Chapter 776: Internal Conflict

Chapter 769: Internal Strife

There were originally fifty to sixty bandit gangs of varying sizes in Long River. While they might farm when on land or fish when in the water, could they still be called bandits if that was all they did? How would they differ from ordinary law-abiding citizens? Now that Jade Balance City has tightened control over the Long River trade route, the loot the river bandits acquire has significantly decreased, while their operating costs remain very high.

How many people would be willing to continue a money-losing business when the profits no longer cover the costs?

"Jade Balance City has cleaned up the outskirts of Long River several more times. Now, including the Lu Family Gang, twelve or thirteen gangs have disbanded. These individuals have either been absorbed by other gangs or have left Long River on their own. Also, the atmosphere within Long River has been tense recently. When I left, about two hundred and ten people were facing off; I don't know if a fight broke out."

With just as many people waiting to divide the spoils but less profit to go around, what's to be done?

They started to compete intensely, leading to internal strife.

Even the bandits knew it was a choice between downsizing or all-out conflict. In short, it was internal consumption.

He Lingchuan smiled, "Tell me about those few Xiji puppet forces."

The remnants of the Xiji forces, scattered by General Hong and Xiao Maoliang, hid in Long River, calling themselves the "Xiji Army." Jade Balance City refers to them as puppet forces.

"I was just about to tell you. The two gangs looking for a fight are the Xiji puppet forces and the Ball Gang," the thin man said, taking a sip of wine. "There used to be several Xiji puppet forces, but now they've all merged into one gang."

He Lingchuan understood. "Without official status, it wouldn't be easy for them to make a living in that territory."

"That's right. They were originally regular soldiers, some of whom even infiltrated Long River and captured river bandits. But a few months ago, they completely changed and joined this line of work. As you can imagine, there was pre-existing animosity between the two sides. The puppet forces' initial entry into Long River was far from smooth; dozens of them had their throats secretly cut at night. It wasn't until they allied themselves with the Jintao people that they found a backer and began to stand as equals against the other river bandits."

"Three months ago, during the bandit attack on the city, it was the Xiji puppet forces who helped contact other bandit gangs. They claimed the Jintao people were offering significant payment, along with food and armor, for their services. They also said that Jade Balance City was newly established, full of wealthy merchants, and its army was still in its infancy, making it an easy target. They promised everyone could make a huge fortune by swooping in and out."

"These Xiji puppet forces are mediocre in battle, but their ability to mislead people is quite good." He Lingchuan knew that the Jintao people had probably heard that Commander Xiao had been transferred and that Jade Balance City had a new, unknown commander. They likely wanted to cause trouble for him, while the river bandits sought to make a quick profit. Both sides quickly found common ground.

"Exactly, right?" The thin man also smiled. "But they ran straight into a wall and suffered heavy casualties. Upon returning to Long River, the major bandit gangs turned on the Xiji puppet forces, demanding compensation."

"They didn't pay?"

"Of course not. The Xiji puppet forces themselves suffered considerable losses. After a few days of arguments, tensions between the two sides escalated, leading to an all-out fight," the thin man said, shaking his head. "I hadn't been there long at the time, and I truly didn't expect the Xiji puppet forces to win in the end, causing several bandit gangs to be directly disbanded."

"That's not surprising. They have a powerful backer."

"You're right," the thin man said, cracking a raw rice grain between his teeth. "Currently, the forces within Long River are broadly divided into three types."

"The first type consists of the local traditional major gangs, which have existed for over twenty years, led by the Thousand Gold Stockade."

"The second type is the foreign Xiji puppet forces, who have the closest ties and collude most closely with the Jintao Kingdom."

"The third type consists of the small and medium-sized bandit gangs. They've always remained neutral and unpredictable, siding with whoever is stronger, like the Ball Gang."

He Lingchuan raised a cup of wine to him. "Excellent. As expected of you; you can summarize such complex internal affairs so clearly."

Of the undercover agents Jade Balance City sent to Long River, two returned before their cover was blown. Now, only two remain in deep cover, and one of them is the thin man.

This fellow is truly a born intelligence operative.

With the thin man's breakdown, He Lingchuan now had a clear understanding of the power distribution within Long River, which would help him formulate future strategies.

"Boss, you're still as sharp as ever." The thin man waved to the dark, skinny barbecue vendor. "I also confirmed something else: more than a month ago, the Jintao Kingdom sent someone to the Xiji puppet forces. He immediately took the top position and demanded their obedience. He's the one who planned the multiple attacks against the patrols on the southern trade route."

"His name?"

"Fushan Lie."

He Lingchuan's hand, holding the cup, paused slightly. Was the murderer of Miao Mingming and the others truly Fushan Yue's father?

This was truly bad news, proving that Beijia also wanted to interfere here.

"What's his cultivation level?"

"Quite powerful. He killed a leader as soon as he arrived, just to establish his authority."

He Lingchuan instructed, "Keep your distance from him, so he doesn't remember you. This fellow looks human, but he's actually a demon with extremely keen senses of hearing, sight, and smell."

The thin man was surprised. "What kind of demon is he?"

"The attacked patrols had four blood holes in their necks; their bodies were drained of blood," He Lingchuan whispered. "I'm afraid he's a drought demon. I've already reported this to Coiling Dragon City."

"Understood." The barbecue vendor walked over, and the thin man held up five fingers to him. "Hey, young man, grill me five more large pork kidneys!"

Since someone else was paying today, he chose the most expensive items.

After the vendor acknowledged his order, the thin man continued, "Boss, your counterattack against the bandits was very timely, otherwise, we'd be in serious trouble now."

"How so?"

"When Fushan Lie first started leading attacks on Jade Balance City patrols, the first few attempts were successful, causing quite a stir within Long River." The long-standing conflict between Long River bandits and government soldiers had always seen the soldiers pursuing the bandits; bandits proactively killing soldiers was highly unusual. "With this move, the Xiji puppet forces earned the respect of the other bandit groups in Long River."

He Lingchuan scoffed, "After that, it wasn't just the Xiji puppet forces attacking the patrols."

"That's right, other bandit gangs followed suit," the thin man sighed. "If you hadn't led Jade Balance City's forces in such a strong counterattack, the southern trade route would be in serious trouble!"

In the past, no matter how rampant the banditry, it was primarily bandits robbing merchants fiercely. If it had escalated to bandits fiercely killing patrols, that would have been unbearable.

He Lingchuan was determined to counterattack at all costs to curb this dangerous trend.

"And now?"

"Now, with Jade Balance City's forces responding with iron-fisted resolve, things are far from peaceful in the bandit dens. The wave of blame directed at the Xiji puppet forces is growing stronger," the thin man said, taking another bite of a skewer. "Everyone is saying that it was their reckless provocation of the government soldiers that led to Jade Balance's forces' relentless retaliation against all of Long River, causing everyone to suffer misfortune together."

It was clearly the Xiji puppet forces' fault, but all the gangs in Long River had to bear the bitter consequences. Naturally, some wouldn't stand for that.

He pondered for a moment before saying, "Thousand Gold Stockade and the Xiji puppet forces are both recruiting new members, right?"

"Yes, quite a few gangs have disbanded recently, and they're selectively recruiting the best."

"Robbing along the Long River trade route is becoming increasingly difficult, and the internal conflicts among the river bandits will only intensify." Involution wasn't just an invention of his original world.