Han Ji

Chapter 112 Re-battle of Bashan

The bandits' eyes lit up.

Scarface Wolf narrowed his eyes: "From Chengdu? The accent doesn't sound like it."

"I was originally from Jizhou, but I moved to Chengdu not long ago," Jian Yong said with a forced smile.

"Search." Scarface Wolf waved his hand.

Several bandits stepped forward and lifted the tarpaulins off the other carts. The second cart carried medicinal herbs, the third carried salt packages, and the fourth...

The tarpaulin was lifted, revealing stones underneath.

The bandits were taken aback.

In that instant, Jian Yong roared, "Attack!"

Twenty soldiers disguised as porters simultaneously lifted the car's roof, revealing crossbows hidden underneath, which they immediately cocked and fired.

The first volley of arrows felled seven or eight bandits.

Scarface Wolf reacted swiftly, drawing his sword to parry an arrow and roaring, "A trap! Retreat!"

But it was too late.

Shouts of battle erupted from the forest. Zhang Fei charged out first, his eighteen-foot spear sweeping across, sending three bandits flying.

"Your grandfather, Zhang Yide, is here!"

Two hundred ambushers charged out like wolves among sheep. The bandits, already in a state of panic, were instantly routed by this attack.

Scarface Wolf gritted his teeth and led his confidants toward the village gate.

Zhang Fei led his troops in pursuit, but cleverly left an opening, allowing the remaining bandits to escape back to the mountain.

When the soldiers guarding the stockade saw their leader retreating in defeat, they quickly opened the gate to let him in.

Just as the gates of the stronghold swung open and the remaining bandits poured in,

Guan Yu led his elite troops out from the flank and rear, charging into the stronghold. The bandits guarding the stronghold, numbering less than fifty, were thrown into chaos by this sudden attack.

"Seize the gate!" Guan Yu swung his Green Dragon Crescent Blade and charged straight at the gate of the stronghold.

The bandits guarding the gate tried to close it again, but Guan Yu shattered the bolt with a single stroke. The gate was now wide open.

Zhang Fei led his troops in a fierce charge up the mountain.

A pincer attack from both sides.

The battle lasted for half an hour.

Scarface Wolf retreated to the main hall, where Zhang Fei pierced his thigh with a spear and captured him alive. The remaining bandits either died or surrendered, and flames rose throughout the stronghold.

At noon, Black Wind Stronghold changed hands.

When Liu Bei led his main force into the camp, the battle was nearing its end. Guan Yu was counting the prisoners, while Zhang Fei was kneeling before the steps with Scarface Wolf under his command.

"Brother! This guy tried to run away, but I caught him!" Zhang Fei grinned.

Blood gushed from Scarface Wolf's thigh, yet he stubbornly refused to kneel, glaring at Liu Bei: "You're the newly arrived Commandant Liu Bei?"

"Yes." Liu Bei walked up to him. "I'll give you two choices: First, tell me where the treasure in the stronghold is, and I'll leave you with a whole corpse. Second, don't tell me, and I'll make you wish you were dead."

Scarface spat, "I've roamed the Bashan Mountains for three years, what are you to me..."

He hadn't finished speaking.

Liu Bei drew his sword, the tip pressed against the artery in his other intact thigh.

"I'll ask one more time: Where is the treasure?"

Scarface Wolf's forehead was beaded with sweat. He could feel the coldness of the sword tip; if it went in any further, blood would gush out.

"...The cellar in the back room," he said in a hoarse voice.

Jian Yong led his men to search. A quarter of an hour later, they returned with the following: eight million coins, eight hundred shi of millet, thirty bags of salt, fifty jin of iron. In addition, there were one hundred sets of leather armor, two hundred crossbows, and countless arrows.

"There's more," Jian Yong said in a low voice, "among the prisoners there are more than a dozen people, including blacksmiths, carpenters, and doctors, all of whom were abducted to the mountain."

Liu Bei's eyes flickered: "Bring him up."

Thirteen men were brought into the hall, all of them pale and emaciated, with bruises on their hands and feet from the shackles.

The leader was an old blacksmith surnamed Wu, over fifty years old. He knelt down and kowtowed, "General, save me! I'm a blacksmith from Nanzheng. Three months ago, I was kidnapped and taken to the mountains, forced to forge weapons..."

"What are your skills?" Liu Bei asked.

Old Wu pointed them out one by one: three blacksmiths, two carpenters, one leatherworker, two doctors, and five herb gatherers who knew about mountain herbs and poisons.

"Are you willing to join the army?" Liu Bei asked. "If you join the army, you will be exempt from the crime of being a bandit and will be paid according to your skills. If you are unwilling, you will be given travel expenses to go home."

