Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 90 The Thief Arrives
To the west of the city is Yashan.

More than a hundred riders slowly headed eastward, with smoke and dust billowing behind them. There were no less than five thousand of them.

The Northern Kingdom has been at war for years, and has suffered from all kinds of natural and man-made disasters, but these bandits are all strong and healthy, with rosy faces.

Various flags stood up in the smoke and dust, including flags with the word "Zhang", "Bai", Duan, Gongsun, Zhao, Zhi and other names.

However, the one walking in front of the crowd was a monk, wearing iron armor inside and some monk's robes outside, holding a long spear in his hand, his face was full of scars, and his one eye was as sharp as a knife.

This person was none other than the lobbyist who had entered the Cao family alone that day, and was also Zhang Fonuo, the former owner of Qingguang Village.

"With our strength and the support of General Murong, why should we unite with the Cao family? Wouldn't it be better to catch them all in one fell swoop?" The bandit chieftain Bai Longzi asked doubtfully under the white flag.

"That's right. Cao Tengyun has always been untrustworthy. If he hadn't supported the Liu family, we wouldn't have ended up in this situation." Under the Zhi flag, a Hu bandit chief with deep eyes and a high nose was indignant.

Zhang Fonu's single eye twitched. "Do you think we can handle Liu Daogui?"

Although he was a monk, he was also well-versed in military strategy.

The bandit camp that had been operating for more than ten years was captured. In less than an hour, more than 500 of the six or seven hundred bandits were killed, and only more than 100 escaped.

Zhang Fonu's two sons and four adopted sons were all killed by the Northern Army.

If he had not seen that the situation was not right and turned around to hide in the mountains, his head would probably be piled up in the north of the city.

Bai Longzi looked back at the army behind him, and said, "Brother Zhang, don't encourage others to be more ambitious and destroy your own prestige. Although the Liu family is powerful, they only have 500 Northern Army soldiers under their command. The rest are just refugees."

"So we just need to control the Cao family first and occupy the city of Qi. The Liu family will be unable to escape. After that, we can attack the Cao family. Wouldn't it be better to have a good time?" Zhang Fonu had no intention of letting the Cao family go from the beginning.

The Cao family also bears a share of his blood feud.

"Hahaha, Brother Zhang is really thoughtful."

The surrounding bandit chiefs burst into laughter, and the air was filled with smoke and chaos.

"I heard that Cao Tengyun has a daughter who is very delicate and tender. Brothers, please don't compete with me for her." The Hu chieftain surnamed Zhi had a lustful look on his face.

"Why should it belong to you? Damn it, whoever sees it gets it!"

"Yes, whoever sees it gets it."

"You bunch of beasts, are you still human? I suggest you just give it to each of you, so as not to ruin our brotherhood." Bai Longzi joined in the fun.

"Hahaha, never mind, there are many other female relatives in the Cao family, there is no need to focus on just one."

Burning, killing, raping and looting have always been their strengths.

In the years since the collapse of Di Qin, countless refugees who fled south have died tragically at their hands.

After a while of commotion, the chieftain surnamed Zhi said, "Brother Zhang, Liu Laozhi is in Pei County to the west. If he suddenly leads his troops to attack us, we will be in great trouble."

Among the bandits, many were defeated soldiers of the Di Qin army.

Fu Jian "treated all the people in the world as one family and regarded the barbarians as his own children", and accommodated many Hu people in his army.

However, after the defeat in the Battle of Feishui, these Hu people immediately rebelled without any regard for their old friendship.

Now they have clung to the Murong family again, thinking that they have the support of Yan State behind them, so they move south unscrupulously.

"Don't worry, as long as we act fast enough, what can Liu Laozhi do if he comes?" Zhang Fonu has been observing the situation in the Central Plains for more than two months.

War clouds are gathering in Luoyang, and a major war in the Central Plains is about to begin.

If Liu Laozhi's 20,000 Northern Army turned east at this time, not only would they be unable to contain the Zhai Wei army on the Juancheng line, but they would also be left exposed, revealing Pengcheng, giving the 8,000 Yan cavalry on the Dongping line the opportunity to advance straight ahead.

