Practical combat is the best way to temper an army and its commanders.
Over the past few months, Tie Niu had been constantly campaigning outside, exterminating various bandit groups that dared to provoke the Zhen Yuan Escort Agency.
The second battalion suffered the highest casualty rate before the Jiangnan ambush, yet it was also the battalion that grew the fastest.
This time, when Jin Feng took escorts to Xichuan, a large portion came from the second battalion.
When Zhang Liang formed the Black Armour Battle Team, more than half of its members were also from the second battalion.
Tie Niu was no longer the dull, simple-minded giant he once was. He had been forged into a qualified commander.
Apart from his ruthless methods, Tie Niu had also become much more meticulous.
This bandit attack clearly had someone scheming behind it.
On the way here, Tie Niu maintained high alertness the entire time. He sent out all his scouts ahead to probe the path, fearing an enemy ambush.
Yet they walked all the way to the outskirts of Shuang Tuo Peak without even spotting a shadow of the enemy.
This made Tie Niu feel faintly uneasy in his heart. He even began to suspect whether he had overthought things earlier.
Could it be that no one was scheming at all, and the bandits were simply here for revenge?
After all, since the Zhen Yuan Escort Agency was established, they had offended far too many bandit groups.
Right now, the several thousand people mining coal in Hei Shui Gou were all captured bandits.
But since they had already arrived here, no matter what, they had to fight this battle.
With this thought, Tie Niu’s gaze turned fierce. He turned and shouted, “Second platoon and third platoon, put on armour! Everyone else, stay alert!”
“Yes!”
The escorts responded in unison and immediately sprang into action.
The pre-selected elites began donning armour, while the rest raised crossbows and aimed at the surroundings.
Taking advantage of this moment, Tie Niu gathered his company commanders and platoon leaders for a brief pre-battle meeting.
“I feel something is off. When the fight starts, if everything is normal, follow the original plan. Kill as many enemies as possible!”
Tie Niu reminded them, “But if the enemy has a trick, do not get entangled. Immediately lead your men to rendezvous at Shuang Tuo Peak. Understood?”
He still felt something was wrong, so he reminded them again.
Otherwise, once the chaos of battle began, it would be very difficult to withdraw in time if something went awry.
“Understood!”
The company and platoon leaders all nodded.
With just over a hundred men, they dared to come here precisely because Shuang Tuo Peak was their confidence.
If they could win, they would fight. If not, they could retreat to Shuang Tuo Peak.
After the second and third platoons finished donning black armour, they formed a combat formation and advanced out of the mountain path.
On the open ground below Shuang Tuo Peak, the bandits did not flee. Instead, they gathered according to their own mountain groups, forming several loose square formations and preparing for battle.
This time, the powerful figures had truly invested heavily. Chen Shiye had gone to incite the bandits carrying entire chests of silver coins.
These bandits were not from Guangyuan, but their lairs were all along Zhang Liang’s return route. Hearing that Zhang Liang had been exterminating bandits along the way, they were already afraid. With the added stimulation of silver, Chen Shiye easily persuaded them.
Upon reaching Shuang Tuo Peak, Chen Shiye did not order them to launch a strong assault. Instead, he had them rob the salt-transporting merchants who came through.
Since Jin Feng began exterminating bandits, security in Jin Chuan had improved dramatically. Bandits rarely robbed on the roads anymore, and merchants no longer hired large numbers of guards.
Even the Jin Chuan Chamber of Commerce had reduced the number of escorting escorts.
Now, with a sudden group of bandits appearing, the merchants were caught completely off guard.
Not only were goods looted, but many people were also killed by the bandits.
A Jin Chuan Chamber of Commerce caravan was also robbed. The protecting squad was outnumbered and completely wiped out.
This initial victory made the bandits feel that the Zhen Yuan Escort Agency’s reputation was undeserved. They believed its fame was all exaggerated and that it was not actually that formidable.
So when Chen Shiye informed them that more than a hundred escorts were coming to reinforce Shuang Tuo Peak, the bandits were not afraid. Instead, they became excited.
“Brothers, kill one escort and get one tael of silver! Kill a squad leader for three taels, a platoon leader for five taels, and a company leader for ten taels!”
The bandit chiefs kept boosting their men’s morale. “We have more than six hundred men, and they only have a bit over a hundred. If you are slow, there will be none left!”
Chen Shiye had brought far too much silver. Killing any escort or Jin Chuan Chamber of Commerce worker would allow them to exchange the victims’ tooth plaques for silver.
After the previous battle, Chen Shiye’s men had paid out on the spot as promised.
This made the bandits look at the escorts the same way they looked at silver.
Before the escorts could even get close, the bandits rushed forward in a frenzy, competing to be first.
They feared that if they were slow, someone else would kill an escort and claim the reward.
Then, they witnessed the true combat power of the Zhen Yuan Escort Agency.
In the previous fight, they had only killed a single squad of escorts. Those men had not even had time to form a combat formation before the bandits divided and slaughtered them one by one.
Now, facing a properly organised combat formation with impenetrable black armour, the escorts’ long-honed coordination shone brilliantly.
The bandits’ actions were nothing more than moths flying into flames. One charge, one death.
Soon, a layer of corpses piled up in front of the escort square.
Even so, stimulated by the silver, more and more bandits kept coming.
At that moment, the escorts brought out hand grenades.
Even veteran plateau cavalry had been terrified by the power of hand grenades, let alone a rabble like this.
The bandits, who had been so aggressive just moments ago, were now so frightened that they nearly wet themselves. One by one, they turned and fled.
But by then, it was already too late to run. The escort platoon leader stationed at Shuang Tuo Peak had received a pigeon message long ago. He gathered all the off-duty escorts on rotation.
Seeing the bandits trying to flee, he immediately led his men down from the mountain and used heavy crossbows to seal off the bandits’ retreat.
Without terrain advantage at the foot of the mountain, and with the bandits still holding a numerical superiority, they could have broken out if they had united.
But their courage had been shattered, and they were not even from the same mountain group. Unity was impossible.
Hundreds of bandits were held back by just a few dozen escorts!
The news that the Zhen Yuan Escort Agency did not kill captives had long spread throughout the martial world.
When the bandits realised they could not escape, someone took the lead, and they all threw down their weapons, squatted with heads in hands, and allowed the escorts to tie them up.
Such a minor matter naturally did not require Tie Niu’s involvement. He held a single-tube telescope and slowly scanned the surroundings.
“Camp Commander, I told you they were a rabble, and you scolded me. Now it seems you were just scaring yourself!”
After the victory, a company commander who was on good terms with Tie Niu came up and bumped his shoulder playfully.
In truth, Tie Niu still had some doubts in his heart, but the facts were right in front of him. The bandits truly had no trap.
Tie Niu put away the telescope and said, “Being cautious is never wrong.”
“Right, the Camp Commander speaks wisely.” The company commander nodded, then asked, “What do we do with these people? Send them to Hei Shui Gou?”
“Send them to Hei Shui Gou for what?”
Tie Niu’s gaze turned icy cold, and his words were even colder. “Interrogate them first. After the interrogation, hang them all!”
“Hang them all?!”
The company commander was startled. “Sir said we cannot kill captives. Is that not inappropriate?”
