After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

"Those gibbon brothers are truly damn good men!"

Before the charred, collapsed gate of the village, Meng Hao, the chief of Black Tiger Village, stood in the wind, picked up a cup of wine, poured it down towards Ma'erpo, and roared with tiger tears streaming down his face.

Half an hour ago, they saw their own mountain stronghold inexplicably blown open by a thunderbolt from the sky!

True to their word, the Tongbi Brothers wielded two axes and led over a hundred of their men in a fierce charge!

Just as Meng Hao was about to beat the drum and personally lead his brothers to charge the government troops, several more thunderbolts struck down, like the thunder god unleashing his power, "boom boom boom" and blasted the village into chaos!

At the same time, many brothers were killed or maimed by the explosion. The sounds of collapse, wailing, and shouting filled the air. Black smoke billowed from the mountain stronghold, and the fire raged.

Left with no other choice, he could only ask the sentries down the mountain to scout out the situation while simultaneously directing the men on the mountaintop to extinguish the fire and prepare for the attack by the government troops!

Fortunately, the thunderclap didn't last long. The subsequent thunderclaps were louder but less destructive. Although they still hit some camps and our brothers, the explosions were much quieter.

"It's not the heavens! It's not retribution! It's the soldiers! Do you know the soldiers?...Soldiers, what the hell are you afraid of!" The messengers in the village shouted these words to reassure everyone.

The various leaders also began to gather their brothers.

But just a short while before the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, a scout came to report that nearly ten thousand soldiers were attacking the mountain from all over, and that the brothers down the mountain had been wiped out...

Even the Tongbi Brothers and their followers were all beaten to a pulp by the soldiers, their heads cut off...

Upon hearing this news, Meng Hao and the other leaders who were gathering their brothers were all shocked!

"What should we do?!" one of the older brothers exclaimed.

At this moment, the scholar Xiao Chun stood up and said that we should make a decisive move and take advantage of the fact that the government troops had not yet reached the mountain to fight our way down and break through the encirclement... This is what they call escaping.

Meng Hao hesitated. This old thief had worked so hard to build up this empire; it wouldn't be so easy to give up... Of course, if things didn't go well, convincing himself to escape wouldn't be difficult. As long as he had his iron fists, what was wrong with rebuilding his empire? ... But the brothers' opinions were not unified.

A leader brandished a long sword and roared, "I swear to live and die with this mountain stronghold!"

But some people said the second-in-command was right: "As long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood to burn."

At this moment, no one was in the mood to ridicule Little Zhuge. Black Tiger Mountain had indeed become powerful in recent years, repelling countless government troops. However, the government troops were coming with such ferocity this time that, facing more than 10,000 government troops, no one was really confident.

However, not long after, another scout excitedly reported that the soldiers had stopped!

Not only did they stop, but the officers and soldiers also reorganized their formation halfway up the mountain!

Meng Hao narrowed his eyes and sent more scouts to find out what was going on.

Soon, a scout skilled in observing enemy formations came over and said that the government troops didn't have any ten thousand men like that... they only had a little over a thousand!

Meng Hao and the others looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Which son of a bitch forged the imperial edict?! Damn it!" The big boss, who had watched too many operas, gritted his teeth and said this.

Meng Hao also quickly sent messengers to inform all the units... There were only a little over a thousand officers and soldiers!

About the same as us!

"There are still so many logs and boulders in the village... They haven't even reached the edge of Ma'erpo!"

"Run?! What are you running for?!"

"The officers and soldiers have been terrified by the Tongbi leaders! Otherwise, why didn't they charge in one fell swoop?!"

"I think the government troops have similar ideas to us: kill us, then offer us a price—they want to recruit us!"

"Brother Bamianjin's words... do make some sense... otherwise why would we stop halfway up the mountain?"

Various pieces of information reached Meng Hao, who consulted Xiao Chun for advice. Xiao Chun still insisted on running away... This scholar was eloquent and spoke sweet words, talking about rushing down the mountain, bypassing the soldiers, and rushing back to Yunze Lake to continue his carefree life... He just wouldn't utter the word "escape"... Meng Hao sized him up a few times and laughed, "Second Master, don't you believe we can defend the stronghold?"

Xiao Chun said that the man surnamed Ning was cunning and unpredictable. If they didn't want to be led by the nose, they would have to end it all. They should simply abandon the mountain stronghold and either retreat to the lake or retreat to the deep mountains.

