The Ming Dynasty: Starting with bandits, it swept across the land.

Li Chengye felt that once he entered the city, he had truly become a judge, with all sorts of disputes and conflicts converging on him, asking him to deliver a fair verdict.

According to the agreement previously reached with Zheng Guangqiu and Wang Pingyue: after the city is breached, all livestock in the city will belong to Li Chengye, and all food and supplies, except for the rations he needs, will be distributed among the two families.

Neither of them had any objections, but they got into a dispute when they were dividing up the grain, and they even had to ask Li Chengye to make the decision.

Zheng Guangqiu said that his brothers were the first to attack the city and suffered heavy casualties, so they should get a larger share; Wang Pingyue said that his fellow villagers helped find boats and contacted boatmen and towmen, so they deserved a lot of credit and should not get too little.

Neither side was willing to back down.

In the end, Li Chengye made the final decision: divide it according to the number of people.

Based on able-bodied young men, each person is counted as one portion; the more people there are, the more they receive, and the fewer people there are, the less they receive.

As for the elderly, weak, women and children who depend on them, they are only considered "partners" and are not included in the count.

After a moment's thought, the two agreed: Zheng Guangqiu was confident that he would gain an advantage because he had more men; Wang Pingyue only wanted to earn enough food for his men, and he was afraid that Zheng Guangqiu would bully him because of his superior numbers.

The two then went together to distribute the grain.

As they were about to leave, Li Chengye called Wang Pingyue aside and asked him to bring Sun Kewang, who had previously helped find the boat.

Li Chengye looked at the young man before him and said, "You've done a great service by helping me find the boat this time. What else do you want? You can tell me privately."

Upon hearing this, Sun Kewang became anxious: "Didn't we agree to give them grain? Could it be... that we're not going to give it to them?"

Li Chengen, who was about the same age as him, smirked and said, "Who said you wouldn't give it to me? My elder brother said that you have done a good job, and in addition to the grain you are entitled to, he will give you some extra things. He asked me what you want."

Sun Kewang was relieved. He lowered his head and pondered for a moment before tentatively asking, "Then... could you give me your knife as a reward?"

This piqued Li Chengye's interest.

"Why do you want the knife but not the money?"

"I've traveled all over the country as a porter, and I've been bullied by wealthy people and robbed by bandits. I'm really scared enough. If I had a good knife in my hand, I wouldn't be afraid."

Sun Kewang replied.

Li Chengye replied, "But you can't do much with just one knife. These days, the government officials are in large groups; what can you do with just one knife?"

These words were indeed true, and Sun Kewang's excitement immediately subsided, and he fell silent.

"Would you like to work for me?"

Li Chengye asked again

Sun Kewang was taken aback, somewhat at a loss for what to do:

"I...I'm just a porter, how could I possibly work for you, sir?"

Li Chengye said, "What's wrong with that? You can stay by my side and be my personal guard."

Sun Kewang quickly replied, "Yes, sir!"

Li Chengye smiled and said, "From now on, just call me Big Brother, just like Cheng'en did."

Afterwards, Li Chengye handed the goose-feather knife he had brought from Qingshi Village to Sun Kewang.

Sun Kewang, holding the knife, ran excitedly out of the county government office.

Wang Pingyue was arranging for his men to receive their rations at the rice shop next to the yamen (government office). Sun Kewang saw him and stepped forward, saying, "Master Wang, Commander Li has taken me in as his personal guard; I'll be following him from now on!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Pingyue's gaze narrowed slightly.

He already had a good impression of the young man, thinking he was courageous and more mature than his peers. Unexpectedly, Li Chengye shared the same opinion and took him under his wing first.

But he was somewhat worried and said, "Kewang, now that you've accepted this job, you'll no longer be a porter, but someone who makes a living by licking blood from the blade. Let me cast a divination for you to see what your future holds."

Sun Kewang readily agreed, "Sure, Master Wang!"

Wang Pingyue then took out the six copper coins passed down by his master and had Sun Kewang toss them once. Seeing the hexagram of three yin and three yang appear on the ground, his brows gradually furrowed.

"This divination indicates that you will surely achieve great things in the future, but... your later years may be filled with difficulties, so you must be cautious at all times."

Sun Kewang only half understood what he was hearing, but he was already happy to hear that he could succeed.

Wang Pingyue continued, "However, the character '旺' in your name is too sharp and has the potential to bring misfortune to its owner. It would be better to change it to '望'—although the pronunciation is the same, it means 'to look far into the distance.' In this way, you will have a broader perspective and be able to avoid trouble in the future."