Without Pengcheng, Liu Laozhi's 20,000 Northern Army infantrymen would be like rootless duckweed, and would suffer the same defeat as Huan Wen at Fangtou.

The south of the Huai River also opened the door to the State of Yan... Zhang Fonu knew that he was being used by Murong Shao, but he didn't care. As long as he could get revenge, he would even be willing to give his head to Murong Shao.

Although his surname is Zhang and his appearance is the same as that of people from the Central Plains, he has the blood of the Hu people in his body. His ancestor is Zhang Yupu, one of the eighteen riders under Shi Le.

"Listen to Brother Zhang! Brothers, when we enter the city today, there will be no shortage of wine, meat, women, and money!" Bai Longzi roared.

The morale of the bandits was greatly boosted.

Several scouts came galloping over, "Report, the Cao family sent a hundred pigs and sheep, begging us not to enter the city!"

Bai Longzi cursed, "Only a hundred pigs and sheep? Cao Tengyun is just wishful thinking."

The attack on Lushuibi was for revenge, but the bandits wanted to burn, kill, rape and plunder, so they had to stay in the city.

"Cao Tengyun has been so unhappy his whole life."

The other bandit chiefs also cursed.

Zhang Fonu's expression changed, "Be careful of Cao Tengyun's tricks, don't be careless!"

The bandit chiefs had all experienced many storms and waves, so they became alert when they heard this and ordered their troops to strengthen their defenses.

On the plain ahead, a large flag with the word "Cao" on it slowly moved forward, with a dozen people under it driving a group of pigs and sheep.

"It seems like they really are sending pigs and sheep." Bai Longzi looked at Zhang Fonuo.

Zhang Fonu looked around with his one eye. The plains were undulating, the rivers were winding, and the trees were lush and green. "Not necessarily. All the cavalry should disperse. It's better to be safe than sorry."

Bai Longzi waved his hand back, and more than a hundred riders split into more than a dozen groups and rushed in all directions.

The other bandits lined up on the spot.

Several of the troops were quite elite. The dozen or so people in the front row were burly and strong, wearing black iron armor, and holding heavy weapons such as long axes and halberds in their hands, exuding a murderous aura.

The momentum displayed by these 5,000 bandit troops was no less than that of Cao's army in the city of Qi, and their equipment was also better than that of the soldiers in Lushui Pond.

After a while, the cavalry returned one after another.

Unable to detect any trace of the enemy, Zhang Fonu sent people to take over the more than one hundred pigs and sheep.

"Go back and tell City Lord Cao that our army will not enter the city. We will only purchase some food and weapons. Tell him not to worry." Zhang Fonu's voice was gentle. If you didn't look at his face, you would think he was an enlightened monk, making people feel like spring breeze.

"Thank you, General Zhang. The head of the family said that as long as Liu Daogui is eliminated, he will provide you with an extra five stone of grain every year."

"Only 500 stones..."

Bai Longzi's face was filled with displeasure, but he was stopped by Zhang Fonu, who stared at the Cao family member with his one eye, "I saw City Lord Cao caught a cold a few days ago. I wonder how he's doing?"

The Cao family member was stunned. "The master is not ill. Did General Zhang remember it wrongly?"

Zhang Fonu waved his hand, "It seems I remembered it wrongly, go ahead."

"Goodbye." Several Cao family members turned around and left.

After they walked away, the bandit chiefs gathered around them and asked, "Brother Zhang, didn't you say that we could go into the city and have fun? Why did you promise Cao Tengyun not to enter the city?"

"If you want to take it, you must first give it. If I don't say this, how can the Cao family let down their guard? Send an order to the entire army to speed up the march and attack the city tonight!"

Zhang Fonu always felt that his defeat was extremely unfair. He had never expected that a young man from Lushuibi would come and attack the strategically located Qingguang Village with hundreds of troops without saying a word, catching him off guard...

But this time, he wanted Cao Tengyun and Liu Daogui to pay the price in blood, and the entire Lanling County would be buried with them...

(End of this chapter)