Liu Xia stood on the ruined city wall of Qiu County, watching the mighty army gradually move away, with his hands behind his back, silent.
The army divided into three groups and set off towards Yuntian Ridge in three different directions.
In the following days, defense lines were set up around Yuntian Ridge to completely trap the bandits on Yuntian Ridge.
The three-pronged army, with Song Yuanshan as the general on the left route, blocked the west side of Yuntian Ridge, and the east route with Liu Hongtao as the commander, blocked the east and north sides of Yuntian Ridge.
The middle road, with Duan Lingxiao as the general, blocks the south wing of Yuntian Forest. The Yuntian Ridge on the south side is a cliff, which is the safest and the last escape route for bandits.[
It takes almost three days to lay out the defense line and build fortifications.
In the past three days, Liu Xia was planning to go to Yuntianling to see in person how ferocious those bandits had become?
"I said, when do we set off?"
Dabao asked curiously.
"We will leave when the army is far away. Go back and tidy up."
After Liu Xia finished speaking, he turned around and walked down the city wall.
After returning to the inn, Liu Liansheng settled down. In less than half an hour, Liu Xia's motorcade slowly set off from the inn.
Seeing Liu Xia's motorcade leaving, the officials in Qiu County breathed a long sigh of relief.
After Liu Xia stayed in Qiu County for one day, they felt as if their heads might be moved at any time, and they were all trembling with fear.
Song Qingming was the representative official who came out to see him off. Now seeing Liu Xia's motorcade leaving the city gate, everyone fell down excitedly.
Song Qingming, who was standing in front of the crowd, looked at the back of Liu Xia's motorcade and couldn't help but sneer at the corner of his mouth.
"The fun begins now. Hum, Prince Weiyuan, you won't be able to defeat me in the end."
Thinking of this, Song Qingming saw a flying eagle hovering in the sky, and turned around and headed towards the city.
Liu Xia's motorcade moved forward on the bumpy official road. After walking for about three hours, they arrived at the foot of Yuntianling Mountain.
I had heard of Yuntian Ridge before, but had never been there. Looking around, the huge Yuntian Ridge was full of maple trees, as gorgeous as the sunset.
The endless mountain peaks can be seen at a glance. Wrapped in the mist, the mist is vast and spectacular.
"What a great place. If there were no bandits, it would be an ideal place for a sect to establish a sect."
Liu Xia nodded and said.
"Yes, there are mountains and water here, and the scenery is really good."[
Caiwei also echoed.
However, today Caiwei and Yao Wenxin both put on men's clothes, looking heroic and particularly charming.
"Lian Sheng, take the remaining people with you to join the Chinese army. Be careful on the road."
Liu Xia instructed.
"As commanded."
At that moment, Liu Liansheng cupped his fists and led the remaining people away towards the distance.
Liu Xia and Dabao both changed into ordinary people's clothes with patches on them. They looked somewhat similar to the local woodcutter.
The four people immediately headed towards the mountain forest.
On Yuntian Ridge, there are more than thirty cottages on the outskirts. Most of them are located in relatively obvious positions to facilitate their entry and exit. Naturally, these cottages are the first targets to be wiped out.
The purpose of going up the mountain is to explore the true strength of these cottages.
These tasks should have been done by military spies, but Liu Xia didn't trust them.
Liu Xia is confident that with the four of them, entering and leaving Yuntian Ridge should not be a big problem.
After walking in the forest for less than half an hour, Liu Xia discovered a hidden sentry. He didn't know it was a spy from the village.
Immediately, Liu Xia signaled that Dabao, Yao Wenxin and the others hid themselves.
"Brother Wang, do you think the imperial court is really here this time? I heard that Prince Weiyuan gathered a hundred thousand troops this time. They have already set off today."
At this moment, a young man who was less than twenty years old was hiding in a tree and said.
That big tree was so tall and towering that there were four people hiding on it.
"What are you afraid of? It's not like the imperial court has never been encircled and suppressed before! I think this time is no different from before. At worst, we can hide towards Heifeng Stronghold. I still don't believe that the imperial army can capture Heifeng Stronghold."
At this time, a middle-aged man said.
"Alas, have you heard that the imperial court has posted notices all over the mountain today. It said that if we give an imperial edict, everything will be forgotten. Moreover, they have also proposed a policy of appeasement this time. As long as we can rest assured and love
If you surrender your weapons, you will be given land. I think this is pretty good."
"Fart, what do you know? It's not like the imperial court has not issued peace orders in the past few years. During the last encirclement and suppression, wasn't Liu Dasha ordered to peace? But what happened later? Wasn't he tortured to death? His brothers,
A few of them ended well."
"Yes, yes, Wang Enyi, the military advisor who has been following Liu Dasha, didn't he become a bandit again in the end? Those dog officers don't regard us as human beings at all. Even if we are ordered to be safe, we still don't have to accept those dog officers
Birdy?"[
"That is, if it weren't for those dog officials, we wouldn't be bandits. Anyway, we can't believe what the court says. Whoever wants to go will go. Even if I die here, I will not come down from the mountain."
