The bandits from Black Water Village, whose morale had already been shattered by Ye Chen, scattered like unorganized soldiers upon encountering the formidable Yunzhou army. They had no desire to resist any longer.
They threw away their helmets and armor, fleeing in all directions. As the saying goes, “When disaster strikes, everyone runs away.” The bandits fled east, south, west, and north, leaving their fellow bandits behind to be slain by the Yunzhou soldiers.
The Yunzhou army immediately began the pursuit, but bandits are notoriously hard to catch. While bandits might be poor at fighting, they excel at fleeing!
Unlike Black Water Village, the Yunzhou army was disciplined. Under their respective generals, they pursued the fleeing bandits in an orderly fashion.
Ye Chen ordered, “Leave not a single one alive!”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
The Yunzhou soldiers, filled with fighting spirit, charged forward once again, killing every bandit they encountered.
The bandits, now teetering on the edge of death, desperately scrambled down the mountain, no longer displaying their previous arrogance.
In just the time it takes to burn an incense stick, Ye Chen had personally eradicated all the bandits within Black Water Village.
At this moment, Lao Huang approached Ye Chen and reported:
“Your Highness, our men pursued the bandits with all their might and managed to kill all of them, but a small group managed to escape from Yunzhou Mountain.”
Ye Chen sighed, “It’s fine. It was a spontaneous decision; achieving such results is already quite good.”
Lao Huang immediately praised, “This is all thanks to Your Highness’s unmatched prowess. The men merely helped in mopping up.”
Ye Chen waved his hand, clearly not impressed by the flattery:
“What about our casualties?”
Lao Huang, clearly delighted, replied:
“Thanks to Your Highness’s decisive actions within Black Water Village, the bandits were routed, and our men only sustained three injuries. The rest are all unharmed and even eager to continue pursuing the bandits.”
Ye Chen nodded:
“Let those few remaining bandits go. The brothers have been involved in fighting Black Wind Village last night and Black Water Village today. They must be exhausted.”
“Send orders to reward the entire army tomorrow!”
Lao Huang was thrilled and responded immediately, “Thank you, Your Highness!”
“Kill them all!”
At this point, a grand battle cry came from the foot of the mountain.
Ye Chen turned to look; the fleeing Black Water bandits, now numbering a few hundred, were running back up the mountain.
He wondered: Could these bandits be crazy? How dare they come back?
Lao Huang looked carefully and pointed excitedly at the base of the mountain:
“Your Highness, another group is pursuing these bandits. They’ve caught up with them.”
Ye Chen looked closely and realized it was Li Xiaoyang, dressed in red with a fluttering robe, leading the people from Li Family Village in pursuing the bandits from Black Water Village. They had already reached halfway up the mountain.
“Support them!”
Ye Chen immediately picked up his weapon and charged down the mountain, shouting:
“Brothers, clean up these Black Water bandits. Leave none alive!”
Under Ye Chen’s lead, over four thousand Yunzhou soldiers quickly reformed, armed themselves, and surged forward.
Clang! Clang!
Before long, the Yunzhou soldiers were engaged in battle with the Black Water bandits.
The Black Water bandits, having undergone two previous retreats and a collapse in morale, no longer had the ability to resist.
On the other hand, the Yunzhou soldiers, cutting down bandits one by one, were increasingly excited and felt unsatisfied even after killing all the Black Water bandits.
Li Xiaoyang, halfway up the mountain, noticed Ye Chen, clad in a dazzling armor and wielding a long blade, leading the Yunzhou army and issuing commands.
Li Xiaoyang was shocked, thinking Ye Chen was just a minor soldier in the Yunzhou army, not realizing his high status.
Li Xiaoyang, now somewhat awkward, carefully asked:
“May I ask which general in the Yunzhou army is Lord Ye Chen?”
“Haha, this lady really lacks insight. Don’t you know our lord’s identity yet?”
Zhang Zhi laughed, and Lao Huang also smiled in understanding.
Then Zhao Yun cupped his hands in salute and introduced:
“This is our Yunzhou army’s commander, Prince Ye Chen of the Chu Kingdom.”
“It was under Prince Ye Chen’s leadership that we repelled the main force of the Tu Man, and eradicated the Black Wind Village and Black Water Village.”
The Seventh Prince Ye Chen?
Li Xiaoyang was taken aback to learn that the person they had previously captured and brought back to Li Family Village was indeed the legendary Yunzhou general, the Seventh Prince of Chu, Ye Chen. She quickly knelt and bowed:
“I, Li Xiaoyang, greet Your Highness. I apologize for any previous rudeness and hope for Your Highness’s forgiveness.”
Ye Chen hurried over, grasped Li Xiaoyang’s hand, and helped her up, feeling her slight tremor.
“Don’t mention it, Big Boss. Your Li Family Village truly stands out in Yunzhou Mountain. Although you are bandits, you do not act like typical bandits and are self-sufficient. I have great admiration for you.”
“Just mountain folk doing farm work. Your Highness need not be so courteous.”
Li Xiaoyang seemed hesitant, wanting to say something but stopping short.
Ye Chen, understanding her unspoken words, looked at the people from Li Family Village. Indeed, some of them looked quite capable.
Ye Chen then said, “How many combat-capable members are there in Li Family Village? They can join the Yunzhou army, and the rest can settle in Yunzhou City. How does that sound?”
“This?” Li Xiaoyang was initially stunned but then filled with joy. She had only hoped for their people to be accepted into the Yunzhou army, never expecting Ye Chen to also offer to let the ordinary villagers settle in Yunzhou City. Li Xiaoyang felt a bit embarrassed.
“Thank you, Your Highness!”
Ye Chen waved his hand and then turned to Lao Huang:
“Invite Li Family Village to the victory banquet tomorrow night as a welcome for their joining.”
Lao Huang was pleased to have new members in the team, especially as the young people from Li Family Village were all spirited and seemed like good recruits.
As night fell and dawn approached, Yunzhou City was filled with a special kind of festive atmosphere for the new day.
“Yunzhou army has broken Black Wind Village and Black Water Village!”
“Lord Ye Chen single-handedly stormed the two major bandit villages, taking the enemy’s head in the midst of ten thousand troops!”
“Lord Ye Chen led the Yunzhou army of five thousand to annihilate twenty thousand bandits in Yunzhou Mountain!”
“Lord Ye Chen has declared no more taxes for Yunzhou from now on!”
The news of Ye Chen leading the Yunzhou army to eradicate the bandits spread like wildfire from the government office. Anyone who heard it immediately spread the word.
Furthermore, Ye Chen’s decision to exempt the people of Yunzhou from taxes made his name ring throughout the streets and alleys.
In no time, Ye Chen became a household name and a celebrated hero in Yunzhou City.
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