The Legend of the Condor Heroes: Starting from the Bodyguard

Chapter 258 The Real and Fake Escort Teams: Luring the Snake Out of Its Hole

Zhou Yan's roar was majestic and grand, like a thunderbolt rushing for miles. He had never practiced the Buddhist "Lion's Roar," but now, because of his profound internal strength, the level he displayed had already surpassed the skill that Bao Lei used during the battle of Shaoshi Mountain.

A sharp, high-pitched whistle came from the misty waters, and Zhou Yan was delighted; the newcomer must be the old fisherman. Zhang Wangyue, being a calm and collected man, would certainly not be one to let out a long, drawn-out whistle.

Suddenly a voice came, "Brother Zhou, my ears are ringing. If you keep howling, I won't be able to walk."

Zhou Yan was surprised and looked over, only to see Yang Miaozhen and Qiu Qianchi walking over from about five or six zhang away.

"Congratulations, Brother Zhou, on your breakthrough in cultivation and advancement in your realm."

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "It's mainly because Mount Chaya is a place of spiritual energy."

"Then stay here permanently."

"Come on, let's go see, it should be Brother Fisherman who has arrived."

"Um"

The three used their movement techniques to descend the mountain, and on the way, they encountered the Fisherman of Misty Waves, who had come from Yueyang. The old man laughed heartily, "Brother Zhou's roar shook the land for miles around! I thought some great master had arrived at the mountain stronghold. When that kid from Hengyang sees you again, he'll be speechless with astonishment."

"Brother Fisherman, you jest. How is western Hunan now?"

The old fisherman said, "It's a complete mess, like a pot of porridge. The Iron Palm Clan is desperately expanding its power, swallowing up gangs of all sizes. There are frequent conflicts between the Beggar Clan, the White Lotus Sect, and the Manichaeism. The clowns of the Five Poisons Sect in Yunnan and Guizhou have also gotten involved. I think it won't be long before the four sects of the gang fight each other."

"So serious?" Zhou Yan was shocked. He had been in contact with all the gangs that Yanbo Diaosou had mentioned, and had even killed the vice leader of the Five Poisons Sect in Baicao Valley, Xiangxi. He wondered how Baicao Xianweng was doing now.

"It's natural."

"Once the bandits are quelled in Tongbai Mountain, we can go to Xiangyang and visit Hengshan."

"Yes, that's what I think too."

“Let’s go to the mountain village to talk.”

With the sun high in the sky and the sunlight blazing, Zhou Yan, Yang Miaozhen, and Qiu Qianchi greeted the Fisherman of Misty Waves, and the four headed straight for the mountain stronghold.

At dusk, more than a hundred riders galloped in from the direction of Kaifeng Prefecture.

Riding on horseback were more than twenty people, including Zhang Wangyue, Hu Yanlei, Wang Kui, Mu Nianci, and Liang Xiaowu from the Fu'an Escort Agency, and nearly a hundred escorts and bodyguards led by Lu Beihe, the young master of the Zhenwei Escort Agency.

Not to mention Yang Miaozhen, even Zhou Yan was a little surprised that so many people from Fu'an and Zhenwei had come.

Yang Miaozhen, who came down the mountain to greet them, was overjoyed. "Chief镖头 Zhang and Young Master Lu have been so kind to us. I really don't know how to thank them."

Lu Beihe said politely, "It is Zhenwei who should thank Chief Yang. In the past year, whenever Zhenwei escorts goods through Jiangnan, he has to detour through the Huai River. He has long wanted to eliminate the bandits in Tongbai Mountain and Funiu Mountain, but the bandits are too numerous and powerful, so he could not do anything about it. Now that Chief Yang is fighting the bandits, how can he not do his best to help?"

Zhang Wangyue laughed and said, "Fu'an is no different. Back then, bandits were rampant in the two mountains, and the caravans that were supposed to be traveling through Jingzhou had no choice but to change their route to the Huai River. That's how we became acquainted with Chief Yang after our initial encounter."

