A lowly soldier becomes king, I slaughter my way through the late Tang Dynasty!

Zhao Kuangyin lay on a boulder, looking down at the lush, wooded hillside below.

After looking at it for a long time, he smacked his lips.

"This forest is so dense, you can't see anything even from this vantage point."

The other hundred veterans also looked around and shook their heads.

"There really is nothing there."

"Are those bandits really hiding below this cliff?"

"That's what General Li Rui said."

"Tsk, it's not that I don't believe him, it's just that I searched for a long time and really couldn't find any trace of him."

The soldiers were whispering amongst themselves, occasionally glancing furtively at Li Rui.

Zhao Kuangyin gave up the search, ran to Li Rui's side, and asked with a pursed mouth.

"General Li, haven't we made a mistake?"

Li Rui shook his head firmly.

He had great faith in the maps he had drawn.

Unless those bandits are fools, they will definitely choose this valley as their habitat.

The key is.

Where is the road into the valley?

Li Rui was certain of that.

This valley is a naturally formed, enclosed area with cliffs on both sides and no road leading in at all.

unless.

There is a man-made passageway!

But here is the problem.

Of all the information provided by hunters and farmers, no one had ever entered this valley.

Even the locals didn't know there was a road there!

How did those bandits from Huazhou manage to sneak in?

Li Rui thought for a moment, then stood up and said.

"Stop looking. Go to the nearest county and check the case files."

Zhao Kuangyin was taken aback.

Checking case files?

Aren't we looking for directions?

What does this have to do with the case file?

The soldiers around him were also completely baffled by Li Rui.

Some people had furrowed brows and looked displeased.

They followed Li Rui, running east and west, crossing mountains and valleys, and finally arrived at the top of this river valley.

Li Rui said there were thieves down there.

They racked their brains to find the way, and were exhausted.

As Li Rui said...

Not looking for it!

Go back to the county town to check the case files!

What kind of logic is this?

The soldiers were dissatisfied, but due to Zhao Hongyin's orders, they could only obey Li Rui's commands.

How did a group of people come over the mountain, and how did they return?

On the way, Zhao Kuangyin couldn't understand it at all.

"General Li, since you're so certain the thieves are in the valley, why not just find the path directly? Why go through the trouble of checking the files?"

Li Rui climbed the hillside and said.

"Don't rush, sharpening your axe won't delay your woodcutting; haste makes waste."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Kuangyin became even more perplexed.

This Li Rui, despite being the same age as him, is more mature than his father when it comes to reasoning!

"General Li, you have to give us some reason, don't you?"

Li Rui laughed.

"This valley is extremely large. Even if several thousand people search together, it would probably take several days to figure out the surrounding area."

We only have a hundred people, how are we supposed to find them? We should check the files, determine the route first, and then just charge in.

Zhao Kuangyin looked completely bewildered.

That's the logic.

How do I determine the route when I can access case files?

Li Rui offered no further explanation.

He had already determined that there was unlikely to be a natural passage in this valley.

Unless it was built by human intervention!

It allowed hundreds of bandits to come and go freely, while also carrying large weapons like ballistae.

This road won't be too narrow.

To complete such a project, at least several hundred people were involved.

In Bianzhou, at the foot of the capital, hundreds of people were mobilized to carve out a mountain road.

How could there be absolutely no records in the recent county town?

As long as we find a clue, we won't go down this road!

Those bandits can't escape either!

……

Three days later.

The imperial guards sent by Shi Chonggui have been searching the mountains for two days.

They not only knew that the band of mountain bandits were hiding in this deep mountain forest.

They also learned from Li Shouzhen, the military governor of Yicheng Army, that this group of people were bandits from Heifeng Village in Huazhou.

In fact.

Li Shouzhen arrived much earlier than the Imperial Guards.

He brought three thousand men, almost all of whom were scattered into the mountains and forests, searching for any clues.

It's been three days already.

It's been three whole days.

Not to mention the whereabouts of the Black Wind Stronghold gang.

We didn't see a single human being!

Li Shouzhen's face was gloomy as he gritted his teeth and cursed angrily.

"Black Wind Stronghold has a full six hundred people, six hundred people! Even if they were six hundred pigs, they should have left a mess of pig bristles on the ground!"

Besides, they are human beings; they need to eat, drink, and relieve themselves! We've searched for three whole days, how can there not be a single trace?!

His subordinates were covered in sweat, unable to express their grievances.

"General, the soldiers have searched very hard, but there's no trace of them."

Li Shouzhen was furious!

"Bullshit! No trace whatsoever! A bunch of useless trash!"

