Chapter 832: Exterminating Bandits

Translator: Atlas Studios    Editor: Atlas Studios

Lord Li took a deep breath and lowered his head. Princess Shaoyi meant that the government office could not stay out of it.

Yu Youyao looked up at Lord Li. “What do you think, Lord Li?”

Lord Li only felt that when Princess Shaoyi looked at him, there was a trace of coldness in her eyes, making his scalp tingle and his entire body break out in a cold sweat. He quickly lowered his head. “Yes, yes, yes. The Princess is right.”

… .

After the Imperial Court issued the national policy, the Empress Dowager also issued another decree. The King of the North was ordered to ensure the safety of Princess Shaoyi. Princess Shaoyi would be treated according to the etiquette of the legitimate princess of the current dynasty. He couldn’t be negligent and could not accept military orders outside. This concerned Princess Shaoyi, so King Yue Fei had to be careful and serious.

This decree seemed to be only targeted at Princess Shaoyi, but after prying it open and analyzing it, Yue Fei could use Princess Shaoyi’s name and do more as the King of the North.

Princess Shaoyi provided her righteousness and benevolence. She had come to the North for the sake of the thousands of refugees of the Great Zhou Dynasty. It was only logical for him to use Princess Shaoyi’s name to do things. It would not be exposed.

It was also because of this that Huang Wenxian had brought a deputy general of the army to escort Princess Shaoyi.

The highest commander in the army was the commander-in-chief. He was the commander or vassal lord who guarded various places.

Under the commander-in-chief, there was also the Great General of the Cavalry. He was responsible for resisting external enemies and invasion. He was a second-grade general and could be given the title of General Jinwu. His status was second only to the commander-in-chief.

Previously, when the Marquis of Changxing was captured and returned to the capital, the Great General of the Cavalry was in charge of guarding the North.

There was also a special title. Usually, the position was not occupied. If necessary, it would be appointed by the emperor. That was the expeditionary army, who conquered the east, south, west, and north. It was in charge of conquest. Previously, when Yin Huaixi went to Shandong to quell the rebellion, he was conferred the title of Great General of the East.

The level of the rank depended on the size of the army. The army received orders from the emperor and was not under the jurisdiction of local generals.

Under the Great General of the Cavalry were generals of the Duke’s Residence, usually served by the descendants of the imperial family.

Below them were Zhao Wu and An Yuan…

They were all generals who had led troops and were called deputy generals.

All the generals in the army who could be promoted to deputy generals had been through hundreds of battles and had outstanding military achievements. The person who had followed Huang Wenxian over was General An Yuan. He was a third-grade official and an elder in the army.

General An Yuan was in his early forties and was also tall and strong. He was wearing cotton armor and had two knives at his waist, one long and one short. One was a Tang knife, and the other was a saber. Their lengths complemented each other. He walked in a majestic manner, and every step he took was imposing. Just his aura of having been through hundreds of battles was enough to suffocate people.

General An Yuan said, “The mountain bandits entrenched in the area of Anshan are indeed vicious people. Not only do they plunder property and harm lives, but they also don’t let off the old, young, and women. They even snatch good-looking women. In just four to three months, they’ve already committed more than a hundred crimes and more than 200 murders.”

Yesterday, when the Little Princess Consort had looked for him and mentioned the suppression of bandits, he had sent someone out to find out more.

“In addition, I’ve also heard that during this period of time, children between the ages of five and ten have often been lost in the adjacent areas of Anshan. I’ve reported a case and it’s verified by the government office. There are 11 cases that are not recorded. There must be cases that aren’t recorded. If there are no accidents, they should be the ones who did it.”

Yu Youyao did not look too good. It was as if there was a stone in her chest. The mountain bandits were vicious. Why did they capture children? Was it fun to kill them or raise them?

In the year of famine, the starving people ate each other’s food, and tragedies happened from time to time.

If it was really as she had guessed, then…

She suddenly pursed her lips.

Bandits had their own ways, and there were also righteous bandits. There was banditry to varying degrees in all areas. Without reaching a certain scale, the Imperial Court would not send troops. The government’s ability was limited, and not everyone had the ability to suppress bandits. As long as the bandits did not commit crimes often and only plundered property without harming lives, the government would basically turn a blind eye.

As for the fiercer bandits, the governments would personally negotiate with them.

Mountain bandits were all looking for money. They might not be afraid of the government, but if they caused too much trouble, the government would have no choice but to interfere, and it would be very troublesome for them.

There were even local officials who simply cooperated with the mountain bandits.

If they specially targeted the rich and benefited from it, the mountain bandits could squander for a long time. The local area could also be peaceful for a long time without causing too bad an impact.

Lord Li was in a hurry to eliminate the bandits not only because there were many of them, but also because they were very troublesome.

After all, the mountain bandits had already lost their morals.

The government could not step in to negotiate, nor could they cooperate with the bandits. If they did not resolve it as soon as possible, the bandits would only become more and more rampant. If this matter blew up too much, Lord Li’s future would almost be over.

Huang Wenhua laid out a map of the area around Anshan and analyzed, “The spies infiltrated the government office and flipped through the case files related to the mountain bandits. According to the information they obtained, as well as the modus operandi of the mountain bandits, time, place, range, and so on, we can basically infer that they will probably be at…” His gaze turned slightly sharp as he pointed at a certain spot on the map. “This location.”

The Little Princess Consort did not explicitly agree to interfere in the matter of the bandits. The case files were important items of the government and could not be easily checked, but it could not avoid spies from the army.

The mountain bandits, who were very troublesome to the government, simply had nowhere to hide to the experienced Huang Wenxian.

General An Yuan looked at the map. “It’s not far from the position that I calculated.”

After fighting for so many years, what terrain had he not fought in? As long as he looked at the map, it was obvious which place was suitable for hiding, ambush, and rest.

Yu Youyao looked at it for a while and could tell what was going on. “Send someone to investigate first. We’ll discuss the details later.”

General An Yuan and Huang Wenxian nodded.

The next day, the scout who had gone to investigate, sent back a message. “There’s indeed a bandit stronghold in the mountain. There are about 400 people and they’re armed with good weapons. The sentries inside are strict and the terrain is complicated. It’s easy to defend and difficult to attack. If we attack, we can take it down in half a day.”

However, another scout said, “I discovered a village in a remote mountain in Anshan, but there were only old people and children in the village. I went to the government office to investigate. There were a total of more than 30 families in that village. They’ve lived there for generations.”

Therefore, it was impossible for the bandits to come from the village.

Then where had all the young and strong people in the village gone?

General An Yuan and Huang Wenxian’s gazes moved slightly as they looked at Yu Youyao. Should they eliminate these bandits? How should they do it? Would it implicate His Highness? It all depended on Yu Youyao.

Therefore, they would not make a decision easily.

Yu Youyao frowned and said thoughtfully, “Has everyone in the village become hostages of the bandits?”

Usually, the mountain bandits captured the villagers. If the government wanted to suppress the bandits, the bandits would pull out the hostages. The government did not dare to attack rashly. Many vicious bandits used this method to restrain the government.

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