The bandit leader was no weakling, but it was worth noting that despite Zhang Liao’s family having changed their surname and concealed their identity, they were originally from a prestigious clan with substantial assets even to this day.

This background had provided him with teachings in martial arts far beyond what could be learned in the wild.

With one decisive blow, Zhang Liao succeeded.

He watched as the bandit leader fell lifeless to the ground and promptly severed his head.

The smooth execution of the leader did not evoke any sense of satisfaction in the young man.

He grabbed the head by its hair, stepped out of the camp gate, and loudly proclaimed, “The bandit leader is dead! Quickly, eliminate the bandits!”

Zhang Yang had already set fires in multiple places around the camp.

The flames spread rapidly through the gathering of over five hundred people.

Now, upon hearing the news of Zhang Liao’s success, he pulled out a copper gong from his paper armor and struck it fiercely twice.

The sound reverberated with a penetrating force even greater than Zhang Liao’s proclamation of the leader’s demise.

Already startled by the fires, the bandits first heard news of their leader’s death and then saw a severed head plummet down from the sky, allowing them to identify their leader.

This caused immediate chaos among their ranks.

Just then, amidst the confusion, the loud noise made it difficult for them not to suspect that soldiers were coming up the mountain.

Yet, in the darkness lit by flames, distinguishing friend from foe was challenging.

Additionally, some were ablaze, thrashing about and adding to the disorder, making it impossible to discern the exact situation.

With Zhang Liao holding the bandit leader’s head and Zhang Yang wielding the copper gong, both now free of their initial tasks, they drew their swords and began attacking.

Some who had initially had a chance to regroup and escape the fire panicked upon hearing cries in the distance and inadvertently turned on each other in self-defense.

However, the one they attacked was skilled in combat and swiftly retaliated with his blade.

Given their accustomed brutality from years of pillaging, despite striking later, he decisively felled his aggressor.

In the chaotic scene, this fatal blow not only ended his opponent’s life but also sealed his own fate.

No one knew who had started the fire or who had killed the leader.

Although they knew that suspicion should fall first on the two who had come up the mountain in broad daylight, the closest witnesses saw this person as the one who killed their brother.

Faced with such chaos, whether he should protect himself or be the instigator of this incident, there was really no need to distinguish.

In the eyes of those who wanted to survive, he was just a butcher holding a knife.

Immediately, they rushed at him and knocked him down.

That was just one instance.

They did notice what Zhang Liao and Zhang Yang were up to, but their martial prowess was unmatched by these disorganized mountain bandits.

If these people could line up quickly, it would be better, but now some wanted to flee, some were causing internal strife.

Zhang Liao had no time to answer him.

Facing this group of mountain bandits, the two of them had the upper hand, not as difficult as he had originally estimated.

Even some bandits who escaped the fire fell down the cliff in the difficult night, reducing the number of targets they needed to cut down.

But this did not mean that what they were doing now was just cutting vegetables.

Zhang Liao had never faced such an intense battlefield before.

At this moment, he realized that relying solely on brute force to knock down opponents was obviously not a long-term solution.

He was young, and his hands holding the knife were shaking a little.

Fortunately, his opponents did not notice this weakness.

Before he felt he could hardly lift the knife, these bandits only saw blood splattering on the youth’s face, like a wolf cub biting the throat of its prey and never letting go.

And now they were the prey.

With more and more casualties on their side, and clearly hearing the situation of others in the camp, they only had one word in their hearts.

Escape!

Seeing these bandits lose their courage to fight and flee, Zhang Liao couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

If these people continued to fight him, although he thought If he continued to fight, he would really expose his weaknesses.

Fortunately, in a narrow path, the brave prevail, and he stood victorious in the end.

As these panicked mountain bandits chose to flee, he and Zhang Yang immediately chased after them, swiftly withdrawing from the scene of the fire, and then—

They waited on the road downhill from their campsite.

aHere, they would complete the final harvest.

Even if there were those fortunate enough to escape, there were likely not many.

The two glanced at each other, suddenly feeling a sense of indomitable courage.

Two days later, chaos erupted in the city of Jinyang.

A youth, still covered in residual blood, carrying a bundle with several heads, appeared before the governor of Bingzhou, newly arrived in Jinyang.

The killer pays with his life, but the one who eliminates thieves is hailed as a hero.

County officials came out to inspect and found that these were indeed the bandits from the mountains.

Moreover, someone arrived in Jinyang just after Zhang Liao, reporting astonishing news.

A fire had broken out in the mountains of Yunzhong the previous night.

Due to the steep terrain, it wasn’t until daylight that people went up the mountain and discovered that the fire had started right at the bandit camp.

Dozens of people in the camp had been burned to death, and there were hundreds of thieves killing each other.

Many had fallen off cliffs to their deaths, and others had been killed on the mountain road down by blades.

Among those who survived, many sought refuge in the county town below the mountain and were promptly apprehended.

The bandits who had brought disaster to the region had been wiped out!

And now, this youth who had eliminated the bandits stood before the governor’s mansion, or rather the provincial government, with a faint weariness in his eyes and a remarkable determination in his voice, saying, “In the governor’s eyes, I may be young, but even the young can rid the land of thieves. I wonder what you have to say now?”

What could the governor, Zhang Yi, who was now inside the provincial government, say in response to this?

As Zhang Liao and Zhang Yang set off for Mount Yunzhong, Zhang Yi had already arrived in Jinyang.

At that moment, Jiao Yan stood on the tower and watched clearly as the other side rode into the city.

Judging by appearances alone, Jiao Yan could easily conclude that this was a genuine civil official, albeit one with a somewhat mild demeanor.

But it wouldn’t be appropriate to relax vigilance just because the other was a civil official.

There was the precedent of Liu Biao, who rode alone into Jingzhou as the Inspector of Jingzhou and made a name for himself.

Who knew if Zhang Yi could also manage the various factions within Bingzhou properly?

Just because he met his end at the hands of the Southern Xiongnu didn’t mean they should dismiss him as useless.

However, Jiao Yan actually hoped he was useless.

The small territory of Leping couldn’t accommodate these talents she valued, like Zhang Liao, who needed border warfare to sharpen his skills.

Training such talents in Leping’s mountainous environment would truly be a waste, so for now, she had to reluctantly abandon her plans to win them over.

Didn’t she want brilliant talents in her grasp?

Didn’t she want to possess the entire county of Leping?

Only by putting Zhang Yi at a disadvantage could she smoothly carry out her plan to replace him.

And for all this to happen, a suitable opportunity was needed.

Considering all this, Jiao Yan pondered.

Then, upon hearing that Xu Fu had brought Zhang Yang to report that Zhang Liao had already arrived at the provincial government’s gate, she didn’t show the slightest sign of relaxation when she made her move on the chessboard in front of her.

With the move made, a clear and resolute knock echoed out.

Jiao Yan raised her gaze to look at Xi Zhicai and asked, “In your opinion, how will Zhang Yi handle this?”

Zhang Liao—a young man who had just killed a gang of mountain bandits, a roughneck, and a reserve for capable generals.

Facing such a figure, every word Zhang Yi uttered would serve as Jiao Yan’s basis for evaluating him.