Hearing her say that, Sun Ergou also felt strange: "But there's no reason for it. The boss must like it. If he didn't like it, I'd dare to throw my head—ah! Who threw me?"
Sun Ergou covered his head, looked around, and saw no one.
Li Ruo looked at the sleeping Xie Xiao and felt that something was wrong, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
"Forget it, let's talk about the sworn brotherhood later. Take good care of your boss. Come to my place tomorrow to get the spinach seeds. Oh, your boss said last time that he could borrow the brothers from me. Lend me ten men first, and I'll return them to you in a few days."
"Whether you lend it or not, we're all brothers and sisters, just take it. Ouch!" Another bag was thrown at her head.
Li Ruo left behind the powdered anti-inflammatory medicine, instructed Sun Ergou on the usage and dosage, and then returned with ten strong men and Liao Fusheng.
Seeing her preoccupied look, Liao Fusheng asked, "What happened just now?"
Li Ruo shook her head, trying to dispel the strange thoughts in her mind. Could it be...?
"It's nothing, I almost became sworn siblings with Chief Xie."
"Sworn brothers?" Liao Fusheng's eyes widened.
"how?"
"No." Liao Fusheng kept his eyes down, seemingly oblivious to his surroundings.
Li Ruo added, "I also had a fight with Ye Ling'er. It seems there are some internal conflicts within Black Wind Stronghold."
"I heard that people from Zixia Mountain have also come, but there are few of them and they don't pose a big threat," Liao Fusheng said casually.
Li Ruo turned her head to look at him, "You know them quite well."
Liao Fusheng was taken aback for a moment, "We all live so close by, and Lao Wang and the others came from there too. We can just ask around and find out."
"Oh." Li Ruo didn't delve into it further.
Not far away, a large group of refugees were vying to join Black Wind Stronghold, and some of them were arguing about not being selected.
"Everyone, be the judge, why don't you want me? I can carry heavy loads," a burly man said.
Little Li sneered: "Why should we? Just because you plunder everywhere, do you think we don't know?"
Someone chimed in, "Yes, yes, he even stole our blankets yesterday! Kick him out!"
The burly man's expression changed, and he quickly ran away.
Li Ruo walked over and asked, "What are your plans to do with those refugees?"
"The boss said that those who murder for money should be executed on the spot, while those who only seek money should be sent to Beishan to harm Song Zhijing," said Xiao Lizi.
Li Ruo thought this was a good idea: "Once the man surnamed Song becomes a bandit, you will become the new government."
Little Li's eyes lit up. "Sister Ruo, do you think we can really turn the tables and become the masters of our own destiny?"
"Of course, you must have confidence in yourselves. You are called bandits now, but once you win, you will be the masters of the Great Yin. But you must obtain one thing."
"What?"
"The will of the people," Li Ruo said, spouting nonsense with a straight face.
But the eyes of everyone in Black Wind Stronghold suddenly shone brightly, filled with power.
Liao Fusheng glanced at her, his feelings somewhat complicated.
As Black Wind Village and Purple Sun Peak prepared to begin a new chapter, North Mountain was in utter chaos.
Song Zhijing's inaction as prefect has led to several attacks from the surrounding powerful families and common people.
However, because he had an army of more than two thousand men, he not only did nothing but also stole from powerful families, thus temporarily maintaining his rule over Beishan, and no one could do anything about it.
Despite being an official, he lived like a bandit.
Song Zhijing ultimately became the very thing he hated most.
After the scout who had disguised himself as a refugee and gone to General Mountain returned, he immediately went to see Song Zhijing.
"What? You're saying that woman didn't die, and even built a house on Ziyang Peak in General Mountain?"
Song Zhijing had a full beard, sunken eyes, looked extremely haggard, and had a terrifying expression.
“Fine.” Xu, who was standing next to him with equally sunken eyes, gritted her teeth in hatred. “I understand! She said she was going back to her parents’ home those days, but she was actually secretly going up the mountain to build a house.”
"But how did she know the flood was coming?" said Song Rong, Song Zhijing's older sister, who had abandoned her husband to go to her parents' home, her eyes even more sunken than her mother's.
If someone who didn't know better came in and saw this family of three, they would think they had stumbled into a haunted cave.
"Who knew this woman would act so strangely after she woke up?" Xu said.
The spy also mentioned that Li Ruo publicly announced her divorce and that Xu Shi had plotted to murder her, and that Steward Liu was also a witness.
Madam Xu glanced at Song Zhijing with an embarrassed expression. "Son, I was only doing this for your own good. Don't blame your mother. She's doing just fine now, isn't she?"
"No, you should have smashed it harder." Song Zhijing's fingers cracked as he clenched them. On the boat, he thought she was dead and even erected a tombstone for her. That liar! Not only is she alive and well, but she's also constantly going against him.
"Sir, what do we do now?" Commandant Liu was concerned about something else. "If we can't find more food, we won't be able to hold the soldiers together."
The advantage of supporting so many people is that Beishan has the final say, but the disadvantage is that food supplies are a problem.
Those powerful families joined forces, making it harder to seize grain.
"Let's see if those refugees have any left."
Commandant Liu was taken aback. "Sir, they are all unarmed." Are they going to rob the common people?
This prefect is really something—"Sir, can't we ask the capital for support?"
Song Zhijing gave a cold laugh, "Didn't you see that none of the messengers I sent out have returned? I'm afraid the capital is too busy to take care of itself."
Commandant Liu's face turned pale. "So, His Majesty has abandoned us?"
"What about the Prince of Runan? He has grain; could we borrow some from him?"
Song Zhijing: "The Prince of Runan is our greatest support, but we can't keep borrowing from him. We must save him for last."
Just then, Master Liu ran over and said, "Sir, a group of refugees have suddenly come to the mountain. They are said to have been driven here by General Mountain and are looting everywhere."
"What?!" Song Zhijing exclaimed in surprise. "That's terrible! Arrest them all!"
Master Liu's small eyes narrowed into slits as he smiled. "Sir, I do have an idea?"
"Speak quickly."
“It’s a waste of effort to capture those refugees and it won’t do them any good. We might as well make good use of them and let them hunt for us, and then let them return some of the prey.”
This hunting isn't about hunting wild game in the mountains; that's been mostly hunted out. The advisor is referring to—people.
Commandant Liu was taken aback. "Sir, this is not a good idea." What difference would that make from real mountain bandits?
A ruthless glint flashed in Song Zhijing's reddened eyes. "Do as Master Liu says."
In this way, it was the vagrants who robbed the people, and he only gained a reputation for ineffective supervision.
"Also, send people to infiltrate Black Wind Stronghold, and get women..." No matter how powerful Xie Xiao's men are, they are just a bunch of brutes. I don't believe they are all obedient.
On the other side, General Mountain.
After the unruly refugees were gradually cleared out, public order improved significantly.
In order to survive, the remaining refugees became more obedient. Most of them sought refuge with the more powerful Black Wind Stronghold, while some asked Ziyang Peak for shelter.
Li Ruo rejected not only refugees and those who had offended him, but also those who were incompetent.
Liao Fusheng said, "Actually, no one is incapable of doing things; it just depends on whether they are willing to do them."
His face shone with a radiance he hadn't shown in the past few days, and his eyes were brighter than ever before.
After a day and a night of selection, more than fifty people remained on Ziyang Peak.
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