Top-notch Little Horseman

"Tell me, who sent you?" Ye Chen asked, staring intently at Hei Tou.

Blackie clutched his bleeding wrist, his eyes showing neither resentment nor defiance:

"No one told us to come. We heard rumors that your Huangchen Pass had food, and I thought we'd make a killing before winter, so I brought my men down here," Blackhead said, taking a deep breath.

"Where did the news come from?" Ye Chen asked, his gaze fixed on the source.

"I don't know! The refugees from the foot of the mountain come and go every day, and the word spreads wherever it goes!" Blackhead replied.

Ye Chen didn't ask any further questions. He wouldn't get any answers from such a matter, and besides, the knife involved the military, so this was probably a serious matter.

These people still need to be dealt with by Chen Baiquan; perhaps he can uncover some information.

Just as he was about to have the smoker tie all these people up, he suddenly heard the sound of horses' hooves in the distance.

Not just one horse, but several!

Liang Biao and Liang Zhichao exchanged a glance and simultaneously gripped their steel knives.

The moon emerged from the dark clouds, shining brightly.

Ye Chen saw several dark figures moving rapidly on the official road.

"There are people on horseback, everyone be careful!" Ye Chen hurriedly reminded.

The crowd gathered around Ye Chen, standing behind him, with all three crossbows fully drawn, the arrows gleaming coldly, aimed at him.

A group of people quickly reined in their horses and stopped a few hundred meters in front of Ye Chen.

"Are you from Huangchen Pass? I am Zhao Chen, the centurion of Zhenbei Fortress!"

Zhenbeibao, Zhao Chen?

Ye Chen recalled the words Hong Chengye had said when he caught up with him to see him off.

Zhao Chen is Hong Chengye's brother; he must have heard the news and come to rescue him.

"I am Ye Chen from Huangchen Pass. There was a night raid on Huangchen Pass just now, but everything is fine now," Ye Chen said, cupping his hands in greeting to Zhao Chen.

Upon hearing Ye Chen's words, Zhao Chen led two guards forward and quickly arrived in front of Ye Chen.

He was stunned for a moment when he saw the thieves with their hands tied behind their backs and the weapons scattered all over the ground.

"You wiped out these thieves?" Zhao Chen asked Ye Chen with a surprised look in his eyes.

"Of course!" the monkey grinned.

What?

The two cavalrymen behind Zhao Chen craned their necks to look ahead.

Zhao Chen remained silent for a while. He had specifically brought people out to patrol this official road tonight. At dusk, he received news that a small group of bandits was heading towards Huangchen Pass, so he immediately led his men to come.

Unexpectedly, when they arrived, it was too late; the battle was already over.

"How did General Zhao know that the bandits had come here?" Ye Chen asked, his gaze slightly narrowed.

Zhao Chen looked around and then at Ye Chen, saying, "At dusk tonight, my men discovered this group of bandits coming down the mountain. I was worried that you would suffer losses, so I brought my men here."

"Now it seems I was overthinking it. I didn't expect you to be able to withstand the onslaught of these dozens of thieves. It seems you really are quite capable."

Ye Chen smiled lightly, but didn't say anything more. Saying too much about some things would only lead to more mistakes, and might even cause us to miss information about the Desolate Dust Pass.

"This battle was fought brilliantly."

"The enemy is in the open while we are in the dark, so let's strike first and gain the upper hand! They outnumber us, so we can't let them all rush in," Ye Chen said with a light smile.

"It's mainly because the brothers were great; they spotted the thieves early on, which prevented them from succeeding."

Zhao Chen didn't say much praise, but the way he looked at Ye Chen was different from before.

Not only did they thwart the bandits' night raid, but they also managed to capture everyone, including the bandits' leader.

"Tie up everyone who can still breathe, and confiscate their weapons!" Zhao Chen waved to his men, then turned to Ye Chen and said.

"Brother Ye, I will report back on this battle truthfully and request commendations for you!"

Ye Chen cupped his hands in a respectful gesture and smiled meaningfully, "General Zhao, you're mistaken. Have you forgotten that you led the troops to subdue these bandits?"

"We were just sticking to our posts. If you hadn't arrived in time, the consequences would have been unimaginable!"

Zhao Chen was taken aback when he heard this. Ye Chen's meaning was very clear: he was going to give all the credit to him.

"How can this be? You were the ones who repelled them..." Zhao Chen waved his hands repeatedly.

"General Zhao!"

Ye Chen interrupted him with a low shout.

"Huangchen Pass was attacked by bandits. General Zhao of Zhenbeibao led his troops to the scene, captured them all, and saved Huangchen Pass from a night attack."

"This is what we saw with our own eyes!"

Zhao Chen looked at Ye Chen, remained silent for a moment, and then nodded slightly.

He truly hadn't expected Ye Chen to be so well-mannered.

Merit is the key to money, pay, and promotion!

Ye Chen attributed all the credit to him, so he naturally knew how heavy this favor was.

He gestured for his cavalry to take the prisoner away, then pulled Ye Chen aside and asked, "What do you want?"

"If it's convenient for General Zhao, we can keep these bandits' weapons!"

"You know how difficult it is to stay in the Desolate Dust Pass. The number of refugees is increasing, and we need some means of self-protection."

Ye Chen didn't need any merit; what he wanted were supplies, and these weapons were the only ones he desired.

With these weapons, the defenses of Huangchen Pass are much stronger, and they can even recruit more people.

"Okay, I'll leave it all to you!" Zhao Chen nodded; it was nothing to him.

After reaching a consensus, both sides took action.

Zhao Chen mounted his horse and said to Ye Chen, "Brother Ye, I've made you my friend!"

"From now on, the affairs of Huangchen Pass are my affairs!"

Ye Chen bowed to him and watched him lead his cavalry away, quickly disappearing into the night.

Liang Biao leaned closer and whispered to Ye Chen, "Captain, is it worth giving up all the credit like this?"

"How much is a contribution worth?" Ye Chen chuckled lightly, bent down to pick up a waist knife from the ground, and wiped the blade clean.

"With so much equipment in exchange, plus a favor owed to us by a centurion, isn't this a better deal than any credit?"

Upon hearing this, Liang Biao immediately understood and, together with his brothers, quickly began to pack up.

……

Banditry broke out in several counties in the northern border region.

News of the bandit uprising spread quickly.

In Guihua County, the granary of the wealthy Liang family was nearly burned down, and the official on night watch was stabbed to death with a bamboo spear.

All the guard dogs in the yard were poisoned to death, and the madman, Master Liang, reported it to the authorities.

The bandit leader who carried out the attack was Hong Shaoyu, who came from a military family. He somehow obtained gunpowder and blew up the Liang family's house.

A dozen or so people rushed into the courtyard through the collapsed wall, captured a large number of people, and then left.

These people were captured and taken to the mountains, where they were all hung up.

Upon receiving the news, the county magistrate personally led his troops to pursue them and eventually rescued them.

According to these people, the one who did the deed was a bandit nicknamed "The Monk."

This revealed that these people wanted to rebel!

The old and senile magistrate returned to his office and remained silent for a while before picking up his pen and writing in the record book: "The bandits killed someone, and I personally led Zhang Yong to quell the crime!"

This chaotic world is coming soon.