The female prisoner was fierce

It's really too late.

Before the bandits next to them could even get close, Xiao Jianyang had already led Lin Qingxue and his personal guards to the edge of the stockade wall.

He easily leaped over the two-meter-high wall.

huh~~

As soon as he jumped up, Xiao Jianyang swung his official knife at Xu Batian, who was standing on top of him.

Bang!

Xu Batian instinctively raised the large cleaver in his hand to resist, and the metal clashed, producing a piercing clang.

Xu Batian felt a tingling sensation in his hand, and he stumbled back several meters, almost falling off the stockade wall.

"Wow~~ That's some real strength."

Shocked, but before he could react, Xiao Jianyang brandished his official sword and attacked again.

Lin Qingxue followed closely behind.

Then came Xiaoxing, Xiaotao, and several other female guards.

They attacked from both sides, blocking the bandits who wanted to come and rescue their leader.

Xu Batian's hands, still numb from the pain, hadn't recovered when Xiao Jianyang charged in.

Sensing the chilling killing intent, he gritted his teeth and roared:

"You want to kill me? Dream on!!"

He mustered all his strength and charged at Xiao Jianyang.

However, a cold glint flashed in Xiao Jianyang's eyes:

"Now!!"

Instead of continuing the attack, he immediately stopped and let Lin Qingxue go and entangle with him.

In just one exchange, Xu Batian's thin right arm was snagged with vegetables, and he winced in pain.

"Help! Help! Help!"

However, before he could finish speaking, Xiao Jianyang's pulley crossbow was already ready.

Aim for the throat.

call out! !

The trigger was silently pulled by the index finger of his right hand.

A high-speed crossbow bolt was unleashed, striking Xu Batian's throat with precision and elegance, piercing through and embedding itself in the wooden stockade wall behind him.

Splash splash~~~

Large gusts of blood flowed out, steaming hot, bending under the cold winds of the northern winter.

"Why?? Why…"

Xu Batian instinctively grabbed his throat with both hands, gripping it tightly until the veins bulged, trying to stop the bleeding and save himself.

However, before he could finish speaking, he suffered a severe loss of vitality and blood.

I felt a sudden darkness before my eyes, a dizzying sensation as the world spun around me, and then I fell backward with a thud.

It made two symbolic kicks with its legs, and then fell silent.

Xu Batian!

die! !

Xiao Jianyang's expression was serious, and he murmured to himself:

"He has a frail body, yet he insists on having the name Xu Batian."

"However, they do indeed have the strength."

The opponent was indeed strong enough to withstand my full-force attack, but that was all.

This thought only lasted a moment.

Immediately afterward, Xiao Jianyang stepped forward, cut off the enemy's head, and then held it up on the stockade wall, shouting loudly:

"Your chieftain Xu is dead. Those who surrender will not be killed, those who resist will die!!"

With no leader, and given the generally low morale and fighting spirit of mountain bandits, the remaining forty bandits immediately shouted:

"The boss is dead, brothers, run!!"

"run!!"

Surrender was out of the question, and like wild boars roaming the mountains and fields, they scattered and fled.

Xiao Jianyang frowned and gave the order in a cold voice:

"kill!"

"yes!"

Lin Qingxue and a group of female soldiers, along with Li Tiezhu and other villagers, obeyed the order and immediately carried it out, relentlessly pursuing the enemy.

"Xiao Xing and Xiao Tao, you two come with me into the village. First, we need to find the storehouses, especially the granary."

Xiao Jianyang gave the order again.

"Yes, Lord Xiao!"

The two women answered in unison and immediately followed.

Xiao Jianyang walked ahead, carrying his official knife, striding into the village with a wary expression.

Staying vigilant is a special forces soldier's eternal instinct!

Qinglong Village is small, consisting entirely of thatched huts, with not a single wooden house.

There are approximately 15 rooms.

To ensure there were no remaining enemies, Xiao Jianyang led his men to search each room one by one.

The living quarters, kitchen, assembly hall, and so on were all nearly deserted.

Then came the horse pen.

Several bandits had already reached this place and were preparing to flee on horseback. Xiao Jianyang showed no mercy and decisively sent them on their way.

Looking at the five fine horses in the stable, his eyes gleamed slightly:

"These five horses alone have already brought us far more gains than losses in this battle."

