Can't a girl be a traitor like Cao Cao?

So everyone turned to look at the seemingly frail girl in white.

The girl stretched her shoulders, and when she saw everyone looking at her, she curled up the corners of her mouth, revealing a slightly innocent and cute smile.

Chapter 255 I've finished speaking. Who agrees and who disagrees?

Upon seeing Wenren Tianxia return, Chi Junlin cast a reassuring glance at her.

The two looked at each other and smiled.

Then Wenren Tianxia smiled at Chi Junlin and said, "There was one more. I had already found where it was, but that guy was extremely quick-witted. When he saw the head in my hand, he jumped into the water and escaped when he realized the situation was not good."

I'm not a good swimmer, so I only managed to cut off one of his arms, but judging from the injury, he probably won't survive the night.

Upon hearing this, Chi Junlin nodded and said to her with a smile, "Thank you for your hard work."

Wenren Tianxia shook his head and said, "It's not hard at all. It's just killing a bunch of petty thieves. It won't take much effort. The problem is that they have a lot of gang members around them, so it will be a bit troublesome to fight our way in."

Upon hearing Wenren Tianxia's words, everyone present was horrified.

Although the white-clad girl's identity was unknown, according to her account, she was the one who stormed into the enemy camp and captured these powerful and notorious bandit leaders amidst a sea of ​​soldiers.

It's important to know that this group of water gang members is no rabble.

They were sailors from the south, well-trained and strong, and also knew some naval warfare tactics.

It was precisely because of the strength of the river bandits that they had been unable to be eradicated for so many years.

But this girl actually managed to fight her way into the bandit group and take the heads of three "leaders".

Just how strong was she that killing the bandit leader was as easy as taking candy from a baby?

The people in the hall were so intimidated by him that they fell silent, none daring to speak.

At this moment, Chi Junlin looked at everyone and said, "Now, the heads of several bandit leaders around Xiangshui County are right in front of you. You should understand what this means, right?"

Don't say that at this point, you all still harbor wishful thinking, believing that as long as you pay a small sum of money, the Dongting Water Gang will let you go.

They have already lost four of their generals, and their gang members have suffered numerous casualties.

If they are not completely eradicated, you will face endless retaliation from the river bandits.

And some people want to tell me, "Can we live just fine without fighting bandits?"

As Chi Junlin spoke, he looked at everyone in the banquet hall with an expression that exuded a strong sense of pressure.

With bloody human heads laid out before them, no one had the courage to refute what Chi Junlin had said.

The scene before them not only shocked the members of the clan, but also the county officials and Guo the Prodigy, who dared not utter a sound.

In the eyes of the county officials, the two women, one in red and one in white, were indeed people from the martial arts world. They showed no mercy when they attacked and did not follow any rules. They were indeed extremely arrogant.

In Guo Shentong's eyes, the general was indeed a great general, and his behavior and actions were just as they had been before. He killed people without hesitation.

For some reason, seeing the heads in front of him reminded Guo Shentong of the Fu Wen clan, who had been wiped out.

Although it felt brutal at first, once you got used to it, it gave you a strange sense of peace.

Seeing that everyone remained silent, it seemed that they had tacitly agreed with what Chi Junlin had said.

Chi Junlin smiled and straightened up, continuing to address the crowd, "Since everyone has no objections, the matter of suppressing the bandits is settled."

Tomorrow, each clan will send one person to the prefectural office to finalize the details of the able-bodied men each family will contribute and their respective share of the funds.

For those who don't come, I will personally visit them to inquire why they are unwilling to participate in the bandit suppression.

I've finished speaking. Does anyone object?

Seeing that Chi Junlin was looking at them, all the clan representatives nodded repeatedly, indicating that there was no problem.

Then Chi Junlin looked at the prefect and asked with a friendly smile, "Prefect, is there anything else you would like to add?"

