Chapter 130: Emerging into the Spotlight!

The importance of He Gang exceeded Li Yun’s expectations. This was because Li Yun had overestimated the Yuezhou insurgent army, or rather, he had overestimated the Qiu Dian group.

The Qiu Dian group was not yet a mature interest group; it had formed too recently, and as a result, the balance between group interests and individual interests had yet to be properly struck. To put it bluntly, this group, still in its embryonic stage, had not yet developed its own set of values.

For instance, a man like He Gang was of little actual use to the Yuezhou insurgent army as a whole. However, due to Qiu Dian—or more accurately, due to Qiu Dian’s wife—He Gang’s current status far outweighed his utility. Consequently, the Yuezhou forces were willing to mobilize troops to the Tianmu Mountains time and again for his sake. In a mature interest group, such a situation would be impossible; even if the leader of a nascent group were relatively level-headed, such a thing would not occur. Ultimately, they were simply too young.

Yet, this youthfulness provided Li Yun with a golden opportunity.

The development of the Qiu Dian group was currently in full swing. Not only had they conquered all of Yuezhou, but in Qiantang Commandery, only the commandery seat remained uncaptured. Under these circumstances, their arrogance and temper were bound to grow.

As news from the Tianmu Mountains spread, it soon reached Linshui County, the closest location to the mountains. Linshui County was currently governed by a commandant under the King of Yue. This commandant, surnamed He, was one of the original group who had followed Qiu Dian into rebellion.

At that moment, Commandant He was sitting in the main hall of the Linshui County government office. Before him lay a platter of roasted chicken and a platter of pork knuckles. The general was eating with his mouth full of grease. Only after finishing the meat did he wipe his mouth with his sleeve, look at the scout kneeling before him, and ask boisterously, "So, there’s news about Old Third He?"

"Yes." The young officer kept his head bowed. "General, the bandits of the Tianmu Mountains have reappeared. They have sent word that General... General He has been captured by them, and they demand one hundred thousand strings of cash for his immediate release."

"How much money?"

"One hundred... one hundred thousand strings of cash..."

"Pah!" Commandant He spat a glob of thick phlegm onto the floor and cursed, "Those bastards really know how to open their mouths! Even if you skinned Old Third He, took him apart bone by bone, ground his bones into ash, and boiled them into medicine, selling each bowl for ten strings of cash, he wouldn't fetch one hundred thousand strings!"

"Have these dog-day bandits all gone insane?"

After cursing for a moment, Commandant He turned to look at the captains under his command. "What do you think?"

His two captains were also former peasants who had joined the rebellion. At this stage, their foresight and experience had yet to catch up. After some thought, they both looked at the commandant and bowed their heads. "General, He the Third is, after all, the King's brother-in-law and the Queen's own brother."

The other added, "That is the truth, which is why Yuezhou sent the letter to you, General."

Commandant He stroked his chin, pondered for a moment, and said, "There is truth in that. If I leave Old Third He to his fate, the King’s wife will likely complain that I failed to exert effort, and I won't have much of a say in Yuezhou City in the future."

At this time, members of the Qiu Dian group, especially those who had joined the rebellion at the very beginning, were driven by only one thought: to succeed in this venture and become the founding heroes of the new dynasty! Not only would they enjoy great wealth and honor, but their descendants would be dukes and marquises for generations to come! Under such circumstances, with orders having already come down from Yuezhou, these commanding officers naturally sought to please Qiu Dian in any way they could.

Commandant He asked, "How many men do we have in Linshui now?"

A captain stood up and replied, "General, when we entered Linshui County, we had about five hundred men. Now, we have just over a thousand."

Peasant uprisings—or rather, grassroots rebellions—always lacked sufficient numbers at the start. There was no other way to roll the snowball quickly. The only way was coercion! For example, upon arriving at a new place, they would capture the local officials and force the local able-bodied men to kill those officials, each taking a turn with the blade. Once they had done that, these men had no choice but to rebel. The Yuezhou army was exactly like this. To this day, their true core force was not large, so they had to find ways to absorb local youths wherever they went to expand their power.

Commandant He and his men had already doubled their numbers since entering Linshui. Although the combat quality of these recruits was questionable, as long as they had strength in numbers, after fighting for seven, eight, or ten years, an elite force would naturally be forged. This was a proven path; many peasant uprisings in another world had followed this same route, the most successful of which was that of the Grand Progenitor Zhu.

