With the rise of my family, I can summon the Daoist Soldiers' Nest.

As dawn broke, Lin Ye and Chen Cheng led their army slowly out of the border of Qingyang Prefecture and officially entered the territory of Gongchang Prefecture.

Unlike Qingyang Prefecture, the situation in Gongchang Prefecture was disheartening. The people were impoverished, the roads had not been repaired for a long time, were full of potholes, and the ruts were deep. Many sections had even been eroded into gullies by rainwater.

The army's march was extremely difficult, especially the wagons loaded with supplies, whose wheels often got stuck in mud or rocky holes, requiring several people to push and pull them out.

Fortunately, it can be seen along the way that Gongchang Prefecture has conscripted a large number of laborers to repair the roads.

Clearly, this was in preparation for the upcoming winter fighting, but it remains to be seen whether it can be properly repaired before the fighting begins.

Lin Ye and Chen Cheng rode side by side, chatting about the details of the conscription mission and the defense situation in various places.

Lin Ping, Lin Jing, and Liu Yun, who were behind them, took the initiative to find several battalion commanders in the Yun County army and exchange combat experience.

After all, the Yunxian Army had been conscripted to the border and fought directly against the Northern Xiongnu. Their combat experience was far superior to that of the newly established Xiangxian Army. These practical experiences were invaluable to the Lin family's troops.

Just as the procession slowly passed through a withered field, a clear and melodious sound of flapping wings suddenly came from the sky.

Everyone looked up and saw a Qingyu messenger, a communications soldier of the imperial court, circling down from the sky.

Its entire body is covered in satin-green feathers, with a broad wingspan and sharp eyes that gleam with a metallic sheen in the sunlight.

The messenger circled in the air several times, seemingly confirming its target, before landing steadily on the open ground in front of Lin Ye and Chen Cheng.

Several soldiers quickly stepped forward, carefully removed the letter tube tied to the messenger's leg, and handed it to Chen Cheng.

Chen Cheng took the letter, glanced at it, his face darkened, and then handed the letter to Lin Ye.

Lin Ye took the letter, tore open the seal, and his eyes quickly scanned the letter, his breath catching in his throat.

Two nights ago, Qinghe County was breached by three groups of river bandits, and all the boats in the dock were burned to the ground.

Although the magistrate led his men to repel the bandits, the county town's defenders suffered heavy casualties and were now greatly weakened, unable to protect themselves.

Gongchang Prefecture sent a letter to Qingyang Prefecture, ordering Lin Ye and Chen Cheng's troops to immediately rush to Qinghe County to defend the city.

Meanwhile, before the imperial court holds anyone accountable for the fall of the county town, the three groups of river bandits must be wiped out within twenty days in order to maintain the dignity of the imperial court.

"Brother Chen, what... what should we do?" Lin Ye frowned and looked up.

"What does the fall of Qinghe County have to do with us? Why should we be expected to defeat the enemy in twenty days? Besides, we don't even have boats now, which makes it even more difficult!"

"There's nothing we can do. The government has already given the order, so we can only do our best."

Even if we fail to achieve our goal completely, at least we will have something to show for it, so that the prefect won't try to shift the blame onto us to lessen his or her punishment.

Although we lords are only required to pay taxes and respond to conscription, if a county falls and this is reported to the prefecture, and we do nothing, the prefecture will surely punish us, and next year's taxes will likely be heavier.

He paused, a hint of helpless amusement in his voice: "Unlike you, I don't expect the county to allocate more spiritual plant seeds."

If you have just planted the crops but lack seeds, even the most skilled cook cannot make a meal without rice.

Brother Lin, this is your first time being drafted, so you must make a good impression on the county.

Lin Ye was silent for a moment, then nodded. "Let's march quickly and try to reach Qinghe County within five days. As for defeating the enemy within twenty days... it's acceptable if we do our best to defeat a group of river bandits. The court wants more of a deterrent effect."

The two men immediately gave their orders, and the bugle calls suddenly rose in pitch, the drumbeats became rapid and heavy, and the army changed from a slow march to a forced march.

In fact, Qinghe County is not far from here. If we were to march normally, it would take six or seven days to reach it. Now, although it would require great effort to get there within five days, it is not impossible.

After five days of rapid march, the army finally officially entered Qinghe County.

The further you travel towards the county town, the more rivers there are, with the main stream of the Qingshui River and several tributaries meandering through the area.

