Chapter 890

He continued, "The islands where the pirates are based lack caves and are far from the main island, making them barely habitable. The terrain is mostly rocky and complex, unsuitable for growing crops, so food must be transported from the mainland. Over the years, troops have been repeatedly stationed and withdrawn, which has greatly annoyed the Bailie people."

He Lingchuan nodded.

Simply put, the cost of managing the Yangshan Archipelago far exceeded its benefits, which led its owners, the Lu family, to neglect it.

The Lu family's acquisition of this archipelago was a classic textbook example, perfectly illustrating the principle that trying to gain a small advantage often leads to significant losses.

He Lingchuan then casually asked, "Where is the largest source of malevolent energy?"

Lu Xun was taken aback. Why was Commander He asking about this? It was as if he intended to go there.

Despite his surprise, his good nature prevailed, and he replied, "To the southwest of Dragon's Back Island, there's a massive sinkhole called the White Abyss. The malevolent energy that gushes out from there every night is so dense it's visible to the naked eye. My ancestors once visited that island, but they didn't stay long. Two of their attendants who accompanied them died."

He Lingchuan carefully noted this information.

Lu Xun took out his water skin, drank some water, and steered the conversation back. "So, isn't Takikawa in utter chaos internally right now?"

With some river pirates being recruited and others refusing to surrender and continuing to cause trouble, wouldn't they start fighting among themselves first?

He Lingchuan smiled. "Indeed."

The two major bandit leaders, from Thousand Gold Fort and the Globe Flower Gang, went back to deliberate repeatedly with their members and eventually accepted the terms He Lingchuan offered. After all, Jade Pivot City continued to amass troops, maintaining strong suppression and high-frequency patrols along the Takikawa trade route. They even ignored the persistently provocative Jinmao State to the east.

The bandits' operational scope continued to shrink, and their profits declined daily; it was no longer a no-capital business.

Furthermore, the terms He Lingchuan offered were structured so that, no matter how they calculated, the bandits wouldn't incur a loss. Thus, the two bandit groups transformed, becoming honorable road tax inspectors and trade route security guards.

They even performed quite well.

He Lingchuan stationed two minor officials from Jade Pivot City at each checkpoint to specifically verify road taxes and prevent the bandit groups from arbitrarily raising prices.

Upon realizing that the road tolls could genuinely be pocketed, these reformed bandit groups immediately became highly motivated. They patrolled their assigned sections of the route even more actively than Jade Pivot City's army. If other bandit groups arrived to cause trouble, they immediately drove them away without a moment's hesitation.

This development, naturally, caused a huge uproar within Takikawa.

With the two largest gangs, aside from the Xiji puppet army, suddenly surrendering, this abrupt shift in loyalty was bound to stir up strong emotions and indecision among the other gangs.

Enraged, Fu Shanlie led the Xiji puppet army in a night raid on the Globe Flower Gang.

He had been operating in Takikawa but deliberately refrained from absorbing all the other gangs, fearing that too much pressure would simply drive them to surrender directly to Jade Pivot City.

If the Xiji puppet army were the only force left in Takikawa, why would Jade Pivot City show them any courtesy?

Now that Thousand Gold Fort and the Globe Flower Gang were about to surrender, Fu Shanlie, whose initial plan had failed, conceived a new one: to kill a chicken to scare the monkeys, thereby showing the capitulationists the fate of the Globe Flower Gang!

Jade Pivot City's strategy of recruitment and division was highly malicious; if he didn't act quickly, there would be nothing left for him to do.

The battle was exceptionally fierce, and the Globe Flower Gang was forced to retreat steadily. Fortunately, Thousand Gold Fort arrived with timely reinforcements.

By dawn, the Xiji puppet army had retreated, but Xu Zeshou, the leader of the Globe Flower Gang, was gravely wounded and died half a day later.

Fu Shanlie's assassination of Xu Zeshou was a clear act of "killing the chicken to scare the monkeys," a direct threat to all bandit gangs:

"Dare to surrender to the authorities, and you'll be eliminated!"

