After half an hour, Wan Jinlan fought four consecutive battles, resting for a while in between. Finally, he reached his limit and his hands and legs began to tremble.
When Li Mazi saw that no one won the fight, he regained his lost face.
"Alright, alright. If you keep hitting me, I'll be bullying you. From now on, I, Li Mazi, will obey you, Madam! Madam, if you want me to do anything, just tell me."
Wan Jinlan gave him an admiring look and said, "See those scarecrows? Let's practice with them first. I'll select the best ones to handle the crossbows in the future."
She took the crossbow from her waist and waved it in front of everyone, then shot at the small round red cloth hanging on the face of the standing scarecrow.
The long spikes rotated at high speed, shooting the red round cloth directly out of the scarecrow, and finally nailed it to the opposite mountain wall. The scarecrow was knocked down and almost fell apart, which shows the power of the crossbow.
Everyone stared with wide eyes.
Wan Jinlan held his trembling hands, looked at the eyes of the crowd, nodded with satisfaction, and asked Li Mazi to shoot the bow and arrow.
Looking at this vast expanse of rugged mountains, Wan Jinlan felt that this was an excellent training ground and definitely a good place for physical training of soldiers.
It would be best to open up a piece of flat land and build a simple training ground.
The training for the soldiers was physical training, weapons training, and formations. They could only practice the first two, as they didn't have all the weapons, so they could only practice physical strength, horse archery, and spear and sword techniques.
I have just established my own little territory, and the foundation is still unstable, so I can't rush anything.
When Wan Jinlan was patrolling in the back mountain, Fan Jing came through the cave to find her and said that Yu Liang had arrived.
Half an incense stick later, Wan Jinlan met Yu Liang in the guest room.
"If you have something to say, just tell me directly. If you look down on a woman like me, just leave. We have helped Xiaping Village and solved the problem. There should be nothing else to say, right?"
When this person came yesterday and saw her, he kept silent, indicating that he wanted to wait for Xiao Feng to come back.
Wan Jinlan thought of Xiao Feng entrusting her with the task of training soldiers. Her heart suddenly skipped a beat and she suddenly understood his intention.
Yu Liang clasped his fists and said, "I was not polite yesterday. I hope Madam Song doesn't mind."
Wan Jinlan's hand holding the teacup was trembling slightly. She put the cup down and said, "You're welcome. Just tell me what you want to say. There are still many things going on in the village."
Yu Liang said, "I'm here today on behalf of my father and Xiaping Village. I hope the village will be more supportive of Xiaping Village in the future."
Wan Jinlan was surprised. Although they had some friendship with Xiaping Village, they were bandits now. Wouldn't it be unwise for Xiaping Village to get involved with them?
Seeing her expression, Yu Liang smiled bitterly and said, "Madam, you may not know this, but Deputy Captain Gao's sister is the concubine of the Qingyuan County Magistrate. While civil officials in Liangzhou may not have as much power as military commanders, they still hold the people in high esteem. The County Magistrate also has 600 county soldiers under his command. Xiaping Village has effectively offended Deputy Captain Gao to death, and we're hoping for a way out."
Wan Jinlan raised an eyebrow. "You know Deputy Captain Gao very well? Why is he a general in the army, but his biological father is a horse bandit?"
Yu Liang sighed, "Ladies, if you ask around, you should know that Deputy Captain Gao takes his mother's surname. The Gao family was once a prominent family in the county. His mother was the only daughter of the Gao family, but she was later abducted and raped by the head of the family, and she became pregnant. His grandfather had no choice but to cover up the matter and recruit a son-in-law. That son-in-law was me. At that time, my father was a farmhand for the Gao family."
Wan Jinlan remained expressionless, but was dumbfounded in his heart.
Yu Liang lowered his brows and continued, "Lan Niang gave birth to a son and a daughter, and devoted herself to taking care of them. I, a loser in her eyes, was nothing to her. Later, when Gao's father passed away, the eldest son found Lan Niang and demanded to recognize the children. Although Lan Niang had no feelings for me, she didn't want me to die because of this, so she simply divorced me. My father and I moved to Xiaping Village to avoid the eldest son."
"Two years later, when I arrived at the county, I heard that Lan Niang had died, the Gao family's house had been burned down, the two children had been adopted by relatives on Lan Niang's mother's side, and the eldest boss had disappeared without a trace. Six or seven years later, the eldest boss reappeared, brought his men to occupy this hilltop, and became a feared bandit force around Gu'a Town."
"At first they weren't that rampant, just looting, and later they even killed people. Every time the people reported them to the authorities, it was of no use. The soldiers pretended to suppress the bandits a few times, but the bandits always got wind of it and fled in advance, only to return again after the news died down."
Yu Liang finished speaking and took a sip of tea. "I worked as a clerk in the county government for two years. However, after Lan Niang's daughter Gao Caiying entered the county magistrate's backyard, she recognized me and asked the county magistrate to drive me away."
Wan Jinlan was puzzled: "Why does she hate you? Does she think you abandoned her and her daughter?"
Yu Liang smiled wryly and nodded, "That should be the case."
Wan Jinlan tapped the table with his fingers. "Has Xiaping Village ever been robbed before? Does the boss know that you are in Xiaping Village?"
Yu Liang nodded and said, "He probably wouldn't recognize me. Although Caiying holds a grudge against me, she's not a cruel person. She simply drove me away. If Lieutenant Gao knew, I would probably be dead long ago."
Yu Liang was worried that if Lieutenant Gao knew his father was dead, he would be able to find out easily. In a sense, this bandit camp was also Lieutenant Gao's treasure trove.
Even if the father and son are not close, they are related by blood, not to mention that they have cooperated very well over the years, one amassing wealth and plundering, the other providing cover and cleaning up the mess.
Yu Liang has a father, a wife, and children, and the villagers of Xiaping Village are so innocent, he certainly cannot just sit there and wait to die.
"I can help you collect the refugees. I just hope you can take care of Xiaping Village in the future."
Wan Jinlan's expression flickered. Yu Liang worked as a clerk in the county government office, so he should be very familiar with the situation in Qingyuan County, including the garrisons, defense areas, the county's military strength, and all aspects of the situation. He should know much more than they should as newcomers.
"Are you willing to follow my husband and work?"
Yu Liang was stunned.
Wan Jinlan smiled and said, "I'll leave the task of recruiting the refugees to you. I'll host a banquet in the village someday when my husband is around. I hope you'll do me the honor of coming."
Yu Liangyi bowed and said, "Thank you, Madam, for your consideration."
Yu Liang was stunned after bowing. He was already in his forties, but he was being led by the young lady in front of him the whole time. Although he was asking for help, the young lady in front of him had a calmness and composure that was heart-warming.
Wan Jinlan changed the subject and asked, "Do you know about the situation of the horse bandits in Mangshan?"
The Mangshan horse bandits are another horse bandit force in Qingyuan County. Wan Jinlan heard from the women in the village that the leader had always wanted to drive the Mangshan horse bandits out of Qingyuan County.
Yu Liang's expression was somewhat serious. "The horse bandits in Mangshan are not ordinary. Although they are in Qingyuan County, the county magistrate and General Sun can't do anything about them. If you don't have a complete plan, don't provoke them lightly."
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