Once I enter the pass, great Confucian scholars will surely debate the classics for me.

"Damn it, are you guys pigs?!" Manager Lian roared repeatedly, almost spitting blood in anger: "I don't care what you're thinking, listen to me, you have to pay up, whether you want to or not!"

“I’ll take 500,000 coins. The remaining 1.5 million coins, you two and your guards have to work together to get them to me before nightfall. If you don’t get them, I’ll kill you all and then kill myself.”

Seeing the fierce and terrifying appearance of Chief Steward Lian, the two deputy stewards had no choice but to reluctantly agree and slunk away.

Seeing this, the head steward plopped down in his chair, staring limply at the roof of the mine shed. He used to think that having stupid subordinates was a good thing, because they were easy to manage and obedient. But now he suddenly felt that having stupid subordinates was a real problem.

It's late afternoon.

The steward managed to scrape together two million coins, in both cash and banknotes, and presented them all in a storage bag.

Zhou Qingfeng didn't even glance at him, and said indifferently, "Steward Lian, you can leave now."

The head steward hesitated and said, "Then are you going tomorrow...?"

Zhou Qingfeng said casually, "Even the head steward wants to kick people out so soon?"

Upon hearing this, Steward Lian chuckled and cupped his hands in a gesture of respect, saying, "How dare I, how dare I?"

Zhou Qingfeng waved his hand, and even the head steward, seeing this, dared not say anything more, clasped his hands in a fist and stepped back, leaving the mine shed.

"Jin Wei, register the stolen goods and hand them over to the city lord's mansion when we return to the city."

"Those two adjutants." Jin Wei glanced at Xiao Ye and his companion.

Zhou Qingfeng said calmly, "We're one of them."

"Understood!" Jin Wei immediately bowed and stepped back without saying anything more. According to the rules, the amount was rounded down to zero. The bandit-suppression soldiers under his command received 30%, and 20% of the remaining 70% was given to Xiao Ye and his two adjutants.

Zhou Qingfeng raised his teacup, took a sip, and smiled as he glanced at Ye Tingxiu and Xiao Hongyun.

Master is right. Although these two are rivals now, they will be good helpers in the future.

The premise is that they are willing to be on the same boat as you.

Those who should be united should be united, and those who should be managed should be managed.

Take this opportunity to completely drag the two of them onto the pirate ship.

What if Xiao Hongyun and Ye Tingxiu don't board the ship?

Simple, they were in the wild, taking advantage of the chaos during the bandit suppression.

Kill those who deserve it, bury those who deserve it, we won't hesitate.

My father often taught me that those who achieve great things cannot act on emotion.

Friendship is built on a foundation of mutual benefit.

When there are no benefits involved, so-called friendship is nothing more than a bubble that bursts at the slightest touch.

Therefore, if Ye Xiao and his companion are willing to board this pirate ship, they will become close friends and relatives, a community of shared interests. We can all benefit from this and support each other as we climb to the top.

As for whether they will hold back a trump card and stab themselves in the back when they return to the city.

Zhou Qingfeng was not worried at all, as he had his own support. Based on their personalities, neither of them were the kind of scoundrels who would betray their colleagues.

Even if the two of them really lost their minds and stabbed themselves in the back, so what?

The lady knew perfectly well that she was greedy for money. When things got out of hand, she simply shifted the blame onto Jin Wei.

I, Zhou Qingfeng, am completely incorruptible and utterly loyal to the First Family. I have never taken a single penny from them.

Besides, they probably don't think they can still smoothly take over after stabbing themselves in the back.

What the lady wants is for the family to be united and stable, so that they can work together on important matters.

Today you betrayed Madam's confidant in a treacherous way; will you dare to betray Madam in the future?

Any sign of this will inevitably be rejected by those in power.

They were killed off at the first opportunity, never having a chance to grow.

Because the more chaotic and dark the world, the more it emphasizes loyalty, righteousness, and filial piety; even if one doesn't have them, one must pretend to have them.

Xiao Hongyun frowned slightly: "Old Zhou, I don't understand it now."

Ye Tingxiu shook his head and said, "I don't understand, I don't understand, I don't understand."

Zhou Qingfeng smiled faintly and offered no explanation.

The matter has been secretly accomplished.

As the supreme commander of the anti-bandit legion, he had no need to explain himself to anyone.

Unless you are willing to explain it yourself.

The following day, Jin Wei came to report.

