The Thief Prince

The group walked up the mountain, and the corpses of the Niutou Mountain bandits could be seen everywhere on both sides of the mountain path.

Li Zheng asked Zhang Yin, who was standing beside him, "What's the situation on the mountain?"

Zhang Yin replied, "There's only one path up and down Niutou Mountain. Apart from the dozens we killed on the spot, none of the other bandits escaped."

Li Zheng nodded, then asked, "Have you searched the mountain?"

"Not yet."

Li Zheng said, "Then let's go up and take a look together."

When the group arrived at the Taoist temple, they saw more than a hundred henchmen from Niutou Mountain, their weapons removed, kneeling in the open space in front of the temple.

Dozens of crossbows were pointed around, but no one dared to move.

Li Zheng glanced around and randomly pointed to someone who looked timid: "You."

Two henchmen immediately stepped forward and pulled the man out of the crowd.

The henchman knelt on the ground, his face covered in snot and tears: "Your Majesty, spare me! Your Majesty, spare me!"

Li Zheng said, "Let me ask you, do you know what your leader is hiding on this mountain?"

The man kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "They're all...they're all in the cellar behind the temple. We don't know what they are."

Li Zheng gave Zhang Yin a wink, and Zhang Yin turned and left.

Li Zheng then asked, "Where is the young woman who was abducted by Wang Jing and taken up the mountain?"

The man stammered, "After the king attacked, no one was guarding the area. I... I don't know where I ran off to."

Just as Li Zheng was about to ask another question, Yan Yun suddenly walked over with a grim expression: "Brother, you should take a look at this."

Li Zheng became suspicious. He followed him around the Taoist temple and walked to the side of the mountain wall to look down. His face immediately turned ugly.

A woman was found curled up among the rocks, completely naked, her head slammed against a large rock, where blood had seeped out, and she was now lifeless.

Yan Yun said in a low voice, "There's only one woman on and around the mountain; she must be the young lady from the Gu family."

Li Zheng nodded and sighed softly.

This child is pitiful. He looks about sixteen or seventeen, the prime of his life, yet he witnessed his father's murder, was abused by thieves, and his mother...

Bei Gongjun, by nature averse to evil, had his eyes slightly redden upon seeing this scene: "These scoundrels are truly worse than beasts!"

Li Zheng stood there for a moment, unable to describe the feeling in his heart.

After a long while, he finally spoke: "A once wealthy family has suffered such a calamity overnight. Even a man of iron could not bear it, let alone a child."

"That's enough, this is a relief." He turned and ordered, "Find some clothes for her to wear, and carefully preserve her body. We'll take her with us when we leave."

Everyone agreed, and they all sighed with emotion.

A short while later, Zhang Yin strode over: "Brother, we've found the cellar."

The group followed him to the back of the Taoist temple, only to find that the cellar door was already open and the henchmen were carrying boxes out one by one.

One of the boxes had been pried open, and Li Zheng's heart skipped a beat when he saw the bowstrings neatly stacked inside.

To maintain their shape, the bow tip and bowstring are usually stored separately and then reassembled when needed.

Could it be that this shipment only has bowstrings and no bow tips?

What use would I have for so many bowstrings? Am I going to use them to hang myself?

Fortunately, when the last few boxes were opened, they contained bow tips, but they were actually a complete set of goods.

Li Zheng picked up a bow tip, recognizing only that it was a piece of wood coated with black lacquer, but couldn't name anything else about it.

Bei Gongjun, who was standing to the side, said, "Your Highness... Brother, this is a black lacquered bow. It can shoot 150 paces. It is made of sinew, horn, and wood. It is the standard bow and arrow of the Imperial Guard."

He paused, somewhat puzzled, "These kinds of bows and arrows are always strictly guarded, how did they end up in the hands of bandits?"

Li Zheng sneered: "The reason those people are keeping such a tight watch is because they're afraid that someone else will take it, and they won't get any benefit from it."

Seeing Bei Gongjun's puzzled expression, Li Zheng continued to explain, "Brother, you don't know this, but these bows are meant to be sold to the Liao people."

Bei Gongjun's expression changed drastically, and he immediately flew into a rage: "Who dares to be so audacious? Isn't this aiding the enemy?!"

Just then, another henchman shouted, "Brother, there are still arrows over here!"

The group went over to take a look and found that the arrowhead was flat like a chisel, with a sharpened tip, and its appearance was quite peculiar.

Bei Gongjun exclaimed in surprise, "This is a 'golden chisel arrow'!"

Li Zheng asked curiously, "What's the story behind it?"

Bei Gongjun's expression was solemn: "These arrows have extremely strong penetrating power and are specifically designed to counter heavy armor such as lamellar armor and chainmail. They kill the enemy by deforming the armor plates upon impact. Even among the border troops, they are extremely rare."

Li Zheng felt absurdity; these were arrows capable of penetrating heavy armor, and they were going to sell them to the Liao people!

So here's the question: where in the world are the most heavily armored people? That's hard to guess!

The Great Zhou Dynasty frantically manufactured heavy armor in order to sell armor-piercing arrows to the Liao Dynasty, thus forming an industry chain.

This group of people has no bottom line. If these arrows are actually transported out, they might kill the soldiers of the Great Zhou one day!

He lost interest in looking further and instructed Yan Yun, "Calculate everything and report the figures to me."

After a while, Yan Yun reported the numbers: 300 bow tips, 1,000 bowstrings, and 500 bundles of arrows.

Leaving aside the bow tip and bowstring, a bundle of arrows contains twelve arrows, and five hundred bundles would contain six thousand arrows.

The standard arrows made by the Great Zhou government were worth about seventy coins, which was equivalent to three days' worth of food for a commoner. One hundred and twenty arrows could be exchanged for an ox!

The value of these arrows alone is equivalent to the price of fifty cows!

Moreover, this is a rare armor-piercing arrowhead, which is more valuable than ordinary arrowheads, possibly even doubling in price.

With the bow tip and bowstring added, it was indeed a considerable windfall.

But a problem has arisen: nowadays, the village probably can't even muster two hundred people who can draw a bow and shoot arrows.

I need to practice harder when I get back. The Zhou army attaches great importance to archery, and Liao men start learning it from birth, so it must have its own unique methods.

There's a saying that goes: Of the thirty-six weapons, the bow is the foremost; of the eighteen martial arts, the bow is the best.

Li Zheng had his men move the bows and arrows away, and also packed up all the valuables on the mountain.

Yan Yun leaned closer and asked, "Brother, what should we do with these prisoners? Kill them all?"

Li Zheng looked at him in astonishment: "What nonsense are you talking about? Liangshan is in dire need of rebuilding, with so much work to do—building bridges and fortresses—who's going to do it all?"

"These are all top-notch 'talents,' capture them all and don't let them die out."

Yan Yun gritted his teeth and said, "These bastards got lucky to escape with their lives. They really got off easy."

Bei Gongjun nodded in agreement, "I shouldn't have shot and killed the bandit leader Wang Jing with an arrow. That beast deserves to be torn to pieces!"

Li Zheng shook his head: "That's just how the world is. We've avenged the deceased, and that's all we can do."

He suddenly remembered something and patted the Wang Jing head on his waist:

"However, this dead man's head can still be used."