Chapter 73

"Brother, are you just letting the tiger return to the mountains?" Seeing Chao Gai wade away, Lin Chong walked up to Wang Lun and asked.

Wang Lun laughed at this and said, "He may be a tiger, but unfortunately, we have pulled out his teeth and cut off his claws. It will take him three to five years to recover!" Chao Gai had first lost seven or eight hundred servants, and then seven hundred thousand strings of cash. If he still had the strength to fight back, Wang Lun would have to admire him face to face.

Lin Chong nodded at this. At this moment, two fast horses came galloping from the north and south directions. Lin Chong said, "It seems that brothers Du Qian and Song Wan, along with Lu Tixia and Xu Laoshi, have news to report!"

Sure enough, the two riders came to Wang Lun one after the other, both loudly reporting, "Headman Lin and Headman Xu are bringing back the Jizhou captives!" "Headman Du and Headman Song are escorting the Yuncheng soldiers back!"

Wang Lun, upon hearing this, instructed, "There's no need for them to make another trip. Let's meet at the lakeside!" The two riders, upon receiving the order, hurriedly returned to their respective directions.

At this moment, the old man came forward and said, "Great King, these young men..."

Wang Lun understood his intentions and went up to support the old man, saying, "I don't have the habit of killing captives. I will take these people to the mountain and teach them for a year or half. People must bear the consequences of their actions!" The mountain stronghold was short of labor, and these people had come uninvited. Including the soldiers from Jizhou and Yuncheng, there were about one thousand six hundred people. Dispersing them and using them to build fortifications and checkpoints would be beneficial.

The old man, seeing that Wang Lun was not going to kill them, thought that he had done his best for his fellow townspeople. He couldn't ask the Great King to let go of those who had just fought him with knives. Therefore, the old man only thanked him, "Thank you, Great King, for sparing their lives!"

Wang Lun nodded and asked the old man, "Are all the townspeople safe?"

The old man smiled and said, "Safe, safe! These brats wouldn't dare to fight us!"

After a while, they saw Chao Gai leading more than ten people carrying heavy wooden boxes wading over. Soon, the Heavenly King came to Wang Lun and bowed, saying, "Headman Wang, the money is all here!" Then the fourteen boxes were gently placed on the ground by Chao Gai's people. Seeing the hundreds of corpses on the ground, these people were so frightened that their legs turned to jelly.

Wang Lun only glanced at the boxes. Zhang San was about to inspect them, but Wang Lun waved his hand and said, "I trust the character of Heavenly King Chao!" Then he looked at Chao Gai and said, "Live a peaceful life as a private merchant. Let's call it even, and we'll meet again in the future!"

Chao Gai stared at Wang Lun for a while, sighed, and said, "Thank you, Headman Wang, for not exterminating me. Today you have given me a chance to live. Chao Gai will never dare to provoke you again!"

Wang Lun nodded and pointed to Zhu Tong and the others. Chao Gai, seeing this, bowed and said, "Farewell!" and walked toward the brothers who had been harmed by him this time. He noticed that Lei Heng was missing and was puzzled. Then he heard a voice from behind, "Han Bulong still has a breath left, and Lei Heng is not here. I will release him when I return to the mountain!"

Chao Gai, upon hearing this, turned around and bowed to Wang Lun again, then led the group away from the tiger's mouth. Xiao Rang and Jin Dajian, seeing this, bowed to Wang Lun and then turned to leave. Li Kui shouted, "Good man, I'm leaving first, don't forget our agreement!" and left on his own. Chao Gai, seeing Li Kui, remembered how he had saved him earlier, bowed deeply to him. Li Kui snorted and pretended not to see, leading the way. Chao Gai sighed, went forward, and carried Han Bulong, walking shoulder to shoulder with Zhu Tong. Finally, Wu Yong, seeing this, wanted to leave but was afraid. Ruan Xiaoqi shouted, "Professor, take care, but we may never meet again!" Wu Yong, hearing this, felt as if he had heard heavenly music, hastily bowed, and then hurried to Chao Gai's side, eager to explain something.

Wang Lun, seeing that they had all left, called Lin Chong to lead the cavalry to escort the captives first. He turned to the old man and said, "Old Sir, I must take my leave!"

The old man hurriedly said, "Great King, please walk slowly!"

Wang Lun bowed to the townspeople, who hurriedly returned the bow. At this moment, Zhang San led people to carry the twelve boxes brought by Chao Gai and set off. The old man saw this and said, "Young man, you've left two boxes behind!"

Zhang San, upon hearing this, laughed and replied, "Those are left for the townspeople by our chieftain. Old Sir, please accept them!"

The old man hurriedly said, "I can't accept them, I can't accept them!"

