BSI Chapter 63 Openly Repairing the Plank Road
Chapter 63 Openly Repairing the Plank Road
In truth, Hu Changyong was able to see the situation clearly; otherwise, he wouldn't have followed Wu Song and his men after Li Chong sent him a letter.
He knew in his heart that if they wanted to fight their way back into the mountains, they wouldn't be enough; they had to join forces with the government.
The problem with Hu Changyong is that although he knows this in his heart, his long-term life in the mountains and his resentment towards the government make him unable to keep his mouth shut, and he can't help but want to compete with Li Chong.
Hu Changyong was especially worried because Zhong Mei, whom he had watched grow up, was being held hostage by Li Chong.
Seeing the young Li Chong, he couldn't help but feel a little contemptuous, which is why he said those things.
His original intention was certainly not to unite the two forces, otherwise he wouldn't have waited for Li Chong to arrive.
However, Hu Changyong did not expect that Li Chong, who seemed to be a gentle and refined person, would act so decisively and directly threaten his foundation.
When Li Chong uttered those words of appeasement and heard the commotion behind him, he knew he had no chance of winning.
Not everyone is willing to stay in the mountains. If they can be ordinary people, who would want to become an outlaw?
As for whether Li Chong is lying, there's no need to worry about that.
With so many people around, no one thought Li Chong would go back on his word.
Therefore, after figuring this out, no matter how unwilling Hu Changyong was, he had no choice but to lay down his weapon.
He dared not gamble on whether Li Chong would make a move; if he did, it would implicate too many people.
Seeing Hu Changyong bow his head in submission, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Relieved, Zhongmei took another half step forward and called out worriedly, "Third Uncle..."
Li Chong gave her a silent push. Zhong Mei turned around in surprise, but Li Chong didn't look at her; he just waved his hand gently.
Zhong Mei understood, and walked over to Hu Changyong in a few steps, whispering words of comfort.
Li Chong slowly walked up to Jia Zhuo: "For Xiao Mei'er's sake, since he has lowered his head, I will give you another chance. I hope this is the first and the last time."
Jia Zhu bowed deeply and said, "Thank you for your magnanimity, County Magistrate. We will never dare to act recklessly again."
"Hmm." Li Chong nodded slightly, then looked up at what was behind him. "Then why aren't you putting away your knives?"
Jia Zhuo quickly turned around: "Put all the knives away! Hurry up!"
A rustling sound came as everyone put away their knives.
A few young men were somewhat unconvinced, but under Jia Zhuo's gaze, they were defeated and angrily put away their knives.
Li Chong beckoned to the back of his head: "Wen Zhao, your men should put away their swords and come over here to discuss matters."
Xue Ming hesitated for only a moment before ordering his men to sheathe their swords, and then walked behind Li Chong.
At this moment, Hu Changyong, who had recovered, was also pulled over by Zhong Mei, and everyone was waiting for Li Chong to speak.
After looking around, Li Chong asked in a deep voice, "When you got here, were you seen by anyone else?"
"Rest assured, Your Excellency," Xue Ming replied, clasping his hands in a fist salute. "We all came separately and gathered here without revealing our whereabouts."
Li Chong looked at Jia Zhuo.
Jia Zhu shook his head: "This place is already outside the Zhu Family Village area, and no one usually comes here. The county magistrate need not worry."
"it is good."
Li Chong spoke rapidly: "Did you bring all the weapons I asked you to prepare?"
Wu Dalang dared not be negligent: "Reporting to the master, everything is ready and right here."
Following Wu Dalang's directions, Li Chong and his group arrived at a small cart not far away.
Lifting the tarpaulin revealed the gleaming, white weapons.
Li Chong grabbed a handful of things and swung them around a few times, the sound of them cutting through the air was smooth and effortless.
"Not bad." With a satisfied smile, Li Chong casually tossed the long sword in his hand to Wu Song. "Erlang, use this. The one you have is too dull. Use the new one."
These weapons were secretly made by Wu Dalang at Li Chong's behest, hidden from everyone's eyes, just waiting to be put to use today.
Li Chong had just noticed that, despite the tense standoff between Xue Ming and Hu Changyong's groups, it was clear that...
In reality, half of their men were carrying junk.
Having a machete was considered elite; most others also carried forks and rakes.
While they weren't entirely harmless, it seemed more like they were going to do farm work than to fight.
These weapons were prepared for them.
After Li Chong chose a weapon that suited him, he stepped back a few paces and said, "You can choose the rest yourselves, but make sure everyone has a weapon."
That's all he can do.
While he could find a few blacksmiths to make weapons on his own, armor and the like were things that Li Chong couldn't get his hands on.
Possessing armor is tantamount to treason; at most, he could only afford to get a few leather armors to wear.
The leather armor that Sun Jun got is currently with the main force, and we won't be able to get it anytime soon.
However, it's not a big deal. The bandits on the other side aren't wearing armor either. When the fight breaks out, it'll come down to who has the better weapon. Having a weapon is enough.
Faced with Li Chong's generosity, Hu Changyong was stunned; he hadn't expected that his group would also receive a share.
Xue Ming was even more anxious: "Your Excellency..."
Li Chong raised his hand: "Time is of the essence. I don't have time to explain. Quickly distribute the weapons, and hurry!"
He acted arbitrarily, and no one else could say anything. They could only choose their own weapons, and soon everyone had upgraded from ragtag guns to cannons.
Seeing that most people were admiring the weapons in their hands, Li Chong continued, "Did you all bring enough dry rations as I told you to?"
Wu Dalang quickly stepped forward: "The master has given the order, and I dare not neglect it. We have all brought enough food for three days, and the master's food is also with me."
Li Chong then looked at Xue Ming and Hu Changyong, and seeing that they both nodded, he stopped talking nonsense.
"Lead the way. While the thieves' attention is focused on the main force, let's give them a big surprise!"
He gestured for Hu Changyong and the others to lead the way, and the group began to head into the mountains.
Li Chong's strategy was not complicated; it was simply a matter of feigning one move while secretly making another.
He made a big show of raising funds in the county and created such a big fuss about suppressing the bandits. Even if there were no bandits working within the county, the news would eventually reach the mountains.
If those bandits didn't even have a single informant, they wouldn't have survived to this day.
Therefore, all of Li Chong's actions have been preparations for a surprise attack in secret.
Everything is going exactly as Li Chong planned. He had Cui Shi impersonate him and lead the large group on a sightseeing trip to attract attention.
He then led the elite troops he had gathered, taking a shortcut into the mountains to catch them off guard.
Compared to those yamen runners who had been out of action for a long time, Xue Ming and Hu Changyong's men could be considered elite, at least their physical fitness was above average.
With someone familiar with the terrain leading the way, Li Chong was confident that he would win a great victory in this battle.
"After the victory, it's time to consider the next step." Li Chong looked up at the horizon, his expression enigmatic.