The leader of the Axe Gang was no fool. Having cooperated with the county government for so long, he was well aware of the ins and outs of the situation.
Therefore, when he learned that there was another group of bandits, he had a vague sense of unease.
At this point, he only had a slight bad feeling, but when he learned that the county government had brought so many people to deal with these ten bandits, yet they had failed and returned without causing any harm to them, he knew that something serious had happened.
After all, that's how they used to do it.
A group of bandits were committing evil deeds everywhere. After the county government's soldiers arrived and fought for a while, they ran away. The county government was unable to deal with them. In fact, the county magistrate deliberately did not pursue them.
However, in his opinion, this time the county government and those ten bandits went a bit too far.
In the past, when the number of people was roughly the same, it was understandable for the county government to turn a blind eye. But now, even when there are hundreds of people compared to ten, they still turn a blind eye. Do they really think people are stupid?
Have even the cost of acting started to drop to this level?
Therefore, the leader of the Axe Gang immediately felt that this was all an act; otherwise, there was no other explanation.
Do you really want him to believe that those ten people are so powerful that they can face hundreds of people from the county government and escape unscathed? He thinks only a fool would believe that.
The only explanation is that the county government turned a blind eye and let those ten bandits go.
So the leader of the Axe Gang said to his men:
"What did the county government do next? Did they apply for funding from higher authorities to suppress ten mountain bandits?"
The subordinate nodded and said, "That's right."
"Sure enough," the Axe Gang leader sighed and said.
"Just as I expected, they used the same method, but instead of putting on this show with us, they used ten different people. Is this an attempt to save costs? How hateful, utterly hateful."
If this continues, won't our Axe Gang be unable to cooperate with the county government anymore and make any money from it?
No, we can't afford to lose this opportunity. Pass down the order: we'll go and wander around a few villages first thing tomorrow morning.
We can't let others steal our jobs. To showcase our skills, let's all give it our all and put on a great performance tomorrow.
So, while Magistrate Zhou was still unsure how to deal with Zhu Yunwen, the Axe Gang was about to make another move.
He couldn't just stand by and do nothing. These ten bandits who suddenly appeared out of nowhere looked exactly like new partners the county government had found.
If they don't make a move, and other people really take their jobs, what will become of them?
Regardless, the Axe Gang believed they had the upper hand. After all, if the common people were to judge, they would surely believe that only a few hundred members of the Axe Gang could provoke such a large-scale operation from the county government.
Ten people cannot achieve this effect.
Since we have an advantage, we need to demonstrate it again as soon as possible and make the people in the county government understand this point.
So the next morning, the Axe Gang members started causing trouble in some villages.
Upon receiving the news, Zhu Yunwen immediately ordered all the soldiers to set off.
What he wanted was to draw out these mountains.
That's why they sent those ten Imperial Guards to impersonate bandits, giving the Axe Gang the false impression that the county government might be changing its team.
The point is to force those bandits to come out and cause trouble.
Only when they cause trouble will Zhu Yunwen have a chance to deal with them.
Upon receiving the news, Magistrate Zhou was once again dumbfounded, and looked at the Registrar, saying:
"Bandits again. Which group of bandits is it this time?"
The registrar said, "This time it's the Axe Gang!"
County Magistrate Zhou's face immediately turned ugly. He had not notified the Axe Gang to take any action, so why did the Axe Gang take action on its own initiative?
Could it be that the Axe Gang has also colluded with the new county magistrate?
The more he thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed. After all, he was just a county magistrate now, and he didn't seem to have much say in the county government.
If those bandits are still going to cooperate with the county government, it's highly likely they're cooperating with the newly arrived magistrate, since the magistrate is the one in charge.
In the eyes of those bandits, it didn't matter who they cooperated with anyway; naturally, cooperating with the one with more power was safer.
Before marrying Zhu Yunwen, he actually did the exact same thing as Magistrate Zhou before: he went to suppress bandits but then let them go, and then applied for funding from the higher authorities.
Thinking of this, Magistrate Zhou suddenly felt that everything made sense. It must have been that when the new magistrate arrived, the Axe Gang intercepted him and reached some kind of agreement with him.
Otherwise, how could Zhu Yunwen have known about Magistrate Zhou's methods so soon after arriving?
And how can you operate it so skillfully?
Besides, the Axe Gang really did intercept Zhu Yunwen's carriage. With so many people, how could they not kill Zhu Yunwen?
And how could it be that Zhu Yunwen killed more than twenty of them instead?
The more Zhou, the more suspicious he became. He was almost certain that it was on the way to intercept Zhu Yunwen by the Axe Gang that they joined forces to continue their previous dealings with Zhou.
Thinking of this, Magistrate Zhou was furious and said angrily:
"Good, this new magistrate has not only taken my official position, but also my business here? The Axe Gang dares to betray me, they're practically asking for death."
Thus, the Axe Gang began to suspect that the county magistrate and prefectural magistrate were not prepared to cooperate with them, and that they were going to establish a new, smaller bandit group to abandon the Axe Gang.
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