Qiao Yan reached out, mimicking the action of casting a net, to catch the signal that flickered in the night.

At the lookout post high in the mountains, after the Black Mountain bandits’ group passed by, a brief flash of firelight was sent out.

At that moment, the Black Mountain bandits were heading down the mountain, not noticing the brief signal sent to the county town from the higher ground.

Qiao Yan saw the signal.

When she raised her hand, the county officers waiting outside the county office for her signal immediately ran off to quickly deliver the orders issued by the county magistrate.

The previous disaster had made the people of Le Ping County highly value this potentially life-saving grain.

So, when Qiao Yan mentioned the Black Mountain bandits’ impending attack, they were not only filled with righteous indignation, ready to fight up the mountain,

But also, after being informed of the bandits’ scouting activities by Qiao Yan, they proactively formed a night patrol team.

As soon as they received news of the bandits’ attack from Qiao Yan, they would quickly wake their companions, forming a militia of a thousand strong young men.

As these Black Mountain bandits descended from the White Dragon Pass,

Reaching the southernmost part of Le Ping County,

It might have seemed like the town was silent and defenseless in the night.

In reality, people in soft-soled shoes had created a state of secret activity in the streets and alleys.

Coincidentally, the granary was located at the southern end of the town, effectively preventing any noise from reaching the ears of the bandits as they climbed over the town walls.

Zhang Niujiao, the bandit leader, looked north and recalled Chu Yan’s repeated reminders before their departure.

He put aside his thoughts of raiding the county office and Qiao Yan’s residence, and headed straight for the most conspicuous grain warehouse.

The grain warehouse was not newly built.

It was an existing storage building about 20 to 30 meters in both length and width.

After clearing out the discarded items, it became the perfect place to store grains.

As Zhang Niujiao approached, he smelled a strong scent of alcohol.

Two lanterns were hanging by the warehouse entrance, clearly illuminating the area.

There were originally two guards at the entrance, but now both were obviously very drunk.

Aside from two half-finished wine jars spilled at the door, spreading the smell of alcohol, one of the guards seemed heavily intoxicated.

Due to the summer heat and the effects of the alcohol, he had removed his shirt and was lying on his back in a distant patch of grass.

The other guard, holding an empty wine bowl, had also passed out drunk.

At the bottom of the steps, Zhang Niujiao picked up a broken piece of the wine jar from the ground.

He poured the remaining wine, illuminated by the moonlight, into his mouth and tasted it.

“Dammit, we’re eating grass in the mountains while these people are drinking wine,” he grumbled, annoyed.

He didn’t regret that there was so little wine left.

Just as he was starting to taste the rich flavor, the wine on the shard was gone.

But even a small amount was enough for him to confirm that this wine was much better than any he had ever tasted.

He couldn’t help but think to himself that these people were not only well-stocked with grain, but even the guards were so lax that they were getting drunk without anyone noticing.

This worked in his favor, though!

Chu Yan was overly cautious about the county lord of Le Ping County.

No matter how much that young county lord had outshined others in debates with the Great Sage Zhang Jiao, he couldn’t escape the flaws of those high-born nobles.

Moreover, she was too young, which led to negligence in the county’s defenses.

Zhang Niujiao grabbed the keys from the fallen guard’s waist and kicked him in the head to ensure he wouldn’t wake up soon.

He then unlocked the warehouse door.

Inside the warehouse, after leaving pathways for movement, sacks of grain were piled high, tightly packed together.

As soon as the door opened, he could smell the rich scent of the grain.

This aroma quickly dispersed the smell of alcohol at the entrance.

He quickly signaled to his men, and the strong young men who had followed him stepped forward to start carrying the grain sacks.

In the Han Dynasty, a “shi” (a unit of measurement) was about 27 kilograms.

Zhang Niujiao had brought mostly strong laborers to carry the heavy sacks, but even the strongest among them could only carry three to five shi each.

With over a thousand men accompanying him, they could only carry away about one-fifth of the grain in the warehouse in one trip.

Fortunately, they had more troops waiting to help, and they had also brought the carts they had looted from other places to transport the grain.

They would just have to make a few more trips!

Despite this, Zhang Niujiao couldn’t help but feel a pang of resentment.