"Lieutenant Xiao took it, and Lieutenant Ye took it too. They said they were very grateful to the Commander for treating them as his own people, and that they were willing to stand with the Commander through thick and thin in the future."

Zhou Qingfeng chuckled as he brewed tea, not responding to the question, but instead bringing up another matter: "Did anyone sneak out last night?"

Jin Wei clasped his hands and said, "No, the scouts are hiding and lying in wait outside. They did not discover anyone going out."

Zhou Qingfeng slowly tapped the table: "Tsk, the little mouse is quite cautious."

"Commander-in-Chief, there is something I'm not sure if I should say."

Zhou Qingfeng took a sip of tea and glanced at the sky outside the window: "Speak."

Jin Wei licked his lips and said, "Since your debut, your opponents have all been geniuses or strong individuals. You've rarely encountered fools. Perhaps you've overestimated this little mouse's abilities."

"We are under strict martial law internally, and every post is on high alert."

"Under such circumstances, I'm afraid that little mouse wouldn't be able to run out of the mine to deliver the message."

Do you think there's a possibility of that?

Zhou Qingfeng fell silent upon hearing this.

I'm not afraid of playing against a master, I'm just afraid of playing against a bronze-level opponent.

If the opponent is a bronze-level player...

Don't panic, let's try another one.

"Wait one more night, and when we change shifts, we'll deliberately leave a crack to see if the rats will squeeze in."

Upon hearing this, Jin Wei clasped his hands in a gesture of respect and took his leave.

It was already evening.

Xiao Hongyun and Ye Tingzheng were bored, so they set up a game of Go with Zhou Qingfeng and were playing.

A sudden fire broke out in the mine, causing chaos.

Xiao Hongyun quickly got up to check: "Old Zhou, something's happened."

Ye Tingxiu stood up, his hand on his sword: "Put out the fire!"

Zhou Qingfeng waved his hand: "Don't be impatient, tonight's fire was just expected."

Then Zhou Qingfeng walked to the window with his hands behind his back and saw the night sky glowing red from the fire in the distance. A smile immediately appeared on his lips: "Not bad, this little mouse isn't too stupid."

At this moment, Jin Wei rushed in quickly, his hand on his sword, and bowed, saying urgently, "Commander-in-Chief, someone deliberately set fire to the mine. While everyone was in chaos putting out the fire, the Left Deputy Steward quietly slipped out through the gap you deliberately left open."

Zhou Qingfeng said calmly, "But we can send someone to keep a close eye on them."

"Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief, the scouts are lying in wait outside, following the Left Deputy Commander. They will have news soon."

Zhou Qingfeng hummed in agreement, turned around and walked to the chessboard, smiling slightly: "Whose turn was it just now?"

The Left Deputy Chief Steward quietly slipped into Tiger Might Ridge, winding his way through the forest. He knew the way well, as this forest path could avoid most demons and monsters. Unless one was extremely unlucky, it was unlikely that he would run into them head-on.

They quickly covered thirty miles through the mountains and forests.

The Left Deputy Chief Steward arrived at a riverbank and called out, "By imperial decree, we are to punish the wicked and treacherous."

"The world is bright and the rivers are calm."

A bandit sentry emerged from the woods, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Greetings, Third Leader."

The Left Deputy Chief Steward showed no sign of foolishness at this moment, and nodded with a shrewd expression: "Inform all the leaders and strategists that I will be waiting for them in the Hall of Gathering Righteousness, as there are important matters to discuss."

"Yes." The bandit sentry immediately led the Left Deputy Chief Steward forward quickly, passing many visible sentries along the way.

We came to a beach, next to which was a cave with a dim yellow firelight.

The cave was teeming with bandits and had many branching paths, making it like a maze. Everyone they encountered bowed to them. The Left Deputy Chief Steward simply nodded and quickly walked to the Hall of Righteousness.

Inside the Hall of Righteous Gathering, the core bandit leaders, having heard the news, had already arrived to wait.

The Left Deputy Chief Steward strode forward, clasped his hands in a salute to the head of the table, and then bowed to the people around him: "Zuo Tang greets the eldest brother, the second brother, the strategist, the fourth brother, the fifth brother, and the sixth brother."

The bandit leaders nodded and stood up to return the greeting with clasped hands.

Yuan He, the chieftain, sat firmly on the high platform and said with a calm expression, "What important matter does my third brother have to discuss with us in the Hall of Righteousness?"