Wang Lun smiled and said, "Old Sir, we are returning to the mountain. We have caused a lot of trouble today, and the townspeople have been frightened. Don't make a fuss when you return, or Chao Gai might cause more trouble!"

The old man gratefully said, "We haven't done anything for the Great King, yet you treat us so well!"

Wang Lun patted his hand and said, "We are one family, no need to speak of two!" He waved to everyone and then took his leave. The townspeople, surrounding the old man, waved to see him off.

When they arrived at the lakeside, Du Qian and Song Wan were already waiting with the infantry, escorting Lei Heng and more than a hundred county constables. Ruan Xiaoer and Ruan Xiaowu had also come down from the boat and were waiting for Wang Lun. After the two sides met, Wang Lun first ordered Du Qian to release Lei Heng. Du Qian did not even ask why and went to do it. They chatted for a while, and then Lu Zhishen and Xu Ning arrived, leading five or six hundred Jizhou soldiers. Lu Zhishen, upon seeing Wang Lun, asked, "Brother, are you okay?"

Wang Lun smiled and said, "I left the village a bit early. Fortunately, Instructor Lin arrived in time. How was your side with Xu Laoshi?"

Lu Zhishen laughed and said, "The first credit goes to Xiaoqi. We just ran back and forth, a wasted trip!"

Wang Lun shook his head and said, "Your side was the main event. If Xiaoqi hadn't knocked them out, we would have relied on you and Xu Laoshi to handle it!"

During the discussion in the mountain stronghold, the original plan was for Xu Ning to lead two hundred cavalry and Lu Zhishen to lead one thousand five hundred infantry to intercept Chao Gai's Jizhou reinforcements. Unexpectedly, the three Ruan brothers offered a plan: "Now these soldiers, wherever they go, harm the people. When they come to the countryside, they first eat all the pigs, sheep, chickens, and geese raised by the good people, and then demand money to send them away. Why don't we pretend to be a wedding party and meet them head-on? I bet they won't resist the temptation of the steamed buns and beef we carry!" Wang Lun thought this plan was excellent. If they could subdue these people without fighting, it would be the best. Therefore, he asked Ruan Xiaoqi to dress up as the groom, and to be safe, he also asked Lu Zhishen and Xu Ning to ambush nearby.

At this moment, Xu Ning came forward and said, "These Jizhou infantry actually all have horses, which is quite unusual! Now we have seized six or seven hundred horses, and our mountain stronghold cavalry is taking shape!"

Wang Lun, upon hearing Xu Ning's words, was surprised and asked, "Could the leader be the Jizhou military commander Huang An?"

Lu Zhishen and Xu Ning exchanged glances and said, "We haven't heard that, but the leader is still sound asleep!"

Wang Lun sent someone to splash water on the leader to wake him up. The man, upon waking, said, "What kind of groom are you, daring to attack me without knowing your life is at risk!"

Ruan Xiaoqi, upon hearing this, stepped forward and said, "Why shouldn't I attack you? I can kill you easily!"

When the man saw the surroundings, he was frightened and his face turned pale. Xu Ning asked, "What's your name?"

This man was quick-witted and, seeing the situation, quickly put on a smile and said, "I am Huang... Quan!"

"Huang Quan? I spit, why not call yourself Hell!" Ruan Xiaoqi cursed.

The man, upon hearing this, dared not speak back, lowered his head, and trembled. His teeth were chattering.

Wang Lun, seeing that the man hesitated when reporting his name, knew there was something strange and shouted, "Huang An!"

The man was startled and looked at Wang Lun with fear. Wang Lun, seeing this, felt confident and smiled, "If you don't admit it, I'll wake up another person. If he recognizes you, you won't need to tremble anymore, and you'll be on your way to Hell!"

The man, who had been in the official world for a long time, had good eyesight and realized that Wang Lun was the leader of the bandits. He hurriedly said, "I am Huang An... I am Huang An..."

Wang Lun laughed and said, "Just tell the truth. We are so friendly, and we won't harm you. Now, how much is your life worth?"

Huang An, seeing that the bandit leader intended to ransom him rather than execute him on the spot, was overjoyed as if he had been given a new lease on life. He hurriedly said, "One thousand strings of cash, one thousand strings of cash!"

"Spit! One thousand strings of cash? For one thousand strings of cash, my brothers have to run back and forth for dozens of miles, it's not worth it! Brother, just kill him and be done with it!" Ruan Xiaoqi took out a knife to scare him.

Huang An, upon hearing this, was terrified and hurriedly said, "Five thousand strings of cash, no more, really!"

Ruan Xiaoqi laughed and said, "Five thousand strings of cash, that's fifteen thousand strings of cash, a number worth considering!"

Huang An, upon hearing this, was as if he had lost his father, his mouth wide open, unable to speak