Ang Lee felt that the business and trade of the Tang Dynasty were very mature at this time, and trade was becoming more and more frequent. However, the existence of bandits and bandits seriously affected the business and trade. Although the imperial court would often crack down on bandits and bandits, it did not affect the existence of bandits and bandits. Many merchants' goods would still be robbed by bandits, which brought great difficulties to the development of the business.
Under such circumstances, it was necessary for the people to set up some armed escort organizations. At least, Li An felt that it was necessary in the short term. It was much more reliable than the unstoppable guards that the caravans had recruited at the last minute.
However, whether this kind of private escort agency could exist or not depended on the attitude of the imperial court. In addition, it would not exist for a long time. It was estimated that it would die out after a while. After all, the whole Tang Dynasty was building railways. When the railways were laid densely enough, most of the valuable goods would probably be transported by railway. The security would be greatly improved, and the existence of an escort agency would be greatly reduced. No matter how powerful the bandits were, they would not dare to rob the railway at will. If they dared to rob the railway, the imperial court would encircle and suppress them to death. This was the main artery of the economy, and it was absolutely not allowed to be a security threat.
After the caravan left, Ang Lee continued to walk forward. The trees on both sides became denser. Some of the cavalrymen were scouting ahead, so the birds had already been startled. When Ang Lee came over, the surroundings were quiet and there was no movement at all.
"Assistant Minister Li, we've walked far enough. There are rugged mountain roads ahead. There's nothing to see."
The captain of Yizhou City reminded him.
Ang Lee said, "The scenery in this mountain is good. I want to have a look at it from a high place."
"The fork in the road ahead leads directly to a mountain. I'll lead the way."
The captain of Yizhou City said and urged his horse to lead the way in front.
The scale of Tata Mountain was very large. Otherwise, it would not be able to accommodate more than a dozen groups of bandits. The vegetation here was also very dense. The mountain alone was not enough. Without the cover of dense vegetation, it was difficult for the bandits to hide. It was the large scale and dense forest of Tata Mountain that provided good protection for the bandits. It allowed them to avoid the encirclement of the soldiers time and time again to protect themselves.
After entering the mountain from the fork, Ang Lee and his entourage quickly came to a relatively high hill. The vegetation here was relatively sparse, so they could see the scenery in the distance. However, there were still some trees blocking the view, so Ang Lee could not see Yizhou City in the distance.
A breeze blew, and Ang Lee smelled an intoxicating fragrance of flowers and tender leaves. The scenery of Tata Mountain was really good. The climate was very pleasant. It was a good place to cultivate the body and mind. If one lived here for a long time, it could purify one's soul. Of course, it was only possible if one was a cultured person. If one was a bandit, it would only make them more fond of doing evil.
In the distance, a figure swayed. Ang Lee could not see it clearly. He picked up the binoculars and carefully observed for a moment. Suddenly, he found that it was a person who looked like a hunter walking in the forest. He carried a bow and a quiver of arrows on his back. He could be considered a standard hunter.
However, someone who looked like a hunter was not necessarily a real hunter. In this kind of mountain where bandits frequently appeared, would there really be a hunter who dared to go in? Or, this person who looked like a hunter was actually a spy for the bandits?
Due to the lack of light and the distance between them, the hunters couldn't see Li An at all. He walked forward step by step and didn't seem to have any problems. Moreover, he was alone and didn't have any companions.
"Is this a hunter nearby?"
Ang Lee opened his mouth and asked.
The lieutenant of Yizhou City could not see clearly. He said awkwardly, "Maybe!"
"Come, use this to see more clearly."
Ang Lee put the binoculars in the lieutenant's hand and said.
The lieutenant took the binoculars and looked at it. He still said awkwardly, "Assistant Minister Li, I don't know the hunters around here. However, judging from his attire, he should be a hunter nearby."
Ang Lee said with a smile, "No hurry. Let's wait and see what this guy is doing."
At this time, waiting was the best choice. Anyway, the hunter was in front of him. No matter which direction he went, he would not be out of sight quickly.