The middle-aged man said again.
When Liu Xia heard this while hiding in the dark, she understood everything in her heart.
At first I thought Zhao'an would be very cooperative with these bandits, but now it seems that this issue is too simple.
If those corrupt officials are not eliminated, this place will never live in peace.
At this time, Liu Xia quietly winked, and the four of them left here quietly.
There is already a sentry post here, indicating that the mountain stronghold here is probably not far away.
Sure enough, Liu Xia found the first copycat without much effort.
I originally imagined that the village should be richer. After all, these people were bandits and would not be in more hardship than the people at the foot of the mountain.
But when he saw this cottage, he was still shocked by the sight in front of him.
The cottage in front of me is very small, with probably no more than a hundred people.
There are not only bandits inside, but also many ordinary people. Maybe there are family members of these bandits, including old people and children.
These bandits were also wearing rags and rags, and each of them had a sallow complexion. It was obvious that they lived in the same poverty as the people at the foot of the mountain.
This cottage is a mess, not to mention the fortifications. It is just some wooden fences and more than 30 thatched huts that serve as their camp. If they hadn't hung that patched flag, they would have been thought to be refugees.
Woolen cloth.
After marking the location and number of people in this cottage, Liu Xia and the others left here.
On the way, everyone's mood was very complicated.
They say they are bandits, and they indeed rob homes and homes. However, looking at their lives, they are probably no better than the people down the mountain.
Afterwards, the four of them went around the mountain and found more than thirty cottages, large and small. The number of people in each cottage varied. However, Liu Xia also got some useful information.
These cottages seem to be scattered, but in fact they all have Heifeng Village as their leader.
Whether it is the Juyi Gang or the Tianlong Village, even these small cottages are inextricably related to the Black Wind Village.
Heifeng Village occupies a dominant position on this mountain and is vaguely the leader of these bandits.
However, among them, Tianlong Village and the Shan Village and Heifeng Village under him seemed to be unable to deal with it. The two gangs often fought with each other and fought back and forth. The Juyi Gang, who was caught in the gap, was obviously facing a dilemma.
However, with the Tianji Dynasty's army pressing down on the territory, the internal strife seemed to have subsided for the time being.
Liu Xia knew that if he made good use of this opportunity, he could get twice the result with half the effort.
Of course, this is not the point. The point is that Liu Xia heard about Heifeng Village the most and couldn't help but want to visit Heifeng Village.
As a result, the man changed his direction and headed directly towards the depths of Yuntian Ridge.
I heard that Heifeng Village is located under Wangfeng Peak, in the middle of the Xianxian Gorge, and is easy to defend but difficult to attack.
By midnight, Liu Xia and the others arrived at the outskirts of the Xianxian Gorge.
Hiding in the dark, Liu Xia looked up and saw that this line of gorge was really a God-given treasure.
Yuntianling has undulating mountains, and around Wanfeng Peak, the terrain is even steeper.
Not far from Fanfeng Peak, there is a natural basin. This basin is surrounded by green mountains, with only a gap exposed. Now Heifeng Village has deployed defensive fortifications there.
Looking at that fortress, Liu Xia couldn't help but be stunned.
This place is so barren, but the fortress is so impregnable that it is hard to imagine that there is such a thing here.
Compared with other cottages, Heifeng Village is more like a military fortress, and Liu Xia discovered that the bandits in Heifeng Village actually have army armor and weapons made by the army.
This is somewhat incredible.
"Let's sneak in and take a look."
Liu Xia said softly.
Immediately, the four people quietly arrived at the edge of a broken wall. At that moment, Liu Xia took out Tian Quan and stepped on it instantly, soaring into the sky.
After landing on the top of the mountain and avoiding the sentry there, I lowered the rope.
Caiwei, Dabao and the others quickly climbed up the mountain, and then quietly descended along the plank road to the camp of Heifeng Village.
After arriving at the camp, Liu Xia discovered that there were bandit dens here and there, and it was clearly a military camp.
The neat buildings built along the triangle are not majestic, but it can be seen that the financial resources of Heifeng Village cannot be underestimated.
Patrolling soldiers were everywhere, and they were obviously in a state of combat readiness.
What makes Liu Xia even more incredible is that this place is like a city. There are shops and houses inside, and there is no shortage of everything that a city should have.
After seeing all this, Liu Xia understood that the money these bandits gained from robbery could not sustain their huge expenses.
It seemed that there must be foreign aid supporting them. Thinking of this, Liu Xia thought of the Onmyoji Association.
I thought of Tuoba Lingyun.
It is estimated that most of the money from the Onmyoji Association went here, and there must be some family or chamber of commerce that provided them with such powerful equipment and supplies.
"Let's go. Let's get out of here."
Liu Xia said softly.
At that moment, the four people were ready to return the same way. However, at this moment, someone suddenly shouted: "Come here, there are some craftsmen here. Catch them."