Reborn as Murong Fu: This time I am the protagonist

Chapter 559 Black Cloud Stronghold

"Foolish! How could I ask them to do such a heinous thing as confiscating property and exterminating their entire clan? You only need to tell Chief Long what happened during the day, and he will naturally know what to do! Why do you need to gossip here? Go now! Go in the middle of tonight!"

Huang Renbiao was furious when he heard his steward make a foolish mistake—this idiot was good at using his power to bully others, but he was utterly useless.

Upon hearing this, Steward Li, though filled with countless questions, dared not ask any further, fearing he might offend his master. He simply agreed and went to prepare.

In the latter half of the night, the night was as cool as water. The city gate of Qingzhou Prefecture opened a small crack without anyone noticing, and a carriage quietly squeezed out through the crack. The horses' hooves were wrapped in thick cloth, and their mouths were bitten, so they didn't make a sound.

Steward Li led a trusted servant out of the city. He glanced back and saw no movement on the city wall. Knowing that he had not given away any information, he felt relieved and rode off confidently onto the main road.

However, after traveling only ten miles, a tripwire suddenly appeared in the middle of the road. When it caught up, Steward Li couldn't turn in time, and the entire carriage overturned. The servant driving the carriage broke his neck on the spot, and Steward Li was also thrown around and fainted on the spot.

When his three souls returned to their places and he slowly woke up, he found himself in front of a young man of about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old leading a middle-aged scholar wearing a scholar's cap.

The young master laughed and said, "I ask, you answer. Answer what I ask, and don't lie. Do you understand?"

Butler Li felt that the young man's voice carried an inexplicable magic, making people involuntarily want to obey his every word and every command, and nodded as if possessed.

The young man asked, "My first question is, who are you?"

"I am the steward of Prefect Huang of Qingzhou Prefecture."

Murong Fu nodded: That's something I already guessed.

"The second question is, where are you going, sneaking out of the city gates so late at night?"

Steward Li replied blankly, "Go to Daqingshan and pay your respects to Chief Long of Black Cloud Village."

Murong Fu continued, "Who is the leader of Black Cloud Stronghold, Chief Long?"

"Black Cloud Stronghold is the largest stronghold within a radius of 500 li in the southern part of Beijing. Chief Long is the leader of the stronghold, with more than 3,000 men under his command. For many years, they have been rampant in Shandong, and even the government could not stop them. The government troops have repeatedly besieged and suppressed them, but to no avail."

What is your purpose in going to Black Cloud Stronghold?

Butler Li thought for a while, then slowly shook his head and said helplessly, "Master didn't say anything, he just instructed me to bring gifts and tell the chief what happened during the day. The chief naturally understands what Master meant."

"How does your master usually communicate with Black Cloud Stronghold?"

Butler Li answered all the questions without hiding anything.

Murong Fu sneered, "Alright, I've finished my question. You can leave now!"

As he spoke, he twisted his wrist and snapped Steward Li's neck in an instant. Gongye Qian came up, picked up the two corpses in each hand, threw them into two large pits that had been dug in advance on the main road, and with a wave of his hand, he covered them with soil to erase the traces.

"Young master, what should we do next?"

"What for? Of course, we're going to Daqingshan, to Heiyun Village, to meet this notorious Boss Long who's terrorized Shandong!"

Murong Fu smiled confidently.

Gongye Qian hesitated and said, "Young Master, although your martial arts are extraordinary, the other party's purpose is not yet clear. It would be unwise to risk your life rashly. Why not wait until tomorrow to mobilize the troops of Qingzhou headquarters before making a decision?"

Murong Fu laughed and said, "First, although I am the local pacification commissioner, I have no authority to mobilize more than a thousand troops. Moreover, since the Black Cloud Bandits have been able to run rampant in Jingdong South Road for many years, their connections must be very complex. I'm afraid the local government has long been in cahoots with them. Even if we could mobilize a large army, what use would it be?"

"Secondly, this Prefect Huang colluded with bandits and ordered his confidants to visit me late at night with lavish gifts. There are only three possibilities for his intentions. Either he wants to kill me, the Pacification Commissioner. However, if a high-ranking official of the court is killed by bandits in another place, no matter what the reason, local officials of all ranks will be investigated and exiled. Prefect Huang probably doesn't have the guts to do something like this, where everyone is on the same page."

"Either he incites the disaster victims to cause trouble, interfere with disaster relief, and create trouble for me. In that case, he can naturally use his backing in the court to impeach me severely. But if that's the only purpose, there's no need to be in such a hurry to prepare such a generous gift to collud with the bandits."

"Then there's only one possibility: this corrupt official wants the Black Cloud Village bandits to come down the mountain to plunder and create chaos, so he can pin a big accusation on me for failing to provide adequate disaster relief and inciting a popular uprising!"

Gongye Qian pondered for a moment and said, "That makes sense, but why must you risk your life, young master?"

Murong Fu laughed and said, "It's not really dangerous. Let alone three thousand bandits, even three thousand elite imperial guards are not a threat to me these days. It's just that I recently obtained something by chance and learned about some plans. I want to take this opportunity to eliminate all potential threats at once!"

What Murong Fu was referring to was the advance map he had obtained from Murong Bo that day, which recorded the distribution of tens of thousands of bandits.

Without hesitation, Gongye Qian replied, "Very well, since you are in such high spirits, then I will accompany you!"

So the two re-hitched the carriage, with Gongye Qian driving and Murong Fu sitting in the carriage, and continued their journey towards Daqingshan.

As dawn approached, the two finally arrived at a mountain range. Given the generally low altitude of Shandong, such a mountain range was quite rare.

The two cliffs were jagged and sharp, not very high, but extremely treacherous. While not quite impregnable, it was certainly a formidable stronghold, easy to defend and difficult to attack. A few dozen men could hold it, and even a thousand ordinary government troops would be useless. Of course, this was futile against martial arts masters of exceptional skill.

Following the information he had gathered, Murong Fu imitated the call of a partridge, three long cries followed by one short one. A bird call echoed from behind the cliff. A short while later, a soft rustling sound arose, and several henchmen in leather armor, carrying spears, appeared from behind the mountain. They immediately asked, "Which road are you on? How do you know our Black Cloud Stronghold's contact information?"

Murong Fu smiled and said, "I have come to see Chief Long with a generous gift on the orders of Lord Huang of Qingzhou Prefecture. Please inform him of my arrival."

The henchmen exchanged a glance and shouted, "Wait here!"

A short while later, a middle-aged scholar who looked like a clerk came up to greet them, led by two henchmen.

Murong Fu cupped his hands in a fist and said, "I presume this must be Third Master Xu. I am an official in the Huang Prefectural Office and have important business to discuss with Chief Long."