After being demoted, my 300,000-strong army trampled the imperial city!

"I do have some knowledge of warfare. If my lord has the time, we might as well have a friendly exchange on the sand table," Zhuge Liang said proudly.

"There's no need for sparring. The Prime Minister can take some time to give the generals some pointers to improve the military's strength."

While Chen Futu and Zhuge Liang were talking, Dian Wei returned and shouted, "My lord, Yu Qian said that there are indeed bandits harassing the east. The important towns near Kaiyang Pass and Fushui Pass are the most severely affected. Some have even started to target villages and towns for looting. Fortunately, they only steal money and grain and dare not kill people, for fear of angering my lord."

Zhuge Liang said seriously, "There is no reason to guard against thieves for a thousand days. I think we can send General Yue to recruit them."

"The Prime Minister's words are exactly what I think."

Chen Futu had been feeling cooped up in the royal court these past few days, so he decided to go out and hunt in the wild with Yue Fei.

When Yue Fei heard that there was an opportunity to incorporate the rebel army, he was indeed interested.

The following morning, Chen Futu left the royal court unarmed, while Yue Fei led a thousand Yue Family Army soldiers, even leaving Yang Zaixing behind in the camp.

Dian Wei said, "My lord, the town of Sunjia, which is a hundred miles to the east, has been the most severely harassed. There are also mines nearby, and those rebel troops seem to want to extend their reach into the mines."

Mines are extremely important during wartime. As vital strategic resources, Chen Futu stationed troops to protect them at every location, though the number was small. Otherwise, he would have already spared troops to wipe out the rebel army.

As they traveled eastward, the people along the way were relatively peaceful, a far cry from the lifeless atmosphere of the Daqian territory. However, as they got closer to Sunjia Town, they began to see families migrating along the way.

Chen Futu stopped an old man and asked, "Where are you going, sir?"

The old man, holding the wheelbarrow, said shakily, "Of course, we'll go to our relatives. The rebel army is causing a ruckus over there. If we're closer to the royal court, the bandits won't dare to bother us anymore."

"Have the garrison troops in the nearby important towns not made a move?"

"Yes, we went out of the city to fight a few times, but those rebel troops would run away if they couldn't be defeated. They're more cowardly than rabbits, and we couldn't catch them."

The old man sighed repeatedly, clearly harboring deep resentment towards those rebel soldiers.

Chen Futu took a piece of candy and handed it to the little girl sitting on the cart. "Little girl, are you afraid of the mutinous soldiers?"

"Not afraid."

The little girl tilted her head back, looking completely innocent and carefree.

Why aren't you afraid?

"Because of the King, the King will surely drive them away."

The little girl, with candy in her mouth, waved her dirty little fists.

Chen Futu burst into laughter.

Yue Fei exclaimed, "The people's hearts are with Your Majesty; you are truly a wise ruler of our time."

"The rebels dared not kill, they only came to plunder. Such a lack of supplies shows that the Great Qian has completely lost control of the Northern Mountains."

"Your Majesty is absolutely right. Should we send troops to take over the Beixing Mountain area?"

"There's no need. Even if we get it now, we'll still have to manage it across the Xuan River. We won't have the resources, and we'll be subject to more raids from the rebel armies, which will only cause more trouble."

A day later, the group arrived near Sunjia Town.

A scout reported: "An hour ago, a small group of rebels robbed nearby villages and towns again."

"Have you killed any civilians in the northern border regions?"

"Never."

The scout answered truthfully.

In fact, when they went to investigate, they were somewhat skeptical. They visited several villages and received the same answer: the rebel army only dared to make a lot of noise and intimidate the people, but did not actually harm anyone.

Yue Fei asked suspiciously, "My lord, there's something wrong with these disorderly troops."

"Indeed, with such military discipline, they would probably not allow their troops to plunder resources unless they were desperate to survive. I am curious, though, who exactly is commanding these chaotic troops?"

The team was stationed outside Sunjia Town.

Chen Futu, Yue Fei, and Dian Wei entered the town with several riders.

The village chief came to visit, looking distressed, and told him about his recent situation.

"I've overheard them talking about it in private. Their general's surname is Chu, and he seems to be a leader of the rebels in the Beixing Mountain area."

"Just a small fry?"

Chen Futu looked south, his interest growing.

After visiting the town, Chen Futu said to Yue Fei, "Think of a way to lure the snake out of its hole."

"That's not difficult. I can have someone pretend to be a passing caravan. They'll be tempted by the resources and try to plunder them. That will draw out the mastermind. Once we catch him, we can regroup the scattered rebels and make it easier to incorporate them into our ranks."

Yue Fei had already made up his mind, and Chen Futu was just waiting to see what would happen.

That evening, Dian Wei and the decoy left together, posing as guards for the caravan.

The so-called caravans were not carrying grain or fodder at all, but rather sandbags filled with earth and stones.

In the Stone Forest area on the north bank of Xuanshui River, a group of rebel soldiers lurked in the woods. The news that a caravan would pass through Sunjia Town the next day quickly spread like wildfire.

A young man carrying a gun, with blood-stained bandages tied around his shoulder, was named Chu Jiang, the leader of the rebel army.

"Has the investigation been completed? Where did the caravan come from?"

"Boss, we've found out. They said it was a private business, and they came from outside the Great Wall. They should be a merchant caravan from Beiwu," a soldier reported.

"Beiwu?"

Chu Jiang had a fairly clear understanding of the situation in the north. Chen Futu controlled the passes along the route, and since he had also formed a marriage alliance with Bei Wu, it was normal for the two sides to trade. Now, the situation in the Beixing Mountains was almost out of control. When Sun Chengzong was alive, although the various rebel armies did not deal with each other much, they did not go to war. Now that Sun Chengzong was gone, and Chen Futu had not advanced for a long time, the rebel leaders in the north began to fight each other for territory.

Chu Jiang sent his men to plunder villages and towns because there was no food left. During the previous war with the northern frontier, the imperial court had conscripted agricultural taxes and people. Later, when Sun Chengzong was stationed there, he also seized a lot of grain. Now, nine out of ten houses in the Beixing Mountains are empty, and even the rebels cannot survive.

Thinking of this, Chu Jiang ordered the other rebel squads to gather back and prepare. They would attack the caravan together the next night. However, he made it clear beforehand that looting the goods was allowed, but no one was allowed to be injured.

"Boss, why don't you hurt anyone?"

"Yeah, it's because we're good-tempered that those guys aren't cooperating much anymore. We shout until our throats are hoarse, and people think we're a bunch of idiots."

The soldiers under his command muttered to themselves, unable to understand.

Chu Jiang said unhappily, "A bunch of idiots! If we hurt someone, the whole meaning changes. Do you want to attract the royal army to wipe us out?"

"You absolutely mustn't do that!"

"Yes, if the royal court sends troops, those fierce generals will definitely come. Who among us can defeat them?"

After Chu Jiang's explanation, everyone understood that Wang Ting was like a tiger. It was fine to rub a hair on his back, but if they actually slapped the tiger's backside, they wouldn't even be enough to fill his teeth.

"Hehe, the boss is still wise!"

"I've heard that the King of the Northern Frontier has three heads and six arms, but I don't know if it's true or not."

"Not only that, it is said that he was born with extraordinary features and outstanding talent, and that he is the reincarnation of an imperial star."

With nothing to do, the soldiers chattered about gossip about Chen Futu. In the eyes of ordinary people, the King of the Northern Frontier was a high and mighty figure, and many legends about him circulated among the people, each one more outrageous than the last.