"What did you say? Mountain bandits have recently started frequently coming down from the mountains to rob nearby villages?"
Although it has been snowing recently, Cheng Ruyi's businesses are thriving and her family is well-stocked. She enjoys delicious food in her warm home, and although her days are busy, she is living quite comfortably. However, she did not expect that she would have to enjoy such a comfortable life for only a few days before another accident happened!
"Hmm, Luo Xian mentioned this a few days ago when he came to me to borrow guards. He even wanted me to write to my father to request more men. Humph, he really dares to ask for it~~" Guo Qinglan said while eating spicy hot pot.
Ever since Cheng Ruyi invited Guo Qinglan to stay at the hillside villa at the beginning of the month, she has fallen in love with this lifestyle, which is far away from the hustle and bustle and quiet and peaceful. Ruyi said that this is called "vacation tourism".
So she often brought Luo Xiuwei and Xiaoyu to Lishan to stay for a few days, planning to experience all four villas!
Luo Xian's salary was certainly not enough to cover such expenses, but the Guo family was different. As the largest escort agency in Yongzhou, Changfeng Escort Agency, although not comparable to those wealthy families, would definitely not have to worry about money.
Guo Qinglan was the only daughter of the Guo family and grew up in luxury. It is said that her dowry was enough to ensure that Luo Xian's family would live a life of comfort and ease.
Guo Qinglan has now moved out on her own, taking most of her dowry with her. She only gives Luo Xian some money for necessary household expenses each month. Luo Xian knows he is in the wrong and is unwilling to completely break with Guo Qinglan for the time being, so he turns a blind eye and accepts it.
Therefore, Guo Qinglan had a very comfortable first half of this year, which could be said to be the happiest time in the ten years since she got married. She was even a little grateful to that concubine!
Speaking of that concubine, if everything had gone smoothly, she should have given birth around the end of September or the beginning of October. However, this summer she encountered drought and extreme heat. Despite the Luo family's best efforts to take care of her, she still gave birth prematurely at the end of August.
The concubine gave birth to a baby boy, and the Luo family was overjoyed. Unfortunately, due to premature birth and weather conditions, the child died before reaching one month old.
When Guo Qinglan found out, she thought about going back to see if there was anything she could help with. However, the Luo family vented their anger on her. Luo Xian blamed her for not doing her job as the mistress of the house, for not being generous and considerate enough, and for not taking good care of the concubine. Luo's mother even demanded that she hand over all her dowry as an apology. She was so angry that she slammed the door and left.
After that, she stopped giving Luo Xian money every month and never set foot in the county government office again.
Unexpectedly, Luo Xian came to apologize to her in person a few days ago, and that's how she found out about the incident.
“Chongzhou is mountainous, especially the southern counties. The mountainous terrain is complex, and the situation is unstable. In just ten years, seven hills and eighteen villages have developed. Although their strengths vary, they are still a threat.”
Although Changfeng Escort Agency's sphere of influence was only in Yongzhou, they had been escorting goods for many years, so for safety reasons they would naturally learn about the forces in various regions in advance. Therefore, this information was not a secret to her.
Only Cheng Ruyi felt completely stunned after hearing this! What the hell was "Seven Ridges and Eighteen Villages"?! Not only was it so large, but it even had a name?!
She struggled to suppress her shock and asked seriously, "What... what is the origin of these so-called Seven Ridges and Eighteen Villages? How many of them are in our Huaishan County?"
“You don’t need to worry too much. Seven Hills and Eighteen Villages is just a general term. Many of the small villages are nothing special. They’re just a few small ones that occupy a mountain.” Guo Qinglan comforted Ruyi when she saw that Ruyi’s face had turned pale with fright. “Our county doesn’t have any big mountains besides Wuling Mountain. The other small hills are not very secluded, so there are naturally not many villages. The only threat is probably Mangshan, which is located at the junction of Xinbi County and Nanyang County.”
The main mountain range of Mangshan is actually in Nanyang County. It is not very high, but its overall terrain is complex and it has many branch peaks, making it the perfect place to build a mountain stronghold.