Upon hearing this, Li Yi shook his head repeatedly, saying, "No...nothing more..."

"That's good."

As Chi Junlin spoke, he casually glanced at the table.

The bloodstains from the three severed heads had completely stained the table full of exquisite dishes.

Since they couldn't finish the meal at this table, Chi Junlin laughed and said, "How about we have the chef arrange another table for everyone? You can all eat something before you leave?"

Upon hearing Chi Junlin's words, everyone waved their hands repeatedly.

"No, no, I'm full."

"My mother made me some chicken soup, so I have to take my leave now..."

"I also need to go back and inform the clan about the bandit suppression..."

"I'll go first, I'll go first..."

The group hurriedly stood up, bowed respectfully to Chi Junlin, and then left in a panic.

Wenren Tianxia took a step back, stood at the door with a smile, and greeted them one by one.

At this point, only officials from the prefecture and members of the Hui family remained in the banquet hall.

Mao Qingyan looked somewhat embarrassed, as if he had something urgent to attend to and needed to leave.

Chi Junlin did not try to stop him, but watched his hurried departure with a thoughtful expression.

Li Yi then looked at Guo Shentong and said, "Will Your Excellency stay at the prefectural residence tonight? I have prepared several side rooms, perhaps..."

Before Li Yi could finish speaking, Chi Junlin said with a smile, "Didn't Lord Guo say he would invite me to a brothel to listen to music? Why don't you come with me? I'm currently staying at the Hui residence, so we can catch up there."

Guo Shentong's eyes lit up when he heard Chi Junlin's words.

He immediately beamed and said, "Lord Lin Jun, you've hit the nail on the head! I've been wanting to catch up with you, this is perfect! Perfect!"

Then he looked at Li Yi and said, "I thank the Prefect for his kindness, but..."

"It's alright, Your Excellency, please feel free to do as you please."

After Li Yi finished speaking, Guo Shentong, accompanied by Hui Shi and his entourage, turned and left the banquet hall.

As for the heads on the table, the prefectural commandant has already ordered the garrison soldiers to come and collect them.

Seemingly aware that the bandit suppression operation would commence the next day, the prefectural commandant appeared somewhat excited.

He then said to Li Yi, "Prefect, this is the first time in so many years that Xiangshui County has obtained so many heads of the Water Gang leaders!"

It seems these江湖人士 (jianghu figures) aren't entirely without merit after all!

Upon hearing this, Li Yi didn't say anything, but a complex expression appeared on his face.

After that incident, he also felt that clearing out the river bandits seemed extremely difficult.

But now it seems that it's not that complicated.

He recalled the confident and assertive expression of the girl in red at the banquet.

For some reason, despite being such a young and beautiful girl, she gave him the illusion that she had long been in a superior position.

He seemed to have gleaned some insights into the ways of being an official from the other person.

Thinking of this, Li Yi couldn't help but fall into deep thought again.

And they began to think about what exactly was lacking between themselves and the other person.

While Li Yi stared at the heads on the table, lost in thought.

Meanwhile, Mao Qingyan had already returned to his residence.

He sat in the tea room, recalling his experience at the banquet, and the more he thought about it, the angrier he became.

So he couldn't help but grab the purple clay teapot next to him and smash it down hard.

With a "crack," the expensive and exquisite teapot was smashed into pieces.

Chapter 256 Tonight, you'll come to my room too.

The sound of Mao Qingyan smashing the teapot was extremely terrifying, and coupled with the angry expression on his face, none of the servants in his mansion dared to approach.

Only his closest henchman, the mustachioed advisor who managed the prefect's properties in Xiangshui County, came to the tea room at this time.

He asked with slight nervousness, "Sir, what happened?"

Mao Qingyan glanced at the man with the mustache, then remained silent.

After a while, he finally asked, "Is there any news from the county?"