"I also have to thank those remnants of the Great Qi," Yang Miaozhen said generously, then he took Mu Nianci's hand, "It's been so long since I've seen you, sister, I've missed you terribly."

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the usually shy Mu Nianci blushed like a peony.

“Let’s go to the mountain stronghold and discuss how to attack,” Zhou Yan said.

"Brother Zhou is right, the food and wine have been prepared long ago, please." Yang Miaozhen led the way, and the group marched up the mountain with great momentum.

……

Tongbai Mountain has been a famous mountain since ancient times, and its history is recorded in the earliest historical book, the "Yu Gong" section of the Book of Documents. It was formerly known as Chu Mountain, Dafu Mountain, and Yunmeng Mountain. The Huai River, which flows for thousands of miles, originates from the northern foot of Taibai Peak, where countless streams converge to form a river with a long and continuous flow.

A breeze swept through the mountains and fields, the summer afternoon sun was peaceful, and as the leaves rustled in the air, a group of people came out.

An elderly man with a white beard, wearing a short yellow robe, was waving a large palm-leaf fan in his right hand, speaking eloquently with an air of authority and confidence.

"In the eighth year of the Tianhui era of the Jin dynasty, the Jin emperor supported Liu Yu, a surrendered official of the Song dynasty, as emperor, establishing the puppet state of Qi, named Fuchang. This was intended to consolidate Jin's rule south of the Yellow River and serve as a bulwark between the Jin and Song dynasties. However, in the years that followed, the Song, Jin, Qi, and various forces, including local tyrants, bandits, cults, and the White Lotus sect, vied for power, and the puppet state of Qi failed to fulfill its role of 'protecting the people and securing the country.' In the fifteenth year of the Tianhui era, the Jin emperor abolished the Qi state. Liu Yu's descendants and many generals later fled to the Tongbai and Funiu Mountains to become bandits. The two mountains formed a strategic alliance, with a combined force of over 20,000 men. The Great Khan led his army to fight against the Jin dynasty in Hebei, and many refugees fled south, becoming bandits themselves. It is estimated that the mountain stronghold now has no fewer than 30,000 men."

Wearing a short yellow robe and fanning himself with a large palm leaf fan, the white-bearded old man spoke eloquently and fluently. He was none other than Qiu Qianzhang, the leader of the Iron Palm Clan, who had once tricked bandits who had betrayed the Ming Cult into submission at Xianshan in Xinyang. He even led the bandits to Chaya Mountain, where even the intelligent Yang Miaozhen was bewildered and unsure how to handle the situation. Qiu Qianzhang was naturally very familiar with the remnants of the Great Qi in Tongbai Mountain and Funiu Mountain.

Huo Du, like Yang Kang, wanted to achieve something, but his temperament and methods were not as good as Yang Kang's at the moment. The grand banquet in Zhongdu was ruined by Huang Rong, Ouyang Ke, Zhou Yan and others, and ended up being a disappointment.

The battle at Shaoshi Mountain ended in failure, with setbacks at every turn.

When Qiu Qianzhang arrived in Zhongdu, he volunteered and performed his amazing skills of breaking "blue bricks" with his hands and spitting out "thick smoke". He then introduced himself as Qiu Qianren's brother and said that the Jin Dynasty was in decline and its national fortune was not good. He was willing to help Huo Du make a name for himself.

Huo Du had witnessed Qiu Qianren's skills at Shaoshi Mountain, and his cultivation was not much inferior to his master, the Golden Wheel Monk. After seeing Qiu Qianzhang's "supernatural powers" again, he was overjoyed and regarded him as his right-hand man.

Qiu Qianzhang offered Huo Du a suggestion: to win over the two strongholds of Funiu Mountain and Tongbai Mountain, and when the Great Khan raises his army again, to attack the Jin Dynasty. His contribution would be no less than that of Tolui, Huazheng and others who went to Lin'an to persuade the Song Dynasty to send troops to attack from both sides. Genghis Khan would definitely look at him with new respect.