"With these horses, the benefits in information transmission and combat effectiveness will be tangible."

He immediately ordered Xiaoxing to summon a female soldier to guard the area.

Then, taking Xiaotao with them, they continued searching the remaining rooms.

One room after another.

The woodshed, the living quarters, and finally, the storeroom was found.

It was locked with a key; it was just a thatched hut. Xiao Jianyang decisively kicked it open.

As far as the eye could see, there were huge piles of grain, filling at least half a room, enough to feed hundreds of people for a whole year.

"Lord Xiao, there's so much food! We'll never go hungry again!!"

Upon seeing this, Xiao Tao's eyes immediately lit up with excitement.

He hurried inside, opened the sack, and saw that it was full of millet.

Then they opened another sack, and it was still full of millet.

In the corner of the room, there was even a large pile of smoked meat.

Xiao Tao cried, her voice choked with sobs:

"Lord Xiao, can you see this? So much food! I haven't seen so much delicious food since I left the capital."

"That's wonderful! From now on, Miss, Lord Xiao, my sisters, and I will finally not have to go hungry!"

Her voice choked with emotion, but her face was beaming with a smile, her lips curving upwards like a crescent moon, as sweet as if she had eaten honey.

Xiao Jianyang was equally pleasantly surprised, but also somewhat taken aback:

"Qinglong Village is just a small bandit group with only sixty or seventy bandits. How could they have so many good things? They even have five horses."

And it's clearly a fine horse.

With strong and agile limbs, it is well cared for on a daily basis, and its breed is also excellent.

Xiao Tao was all smiles, enveloped in happiness, and didn't want to think at all, so she just guessed:

"Perhaps it was stolen from somewhere else, Lord Xiao. With so much grain, we're not afraid even if government troops come to annihilate us."

Xiao Jianyang:

"..."

Seeing the other person's excited, upturned lips, he sighed inwardly and decided not to dwell on the matter, saying:

"You stay here and guard the place. Make sure those bandits don't burn it all down. I'll check if there are any remaining enemies."

Xiao Tao nodded vigorously.

"Yes, Lord Xiao, rest assured, Xiao Tao will protect these grains even if it means her death."

Xiao Jianyang:

"it is good."

Without another word, he picked up his official sword and continued the search.

There are only 3 rooms left.

They searched all the houses, but found nothing.

Xiao Jianyang looked puzzled:

Where are they??

What about Li Tiezhu's sister, Li Xiaoru?

"Could it be... that it's already gone??"

That shouldn't be the case. We launched a surprise attack. The other side shouldn't have had time to hide their mistress. Even if they stabbed her, there should be a body by now.

While I was wondering...

Suddenly, I heard a faint sound in my ear.

It originated from the northeast.

"Um??"

Xiao Jianyang's eyes grew even more wary. He subconsciously gripped the official knife in his right hand and slowly walked towards the northeast.

step.

step.

Before long, we arrived at a small shack that was about to collapse under the weight of the snow.

The sound originated from here.

Reaching out, I lifted the shack, revealing a basement passageway inside.

A very foul and strange smell suddenly wafted out from inside and hit my face.

"Could it be...?"

With a premonition in his heart, Xiao Jianyang's vigilance deepened, and he gripped his official knife tighter. Enduring the unpleasant stench, he carefully made his way to the basement.

There weren't many steps, and we quickly reached the bottom.

Then, a scene unfolded that made his eyelids twitch.

This is a basement of less than 100 square meters.

It's actually an underground prison!

It was covered with dry straw.

Twenty or thirty women were crammed into this hundred-square-meter underground prison, with excrement piled up like mountains in the corners, much like a rural pigsty.

The women all looked numb and bewildered; their clothes were either tattered or, even if intact, disheveled.

Most of them had whip marks on their bodies, and their hair was a mess, like a crazy female beggar.

Who is Li Xiaoru?

Xiao Jianyang endured the stench and spoke loudly.

In fact, he had been to battlefields teeming with maggots, so although the scene before him was disgusting, he could still tolerate it.

woohoo~~~

Only the single ventilation opening emitted the sound of the mountain wind howling, and no one responded.

"Is he not here??"

Xiao Jianyang was puzzled.

At that moment, a middle-aged woman emerged from the crowd.

She was holding a girl in her arms who was fully clothed but had several scars on her hands.

