You were tasked with guarding the Sihang Warehouse, and you brought out a Tiger tank?

The Wang family mansion in Qingxian County.

The courtyard house has four courtyards and four entrances, with carved beams and painted rafters, artificial hills and flowing water, and winding corridors.

Master Wang sat in the center of the flower hall on a rosewood armchair, holding a covered teacup and slowly skimming off the foam with the lid.

There were more than a dozen people sitting in the hall.

They were all prominent gentry, landlords, and merchants from Qing County.

Everyone looked grim.

"Mr. Wang, please say something!"

A fat man in a silk mandarin jacket couldn't contain himself any longer, wiping the sweat from his brow: "The entire security regiment has been wiped out, and Commander Lin's fate is unknown... This news has spread throughout the county. What are we going to do?"

"Yes, Erlong Mountain is less than a hundred miles from the county seat; it only takes a few hours to get there by horseback."

Another tall, thin landlord chimed in, his voice trembling:

"My thousands of acres of paddy fields outside the city, as well as two estates, are all under the noses of these bandits. Without the security force, won't those murderers run rampant?"

"My saltworks' protection team only has about twenty people, with a few broken guns. What good are they!"

"At my mine..."

They all started talking at once, and the more they talked, the more flustered they became.

Qingxian County is a wealthy place in Zhejiang Province, with mineral and salt resources and located at the intersection of several trade routes.

Most of the people present owned businesses outside the city, including farms, salt fields, mines, and warehouses.

Normally, they can do business peacefully because the county town has city walls and a security force.

The security force is gone now.

Those ruthless bandits, wouldn't they just slaughter them like fat sheep?

Mr. Wang put down his teacup, the porcelain bottom tapping softly on the rosewood tea table.

The hall fell silent instantly.

Everyone looked at him.

Wang Fuhai was in his sixties, with a lean face, a goatee, and wearing a dark blue satin long gown. He was twirling two shiny walnuts in his hands.

He raised his eyelids, glanced at everyone, and slowly said, "What's the panic?"

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a sense of steadiness.

"Even the fiercest bandits need to eat and spend money. Our Qing County has city walls and a local militia. Do they really dare to attack the city?"

He paused, then changed the subject: "However... we can't be too careful. The security force is gone, we need a new one."

The portly gentry, having already received favors from the Wang family, immediately stepped forward as their henchman and asked, "Master Wang, do you mean... we should fund another one ourselves?"

"Exactly."

Master Wang nodded, his tone calm: "Each household should contribute according to the size of their property. The people of the county should also pay an additional levy for bandit suppression. This money will be used to recruit soldiers and buy guns to form a new security regiment."

He paused, then added, "In addition, all the guards, servants, and weapons of each household should be temporarily contributed to form a temporary guard team to protect the properties outside the city."

A buzz of discussion immediately filled the hall.

Pay up?

Do we need to send more people and guns?

This is no small amount.

The portly gentry man then conveniently raised his questions: "Master Wang, will the county magistrate agree to raise taxes? Also, who will lead the new security force?"

That's a very important question.

Everyone looked at Master Wang.

A smile appeared on Mr. Wang's face.

That's exactly what he was waiting for.

"I'll go and talk to the county magistrate."

He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and then slowly said, "As for the commander of the new security regiment... my third son, Wenbo, just graduated from the Japanese Army Officer Academy a few days ago and is worried about having no way to serve his country. It would be perfect for him to lead it."

See the picture poorly.

The hall fell into a deathly silence.

Several of the more mature gentry exchanged glances, their eyes darting around.

They knew that Wang Wenbo, the third son of the Wang family, was going to study in Japan.

But appointing someone from the Wang family as the head of the security team...

After that, wouldn't the Wang family be in charge of Qing County?

Mr. Wang took in everyone's reactions and sneered inwardly.

Are these idiots scared now?

late.

He had planned it all along.

Lin Feng, that hothead, just because his family has some money, he bought himself a position as a security chief and dared to boss people around in the county. He even dared to cooperate with the county magistrate to investigate the Wang family's salt accounts.

It's in the way.

That's why he contacted Erlong Mountain and set up this scheme.

The security force was defeated by bandits, and Lin Feng's fate was unknown. What a perfect outcome! How pleasing to the ear it sounds!

When his son becomes the head of the security force, the bandits of Erlong Mountain will secretly be under his command, and he will have control over both the legitimate and criminal worlds.

County Magistrate?

How many guns does the county magistrate have?

From then on, Qing County became the domain of the Wang family, who held absolute power.

Just as he was feeling quite pleased with himself, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the hall.

Several servants rushed in, each whispering something to their master.

The hall immediately erupted in commotion.

The fat gentleman's eyes widened: "What? Really?"

The tall, thin landlord suddenly stood up: "You're back? And you even wiped out the bandits?"

The young gentry looked on incredulously: "Parading prisoners through the streets?"

Mr. Wang frowned, a bad feeling suddenly creeping into his heart.

He looked at his butler.

The steward trotted over and whispered in his ear, "Master, Lin Feng, the head of the security regiment... has returned. He's leading over a hundred men, escorting nearly a hundred bandit prisoners, and several cartloads of goods. He's parading them through the county town. The people have all gathered around to see, saying... Erlong Mountain has been wiped out."