Although he was not sure whether this hunter was a real hunter, Ang Lee always felt that this guy was a bandit. As for why, Ang Lee did not know. It was just a kind of intuition. Maybe it was because he had killed many bandits and had some experience and ability that others did not have.
"Give it to me."
Ang Lee seemed to have seen something. He quickly took the binoculars and looked carefully. Suddenly, he found another person. This person was covered in leaves. If one did not look carefully, they would not be discovered at all. The reason why this disguised person was discovered by Ang Lee was that the hunter had already walked there and talked with the disguised person. This exposed the person's whereabouts.
They were disguised. There must be something wrong. Ang Lee almost instantly confirmed the identity of these two people. They were both bandits, and their task was to investigate the situation.
Soon, the hunter took off the bow and quiver on his body and exchanged them with the hidden person. Then, the hunter became the hidden person, and the hidden person became the hunter again. They walked step by step along the path that the hunter had taken and left step by step.
It seemed that the bandit's sentries were changing shifts. It seemed that the bandit's nest should not be far from here.
"Assistant Minister Li, these two guys must be bandits."
Chen Long said.
Ang Lee nodded and said, "There is no doubt that they are bandits. Chen Long, take two people and follow quietly. See where the bandit's nest is."
"Yes, I will go now."
Chen Long replied and led two soldiers to follow quietly. In order to avoid being discovered, Chen Long followed in front alone, while the two soldiers followed Chen Long. As long as they did not lose sight of Chen Long, it would be fine. After all, the three of them were too big a target, three times the size of a single target. Moreover, ordinary soldiers could not be compared with Chen Long, who was relatively strong. The two soldiers were mainly to support and prevent being discovered by the bandits. When the time came, as long as the three of them supported each other, they could escape unscathed.
Ang Lee was not in a hurry to return to Yizhou City. It was good to enjoy the surrounding scenery on the top of the mountain. The most important thing was to wait for Chen Long's news. If Chen Long could find the bandit's nest, Ang Lee would directly ask Yang Saburo to lead troops to surround the bandit's nest and capture all the bandits.
Chen Long, who was in charge of following the bandits, was very careful. Every step he took was very light, for fear of being discovered by the bandits in front of him. However, the bandits in front of him seemed to be used to being careless, so they walked very calmly along the way. It seemed that they did not think that someone would be following them. Moreover, Chen Long did not make any sound, so the bandits naturally did not suspect anything.
However, even if the bandits were careless, Chen Long did not dare to be careless. After all, no one knew whether there would be spies around the bandit's nest. The bandit in front of him just now was a spy who was wearing leaves. If there were such spies along the way, wouldn't it be terrible? In that case, he might be discovered and still be kept in the dark.
This was the depths of the mountain forest. The ground was full of fallen leaves. If there were spies, Chen Long would not be able to find them. He could only pray that there would not be any spies on the way, or that the bandits in front of him would take the initiative to greet the spies. In that case, he could find the spies one step earlier.
In order to avoid being discovered by the spies, Chen Long kept a large distance from the bandits. Moreover, he was almost walking close to the ground. Every few steps, he would hide behind a tree trunk to hide himself as much as possible so that he would not be discovered.
Chen Long's worries were not superfluous. As expected, when he quietly hid behind a big tree, he found that the bandit in front of him had stopped. However, he did not dare to move. Firstly, he was worried that he would be discovered. Secondly, he wondered why the bandit suddenly stopped. Was it because he had met a companion?
In the end, the bandit met a companion. A bandit was also hiding behind a tree trunk. He was also wearing dry leaves as a disguise. He could not be seen even if he was a little further away.
This gave Chen Long a big fright. Fortunately, he was smart enough to maintain a sufficient distance from the bandit. If he did not maintain a sufficient distance, he would definitely be discovered.
The hidden bandit stood up from behind the tree trunk and said a few words to the bandit he was following. Then, he continued to squat down while the bandit continued to walk forward.