On the medium-sized Mangshan Mountain, there were as many as a dozen mountain strongholds coexisting at the peak. Most of these bandits were ordinary people who had no other choice or had committed crimes. They were all small fry, and none of them were more powerful than the others.
However, more than a decade ago, a dark horse emerged: Wolongzhai.
Unlike other small bandit strongholds, Wolong Village has a strict hierarchical system, and most of its leaders are skilled in martial arts. This strength completely overwhelms other small strongholds, and in just a few years, it has almost swallowed up all the nearby strongholds. Its current scale and strength should not be underestimated.
Upon hearing the name Wolongzhai, Ruyi had a bad feeling. It seemed to have something in common with the Qinglong Gang. However, these mountain strongholds only used a few names over and over again, so it was just a coincidence and there might not actually be any connection.
Cheng Ruyi thought for a moment, then asked curiously, "Does the government just turn a blind eye? What about your escort agency? What do you do when you encounter this while on a delivery mission?"
“I don’t know about other government offices, but our county magistrate has always been good at protecting himself. There are only so many people in the county government, they can’t even take care of themselves, let alone have the strength to suppress bandits.”
Guo Qinglan didn't want to say much about Luo Xian, but she became very talkative when it came to her own escort agency, "As for people in the martial arts world like our Changfeng Escort Agency, we naturally follow the rules of the martial arts world!"
"In fact, most of these bandits were persecuted and homeless, which is why they became outlaws. There are also many chivalrous people in the stronghold. When we pass by while we are making a shipment, we will leave some money for the road and they will let us through. This has been the case for many years."
"Of course, if someone breaks the rules first, takes the money and then kills or steals goods, then naturally we can't be blamed for seeking justice."
After drinking a glass of water, Guo Qinglan continued, "However, our escort agency doesn't know much about the situation in Chongzhou. In addition, the world has become increasingly turbulent in recent years, and a lot of information is outdated. So, even my father probably doesn't know the exact situation inside Wolong Village."
"As for the other small mountain strongholds in Huaishan County, they are not very powerful and pose little threat. It's just that the neighboring Nanyang County is in a much worse situation. Half of the Seven Ridges and Eighteen Villages are concentrated there. If it weren't for the military camps stationed there, they would probably be in complete chaos by now!"
"There's a military camp in Nanyang County? Is it to deal with these mountain bandits?" This was truly unexpected for Cheng Ruyi. Would the imperial court really send troops for this?
The answer is of course not. The reason for the military camps stationed there is simply because Quanzhou, which is south of Chongzhou, is the border. Quanzhou's terrain is flat and unobstructed. Therefore, in order to prevent any unusual movements by the Qin Dynasty in the south, a defensive line was established in Nanyang County.
Originally, Nanyang County was relatively peaceful due to the presence of the military camp, but this year's natural disasters not only affected their harvest but also brought in a large influx of refugees from the northwest.
Nanyang County simply couldn't accommodate so many people, so many of these refugees were absorbed into various mountain strongholds to expand their manpower. However, as time went on, the supplies in the strongholds ran out, so these people had no choice but to go down the mountain to rob.
The magistrate of Nanyang County is currently in a state of chaos and can only request the troop camp to be assembled. However, the deputy general of the camp has no intention of getting involved and keeps delaying the dispatch of troops, which has led to the bandits becoming more and more rampant.
Sigh... Cheng Ruyi knew that the court of Dayue was unreliable, but she didn't expect that even the army was like this. If things continue like this, it's no wonder that Dayue will perish!
Huaishan County and Nanyang County are adjacent to each other. As the saying goes, "if the lips are cold, the teeth will be weak," and now is not the time to stand idly by and watch the fire from across the river!
This year's drought was averted thanks to her careful and thorough preparations. Now that she knows there might be bandits robbing the village in the future, she will naturally do everything she can to prepare for it and not fight a battle she can't win.
But how can ordinary, unarmed people resist ruthless bandits?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com