She looked to be only 16 years old, with a fairly complete updo, and a pretty face, the kind of delicate and charming girl from a modest family.

The woman's eyes held more clarity and pain than those of the bewildered and numb.

"Sir... she is Li Xiaoru."

When she came in front of me, she spoke hesitantly, her eyes darting around, but also showing signs of anxiety.

Xiao Jianyang looked at it carefully for a moment and asked:

"How long has she been here? What are the specific details?"

The woman in front of him immediately replied:

"Reporting to the officers, she has only been on the mountain for less than two days. Chief Xu wanted to take her as a concubine, but she refused to comply even at the cost of her life. These injuries are from when she was beaten."

Xiao Jianyang frowned slightly, about to speak.

Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed from above the basement.

Then, someone came down.

It was none other than Lin Qingxue.

Behind her were Defang and several other female soldiers from the Women's Army.

The basement smelled terrible, but he didn't mind. He just frowned as he approached Xiao Jianyang.

"Lord Xiao."

Lin Qingxue's eyes sparkled as she said:

"All the bandits have been basically wiped out, and the entire Qinglong Village is now under the control of our women's army."

Xiao Jianyang asked:

"How are the horses and the grain?"

Lin Qingxue's eyes brightened even more, and she immediately replied:

"All intact."

"Especially those five horses, which are fine breeds from the Northern Di, and are the core military horses of the soldiers in the northern border of the Great Wu Dynasty. Their value is extraordinary."

Xiao Jianyang fell into deep thought, and murmured:

"Five military horses?"

"It seems this group of bandits is not to be underestimated."

Lin Qingxue pondered for a moment and then offered her opinion:

"Lord Xiao, could it really be related to Song Wei?"

Xiao Jianyang's eyes flickered:

"Tell me more about it."

Lin Qingxue:

"Yes, ma'am."

He immediately began to explain seriously:

"Song Wei's father is the Vice Minister of War. I heard that Xu Batian is a former subordinate of her father, and he came here after the defeat."

"By the way, there are some bandits nearby who are also closely related to her father."

"Now that Qinglong Village is gone, I doubt those bandits will let it go."

A murderous glint flashed in Xiao Jianyang's eyes. He nodded and said no more.

"Go and get the keys. Release these people first, and we'll discuss the rest later."

Lin Qingxue:

"yes!"

They did as instructed immediately, and soon found the key and opened the cell door.

At the same time, Li Tiezhu received the news and also brought several villagers over.

then.

Upon seeing his unconscious sister, Li Xiaoru, in the dungeon, Li Tiezhu immediately burst into tears of anxiety and grief.

"Xiaoru, what's wrong, Xiaoru? Don't scare me, Xiaoru, wake up."

The woman holding her sighed and said:

"My lord, Xiaoru has only fainted. She'll recover with some rest. It's alright."

Li Tiezhu grunted in response, immediately took the food from the other person, thanked them, and then quickly led Li Xiaoru to find something to eat.

Xiao Jianyang's focus was not on this.

Although Qinglong Village has been captured, there are many bandits in the surrounding mountains, so we must make plans as soon as possible.

First, instruct people to take inventory of all supplies, and then report on the battle losses.

Next comes cleaning up the battlefield.

All the bandit corpses were stripped naked; their clothes, the broadswords they carried, their shoes, and so on were all valuable items.

Finally, there were the women in the underground prison.

Release them all out, give them food and clothing first, and don't let them leave for the time being to avoid any accidents.

Everything is proceeding smoothly.

More than half an hour later, it was all done.

Inside the Hall of Gathering Righteousness, Lin Qingxue, holding a preliminarily compiled booklet, handed it to Xiao Jianyang while reporting:

"Lord Xiao, everything is now ready."

"In this battle, 17 of our Xiao family's women's army were killed and 13 were wounded, including 5 seriously wounded. There were also 7 casualties among the villagers of Lijia Village."

"In terms of weaponry, all 69 bandits of Qinglong Village were wiped out. Including the stockpiles in the village, there were a total of 74 broadswords, 12 wooden bows, and more than 500 arrows."

"Finally, there were the five warhorses and the room full of grain, but unfortunately, there was no armor, and the storeroom where gold, silver, and valuables were hidden was also not found."

