Nan Jiyun and five or six soldiers searched back and forth in the depths of the bandit's lair many times, but they still could not find a single bandit. They did not even find any food or valuable items.
"Strange, why are all the bandits gone?"
Nan Jiyun touched the table and found that it was spotless. In other words, someone had been living here. If it was an abandoned house, the table should be covered in dust.
"Captain, there is no one in the granary. There are signs that the food has been taken away."
"Captain, there is no one in the house behind us either."
"Captain, there is no one in the house on the left."
"Captain, there is a pot of boiling water in the kitchen. It is still warm. They must have just left."
Nan Jiyun was startled. "Let's go and have a look."
Nan Jiyun reached out to touch the water in the big iron pot. She quickly retracted her hand. The temperature of the water was very high and very hot.
"Captain, the firewood in the stove below has not finished burning. There are still sparks."
A soldier used the weapon in his hand to scratch the ashes at the bottom of the pot. Suddenly, a lot of sparks flew.
Hot water and ashes with residual heat were enough to prove that the bandits in this mountain stronghold were still here a few hours ago. They just left temporarily. Moreover, it seemed that they left with a plan. They did not leave behind any valuable belongings or food.
Nan Jiyun frowned. "There is no one everywhere, but this pot of water is obviously freshly boiled. Where did these bandits go?"
"Captain, our army raided the bandit's lair twice in a row at night and wiped out a total of six groups of bandits. These bandits must be afraid."
"Captain, these cowardly bandits are afraid of losing their lives at night, so they hide in the woods at night."
"Captain, if these bandits really hide in the nearby woods, will they set up an ambush for us?"
Nan Jiyun smiled disdainfully. "It is impossible for these motley crew to set up an ambush for our army. However, it is possible that they are hiding out of fear. Four to five hundred bandits were publicly executed outside the city gate of Luzhou. This must be a great shock to the remaining bandits."
"Captain, what should we do now? Go back and report to the general?"
Nan Jiyun looked at the bandit's lair and sneered. "The monk can run away, but the temple can't. Set fire immediately and burn this place down."
"Yes, Captain."
Nan Jiyun and several soldiers under her command used the remaining fire under the kitchen stove to light several torches. They immediately split up and set the entire bandit's lair ablaze.
The fire burned very quickly. In a very short period of time, the bandit's lair had a huge flame that was several feet high, gradually covering the entire lair in the raging fire.
Nan Jiyun's face was full of pride as she watched the bandit's lair gradually turn into ashes. She paused for a moment and waved her hand, leading a dozen of her subordinates back to the Gourd Cave.
Two hours before dawn, the three teams under Nan Jiyun had already returned to the Gourd Cave. After summarizing the situation, Nan Jiyun reported to Ang Lee.
Of course, Ang Lee hadn't gotten up yet. He could only go and report in four hours so as not to disturb Ang Lee's rest.
###
Fifty li south of Luzhou City, Cuan Wudi was dozing off in his room. Although he had slept for a while yesterday, he was still a little sleepy.
However, he didn't sleep well. It was always a mess outside. From time to time, a team would arrive and set off a commotion.
Bandits were rude people, and their discipline was very poor. It was impossible to expect them to stay quietly. They were hungry and thirsty all the way, so it was inevitable for them to complain and curse.
"Master, our stronghold has been set on fire by the army."
A bandit came on a horse and hurriedly reported.
"What? Set on fire?"
The bandit leader was angry and relieved. Fortunately, he had led his men to Cuan Wudi's stronghold in time. Otherwise, what awaited them would be the army's butcher's knife.
"What about the food? Did the army find it?"
The bandit leader didn't have much money. Before he left, he had hidden the food.
"Master, don't worry. The food is still in the cave behind the mountain. It hasn't been found by the army."
"Damn it, the army is so resourceful. They actually found my stronghold so quickly. Fortunately, I ran quickly. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been alive."
"Master, our stronghold has been burned. What should we do in the future?"
"Master, it seems that we can only rely on the Great Ghost Lord."
"Nonsense, we have to rebuild our stronghold."
"The stronghold has been burned to ashes. How can we rebuild it? It's better to rely on the Great Ghost Lord."
"You're a traitor."
A large group of people gathered together, shouting loudly. The scene was very chaotic.
"So noisy, so noisy. I can't even sleep well."
