by Eastern Depot agents, stood behind the Jade Emperor Mountain bandits with their long sabers. With Lai Yifa's cry of "Execute!", the sabers were raised high and brought down simultaneously.
Thump~
Thump thump~~
Heads rolled onto the ground.
"May you have a good journey!" Fang Er shouted with all his might from atop a stone.
"May you have a good journey!" Everyone shouted in unison, their voices so loud that the trees on both sides of the valley rustled, causing countless startled birds to fly out and small animals to flee.
The firewood in the valley burned for a full two hours before extinguishing. It wasn't until the afternoon that people could enter. The ashes of all the soldiers of the Third Division, Second Regiment, were placed in wooden boxes and then wrapped in silk. Each package had the corresponding soldier's nameplate attached. Fang Er had learned about identity nameplates from movies in his past life. He had always feared the day he would have to use them, but he hadn't expected that day to come.
"Your Highness, it's time to go back." Yan Shuangying said softly behind Fang Er, looking at the darkening sky.