Before the house was raided, the maidservant of the Prime Minister's residence absconded with t

Seeing that the First Madam had already nodded in agreement, Xiao Yi immediately gave the order.

"Madam, immediately send someone to gather all the men of Tiger Head Stronghold and have them count the number of men."

Let's see how many people are here, and if anyone is missing!

He needed to know exactly how many people were available in the village and whether any had secretly gone down the mountain.

After all, the three leaders of Tiger Head Village are now dead, and it's inevitable that some people will take advantage of the chaos to run away, feeling that there's no future in staying in Tiger Head Village.

"good!

Xiaohe, hurry and gather everyone at the training ground!

Without further hesitation, the First Madam gave the order swiftly and decisively.

Xiao He responded and ran off quickly.

Before long, the men, the elderly, women and children of the village gathered in twos and threes at the training ground.

They all looked puzzled, whispering among themselves, wondering what had happened.

Someone received the order and quickly stepped forward to count the number of people present. Then, he stepped forward, clasped his hands, and reported to the First Madam: "Reporting to the First Madam, there are a total of 273 men in the village. 270 are present now, and three are missing."

They were Chen Ergou, one of the second-in-command's henchmen, and Du Dahai and Jiang Xing, the cooks in the kitchen.

The First Madam nodded, then cleared her throat and said loudly to everyone, "Brothers, from this moment on, all of you must obey the arrangements of this Seventh Young Master Shi!"

What he said is what I said; there's no need to ask me again, understand?

Although everyone was surprised and suspicious, they could not disobey the First Madam's words, so they could only reply in unison, "Yes, First Madam!"

Xiao Yi stepped forward, his gaze quickly sweeping over the crowd.

He then said to a familiar figure in the crowd, "Brother Wang, could you please take two trustworthy brothers and go to the place where Chen Ergou, Du Dahai, and Jiang Xing are staying to investigate thoroughly?"

Check their belongings, especially their tokens and silver coins—are they still there?

This Brother Wang is none other than Chef Wang, who had interacted with Tao'er and the others.

Since that incident, he has been on Tao'er's side.

Upon hearing this, Chef Wang nodded without hesitation: "Yes, Seventh Young Master Shi!"

He knew that Seventh Young Master Shi was Tao'er's man, so his words were Tao'er's words, and he would just obey.

Chef Wang then picked up the two men and strode off.

In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Chef Wang and his two companions returned, panting heavily.

"Young master, the investigation is complete!"

"All the valuables and most important identification tokens in Chen Ergou and Jiang Xing's room have disappeared."

Chef Wang's face was grim as he replied.

Xiao Yi frowned, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes: "Just as I thought!"

The First Madam understood as well, and her expression changed slightly: "Seventh Young Master Shi, do you mean to say..."

Did Chen Ergou, Jiang Xing, and Du Dahai secretly escape down the mountain on their own?

Xiao Yi nodded, but then shook his head: "If they just escaped, that's fine, it just means we've lost three cowards."

What I'm afraid of is...

"What are you afraid of?"

Could those three possibly cause any trouble?

The First Madam asked in confusion.

Xiao Yi remained silent for a moment, not answering immediately.

Qingfeng couldn't help but chime in, "Madam, you're oversimplifying things!"

My young master means that he is afraid the three of them will be unlucky and run into King Cheng's army as soon as they come down the mountain!

"When they get caught, in order to save their lives, they'll definitely spill all the secrets of Tiger Head Stronghold—their codes, passwords, defenses, everything!"

The First Madam blushed instantly, realizing that she had indeed been thinking too superficially.

Having spent years mingling in bandit strongholds, I've forgotten how fragile the human heart can be in a life-or-death situation.

She was immediately anxious and flustered: "What should we do?"

This……

What should we do?

Xiao Yi made a decisive decision and said in a deep voice, "The most urgent task is to change the password immediately!"

Listen up, everyone! From this moment on, all previous passwords are null and void.

After saying that, he turned to Chef Wang and asked, "Brother Wang, could you please tell me what Tiger Head Village's old slogan was?"

Chef Wang hesitated for a moment, then stammered, "Young Master Shi, our old motto was... 'Those who obey me prosper, those who defy me perish!'"

Xiao Yi sneered inwardly: This Zhang Mang is truly ambitious!

Unfortunately, he will never live to see that day.

"What the old slogans were doesn't matter anymore, they're all null and void from now on!"

Everyone's using the new password now!

The new password is: May the country be prosperous and the people at peace, and may the weather be favorable!

Did everyone remember that?

His voice was booming, resounding throughout the entire venue.

"Got it!" everyone responded in unison.

"good!

Repeat after me three times, and make sure you remember it!

May the nation be prosperous and the people at peace, and may the weather be favorable!

May the nation be prosperous and the people at peace, and may the weather be favorable!

May the nation be prosperous and the people at peace, and may the weather be favorable!

The powerful chanting echoed over Tiger Head Village.

The First Madam immediately understood the purpose of Xiao Yi's arrangement.

Even if the three people who left are caught and reveal information about Tiger Head Village, there's no need to worry now that the slogan has been changed.

This friend of Tao'er is quite capable.

Tiger Head Village will definitely be better than it is now under his leadership.

After everyone finished reading, Xiao Yi turned around and lowered his voice to Dong Kui, Xiao He, and the First Madam, saying, "Now, Dong Kui, Xiao He, you two accompany the First Madam and take all the women and children in the village to hide in the dark dungeon by the cliff immediately."

That place is extremely secluded; very few people know about it, making it the safest place right now.

Dongkui opened her mouth, wanting to stay and help, but was stopped by Xiao Yi's firm gaze.

There was a sense of entrustment and trust in his eyes.

He whispered to Dongkui, "Miss Dongkui, protect them well."

Dongkui bit her lip, nodded vigorously, then turned around and shouted, "All women and children, follow me!"

Amidst the rustling footsteps, the women of the village, along with their children, followed closely behind Dongkui and her two companions, quickly disappearing into the depths of the village.

Watching them leave, Xiao Yi turned around and faced the remaining men, his expression hardening: "From now on, everyone listen to my orders and follow me to redeploy the mechanisms!"

The existing mechanisms must be completely relocated, and new traps must be added!

He unfolded the defense map that had been prepared at some unknown time, pointed to the markings on it, and loudly gave orders.

Seeing his calm and composed demeanor, the crowd's initial anxiety gradually subsided, and they responded in unison.

Xiao Yi then turned and instructed, "Qingfeng, take a few men and find some more large stones to pile up in the open area in front of the village gate."

"Collect the cow dung too, it'll be very useful!"

Qingfeng's eyes lit up, and he immediately understood the young master's intention. He excitedly agreed and led his men away.

In an instant, the entire Tiger Head Village was abuzz with activity.

The men carried stones, dug pits, and set up traps, all in an orderly fashion, without the previous panic and fear.

An hour later, the new defensive deployment was initially completed, and they awaited the arrival of the enemy.

Just then, a figure appeared on the path outside the village gate, walking unsteadily.

He was dressed in rags, covered in mud, and appeared to be seriously injured, as he struggled to move toward the entrance of the mountain village.

The guards on the watchtower at the gate immediately became alert, drew their bows and arrows, and shouted sternly, "Halt!"

Who goes there?