Cuan Wudi's anger rose. He jumped up from the bed in the room and rushed out with his eyes wide open.
"You're so noisy. Shut up!"
Cuan Wudi roared, and the quarreling crowd immediately stopped.
"Great Ghost Lord."
Several bandit leaders bowed to Cuan Wudi respectfully.
Cuan Wudi's anger subsided a little. He looked at the bandit leaders and said, "You're all here. Why are you shouting? Can't you save some energy?"
"Great Ghost Lord, calm down. Our stronghold has just been burned by the army. Fortunately, our brothers evacuated in time. Otherwise, we would have all been killed by the army."
Cuan Wudi was shocked. He rubbed his bald head and said, "So, the army has made another move tonight."
"Great Ghost Lord, the army said that they will destroy all the bandits in Lu Province in a few months. No, the stronghold. It seems that they are not lying."
"Great Ghost Lord, the army is aggressive. We can't just sit and wait for death. We must think of a way to deal with them."
"Great Ghost Lord, all the people in Lu Province have gathered. We have three to four thousand soldiers. When do we set off?"
Cuan Wudi rubbed his head and said, "Send the order to all the troops. We will set off now."
"Great Ghost Lord, our brothers just arrived here. They haven't had time to catch their breath. There's no need to be in such a hurry."
"Great Ghost Lord, everyone is tired. It's better to rest, have a meal, and then set off."
Cuan Wudi waved his hand and said seriously, "Haven't you heard that speed is the most important thing in war? If we wait until you catch your breath, the army will be at our feet."
"Great Ghost Lord is right. Speed is the most important thing in war."
"Speed is the most important thing in war."
Following a series of curses, the group of bandits who had yet to catch their breath hurriedly rushed toward the Gourd Cave.
The bandits lived in the mountains all year round and were very adapted to the mountainous terrain. Although they were a little tired at the moment, they were after all bandits who killed and robbed, not spoiled young ladies. After being severely reprimanded, their speed suddenly increased a lot.
When the sun had just risen, a group of three to four thousand bandits had arrived at the Gourd Cave's East Cove and were hiding in the dense forest.
"Great Ghost Lord, the entrance to the Gourd Cave is in front of us. There are fifty Dragon Warriors guarding it. It is easy to defend and hard to attack. This will be difficult to pass."
"Great Ghost Lord, we don't have any siege weapons. I'm afraid it will be difficult to take them down."
Cuan Wudi's eyes widened. "Attack the city? Who said anything about attacking the city? We'll just lie in ambush here and send out a small group of soldiers to provoke the soldiers. As long as the soldiers are lured here, we'll first fire ten thousand arrows and then swarm them.
"Great Ghost Lord, we admire your wisdom."
"Great Ghost Lord, you are wise and mighty."
The two bandit leaders praised loudly.
Cuan Wudi looked at the two bandit leaders and sneered. "The two of you, take your men and provoke them outside the checkpoint. Lure the soldiers out."
"Great Ghost Lord, why me?"
"Great Ghost Lord, we only have a hundred men. We can't all die here."
No one was willing to be cannon fodder in the face of an army that was already famous.
Cuan Wudi's eyes flashed with killing intent. He looked at the other bandit leaders. "What do you all think?"
The other bandit leaders were afraid that they would be chosen, so they supported Cuan Wudi and forced the two bandit leaders, who only had a hundred men, to take the lead.
The two bandit leaders had no choice but to brace themselves and lead three hundred men out of the forest toward the checkpoint outside the Gourd Cave.
When they were 50 steps away from the firing range of the arrows, the 300 bandits didn't dare to take another step forward. In fact, they even began to tremble as they retreated. This was because they could already see the Dragon Martial Army soldiers aiming their arrows at them.
"If you have the ability, come out and fight! Don't be a coward!"
"Don't hide on the wall! If you have the ability, come down!"
The bandits didn't dare to rush forward. However, they were quite good at talking.
There were only fifty soldiers from the Dragon Warriors on the wall. Furthermore, one-third of them were still resting. Naturally, they didn't dare to challenge the three hundred bandits.
As they prepared to block the attack, they sent people back to the valley to report the situation.
###
In the main tent of the Gourd Cave, Ang Lee was listening to Nan Jiyun's report. He praised Nan Jiyun for her decisiveness.
