Chapter 246: Has the Dust Settled? Turbulence Rises Again

Although the Shilipeng Fort used to be a military base, it had been abandoned for years. Now, the stone walls surrounding the fort only had the northern section repaired; the east, west, and south sides were nothing but ruins. To ensure safety, Bin Hong stationed sentries at several key paths leading down the mountain, equipping each with a dagger, though only twenty or thirty men were assigned to these posts.

That evening, Peng Shisan and a few companions pretended to go home and caused a ruckus. What started as a minor scuffle somehow involved dozens of people, turning into a chaotic fight that quickly got out of control. By the end, the sentries were almost all too beaten to get up. Though furious, Bin Hong could do little but sternly rebuke them in front of those strong and confident “warriors” before locking them in a room, planning to deal with them all in public the next morning. With four men guarding each room, there were no extras left for the sentries.

What difference could one night make?

That’s why when the soldiers attacked at dawn, all the sentry posts were empty. Jiang Yun, who had taken great precautions and disguises, was surprised by this, but quickly ruled out the possibility of a trap and ordered his men to advance with full force. As it turned out, dawn is the best time for people to sleep—no one expected an attack at such an hour. Aside from a few mountain guards who were overpowered and silenced, most people were dragged out of bed by the fierce soldiers before they could even grab their weapons. Only a few resisted and were killed by arrows.

The room Bin Hong had chosen was in a strategically advantageous location—easy to defend but hard to attack, with a hidden backpath behind the window. When chaos erupted and shouts of soldiers approaching filled the air, he didn’t even have time to put on his coat before leaping out the window. But after taking just a few steps along the path, a heavy object struck his knee, causing him to stumble and fall to his knees. By the time he reacted, he felt a cold blade pressed against his neck. Looking down, he saw a gleaming steel knife resting on his shoulder.

Could the soldiers move that fast?

In an instant, he felt every hair on his body stand on end. But when he saw the man holding a knife with a mocking expression, a glimmer of hope arose in him—this fair-faced man was none other than the first to attack during the fight last night. If it was a personal grudge rather than a public feud, then he still had a chance. He quickly apologized with a smile, “Brave sir, the soldiers are already attacking. If you think my actions earlier were inappropriate, how about we escape down the mountain and discuss it later? The soldiers’ swords and arrows don’t discriminate—”

Before he could finish speaking, he saw a mocking smirk on the other man’s face. Then he received a heavy blow to the back of the neck and collapsed. As he fell, he barely heard a muttered remark: “Who said we’re ‘us’?”

Peng Shisan, who had been alert all night since he heard some noise outside, leaped out of bed, kicked open the door, and swiftly knocked out four guards with punches. After giving orders to the others in the room, he rushed out. Having spent days here, he knew exactly where the weapons, food, and water were stored, as well as the locations of the various leaders. That’s how he was able to wait like a fox waiting for a rabbit at the back window of Bin Hong’s house.

After all, if the soldiers failed to capture anyone else, leaving such a key figure behind would mean all his efforts were in vain.

Thanks to his careful planning and choosing the right moment at dawn, the soldiers achieved a decisive victory, capturing the fledgling stronghold with almost no losses. More than a dozen leaders were tied up like zongzi and thrown on the floor of the meeting hall, while many others were guarded by fully armed soldiers. Those who tried to resist were beaten with the back of a sword. Only Xu Er and the others, being “insiders,” had few guards around them, and they sat obediently.

“Twenty-seven beheaded, 324 captured alive, including 32 elders, women, and children. Among my men, only seven were injured, and all were minor injuries. This victory is truly unexpected.”

Facing such results, Jiang Yun glanced at Zhang Yue, thinking that this time they had indeed taken everything without a single fight. He couldn’t help but sigh again, “It’s fortunate we struck while they were still unsteady. Otherwise, if they had gathered enough people and united several strongholds, things would have gotten much more complicated. But, Lord Zhang, aren’t there a bit too many insiders?”

Hearing this question, Zhang Yue couldn’t help but glance at Peng Shisan. Seeing the beardless man with fair skin smiling innocently, he could only clear his throat and say, “If not for Old Peng leading those men to cause a ruckus at several checkpoints yesterday, these bandits wouldn’t have been completely unprepared. Besides, they were all lured up the mountain and already wanted to go home, so they certainly can’t be considered accomplices. Calling them insiders fits well.”

Bin Hong, whose mouth was covered on the ground, saw Zhang Yue speaking so confidently and clenched his teeth in fury, but since he couldn’t speak, he could only struggle a little. Jiang Yun had merely asked the question; he had already secured his own merits, so there was no need to argue with Zhang Yue. Though young, he had fought against Japanese pirates in places like Denglai twice and had always been indifferent to killing. Now, he thought Zhang Yue was too lenient.

Since everyone had been caught, Zhang Yue and Jiang Yun immediately sent two of the retainers borrowed from Liu Zhong to report to the military headquarters, then began sorting through the captives formally. After all, there were now more captives than soldiers. Although everyone was unarmed and had their hands and feet tied, a mutiny could cause chaos.

