fanning the flames

"Report it to the authorities; they will investigate thoroughly."

Defu went to report to the authorities in person. The news came quickly from the government: the people from Black Tiger Stronghold had stolen their grain.

There is a Black Tiger Stronghold in the Yanshan Mountains. In recent years, the Black Tiger Stronghold has rarely caused trouble, and the government has not paid much attention to them. But for some reason, in the past few months, the government has frequently received reports from people saying that their caravans have been robbed.

But now, more and more people are coming to report the case, and the government can no longer sit idly by.

According to information obtained by the authorities, Fu Zhiqiao was not the only victim.

The current leader of Black Tiger Stronghold is Cheng Yexuan. Originally a martial arts practitioner, he lost both his parents and his home was destroyed, forcing him to live the life of a vagrant from a young age. Later, he was taken in by his master and learned martial arts, constantly fighting and killing in the martial arts world. Once, he was being chased by his enemies and was slashed several times. Just when he was on the verge of death, Jin Feihu, the leader of Black Tiger Stronghold, found him and took him back to Black Tiger Stronghold to treat him.

Jin Feihu's nickname in the underworld is Brother Tiger, and he was the one who built Black Tiger Stronghold.

Most of the people in Black Tiger Stronghold had experienced days of being harassed by creditors, hunted by enemies, and wanted by the government. Under the leadership of Jin Feihu, a group of displaced people occupied Yanshan and established Black Tiger Stronghold, which gradually developed into a considerable force.

After Cheng Yexuan was cured, he stayed at Black Tiger Stronghold. Because of his high level of martial arts skills and the high regard of the leader Jin Feihu, he quickly became the second leader of Black Tiger Stronghold.

Later, Jin Feihu died from an arrow wound during a territorial dispute, and Cheng Yexuan took over the position of the leader.

Although Cheng Yexuan was already the leader of Black Tiger Stronghold, in order to show respect for the former leader Jin Feihu, he asked the people in the stronghold to call him "Second Brother" and said that Brother Tiger would always be the leader.

The bandits in the village were originally Jin Feihu's men. Seeing how loyal and righteous Cheng Yexuan was, they had no reason to disagree. Even Wang Qi, who had always been a troublemaker, was convinced of his abilities.

At first, Wang Qi was very dissatisfied with Cheng Yexuan becoming the chieftain, because before Cheng Yexuan came to Black Tiger Stronghold, he was Tiger Brother's capable assistant, and Cheng Yexuan was just a recruited helper. How could someone who had only recently joined be qualified to become the new chieftain?

However, Cheng Yexuan was personally appointed by the leader, Brother Tiger, and no one in the village was as strong as him. Wang Qi could only swallow his anger until one day when the village went out to seize a mountain, Cheng Yexuan saved his life at a critical moment and led Black Tiger Village to a great victory.

After this battle, Cheng Yexuan truly established his prestige in the village and became the genuine new leader of Black Tiger Village.

Wang Qi was completely convinced and willingly became his subordinate.

To strengthen the Black Tiger Stronghold's power, Cheng Yexuan specifically trained the bandits in the stronghold, teaching them some martial arts, horseback riding, archery, and the basic skills of being a thief and bandit.

Cheng Yexuan came from a humble background, and even though he had become a bandit, he still retained a bit of chivalry in his bones. Mountain bandits were involved in dangerous and dangerous activities, living a life of constant risking their lives; who would choose to become a bandit if they weren't driven to desperation?

So he established a rule that Black Tiger Village would not rob the old, weak, sick, or disabled.

From then on, whenever Black Tiger Stronghold went out, it was only to rob money, not to kill people.

After Cheng Yexuan became the new leader of Black Tiger Stronghold, he changed his previous style of burning, killing, and looting. Instead, he took in many refugees, expanding the stronghold's manpower and making Black Tiger Stronghold increasingly powerful.

With more people, the original amount of food was no longer enough.

Black Tiger Stronghold then set its sights on passing caravans.

It must be said, this plan was truly ingenious. Caravans are highly mobile and don't stay in one place for long. Even if their goods are robbed, they can only report it to the authorities on the spot, and then the caravan continues its trade. When the government receives the news, they send a few people to pretend to investigate, and once the heat dies down, the case is dropped.

The caravan had no choice but to accept this loss.

At this moment, the entire Black Tiger Stronghold was filled with jubilation. The stolen grain carts were parked in the stronghold, and several strong men were surrounding them.

"What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and move it!" Wang Qi ordered.

"Oh, everyone, hurry up and get to work!" The men realized what was happening and rushed forward to move the grain from the cart into the warehouse.

Wang Qi looked at the bags of grain with joy in his eyes; this grain would be enough for them to eat for a long time.

The Black Tiger Stronghold has two or three hundred people who need to eat and drink; they can't survive without food.

In the past, they mostly robbed goods. Apart from things that could be used directly, the remaining valuables had to be transported to other places to be resold, and then the money from the sale of goods was used to buy rice, flour and other grains, which was time-consuming and laborious.

This time it's great, they've snatched up big, fluffy rice. Look at the color and the quality, it's all top-quality rice!

Someone flattered him, saying, "It's all thanks to Second Brother's excellent leadership."

"You don't need to tell me."

"Since Second Brother came to our Black Tiger Stronghold, everyone's life has been getting better day by day."

Cheng Yexuan sat on the tiger-skin chair, a slight smile playing on his lips. He gestured for silence and said modestly, "It's all thanks to everyone!"

This tiger skin was obtained by Jin Feihu when he was alive, leading a group of hunters. The tiger symbolizes strength and majesty, and is the symbol of Black Tiger Village, as well as power and status.

A celebration was held in the village that very night.

