Chapter 43

"Your Highness, they are not bandits, please do not kill them." Seeing the two bandits guarding the gate being caught, Kousuke quickly threw down the large stone he was holding in his arms and knelt before Masahiro to plead for the two young bandits. The poor large stone, already severely injured, immediately fell to the ground on all fours when Kousuke, in his haste, threw him.

Looking at the two captives who were already bound, with rags stuffed in their mouths, curled up on the ground trembling, Masahiro felt it necessary to change the plan. The original plan was to enter the entrance, interrogate the captives, and then deal with them on the spot. After all, with the current shortage of manpower, there was no need to assign personnel specifically to guard them.

Masahiro ignored Kousuke, who was still kowtowing, and instead nodded to Daishi Kuniyoshi, who was beside him, then turned his head to look back. Daishi Kuniyoshi immediately understood and walked to the back of the group to make arrangements. Soon, a foot soldier returned along the original path to notify Tsuda Masahiro, who was waiting at a distance, to come and join them. Then, Masahiro slowly walked to the child he had spoken to earlier, stared into his eyes, and said, "I will take the rag out of your mouth, but you must not shout, or the adults behind you will kill you. I will ask you questions, and you must answer them. Do you understand?"

The child mumbled incoherently, not knowing what to say, but after fully understanding Masahiro's meaning, he quickly nodded vigorously to show that he understood. Masahiro signaled a foot soldier to place a knife at the child's neck, then gently pulled the rag out of his mouth. The child looked at Masahiro with frightened eyes, his body trembling continuously, but he did not say another word. Seeing this, Masahiro felt helpless and turned to Kousuke, who had already gotten up, and said, "Kousuke, this is up to you."

"Yes, Your Highness," Kousuke immediately pulled the child to one side. The child immediately relaxed a lot when he saw Kousuke. The two of them chattered for a while, and then Kousuke ran happily to Masahiro and said, "Your Highness, good news. There is an internal conflict in the bandit camp. Banishi Sasaburo took the opportunity to attack the people left behind by Oishi Nojiro when he went down the mountain with his men. Now the two sides are fighting in the bandit camp, and even the other bandits from the village have run into the camp to take advantage of the chaos."

"Hmm?" Masahiro looked at Daishi Kuniyoshi, who had been interrogating the captives with Kousuke, to confirm the accuracy of the information. Daishi Kuniyoshi nodded, indicating that what Kousuke said matched what he had heard.

"So, all the bandits are now concentrated in the bandit camp?" Masahiro asked again.

"Yes, Your Highness," Kousuke answered confidently.

"Heaven is on my side!" Masahiro clasped his hands and said excitedly. He had not expected such a timely opportunity.

"Your Highness, I have a plan to quickly control the village outside the bandit camp," Kousuke suggested, seeing how pleased Masahiro was.

"Oh? Tell me more," Masahiro was taken aback, then said. To be honest, Kousuke was indeed full of schemes, but many of them were just small tricks.

"Your Highness, the village is around the bandit camp. Once we alarm the village, it's hard to ensure that no one will inform the bandits inside. But these two can help us solve this problem," Kousuke pointed to the two bound children.

"Them?" Masahiro looked at the two still trembling children with doubt.

"Yes, Your Highness. We can have them go door-to-door under the banner of the bandit camp, ordering the villagers to stay in their homes and not come out no matter what happens," Kousuke continued.

Hmm? Masahiro thought about it. This was not a bad idea, but would the villagers listen to two 13- or 14-year-old children? And who knew if these two would actually be reporting back to the bandits? If that were the case, it would be troublesome.

"Your Highness, the villagers often encounter such situations. Whenever the bandit camp transports important supplies, they first require the villagers to stay at home and not go out. Moreover, a year ago, many villagers were killed during a rebellion, so when similar situations arise in the bandit camp, they generally stay at home to avoid being implicated and suffering innocently," Kousuke explained, seeing Masahiro's doubt.

"Are you sure they are trustworthy? If they do something they shouldn't, I will definitely kill you," Masahiro stared at Kousuke and threatened.

Kousuke swallowed and then knelt on both knees, saying, "Your Highness, I can guarantee that they will not cause any problems."

"Hmm?" Masahiro found it strange. If anyone in his men was the most afraid of death, it would be this Kousuke. But today, he was willing to risk his life to vouch for two children, which was indeed suspicious.

"Y-Your Highness," seeing Masahiro still staring at him, Kousuke immediately broke out in a sweat, his voice trembling, "Actually, their fathers once saved my life during a robbery from a powerful lord. So I beg Your Highness to spare these two children. But, Your Highness, the plan I suggested is feasible. As the original residents of the bandit camp, we are often discriminated against and even used as scapegoats. Their fathers were used as bait by Banishi Daisuke to divert the powerful lord's pursuit and were killed half a year ago. So they deeply hate the bandits in the camp. Please give them a chance, these two children are the only male members left in their families," Kousuke cried and kowtowed desperately.

Masahiro did not immediately pay attention to the man at his feet but walked over to the two bound children. As he passed Kousuke, he paused and said, "Kousuke, I like intelligent subordinates, but I hate those who hide things from me and play tricks. This is the last time. If it happens again, hmm!" Then he continued walking.

Kousuke immediately kowtowed vigorously, saying in fear, "Your Highness, I know my mistake. I will never do it again, never again," his clothes drenched in sweat. Kousuke suddenly remembered that the man in front of him was a "devil," the one who had killed Oishi Nojiro.

"Are you willing to work for me?" Masahiro ignored Kousuke, who was still kowtowing, and walked to the two children, speaking to them gently.

The two children were clearly still very afraid of the stranger in front of them, especially after seeing the respected Kousuke kowtowing and begging for mercy. They trembled uncontrollably again.

"If you do this well, I will give you the chance to avenge your fathers," Masahiro continued to entice them. The two children immediately stopped trembling, looked at each other, and then kowtowed to Masahiro. Seeing this, Masahiro smiled slightly, thinking it was a success.

"Masahiro," Masahiro turned to Tsuda Masahiro, who had just led the main force to arrive, and instructed, "Leave six men to guard here, and the rest follow me."

"Yes, Your Highness," Tsuda Masahiro bowed and quickly turned to make arrangements.

"Kousuke," Masahiro called to Kousuke, who was still kowtowing not far away.

"Your Highness," Kousuke, hearing Masahiro call him, quickly crawled to Masahiro. Without Masahiro's permission, he did not dare to get up.

"I'm leaving these two to you," Masahiro pointed to the two children and instructed.

"Yes, Your Highness, I will not disappoint you," Kousuke, seeing that Masahiro was assigning him a task, clearly forgave him for his mistake, quickly kowtowed and answered happily.

"Then, let's continue," Masahiro turned to the assembled group and waved his hand. The group immediately moved quietly to the other side of the crevice.

(Please click, collect, and recommend. Gently, you came, please do not leave gently. Please click lightly, leave your collection, leave your recommendation. Old Fish 360-degree naked kneels and begs for clicks, collections, and recommendations. Enjoy writing, enjoy solitude.)

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