The man with the mustache immediately replied, "Sir, there's no other news, but I heard that there was a big commotion on the Water Gang's side tonight. Several bandit leaders near Xiangshui County were killed, and many bandits were also killed or wounded. Now, a large number of Water Gang members have withdrawn from Xiangshui County and headed towards Dongting Lake."

Upon hearing the man with the mustache's words, Mao Qingyan's face darkened further, and he replied, "I already know about this."

The man with the mustache nodded repeatedly, then looked at Mao Qingyan's expression and asked, "What about the matter of plotting to seize the Hui family's property..."

Mao Qingyan gave the man with the mustache a cold look and said, "The Water Gang leader is dead and has run away. Who's going to cause trouble for the Hui family? You?"

The man with the mustache waved his hands repeatedly, but still cautiously said, "But we still have the gambling debts of the Hui family's son-in-law. Should we go and pay him a visit..."

Mao Qingyan waved his hand and said, "Put these small matters aside for now. There's one more thing you need to go and do."

"What is it, sir?"

"Go and inform the Water Gang that Xiangshui County is now prepared to suppress the bandits, and tell them to be ready to respond."

The man with the mustache widened his eyes and couldn't help but ask, "Is there really someone who dares to suppress bandits? Didn't the magistrate stop them?"

As he spoke, he noticed the red mark on Mao Qingyan's face and continued, "Why is your face swollen, sir? Should I go find a doctor for you?"

Upon hearing what the man with the mustache said, Mao Qingyan became furious.

He immediately raised his hand and slapped him to the ground.

"Big... lord?"

The man with the mustache covered his face, not understanding what he had said wrong.

"Stop stammering and spouting so much nonsense! Are you the Prefectural Magistrate or am I? Get to work!"

"Yes Yes……"

-

Let's go back to Huifu.

After Wenren Tianxia intervened, the Water Gang lost three "helmsman" level water bandit leaders at once.

With the addition of the previously deceased Mudfish, only the Eight Vajras remained of the Twelve Leaders of the Water Gang.

Having suffered such a great loss, the minor leaders of the water gangs around the county and its surrounding areas hurriedly led their men away from the area, rowing their small boats back to the Dongting Lake waters, lest they become the next villains to be killed.

Thus, the entire Xiangshui County was cleaned up tonight.

However, it's too early to say that the floods have been completely eliminated.

After all, Dongting Lake has such a large water area that it is one of the largest lakes in the entire Kyushu region.

In addition, the Water Gang has a large number of members, including thousands of gang members, as well as many casual laborers, family members, and prostitutes.

All things considered, the number may exceed ten thousand.

It is impossible to completely solve the Dongting Lake flood problem by relying solely on Chi Junlin and Wenren Tianxia.

To be fair, the Water Gang, this notorious bandit group, also benefited from the geographical advantage of water resources.

If they were in the wilderness or mountains, let alone the fact that they couldn't possibly form such a large force, even if they had gathered tens of thousands of people, they wouldn't need the elite troops of the Zhenbei Army to intervene. Even Jiang Mao's former garrison troops, with just three thousand elite soldiers, could wipe out any mountain bandits and thieves.

But floods are a much more troublesome problem.

Putting aside the question of whether they could win, the fact that the river bandits were familiar with the local environment made things particularly difficult for the imperial navy.

Therefore, when it comes to eliminating river bandits, it still depends on the efforts of the local fishermen and young men.

The Dongting Lake floods were a problem that had plagued the Xiangshui clan for many years.

However, what happened today still felt like a dream to the Hui clan.

Leaving aside the imperial envoy who suddenly appeared in Xiangshui County and was willing to help them.

In less than two days, someone had already helped them kill four bandit leaders.

This alone is enough for the Hui clan to worship Chi Junlin and his entourage.

At this time, with the arrival of Imperial Envoy Guo Shentong, the Hui residence became even more lively.

The Hui family members were very courteous and respectfully invited Guo the prodigy into their residence, as if they were inviting in a great Buddha.