He Lingchuan knew that this individual was quite capable; otherwise, the Xiji puppet army wouldn't have grown so large in a few months, effectively rivaling Thousand Gold Fort. Now, even the Globe Flower Gang was no match for them, and other smaller gangs were struck with fear.

Using the Takikawa river pirates as pawns, He Lingchuan and Fu Shanlie engaged in a silent, long-distance strategic contest.

After Xu Zeshou's death, Thousand Gold Fort, acting on He Lingchuan's instructions, immediately supported Ding Mi, the Globe Flower Gang's second-in-command, to assume leadership that same day. This action barely stemmed the Globe Flower Gang's collapse and solidified the alliance between the two major bandit groups.

Simultaneously, many new faces, robust and powerful men in their twenties and thirties, whose demeanor differed from ordinary bandits, were integrated into the two groups.

The Xiji puppet army quickly recognized them: these were Jade Pivot City soldiers in disguise! Some were even familiar faces, having previously clashed with them on the trade routes.

Jade Pivot City's infiltration of Takikawa had thus begun openly.

Afterward, the Xiji puppet army engaged in several more battles with Thousand Gold Fort but gained no advantage.

Just a few months ago, even Thousand Gold Fort would have faced discontent from other bandit groups, potentially leading to a joint resistance, had they dared to invite official soldiers into their lair. But now, where were these "other" bandit groups?

Following severe crackdowns and patrols by Jade Pivot City's army, the number of small and medium-sized gangs had sharply decreased from over fifty to just over twenty, barely clinging to existence. Now, with the Xiji puppet army attacking and killing members of the Globe Flower Gang, the remaining groups were forced to choose sides.

As a result, another seven or eight bandit groups abruptly disbanded. Their members either joined Thousand Gold Fort or defected to the Xiji puppet army. However, the choice of the majority of these bandits surprised both sides: they opted to leave Takikawa with their families and start new lives on land!

"I don't want to pick a side; I'm leaving. I'm not playing this game with you anymore. That should be acceptable, right?"

People cherish their homeland, but they can also flee hardship.

In any case, the Takikawa bandits had been causing internal turmoil for a long time, and it hadn't subsided recently.

For the Takikawa trade route, this was good news, as the bandit groups who sided with Thousand Gold Fort also accepted Jade Pivot City's recruitment. Outwardly, this meant an increase in toll checkpoints along the trade route and a decrease in robberies.

By the time He Lingchuan escorted Lu Xun back north, only eleven bandit groups remained in Takikawa, with six having pledged allegiance to Jade Pivot City.

Furthermore, the dissolution and absorption of gangs were still ongoing.

The fewer the numbers, the greater the pressure on the remaining bandit groups. This was true even for the Xiji puppet army.

Of course, travelers along the Takikawa trade route were unaware of the intricate scheming and bloody conflicts unfolding behind the scenes; they only knew that the trade route environment was steadily improving.

After passing another checkpoint, He Lingchuan informed Lu Xun, "From now on, we are entering the Thousand Gold Fort section."

This was the section managed by Thousand Gold Fort, where they collected tolls.

Simultaneously, he issued an order to the guard队 behind him: "Maintain full alert throughout; do not relax!"

Everyone responded in unison, adjusting their weapons and equipment.

Lu Xun was puzzled. "Hasn't Thousand Gold Fort already been recruited? Why, then, are you increasing your vigilance on this section of the road?"

"Over the past month, the Xiji puppet army has been raiding Thousand Gold Fort's territory." These two factions were already at loggerheads, their conflict extending from Takikawa all the way to the trade route. "On one hand, it's to cause them trouble; on the other hand, Thousand Gold Fort is responsible for the security of this section. If they fail in their duty, their wages will be withheld. Fu Shanlie also intends to use this to sow discord between Thousand Gold Fort and the authorities."

"Fu Shanlie?" Lu Xun was startled to hear the name. "Is he the Drought Demon from Beijia?"

