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

Zuo Tang quickly relayed the intelligence in detail: "Brother, a group of soldiers has arrived at the mine..."

Everyone listened quietly until Zuo Tang finished speaking.

Chief Yuan He calmly looked at the strategist: "Strategist, what is your opinion on this matter?"

After a moment's thought, the strategist Sima Yan smiled confidently and said, "Chief, there's no need to worry."

"Qiu Qianchi is clearly a greedy person who is as stupid as a pig or a dog."

"Knowing that our Zhuxian Village was hiding here, he didn't even think to report it and lead troops to surround and annihilate us."

"Instead, they take the opportunity to extort and exploit others. Such fools only think about their own interests and will never mention our existence to the first party. Our place of refuge will not be exposed to any risk."

Chief Yuan He frowned slightly: "Strategist Sima, should we wipe out this army?"

The strategist Sima Yan shook his head and said, "Chief, with our current strength, Zhuxian Village can easily wipe out this hundred-man army. However, the Sword Tower will send large armies to besiege us afterward."

"We have too few high-end combat forces and no manpower. It is no easy feat to have reached a scale of over a thousand people today."

"Now that we have finally found a place to stay, we should develop in a low-key manner, accumulate strength, and not cause trouble at our own doorstep. Otherwise, the great situation we have worked so hard to build will be lost in one day."

Yuan He, the chieftain, has risen from a bandit to where he is today. He is not particularly intelligent, but with the assistance of his strategist Sima Yan, he has been able to establish himself as a mountain king and control a region.

Since the strategist Sima Yan is not going to listen to reason, it's best not to do anything.

"Third Brother Zuo, although that army doesn't pose a threat, you still need to go back and keep an eye on them. If anything happens, come back and report immediately."

Upon hearing this, Zuo Tang immediately clasped his hands in a fist and replied, "Yes, elder brother."

Chief Yuan He surveyed his brothers, stood up, and picked up his wine bowl: "Brothers, do you remember why we gathered together? It's because those powerful and wealthy lords in the Sword Tower exploited and bullied us!"

“Our children are ridden like balls by them, our women are violated by them, and our children are treated like cattle and horses by them. They have never treated us as human beings. In their eyes, we are not even as good as cattle and horses!”

"Which of us didn't become bandits because those noble lords ruined our families and left us with no other way to survive?"

“As a citizen of Sword Tower, I, Yuan He, have never thought of plotting rebellion. It was all those noble lords who forced me into this situation. Now that things have come to this, I can only lead my brothers to fight for a better future.”

“But I told my brothers clearly that I am loyal to Sword Tower and I am loyal to the city lord. However, the city lord of Sword Tower is surrounded by treacherous villains. As citizens of Sword Tower, we cannot sit idly by and watch the city lord be deceived by these villains.”

"We must purge the treacherous villains around the city lord and restore peace and order to Sword Tower."

The five leaders and strategist present all stood up, their blood boiling, and raised their wine bowls, saying loudly, "Brother is right! We are only here to sweep away the treacherous officials and restore peace and order to Sword Tower!"

Anyone who aspires to great things invariably seeks a righteous cause.

In short, we are not bandits, we are righteous, and we are the ones loyal to the city lord.

The city lord is not a bad person; he was deceived by treacherous and wicked people.

In this way, all the bandits felt they were right and were willing to follow them wholeheartedly.

Within the 190-mile-long mining area.

Inside the mine shed, the scout knelt on one knee, clasped his hands, and reported: "Commander, the location of the bandits' den has been confirmed. If you travel thirty li into Tiger Might Ridge from here, you will see a river sandbar. Next to the sandbar is a cave where bandits are gathered."

"My subordinates infiltrated to investigate and found that there were at least a thousand bandits, all of whom were cultivators who had mastered the 'Taste of Turbidity' technique."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Hongyun's expression turned extremely grim. He immediately said, "This is bad. The intelligence is wrong. The bandits are powerful and have already become a force to be reckoned with. Our hundred-man legion is no match for them. Old Zhou, please ask the higher-ups to send reinforcements!"