When the topic turned to gold, silver, and valuables, Lin Qingxue's tone became noticeably more disappointed.

If you have money, it will be even easier to recruit soldiers and horses.

Xiao Jianyang's focus wasn't on that; he was watching and listening at the same time.

After understanding everything clearly, I felt a slight pang in my heart:

"Killing a thousand enemies while losing eight hundred of your own! The losses are still too great!"

Lin Qingxue disagreed, and instead said excitedly:

"Lord Xiao, after all, we are all women, and the difference in weaponry and combat strength is too great. It is already quite exaggerated that we have achieved such a result."

"If it weren't for the fact that you were able to kill Xu Batian in the shortest time and shake the morale of the bandits, I'm afraid that even if we won this battle, it would only be a Pyrrhic victory."

Xiao Jianyang listened to everything, and instead of refuting it, he wholeheartedly agreed:

"To achieve such a result in the first battle is indeed quite remarkable."

"Give the order that everyone rest immediately, and distribute the grain and smoked meat so that the female soldiers can take turns eating first."

Lin Qingxue:

"yes!"

Xiao Jianyang:

"Also, everyone, gather after you finish eating. I'm going to hold a commendation meeting."

Lin Qingxue:

"yes!"

Upon hearing the words "commendation meeting," his eyes suddenly lit up.

"He's brave and resourceful; perhaps... by following him, I can truly avenge the blood feud on my shoulders!"

If it's that kind of reckless brute, she'll be worried; no matter how good he is at fighting, it's useless.

However, Lin Qingxue's last trace of worry vanished at this moment.

The look in his eyes as he gazed at Xiao Jianyang was gradually replaced by two words: A ruthless and ambitious figure!

……

More than half an hour later, after everyone had taken turns eating and resting for a while, the commendation ceremony began.

Of the original ninety-odd female criminals, seventy or eighty went up the mountain to fight.

At this moment, only forty-odd people remained.

The rest either died in battle or became wounded soldiers lying in hospital beds.

The villagers of Lijia Village, who were part of the coordinated operation, did not participate but watched the scene from a distance with complicated expressions.

Simultaneously.

The twenty or thirty women who were rescued looked at this side with complicated expressions.

On Xiao Jianyang's side.

Standing on the makeshift platform, his gaze swept across the faces of the female soldiers one by one, before he spoke in a cold but high-pitched voice:

"This is your first bloody battle. I have seen your performance. You are worthy of the title of Xiao Family Women's Army."

"I don't like encouraging platitudes; I only care about results."

"Now, the person whose name is called, please step forward."

After speaking, Xiao Jianyang's gaze swept across the faces of the women once again.

It's completely different from yesterday.

Some were confused, and some even had doubts.

But now, after a bloody battle, the childlike fear in the woman's eyes has vanished, leaving only iron will and fortitude.

Xiao Jianyang immediately spoke:

"Lin Qingxue, Defang, Xiaoxing, Xiaotao, step forward."

The five women stepped forward in unison.

Each of them was beautiful, but they had a tough and resolute temperament, like female generals who had just returned from the battlefield.

Xiao Jianyang spoke again:

"Lin Qingxue, your contribution in breaching the stronghold and assisting in the killing of Xu Batian is paramount. You are hereby appointed as the Deputy Commander of the Xiao Family Women's Army!"

"Give him one horse and two bushels of grain."

Lin Qingxue became excited and immediately replied:

"Thank you, Lord Xiao!"

Immediately afterwards, a female soldier brought over a military horse and presented it to the recipient in front of all the female soldiers.

This scene brought tears to the eyes of all the female soldiers present.

If they were previously united by revenge...

At this moment, interests are mixed in, which is the core of human nature.

At least there's something to look forward to.

Xiao Jianyang observed everything and continued to announce:

"Defang, lead the team to welcome them. You killed five or six bandits and remained calm in the face of danger. You will be rewarded with a military horse and one shi of grain."

In this battle, if it weren't for Defang's brave charge and composure in the face of danger, and her exemplary role as a guerrilla fighter, the outcome would have been much more difficult.

Then the morale of this female prisoner's army collapsed.

before.

Like Lin Qingxue, Defang knew that this was a way to win people's hearts, but the benefits were real.

As for official positions, there will be plenty to come.

"Thank you, Lord Xiao!"

