Han Ji

Chapter 31 Thunderous Sweep

Upon seeing this, a black-clad assassin's eyes flashed with a fierce light. Instead of retreating, he advanced, his short knife aimed straight for Zhang Wu's heart! The speed was extremely fast!

Zhang Wu, being a veteran of the North, was experienced and dodged the blade by sidestepping. He then slashed horizontally with his ring-pommel sword! With a "whoosh," the assassin, not expecting Zhang Wu to react so quickly, was caught off guard and struck in the ribs. Blood gushed out, and he collapsed to the ground, unable to get up.

Seeing their comrade killed, the other assassins became even more frenzied and charged forward recklessly.

"Form ranks!" Zhang Wu roared.

The guards immediately moved closer, forming a simple battle formation, thrusting with spears and parrying with swords and shields. How could the veterans brought by Lu Zhi be compared to these Jianghu assassins in terms of combat strength? In a short while, two more assassins were pierced by spears, and the rest, seeing that things were not going well, made a feint and turned to flee into the dark alley.

"Chase!" Zhang Wu led his men in hot pursuit.

Inside the prefectural government office, Liu Bei anxiously awaited news.

Fast horses kept returning with good news.

"Report! The warehouse on Waguan Street has been captured, contraband seized, seven members of the Snake Coil gang arrested, and a wooden plaque found!"

"Report! The stronghold in Mudfish Alley has been captured! Five resisting gang members have been killed and eleven captured, including the gang leader, Bald-Tailed Snake!"

"Report! Captain Zhang led the pursuit of the fleeing assassins and killed two enemies and captured one alive by the ditch south of the city! The rest escaped!"

"We've captured one alive!" Liu Bei's spirits lifted. "Bring him here!"

Soon, a black-clad assassin, soaking wet and with an arrow in his shoulder, was dragged up, bound hand and foot, his mouth stuffed with a rag, his eyes still fierce.

Liu Bei walked up to him and ripped the gag from his mouth. "Speak," he said, "whose people are you? Which tribe in the mountains?"

The assassin spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, stared intently at Liu Bei, and remained silent.

Liu Bei wasn't angry. He said to Zhang Wu beside him, "Get him to talk. Use any means necessary."

Zhang Wu understood, picked up the assassin, and walked towards the torture chamber next door.

Screams soon followed, growing louder and louder, then gradually subsided into painful groans.

About an incense stick later, Zhang Wu emerged with his hands covered in blood and nodded to Liu Bei.

"They confessed. They are from Black Wind Cave in the mountains, directly under the command of the cave chief, Pan Du. That wooden plaque is a token, specifically used to contact the spies in the city. The Snake Coil Gang is just one of the outer forces they use, responsible for providing the venue and cover. The real core is those few assassins and the several hidden agents they control."

What are the underlying themes?

"The owner of the Drunken Spring Breeze Tavern is a contact point. There's also a brothel and a fur shop. The list is here." Zhang Wu handed over a blood-stained note.

Liu Bei took it, glanced at it, and saw three names and addresses written on it.

"Pan Du... Black Wind Cave..." Liu Bei murmured the name. It was indeed an independent system, directly obeying the chief of the large mountain tribe.

"Where is the magistrate?" he asked.

"The magistrate personally led men to raid Zui Chunfeng and those other secret agents."

Liu Bei breathed a sigh of relief. With his teacher personally in charge, everything should go smoothly.

As dawn approached, Lu Zhi returned, travel-worn but with sharp eyes.

"Everything has been cleaned up." Lu Zhi said succinctly, "The owner of Zui Chun Feng resisted arrest and was killed. The people from the brothel and fur shop were arrested. A lot of correspondence and intelligence they hadn't had time to send out were found."

He looked at Liu Bei: "You've got a good feel for things. This black hand has been chopped off."

Liu Bei felt a weight lifted from his heart, but then felt a wave of exhaustion, and his wounds started to hurt even more.

"However," Lu Zhi changed the subject, "one of our assassins escaped. The news has probably already leaked out."

Liu Bei's heart, which had just settled, jumped again. One had escaped? This meant that Black Wind Cave would soon know that their spies in the city had been eliminated.

"Next, there's likely to be some activity in the mountains." Lu Zhi walked to the map, looking at the areas marked with barbarian activity. "We need to hurry."

Reorganizing and training the troops is of utmost urgency.

The news that the "black hand" network had been completely eradicated swept through Shuxian County like a gust of wind.

The people were abuzz with discussion, some applauding with glee, others secretly terrified. The authority of the prefectural government was re-established through repeated bloody purges.

Zhou Chong sent another gift, this time several jars of fine wine, saying it was to celebrate the soldiers' victory. Lu Zhi had it accepted and distributed to his personal guards who had participated in the operation.

Under the care of the physician, Liu Bei's injury gradually improved. Although he still couldn't use his left arm very well, he was able to get out of bed and move around.

He didn't sit idle; he began assisting Lu Zhi in processing the seized letters and intelligence.

Most of the letters were written in the local barbarian language, and a surrendered soldier who understood the language was hired to translate them. The contents were mostly about the movements of the prefecture government, the strength of the city's defenses, and the allocation of supplies. There were also some reports from the Black Hand to the mountains about transactions with certain friends in the prefecture.

The word "friend" appears vaguely and does not refer to anyone specifically. But both Liu Bei and Lu Zhi understood that the wealthy families in the prefecture, and even some seemingly law-abiding officials, were not necessarily clean.

"If the water is too clear, there will be no fish." Lu Zhi put down the translated letter, rubbed his temples, and said, "We can't touch everyone right now. Let's train our troops first."

Training troops is the most important and also the most difficult task at present.

The existing county troops, after screening and elimination of a large number of the old and weak, numbered less than eight hundred who were barely usable. Moreover, their discipline was lax and their combat effectiveness was low.

Lu Zhi promoted some veterans from the north to serve as junior officers and posted notices to recruit young men from the refugees.

The number of refugees attracted was considerable; they had food and pay, which was a way to survive for them. However, these people were emaciated, had no military experience, and were just a group of armed farmers.

The scene on the drill ground was a headache.

The veterans would beat and kick the new recruits if they were even slightly slow, hurling insults and curses at them. The recruits complained bitterly, and some would desert every now and then. Some officers were serious, while others were outwardly compliant but inwardly defiant, feeling that Lu Zhi's methods were too strict and torturous.

Liu Bei followed Lu Zhi on an inspection of the military camp, his brows furrowed as he looked at the crooked and disorderly troops.

"Teacher, you can't train elite troops just by beating and scolding them," Liu Bei said in a low voice. "We need to make them understand why we're fighting."

Lu Zhi snorted: "Anyone can talk a good game. If you can't even fill your stomach, who's going to listen to your reasoning?"

"The pay and rations must be paid in full, without delay," Liu Bei said. "Also, they need to see hope. Those who have rendered meritorious service in killing the enemy should be rewarded! Those who perform well should be promoted!"

Lu Zhi glanced at him: "Where will the money come from? Where will the reward be paid?"

"We confiscated the property of Wang Hong, Li Ben, and those other powerful families, but some remains. We can use that for now," Liu Bei said. "Most importantly, officers must lead by example. We can't let the soldiers fight desperately while the officers enjoy the spoils."

He recalled some basic military principles he had seen on television in his previous life: "Officers and soldiers should share weal and woe. During training, officers must train together."

Lu Zhi paused, turning back to look at him: "What you said is quite interesting. Is this how troops are trained in Youzhou?"

Liu Bei replied vaguely, "I've heard a little about it."