Huo Du thought this was a win-win situation. Once it succeeded, he would gain the Khan's favor and also be able to recruit some experts to expand his strength.

Among the skilled men he recruited in Zhongdu were bandits from the Funiu Mountains area. He arranged for his men to make contact with them with a large sum of money, acting as a go-between, so that the two strongholds could negotiate.

Huo Du arrived full of lofty ambitions.

Hearing Qiu Qianzhang recount the story with such familiarity, he exclaimed, "With you, sir, I am like a fish in water. With your help and my master's assistance, what great things cannot be accomplished? I will surely unify the martial arts world."

Qiu Qianzhang glanced at the Golden Wheel Monk out of the corner of his eye. Seeing the other man's composure, as if "Mount Tai collapsed before him, and a deer ran past to his left without blinking," he withdrew his gaze without changing his expression, fanning himself with a palm leaf fan, and said, "Liu Qianfeng, the leader of Tongbai Mountain, is the son of Liu Lin, the son of Liu Yu, and his martial arts are mediocre. The leader of the Funiu Mountain stronghold is a Miao man whose ancestors were generals under Liu Yu, and both fought against Yue Fei. His name is Ba Rui, and his cultivation is decent."

Huo Du asked, "Sir, how confident are you in winning over the two villages?"

Qiu Qianzhang looked confident and said, "Everything is under my control, little prince, you can rest assured."

"I rely on you, sir."

"Young Prince, there's no need for such formalities." Qiu Qianzhang strolled along, his demeanor carefree.

……

As the sun sets, dozens of miles northeast of Nanyang, the sounds of carriages and horses fill the air, and bodyguards carry knives at their waists.

The caravan of over three hundred people marched on in a grand procession.

The escort was led by Liang Xiaowu, a bodyguard from Fu'an, while the escort leaders included Zhang Wangyue, Huyan Lei, Lu Beihe, Qiu Qianchi, Mu Nianci, Wang Kui, and others.

The caravan was heavily laden with stones, and despite being pulled by mules and horses, the caravan moved slowly.

More than ten miles behind the caravan, over two thousand cavalry and infantrymen from the mountain stronghold, led by Yang Miaozhen, followed slowly.

Zhou Yan carried neither a bow and arrow nor a gun; instead, he slung a Qingfeng sword over his right shoulder and carried a small bundle at the end of his arm, his demeanor relaxed and natural.

Dressed similarly to the old fisherman, the two walked through the woods parallel to the caravan.

The old fisherman said, "Could this 'luring the snake out of its hole' method work?"

Luring the snake out of its hole was a method Zhou Yan easily devised when they were at Chaya Mountain.

A direct assault on the mountain stronghold would only increase casualties. The best approach is to "lure the snake out of its hole," drawing out the remaining elite forces of the Qi army from Tongbai Mountain and Funiu Mountain.

Zhenwei Escort Agency and Fu'an Escort Agency were forced to change their route southward to the Huai River because bandits from the two strongholds were robbing merchants. Fu'an, Zhenwei, and Chaya Mountain personnel disguised themselves as escort teams to lure the bandits out, and Yang Miaozhen led her troops in a swift and decisive attack.

That is the best way.

When asked by the old fisherman, Zhou Yan laughed and said, "Absolutely foolproof. You have no idea what a caravan means to bandits who never care about morality. It's an enormous fortune delivered to their doorstep. Lu Beihe and his men have already investigated. In the Nanyang area, many of the roadside eateries and teahouses are manned by scouts from two different strongholds. As soon as a caravan passes by, the scouts will send a message by carrier pigeon. A caravan of more than three hundred people can at least attract all the elites of a stronghold."

After saying this, Zhou Yan laughed and said, "After so many years of escorting goods, this is the first time I've ever hoped for bandits to come, and the more the better."

The old fisherman on the misty waters chuckled strangely.

(End of this chapter)