When three thousand, or perhaps even more, people spoke together, their collective shout of “We are willing to go” became a powerful, indistinct roar. Yet, amidst this cacophony, the words “Lord” stood out clearly.

A “Lord” is a respected title for a Marquis, but in these times, how many people are addressed with such reverence by their subordinates?

Wei Ji forced himself to suppress his shock and looked towards Qiao Yan.

He saw the young girl in black and red standing firm at the front, unmoved by the thunderous voices around her.

He had originally come to ensure that Qiao Yan wouldn’t go back on her promise to him and to guide the soldiers accompanying him to eliminate bandits.

He never expected to witness such a scene.

Unless seen with one’s own eyes, it’s hard to realize that this wasn’t merely driven by the lure of wealth.

There was also a nearly self-sacrificing loyalty to a worthy leader.

Wei Ji had no doubt that even if the Wei family in Hedong offered better terms, it wouldn’t be more enticing than the system Qiao Yan had established.

This kind of influence is formidable even in someone in their twenties or thirties, let alone—Qiao Yan was only thirteen.

“Under such fame, there are no false talents…” This was what Wei Ji had thought when he first met Qiao Yan.

Now, he couldn’t help but murmur it aloud.

On the way to Hedong, he couldn’t help but ask, “Has your Lord Qiao always been like this?”

“What do you mean by ‘always like this’?” Zhang Yang replied.

For this battle, which was a face-to-face confrontation, Qiao Yan decisively chose Zhao Yun as the main commander and Zhang Yang as the deputy.

Chu Yan stayed behind to guard Bingzhou County, leading soldiers to scout for potential threats.

Since Zhao Yun was busy giving orders to the troops, Wei Ji ended up talking to Zhang Yang.

“I mean, she doesn’t need to actually display the rewards per person to make her soldiers believe they will receive it. She can clearly lay out the rules to boost morale at the right moment and…”

…and make sure those chosen to go into battle are completely convinced.

Everyone wanted to earn the reward for killing or capturing an enemy.

Although Wei Ji hadn’t experienced the hardships of the common people, he had seen the unrelenting taxes during the locust plague in the Three Auxiliaries region.

The resulting turmoil was not difficult to understand.

But when Wei Ji was escorted out of the camp outside Bingzhou City by Qiao Yan, he could confirm that the selection of these thousand soldiers had already been approved by others.

In other words, even the remaining soldiers believed they would not miss the opportunity to establish their achievements.

This strong sense of conviction made Wei Ji momentarily feel that coming to Qiao Yan to borrow troops was a dangerously risky move.

However, she only mentioned that the Wei family needed to provide the food supplies for these thousand soldiers’ march and a few people to handle education, which was not an overly harsh request.

This made Wei Ji think that maybe he was overthinking things.

Moreover, assisting in quelling the Yellow Turban Rebellion, overseeing the control of locust plagues, and now the extermination of the Bandits Den seemed to be part of a consistent effort…

As he gathered his thoughts, he heard Zhang Yang reply, “What’s unusual about this? The lord keeps her promises, and we all believe what she says. Leping can afford this reward.”

Most of the soldiers present were former Black Mountain Bandits, and they had handled the grain harvests over the past three years.

Although Chu Yan’s exchanges of grain in Bingzhou were conducted in secret, just what they had seen was enough to support this military expenditure, so there was no need for doubt.

Zhang Yang’s open display of wealth momentarily choked Wei Ji.

But to be honest, Leping didn’t really need to worry about flaunting their wealth and attracting unwanted attention.

In fact, the former Black Mountain Bandits had all become loyal followers here, and the Hedong Bandits were forced into a state of huddling together for survival.

Unfortunately, in the Hedong region, the Wei family couldn’t possibly control such a force, so they had to rely on Qiao Yan’s assistance to complete this deployment.

Just as he was thinking this, he suddenly heard Zhang Yang say, “Speaking of which, your name is really well chosen, both ‘chicken’ and ‘fish’ in it, sounds like wealth and prosperity. Even Leping can’t eat like this every day.”

“…?” Wei Ji’s momentary feeling of frustration was completely dispelled by this remark.

His name was Wei Ji, courtesy name Bo Yu, not chicken and fish, you scoundrel!

Wei Ji was only twenty-two years old after all.

When he came to borrow troops from Qiao Yan, he spoke with calmness and displayed the decorum of a noble family, but he couldn’t help having some youthful exuberance.

If Zhao Yun hadn’t called Zhang Yang away to arrange military matters, he would have had to argue with him about these characters.

Fortunately, no matter how troublesome this deputy under Qiao Hou might be, it wouldn’t be his problem next.

It would be those Bandits who would have a headache.

As Wei Ji said when he borrowed troops from Qiao Yan, these Hedong Bandits were struggling due to food shortages.

Given the current situation, having previously been defeated by Qiao Yan and with her holding a strategic position in Pingzhou, ready to launch powerful attacks at any time—

Their best option for raiding food supplies was Hedong.

Even bandits would choose the weakest target, and logically, the most suitable target for raiding was undoubtedly the Wei family.

“I think it’s unwise,” Xu Huang said, upon hearing that several leaders had gathered and someone proposed this target. Despite the others’ unanimous approval, he did not find it feasible and said, “The Wei family has dismissed some of their guests. Those left in the fortress are undoubtedly loyal to the Wei family.”

“So what?” Han Xian asked unhappily.

“This means the Wei family won’t be easily defeated. If they defend fiercely, we can’t ensure that no external aid will come.”

Xu Huang did not expect the Wei family to be so decisive in borrowing troops from Qiao Yan.

He only considered that if they, as a noble family, could not be quickly defeated, they might draw the attention of the other forces.

But clearly, his reasoning did not convince the others.

Li Le, with a slightly more restrained temperament, and Han Xian, who snorted coldly again, asked, “So in your opinion, who should be our target for raiding?”

Xu Huang had already considered this question and decisively replied, “The Zhao family in Jixian.”

“Ridiculous!” This time, even Li Le found Xu Huang’s suggestion absurd and couldn’t help but speak, “After the Wei family dismissed their guests and closed their fortress, these brave men nearby joined the Zhao family.

Now, the Zhao family has even more manpower than the Wei family.

Moreover, the men of the Wei family are mostly scholars, unlike the Zhao family, known for their martial prowess.

How can you say the former is harder to conquer than the latter? What do you mean by this?”

Xu Huang wanted to retort that this wasn’t some kind of comparison game.

The Zhao family accumulated wealth through brute methods and did not have the support of the local people.

Even if a sudden battle arose, it wouldn’t trigger a troublesome backlash and alerts other forces, making it a perfect target for them.

But seeing Yang Feng signaling him to remain silent for now, he suppressed his almost spoken words.

Until the leaders decided to raid the Wei family, with Li Le and Han Xian leading the main forces and Yang Feng sending a team as support, and then left the discussion place, he finally heard Yang Feng say, “Do you know why I stopped you?”