Top-notch Little Horseman

Ye Chen chased after him out the window, his gaze sweeping towards the darkness on his right.

From the darkness, a person was thrown out; it was a man dressed in black.

Ye Chen didn't look at the man in black; he kept staring into the darkness.

In the blink of an eye, a person stepped out of the darkness.

Ye Chen narrowed his eyes slightly and recognized that this person was actually Yan Luo, Qian Wansan's confidant!

"What are you doing here?" Ye Chen asked in an icy voice.

"The master said he'll take care of any troubles you have outside the military camp, but as for those inside, he can't help you much," Yan Luo replied, seemingly unrelated to the question.

Ye Chen smiled slightly, put away the sniper rifle, and said, "Then thank you for your kindness, Mr. Qian."

"But no matter where the trouble is, as long as it's my trouble, it won't bother Mr. Qian."

It now appears that Yan Luo was the one who killed Wang Tianba.

"I can see that you're also quite adept at murder and robbery," Yan Luo said with a serious expression.

"Please go back and tell Master Qian that these are just minor incidents around me and will not affect our business dealings. Please rest assured that I will clean up the mess myself," Ye Chen said softly.

"Alright, I'll tell the master that you should leave quickly. I'll arrange for someone to handle things here. But next time you want to take action, please let me know in advance. Don't leave me unprepared; that would be very awkward," Yan Luo nodded.

"Thank you very much, Brother Luo. I'll leave this to you. Please keep this; consider it my treat for the brothers to tea." Ye Chen was a man of principle, so he took out a ten-tael silver note and handed it to Yan Luo.

"Alright, then I won't stand on ceremony. I'll use it to treat my brothers to drinks." Yan Luo nodded and put the silver note away.

……

About half an hour later, the monkey woke up. Although his head was still spinning, he vaguely remembered that the captain had come to save him.

"You're badly injured, you should rest first. I'm the one who dragged you down with you being beaten so badly," Ye Chen said to the monkey.

"Captain, I'm so sorry. If I hadn't fallen into your trap, you wouldn't have been implicated..." Monkey's tears streamed down his face.

"But I really didn't gamble! They just insisted I lost, really!"

"Yes, I believe you. Someone was trying to frame me, and you were just caught in the crossfire. Be more careful in the future and don't get tricked by others," Ye Chen nodded.

"Okay, I understand," the monkey nodded.

"Let's go back and talk about it. The situation at Huangchen Pass is probably not peaceful either; a storm is brewing!" Ye Chen said, looking up in the direction of Huangchen Pass.

This trip was worthwhile; we made quite a bit of money, which will be perfect for getting the brothers some gear to handle what's coming next.

After the battle at that post station, they actually managed to plunder 823 taels of silver, which was a huge sum of money, enough to support the brothers of Huangchen Pass for more than half a year.

This truly proves the old saying that the most profitable businesses are indeed written in the criminal law; just one robbery can make a fortune.

……

Two days later, Chen Baiquan arrived.

He was on official business in Zhenbeibao, and when he passed through Huangchen Pass, he made a point of stopping for half a day.

Ye Chen took him for a walk around the potato field. He squatted down to look at the seedlings, then pinched the soil on the ridges with his hands, and stood up to clap his hands.

"Great! I really didn't expect you to actually grow it."

He straightened up, looked at the neat potato field, and nodded approvingly. "I will report the situation here to the Governor, and I believe he will be very happy."

"If the production is truly as high as you claim, the Governor will surely reward you handsomely!"

"General Chen, rest assured, we will not let you down when the harvest is complete!" Ye Chen said, clasping his hands in a fist salute to Chen Baiquan.

"However, the number of refugees gathering is so large that it won't be long before they try to break through the pass."

"To save these potato sprouts, we have to hold the checkpoint!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Baiquan narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "Both the Governor-General and the Commander-in-Chief attach great importance to this matter concerning you."

"The requisition documents for this land were processed so quickly only because the Governor personally intervened."

"I will have Zhenbeibao take care of the refugees, but the specifics will depend on you yourselves. I will also keep the governor informed of the situation here."

"Then thank you very much, General Chen." Ye Chen assured him, "We will not let the Governor down; we will hold the fort at Huangchen Pass!"

"Hmm. As long as it's not the Northern Barbarian cavalry, you don't need to worry too much," Chen Baiquan said after thinking for a moment.

"Recently, the bandits have been causing a lot of trouble and have robbed many villages. The county government has reported this urgently, and the Beiping Prefecture has ordered several nearby forts to send troops into the mountains to suppress the bandits."

"But the army needs supplies as soon as it moves, and supplies are a big problem right now. We need some time to prepare them."

After seeing Chen Baiquan off, Ye Chen returned to the courtyard.

"Captain, I just heard that we're going into the mountains to suppress bandits, so we can train here without worry," Liang Zhichao immediately chimed in.

"We must not be careless. Suppressing bandits in the mountains is no quick process. We also need to prepare food and fodder. It will probably take at least another month or so," Ye Chen said solemnly.

"Also, we can't let our guard down with Zhang the Skinflint; he won't let this go so easily!"

"I don't think he's a benevolent leader. We must keep training and night watch on, without delay! Starting tomorrow, increase push-ups to 200!"

......

into the night!

Under the thick clouds, only a blurry outline remained of the courtyard wall of Huangchen Pass.

The autumn wind blew across the earthen ridge, stirring up fine sand that rustled against the stone walls.

Thirty paces outside the courtyard wall, in the dry bushes, a dark figure crouched behind an earthen embankment, squinting as he surveyed the high platform ahead.

Behind him lay about twenty men, some clutching waist knives, others holding sharpened wooden spears, and two hunters carrying hunting bows with nine arrows in their quiver.

A lame man approached and asked in a low voice, "Brother, want to touch it?"

"What's the rush?" The shadowy figure stared at the crenellations in the courtyard wall. "Haven't you heard of the saying, 'A dark and windy night is a night for murder'?"

"Let's wait until the clouds get thicker before we start!"

His name was Hei Tou. He was a hunter from Dingyuan County. In the autumn, he would chase roe deer in the mountains and could lie motionless in the grass for two hours.

He brought fifty men with him for tonight's job; that's more than enough to deal with the people inside.

Several times the number of enemies, enough to surround Huangchen Pass.

The clouds grew thicker, swallowing even the shadow of the courtyard wall!

Blackie stood up, drew his sword from its sheath, and pointed the tip in four directions, saying, "Little Ma, take five brothers and go around to the back hillside to block the gap in the back wall."

"Xiao Wu, you and the two with bows and arrows, take up the eastern slope. If anyone tries to rush out, shoot them!"

"The rest of you, follow me and climb over the wall from the front!"

"Listen up, everyone. Be quick and stealthy. By the time they react, the knife will already be at their throats."

At his command, dozens of dark figures dispersed, crept along the ground towards Huangchen Pass.

Ye Chen, who was on night watch, was awakened by a very faint rustling sound!