"General, you weren't there at the time, so you didn't see how satisfying it was to burn the bandit's lair. It was really too satisfying. With just one fire, such a huge bandit's lair was annihilated in an instant. Haha!"
Nan Jiyun laughed out loud when she talked about this.
"All that's left of the three bandit lairs is an empty shell. I'm also very curious as to what these murderous bastards are up to."
A confident smile appeared on Ang Lee's face. No matter what the bandits were up to, he wasn't afraid.
"General, there's a group of bandits outside the East Cove Cave. They're very arrogant."
A lieutenant of the Dragon Warriors hurried in to report.
"How dare the bandits challenge us! Kill them!"
"This group of bandits must be crazy. They are too bold. They actually dared to provoke the soldiers."
"General, I'm willing to be the vanguard and kill these arrogant bandits."
All the officers in the tent were furious. The bandits dared to challenge them? That was a slap to their faces. How could they tolerate it?
"How many men do the bandits have?"
Ang Lee asked calmly.
"General, there are more than three hundred bandits. However, there's a small forest not far from the East Cove Cave. There might be an ambush there."
Li An smiled and looked at the generals and officers. He said softly, "The 26th cavalry unit was not able to participate in the two raids on the bandit lairs. Now the opportunity has come. It's time for the cavalry unit to take action."
"General, our reconnaissance unit also wants to participate in this operation. It's good to help the cavalry unit."
Nan Jiyun was addicted to performing meritorious deeds. He eagerly requested.
Ang Lee smiled and ordered, "Cavalry unit, first reconnaissance unit, and second reconnaissance unit, assemble at the East Cove Cave immediately. Be quick."
"Yes, General."
The officers immediately went to pass on the order.
Ang Lee stood up and led the officers to the East Cove Cave.
The East Cove Cave was now bustling with people. Other than the hundreds of soldiers from the supply regiment and part of the Dragon Warriors who were stationed here, there were also gold miners and a large number of hired craftsmen.
The East Cove Cave was much smaller than the Middle Cove Cave, but it had half the population of the Middle Cove Cave.
Ang Lee directly led the officers to the crossbow workshop. He wanted to show them the newly made Zhuge Repeating Crossbows.
"General, the Zhuge Repeating Crossbows are here. There are already more than five hundred of them and more than a hundred thousand eight-inch arrows."
A craftsman in charge of management reported the situation to Li An.
Ang Lee nodded with satisfaction. "Very well done. The workmanship is good and the speed is fast. Continue to work hard."
"Thank you, General. We will definitely work harder."
"General, the reconnaissance unit and cavalry unit have already assembled at the East Cove Cave."
Nan Jiyun strode over and reported to Ang Lee.
Ang Lee pointed to the Zhuge Repeating Crossbows and said seriously, "Let all the soldiers of the reconnaissance unit equip themselves with a Zhuge Repeating Crossbow and a hundred arrows. After receiving the equipment, try it out here first."
"Yes, General."
Nan Jiyun led more than a hundred soldiers of the reconnaissance unit and received the Zhuge Repeating Crossbows and a hundred arrows according to Ang Lee's request. They also followed the craftsmen's instructions and practiced at a shooting range in the East Cove Cave.
"General, the Zhuge Repeating Crossbows can shoot continuously. A team of a hundred can shoot with the momentum of a thousand men. With this weapon, eliminating the bandits will be a piece of cake."
Nan Jiyun said excitedly.
Ang Lee saw that the soldiers of the reconnaissance unit already knew how to use the Zhuge Repeating Crossbows. He took out a topographic map of the Gourd Cave and ordered, "Nan Jiyun, this is the only way for the bandits to retreat. Immediately lead all the soldiers of the reconnaissance unit out of the West Cove Cave and set up an ambush here. Don't kill them, just inflict heavy damage. You are only allowed to shoot arrows. No pursuit."
"General, since the bandits are here, why should we be polite? Why don't we just kill them all?"
Nan Jiyun clenched his fists.
"Just follow orders. Go."
"Yes, General."
Nan Jiyun accepted the order and led more than a hundred soldiers of the reconnaissance team to the West Valley and set off towards the predetermined ambush location.
Then, Ang Lee ordered the 110 soldiers of the cavalry unit to equip themselves with the Zhuge Repeating Crossbows and undergo adaptive training.
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