General Ao hurriedly asked, “What’s your idea?”

Qin Fang squatted down on the ground: “General, please take a look. This is our county. If the bandits have captured the little master and have a chance to leave, they will definitely take it, right?”

General Ao replied, “Isn’t that obvious? Even if they don’t have a chance to leave, they’ll still think of ways to escape. Qin Fang, stop beating around the bush and just say what you mean.”

Qin Fang began to draw a map on the ground: “After a night of turmoil, the county is already in a state of panic. The bandits are likely in the same situation. They won’t engage us in battle until they’ve sent the little master out, as they have no leverage.

So the bandits must be planning to send the young master away. Even if they don’t do it at dawn, tomorrow or the day after, they will eventually act. There are three routes to leave the county and reach the bandits’ camp.

We need to strictly scrutinize the people coming in and out at the county gate, creating pressure on them. Once they leave, they will definitely relax. Even if they don’t relax, it’s alright; we can lay an ambush along these three routes.”

General Ao raised a concern: “If we lay an ambush and they manage to deal with the young master first, what then?”

Qin Fang explained, “The ambush will create pressure on them, and for the second step, we can send someone to impersonate their people.

When we get close to them and blend in, we’ll swiftly deal with those holding the young master.

Once we have the young master in hand, we can take care of the rest.

They will be under pressure during this time; if one of their own appears, there’s a fifty percent chance they’ll trust them. What do you think, General?”

General Ao swallowed hard.

He was good at fighting and would charge to the front lines, but planning strategies wasn’t his strong suit: “I’ll head out of the county right now and discuss this with the heir. After all…”

Qin Fang nodded seriously: “I understand.”

Since it concerned the little master’s life, they definitely needed the heir’s consent, as their plan was indeed risky.

However, if they didn’t take risks, the little master would also be in grave danger in the hands of the bandits.

General Ao asked again, “If we follow your plan, do you have candidates for the second step? After all… if it doesn’t succeed, those close to the bandits could be in danger.”

Since Qin Fang had proposed the plan, he already had candidates in mind: “General, would you be willing to give it a try?”

General Ao immediately responded, “I’ll certainly take part. You need to find someone as well?”

He suspected that since Qin Fang proposed the plan, he would definitely join in.

He trusted Qin Fang’s abilities.

Qin Fang confirmed, “Yes, I’ll be one of them. I plan to ask Han Zhen as the third person. Although I won against him in our last competition, I know his abilities well, and I won by a narrow margin.”

General Ao considered for a moment: “Then, you should leave the county to find the heir. Discuss this plan with him. If he agrees, you’ll also need to find Han Zhen.”

General Ao felt it was better for Qin Fang to discuss it, since he was the one guiding the entire plan and was most suited to explain it.

Qin Fang nodded, “Understood.”

After leaving the county, Qin Fang headed straight to the military camp, not even stopping by the family quarters.

Upon reaching the camp, he directly sought out the heir.

When the heir saw him, he thought he had found his son and eagerly asked, “Have you found my son?”

Qin Fang shook his head, “Not yet.”

The heir was filled with disappointment but understood that this matter was not easy: “Then what brings you here?”

Qin Fang laid out his plan directly:

“…Do you approve young master?”

The heir pondered for a moment before agreeing to Qin Fang’s plan.

He was currently in a state of chaos and genuinely couldn’t think of a better solution.

If the county gate remained closed and those bandits were trapped inside, it was likely that his son would be in even greater danger in a few days. “Go ahead and make the arrangements.”

Qin Fang replied, “Yes.”

After exiting the heir’s tent, Qin Fang gathered Han Zhen and others.

He called for Han Zhen, Lu Baifu, and Yang Baifu, instructing their three groups of three hundred men to set up an ambush on the designated routes and also shared the second step of the plan.

Once everything was arranged, they just had to wait for the next day.

The next day, the gates of the county opened.

The bandits who had mixed into the county successfully took the little master away, leaving only five behind; the others had already been dealt with during the discovery.

In a concealed location.

“Boss, the county gates are open; we can leave now.”

The bandit leader said, “We’re not leaving today. Those Qi Guo soldiers opening the gates at this time likely have a plan waiting for us. If we don’t go out, they’ll be disappointed day after day, and once they are, they will relax. That’s when we’ll have the opportunity to leave. Once that little brat reaches our camp, we’ll see whether that heir surrenders or not. If he doesn’t, we’ll kill his son.” His tone was filled with murderous intent.

