At noon, Zhang Chen returned to the Prefect's Residence and went to the front hall to see Li Wen.
As soon as he entered, he saw that Zhang He was also there. Zhang Chen stepped forward to greet Li Wen, and just as he was about to exchange a few words with Zhang He, he saw Zhang He cup his hands in a salute and say, "Zhang He, your subordinate, greets the Prefect."
It turned out that Li Wen had summoned him and already told him about his impending transfer to Wuwei and that Zhang Chen would take over as Prefect of Wei Commandery.
Li Wen stroked his beard and smiled, "Zifan, although Junyi is young, he is a rare military talent. With him handling military affairs, you can be worry-free."
Zhang Chen also nodded and said, "Li Wen is absolutely right. In this relief of Yingtao County, Junyi was extremely brave, single-handedly taking down several enemy Generals. He truly earned the greatest merit!"
"It was all thanks to the Lord's planning. Zhang He dares not claim the merit."
"Hey, merit is merit," Li Wen said. "However, I have already stepped down. For matters of rewarding merit, you should find him. Ah? Hahahaha!"
"Lord! Lord!" Suddenly, a servant rushed in from outside the door.
Seeing the man's recklessness, Li Wen said with some displeasure, "What's wrong? Why are you so flustered? Can't you see both Lords are here? What kind of behavior is this!"
"Reporting to the Lord, there is a man outside the door who claims to be a servant of Zhongshan Zhen and requests to see the Lord. He said... his Miss was robbed by mountain bandits!"
"What!" Zhang Chen was immediately startled. "Quickly, call him in!"
Miss Zhen? Could it be Zhen Jiang?
Zhang Chen's heart was instantly clouded with gloom.
Before long, the servant led the man in.
As soon as the man saw Li Wen, he knelt down with a "thump".
"Lord Li! Please... please save my Miss. My Miss... she... she was carried off by mountain bandits!"
Upon seeing the man, Li Wen was also startled. He did indeed recognize the man; he was a servant of Zhen, named Zhen Wang.
Last year when he celebrated his birthday, the second Gongzi of Zhen came to offer congratulations and brought this person with him, which is why he had some impression.
"Explain more clearly, what exactly happened?"
It turned out that this Zhen Wang was none other than the carriage driver from earlier.
Just now, he had only been knocked unconscious by the mountain bandits. When he woke up, he found that Miss and Jinxiu, along with the carriage, were all gone. Only then did he realize something terrible had happened. So he quickly rushed back to the city, remembering that Lord Li had old ties with Zhen, and came to ask Lord Li to send troops to rescue them.
Immediately, Zhen Wang recounted everything that had happened that day in detail.
After listening, Zhang Chen's heart grew anxious. He quickly said, "Li Wen, this matter happened because of me. Today I met Miss Zhen in the market. If it weren't for me delaying them, they wouldn't have taken that small path. Please, Li Wen, give the order. I am willing to personally lead troops to rescue them!"
Seeing Zhang Chen's eagerness, Li Wen smiled and said, "Zifan, you are now the Prefect of Wei Commandery. The movement of troops is all up to you. Why ask me?"
Ah?!
Zhang Chen immediately came to his senses.
That's right, the appointment letter has already been issued. He is now the legitimate Prefect of Wei Commandery and naturally has the authority to mobilize troops. In his momentary panic, he had actually forgotten!
"Worry leads to confusion. It seems you are quite concerned about that girl from Zhen?"
"Li Wen, I..."
"Alright, hurry and send out the troops. Any later, I'm afraid something bad will happen." Li Wen's expression changed, and he said sternly, "Have Junyi go with you, and while you're at it, wipe out that band of mountain bandits who are harming the villagers!"
"Understood!"
Zhang Chen and Zhang He responded, then immediately left the residence and headed straight for the Military Camp.
Zhang He listened to Zhen Wang's description and knew that the mountain bandits were indeed the "Qingfeng Stronghold" nestled on Qingfeng Mountain in the eastern suburbs. The stronghold had three bosses, each highly skilled in martial arts, and over two thousand bandits. It was the strongest mountain bandit lair in the vicinity.
