The carefree sixth prince, my father respectfully invites me to ascend the throne.

Yang Ling naturally knew what these people were thinking, but since they weren't the Crown Prince's people, everything was still easy to handle.

"It's just going up the mountain with you guys, no problem, no problem."

Yang Ling spoke calmly, without the slightest hint of panic on her face.

When these words were spoken, not only Huang Ba, but also Mr. Zhuge and the others were completely dumbfounded.

These people were all ruthless bandits. Coupled with the imperial court's years of exorbitant taxes and levies, how could those who went up the mountain to become bandits not have any resentment towards the royal family?

If we were to suddenly go up the mountain like this, we would probably face a nine-out-of-ten chance of death.

Mr. Zhuge wanted to persuade her again, but when he saw the confident look on Yang Ling's face, he hesitated in the end.

Huang Ba frowned slightly and waved his hand, ordering his men to put away all their knives.

"The Ninth Prince is indeed remarkable in his bearing. In that case, please proceed."

Huang Ba smiled faintly, then gestured for him to enter.

Yang Ling didn't waste any more words and headed straight up the mountain, while Huang Ba followed closely behind, seemingly afraid that he would cause some trouble.

Yang Ling walked up the mountain and soon arrived at the top.

In front of the hilltop was a large village with houses arranged in a staggered pattern. In the center was a large courtyard with two pillars standing inside. Hanging from the pillars were two people dressed in official robes.

Yang Ling's eyes narrowed slightly when she saw this. This village was quite a large place, and there should be quite a lot of people inside.

If I could recruit all the people here, I would have a large group of men under my command.

"Hahaha, I didn't expect His Highness the Ninth Prince to have such great courage, actually daring to come up the mountain."

Just then, a very arrogant voice rang out from behind. Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw a man with a big beard walking over.

"You must be the chieftain of this village?"

When Yang Ling saw the chieftain, she showed no panic on her face. She waved her fan in one hand and slowly walked towards him.

The chieftain was quite surprised to see that Yang Ling still dared to be so composed.

Everyone knows that the Ninth Prince of Liang is weak-willed. He should have been terrified in this situation. How could he be so calm?

"Isn't Your Highness afraid?"

The chieftain was slightly taken aback, then slowly walked towards Yang Ling with a sinister smile on his face.

Yang Ling glanced around and said calmly, "Afraid? If I were afraid, would you spare my life?"

"Hahaha,"

Upon hearing Yang Ling's words, the chieftain revealed a cold smile.

His eyes were slightly narrowed, but the murderous aura on his face remained undiminished.

"Your Highness may not know your current worth. Your head is worth three million taels of silver. We have been stuck on the mountain for quite some time now without food or water. Would Your Highness consider doing some good deeds?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the guards Yang Ling had brought drew their swords. With just one order from Yang Ling, they could slaughter everyone in the village.

Upon hearing this, Yang Ling smiled slightly and glanced around.

Presumably, everyone in the village had arrived by now; I roughly counted about seventy or eighty people.

If I could recruit all these people, I would feel much more at ease going to Liangzhou.

"What, you're that confident?"

When Yang Ling said this, a faint smile appeared on his lips. Since these people wanted his life, he naturally wouldn't let them go easily.

Although he only had a dozen or so men with him at this moment, these guards were all seasoned veterans, and they would not be afraid of these people if a fight really broke out.

"Hahaha, since the Ninth Prince is unwilling to surrender, then this chieftain has no other choice."

As soon as the chieftain finished speaking, he waved his hand, and his men prepared to make their move.

Yang Ling naturally wouldn't indulge them; he wanted the world to see that he was no longer the Ninth Prince he once was.

"Do it!"

As soon as the two words left their mouths, the already hungry and thirsty guards drew their swords and charged towards the bandits standing at the front.

Yang Ling sat calmly in the chief's seat, surrounded by flying blood and gore, yet his face remained expressionless.

In just a few breaths, the leading bandits were either dead or wounded.

The chieftain and Huang Ba frowned upon seeing this. Weren't they supposed to have few experts around the Ninth Prince? How come these people...?

"This prince is asking you one last question: do you want to continue fighting?"

Seeing that the situation in front of him had been brought under control, Yang Ling asked calmly.

By this time, seven or eight people in the stronghold had died, and the remaining few did not have the courage to come up.

The chieftain swallowed hard, his thighs trembling slightly.

He never imagined that the Ninth Prince would be so ruthless.

"No more fighting!"

Upon seeing this, the chieftain immediately shook his head and led Huang Ba and the others to kneel on the ground, completely losing any of their previous arrogance.

Yang Ling smiled slightly and then stood up.

"This prince is magnanimous. If there are any people who want to abandon the darkness and embrace the light, they may come with me to Liangzhou. If they do not wish to go, they may find another place. If there are any others who are dissatisfied, they may come up and I will send them on their way."

After speaking, Yang Ling's gaze swept over the people kneeling on the ground.

Some of these bandits were originally from good families, but they became outlaws due to poverty or other reasons.

Hearing Yang Ling say this, they naturally wanted to follow the Ninth Prince to Liangzhou to make a name for themselves, and several people immediately spoke up to express their stance.

"Greetings, Your Highness! I am willing to accompany Your Highness to Liangzhou!"

"I am also willing to follow Your Highness to Liangzhou!"

……

These bandits were all intimidated by Yang Ling's methods, which is why they wanted to follow him. After all, staying in this place meant certain death, while by the Ninth Prince's side, they might be able to make a name for themselves.

The chieftain and his men turned even paler upon seeing this; their biggest mistake was going against the Ninth Prince.

"Have you two decided for yourselves whether you live or die?"

Yang Ling didn't have time to wait here for the chieftain and Huang Ba to make their decision.

Asked directly.

Huang Ba trembled violently. He dared not oppose the Ninth Prince again and immediately said, "I am willing to follow Your Highness to Liangzhou. I hope Your Highness will spare my life."

The leader of the stronghold also quickly kowtowed and said, "Your subordinate is willing to go to Liangzhou with Your Highness!"

Yang Ling looked at them and sneered. What bandits? They were just here to deliver supplies to him.

I wonder if the person behind this will go crazy when they hear this news.