The table was covered with fragrant, juicy roasted meat, as well as steamed buns and rice balls.

Wang Qi shouted to the bandits who were drooling, "Second Brother ordered that everyone eat as much as they want!"

"Respect, Second Brother!"

"Offer grain and meat!" the bandits shouted, making the atmosphere even more lively.

As darkness fell, laughter and cheerful voices filled the Black Tiger Stronghold.

The bonfire celebration lasted until late at night.

*

Defu will tell Fu Zhiqiao the information he received from the government.

They only robbed money, not women, and never killed or set fires—that was interesting. These bandits didn't seem to be truly heinous. If they could be used for their own purposes… Suddenly, a bold idea popped into Fu Zhiqiao's mind.

She asked Defu to contact some merchants in the city to put pressure on the government. They would go around pleading their case every now and then. If the problem couldn't be solved, goods wouldn't be able to get in, and they wouldn't be able to make a living.

Defu had a vague feeling that something was wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"this……"

"Go and do it!"

Li Wenkang was so annoyed by the noise from the merchants that he simply handed the matter over to his advisor.

If the government doesn't care about the merchants, what about the people of the whole city?

Fu Zhi Qiao is not someone who gives up easily.

There's a saying that goes something like this: unite all forces that can be united.

She was a master of online marketing, and so, that night, news slowly spread through the streets and alleys of Qingzhou City.

Bandits are roaming the Yanshan Mountains, killing without blinking an eye. From now on, everyone should avoid passing through this area when entering or leaving the city.

At first, some people didn't believe it, because the bandits of Black Tiger Stronghold only robbed passing caravans and had never harmed ordinary people.

Seeing that the effect was not obvious, Fu Zhiqiao simply sent people to wear masks and pretend to be mountain bandits, and to ambush them at the foot of the mountain. Whenever they saw people passing by, they would come out with knives to scare them.

This process was repeated several times, resulting in more and more ordinary people coming forward to give their accounts, often embellishing their stories.

Soon, rumors of the bandits of Yanshan killing people indiscriminately spread to the city. Now, walking down the street, almost everyone is talking about Black Tiger Village and Yanshan.

"Hey, have you heard? There are bandits roaming around Yanshan."

"I've heard that they kill without blinking an eye, sparing neither the elderly nor children."

"My God! That's so brutal, they're not even human."

"Yes, I have a distant relative who saw it with his own eyes. The bandits were all eight feet tall. They were bloodthirsty and killed anyone they saw. Luckily, my relative ran fast and saved his life."

"That's terrifying. Let's not take this road again."

Meanwhile, various versions of bandit stories spread throughout the city, and there were even rumors that there was a treasure vault in Black Tiger Stronghold, with the bandits' loot piled up like mountains of gold and silver...

When the news finally reached Fu Zhiqiao's ears, she was both amused and exasperated. She had only said that there were bandits in Yanshan; the rest was just what the people had made up.

The power of rumors is immense.

But everyone in Black Tiger Stronghold was immersed in the joy of having food. After a period of peace, by the time they realized what was happening, no caravans dared to travel the Yanshan Road anymore.

So Cheng Yexuan sent people down the mountain to gather information. The scouts secretly sneaked into the city and finally found out what had happened. They immediately reported the matter to the authorities.

Wang Qi was furious. "Who is behind this, slandering our Black Tiger Village?"

Cheng Yexuan didn't speak. He couldn't figure it out either. Black Tiger Stronghold always kept a low profile, so how could it be rumored to be so bad by the outside world? Or was someone using the name of Black Tiger Stronghold to commit murder and arson?

"Investigate! Find out the truth for me!"

Who exactly is using the Black Tiger Stronghold's name to cause trouble? They're not even sparing the elderly and children. Is this human language? They're all born of parents. Even though they're bandits, they still have their bottom line.

Not only were the bandits of Black Tiger Stronghold furious, but the people of the city were even more indignant.

Because the Yanshan Road is considered a vital transportation route between Qingzhou City and Yunzhong County. Both Qingzhou City and Yunzhong County are under the jurisdiction of Qingzhou. Qingzhou City is the provincial capital, and Yunzhong County is the county seat. The two cities are separated by the Yanshan Mountain, and there are no other major roads connecting them. Only after crossing the Yanshan Mountain can one find a wide official road.

If they didn't want to take this winding mountain road, they could go around the Yanshan Mountains and walk an extra twenty miles, which would take an extra half day, but it would be extremely inconvenient for the people. Moreover, the people worried that if they took this mountain road, bandits might attack them.

Merchants passing by knew that this area was rife with bandits, so for safety reasons they all chose to take a longer route.

There are shortcuts available, but people are forced to take longer routes, which has severely impacted their daily lives, leading to widespread complaints.

"We can't live like this as long as the bandits are not eliminated."

"That's right. I walked an extra 20 miles to deliver the goods, and I got blisters on the soles of my feet."

Why doesn't the government send troops to suppress the bandits? Are the lives of ordinary people so unimportant?

"What kind of upright officials or benevolent magistrates are they? They sound nice, but they're all liars!"

"These officials have wasted their education. Do they think they're superior just because they've become officials? Do they think they can ignore the lives of ordinary people like us?"

Another person tugged at his sleeve, "Shh, stop talking now, insulting an official of the imperial court is a capital offense!"

Someone sneered: "What's there to be afraid of? Isn't the job of an official to speak up for the people?"

"That's right, if there's anything we can't say, the government should give us an explanation!"

These remarks escalated and aroused the anger of many intellectuals and patriots, who spontaneously gathered at the government gate demanding an explanation.

Fu Zhiqiao, who had lived through the information explosion era, knew all too well how terrifying public opinion could be. She didn't believe that the government could remain indifferent under such circumstances.