Chapter 28: A Shift in Identity: Attacking the Bandit Stronghold on Qianmang Mountain

Zhang Shirong was utterly perplexed.

Yet, he dared not contemplate the worst-case scenario. After all, in this arrangement, he was the subordinate and Li Shiwu was the master. Every instruction he followed came from Li Shiwu’s command. Over their long-standing cooperation, he had reaped significant benefits from Li Shiwu. Logically speaking, it shouldn’t have been Li Shiwu disguised as the bandits.

That led to the question: Who on earth had the audacity to rob his grain transport? And who had discovered the convoy in the first place?

The servant standing below seemed to recall something else. "Oh, right! Master, they also had a troop of cavalry. They were shouting in the same accent as the Tibetan raiders, wearing their clothes, and riding their horses. I suspect that cavalry troop was actually Tibetan raiders!"

Zhang Shirong’s face darkened. He thought to himself, *Are you an idiot? You keep spouting off about Tibetan raiders.*

*But if they aren't Tibetan raiders, then what are they?*

On second thought, why would Tibetan raiders be involved in a grain heist? After weighing his options, Zhang Shirong decided to write a letter to the military garrison. He wanted to request the Border Army to dispatch troops and help him suppress the bandits. He was determined to find out exactly who had the nerve to collude with Tibetan raiders to hijack his grain carts.

This time, he did not seek help from Li Shiwu as he usually did. According to their standing plan, after the bandits at Qianmang Mountain robbed the grain carts, Li Shiwu would send men to "suppress" the bandits. He would then bring back the "stolen" grain and demand a reward from the imperial court. At the same time, the Zhang family would provide Li Shiwu with a kickback, and the local garrison would return the grain. It was a mutually beneficial process: the Zhang family gained a powerful protector, and Li Shiwu secured military rewards, money, and grain.

Now that something had gone wrong, he dared not ask Li Shiwu for soldiers. If the garrison were to actually deploy for a raid, it would cost a fortune. Just like last time, when the Border Army utilized the local garrison to raid Qianmang Mountain, it had cost a great deal of silver. Even if the Border Army’s costs were exaggerated, who dared to refuse them? The Border Army’s raids were funded by the wealth of the noble families, and it was the noble families who benefited from their protection. The reason was that the Border Army’s combat effectiveness was superior, while the local garrison rarely trained together and lacked the same level of tacit coordination.

To resolve the issue once and for all, he had no choice but to seek help from the Border Army again.

***

Meanwhile, at the garrison camp in the east of the city, in the tent of Battalion Commander Li Shiwu:

"Commander, that batch of grain from the Zhang family never arrived at Qianmang Mountain. Should we send a letter to ask about it?"

Li Shiwu was staring at a marriage certificate in his hands, lost in thought. Because of the previous incident involving the Zhang family, he was already annoyed with them. Fortunately, he had heard that the Jiang family’s daughter had been rescued by an unknown person, and it was precisely this event that had prompted the Jiang family to send a representative to propose a marriage alliance. At first, he was pleased, but then he began to suspect whether that useless brat from the Zhang family had done anything to the eldest daughter of the Jiang family. It was for this reason that he was deep in contemplation.

His subordinate’s words ignited his anger. "What? Is the Zhang family tired of living? They dared to touch my woman, and now they aren't even handing over the grain? Send someone to write a letter. If they don't want the iron mining rights at Qianmang Mountain, I can just change to another family. There are so many noble families in Shacheng—losing one doesn't matter to me!"

The soldier hurried off to deliver the message. Li Shiwu looked at the marriage certificate again, determined to make the most of it. Zhao Mang knew nothing of this, and by the same token, Li Shiwu knew nothing of Zhao Mang’s plans.

***

As for the Border Army camp, the news traveled fast. A few days later, word of the bandit suppression reached them. Whether by design or coincidence, when the officers were assigning tasks in the military tent, Zhao Wuji stepped forward and took the mission upon himself. In fact, Zhao Wuji had known about it all along. He proactively participated and ensured the task was secured, then naturally delegated it to Zhao Mang.

When Zhao Mang received the orders, he wore a satisfied smile. As expected, the person he had let go that day had reported the grain heist. He had anticipated this and had already sent word to Zhao Wuji. Thus, he had logically become the lead officer for the suppression. Since the Zhang family dared to harbor bandits at Qianmang Mountain, they couldn't blame him for being ruthless.

The next day, Zhao Mang gathered his men once more. This time, he had Xiao Han and the others collect intelligence in advance. He wasn't very familiar with the Qianmang Mountain hideout. Although they had suppressed bandits there before, those were the real bandits in the inner mountains. This fake mountain bandit lair was something he was hearing about for the first time.

Among Zhao Mang’s men, only he had served in the local garrison, so he knew very well that their equipment was a motley, inconsistent mess. Consequently, all the local garrison troops basically looked like bandits themselves, with all sorts of mismatched gear. With this experience, Zhao Mang and his men didn't need much preparation to easily disguise themselves as garrison troops. Furthermore, with Wang Wu having joined their ranks, they could infiltrate the Zhang family’s bandit nest much more effectively.

At a mountain pass on the north side of Qianmang Mountain, Zhao Mang and his men waited patiently for Xiao Han’s return. Perhaps because he was unfamiliar with the terrain, Xiao Han had spent a significant amount of time scouting the bandit hideout. After about half an hour, he saw Xiao Han sprinting toward them from the distance. In the time it took to finish a cup of tea, Xiao Han reached Zhao Mang’s side.

"Brother Mang, I’ve finished investigating the situation at Qianmang Mountain. It’s not a bandit nest at all. It’s a mine. The entire mine is located in a mountain hollow, surrounded by peaks with only one exit. The whole site is filled with a large number of refugees; on the surface, they are mostly old people and children. I suspect the young, able-bodied men are all inside the mine shafts digging. There are a group of guards from a noble household watching over them. I didn't see any signs of a real army. The hollow is extremely well-hidden."

After hearing this, Zhao Mang made his decision. "In that case, Wang Wu, take the Zhang family’s token and go scout the path. If you can get them to open the gate, we’ll head inside and turn the place upside down. If not, everyone must act according to the situation—just follow me and charge!"

With that, the group pushed their "grain carts" and slowly headed toward the Zhang family’s bandit lair. Upon arriving at the gate, Wang Wu stepped forward and shouted to the guards on the parapet, "Open the gate! Open the gate! I’m Wang Wu from the Zhang family, here to deliver your grain!"

The guards on the parapet looked down and didn't spot anything suspicious. One of them signaled for someone to open a corner of the gate to inspect them. Zhao Mang and his men grew tense. Seeing them from a distance was one thing, but a close-up inspection was another—there was no guarantee something wouldn't go wrong.