Now that the Imperial Guards have arrived, if we let them find Black Wind Stronghold first, and find that ballista.

How am I supposed to explain this to His Majesty?

The subordinates turned pale and were speechless.

indeed.

Once the news of the ballista being discovered by the Imperial Guards and the loss of such a large piece of weaponry reached the Emperor's ears.

Without a doubt, the emperor would be furious and order a thorough investigation.

There's no need to check at all.

Black Wind Village was established in Huazhou.

Their leader, Zhang Fu, was originally a woodcutter who chopped firewood for Li Shouzhen's household.

He was forced to flee after being severely beaten by Li Shouzhen and eventually became a bandit.

All signs indicate that the crossbow was inextricably linked to Li Shouzhen.

Once thoroughly investigated.

Li Shouzhen's crimes of reselling military equipment and aiding the enemy and betraying the country are undeniable!

"Get out! You're not allowed to go into the mountains with me! You go and search too!"

Li Shouzhen smashed the tables and chairs and beat and kicked his subordinates.

Just as he was pacing around in a panic.

The Imperial Guards.

The veteran general Tian Wu, commander of the Imperial Guard Infantry, was stationed outside the dense forest.

This was the highest-ranking leader of the Bianliang infantry, equivalent to the current commander-in-chief of the Capital Military Region Infantry Group Army.

The fact that he came to oversee things personally shows that Shi Chonggui was very unhappy.

Feng Yao's injury is a minor matter.

In Bianzhou, right under the nose of the capital, a group of ruthless bandits dared to ambush and kill government soldiers!

This is a huge provocation to the dignity of the nation and the stability of the capital!

Even an emperor couldn't tolerate this!

Therefore, Tian Wu brought a full ten thousand men!

Ten thousand were wiped out, six hundred were killed.

If Zhang Fu had known that the emperor was making such a big fuss, he should have been proud, not wept.

Tian Wu looked at the dense trees and said anxiously.

"Still no news?"

"Reporting to the general, no."

Ten thousand imperial guards were all thrown into the mountains.

Starting from the outermost edge, it was almost a net-like search.

They even dug up the rabbit hutch to see what was inside!

Two days passed.

Without a trace.

Although Tian Wu was anxious, he was still able to remain patient.

He and Li Shouzhen were searching from opposite ends of the country, one in the south and one in the north!

With so many people, we'll find them sooner or later!

Unless the bandits of Black Wind Stronghold can fly!

……

Gradually.

News of bandits appearing in Bianzhou spread throughout the city.

The locals weren't worried, since the bandits only numbered a few hundred.

But five days have passed.

The public realized something was wrong.

Why haven't they managed to wipe them out yet?

Didn't they say that band of mountain bandits only numbered a few hundred?

A huge number of Imperial Guards went there; they should have been killed long ago!

The public was completely baffled.

Shi Zhonggui cursed all day long.

"What is Tian Wu doing! I've already given him 20,000 men! How come he still doesn't even know where the bandits are?!"

The imperial guard who delivered the message was sweating profusely.

"Your Majesty, the Black Wind Stronghold bandits are cunning and extremely well-hidden..."

Shi Chonggui glared and slammed the brush washer beside him onto the ground, smashing it to pieces.

He was truly furious.

The day before yesterday was supposed to be a grand court assembly to reward meritorious generals.

But now, because of these thieves, the grand assembly has been postponed indefinitely.

Shi Chonggui's face turned red, and he almost burst into a loud curse.

"Then burn the mountain! Burn all the trees!"

Sang Weihan and Li Song were startled and quickly stepped in to stop them.

"Your Majesty, you mustn't. This mountain forest is vast and full of trees. Setting it on fire could easily lead to a major disaster."

"The people around all rely on the mountains for their livelihood. Setting fire to the mountains will undoubtedly cut off their means of survival."

Unexpectedly, Shi Zhonggui wouldn't listen to a word.

He overturned the table and said with red eyes.

"If I don't burn the mountain, am I supposed to keep these people sleeping next to me all day?! Get out! All of you, get out!"

at this time.

Feng Yao, who was eavesdropping outside the main hall, shook her head repeatedly.

Shi Chonggui's appearance shows no sign of being the demeanor of a ruler.

The mere six hundred thieves were both alarmed and anxious.

Feng Yao's eyes revealed disappointment, and she couldn't help but recall it again.

At that time, Li Rui only had two hundred men with him, but he had to face more than four thousand refugees.

Far from panicking.

Instead, he took the lead in directing operations, displaying remarkable composure.

The two are really...

Feng Yao remained silent and asked Yun Lian softly.

"Where's Li Rui? Is he still looking for the bandits?"