As insiders, Xu Er and the others only had their right hands tied. So when Peng Shisan strode over with his sword at his waist, they all narrowed their eyes. He was still dressed the same way, his face still fair and beardless, but his once amiable demeanor had turned into a fierce murderous aura. Thirty-two of them had been close to him, while others only knew of someone who dared lead them in “resistance.” Now, they were all stunned.

“Traitor!”

Although the voice wasn’t loud, as soon as he spoke, he felt a shadow flash in front of him. Immediately afterward, something cold pressed against his neck. In that instant, he almost stopped breathing, swallowing back any curses that came to his lips. He could only stare at the tall man in front of him with eyes filled with anger.

“According to the laws of the Great Ming, anyone who abducts prisoners shall be executed. If it weren’t for them abducting the prisoners—those tenant farmers who ran away on their own wouldn’t deserve death. But now they’ve all lost their lives as a result. If this is considered rebellion, then all members of their family over sixteen years old must die. Do you intend to be counted as an accomplice in abducting prisoners and face death, or as a rebel and doom your entire family?”

These words were all carefully asked of Zhang Yue by Peng Shisan before he arrived, so naturally he had well-reasoned arguments. Seeing the young man who was shouting and cursing trembling slightly, he reluctantly put away his waist knife. After glancing around again, he shouted in a low voice, “It’s almost the busy summer season now. You all have families and responsibilities at home. How can you just leave your wives, children, and parents behind to follow others without hesitation? Use your brains before acting! Today, you can be considered to have made contributions and thus have your crimes reduced, but if you’re rebels, you deserve to lose your heads when the soldiers arrive!”
Zhang Yue, standing at the entrance of the council hall, saw Peng Shisan go around there, and the dozens of strongest men there all bowed their heads, letting out a sigh of relief. However, looking at the others tied up like grasshoppers waiting to die around them, he couldn’t help but ponder. If they were considered rebels of the White Lotus Sect, most of them were doomed to die; if they were just bandits, their crimes would be much less severe. Even so, it wasn’t up to him to decide which crime was more serious.
At that moment, he could only ponder in his heart what kind of article he should write back. It was currently a peaceful era praised by everyone in the court, and from the emperor to the officials, none of them wanted a major incident involving cultists and bandits. This was the only opportunity he had.
By dawn, everything in the Shishipeng Fort had been taken care of. In Qingzhou city, Du Wan got on a black carriage and headed straight to the military headquarters to see Commander Liu Zhong. Less than fifteen minutes later, the messenger rushed back and said respectfully that the commander was willing to help. The military headquarters was more than twice as large as the government office. It took her a long time to walk from the west gate to Liu’s office. When she arrived in the hall and saw the person sitting at Liu Zhong’s seat, she couldn’t help but exclaim.
“Father?”
Du Zhen was dressed in a blue gauze robe. If not looked at closely, one might have thought he was just a middle-aged clerk in the military headquarters. Upon seeing Du Wan, he simply nodded slightly before saying, “Your senior brother has informed us of what he asked you to report. Both I and Commander Liu are aware of it. Don’t worry; things over there aren’t serious. Since you’re here, Commander Liu will assign some people to protect the Meng family. I have other plans for this place.”
Although Du Zhen spoke casually, Du Wan instinctively felt something was wrong. Just as she was about to speak, Liu Zhong also instructed her, “Niece, you’d better go back first. Don’t you still understand your father’s temper?”

Du Wan naturally understood her father’s stubborn nature, but understanding one thing was different from acting on it. Just as she was about to raise objections, she saw Du Zhen’s expression clearly indicating no room for debate. No matter how much she felt puzzled or dissatisfied, she could only suppress those feelings for now. Before leaving the hall, she glanced back anxiously, wondering when exactly her father had arrived.

With her departure, the two people in the hall exchanged a look. Liu Zhong’s face showed helplessness, while Du Zhen remained as impassive as an ice mountain. After a long silence, Liu Zhong finally sighed reluctantly, “Brother Du, are you really sure? The Jinyiwei is not under our command. Even if we send the message this time, it’s not guaranteed to be reliable. Do you really insist that I send troops?”

“General Liu, Zhang Yue has already led troops to Xieshipengzhai. If they take action there, who knows if the cultists in other places won’t react as well? We must eradicate them completely. If we don’t act now, we risk creating a greater threat in the future. Before I came to Shandong, I received special orders stating that I alone will bear the responsibility for this matter. General Liu, you are only sending troops at my request.”

Liu Zhong wasn’t a coward, but the Jinyiwei officer Mu Zhen had spoken to Du Zhen separately, which made him quite uneasy. Thinking about the consequences of allowing those cultists to wreak havoc in his territory, he finally made up his mind.

“I’m just confirming once more. With all the troops assembled, it’s like an arrow already nocked on the string—there’s no turning back now.”