"Your Highness, we've captured the chief of Mazong Mountain!"

The guard ran back and reported the news.

"Really? So fast!"

Li Xin was taken aback.

But upon further reflection, I felt relieved.

After all, the Prince's Guard is quite different now.

These pathetic bandits are no match for the Prince's guards.

"Let's go take a look!"

Li Xin gave an order and led his guards forward.

By the roadside, Li Xin saw one or two hundred captured bandits.

Kneeling in the middle, bound hand and foot, was the ringleader of the bandits of Mazong Mountain.

"Your Highness,"

Upon seeing Li Xin arrive, Zhang Cheng hurriedly stepped forward and said, "We have annihilated all the bandits of Mazong Mountain."

The captured bandits have also been screened and identified.

The ringleaders of the bandits in Mazong Mountain have all been captured.

"Your Highness, what should be done with these people?"

Li Xin calmly glanced at the bandits in front of him and said, "The method of screening and selecting is excellent!"

Not bad, not bad!

Take all these prisoners back to Dongning City!

The ringleaders are all imprisoned. They will be dealt with after I return."

"yes!"

Zhang Cheng quickly agreed.

...

After eliminating the bandits of Mazong Mountain, Zhang Cheng, led by the surrendered bandits, headed towards the Mazong Mountain stronghold.

After annihilating the main force, the entire Mazongshan village was left as an empty city. The only remaining elderly, weak, sick, and disabled were all captured and taken back to Dongning City.

Some gold and silver jewelry were also seized from the mountain stronghold.

As for food and such, they were rarely seen.

It seems the bandits aren't having an easy time either, otherwise they wouldn't have taken the risk of plundering Dongning City.

After destroying the Mazongshan stronghold, Li Xin and his group continued their advance northward.

The Dongning Mountains stretch for thousands of miles.

In recent years, natural disasters, man-made calamities, and bandit raids have led many displaced people to retreat to the mountains and become outlaws.

Therefore, there are many bandits in the mountains and forests of this area.

There were dozens of bandit groups, large and small. Some of them even occupied abandoned county towns and villages, farming, harvesting grain, and plundering, acting like local tyrants.

The news of the annihilation of the bandits of Mazong Mountain instantly terrified them.

The fierce and valiant royal guards, in particular, made some of the mountain strongholds tremble with fear as they marched in with overwhelming force.

"What? The entire Mazongshan stronghold was wiped out in the battle?"

The leader of Black Tiger Stronghold stared wide-eyed, his beard trembling, somewhat unable to believe it was real.

"Boss, it's absolutely true!"

The messenger nodded and said, "We've received the news from Jingang Village, Naitou Mountain, and Laoying Village."

"How is this possible?"

The leader of Black Tiger Stronghold stared wide-eyed, still somewhat incredulous. "Although Mazong Mountain isn't big, it still has three hundred men!"

How could it all be gone in such a short time?

What are those three hundred men from Mazong Mountain good for?

He had some doubts, but the leader of Black Tiger Stronghold also knew that the guards of the Prince's Palace in Dongning City were quite powerful.

"Boss,"

The messenger continued, "This time I've come with a message from General Zhao."

"Mr. Zhao, is the head?"

The Black Tiger Stronghold's leader's eyes lit up; he hadn't expected even Boss Zhao to react.

It should be noted that among all the bandit strongholds in the entire Dongning Mountains region, none is more prominent than Chief Zhao's.

Chief Zhao was a powerful figure with nearly a thousand bandits under his command. He also maintained close ties with several large and small mountain strongholds in the surrounding area and occupied Dingli County.

Within a radius of one hundred li around the county town, all the large and small mountain villages followed the lead of General Zhao.

And no one could match the prestige of General Manager Zhao.

Upon hearing the message from Boss Zhao, the leader of Black Tiger Stronghold hurriedly asked, "What did Boss Zhao say?"

"General Manager Zhao has spoken,"

The messenger said, "The guards from the Prince's Palace in Dongning City have ill intentions; they want to wipe us all out."

We must treat this with caution.

Now, the government forces are strong and well-equipped. If we were to fight alone, we would probably be no match for them.

General Zhao suggested that all the mountain strongholds unite to fight against the government.

As long as we repel the government's encirclement and suppression, the spoils will be divided equally among everyone!

"They're all going to join forces?"

The leader of Black Tiger Stronghold was stunned for a moment, not expecting the situation to have become so serious.

"OK!"

Before the leader could speak, the strategist beside him replied, "Go back and tell Chief Zhao that we Black Tiger Stronghold will obey Chief Zhao's orders."

"readily!"

The messenger responded, bowed, and took his leave.

After the messenger left, the leader of Black Tiger Stronghold frowned, looked at the strategist beside him, and asked, "Strategist, do we need to be so cautious?"

"Better safe than sorry!"

The strategist stroked his beard and said, "General Zhao's current position is due to his keen observation skills."

Since Chief Zhao has proposed a joint effort to resist the government, how can we get along with Chief Zhao and his men in the future if we don't respond?

Besides, if the government sends troops to suppress bandits and they come to our Black Tiger Stronghold, how should we deal with them?

"It's best to agree now, so we can act accordingly later!"

"The strategist is brilliant!"

The leader of Black Tiger Stronghold immediately gave a thumbs up.

...

At the suggestion of General Zhao, who was based in Dingli County, all the large and small mountain strongholds within a radius of a hundred miles began to make contact.

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