Nine out of ten gamblers lose; I've run into a jerk!

Chapter 91 The Mountain Bandit's Ideal

As the saying goes, "A moment of patience brings calm, a step back opens up a vast sky," and "Those who understand the times are wise," which is a fine tradition of the Chinese people.

Many ants can kill an elephant. After assessing the situation, Shen Qing decided to temporarily put down his "butcher's knife".

Zhu Biao led the way, surrounded by his henchmen on both sides.

"Please." Luo Fang pursed his lips and gestured.

Shen Qing gave Ye Mingzhu a look, signaling her to calm down, and followed closely behind.

Ye Mingzhu walked beside Shen Qing with mixed feelings. The path had taken too many twists and turns!

Meanwhile, Fancheng, twenty miles away, was still a thriving and prosperous place.

Fancheng is the capital of Cangzhou Prefecture. It is a prosperous city in this border region, and the people live in peace and contentment under the rule of Governor Ye Yu.

The tall and sturdy city gates were guarded by disciplined soldiers, while the nearby main street was bustling with vendors and hawkers, their cries creating a lively atmosphere.

A soldier guarding the city gate kept turning his eyes from left to right and then from right to left. It wasn't that there was something wrong with his eyes, but rather that a horse was swaying back and forth in front of him, its tail occasionally flicking in front of him.

There stood a young man of about seventeen, dressed in a black outfit with gold trim, riding a brown BMW. He had a refined appearance and held his chin high, exuding an air of arrogance.

The servant following behind was speechless. At first glance, his young master was quite handsome, dashing, and debonair, if one ignored the fact that he was walking such a short distance back and forth.

Sigh, the servant sighed. His young master had gotten up early and spent half the morning getting ready, and then came to the city gate to show off his peacock-like figure, just to pretend to bump into the Ye family's daughter.

Why hasn't Mingzhu entered the city yet? Her hairstyle is almost ruined by the wind, Zhen E couldn't help but wonder.

Just then, a dusty figure appeared on the official road outside the city, rushing towards the city gate. Zhen E, with his sharp eyes, recognized that the person was wearing the uniform of the Ye family guards and immediately rode forward.

"What happened? Where is Mingzhu!" Seeing the guard's disheveled appearance, Zhen E's heart jumped.

"Lady...lady..." the guard gasped, "We've been attacked!"

Zhen E's expression changed, and he shouted loudly, "Ali! Summon a squad of garrison soldiers!"

"promise!"

Zhen E was the only son of the Prefect of Cangzhou, so it was not difficult for him to borrow soldiers from the prefecture.

Meanwhile, Zhu Biao and his group led Shen Qing along the mountain path. Shen Qing observed the terrain and occasionally glanced at Zhu Biao, considering the feasibility of taking hostages and escaping.

Zhu Biao seemed oblivious and started chatting with Shen Qing.

"Sixth Brother, what do you think of the current state of the world?"

Is this the prelude to a heated discussion of heroes over wine? Where's the wine?

"The world, after a long period of unity, tends to divide; after a long period of division, tends to unite," Shen Qing said, making up a story.

"My brother has a good point."

"Heh~"

"But it's far from the time to unite. Years of natural disasters have left the feudal lords in disarray, and the people are displaced. Otherwise, how could this small Tiger Head Mountain have gathered 20,000 troops in such a short time?"

Shen Qing pondered for a moment, "Tax avoidance?"

Zhu Biao nodded. "Not only that, there are also those who evade corvée labor."

Shen Qing sighed, "When ordinary people can't make ends meet, they will rise up in rebellion."

"As the saying goes, troubled times produce heroes. Why don't we seize the opportunity and rise up to achieve great things?"

Shen Qing chimed in, "Are kings and nobles born with a special destiny?"

Zhu Biao's eyes lit up. "Brother, you're a cultured man! That's exactly what he meant. Very good, this sentence is his from now on."