It was a pity that Gao Shun and the Trapped Camp were not here, otherwise dealing with these bandits would be a piece of cake!
Upon arriving at the camp, Zhang Chen immediately ordered someone to fetch a map to examine.
Zhang He pointed to the map and said, "Lord, this 'Qingfeng Stronghold' is divided into a front and back stronghold. The front stronghold is located at the foot of the mountain and has about fifteen hundred bandits. The back stronghold is ten li away on the mountainside, serving as a grain storage. Due to its strategic location, it is usually guarded by only over five hundred men. These bandits are very cunning. The authorities have besieged them several times, but the stronghold is backed by mountains, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. Furthermore, the back stronghold is located on higher ground. Once the government troops approach, they use whistling arrows to warn, making a surprise attack absolutely impossible!"
Zhang Chen carefully examined the terrain on the map, pondering in his heart.
Zhang He was right. The back stronghold was strategically located. The only path up the mountain was conveniently held by the front stronghold, making it impassable. The back stronghold stood on the mountainside, overlooking the area. Once a large army approached, within thirty li, they could be detected by the bandits, making it impossible to lie in wait.
The front stronghold, on the other hand, stood on the main road, easy to defend and difficult to attack. To capture it, one would need several times the enemy's force.
Ye City only had three thousand troops. It was no wonder that multiple campaigns had failed. But at this moment, it would be too late to transfer troops from Guangping County.
Zhen Jiang was currently in the bandits' hands. Every moment of delay meant one more minute of danger!
"Junyi, is there any other path leading to the back stronghold?"
Zhang He looked at the map, pondered for a while, then suddenly his eyes lit up. He said, "There is a path. Lord, please look."
Zhang He said, pointing along the map, "From here, climb up to this point. There is a secluded mountain path here that leads directly to the back stronghold!"
Zhang Chen slapped the table and said happily, "Good! If we can follow this path and take the back stronghold in one fell swoop, the bandits will surely be defeated!"
Upon hearing this, Zhang He immediately bowed and said, "Please give Zhang He five hundred armored Soldiers, Lord. Zhang He will surely capture the back stronghold. If I fail, I am willing to face military law!"
"Good!" Zhang Chen said. "Zhang He, listen to the order!"
"Zhang He is here!"
"I order you to lead five hundred Soldiers, disguised as civilians, to go in batches, prepare grappling hooks and ropes, climb up along the mountain path, launch a surprise attack on the back stronghold via the small path, and burn their grain!"
"Zhang He receives the order!"
"I will lead the army myself to feign an attack on the front stronghold. You and I will attack from front and back, capturing this gang of scoundrels in one go!"
Zhang Chen slammed his fist on the table with a "bang", a hint of killing intent appearing in his eyes.
Without further delay, the plan was settled. Zhang He immediately selected five hundred Soldiers, changed into civilian clothes with armor underneath, and carrying daggers and grappling hooks, left the camp directly and headed straight for Qingfeng Mountain.
Zhang Chen also selected two thousand elite cavalry and marched ostentatiously towards Qingfeng Stronghold.
Most of these elite cavalry had participated in the battle of Yingtao County. They had all seen blood by now and could truly be called elites.
Meanwhile, inside Qingfeng Stronghold, a group of bandits were feasting and celebrating.
A bandit held up a bowl and said to the bearded man sitting in the center main seat, "Boss, today is your big day! You must drink a few more cups with your brothers to celebrate getting such a delicate beauty, haha!"
"No problem, no problem!" The bearded man drained the wine in one gulp, then casually grabbed a chicken leg and chewed heartily.
"Brothers, don't be impatient. I said, tonight I will marry that young lady, and that little maid will be given to you to enjoy. But be careful, don't kill her. It's hard to find one of this quality!"
"Thank you, Boss! Hahahaha!"
"Come, brothers, drink!"
"Boss, tonight is your big day. How about calling the brothers from the back stronghold down to join in the fun?"
"Good, go! Tell all the brothers to come down, all of them! Tonight, we won't stop until we're drunk!"
"We won't stop until we're drunk!"
"We won't stop until we're drunk!"
...