Chapter 154: Mountain bandits are popular

Struck by this impact, the Military Advisor immediately felt his internal organs churning violently, and then a small amount of blood slowly flowed from the corner of his mouth.

At first, the guard captain thought it was an ambush by mountain bandits, but upon closer inspection, he realized it was a little old man, and judging by his attire, he should be an ordinary commoner.

Looking up toward the front, the figure of the bandit was already invisible. After hesitating for a moment, the guard captain dismounted, picked up the little old man, carried him on his shoulder, and rode back to the city to report.

By the time the guard captain returned to the city, the blood on the ground had not yet congealed, but the bandits' corpses had already been cleared away.

The commoners cheered in unison, surrounding the market and shouting that the Prefect was the parent official of the people, and some even whispered that the Shuo Fang Jun Prefect was much better than the Guangwu Jun Prefect.

All of this was heard by the Prefect, who faintly hoped that these voices could be heard by the Crown Prince, so that his efforts would not have been in vain.

Just now, he had already beheaded all the mountain bandits in front of the commoners, and even cut off Bai'e Hu's head to display in the street.

He declared that the mountain bandits of Ziyun City had been completely wiped out by him, with only the bandit leader's son not yet captured, and the guard captain had already gone to pursue him, ensuring he would have no way to heaven or earth, and the commoners would have no worries about traveling from now on.

The guard captain knew very well what his master wanted. From far away, he prepared in advance, appearing hurried as he carried the 'commoner', his face full of anxiety looking very genuine.

The Prefect frowned and asked: "Have the mountain bandits been caught?"

The guard captain carefully placed the injured 'commoner' on the ground before kneeling on one knee and saying: "Subordinate is incompetent! That villain actually attacked the commoners and used their lives to threaten me. I could only choose to save the commoner, thus letting the opponent escape. I hope the Prefect will punish me!"

Upon hearing this, the Prefect was secretly delighted. He was indeed someone he had trained; he knew how to state the 'key points'!

The Prefect feigned anger and slammed the table in front of him: "Abominable mountain bandits, actually harming the commoners like this! Quickly invite the city's doctor to check the commoner's injuries; all the consultation and medicine fees will be covered by me!"

Immediately after, the Prefect continued: "Find a painter to come and copy his likeness, post notices to hunt down that villain, and never let him cause chaos again!"

"Subordinate obeys!"

The guard captain cupped his hands and set about arranging this matter.

The moment he discovered the opponent had escaped, he immediately thought of a countermeasure.

This commoner had jumped out on his own, leading to being kicked by the horse and injured, which caused him to be unable to return and report, so he could only bring this person back and fabricate a reason; the Prefect wouldn't blame him!

Of course, as the guard captain, he knew very well which things the Prefect arranged could not be done, and which must be done.

This matter didn't cost money and could earn a reputation, so it must be done! A thankless, losing business was absolutely not to be done!

Therefore, what the Prefect said just now was what must be done. He had to find someone to paint the bandit's face while he could still remember it clearly, so that he could post notices throughout the entire prefecture to capture him.

Xiexiezi, who had escaped with difficulty, finally stopped after galloping on horseback for three hours.

Pale-faced, he sat on the horse's back, feeling very lost. He didn't know where else he could go!

The vast Beijiang seemed to have no place for him at all. In the past, even when Bai'e Hu was outside Ziyun City and he was far away in Lianhuan Shan, he always felt there was something to look forward to. Now, that hope was gone!

Standing at a crossroads that didn't know where it led, Xiexiezi lingered for a long time before thinking of Jiang Jinshi.

Perhaps only Jiang Jinshi, who was also a mountain bandit, could take him in. If he had really died in Ziyun City, it would have been fine, but his father had sacrificed his life to protect him, and he wanted to live on with his father's expectations.

On the other side, Guangwu Jun Prefect Liu Xuecheng, after waiting for several days, finally received a reply from the Prince of Zhenbei, but he was stunned the moment he opened the letter.

He had thought of countless scenarios of fighting the mountain bandits to wash away his shame, but he had never thought that this matter would be rejected.

If it weren't for the Prince of Zhenbei's seal on it, Liu Xuecheng would have doubted the authenticity of the letter.

"Phew! Since that's the case, let you jump around for two more days!"

Liu Xuecheng was unwilling, but had no other way, so he could only choose to obey orders.

Just then, a subordinate reported that a few days ago, mountain bandits had robbed Ziyun City in Shuo Fang Jun.

Liu Xuecheng immediately felt more balanced in his heart; fortunately, he wasn't the only one who had lost face.

But unexpectedly, when he continued to inquire about the details, he learned that the Ziyun City soldiers had fought back, killed more than a hundred mountain bandits, and captured dozens.

Now he felt as if the sky had collapsed. He had lost all his face, and he was afraid he wouldn't have a good impression in front of the Crown Prince, completely outshone by the others.

"Bang!"

In a fit of anger, the Prefect picked up the vase beside him and smashed it down, and then, still not satisfied, he smashed whatever he saw until there was nothing left to smash.

Jiang Jinshi didn't know what was happening outside. During this period, he had been living very comfortably, and his whole person had developed a somewhat lazy demeanor.

Jiangcheng was managed by Feng Chunsheng, Licheng by Xiao Chunqiu, and the general direction of development had already been set; it could be said to be developing in an orderly manner.

Feng Chunsheng's talent far exceeded Jiang Jinshi's imagination. This person now seemed to have let himself go, relying on the financial and food backing of Shixian Shan, wishing he could spend it all on the commoners.

Jiang Jinshi said he lacked people, so he offered recruitment conditions higher than the Zhenbei Army, frantically recruiting people.

In just a few days, people signing up formed a long line. Even with constant selection, they had added a team of five hundred people, and the number was still increasing every day.

As long as Jiang Jinshi didn't say stop, Feng Chunsheng would keep recruiting!

At first, Feng Chunsheng thought the treatment he offered was already quite good, but after learning about the monthly pay and treatment of the Yangguangzhai mountain bandits, he began to feel he was a bit stingy!

He had never fought such a 'wealthy war' before, so he was still a bit unaccustomed to it.

Since that was the case, he would raise the treatment, raise it fiercely; he wasn't afraid of not being able to recruit people!

Now this batch of people were all growing under Ye Chang's training and would sooner or later become the backbone of Yangguangzhai.

Jiang Jinshi said he wanted to build armor, and Feng Chunsheng still used money to smash it. How could he let go of this matter of providing work for the commoners!

He recruited embroiderers throughout Jiangcheng. You say your embroidery skills aren't good?

It's fine, as long as you can thread a needle, we'll take you, men included!

In an instant, the trend in the city changed completely. Someone interested calculated that if a couple both worked at Yangguangzhai, the man as a mountain bandit and the woman doing embroidery, they could save more than ten taels of silver a year.

For everyone, this was simply an astronomical figure. In the past few decades, whose family could save so much with two people working?

At first, everyone scoffed at the mountain bandits, but now in Jiangcheng, if you said you were a mountain bandit of Yangguangzhai, you were definitely a popular catch, and the threshold would be worn down by matchmakers.

Several brothers had already taken this opportunity to find partners, and many others were also looking, and Jiangcheng was filled with a joyous atmosphere. ===== CHAPTER 155 =====