With a "crack," Mr. Wang squeezed the walnut in his hand tightly.

His face darkened instantly.

"Eliminated?"

He spoke in a low voice, as if squeezing it out between his teeth: "There are over a hundred people on Erlong Mountain, in a treacherous location. Lin Feng, with his ragtag bunch of soldiers, thinks he can wipe them out?"

The steward wiped his sweat: "I don't know either... but it's all over the streets. They're saying Commander Lin's military tactics are brilliant; he launched a night raid on the mountain stronghold and wiped out all the bandits. He also... seized a lot of gold and silver treasures..."

Mr. Wang fell silent.

The other gentry in the hall also heard the news one after another, their expressions varying.

Some breathed a sigh of relief, some were relieved, while others had shifty eyes and were secretly glancing at Mr. Wang.

A local gentryman chuckled twice: "Good news, good news indeed! Commander Lin is a lucky man; he even wiped out the bandits. Our Qing County is now at peace!"

The tall, thin landlord nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, the security force is back, so we're safe!"

Mr. Wang slowly stood up.

His face had regained its composure, and he even managed a smile: "Since Commander Lin has returned safely and made great contributions, it is naturally a good thing for Qing County. Everyone, we should go and welcome him to express our gratitude."

As he spoke, he took the lead and walked out.

But when he turned around, his eyes were as cold as ice.

-

Qingxian Street.

The crowd was full of people.

Lin Feng rode on a captured chestnut horse, which originally belonged to the bandit leader One-Eyed Dragon, but now belonged to him.

Behind him followed more than a hundred defeated soldiers from the security regiment. Although they were dressed in rags, they managed to form two lines, carrying the broken guns they had picked up and captured, barely resembling a formation.

Behind them were bandit prisoners tied together with hemp rope, all of them dejected and with wounds on their faces.

Finally, there was the carriage, piled high with captured grain, miscellaneous items, and several conspicuous large wooden crates. Although Lin Feng had long since stored the gold and silver jewelry in his system space, the crates were still quite eye-catching.

As for his main force, those elite troops of the system, he left them all at the security regiment's garrison outside the city, leaving only Zhao Dashan with three engineering squads to protect him.

Next, he and the city's gentry, including Master Wang, had another match to play. They couldn't reveal their hand, and their elite troops had to be kept hidden.

The streets were packed with people.

"Commander Lin is back."

"They wiped out Erlong Mountain! That's impressive!"

"Look at those bandits, they used to be so fierce, but now they're like sick chickens."

"Serves him right, my cousin was kidnapped and murdered by them..."

Cheers, applause, and curses mingled together.

Several teenagers squeezed to the front and threw rotten vegetable leaves at the prisoners.

People's hearts can be won over.

Lin Feng nodded slightly and continued to wave to the crowd.

What is the most important thing in eliminating bullies?

Of course, it's about destroying someone's spirit!

Just then, a little girl ran over timidly, clutching a handful of freshly picked wildflowers, and looked up at Lin Feng on horseback.

"Here...for you."

Her voice was very soft, and her face was a little red.

Lin Feng paused for a moment, then bent down and took the bunch of wildflowers that were still covered in dew.

Pink, white, and yellow flowers are mixed together; there are no rare or precious varieties, just common wildflowers found along mountain roads.

But when he held it in his hand, it felt heavy.

"Thanks."

He reached out and gently patted the little girl's head.

The little girl grinned, turned around, and ran back into the crowd.

Lin Feng watched her retreating figure, then glanced at the cheering crowd around him.

Their faces were smiling, and their eyes were shining; they were genuinely happy for the successful suppression of the bandits.

Regardless of the original owner's reputation as a security chief—he probably did a lot of things like embezzling salaries, skimming money, and bullying the people—at least at this moment, he was a hero.

What good people they are.

Lin Feng suddenly felt a tightness in his chest.

He recalled the documents and old photos he had seen in his previous life.

After the Japanese invaders came, streets like this would turn into ruins, smiling faces would turn into wails, and these children...

He gripped the wildflower in his hand tightly.

The stems were squeezed until they oozed juice, staining my fingers green.

No.

We must never let those things happen.

At the very least, it can't happen in front of him.

He wanted to rapidly build up his army and arm himself, to get ahead of the Japanese and quickly strengthen his forces.

Money, guns, people.

Of the money used to suppress the bandits, the original owner only received 30%, while the remaining 70% went into the pockets of certain individuals.

And there's Mr. Wang...

Lin Feng's eyes turned cold.

According to those letters, the Wang family colluded with the bandits of Erlong Mountain to frame the original owner of the house, and may even have been working with the enemy.

Shouldn't these people contribute their family fortunes to fund his army to fight the Japanese?

Just then, a commotion arose from the street corner ahead.

A group of well-dressed people walked in, led by an old man with a goatee, none other than Master Wang, Wang Fuhai.

"Commander Lin, Commander Lin's triumphant return is truly a blessing for Qing County and a boon for its people."

Before Mr. Wang even arrived, his voice came first, his face beaming with a warm smile, as if he were genuinely happy for him.

Lin Feng reined in his horse and looked at the group of people.

They arrived so quickly.