The screams in the forest echoed continuously, and more than twenty people who had fled were killed, their bodies lying everywhere in the forest, blood flowing freely.
Soon, silence fell.
Guan Yu waved his hand and instructed the soldiers behind him to head towards the entrance of Wu Family Village.
Upon arriving, the battlefield had also fallen silent, with only bodies lying on both sides, blood staining the entire ground.
More than ten bandits were tied up with five flower knots.
Guan Yu rode forward, clasped his hands, and said loudly!
"Big Brother, the bandit leader has been executed, and no one escaped."
Liu Jin nodded slightly; dealing with these bandits was a piece of cake with fierce generals like Guan Yu and Zhang Fei.
Looking at the bodies on the entire battlefield, most were bandits, with the remaining being the able-bodied men of Wu Family Village.
Even though he had arrived quickly, more than thirty able-bodied men from Wu Family Village had died, and over ten were injured.
The soldiers he brought suffered no casualties, with only seven or eight sustaining minor injuries, which could be recovered with proper bandaging.
Overall, it was a great victory, at least completely annihilating these hundred-plus bandits.
He immediately said to Guan Yu and Zhang Fei!
"Yun Chang, Yide!"
"You two begin to clear the battlefield, collect all weapons. As for the bodies of these bandits, cut off their heads and keep them to be sent back to the Prefectural City later."
Both clasped their hands and bowed!
"Understood."
Just then, the old village chief, surrounded by dozens of people, came towards them, his face filled with gratitude, and immediately bowed and said!
"Thank you, Lord Liu, for killing these bandits and saving all the old and young in my village."
"Everyone in Wu Family Village thanks you here."
After saying this, he directly bent down and knelt on the ground, and the young, strong men behind him all followed, kneeling on one knee.
If Liu Jin had not led the officials and soldiers, their Wu Family Village would have been completely massacred by these bandits. It could be said that he saved hundreds of lives in their Wu Family Village.
Seeing this, Liu Jin quickly dismounted, helped the old man up, and gently comforted him!
"Everyone, please rise quickly. You are citizens of the Great Han, and as a Great Han official and soldier, I naturally must protect the country and its people, safeguard the common folk, and eliminate bandits."
Everyone was moved by these words. There were many Great Han officials and soldiers, but how many could protect the safety of the common people and eliminate bandits like Liu Jin?
Not extorting them was already considered very fortunate.
After the old village chief calmed down, he respectfully said!
"Lord Liu, this old man still wants to thank you all."
"Dusk is approaching. Please stay in the village tonight. I will do my best as a host to entertain you and thank you for your help this time."
Liu Jin looked up at the sky. The sun had already set, and it was twilight. He could still return to the military camp with a quick march.
However, this old village chief and the able-bodied men of Wu Family Village all wanted them to stay. Refusing would be rejecting their good intentions.
Additionally, he still wanted to inquire about the origin of these bandits to see if they could be uprooted and more military merits could be gained.
Killing these hundred-plus bandits was a good military merit, but it was still a bit small. It would probably be difficult to serve as a Military Marquis.
At the very least, he would need to behead several hundred and then give some money to the Prefect to possibly obtain the position of Military Marquis.
After a moment of thought, Liu Jin nodded and said with a smile!
"Since that is the case, then we will stay here for one day tonight. Please do not find it troublesome, Village Chief."
The old village chief heard this, quickly waved his hand, and politely said!
"General, there is no need to be polite. It is our good fortune to have you stay in Wu Family Village. This old man will now instruct them to prepare food."
After saying this, he immediately began to instruct the villagers to prepare food, making sure to entertain them well. After all, they were their saviors and should not be treated shabbily.
Liu Jin handed his horse to the soldier behind him and looked at the vast mountains before him, deep in thought.
His gaze suddenly swept across the distance, and he noticed the young man who had ridden a donkey to deliver the message. In his mind, this person was quite clever.
He even knew to divide the troops to encircle these bandits. If they had rushed in head-on, these bandits might have fled in disarray.
At least dozens would have escaped into the mountains, making it impossible for him to completely annihilate them.
He immediately waved his hand and said with a smile!
"Hey, kid, come here for a moment."
Wu Xing, who was still clearing bodies, heard Liu Jin call him, quickly wiped the blood from his hands, and walked over quickly, respectfully saying!
"May I ask, Tuncun, what do you need from me?"
Liu Jin scrutinized the young man before him. He had a handsome face and a strong physique, clearly a martial artist. It seemed he was a good candidate for a soldier.
After a moment of silence, he asked!
"Do you know where this group of bandits came from?"
Wu Xing heard this, immediately nodded, and explained!
"Tuncun, the area around our Liye Township is basically all vast mountains, part of a mountain range. Many people who couldn't survive became bandits."
"In the past, there were at least six or seven groups of bandits here, some with a dozen people, others with dozens. The official army came to suppress them several times, with very little success, and never completely wiped them out."
"About a year ago, the First Head of Wolf Head Mountain absorbed some of the surrounding bandits into his stronghold and reorganized it into something called Juxian Village."
"There are three main leaders. The scarred man who invaded our Wu Family Village is the Second Leader of Juxian Village, and he has over a hundred subordinates."
"Now, Juxian Village only has the First Head, Wang Shou, and the Third Head, Guo Dazhuang. The bandit subordinates under them should still number two to three hundred."
Liu Jin fell into contemplation upon hearing this. He hadn't expected these bandits to even organize something called Juxian Village.
It seemed the First Head had considerable ambition, wanting to expand and achieve glory.
However, bandits were ultimately bandits. They would only hide in the mountains. Even if they recruited a thousand people, if they dared to come out, they would surely be annihilated by the official army.
Now that the stronghold only had two to three hundred people left, their strength was not very strong. It seemed he had to find a way to deal with these bandits and keep these merits in his hands.
Especially since the scarred man had now been wiped out by him, the bandits of Juxian Village definitely did not know about this and were still relaxed and unsuspecting.
He could take advantage of this opportunity to sneak up the mountain. With Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and these hundred-plus officials and soldiers, they could definitely wipe out these bandits in a surprise attack.
If the news spread and the bandits of Juxian Village learned about this, they would probably be scared stiff, close their mountain gates, fearing that the official army would come to suppress them.
So, in a short time, he only had this one chance.
After a moment of thought, a look of joy appeared in Liu Jin's eyes.
There were still a few captives left. He would have them lead him up the mountain.
Under the name of the scarred man, they would open the mountain gate. Once inside the stronghold, without barriers, these people would be lambs to the slaughter.