"Where did this army come from?"
Upon seeing Dian Wei and his men rushing towards them, the bandit leader couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
Although Dian Wei and his men were dressed as merchants and guards, the orderly formation of Dian Wei and the Imperial Guards soldiers during their charge could not be hidden from the bandit leader.
At a glance, he knew that this charging guard was no ordinary force; it was very likely a Han army cavalry unit.
The other experienced bandits also sensed something was amiss.
Although they outnumbered and outgunned, the Western Regions were, after all, the territory of the Han Dynasty, and no one knew whether there were other Han troops behind them.
"withdraw!!"
So, the quick-witted gang leaders immediately shouted and led their men westward.
Although the bandits chose to flee immediately, Dian Wei and his men had already covered a distance of less than three hundred paces.
Before the bandits who were running behind could take two steps, Dian Wei and his Imperial Guards had already arrived, their iron halberds flashing left and right, creating whirlwinds of death.
Seeing how terrifying Dian Wei was, the bandits offered no resistance whatsoever and desperately tried to escape.
The guards, who had been surrounded by bandits, immediately seized the opportunity to launch a counterattack. Together with Dian Wei and the others, they launched a pincer attack on the bandits, surrounding more than a hundred of them.
Those bandits who had already fled far away looked at their companions trapped by bandits, but showed no intention of rescuing them. Instead, they fled westward even faster.
Dian Wei merely cursed at the bandits who fled faster than rabbits, then vented his anger on the bandits who were now surrounded.
Soon, after more than forty bandits were killed or wounded, the remaining fifty-odd people knelt down and surrendered.
The guard captain, who was surrounded by bandits, came to Dian Wei with a grateful expression: "Thank you all for your help!"
Dian Wei waved his hand: "No need to thank me. We are both people of the Han Dynasty. Helping each other is our duty!"
The captain of the guards smiled and said, "May I ask your honorable name, sir?"
"My name is Dian Wei!"
"Oh, Brother Dian Wei, may I ask where you all came from?"
"Uh, well..."
Just as Dian Wei was wondering whether he should strike up a conversation, Xi Zhicai also came over with his men.
Xi Zhicai looked at the captain of the guards with a smile and said with a laugh, "We came from Luoyang and are on our way to Kushan!"
The captain of the guards' expression shifted, and he said respectfully, "Sir, the journey to Kushan is not without its challenges. Perhaps you should postpone your trip for a while."
Xi Zhicai's brow furrowed: "Oh? What happened on the Kushan side? Why is it so unsettled?"
"Recently, a large number of bandits have suddenly appeared on the Kushan border, specifically targeting passing caravans. These bandits seem to have gone mad, attacking all kinds of caravans, including many from the Han Dynasty..."
The captain of the guard paused and continued, "Moreover, these bandits are different from the bandits of the past. They are much stronger in both combat and organization. Once a caravan is targeted by them, it is almost impossible for it to escape!"
"Oh? You mean these bandits appeared out of nowhere?"
Upon hearing the captain of the guard's words, Xi Zhicai's expression shifted.
The captain of the guard nodded: "Yes!"
Upon hearing this, Xi Zhicai immediately turned to look at Yu Zheng beside him and said in a deep voice, "These people are yours. I need to know their identities and their purposes."
"Yes, sir!"
Yu Zheng agreed and then led his men to take the surrendered bandits away.
As Yu Ji's most capable disciple, Yu Zheng had also conducted various experiments behind Yu Ji's back, and he was very clear about the structure of the human body. Torture was extremely easy for him.
After Yu Zheng and the others left, Xi Zhicai also turned his attention to the Kushan caravan.
In his view, a caravan that could be chased to the Western Regions by a band of bandits must have no secrets, and the caravan was not large in size.
Soon, a Kushan merchant, using the alias Li Chang, approached Xi Zhicai from the caravan.
Xi Zhicai looked at Li Chang and asked, "Are you the leader of this caravan?"
"Yes, sir!"
Xi Zhicai then asked, "What goods did your caravan carry that attracted the bandits to chase you all the way here?"
Li Chang: "It's nothing, just some local products from the Kushan Empire!"
Xi Zhicai smiled slightly: "Really? I wonder what kind of local product it is that you have to spend so much money to hire burly guards?"
"this……"
Upon hearing Xi Zhicai's question, Li Chang hesitated, glancing at the convoy, unsure how to answer.
"Ah~!"
Just then, a pitiful wail came from the other side where the bandits were being interrogated.
The extremely pitiful sound was enough to send chills down the spine of anyone who heard it, which made Li Chang's heart tremble.
Seeing Li Chang's appearance, Xi Zhicai smiled and said, "My men were a bit rough with the interrogation; they must have startled you all!"
Li Chang quickly shook his head: "No... those bandits are extremely wicked, no matter how you treat them, it's not too much!"
"Haha, that's right. Those bandits deserve no treatment whatsoever. I've prepared some fine tea; Brother Li, would you like to have a cup with me?"
Xi Zhicai smiled, then pulled Li Chang to sit down and ordered someone to bring over the tea-making tools.
Looking at the blood-stained earth in front of him and Xi Zhicai, who was focused on brewing tea, Li Chang felt that the scene before him was extremely bizarre.
Hearing the gradually fading screams from not far away, Li Chang felt extremely uneasy.
When Yu Zheng approached Xi Zhicai, his clean and tidy appearance made him seem less like a torturer who had dismembered a person alive in front of more than fifty bandits and more like a scholar who had come to enjoy tea and discuss philosophy.
Yu Zheng sat down, first looking at Li Chang, whose face was deathly pale, and then at Xi Zhicai, who was leisurely brewing tea beside him. He knew that Xi Zhicai was not going to play those roundabout games anymore.
"These bandits are actually cavalrymen from the Kushan border in disguise. They claim to be acting on orders from the second Kushan prince, Damoti, to wipe out this caravan!"
Yu Zheng recounted the information he had obtained from the bandits, then looked at Li Chang with a cold expression: "So I'm very curious, what exactly does your caravan have that would warrant such a large mobilization from the second prince of the Kushan Empire!"
Xi Zhicai, who was standing to the side, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and then looked at Li Lichang with a smile: "I also want to know why!"
Xi Zhicai and Yu Zheng kept their eyes fixed on the changes in Li Chang's expression.
"Well, you bastard, how dare you deceive us?"
Just then, the captain of the guards also came up angrily and grabbed Li Chang.
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