"Don't want the stronghold... go with your cavalry tactics?" someone scoffed.

Previously, Xiao Chun, with his two hundred cavalry, destroyed Pangjiazhuang, plundered several villages and caravans, and moved with lightning speed, making several surrounding thousand-household garrisons tremble with fear... Black Tiger Stronghold not only had a prosperous year, but also made a name for itself on Yunhu Lake!

But... in less than half a month, Xiao Chun's cavalry was completely wiped out... Ha, cavalry? What a joke!

Without their stronghold, bandits are nothing!

Xiao Chun said expressionlessly, "My cavalry tactics almost captured Hangezhuang before!"

"Where is your patrol car?!" someone asked, picking at their ear.

"You—" Xiao Chun's voice turned cold.

Meng Hao waved his hand; with a formidable enemy at hand, such arguing could not continue.

He remained noncommittal about the argument between the two sides, but his mind was gradually forming.

There were only a little over a thousand officers and soldiers, and they hadn't even reached Ma'erpo yet. There was no need to worry about the officers and soldiers blocking the entire Black Tiger Mountain... and the other side couldn't block them either.

If the government troops arrive at Ma'erpo and the village has stored so many logs and rolling stones, and about half of them are used up, and the government troops still don't retreat... it's not too late to run away then, and it can still consume a large number of government troops... If the camp loses its gate and the government troops don't retreat, once the village's preparations are exhausted, it will indeed be impossible to hold out by simply defending.

After the plan was finalized.

He attributed the credit for the soldiers stopping to the Tongbi Monkey and offered a simple sacrifice to encourage his brothers to dare to charge downhill later.

At that moment, after he finished pouring the wine, the village chiefs, filled with righteous indignation and with red eyes, waved their arms and shouted, "A true hero!" "A good brother!" "Let's be brothers again in the next life!"

Even the tall, thin man who had previously disagreed with the long-armed monkey, now had red eyes and said, "Good brother! In the next life, I'll drink and eat meat with you again!"

At that moment, scouts on two high platforms outside the camp shouted simultaneously, "The government troops have moved! They've formed ranks again and are charging up there!"

Meng Hao's gaze was calm. He raised his arm and smashed the porcelain bowl in his hand to pieces. He then laughed at the dozen or so leaders behind him, "Gentlemen, these birds' eggs from the government troops are really fierce this time. The brothers will need time to repair the camp... Who is willing to be a stone and go down to smash these birds' eggs?!"

More than ten leaders grinned maliciously, their hair disheveled, and shouted, "Your subordinates are willing to go!" Their voices were deafening!

……

……

To the northwest of Black Tiger Village, overlooking the lake, is a sheer cliff eight hundred feet high.

Xiao Chun stood indifferently atop the cliff, gazing at the misty Yunze Lake.

The lake stretches to the horizon, seemingly endless.

Before long, a kind-looking man with pursed lips walked towards him carrying a sack.

Xiao Chun glanced back at the honest-looking mute man, then at the sack the man was carrying, exhaled expressionlessly, and after a long silence, pointed to the towering cliff.

……

……

The steep cliffs on the north side are a natural barrier of Black Tiger Mountain.

Many emerald green vines hang down from top to bottom.

As you descend along the vines, there are occasional protruding footholds, but they are of little use. As long as the Black Tiger Village men on the cliff top squat at the edge with knives, no one can actually climb up.

The bottom of the cliff is submerged in the cold waters of Yunze Lake. Over the years, the lake water has relentlessly pounded against the cliff, shaping it into an irregular, concave shape.

This irregularly shaped mountain wall is about 100 zhang wide.

There was a small path on each side of the mountain wall. At this moment, on the left path, a big man dressed in black was sitting on a rock in the forest, carrying a bow-like object on his back. He was covered with a grass coat to conceal his figure.

Behind him stood four other people, also dressed in straw clothes.

"Big Black Righteous Man, do you really think that person in the village would take this road?" someone asked, frowning.

Li Dahei shook his head, his voice gentle. "Captain Xu, I'm sorry, I don't know either... but after guessing, there are only five possible routes that person could have taken to escape from the foot of the mountain: either on the main road on horseback or by boat. People have been arranged for all five routes... Our chances are slim... So," Dahei smiled, revealing a set of white teeth, "we'll just have to try our luck..."