The thirteen people exchanged glances and said in unison, "Yes! Yes!"

They were abducted to the mountains; their home was long gone. Going back would only mean certain death.

"Alright," Liu Bei said to Jian Yong. "Register him, bring him back to the camp, and settle him separately."

The surrendered soldiers have been counted: a total of 237.

Liu Bei stood on the steps, looking at the surrendered soldiers kneeling all over the training ground.

"Bandits, heinous criminals..." He looked at Zhang Fei.

Zhang Fei stepped forward with his spear and dragged out Scarface Wolf and a dozen or so leaders.

"cut."

The blade flashed, and blood splattered on the stone steps.

The remaining bandits looked ashen-faced.

Liu Bei then said, "The rest of us can be spared the death penalty, but we cannot escape punishment. We will be sent to a hard labor camp to repair roads and build walls, using our labor to atone for our crimes. If we have no offenses for three years, we can be released as free citizens."

Some of the surrendered soldiers cried out.

It's a way out.

That afternoon, Black Wind Village was burned down.

Liu Bei led his army down the mountain, carrying spoils and surrendered soldiers. The army stretched out in long lines, carried by horses and carts.

It was already evening when we returned to camp.

At the camp gate, Qian Zhao greeted them: "Brother, people from the prefectural government have arrived."

"Who?"

"Chen Lun," Qian Zhao said in a low voice, "came twice, asking when the Commandant would return to camp, saying that Prefect Su wanted to hold a banquet to celebrate the victory."

"A victory celebration?" Liu Bei sneered. "You're here to see how many of us died and how much we gained, aren't you?"

He dismounted: "Let him wait. First, put the spoils into storage and take care of the wounded."

After the spoils were counted, Jian Yong reported the total value: the money and grain were worth over ten million, and with the weapons and armor, it was enough to support the entire army for half a year.

"Brother, Su Gu will definitely come to ask for it," Jian Yong said.

"Give it to him," Liu Bei said. "Give him thirty percent."

"Thirty percent?"

"Just say that the compensation for the wounded and the repair of the weapons have cost a lot, and this is all we can pay." Liu Bei took off his blood-stained armor. "If he presses us for answers, show him the list of casualties and add fifty more people to it."

"clear."

That night, Chen Lun came again.

This time, Liu Bei met him in his tent.

Chen Lun smiled broadly: "The Prefect is overjoyed at the Commandant's triumphant return. A celebration banquet will be held tomorrow, and I urge the Commandant to grace us with his presence."

"Thank you, Prefect," Liu Bei said, "but the army has suffered heavy casualties, and I need to deal with the aftermath, so I'm afraid I won't be able to attend the banquet tomorrow."

How many casualties?

"Eighty-seven dead, fifty-three seriously wounded." Liu Bei handed over the bamboo slips. "This is the list. Compensation and medical care both require money and provisions. Most of the spoils captured this time will be used here."

Chen Lun took the bamboo slip, glanced at it, and his smile faded: "Captain, according to custom, spoils from bandit suppression should be handed over to the prefectural government for unified distribution..."

"Prefect Chen," Liu Bei interrupted him, "our brothers in the army are risking their lives to suppress bandits. If we can't even provide them with compensation, morale will collapse. If the banditry breaks out again, who will fight it?"

Chen Lun choked.

"In that case," Liu Bei softened his tone, "I will keep 70% of the spoils and sell them to the prefecture. The governor, understanding the plight of his subjects, will surely be accommodating."

It's another 70/30 split.

Chen Lun recalled the incident with Zhao Heihu last month, and his teeth itched with rage, but he dared not confront him directly. Liu Bei had troops at his disposal, and if pushed too far, he was capable of anything.

"...I will do my best to persuade the governor," he finally said.

Thank you for your trouble.

After seeing Chen Lun off, Liu Bei returned to his tent.

Xun Cai had prepared hot water to wash the wound on his back. He had been cut by a stray arrow during the charge; it wasn't deep, but the wound was covered in blood.

"My husband is injured again." Her voice trembled.

"It's just a minor injury." Liu Bei held her hand. "Compared to Guangzong, this is nothing."

Xun Cai remained silent, carefully applying the medicine.

Outside the tent, the starry sky over Hanzhong on a spring night was very bright.

As Liu Bei laid her down in his arms, he suddenly said, "Cai'er, we'll be fighting many battles in Hanzhong. Some will be in the mountains, some in the cities, some... we won't see the bloodshed, but they'll be far more dangerous."

"I know." Xun Cai leaned closer to him. "Wherever my husband goes, I will be there."