"You know him, Mr. Lu?" The Bailie people were quite well-informed. Despite the vast Mou State separating Beijia and Bailie, Lu Xun was still aware of Beijia's rising demon general.

Most people in this world live isolated lives; mountain villagers might never leave the mountains where they were born.

"I've heard of him; he's been a rising star over the past thirty years," Lu Xun replied. Beijia has a history spanning nearly four centuries, and demons generally live longer than mortals, so given Fu Shanlie's age, he could indeed be considered a junior among his nation's demon generals. "Beijia certainly produces a lot of talent."

He Lingchuan noted that despite his complimentary words, Lu Xun's brow was tightly furrowed.

They encountered a river that, due to recent continuous heavy rains, was turbulent, muddy, and very high.

A wooden bridge, approximately ten zhang long, spanned the river. Its deck was wide enough for three horses abreast, serving travelers and caravans.

Thousand Gold Fort had originally set up a toll checkpoint here.

Road tax was also known as a bridge toll or passage fee. Officials typically collected these fees at such bridges or mountain passes, denying passage to those who didn't pay. Otherwise, if they simply blocked a wide-open road to collect money, people would easily spot them and detour.

However, this river had a volatile temperament; whenever it swelled, it flooded both banks. Consequently, Thousand Gold Fort had to relocate its checkpoint elsewhere.

The merchant caravan ahead had already crossed, and the escort team could still see their backs disappearing into the woods.

Their formation remained unchanged as they crossed the bridge, with He Lingchuan and Lu Xun positioned in the middle of the group, surrounded by their escorts.

Everything had proceeded smoothly until He Lingchuan and Lu Xun were halfway across the river, when sudden anomalies arose!

From the dense forest on the opposite bank, arrows whistled like rain, showering down on the escort team.

Since these were high-arc arrows, the guards even had time to shout, "Enemy attack!"

He Lingchuan's order was concise:

"Cross the bridge first. We can deal with everything else afterward."

The guards immediately spurred their horses to accelerate, simultaneously raising their shields and emitting a faint red glow from their bodies.

Unfortunately, the bridge's width was limited, and the horses couldn't simply sprout wings and fly across.

When the arrow rain struck, it didn't cause significant casualties; the elemental energy of the riders and horses deflected much of the damage. However, their primary target was not the guards themselves:

Then, with several earth-shattering explosions, special arrowheads detonated, blowing the wooden bridge into pieces!

Over thirty riders and horses on the bridge immediately plunged into the water.

A whistle pierced the air from the forest, followed by dozens of people charging out. The merchant caravan ahead also changed their demeanor, turning around, drawing swords and axes, and lunging at the escort team.

He Lingchuan's escort team of ninety riders was split: over twenty were on the opposite bank, thirty were in the water, and the remainder hadn't even reached the bridge.

Caught halfway across the river and struck mid-crossing, the attackers clearly demonstrated their mastery of the terrain.

"Commander!" Willow, who was covering the rear, had not yet reached the bridge. She rushed to the riverbank in two steps and, with a swift motion, fired a crossbow bolt with a "whoosh" toward He Lingchuan.

The specialized arrowhead had a grappling hook attached, originally designed for scaling walls, but now serving as a safety rope for those who had fallen into the water.

The moment they hit the water, He Lingchuan had already seized Lu Xun's arm to prevent him from being swept away by the current.

However, with no firm footing, he couldn't propel Lu Xun onto the bank.

Willow's arrow landed precisely. He Lingchuan seized it, wrapped the rope twice around Lu Xun's waist, secured it to the arrowhead, and shouted, "Pull him up!"

Willow pressed the mechanism on her crossbow, and the fired grapple-rope automatically retracted.

This mechanical system was the result of several generations of meticulous refinement by Dragon Coil City, capable of retrieving two or three full-grown individuals.

As she "retrieved" Lu Xun, two or three arrows were also shot toward him from the opposite bank. Anyone protected by He Lingchuan and prioritized for rescue must be an important figure, and they wouldn't let him escape.

(End of chapter)