After being wrongly married, I stabbed my husband to death and became famous throughout the world.

These medicinal herb merchants would not normally come to the border; it is only through special policies of the government that they are attracted to come.

Therefore, the military camps valued them highly and would not tolerate bandits bullying them.

Li Shu was quite serious, and everyone listened attentively to ensure that no one made a mistake.

"What about the survivor?" Chen Feiqing asked again.

“Cousin, you should try to persuade him to confess more. Brother Duan should go and scare him from time to time, and try to get him to spill everything he knows. Once he’s no longer useful, there’s no need to take him to the government; just take him to the mountains and behead him.” Li Shu said decisively.

"..." Chen Feiqing's lips trembled slightly. "Didn't we say we'd let him atone for his crimes and be spared?"

"We let him live a few more days, didn't we?" Li Shu looked at him with innocent eyes. "This man is a bandit. Perhaps he can become a good citizen by redeeming himself, but who can guarantee that someone who has been a bandit won't go back to banditry and join another gang in the future? To avoid such a thing from happening, we should be a little ruthless."

The expressions on their faces were quite complicated, but they agreed with Li Shu's statement.

Chen Feiqing knew right from wrong, but he was a little unaccustomed to suddenly killing someone.

When he killed those bandits, he actually secretly vomited for a while, not daring to let anyone know.

Compared to his brothers, he knew he was a natural weakling.

"It was my fault, I shouldn't have said that," Chen Feiqing said with some remorse.

Ah Li isn't a bad person; she made this seemingly heartless decision for the sake of everyone.

“It’s good that you’re like this, cousin. If you do too many bad things, you’ll easily lose yourself. Constant killing won’t bring good results, but your timely kindness can help people calm down,” Li Shu praised him.

Whether it was genuine or feigned, Li Shu himself didn't know.

If her words bring about a positive outcome, then perhaps they are sincere.

Chen Feiqing's face turned slightly red, and the guilt he felt for not fitting in with the group lessened a bit.

"There are many things I can't help with, but I will definitely sort out the accounts and try my best to take care of everyone," Chen Feiqing said, trying his best to be shameless.

He didn't know why he, a grown man, had absolutely no talent for martial arts!

His sister wielded a long spear with crisp, clean movements and a murderous aura, while he... fell quite decisively. No matter how he tried to correct a simple move, he just couldn't get it right; his limbs seemed to have grown on them... Moreover, he was physically weak...

He truly envied everyone, being able to practice martial arts together with such enthusiasm.

After finishing their business, everyone quickly began to think about how to use the silver and were overjoyed.

……

When Li Shu sent the letter, he added some money to the delivery, so the letter was quickly delivered to the army and handed to Cheng Mian.

Li Shu delivered letters to him very frequently, making Cheng Mian feel flattered. Many times, he wondered if it was really necessary for him to be so enthusiastic, since he had only met this girl by chance. But he also felt that the girl was simple and honest, which was why she was so enthusiastic...

He thought it was just another simple letter from home.

However, when he opened the letter, his hand couldn't help but tremble.

Warhorses? Medicinal herbs? Bandits?!

Li Shu said that among the younger generation of martial arts leaders in these martial villages, there was a brother named Duan Changdong who led a group of people to do something big...

"It seems there are some capable people among the next batch of military households' sons! Ah Zheng, look at that, seventeen warhorses, still winning against overwhelming odds... Once these people enter the army, you must have someone take good care of them. If they are talented and of good character, you can promote them. You'll have more capable people at your disposal!" Cheng Mian was particularly excited.

His excitement stemmed not only from the presence of a talented disciple, but also from... Rong Zhengyu's disbelief in his own judgment.

Now that Li Shu has participated in defeating the bandits, it proves that his judgment was not entirely wrong.

Rong Zhengyu read the letter and thought about it carefully.

"Can't you tell? This is a distress message sent after provoking the bandits, because of the mess they can't handle." Rong Zhengyu was very direct. "The low-priced warhorses and the free medicinal herbs are all stepping stones, while the news that the bandits want to rob the medicine merchant gives us a legitimate reason to attack."

"???" Cheng Mian was stunned. Is this how it is?

How come he didn't notice?

“However, you are right, there are indeed capable people among the military households.” Rong Zhengyu said admiringly, “I can refuse to send troops for other reasons, but protecting the safety of the medicine merchants is indeed very important. Since the letter mentions the bandits’ confession, we must send some troops to suppress them, regardless of whether it is true or false.”

“The major cities still have city gates guarded, but the surrounding villages and towns are often harassed. These bandits are indeed arrogant,” Cheng Mian said.

“In the past, the army would send people to encircle and suppress them every year, killing as many as they could. But these past two years, the court has been unstable, and there's no time to deal with these people... Once the war subsides, we'll have to clean house.” Rong Zhengyu said helplessly.

Ever since the young emperor ascended the throne, the barbarian enemies beyond the Great Wall have frequently harassed the region.

If the imperial court supports them, life will be alright.

However, the people in the court were suspicious and always felt that the border soldiers were deliberately delaying the war, so they treated them even more harshly!

The court's harsh treatment will only make the war more and more difficult!

“That batch of medicinal herbs should arrive in a few more days, but you should take some men into the city tomorrow so you can communicate with those medicine merchants in advance… Also…” Rong Zhengyu thought for a moment, “I will have someone put Ma Chengting in the team, and you can take him with you.”

"Why is that?" Cheng Mian now had a very bad impression of Ma Chengting.

He actually dared to defy his good brother; he's clearly impulsive and thoughtless.

“With this person here, you should be able to see the girl’s true colors more easily,” Rong Zhengyu added. “I’m not targeting her personally. In fact… if I were that girl, I would be eager to see this heartless man who started something and then abandoned it. So you don’t need to feel sorry for her enthusiasm.”

"By the way, the matter I had investigated a few days ago has become clear. It was indeed Ma Chengting who orchestrated the marriage of this Mountain Spirit Girl," Rong Zhengyu added.

"..." Cheng Mian frowned deeply, "Sister Ali is really unlucky."

"..." Rong Zhengyu opened his mouth, speechless.

The next day, a group of people left the military camp.

After Cheng Mian took care of important matters in Yicheng, he and his men settled in Ganhe Town. By the time they arrived at Wuzhuang, it was already dusk.

Following the address provided by Li Shu, Cheng Mian searched all the way there.

He did not come to visit empty-handed.

He thought that Li Shu was alone and unable to support himself, and that his life must be very difficult, so he specially bought some snacks and clothes.

At this moment, Li Shu was standing in his own yard, fighting with Duan Changdong.

Duan Changdong was strong, while Li Shu was more agile, yet Li Shu held his own.

When Cheng Mian appeared, Li Shu used his spear to pick up a pebble from the ground and then skillfully struck Duan Changdong with it.

She doesn't follow any set rules when fighting; she occasionally uses small, hidden weapons, and everyone has suffered as a result.

Duan Changdong reacted quickly enough that he only got hit on the shoulder, while the other two pebbles flew away...

With the front door of the house wide open, Cheng Mian walked around the old screen wall.

However, the next moment, this thing was about to strike him directly in the face—