Ye Tingxiu suddenly gripped the hilt of his knife: "This is bad, call for help quickly."

Zhou Qingfeng frowned slightly and gestured for the two to calm down: "Don't panic, let me think about it."

The information from the Sword Tower regarding the bandits only stated that the bandits were numerous, and their high-level combat capabilities were unknown.

Based on past occurrences of banditry within the Sword Tower, small groups consisted of at most seven or eight cultivators, while larger groups numbered around two hundred cultivators—this was the absolute limit, and it was the red line that the Sword Tower could tolerate.

Once the bandits cross the red line, they will face a severe pursuit by the Sword Tower Legion.

Therefore, it was impossible for the bandits to continue to grow and expand.

As a member of the Inner Court Council, Zhou Qingfeng did nothing but record the boring and tedious tasks. However, by listening to the core leaders discuss matters every day, he learned more about the core secrets than the average person.

According to his estimation, the bandits of Zhuxian Village numbered at most two hundred, which is why the army was sent out of the city to encircle and suppress them. He even estimated an extra one hundred people, making it three hundred bandits.

However, upon arriving at the entrance of the bandits' den and conducting a closer inspection, they discovered that the number of bandits was far greater than expected.

Or perhaps there's a strategist among the bandits, a sixth-ranking officer, who deliberately conceals his strength in an attempt to deceive everyone.

Either there's a hidden hand within the Sword Tower's upper echelons, intentionally allowing the bandits to grow in power for their own purposes.

Alternatively, the bandits of Zhuxian Village may have colluded with the higher-ups of the Sword Tower, cooperating in secret to each other's benefit.

There are three possibilities, each more serious than the last.

It's even questionable whether any members of the Renxin faction were involved in this.

The more I think about it, the more I realize how deep this water is.

Zhou Qingfeng felt that this already complicated bandit suppression mission was shrouded in mystery.

This made it difficult for me to see the current situation clearly.

Xiao Hongyun waited for a while, then grew impatient: "Old Zhou, stop thinking about it. A thousand-strong army, ten times our strength, and who knows how many high-level bandits there are. How are we supposed to fight them?"

Ye Tingxiu said, "Let's ask for help. Don't be reckless."

Jin Wei also clasped his hands in a gesture of persuasion: "Commander, let's retreat. A hundred men against a thousand is bound to lose!"

Zhou Qingfeng shook his head, not in a hurry to make a decision, but silently cast a divination for himself.

Should we retreat, fight, or ask for help?

A scarlet divination bucket emerged from my consciousness.

Silently recite the command, then draw the lots.

Three divination sticks flew out of the divination bucket as it shook.

[A very bad omen; retreating without a fight, withdrawing the troops—a terrible outcome.]

[The outcome is a draw: hold your ground, seek reinforcements, launch another encirclement and annihilation, and the game ends in a draw.]

[Auspicious sign: Take the initiative, confront the bandits, good fortune.]

Zhou Qingfeng saw that there was a medium-good fortune slip, and without hesitation followed the principle of choosing the good fortune slip if there was one, and choosing the neutral slip if there was no good fortune slip.

Zhou Qingfeng slammed his hand on the table, stood up, and his eyes flashed with a sharp and ruthless light: "What kind of help do you need?"

"When you encounter difficulties, you just ask for help from above. Anyone can ask for help."

"I'd rather have a dog sit in my seat, then what use am I to the city lord?"

"And you, Jin Wei, keep shouting 'retreat, retreat!'"

"Our main force is already at the gates of the Zhuxian Village bandit stronghold. Can we retreat now?"

"What will we say if we retreat? That we were afraid of the enemy's strength and withdrew before the battle?"

"Believe it or not, those old guys in the council chamber can send me to the guillotine."

"There is no turning back in this battle; we must fight it."

"Not only must we fight, but we must also fight with the might of our commander."

"So what if a hundred fight against a thousand? This commander has no fear of those bandits from Zhuxian Village!"