Chapter 66: The Outlaws of Mount Liang

These two men used to keep to themselves and had never done anything out of line. It was only because one of them robbed the government's silver and the other accidentally committed a murder that they successively joined Mount Liang. Half a year ago, they slew Wang Kunlun, the former chieftain of a stronghold on Mount Liang, and then integrated the various bands of thieves great and small, creating the calamity we face today! Fan Tong recounted the general situation once more.

Your Highness, although Mount Liang is mostly made up of bandits, there are a few fierce outlaws against whom we musters take precautions! As soon as Fan Tong finished speaking, Chen Xuanbao chimed in.

Chen Xuanbao's words happened to strike the Fourth Prince's sweet spot; these were precisely the details he wanted to understand. As for what Fan Tong had said, it was basically just rudimentary information, much of which the Fourth Prince, Huangfu Mingfeng, was already aware of.

The Fourth Prince, Huangfu Mingfeng, raised his arm slightly, signaling for Chen Xuanbao to continue.

One of them is named Hua Rong. He wields a long spear and possesses supreme archery skills, capable of piercing a willow leaf at a hundred paces. Another is named Xu Ning, who excels with the hooked spear and wears the treasured Goose-feather Ring-golden Armor. Often, even those stronger than him may not be his match!

The third is named Yang Zhi. This man is quite well-versed in military strategy, and both his saber and spear techniques are extraordinary. The fourth is named Suo Chao, whose mastery of the great axe is nothing short of miraculous. As for this last one...

At this point, Chen Xuanbao paused, seemingly harboring some unspeakable difficulty, unsure whether he should go on.

Forget it, I shall speak of this last one! Seeing Chen Xuanbao stammering, Fan Tong took the initiative to speak on his behalf.

After all, that incident was truly not a glorious affair.

This last one is named Nan Xuanfeng. He has only been on Mount Liang for a few days! Back in the day, he was also a renowned warrior in the Yannan Circuit garrison. His raw strength is matched by very few, and he undoubtedly belongs to the Heavenly Tier of martial might! Fan Tong said with a look of embarrassment.

Among the individuals mentioned by Fan Tong and Chen Xuanbao, Hua Rong, Xu Ning, Yang Zhi, and Suo Chao, alongside Song Jiang, were brought forth by Chao Gai.

Not just these few; Chao Gai brought forth a full twelve men: Song Jiang, Wu Yong, Song Qing, Li Kui, Hua Rong, Xu Ning, Yang Zhi, Suo Chao, Zhang Qing, Zhu Tong, Shi Jin, and Mu Hong.

As for Nan Xuanfeng, he was a native fierce general, and he enjoyed quite a prominent reputation throughout the Yannan Circuit.

Oh, this man was actually from the Yannan Circuit garrison? Yet how is it that he has now become a fierce bandit of Mount Liang? the Fourth Prince, Huangfu Mingfeng, pursued the question.

It seemed he had truly underestimated this group of bandits; a martial general at the Heavenly Tier had actually emerged among them. In various armies, a Heavenly Tier general was already qualified to serve as a high-ranking commander. The eight great generals among the Eight Hundred Thousand Imperial Guards all belonged to the Heavenly Tier.

After all, martial generals above the Heavenly Tier were Divine Tier generals, but how many Divine Tier generals were there across the entire Great Cang Empire?

Judging by what the Great Cang imperial court actually controlled, the entire eighty-thousand-strong Imperial Guard possessed only three divine generals. The Four Garrison General Headquarters each commanded three hundred thousand elite border troops, which together amounted to only six divine-tier individuals.

Among these men, aside from Lü Shenmo, they had merely just stepped into the realm of divine generals. In Wang Yun's system, they would be at 105 base martial prowess, and even if there were slightly stronger ones, their base martial prowess would be at most 106.

However, unless one became a true divine general, barring a select few, a 106 was only marginally stronger than a 105, and they could practically be regarded as belonging to the same tier.

Alas, previously, the Mount Liang bandits were rampant. The three nearby villages—the Ning Family Manor, the Tang Family Manor, and the Li Family Manor—all of whose residents practiced martial arts and formed village militias in a bid for self-preservation, still became the target of the Mount Liang bandits' covetous eyes. As a result, starting from Manor Lord Ning Dongfeng, everyone in the Ning Family Manor was killed, and both the Tang and Li manors were forced to join Mount Liang.

Nan Xuanfeng was very close with Tang Yuanlong, the Lord of the Tang Family Manor. Hearing of this, he led three thousand troops to attack Mount Liang, but he fell into the stratagem of the bandit Wu Yong and was ultimately defeated. On his way back, he carelessly fell victim to drugged wine and was captured and taken into Mount Liang!

That scoundrel Wu Yong harbored extremely sinister intentions. He had someone disguise themselves as General Nan Xuanfeng to attack the county government. Due to a momentary lapse in observation and consumed by rage, General Chen mistakenly killed Nan Xuanfeng's entire family, thus ultimately committing a grave error! Afterward, although the likes of us came to our senses, we regretted it deeply!

The more he spoke, the uglier Fan Tong's expression became. When all was said and done, it was because of their own blunder that they had forcefully pushed one of their own people into the arms of their formidable enemy.

Yet, this matter was not something they could easily conceal. Once both sides clashed in battle later on, how could it possibly be kept hidden? It was better to speak of it proactively and let the Fourth Prince make preparations in advance.

No matter what, the two of them were principal officials of the circuit. Although this incident counted as a storm, it could not shake their foundational standing!

Upon hearing this, although the Fourth Prince, Huangfu Mingfeng, silently cursed Chen Xuanbao as a fool, there was truly nothing more he could say! After all, he currently lacked the confidence and backing of his several imperial brothers.

Furthermore, the upcoming bandit suppression could not do without the help of these two men. All military supplies and mobilization had to go through their hands.

Since this scoundrel Nan Xuanfeng has now willingly chosen to degenerate, he deserves to die. However, I currently lack fierce generals under my command. I wonder if Inspector Fan and General Chen have any recommended candidates to match this scoundrel Nan Xuanfeng? Huangfu Zhaofeng asked, feigning intimacy.

Although there were a total of five Grandmasters in the army this time—the strongest among whom, Yanyan, was already at the late stage of the Grandmaster realm—Grandmasters were different from Heavenly Tier generals. Having them fight alone or sneaking into places to assassinate someone was feasible, but if they were placed within a massive army, the role they could play fell far short of what a Heavenly Tier general could achieve.

In close combat between two armies, when it came to self-preservation on the battlefield, Grandmasters were also a notch below Heavenly Tier generals.

Moreover, of the five Grandmasters, ultimately only Yanyan was under the Fourth Prince Huangfu Mingfeng's command. As for the remaining four, two belonged to Wang Yu's faction, one to Zhao Kuangwei's faction, and the last to Sima Qingrou's faction.

These Grandmasters had all been dispatched by their respective clans to protect their young masters; how could they easily submit to the Fourth Prince's orders?

Therefore, in order to deal with Nan Xuanfeng, the Fourth Prince decided to look for talent within the Yannan Circuit itself. Among the eighteen circuits of Great Cang, although the Yannan Circuit was considered slightly weaker, a few Heavenly Tier martial generals could still be found. The Fourth Prince had set his sights on them.

A single fierce general could never single-handedly decide the outcome of a war, but not falling behind the enemy in terms of fierce generals would at least ensure that his own side's chances of victory were not diminished.