Sun Kewang gladly accepted Wang Pingyue's suggestion and changed his name from "Wang" to "Wang".

From that moment on, the name Sun Kewang officially came into being in this world.

After Li Chengye and his men entered the city, although they tried to appease the residents, the entire Yanchang County was still in chaos. It wasn't until the afternoon of the second day that the city finally quieted down.

Several notorious and powerful families had their homes ransacked by Li Chengye's men; the city's large businesses and shops were also looted.

As for those small households and those who made a living on a small scale, they were protected by Li Chengye and were not disturbed by other bandits.

Li Chengye ordered Zhu Yao to lead a team to transport the blacksmith's tools, iron materials, cloth, clothing, and various tools that had been collected back to Huanglong Mountain.

These supplies filled twenty or thirty large carts. To ensure safety, Li Chengye separated a hundred men from his subordinates and recruited about three hundred young men as auxiliary soldiers, ordering them to carry weapons and accompany the convoy.

With these four hundred-plus men escorting them, and the government troops along the way already having been dealt with once before, it was expected that nothing would go wrong.

"Don't worry, brother, I will definitely deliver the goods and people safely to the old camp."

Zhu Yao made a solemn promise.

Li Chengye nodded, but still told him to be careful on the road.

Zhu Yao and his convoy then slowly disappeared from Li Chengye's sight.

He also returned to Yanchang City to allow his tribesmen, who had been enduring hardship and sleeping outdoors for many days, to have a proper rest.

News of the fall of Yanchang County quickly reached Guanzhong.

When Liu Yingyu heard the news, he was drinking tea in the back hall of the government office. He immediately smashed his teacup to pieces, stamped his foot, and sighed:

"I told you long ago we shouldn't retreat rashly; we should press on with our momentum! Now look what's happened—one Wang Er is gone, and now Li Chengye has arrived. Sigh!"

"Yu Yong, please be quiet." Shi Weiping, sitting opposite him, spoke with his usual composure. "We are both past the age of knowing one's destiny. To be so impatient in the face of things is not the way of an official."

He said slowly, "It is indeed regrettable that Yanchang County was captured by bandits, but I think we must remain calm for now."

Liu Yingyu couldn't help but retort: ​​"Master Shi! Nowadays, there is dry firewood everywhere in northern Shaanxi. If there is even a small spark, it will attract a bunch of bandits to follow suit!"

Losing only Yanchang County today may not be a cause for concern, but if Ansai, Fushi and other places fall tomorrow, can Yan'an Prefecture still hold out?

Last time you summoned me back, you said the time wasn't right and I had to wait.

But now the rebels are even more powerful; how can we stand idly by? If it truly becomes a raging fire, the imperial court will be too late to stop them.

Shi Weiping raised his hand to signal him to calm down, but a look different from usual appeared on his face: "Precisely because this is a critical moment, we must remain calm. Because the situation has changed."

Liu Yingyu noticed the change in his tone and quickly asked, "Could it be that there's been a turning point in the court?"

"Exactly." Shi Weiping nodded, lowering his voice, "Since His Majesty ascended the throne, he has worked diligently to govern the country. The other day, news came that the eunuch Wei Zhongxian had been executed while in exile. What does this mean?"

This means the eunuch faction is doomed! So, can Hu Tingyan, who only obtained the governorship by currying favor with Wei Zhongxian, still hold onto his position?

Liu Yingyu's eyes lit up: "If he resigns, who will take his place?"

Shi Weiping said, "Currently, Han Kuang, the Grand Secretary of the capital, has sent a letter, and news has also been passed on from fellow townsmen. The successor will most likely be Liu Guangsheng."

"If Lord Liu were to take over," Liu Yingyu's spirits lifted, "wouldn't the military and political situation in Shaanxi be able to be completely reformed?"

"That's right," Shi Weiping affirmed. "If the capital is stable, then the whole country will be at peace. At that time, you and I can unite the strength of the entire Shaanxi province and work together with the border troops to focus on suppressing the bandits. These troublemakers will be no longer a concern then."

Liu Yingyu finally understood and felt relieved: "I understand! In the meantime, I will first prepare the troops and gather intelligence on the enemy to prepare for the future."

Shi Weiping nodded: "That's right. But remember, preparations must be made in secret, not ostentatiously to avoid arousing suspicion and causing unnecessary trouble."

"Your humble servant will keep in mind Master Shi's teachings."