“The Yong family army has been fighting us for decades. That old marquis is tough, but we don’t know about the heir. Boss, do you think he might attack our camp out of anger?”

The leader coldly scoffed, “His son is in our hands; he won’t dare to attack. If he does, we’ll kill his son immediately. He won’t take that gamble.”

In fact, the bandit leader had correctly assessed the situation.

The less they appeared, the more lax the guards would become, as they too were anxious.

Once they relaxed, they would have the opportunity to escape.

Three days later, they would indeed leave safely.

As the guards saw no suspicious individuals leaving with children day after day, they truly began to relax.

In that state of relaxation, the bandits left the city with the little master.

After they exited the city and found no one following them, they let out a sigh of relief.

Among the group, the leader said, “Hurry, let’s get out of here. Once we’re out, find a place to hide, and we’ll travel at night.”

“Yes.”

After leaving the county, there were three routes leading out of the border.

To be cautious, they chose the nearest route at night.

They believed that since it was the closest, they could escape to their own territory at the fastest speed, even if someone discovered them.

However, they didn’t know that all three routes had been ambushed.

Whether it was day or night, the soldiers of Qi Guo waited for them tirelessly.

As they traveled halfway through the night, the bandit leader suddenly said, “Wait a moment. Who’s there? Show yourself!”

Hundreds of soldiers emerged from the shadows, surrounding them with torches.

The leading soldier shouted, “Hand over the little master, and we’ll let you go. Otherwise, if anything happens to him, you’ll lose your heads.”

They had received orders to apply pressure without acting immediately.

The bandit replied defiantly, “Bah! If you dare to come closer, I’ll kill him!” He held the unconscious young master in front of him, declaring, “Let’s see whose knife is faster!”

Thus, both sides exchanged threats for a while.

Just as the situation was about to erupt, several horses approached from afar.

The sight made the bandit leader’s eyes light up; even though it was nighttime, the flickering torchlight allowed him to see that the riders were wearing their tribe’s clothing.

Instinctively, he assumed they were reinforcements.

He laughed heartily, “Looks like they were getting anxious.”

He turned proudly to the Qi Guo soldiers, “Our people have arrived! We’re not afraid of you anymore—everyone charge!”

The five bandits, carrying the little master, rushed forward, thinking they had support.

The bandit leader commanded, “Third Brother, take this kid and charge ahead. We’ll hold off these Qi Guo soldiers.”

Third Brother replied, “Yes, Boss, be careful.” With that, he carried the little master, using the cover of the bandit leader and the others to escape to the horses.

Just as he was about to speak, he saw one of the riders reach out and grab the little master.

Without thinking too much, he found it more convenient to hand the child over.

So he let go and said, “Take this kid and go. I’ll go support the boss.”

Han Zhen grabbed the young master, a cold smile on his face: “Support? Capture them all!”

He wiped his face, revealing a significantly cleaner visage.

His previously dirty face had been smeared with mud to avoid recognition.

Moreover, with the dust and sand prevalent over the past months, no one would suspect anything.

Did the bandits really think they could break through the encirclement with over a hundred men?

This was merely a performance.

Han Zhen tightened his grip on the little master and pulled back on the horse’s reins.

He hadn’t expected things to go more smoothly than he imagined.

Fortunately, the bandits didn’t suspect him and handed the child over without question.

It must be said that Qin Fang’s plan was truly brilliant.

It utilized the bandits’ psychological pressure to design the ambush strategy.

Han Zhen shouted loudly, “Brothers, capture these bandits! I’ll treat everyone to a drink another day.”

“Capture them!”

Everyone charged forward.

Han Zhen’s group had a hundred men, while the bandits only had five, so they were naturally at a disadvantage.

Although the bandits resisted, there was no other outcome.

At this moment, Qin Fang, along with General Ao and their men, also arrived.

Out of the three routes, they had coincidentally chosen the one guarded by Han Zhen.

During the earlier fight, Han Zhen had already signaled them, and upon seeing the signal, the two groups had rushed over.

General Ao spotted the little master in Han Zhen’s arms and anxiously asked, “How is it? Is the child alright?”

Han Zhen handed the child to General Ao: “He should just be unconscious. He should be fine.”

Qin Fang urged, “General, first take the little master back to the military camp for a medical check-up. Han Zhen and I will handle things here.”

General Ao replied, “Alright.”

He quickly mounted his horse and rushed back to the military camp with the young master.