A hint of struggle flashed across the Boss's eyes. Such a wealthy caravan was a rare sight.
Of course, he wanted to rob them, but he feared they wouldn't be able to swallow such a big prize. He issued a low-voiced command.
Nobody move. Wait for my command. We will rob them if we can, but if they have too many guards, we will have to give up. Our lives are the most important thing.
The men murmured their agreement and lay low in ambush.
It wasn't long before a long caravan slowly approached.
Their eyes turned red with envy, flashing with greed at the sight.
There were dozens of horses, all fine steeds, well-fed and sturdy.
There were carriages too. Judging by their appearance and the depth of the wheel tracks, they had to be heavily loaded, possibly full of grain.
And there were women. Whether they were beautiful or not was hard to tell, but their figures suggested they were all young. Capturing them would definitely provide a lot of entertainment.
However, upon taking a second look at the dozens of guards leading the way, their courage deflated. The guards outnumbered them and were fully armed.
Pockmark looked at the Boss. Boss, do we make a move?
The Boss's eyes darkened. After a long moment, he swallowed his reluctance. No, let them pass.
Before his words even faded, a rustling sound seemed to come from behind him.
The Boss frowned and turned his head, scolding in a low voice, What are you doing...
Before he could finish, he found himself face-to-face with a stranger and a blade chopping down toward him.
The Boss's pupils shrank. His body instinctively dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the incoming blade.
Pockmark beside him wasn't so lucky. Struck squarely by another man, blood instantly spurted out. His agonizing scream echoed through the dense forest, startling several birds into flight.
Recovering his wits, the Boss raised his own blade and slashed at the man who had attacked him.
Just as his blade was about to hit the man, it was blocked head-on by a long spear.
Xie Nanxiao furiously rebuked the somewhat dazed soldier, How were you taught during training? This is a battlefield! Do you want to die?
The soldier's heart skipped a beat. He had indeed been paralyzed by the splattering blood and severed limbs nearby. If it weren't for his squad leader, he might already be dead.
Remembering his usual instructions and training, a fighting spirit ignited in his eyes. He swung his blade and slashed right at the Boss.
Zhou Sui stood at the rear, watching Xie Nanxiao lead a squad of new recruits into the midst of the bandits. Holding a bow and arrows, he would loose a shaft to save any soldier whose life was in imminent danger.
These soldiers hadn't been training for long and lacked real combat experience. It was normal to make mistakes the first time they killed and saw blood.
Under Xie Nanxiao's leadership, the soldiers fought with increasing bravery. The results of their strict daily training finally began to show.
The three-man tactical formations were executed to perfection at this moment, providing mutual support with orderly offense and defense.
Bandits were ultimately just a disorganized mob. Facing well-trained soldiers, along with a fierce warrior like Xie Nanxiao, they were quickly defeated and scattered in retreat.
Yao Ji and Xia Chanyi were already waiting on the path. Leading the remaining soldiers, they closed in and besieged the fleeing bandits.
Although these soldiers had only trained for two days, they vastly outnumbered the bandits. One or even two squads were assigned to a single bandit, making the fight completely effortless.
Neither Yao Ji nor Xia Chanyi joined the fray; they simply sat on their horses and watched the soldiers fight.
The bandits suffered mental breakdowns. Wait, they hadn't even planned to rob these people, so why were they being slaughtered? Why on earth?
Yun Chengxuan sat on his horse next to Jiang Jin's carriage, muttering under his breath, Aunt, why won't you let me join the fight?
Jiang Jin glanced at him. What would you do? Chop vegetables?
Yun Chengxuan looked at her with clear eyes, showing that he didn't understand.
Jiang Jin sighed. They are too weak. They aren't worth your effort.
Realization dawned on Yun Chengxuan, and a smile appeared on his face. Aunt, I don't mind that they're weak. I can just chop them up like vegetables.
Jiang Jin replied, Just stay put.
The battle ended in merely fifteen minutes. Forty-two bandits were wiped out, and five were left alive.
Interrogation was no difficult task for Zhou Sui and his men. In no time, they had extracted a clear picture of the situation up on the mountain.
The five surviving bandits were terrified, angry, and full of grievance. Good sirs, we didn't provoke or offend you! Why did you attack us? Boohoo, why did you do it?
Xie Nanxiao kicked one of them. Why, why! Don't you know why? Weren't you blocking the road to rob us?
The bandits felt even more wronged, tears falling freely. We didn't! We didn't want to rob you. You're falsely accusing us, boohoo...
Xie Nanxiao sneered coldly. You didn't want to rob us only because we are strong and numerous. Otherwise, hah. Stop playing the victim. Countless innocent commoners have died by your hands.
Jiang Jin instructed Zhou Sui, You are in charge of going up the mountain this time. Kill all the bandits and remember to bring the supplies down.
Zhou Sui bowed and complied, Yes, ma'am.
He led three squads of soldiers and escorted the five captives up the mountain.
This time, Yun Chengxuan insisted on going up the mountain no matter what. Feeling helpless, Jiang Jin could only let him go.
The other soldiers quickly cleaned up the scene. There happened to be a large pit nearby, saving them the trouble of digging. They simply threw the bodies in and shoveled some dirt over them.
The carriage was parked under the shade of a tree. Watching the busy soldiers in the distance, Jiang Jin couldn't help but smile. Having a lot of people was great; she didn't have to do everything herself.
She checked the time; it was already past eleven in the morning. According to the bandits' confessions, going up the mountain and coming back down would take at least an hour.
She waved at Xia Chanyi.
Xia Chanyi hurried over. My lady, what is it?
Jiang Jin asked, Is there a suitable place to set up camp nearby?
Xia Chanyi thought for a moment before replying, About five miles ahead, there is a flat area with a water source and a grove of trees.
Jiang Jin nodded. The bodies were mostly buried, so she ordered, Female soldiers, fall back first and set up camp.
Xia Chanyi received the order. Yes, ma'am.
Despite only two days of training, the initial results were visible. The female soldiers moved quickly, advancing at a run, with the main force following behind them.
Upon reaching the destination, the female soldiers cleared the area and helped set up stoves for cooking.
When the group only had thirty or forty people, five or six cooks could manage. Now that they numbered over a hundred, the female soldiers would always step in to help whenever they made camp to cook.
Jiang Jin had collected a lot of tableware initially, including both cooking utensils and eating bowls and chopsticks. However, it was too inconvenient to pull so many items directly out of the carriage.
Therefore, she only took out a few large cooking pots from the carriage and didn't bring out too many bowls and chopsticks, letting the soldiers eat in shifts.
Fortunately, they had passed through a bamboo forest yesterday. Jiang Jin had ordered her people to cut bamboo to make bamboo bowls, chopsticks, and water canteens.
Not to mention, these items were easy to make, highly functional, and durable against drops. Thus, she had the soldiers make quite a few as spares.
She even made a few bamboo water tubes for herself. She quite liked these rustic, authentic objects; drinking water from a bamboo tube seemed to carry the unique, refreshing scent of the bamboo itself.
While everyone was busy here, Yao Ji, who had been burying the bodies, returned with two squads of soldiers.
After arranging for soldiers to patrol, he came over to report to Jiang Jin, My lady, I left a few men back there to wait for the general and the others.
Jiang Jin was looking at a map and raised her head to glance at him. Mhm. Is it still about twelve hundred miles from here to Gefeng?
In truth, the straight-line distance wasn't that far. It was just that the roads in this era were winding and twisting. Having to navigate around mountains and rivers made the route exceptionally long.