At this moment, Chen Long had two options in front of him. One was to immediately return and report the situation to Ang Lee. Then, he would let Ang Lee decide the rest. The other was to quietly take a detour and go around the disguised bandit without anyone noticing. Of course, there was also the most radical option. That was to suddenly rush over and kill the hidden bandit directly. This way, he would not have to worry about being exposed.
However, if he killed the hidden bandit directly, if the hidden bandit in this area came to take over the shift and discovered that his companion was killed, he would immediately inform the bandit leader. This would cause the soldiers to lose the time to calmly deploy.
After thinking for a long time, Chen Long felt that sneaking around was the best option. However, since the bandits had set up a hidden sentry here, it was naturally because of the special terrain. Everything in the surroundings could be seen clearly. It was easier said than done to sneak around. Chen Long looked for a long time but could not see where to go around. This gave him a headache.
The two soldiers behind him saw that Chen Long had stopped moving. They quietly crept up and squatted behind Chen Long.
"There's a bandit sentry in front. He's hiding behind that big tree. It's not easy to get past!"
Chen Long turned around and told the two soldiers.
"General, then let's kill this sentry."
One of the soldiers said.
"Idiot, the bandits change shifts every once in a while. If we kill him, the bandits will be alerted. They might immediately withdraw from their nest. By then, we won't be able to catch any of them. We can't kill him. At least, we can't kill him now."
Chen Long scolded.
"General, since we can't kill him, then let's go around him!"
The other soldier said.
"Go around him? Are you blind? How can we go around this area? There's no way around it! "
Chen Long said.
"General, then let's knock him out and let him have a good sleep."
The soldier suggested.
"Knock him out? That's a good idea. How do we knock him out? We'll be exposed as soon as we go out. "
Chen Long said.
The soldier smiled and took out a small hunting tool from his arms. He said, "General, this is the leftover from my last hunting trip. It's covered with knockout powder. As long as we shoot the bandit, he'll sleep for a whole day."
In fact, the thing that the soldier took out was a flying needle used for hunting. It could be considered a small crossbow, but because it was too small, the target was the tip of the needle. Therefore, it was very well hidden. After adding the drug, as long as it hit the prey, the prey would instantly fall into a deep sleep state, thus obtaining an unharmed prey. And since this flying needle was effective against prey, it was also effective against humans. As long as it hit the body of the hidden bandit, it would immediately enter a deep sleep state, thus solving this problem.
"Okay, let's do it. However, you must aim accurately. You must hit the target in one shot. Otherwise, we'll all be discovered."
Chen Long said.
"General, don't worry. There's nothing to say about my skills."
The soldier volunteered. He picked up the flying needle and went to prepare. In order to attract the hidden bandit, another soldier ran to the other side and imitated the sound of a pheasant. He hoped to attract the attention of the bandit. This way, the bandit wouldn't easily discover the flying needle.
What Chen Long didn't expect was that after the hidden bandit heard the sound of the pheasant, he actually stood up from his ambush position and picked up his crossbow to hunt the pheasant. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The soldier immediately attacked with the flying needle. All three flying needles hit the bandit's body. After a moment of confusion, the bandit's body went limp. It was obvious that he had fallen asleep.
"Let's go and take a look."
Chen Long led two soldiers and rushed forward. When they saw the sleeping bandit, the soldiers pulled out three flying needles and leaned the bandit's body against a tree trunk.
After delaying the tracking time, the bandit who had been tracked before had obviously gone far away. Therefore, Chen Long had to hurry up and catch up quickly. He left a soldier behind to look after the sleeping bandit and create some illusions to confuse the sleeping bandit.
In fact, this was very simple. It was to catch some poisonous insects from the surroundings and then stuff them into the area where the needles had pierced, creating the illusion that the bandit was attacked and unconscious by the poisonous insects. Anyway, it was spring now, which was the season where poisonous insects were frequent. It was a relatively normal phenomenon for a person to be attacked by poisonous insects in the forest. It wouldn't arouse too much suspicion. After the bandit woke up, he would only feel that he was unlucky to have been bitten by poisonous insects and wouldn't suspect that he was ambushed.
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