Langfeng Mountain, over a hundred miles from the capital, was home to a den of bandits. These bandits relied on the mountain's miasma to keep them at bay, often descending the mountain to harass the invaders and causing untold suffering to the common people.
Now, Zhang Daoba, the leader, just received the news from the spies in the capital. He said to Zhang Daoba, "Boss, there's news from the capital that the imperial court has sent people to suppress the bandits. The person who came is none other than Song Jing's only son, Song Lan, a young man in his twenties. Although he's still a young boy, he's grown tall and strong. I wonder how strong he is."
"When will they come?" Zhang Daoba was stunned for a moment after hearing this. He immediately looked at the spy next to him and said, "Besides, there is miasma on Langfeng Mountain. How can they come up the mountain? Do they dare to go up the mountain?"
"I heard that Jiao Da in the capital was discovered, and that's why he found a way to break the miasma." The spy beside him looked terrified and said to Zhang Daoba, "Boss, what should we do now? How about we run away? As long as there is life, there is hope. We don't know when Song Lan will arrive. If we don't run fast, we might be too late."
Scar Zhang was obviously a little panicked, but he still managed to hold on and said, "Our house is easy to defend but hard to attack. Don't panic, we have deployed our forces first and will beat him until he has no chance to return."
Zhang Daoba's stronghold had only about 300 men, all recruited by him over the years. Without much training, they relied on sheer numbers and bluffing to rob. Seeing the imperial court sending troops to attack the stronghold, the men were all panicking.
It was just that Zhang Daoba, the big brother, was in charge, so they didn't dare to express their opinions immediately. However, these idiots were still afraid. In order to deal with the fact that the imperial court was going to attack, Zhang Daoba even called a meeting of the brothers in the mountain stronghold.
Zhang Daoba looked at the huge crowd around him and saw that his brothers instantly gained confidence. He immediately said, "Brothers, the court is sending enemies here, but we can't be afraid. We said when we first came up the mountain that we must not run away. Now we live in the mountain stronghold, and the people are in the mountain. We heard that the general's youngest son is coming, but we are not afraid. We just need to prepare defenses and set traps to prevent Song Lan from returning."
Zhang Daoba became more and more passionate as he spoke. He said, "He's just a brat, nothing to be afraid of. Even if his father comes, I won't be afraid."
Zhang Daoba became even more arrogant as he spoke. "Brothers, take all your weapons. From today on, there will be ten people guarding the mountain gate. Report if you find anything amiss. Also, brothers who know how to set traps, set them at the foot of the mountain, just waiting for Song Lan to come and let him taste my power."
While Zhang Daoba was giving an impassioned speech, the thief outside had already come running in, shouting to the crowd inside, "Boss, this is bad! The soldiers outside have already broken through the mountain gate and rushed in."
"What?" Scar Zhang's momentum instantly dropped by half, and he asked in surprise, "Why are you here so soon? Shouldn't it be a few days later?"
"I don't know what the boss should do now." The little thief looked scared.
"Brothers, now is the time to show off your manliness. Don't be afraid, charge! Let those immature thieves outside know how powerful we are." Zhang Daoba pulled out a large knife from beside his seat and shouted to the people around him, "Let them know how powerful we brothers are."
After hearing what Zhang Daoba said, the huge crowd below gathered all their strength to rush out, but Zhang Daoba stayed in the mountain stronghold, opened his eyes and looked at his brothers outside with a guilty conscience.
The last time his stronghold was attacked, he had escaped from Song Jing's encirclement by using the trick of escaping from the shell. Now it was clear that the stronghold could not be defended. Seeing this, Zhang Daoba returned to his room to pack up his gold and silver, and before leaving, he also took his closest younger brother with him.
Seeing Zhang Daoba like this, Zhang Daoba's brothers felt that something was wrong and immediately asked Zhang Daoba, "Boss, if we leave like this, what will happen to the rest of the brothers?"
"Let's go first. As long as we have green mountains, we won't be afraid of running out of firewood." Zhang Daoba couldn't care less now. He carried a bag of treasure and was about to leave. "I'm afraid the officials haven't found the small path in the back mountain yet. So, let's go down the mountain that way. It's just the right way to avoid them."
As Zhang Daoba was about to drag his little brother down the mountain, he didn't forget to say, "Don't go out and alert the enemy, and let that Song Lan kid know where we're going. I saw that Song Lan kid when his father came to encircle and suppress us. He was still a young boy. Who would have thought that he would come to encircle and suppress me on his father's behalf now? If I had known that, I would have..."
Before Zhang Daoba could finish his words, the door at the entrance fell to the ground with a bang. Zhang Daoba was stunned and when he looked up, he saw a young man in military uniform standing in front of him. The young man looked very handsome and was only a head taller than him.
"Scar Zhang, I heard that you missed me and still remembered what I looked like when I was a child, so I came to find you." Song Lan smiled lightly and looked at the two people in front of him with his arms folded.
Song Lan clutched the blood-stained sword in his hand and said to Zhang Daoba, "Your brothers outside have either died or surrendered. There are only a few left. Zhang Daoba, which path are you going to choose?"
Song Lan raised the long sword in his hand and looked at his blade, saying calmly, "This sword of mine has killed many villains and many enemies..."
As Song Lan spoke, a cold light flashed on his sword, and he looked at Zhang Daoba with murderous intent in his eyes.
At this moment, Zhang Daoba threw all the gold and silver in his hand to the ground and cried to Song Lan, "General, please spare my life, General. I didn't mean to harm my sister. It was all a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding. I surrender now, and please spare my life, General."
Song Lan didn't expect the situation to be like this, but he grew up in the border area, so he would not take it lightly when he saw the enemy surrendering so easily. He immediately looked at Zhang Daoba's expression and walked inside.
At this moment, Zhang Daoba saw Song Lan coming in, pulled out a dagger from his sleeve, and was about to stab Song Lan. However, Song Lan's sword was faster, and in an instant, he chopped off one of his hands.
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