On the way to the mountain village, Shen Qing discovered that some people were cultivating the land, just like ordinary farmers. Women were feeding chickens and ducks, drying clothes, and children were running and playing. It looked like a paradise.

But Shen Qing knew that no ordinary person could live in a bandit's den.

Noticing Shen Qing's gaze, Zhu Biao explained, "These are the brothers' families, people who can't survive down the mountain."

Ye Mingzhu, who had been listening the whole way, was unconvinced and retorted, "Impossible. Father's rule is peaceful and just. How could he possibly force the people to become outlaws?"

Zhu Biao glanced at her coldly, "The governor of Cangzhou may be a good official, but he can't conjure up grain or reduce taxes. In order to maintain the prosperity of the prefecture, he has to sacrifice the people of other regions."

Ye Mingzhu was still unconvinced, but she was intimidated by Zhu Biao's gaze and could only purse her lips and shrink down next to Shen Qing.

Shen Qing did not express his opinion. Everyone has their own difficulties. He understood the people's disappointment with the government based on the scenes he had encountered along the way.

The common people have a strong ability to endure hardship. They would not abandon the land on which they depend for survival and become refugees unless they were truly unable to make a living.

Perhaps the displaced people initially gathered here simply to survive. According to Shen Qing's observation, the soil layer on Tiger Head Mountain is too thin to grow enough food to feed 20,000 people. So what could they do? They could only rob, which led to their becoming bandits.

Shen Qing felt very heavy-hearted. In the chaos of the world, everyone was struggling to survive. When people couldn't even survive, they wouldn't talk about benevolence and morality.

Unexpectedly, Zhu Biao said, "Even thieves have their code of honor. We all come from poor families and know how hard life is for ordinary people. We would never make things difficult for ordinary people passing by."

So you're robbing the rich to help the poor? Ordinary people aren't worth exploiting either, you can't just eat them, can you?

"Liar!" Ye Mingzhu couldn't hold back and said angrily, "He robbed me! I gave them all the money, and he even killed all my guards!"

"Hmph~" Luo Fang interjected, "You aristocratic families do no production and enjoy the fruits of the people's labor. Why are you so high and mighty?"

“My father devoted himself to the people of Cangzhou, and he deserves it!”

"Enough." Zhu Biao's voice wasn't loud, but his imposing presence, though not angry, successfully stopped the two from arguing further.

"Tiger Head Mountain is still too small~"

Shen Qing realized that an ambitious bandit leader could not possibly be content to stay in one mountain. His goal was to become a powerful warlord, and if he wanted to expand his power, Cangzhou, which was the closest to him, would naturally be the first place he would target.

Ye Mingzhu was likely captured as a hostage to make the governor of Cangzhou hesitate to act, but would a powerful official in charge of a region surrender to bandits for the safety of his daughter?

Shen Qing felt it was very risky. He thought that if Zhu Biao had this idea, the governor of Cangzhou might sacrifice his daughter for the greater good, as there were many such cases in history.

"drive!"

Zhen E spurred his horse and galloped to the location where Ye Mingzhu had been attacked, only to find corpses lying scattered on the ground.

"Mingzhu!"

Zhen E dismounted and began searching the scene, fearing he might find Ye Mingzhu, yet also fearing he might not find her at all.

"Mr. Zhen Lang."

Zhen E paused, then excitedly ran to the carriage, lifted the curtain, and found only Granny Yang inside.

Granny Yang twisted her ankle when the carriage swayed. The bandits' target was only Ye Mingzhu, and no one cared about an old woman like her.

"Granny, where is Mingzhu?"

"Young lady..." Granny Yang hesitated, knowing that if she said this, Ye Mingzhu's reputation would be ruined, but there was no way to hide it from her.

"Speak quickly!" Zhen E was almost frantic.

"The young lady has been kidnapped by bandits from Tiger Head Mountain," said Granny Yang in a heavy and sorrowful tone.

"What!" Zhen E was shocked and felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave.