The Thief Prince

Liangshan now has 800 soldiers, and Sun Wang has already thoroughly investigated the situation of Niutou Mountain.

There were at most two hundred or so men, half of whom were ugly and deformed, and they were known as the Three Hundred Bandits.

With the current superior military strength of Black Wind Stronghold, taking this mountain should not be difficult.

So Wu Anqing suggested to Li Zheng, "Brother, the stronghold trains new recruits day and night, but these newly recruited henchmen have never been in battle and are ultimately not confident."

"This time, we should take more new recruits with us, let them see blood, so they can be easily commanded in the future."

Li Zheng shook his head: "Even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit, and besides, we still need to leave troops to guard the main camp."

He personally selected one hundred cavalry and one hundred archers, all of whom were veterans who had followed Li Zheng in his many battles.

Another 200 infantrymen were selected, but they were a mix of new and old soldiers.

Li Zheng took command and appointed four leaders: Wu Anqing, Li Bao, Zhang Yin, and Ma Si. He also appointed six other leaders: Yan Yun, Du Yu, Luo Pan, Liu Daweng, Sun Wang, and Zhao Tie, totaling four hundred soldiers.

Before setting off, Li Zheng had someone bring down the banner that read "Acting on Behalf of Heaven" and put it at the front, and the large group of people headed towards Niutou Mountain in a grand procession.

When the Black Wind Bandits arrived at the foot of Niutou Mountain, one of their patrolling henchmen ran into the Taoist temple to report: "Brother, something terrible has happened!"

"A large contingent of troops is coming down the mountain; they look like government troops!"

Wang Jing was dozing off on the couch when he heard this and jumped up: "Impossible! I've already taken care of things with the officials, why would they come?"

The henchman said, "But those men on horseback and in armor, who else could they be but government troops?"

Wang Jing asked, "Did you see the flag clearly?"

The henchman replied, "The leader carries a large apricot-yellow flag, while the rest all fly black flags."

Wang Jing then asked, "What is written on that large banner?"

The henchman stammered, "I...I can't read."

Wang Jing kicked him to the ground: "Useless!"

He then shouted to his men, "Gather the troops! Follow me down the mountain!"

He turned around, took the gilded axe with embroidered patterns from the wall, and strode out of the temple gate.

Wang Jing hastily gathered over a hundred henchmen and arrived at the foot of the mountain.

From afar, one could see the military formations on the opposite side were impeccable, with spears and lances standing like a forest. In the center, a large apricot-yellow banner fluttered in the wind, with the four characters "Acting on behalf of Heaven" clearly visible.

Wang Jing had already made up his mind.

Waving a black flag and acting so arrogantly, could it be the Black Wind Bandit of "Suppressing Shandong" Li Zheng?

Didn't they say the Black Wind Bandits were wiped out by the government? How come they've ended up in Jeju territory?

He composed himself and, seeing the extraordinary bearing of the leaders opposite him, dared not be disrespectful.

He spurred his horse forward two steps, politely cupped his hands, and asked, "May I ask if you are Leader Li Zheng, the 'Suppressor of Shandong'?"

Before Li Zheng could answer, Zhang Yin stepped forward and said, "Brother, why waste words with him? Just attack directly."

Li Zheng shook his head: "Let's probe his background first."

He didn't take these bandits seriously, but Niutou Mountain held the goods that could be traded with the Liao people.

Zhang Pin couldn't say which batch of goods it was. What if it contained some crossbows, armor or something? Wouldn't he suffer a loss in secret?

Having said that, Li Zheng spurred his horse forward and declared, "I am indeed Li Zheng."

Upon hearing this, Wang Jing's expression became even more respectful. Holding his axe, he cupped his hands again and said, "I have long admired Chief Li's name. I just don't know where I have offended you, Chief, to bring such a large army here?"

When Li Zheng saw the large axe in his hand, which was about five inches wide and had a handle about nine feet long, with a blade as wide as a fan, his eyes lit up.

Suppressing the greed in his eyes, Li Zheng calmly said:

"I have an old friend surnamed Gu. I received a favor from him many years ago. I heard a few days ago that his entire family was wiped out, and his wife and daughter have disappeared. Have you seen that mother and daughter?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Jing cursed inwardly.

How could Master Gu actually recognize such a ruthless person?

Why didn't you say so sooner?!

If he had known this would happen, no matter how much he hated Master Gu, he would never have dared to provoke a ruthless person like Li Zheng.

But now that the deed is done, there's no way to admit it, even if it means death.

Wang Jing had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "Chief Li, I know nothing about this matter. Please look for it elsewhere."

Li Zheng sneered, "I've searched every inch of this area, and only your Niutou Mountain remains. You think you can just say you don't know anything about it?"

Wang Jing, angered by his question, retorted, "I truly don't know, what are you going to do!"

Li Zheng shouted, "Then I'll charge up the mountain and find it myself!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the four hundred soldiers behind him shouted in unison, causing the leaves on the trees along the roadside to fall down with a rustling sound.

It should be noted that half of these four hundred men were old men who had fought against government troops, killed county magistrates, caused great disturbances in prefectures, and even brought troops to Nanjing. Their momentum was far beyond that of ordinary mountain bandits.

Wang Jing's eyes immediately cleared up, and he quickly put on a smiling face again: "Chief Li, please don't be angry, I'll cooperate with you."

Li Zheng said, "Have your men clear a path, and I will go up the mountain to search. If I can't find it, I will apologize to you."

Wang Jing's eyes darted around, and he said with a forced smile, "Of course, but please wait a moment, Chief Li, so I can give my men some instructions and avoid any misunderstandings or arguments that would look bad."

Li Zheng nodded: "I'll give you the time it takes for an incense stick to burn."

Wang Jing nodded repeatedly, turned his horse around, and led his men back.

He had a well-thought-out plan: first, keep Li Zheng calm, then deal with the young woman back on the mountain, and then slip away from the back of the mountain in the chaos, leaving the Black Wind Thief to search for her on the mountain.

Unexpectedly, just as he turned his head away, Li Zheng raised his hand.

The Black Wind Bandits behind them received the signal, and their archers and crossbowmen raised their bows and crossbows in unison, aiming them at the backs of the Niu Tou Mountain bandits.

Some of the henchmen on the mountain noticed something was wrong and shouted at Wang Jing, "Brother! Behind you...!"

Wang Jing turned around abruptly, only to see more than two hundred arrows raining down on him like a storm of iron.

The bandits in the front row couldn't dodge in time and were immediately shot down, the unlucky ones all turned into hedgehogs.

The bandits behind them were so frightened that they threw down their weapons and ran away.

As Wang Jing swung his axe to deflect the arrows, he cursed loudly, "Li Zheng! You're breaking the rules!"

Li Zheng ignored him, squeezed his legs against the horse's belly, and with a long neigh, the horse galloped off with all four hooves off the ground.

He shouted, "Follow me and kill!"

Wu Anqing and the others spurred their horses, and a hundred cavalrymen followed closely behind Li Zheng as they charged into the enemy ranks.

Li Zheng swept his long spear across the battlefield, and the bandits fell to the ground wherever the spear passed, as easily as cutting grass.

A short bandit crouched on the ground, hunching his neck, but was too short to avoid the sweeping attack.

Just as he was staring blankly upwards, he heard Li Zheng shout and thrust his long spear diagonally downwards, piercing the bandit through.

He then used his arms to lift him up and fling him away!

The corpse fell to the ground, knocking down several more fleeing bandits.

Seeing their brother's bravery, the cavalrymen charged forward as if they had been injected with chicken blood.

Those bandits from Niutou Mountain usually only robbed the common people, and had never seen such tigers and wolves before. They just ran away with their heads in their hands, not daring to even look back.

One hundred cavalrymen charged wildly, pushing forward like bulldozers.

The infantry behind them couldn't even pick up a scrap of food; they could only run and curse as they carried their swords.

Li Zheng killed more than a dozen people. When he looked up, he saw that Wang Jing was very cunning. Instead of running up the mountain, he took a detour along the small path towards the main road.

How could Li Zheng possibly forgive him?

Let alone killing him to uphold justice, Li Zheng was also extremely envious of the gilded axe in his hand.

So he spurred his horse on and gave chase, shouting, "Give me the axe and your life!"

The two ran further and further away, gradually moving away from the battlefield.

Seeing this from afar, Wu Anqing, fearing for Li Zheng's safety, quickly turned his horse around and chased after him.