The bandits all made their statements, which shocked the refugees.
Seriously? This young master only said one sentence, and these bandits are already so obedient?
The young master is still a good person. Although he said he wanted to join Silver Tiger Stronghold as a bandit, he still thought about protecting them.
If you, young master, can enter Silver Tiger Stronghold and truly prevent the bandits there from oppressing and harming the people, that would be a truly great thing!
However, a bandit's den is still a bandit's den. Even if they don't oppress or harm the people, they certainly aren't doing anything good. If the young master enters this bandit's den, he will definitely be corrupted.
Why would such a fine young master be willing to enter this bandit's den? Wasn't he here in the north to do business?
The refugees were unwilling to see such a good person be led astray, and couldn't help but advise, "Young master, the North is really not a good place to do business right now. You should go back as soon as possible. Come back to the North when the disaster is over."
"Yes, the north is in chaos right now. You can't go with these bandits. They're all ruthless killers who commit all sorts of atrocities, from burning and looting to burning and pillaging. You can't associate with them!"
"This is the leader of Silver Tiger Stronghold. Young master, your family is in business and you must have plenty of money. What good can come of following these bandits? If you get arrested by the authorities, your future will be ruined."
"Young master, you must think this over carefully! You can't possibly follow some bandits and become their third leader!"
"You!" Seeing these refugees babbling on and on, calling them ruthless killers and wicked villains, ruining their image in Xuan Yuanzhan's mind, the bandit leader was so angry that he raised his axe again.
Upon seeing this, Xuan Yuanzhan glared at him again. The bandit leader dared not actually strike with his axe and quickly chuckled dryly, whispering to him, "Don't worry, Third Brother, I was just trying to scare them."
He just promised him that he wouldn't oppress or harm the people. He certainly won't actually do it now!
Even if he were to actually take action, he wouldn't do it in front of Xuan Yuanzhan.
Besides, he wasn't the kind of person to hold grudges. He couldn't be bothered to argue with these refugees; he was focused on their money-making scheme!
Xuanyuan Zhan knew that these refugees genuinely cared about him, so he raised his hand to them and said, "I know what I'm doing, so you don't need to worry about me or try to persuade me. Please rest assured that even if I join Silver Tiger Stronghold, I will never do anything heinous, and Silver Tiger Stronghold will never do evil again."
Xuan Yuanzhan's words made the bandit leader and the bandits of Silver Tiger Stronghold extremely uneasy.
Even they themselves can't guarantee that!
Although the refugees did not want Xuan Yuanzhan to go astray, since he had already said so, they seemed unable to persuade him any further.
Moreover, this young master is so upright, and now the people of Silver Tiger Stronghold seem to listen to him quite well. If this young master can really restrain the bandits of Silver Tiger Stronghold into good people in the future, wouldn't that be a meritorious deed?
Although it seems unlikely, that's all they can think about for now.
Xuanyuan Zhan gestured with his chin toward the bandit leader: "Let's go, why don't you take me to see our village?"
"Let's go, let's go!" The bandit leader was overjoyed. He immediately mounted his horse and waved his hand triumphantly, "Welcome our new third leader back to the stronghold!"
The bandit leader kicked his horse in the belly and it galloped to the front.
Xuanyuan Zhan also pulled on the reins and followed behind him.
Ye Yun was completely bewildered. He had no idea what his lord was planning, but he had no choice but to go along with him.
The bandits behind them all followed back to Silver Tiger Stronghold.
A group of people came and went in a hurry, quickly disappearing from Beian Street, leaving behind only the corpses of bandits on the ground.
The refugees watched Xuan Yuanzhan leave with the bandits, their hearts filled with regret and worry.
I wonder what will become of this young master in the future?
Was it through his own efforts that he influenced the entire Silver Tiger Stronghold? Or was he assimilated by the bandits of Silver Tiger Stronghold? No one can say for sure.
I hope it's the former!
Xuanyuan Zhan followed the bandit leader and ran wildly all the way north after leaving Beian City. After running for an hour, they saw a mountain.
Upon seeing the mountain, the bandit leader slowed down, seemingly waiting for Xuan Yuanzhan.
Xuanyuan Zhan was also clever; he quickly stepped forward and stood alongside the bandit leader.
When the bandit leader saw him come up, he smiled and said, "I haven't introduced myself to you yet, Third Brother. I am the chief of Silver Tiger Stronghold, and my name is Zhang Debiao. I haven't asked you your name yet."
"Su Zhan." Xuan Yuanzhan made up a name without thinking.
Ye Yun, who was following behind, couldn't help but twitch his eye slightly.
The prince is truly a master; he lies without batting an eye and can come up with names effortlessly.
"Su Zhan, what a great name!" Although Zhang Debiao didn't know which character "Zhan" was, the name sounded powerful and must be a good one.
Zhang Debiao pointed to the mountain in front of him and said, "Third brother, this Weihu Mountain is the mountain of our Silver Tiger Stronghold. From here, Beitong City ahead, Bei'an City where we were just here, and all the places outside the two cities are our Silver Tiger Stronghold's territory."
Xuanyuan Zhan found his words amusing.
Under heaven, all land belongs to the king. No matter which city it is, as long as it is within the territory of Eastern Chu, it is the territory of Eastern Chu. When did it become the territory of his Silver Tiger Village?
"You just said that all the villages in the North would be doing that big business together. Why don't you tell me how many villages there are in the North?"
In addition to disaster relief, Xuan Yuanzhan also has a bandit suppression mission this time.
Besides being interested in the big business they were talking about, he was also interested in the various villages in the north.
Only by figuring out exactly how many villages and bandits there were in the north could he wipe them all out in one fell swoop.
Zhang Debiao assumed he was interested in the big deal and was quite enthusiastic about introducing him to the major forces in the north: "There are three major factions of bandits in the north."
After finishing his sentence, Zhang Debiao suddenly remembered something and quickly corrected himself, saying, "No, to be precise, it should be considered as four factions. Among the five cities in the North, our Silver Tiger Stronghold and Black Panther Stronghold are the most powerful. The North has five cities in total. The territory of Beian and Beitong belongs to our Silver Tiger Stronghold, and the subsequent Beiming and Beiqiu belong to Black Panther Stronghold. The last city in the North, Beifeng, is the territory of Wolf Fang Stronghold. From Beifeng to the northern border, it all belongs to Wolf Fang Stronghold. Although our Silver Tiger Stronghold and Black Panther Stronghold jointly govern two cities, and Wolf Fang Stronghold only governs one city, there is still a long distance between Beifeng and the northern border. If we talk about the territories we control, it is actually a three-way balance of power."
In other words, Qian Ergou from Wolf Fang Stronghold was slightly less skilled in martial arts than him and Li Yuanbao, which is why Wolf Fang Stronghold was not as famous as Silver Tiger Stronghold and Black Panther Stronghold.
Xuanyuan Zhan understood and frowned, saying, "Didn't you say there were four factions? What about the third one?"
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