After traveling through time, I was raised by a little brat

The dean continued solemnly, "To ensure your personal safety, we have decided to assign 1000 Yingtianfu guards to each team. They are all well-trained and elite soldiers with comparable strength. We hope that everyone can fully utilize their strengths and achieve excellent results. This operation will be divided into two teams, Yingtian Academy Team 1 and Imperial Academy Team 1. As for the selection of captain and vice-captain, I will leave it to you to discuss and decide."

Surprisingly, the soldiers had already been waiting outside the banquet hall, awaiting the captain's command to charge towards Mount Wutai like an arrow. However, despite the apparent readiness, the dean still harbored a lingering worry. He once again urged everyone, "Minimize casualties!"

The atmosphere at the banquet was lively, and everyone was already drunk. Common sense dictated that a major operation like bandit suppression should have been delayed until daylight. After all, nighttime operations not only required the inconvenience of insufficient light but also involved complex issues like troop deployment. Furthermore, the bandits, who had long entrenched themselves there, knew the terrain of Mount Wutai like the back of their hands, while our own knowledge was limited. A rash night attack would only result in unnecessary casualties.

But at this moment, the students from Yingtian Prefecture, led by Zeng Qincheng, displayed immense pride and arrogance. They were determined to win the competition, and believed the best strategy was a sneak attack at night, catching the bandits off guard. If they could successfully capture the bandits and win the competition, the Imperial College's exchange students would undoubtedly be humiliated. Thinking of this, Zeng Qincheng and the others' resolve grew even stronger.

Tang Qi and Liao Xinyin led their troops slowly back to camp, preparing to rest for a while before launching their operation at dawn. Although Tang Qi knew Sun Tzu's Art of War by heart, this was his first time personally leading troops to suppress bandits. Deep down, he felt a sense of emptiness, and a wave of uneasiness surged over him.

Taking advantage of this rare moment of rest, Tang Qi spread out his paper and picked up his pen to write a letter to his sister, Tang Wenshu, who lived far away in the imperial city. In it, he recounted in detail how the people at the Yingtian Library had tried every possible way to intimidate him and his companions at the banquet, but how they had, with their wit and strategy, overcome each difficulty one by one. However, Tang Qi did not mention the specifics of his bandit suppression mission, as he could not bear to cause his family any fear.

Unfortunately, before the sun rose the next day, a student from Yingtian Academy hurried back to camp with the news. It turned out that Mount Wutai's terrain was extremely difficult. One side was a dauntingly steep cliff, while the other two were surrounded by dense, deep forests. The only relatively flat side was the entrance to the mountain stronghold. Because of this, as long as this entrance was firmly guarded, the entire stronghold was impregnable, easy to defend and difficult to attack.

Moreover, the bandits here were incredibly fierce, with even women and children willing to fight. As they cautiously reached the mountain, they unfortunately triggered a hidden trap. Instantly, the guards within the stronghold blew warning horns, and countless candles lit up, illuminating the pitch-black night sky. Then, huge rocks and thick logs tumbled down the mountain, crushing them. Although the guards of Yingtian Prefecture fought desperately to protect the students, they ultimately suffered heavy casualties. In desperation, they could only do their utmost to escort the student back to report the situation.

"Please, Dean! Please cancel this operation! We should send the Yingtian Prefecture General to lead the troops to eliminate those bandits! How can you entrust such an important and dangerous mission to these clueless students? This will only lead to unnecessary casualties!" One of the centurions spoke, tearfully pleading with the Dean of Yingtian Prefecture. It was important to note that, of the five centurions who had come with him, all but himself had tragically passed away.

Hearing the centurion's desperate pleas, the dean slowly opened his mouth and said, "Wait a little longer..." Although the centurion and the students of Yingtian Academy had just experienced a disastrous defeat in a bandit suppression campaign against a disparate force, they still longed to see the final fate of those vicious bandits. Therefore, rather than wait patiently in Yingtian City for news, they quietly climbed to the top of the mountain, hoping to witness firsthand how Tang Qi's campaign would unfold.

However, upon reaching the mountain, they discovered that the army had not immediately launched an attack. Instead, they engaged in a series of puzzling actions. They had meticulously crafted a large number of scarecrows, dressed them in guard uniforms, and arrayed them neatly on the ground. From a distance, the scarecrows looked as lifelike as real guards. The army actually numbered only 500 soldiers, but through this ingenious arrangement, those who were unaware of the situation had the illusion that there were thousands of them besieging the mountain stronghold.

"This isn't fair! They only have five hundred!" a student shouted in frustration. Due to the immense distance, they couldn't see the exact number of men Tang Qi was leading. They could only see the immense force, a magnificent spectacle. At a glance, it looked as if tens of thousands of men were lying in ambush.

"Shut up, everyone! If you want to watch the fun, then be quiet and stop making noise!" the centurion shouted angrily. In fact, he looked down on these weak students from the bottom of his heart, but under the order from his superiors, he had to shoulder the responsibility of protecting their safety.

Tang Qi and his men besieged the bandits for five days, yet they took no further action. Instead, they relaxed at the foot of the mountain, eating and drinking, even lighting a stove and cooking. The rich aroma of meat wafted out, reaching a distance of ten miles.

At this moment, the bandits trapped in the mountain stronghold were suffering terribly.

"Brother, why don't we surrender? The food in our village has run out a long time ago! If it weren't for my second brother taking the brothers to risk hunting in the forest, I'm afraid we would have to use even tree bark to fill our stomachs. The poor children in the village are all hungry." A minion complained to the village chief with a sad face.

It turned out that these bandits often sent men down the mountain to rob, stealing gold, silver, and various foodstuffs. Sometimes, they would use the money they robbed to purchase food in Yingtian Prefecture. However, even so, the daily rations for over 600 people were still enormous. Now, after being besieged for five full days, their food reserves were exhausted. They only had two options left: surrender or fight to the death.