He stepped forward, took the horse reins that were being led to him, and was overjoyed.

Behind them, the burning desire in the eyes of the more than forty female soldiers intensified.

Xiao Jianyang spoke again:

"Little Apricot, Little Peach..."

Both women made significant contributions in this battle, each receiving a bushel of grain and a warhorse.

Regarding official positions, there was a verbal promise that he would be given priority for promotion in the future.

The two girls' eyes gleamed with anticipation.

The commendation ceremony continues.

Xiao Jianyang knew very well that he couldn't just focus on the most outstanding ones, so he also selected a few tall women among the ordinary female soldiers and praised them highly.

Finally, they were each given a bushel of grain, and a big pie was also drawn on their faces.

With hard work, you could be the next guerrilla squad leader!

The purpose is obvious.

This is to tell everyone.

They have nothing, just like you, but as long as they work hard, they will have everything in the future.

It's a very old-fashioned way of winning people's hearts, but the effect is remarkable.

The eyes of the more than forty female soldiers were now burning with desire.

Especially when looking at those who had received the food, he secretly made a decision:

"I must be the one to receive the reward and recognition next!"

Interests and hatred are intertwined.

Xiao Jianyang clearly felt that his control over this women's army had finally become stronger, but it was still not enough.

They need more victories.

"Lord Xiao."

While I was pondering this in my heart.

A villager from Lijia Village ran quickly from the village gate, looking very anxious.

Upon arrival, immediately report:

"A man came to the gate of the village. He claimed to be from Black Cloud Village and looked very arrogant. He specifically asked to see you."

Xiao Jianyang interrupted his thoughts, frowned, looked at the villager in front of him, and asked:

Are you sure he's alone?

The villager in front of me answered earnestly:

"Yes, Lord Xiao."

Xiao Jianyang became alert.

If someone dares to come alone, they either have something to rely on or they have a conspiracy.

"Bring the person here now."

"Yes."

Leave immediately to fetch the people.

Xiao Jianyang withdrew his gaze and instructed Lin Qingxue beside him:

"Be prepared, especially by observing the situation outside the village, to avoid being discovered without your knowledge."

Lin Qingxue:

"Yes, Lord Xiao."

He accepted the order and left.

Immediately afterwards, the villager who had just left brought the person up.

It was a man with shifty eyes, but he had an arrogant demeanor.

But when he looked at the female soldiers on the scene, the arrogance in his eyes was immediately replaced by greed.

Upon arriving, he sized Xiao Jianyang up and down, then spoke in a nonchalant tone:

"Are you the Lord Xiao they've been talking about?"

Xiao Jianyang frowned slightly:

"Who are you."

The shifty-eyed man chuckled coldly:

"Ha! You don't even recognize anyone from Black Cloud Stronghold, yet you dare to swallow Green Dragon Stronghold?"

As he spoke, he fiddled with the black handkerchief on his right arm, which was embroidered with a dagger.

Xiao Jianyang answered calmly:

"I really don't know anything about Black Cloud Village, but I'm quite interested. Perhaps you could tell me about it."

The shifty-eyed man became smug:

"Kid, judging from your accent, you're new here too. Fine, let me tell you the rules."

"This Qinglong Village is under the protection of Chief Liu. I'm just Chief Liu's errand boy. You wiped out Qinglong Village without saying a word. This is a slap in the face to our Black Cloud Village. Do you know that?"

Xiao Jianyang narrowed his eyes slightly and asked:

"I really don't know that. What's the situation with your Black Cloud Stronghold? What gives you the audacity to speak like that?"

The servant in front of him sneered twice and replied:

"Anyway, it's not like I can't tell you the information that's publicly available. How about I tell you?"

"Our Black Cloud Stronghold has over three hundred heroes, more than seventy fast horses, over fifty sets of armor, and countless gold, silver, and valuables. We are simply not comparable to trash like Green Dragon Stronghold."

"Kid, scared yet? If you know what's good for you, hand over all your women, otherwise... hehe~~"

While threatening, his greedy eyes swept over the female soldiers around him, like hungry wolves, wishing he could pounce on them immediately.

but.

He was disappointed.

There was no fear in Xiao Jianyang's eyes, but rather... delight!

It's the kind of excitement that comes from seeing a huge piece of fatty meat, so fatty it's practically dripping with oil!

……