If it weren’t for Qiao Yan and others like Huangfu Song and Lu Zhi, who had driven them to this point and ruined the Great Sage’s reputation as a miraculous healer, he wouldn’t have had so few men to rally for this raid.

Out of the five thousand people he had convinced, some stayed behind, some couldn’t travel at night, and women, children, and the elderly were excluded.

After also excluding those who were positioned to provide support from above, he was left with only a small number of men.

The lack of manpower had added so much work for him, which was truly frustrating!

However, seeing that the southern gate of the county town had been opened by his men, revealing a clear path for transporting the grain, Zhang Niujiao felt a bit more satisfied.

No matter how clever that young county lord was, she would still face the reality of a stolen grain warehouse and the disappearance of thirty thousand shi of grain by morning.

If it were daytime, due to the unique terrain of Le Ping, they would have been spotted while still on the hillside and could have been intercepted by the townspeople forming a spontaneous militia on the city walls.

But at night—

With the lax defense, he could easily take this grain without any hesitation!

As they made two trips, loading nearly half of the grain carts they had brought, Zhang Niujiao felt an increasing sense of impending victory.

Although the repeated trips up and down the mountain were tiring for him and his strong men, just two or three more trips would completely empty the grain warehouse.

This amazing haul put him in a very good mood.

He even considered pushing the carts out of Le Ping County for easier loading but dismissed the idea after hearing the wheels’ noise.

To be safe, they would make a few more trips.

After eating a bread roll to regain some energy, he headed back down the mountain.

However, he didn’t notice that, on the way from Hengling to Bailong Road, several pairs of eyes were watching their movements clearly under the bright moonlight from Yama’s Cliff.

Cheng Li silently signaled Bao Hong, indicating that they should attack when the bandits came back up.

Bao Hong’s heart was racing.

Earlier, when Qiao Yan mentioned the “Hero’s Wine,” he thought it meant he would have to fight the bandits and reluctantly showed his reluctance.

He couldn’t see how their numbers could match the Black Mountain bandits, thinking they were at a disadvantage.

But now he realized—

Maybe they could win!

Due to the thirty thousand shi of grain, the available fighting force in Le Ping County had significantly increased.

The Black Mountain bandits, not exceeding Qiao Yan’s estimated numbers, had already exhausted some of their energy with two trips as porters.

Not to mention, the ambushers held the advantage of striking first!

At this moment, Bao Hong put aside his earlier reluctance and instead focused on whether completing this difficult escort mission and simultaneously fighting the bandits could earn him some military achievements and reputation.

This would be a reward for the psychological pressure he had endured along the way!

With this in mind, Bao Hong gripped his dagger and, under Cheng Li’s command, slowly descended from the high ground, lurking in a position ready to attack along Bailong Road.

When he heard footsteps approaching along the mountain path, his mood calmed.

This ambush had to be flawless.

Fortunately—

The third trip to transport grain not only exhausted Zhang Niujiao physically but also made him somewhat neglectful of observing the surroundings on both sides of the mountain road,

As he was overjoyed by the progress and scornful of the people being looted, who were defenseless.

However, as they were carrying the sacks of rice up the mountain path, a sudden burst of noisy shouts and cries erupted from the middle of their group.

Drums and gongs rang out!

To make the two hundred men led by Bao Hong seem like two thousand, Qiao Yan had instructed them to bring every instrument in the county capable of making noise up the mountain.

But perhaps such a grand show of support wasn’t necessary.

The previous successes had made Zhang Niujiao and his companions underestimate Le Ping.

They had all regarded Le Ping as an easy target for looting.

However, reality was often more cruel than imagined.

Now, in the darkness, it was impossible to discern how many attackers there were.

Zhang Niujiao whipped around, but in an instant, their formation had descended into chaos.

Carrying grain sacks was different from marching in formation.

Their formation was already stretched due to the nature of transporting goods, and in the sudden attack, they momentarily forgot whether to run forward with the grain or drop everything and draw their weapons.

This hesitation cost them the initiative.

Bao Hong’s force, numbering just over two hundred, belonged to the elite Northern Army of the Han Dynasty and was not on the same level as these bandits in terms of combat effectiveness.

In a desperate situation, Bao Hong might have to worry about the fighting morale of his men under extreme circumstances, but now the situation was different.

With the bandits’ forces already scattered, it was better to flee than to regroup and counterattack.