That very night, Zhang Liang went to Man Cang and collected two crates of flash bombs.
The next day, several hundred male and female escorts set off from West River Bay, Cat Cat Mountain, Iron Jar Mountain, and other places, heading straight for Black Water Gully.
By afternoon the troops had assembled at Black Water Gully. At nightfall they launched a fierce assault.
The pitiful Black Water Gully bandits had never seen anything like flash bombs.
The first wave blinded ninety-nine percent of them.
These escorts had all undergone Zhang Liang’s rigorous training. Even a direct attack would have let several hundred escorts take Black Water Gully.
Now that the bandits were blind, it was no contest.
The battle ended in less than half an hour.
Apart from two female soldiers who were stabbed by blinded bandits while tying them up, not a single escort died.
The fall of Black Water Gully meant every large bandit force in Jin Chuan County had been wiped out.
Jin Feng not only rescued several hundred “meat horses”, he also seized huge amounts of grain from the three big bandit lairs.
On the same day Zhang Liang attacked Black Water Gully, the newly appointed county lieutenant led prefectural troops to raid the family homes of Master Zhu and Master Peng.
Master Zhu and Master Peng had plotted to murder Jin Feng, a noble. The evidence was ironclad. Under Da Kang law, their three clans faced execution.
Those clans had been the source of the two masters’ power and the ones who shared the people’s fat. Jin Feng could not be bothered to ask their final fate. He put all his energy into the coal mine outside Black Water Gully.
All the captured bandits were sent to Black Water Gully and began digging under Old He’s supervision.
At the same time, a message started spreading across Jin Chuan County.
Master Jin of West River Bay had destroyed Black Water Gully and Tiger Head Mountain, and driven off Double Camel Peak. From now on, Jin Chuan would never again suffer bandits collecting annual tribute.
If anyone spotted bandits, they could report to West River Bay. West River Bay would send escorts to wipe them out, and thirty percent of the bounty would go to the informant.
The people of Jin Chuan had suffered bandits for who knows how many years. When this news broke, the whole county erupted.
Countless commoners cheered and danced. At home they set up longevity tablets for Jin Feng and worshipped him as a god.
West River Bay became a holy place in the hearts of Jin Chuan’s people.
Fewer families dragged their children along to seek refuge at West River Bay, but ever more groups arrived looking for work.
This gave West River Bay plenty of labour.
It must be said, plunder is the fastest way to gain wealth.
This time, the banknotes and silver seized from County Lieutenant Zhao and the Black Water Gully bandits totalled more than fifteen thousand taels. With money in hand, Jin Feng naturally refused to let silver rust in storage. He stepped up veteran recruitment and sped up construction at West River Bay.
Besides opening two new brick kilns by the river, he built another two lime kilns and cement kilns near Long Snake Gully.
Sites that had progressed slowly before now sped up visibly thanks to the flood of workers. Things changed almost daily.
Beyond West River Bay, Jin Feng planned to build small fortresses like mini gate towers on every mountain road that led directly to West River Bay or Guan Family Village, equip them with heavy crossbows and catapults, and completely protect both villages.
That way, sneak attacks would never happen again.
With Old He watching Black Water Gully, Jin Feng stayed only a few days, gave some instructions, then returned to West River Bay and buried himself in the laboratory until Qing Mulán dragged him out.
“Sir, news from the capital.”
“How did it go?” Jin Feng asked urgently.
After returning from Guangyuan, he had worked overtime with Guan Xiaorou and Wan Niang to rush a batch of special soap, ready to send to the imperial palace for Consort Qing.
Unfortunately, the power struggle in the capital had dragged on. Jin Feng feared the Zhou family would sabotage him, so the plan kept getting delayed.
If the soap reached Consort Qing and made a name, only for sales in the capital to be blocked, it would be embarrassing.
“What else could happen? Zhou Wenyuan and his guards killed city defence troops for no reason. They were clearly in the wrong.
The Guangyuan prefect sent a memorial every day begging His Majesty for justice, and the Zhou family’s enemies piled on. The Zhou family had to back down.”
Qing Mulán continued, “Sir, you don’t know how much the Zhou family bled this time. Not only did they agree to our Qing family’s terms…”
Jin Feng cut her off and asked directly, “I don’t care what they promised others. I only want to know, if I sell soap in the capital, will the Zhou family cause trouble?”
Actually, Jin Feng was in the right, but being right does not always get things done.
The Zhou family’s power was too great, and Jin Feng had no foundation in the capital. They could choke him with the slightest effort.
“Relax. This was one of the concessions our Qing family and the Guangyuan prefect demanded. The Zhou family promised they will never trouble you or the prefect over this matter,” Qing Mulán replied.
“The Zhou family won’t go back on their word, will they?” Jin Feng asked. “They say they won’t make trouble now, then sabotage me the moment the soap reaches the capital.”
“Don’t worry, sir. They won’t.”
Qing Mulán said, “A great clan like the Zhou family values reputation highly. Normally they won’t break promises, or next time nobody will trust them. For a clan, that is fatal.
The Zhou family won’t damage centuries of prestige for one Zhou Wenyuan.
If you’re still uneasy, sir, you can store the soap at our Qing family shops for sale.”
“That’s good!”
Only then did Jin Feng relax.
“By the way, apart from that, I heard another piece of news.”
Qing Mulán said, “Autumn harvest is almost here. I hear the court will issue new tax notices in the next few days.”
“What do they say?” Jin Feng asked.
Although they had heard rumours the court might raise taxes, until the official notice came, it was only guesswork. The real situation would follow the formal announcement.
“What else? Just as we guessed. Autumn taxes will rise by ten percent this year.”
Qing Mulán said helplessly.
“Alas, how will the people live?”
Jin Feng sighed weakly.
He was now a noble. Deep down, Jin Feng still hoped Da Kang would develop steadily, so he could enjoy the pleasures of privilege and wealth.
If the realm fell into chaos, even princes could not guarantee safety tomorrow. Who would care about a minor Qingshui Baron like him?
Sadly, such things were beyond his control. All he could do was grow stronger as fast as possible. If chaos ever came, he needed enough power to protect himself, his family, and his friends.
Thinking of this, Jin Feng felt even more pressed for time. He shouted toward the door, telling the old soldier on guard to fetch Zhang Liang and Tang Xiaobei at once.
