PDLP Chapter 136 The Bandits of Mount Dapi
Chapter 136 The Bandits of Mount Dapi
Outside Junxian City, on Mount Dapi, a band of bandits dressed in tattered clothes held various crude weapons. Some were just wooden guns made by sharpening straight logs, others were nicked grass-cutting knives, and some even carried digging tools.
"Your Majesty, our men have already observed them. There are fewer than ten of them, and the white-robed gentleman on horseback appears to be wealthy."
The bearded man known as the King glanced back at his emaciated men, who hadn't been able to open their market for nearly half a month. Coupled with the Jurchens' constant attacks, life was extremely difficult for these mountain bandits.
The bearded man was originally a martial arts scholar from Junxian County, whose real name was Wu Mao. After Junxian County was repeatedly occupied by the Jurchens, he, a martial arts scholar with no background, became a mere figurehead. In the end, unable to make a living, he robbed a landlord and became a mountain bandit king.
He had initially planned to make a meager living on the mountain, but unexpectedly, villagers from the surrounding area learned of his existence and flocked to him, causing his followers to grow to over three hundred. While he wasn't living a life of luxury on the mountain, he wasn't starving either. However, as his bandit gang grew, he began to feel the pressure.
The surrounding wealthy families and landlords had already been robbed several times. Any landlords with some ability had moved to the county town. As for the common people? Let's just forget about them. The Jurchens had already squeezed them dry. No matter how bad we are, we can't just take their bones.
Wu Mao asked again and again, "Are you sure you saw it clearly? The other side doesn't have any other helpers?"
The minor leader patted his chest and loudly assured, "Your Majesty, rest assured, I checked it myself, there's no problem."
Looking at the squinty eyes of this petty leader, Wu Mao couldn't help but feel disbelieving. This guy was chasing rabbits in the mountains; let alone whether he caught the rabbit or not, he almost crashed into a tree trunk and died. If he weren't the brother-in-law of his seventh maternal uncle's third nephew, Wu Mao would never have appointed him as a petty leader.
Drawing the scimitar he had just snatched from the Jin soldiers a few days earlier, Wu Mao said fiercely, "Brothers, we'll do this job. But try not to hurt anyone if you can avoid it; we're only after the money."
Thus, three hundred men were scattered and ambushed along the only road leading to Mount Dapi, quietly waiting for the arrival of those people.
After handing over command of the front lines to Wanyan Cong, Wanyan Ping, disguised as merchants, led his personal guards towards Anyang Prefecture. He hadn't seen Li Zhen for a long time, and Li Zhen's every word and action seemed to reappear before his eyes. Regarding the development of the Jin Dynasty, Wanyan Ping believed that it was essential to make good use of capable people like Li Zhen; relying solely on plundering could not be a sustainable strategy.
On the surface, Wanyan Ping only brought six or seven attendants, but in reality, he had a personal guard of over five hundred men, all elites specially selected by Emperor Wanyan Liang of the Jin Dynasty from the Golden Feather Guard. After all, Wanyan Liang wanted to groom Wanyan Ping as his successor, and there could be no mistakes in this regard.
A guard rode up to Wanyan Ping's side: "Young Prince, we are about to reach Dapi Mountain in Junxian County. Our people say that there is a band of bandits in these mountains. They are committing crimes in the surrounding area under the guise of resisting our Great Jin Kingdom. Although we are stronger than them, you would better be careful."
Looking at the mist-shrouded Dapi Mountain, Wanyan Ping was amazed that such a beautiful landscape could harbor bandits. He said to his guard, "It's alright. On the surface, there are only a few of us, and we don't have any goods with us. We shouldn't catch their eye. We just need to be discreet and careful as we pass by. If all else fails, we can use money to pave the way. They all have their own rules, so they shouldn't make things difficult for us."
During the journey, Wanyan Ping made a brief stop by a small river to wait for the hidden troops. After about half an hour, the group mounted their horses again and continued their journey. They were now very close to Anyang Prefecture. If the journey went smoothly, they could have dinner at a restaurant in the prefectural city the next day.
Just as Wanyan Ping was riding his horse and admiring the scenery on both sides of the mountain road, a howl was heard.
"This mountain is mine, this road is mine. If you want to get through, you have to pay the toll."
A man wielding a worn-out machete led twenty or thirty men out of the forest on either side, completely blocking the already narrow mountain path. Not only that, these bandits also knew to block their retreat; there were more than a dozen men following behind Wanyan Ping and his group.
Sitting on his horse, Wanyan Ping was not flustered at all; instead, he laughed and corrected the bandit leader's mistake.
"Wrong, it should be 'This road is mine, this tree is mine.' If you can't even deliver your lines properly, how can you survive in this industry? Aren't you afraid of being laughed at by your peers?"
Hidden in the mountains, Wu Mao slapped his forehead hard. Once this job was finished, he was determined to replace this astigmatic subordinate. Not only were his eyesight bad, but his brain wasn't working either; he'd even gotten the lines wrong, making him a laughingstock.
The bandit leader recalled what he had just shouted, and it seemed like he had made the right decision.
"Hey! You handsome young man, forget what I just shouted, pay the toll now, or I'll let you taste the power of my mighty greatsword!"
Wanyan Ping asked with great interest, "This hero is very polite. Tell me how much you want, and I will hand it over right away."
The leader was taken aback by the other party's apparent willingness to agree. Logically, the other party should have either fled or begged for mercy on their knees, so why were they demanding to pay a toll?
Thinking of this, he turned to look at Wu Mao's hiding place. Seeing his subordinates' actions, Wu Mao could no longer hide and came out of his hiding place.
Wu Mao glared at the man with astigmatism and said to Wanyan Ping, "This is how we make a living. You people are obviously rich and powerful. Give us a hundred taels and we'll let you pass. We guarantee we won't harm you in the slightest."
Upon seeing the main figure appear, Wanyan Ping didn't even bother with a joke, and directly waved his hand to order one of his personal guards to take out one hundred taels of silver and send it over.
Seeing this, even Wu Mao was baffled: The other party was so agreeable, did he ask for too little earlier?
After the silver was handed to the astigmatic leader, he immediately pulled out a scale and weighed it. Wu Mao was dumbfounded by this action. "You're weighing silver? Can't you go somewhere else? Isn't it embarrassing to do it in front of everyone?"
With a broad smile, the man with astigmatism said to Wu Mao, "Your Majesty, the quantity is not a problem."
He leaned forward again and whispered, "We even have a few extra ounces. We got a good deal this time. Hehehe..."
Wu Mao, his face dark throughout, said, "Let them through!"
The twenty or thirty people scattered to both sides of the mountain path, clearing the way in the middle. Seeing this, Wanyan Ping smiled and nodded to Wu Mao, then led the way to pass.
Just as Wanyan Ping's six or seven men were about to pass by, the man with astigmatism, for some reason, took a liking to the long sword on the back of the last man's horse. At this moment, his eyesight seemed to have returned to normal, and he shouted and tried to grab the long sword.