The riverbanks are sparsely wooded, with occasional puddles and wetlands, where the shadows of monsters can be seen from time to time.

They varied in size; some crouched on the rocky beach like giant otters, while others stood still in the shallow water like long-necked waterfowl. When they saw a large army approaching, they all panicked and scurried into the forest or dived into the deep water.

The original plan was that when the army entered Qinghe territory, officials would welcome them to show respect to the lord and the imperial reinforcements.

However, the reality was desolate; only a few county constables arrived, looking exhausted, and led the group toward the county town.

Along the way, through conversations with the constables, Lin Ye and Chen Cheng pieced together the truth of that night.

Under the cover of night, three gangs of bandits from Heishuizhai, Bawangtan, and Xuehuwan opened the sluice gates, poured into the county town, and stormed the dock, burning all the moored boats to the ground.

As for why they ultimately withdrew from the county seat, it was not as the prefectural government stated, that "the county magistrate led the troops to repel them."

Instead, the three gangs of bandits had been looting and fighting amongst themselves in the city, severely weakening their forces. Fearing a counterattack from the officials and civilians, they took the initiative to withdraw.

Subsequent statistics showed that nearly 10,000 people were injured or killed that night, and almost every family in the county town of over 100,000 people was mourning, with cries of grief echoing throughout the town.

The bandits also paid a price; about two thousand people were left in the city. Some were injured and killed on the spot by angry residents, while others were captured and executed.

"It seems the news has leaked," Chen Cheng said to Lin Ye in a deep voice.

"Why attack the city a few days before we arrived? Why attack it now? And three groups of bandits joined forces and headed straight for the shipyard. They clearly knew we were going to wipe them out, so they destroyed the ships first, leaving us with no boats to use."

"There is some good news, though. Since the three families have suffered such heavy casualties, it will probably be difficult for them to unite again in the future, which makes it easier for us to wipe them out."

Lin Ye paused for a moment, then continued, "Brother Chen, what do you think? Could we recruit a group of river bandits and let them fight amongst themselves?"

Chen Cheng frowned: "Brother Lin, why would you have such a thought? These river bandits have committed numerous evils and their hands are stained with blood. Just kill them."

If we accept the imperial pardon, how can we explain this to the tens of thousands of dead and injured civilians?

Moreover, it's just that eradication is difficult, not impossible; you absolutely mustn't even entertain such thoughts.

Lin Ye felt a little embarrassed by what was said, chuckled, and touched his nose.

Having read too much of "Water Margin" in my past life, my thinking inevitably went astray.

The Northern Han court was different from the Song Dynasty; its people were fierce and resolute, otherwise they wouldn't have fought to the death with the Northern Xiongnu year after year.

Today, the Northern Han is almost single-handedly resisting the Northern Xiongnu, and even frequently ventures deep into the grasslands to launch counterattacks. They have no intention of tolerating bandits. In this era, any attempt at amnesty is tantamount to suicide.

As evening approached, the outline of Qinghe County finally appeared on the distant horizon.

The city gate tower has a solid and imposing outline, but there are many scorch marks and repair marks from the fire.

A large number of people, men, women, and children, had gathered at the city gate.

"Two barons, we've been waiting for you!" A man in his fifties or sixties strode forward; he was none other than Magistrate Sun of Qinghe County.

He bowed respectfully, his words earnest, "The entire town is waiting for you, hoping you can bring justice to Qinghe County!"

As he spoke, he pointed to the crowd around him, where heads were thronging and all eyes were fixed on the army entering the city.

"Rest assured, Magistrate!" Chen Cheng raised his voice, which boomed like a bell, echoing at the city gate. "Now that we're here, we're determined to teach these bandits a lesson and avenge everyone!"

A cheer erupted from all around. Some waved their hands vigorously, while others wiped away tears. It seemed that the resentment that had been suppressed for many days had found an outlet.

The army slowly entered the city and passed through the heavy city gates.

Upon entering the city wall area, Lin Ye and Chen Cheng were stunned by the sight before them.

The streets on both sides were packed with people, and every household opened their doors, their eyes following the army that had come from afar, remaining silent.

"These people came voluntarily," Magistrate Sun explained softly from the side. "Hearing that you were coming to wipe out the river bandits, everyone came spontaneously to welcome you, wanting to see with their own eyes the people who wiped out the river bandits and avenged Qinghe County."