Chapter 16: The Great King Impervious to Blades and Spears

After traveling north for two days and passing a mountain range, another thirty or forty bandits wielding clubs and sickles suddenly rushed down from the road ahead.

Bad news—another group of bandits has taken a liking to Xiaozao! Moreover, the bandits are larger in scale.

Good news—the dynasty strictly controls ironware, so although the bandits are many, they lack decent weapons.

The personal guards who came out are the elite of the Three Thousand Guards; even if the soldiers raised in Ever Peace are useless, among three thousand there are always a few capable. Zhang Tu escorts the Great King out, bringing only the finest elite.

Seeing these sturdy men draw identical swords, the opposite side knew they had met a tough match; today would not be easy.

Previously, a rabble mob relying on numbers to rob merchants and civilians had done fairly well, but today they aimed to rob the Great King—nothing short of madness.

After a few fell, the bandits began to give up, turning and fleeing up the mountain in panic; the battle became one-sided. Zhang Tu did not let his personal guards pursue, but had the captives strung together and sent someone to the nearest government office to report the incident.

Not knowing the scale of the mountain stronghold, and to ensure the Great King's safety, disregarding King You's objections, the party continued on their way.

The Great King puffed his cheeks in anger;

"Are we just going to run like this? When we encounter bandits, shouldn't we wipe them out handily?"

Grand Tutor Xu: "What if there are still two hundred people in the stronghold?"

KO!

However, the Great King didn't stay discouraged for long; from this moment on, they seemed to have opened Pandora's Box, and bandits appeared incessantly on their northward journey.

The Great King thus understood why Youzhou was so miserably poor: half of the able-bodied men had died in conscription, and the rest had turned to banditry! It's no surprise that many here took to the mountains to avoid military service.

Most were small-time troublemakers, but their numbers were overwhelming, making Zhang Tu's journey far from easy.

There were also strong ones; when they reached a place called Rock Sparrow Mountain, if they hadn't run fast, the Great King would have almost been captured.

The bandits, numerous, surrounded the carriage; the horses pulling it, frightened, bolted and nearly plunged off the cliff—if not for the clever Xiaozao desperately braking and pulling back, the Great King and Grand Tutor Xu would already have met underground.

Down below, Zhao Bao and Zhang Tu, fighting bravely, were scared half to death; they quickly dealt with the pursuers, and when they ran back they found Grand Tutor Xu's head split and bleeding inside the carriage, while the Great King was unharmed!

Fortunately!

At this moment, Bai Li Jing finally felt genuine affection for the Lord of the City; glancing at the blood-covered Grand Tutor Xu next door, he thought that if it were him, such a frail child, he might have perished outright, without waiting for the city to fall.

As for the city… he could strive for it.

The Great King felt joy bubbling inside—turns out he truly is impervious to blades and spears!

The pain from the impact could be ignored.

After this battle, even the usually composed Grand Tutor Xu became gloomy. Everyone finally realized how severe the bandit problem in Youzhou had become.

And the Great King… the Great King glared at Zhang Tu with puffed cheeks, so much that Commander Zhang couldn't even ride his horse from being stared at.

Under too much mental pressure, Commander Zhang finally dismounted and knelt, declaring, "Your servant will immediately reorganize the troops upon return, swiftly come back to eradicate the bandits, restore peace to Youzhou, and ask Your Highness to rest easy!".

The Great King sighed gloomily, "Can the idle troops raised in Ever Peace City really match a band of desperate bandits? Rock Sparrow Mountain is so big—do you know how many people are in the stronghold? Do you understand the terrain, whether it's easy to defend but hard to attack? If the personal guard battalion falls into the stronghold and is defeated, we would lose not only the guards' lives but also my own face and my father emperor's face—have you considered all that?" As he stared at Zhang Tu, do you think he was just trying to scare him?

Yes.

But at the same time, he never stopped pondering these matters; concerning his own life, the Great King is unusually sensitive.

Zhang Tu's face streamed with sweat; the feudal prince's personal guards were routed by the bandits—not only the Great King, but even the emperor's dignity suffered. Especially since this feudal prince was personally appointed by the reigning emperor, one can imagine how furious the emperor must be.

If the soldiers in the personal guard battalion were all as capable as those brought out today, he would have nothing to worry about. But the quality of the remaining troops is all too clear to him.

"I am ashamed! Returning, I will certainly train the troops well; suppressing the bandits also requires long-term planning."

The Great King: "Alas!" His fate is grim.

Looking up, he saw the bandaged tutor still smiling?

"Can the tutor still smile?"

Grand Tutor Xu stroked his lovely beard, "Hmm." Although the Great King is young and occasionally asks childish silly questions, when it comes to major affairs he still has firm views and courage. Look at how meticulous his thinking is; the tutor expressed great relief.

The Great King: "... Even looking like this, he can still laugh—the tutor is truly broad-minded; this king falls far short, far short."

The Great King's diary:

【May 19, Rock Sparrow Mountain. The Great King almost buried his bones here! Thanks to Xiaozao, the Great King will bring it to be buried with him in the royal tomb. Speaking of the royal tomb, today he picked up a blood‑red jade‑like beautiful stone by the river, greatly liked it, and added it as a burial good. Speaking of the bandits, the Great King will return to train his troops and surely exterminate them! Otherwise… let the imperial elder brother forever lose his appetite!】

Thanks to Xiao Zao, from now on I, the king, will take it to be buried with the royal tomb.

Speaking of the royal tomb, today by the river I picked up one blood-red stone resembling jade; I like it very much, so I'll add one more burial item.

Getting back to the bandits, I, the king, will return to prepare the troops and horses; I will surely wipe them out!

Otherwise… let x imperial older brother never enjoy his meals!】