Upon hearing the figure, Commandant He smiled. "It hasn't been long, and we’ve already gathered so many new recruits. Our mission in Linshui, as instructed by General Zhao, is essentially complete."

The two captains chimed in, "Once General He rescues General He, the Queen will surely appreciate your efforts, General. When that time comes, you might even stand on equal footing with General Zhao."

The three talked as they ate. Finally, Commandant He slapped the table. "Pick three or four hundred men and go to the Tianmu Mountains to take a look. If we can rescue Old Third He, that’s great; if not, I, Old He, can at least say I did my best. When we return to Yuezhou and see the Queen, she won’t be able to blame me."

The three reached an agreement, and soon, nearly four hundred soldiers were mustered in Linshui County. They marched out of the city and headed toward the Tianmu Mountains.

Meanwhile, Li Zheng, accompanied by a dozen men, was lingering outside Linshui County. Seeing the hundreds of men marching grandly out of the city toward the Tianmu Mountains, he immediately realized their destination. He ordered his men to remain outside the city to observe the situation, then dashed off toward the mountains.

Li Zheng had been nicknamed "Skinny Monkey" since childhood because he ran through mountain paths with incredible speed, scaling trees and cliffs as if they were flat ground. Since following Li Yun and leaving the Cangshan Stronghold, he had spent much time training his stamina, and even on flat ground, his speed was unmatched by ordinary men.

The distance from Linshui County to the Tianmu Mountains was only fifty or sixty li. Li Zheng ran for only half a day before reaching the foot of the mountains. When he arrived at the camp, the cousin of the Stronghold Master collapsed onto the ground, exhausted, unable to catch his breath for a long time.

Seeing his state, Li Yun knew something critical must have happened. He poured Li Zheng a cup of water, watched him drink, and asked, "Is there movement in Linshui?"

Li Zheng nodded, still gulping down water.

Li Yun asked again, "Are they headed for the Tianmu Mountains?"

Li Zheng nodded repeatedly.

Li Yun narrowed his eyes and summoned Zhou Liang to discuss the matter. After recounting the situation, Zhou Liang, the Third Stronghold Master, offered his opinion. "Stronghold Master, I believe there are two ways to respond. First, we set an ambush near the Tianmu Mountains, wait for the Yuezhou army from Linshui to arrive, and deal them a crushing blow. Second, we ignore them, march straight for Linshui County, and capture it before they can react!"

Li Yun frowned and shook his head. "No, neither will work. If we fight them, we will at most wipe out one or two hundred men or scatter them. As for ignoring them and attacking Linshui, that is even less feasible. Even if these people are fools, they surely left some guard at Linshui."

By now, Li Zheng had recovered. He sat at the table, looked at Li Yun, and let out a long breath. "So, Second Brother, what do you suggest? We can't just avoid the fight and let them go back, can we?"

"We fight," Li Yun said, tapping the table to set the tone. "I have a bold plan, but whether it succeeds depends on how well we fight and how quickly the enemy breaks."

Li Zheng looked at Li Yun and poured himself another cup of tea, pouting. "Why have you become so mysterious, Second Brother?"

Zhou Liang was lost in thought. He looked at Li Yun and asked, "How does the Stronghold Master intend to fight?"

"Immediately gather the tents—do not bother bringing them, leave them in Xia'ao Village for now. Everyone is to organize their gear and prepare for battle." Li Yun looked at Li Zheng. "Skinny Monkey, you must take some sharp men and keep watch at the foot of the mountain. This time, we don't move until at least half of them have ascended!"

Li Zheng patted his chest without hesitation. "Leave it to me. I’ll take some of the brothers from the Bandit-Hunting Squad!" The so-called Bandit-Hunting Squad consisted of the hundred or so bandits Li Yun had subdued; these men were like fish in water on the mountain paths. Moreover, Li Zheng had spent enough time with them to be very familiar with them.

"Then go."

Li Zheng acknowledged, finished his tea, and strode away.

Li Yun looked at Zhou Liang and smiled. "Third Uncle, this is our first real battle. Do you think I can handle it?"

Zhou Liang pondered for a moment and replied, "I believe, Stronghold Master, that you will be like the autumn wind—sweeping away the fallen leaves!"

Li Yun laughed heartily and walked out.

It was the transition between spring and summer in the fourth year of the Xiande era. A certain great bandit leader had begun to make his mark on the heavy, somber pages of history!