Your fiefdom gains one soldier every second, what should you do, Queen Mother?

Ying Xuanze got up early and came to the military camp in the north of the city. Originally, this place belonged to the defenders of Gaoliu City.

But ever since the bandits plundered Gaoliu City for the first time, none of the former defenders survived.

The current defenders are a militia composed of older middle-aged men. Ying Xuanze gave these people some silver and let them return to their fields.

When Zhang Fei saw Ying Xuanze enter the conference room, he immediately stepped forward to report the results of last night's battle.

"Brother, we killed 4123 bandits yesterday! We seized thousands of iron weapons, more than 600 horses, and more than kilograms of food!"

"We have also just blocked the city gates and sent people to suppress the civilians."

Ying Xuanze nodded: "We can melt all the weapons and make arrowheads. A bunch of scrap metal is not even half of our current weapons."

"Keep the horses, and distribute the food to the people in the city."

Ying Xuanze sighed: "These are all grown through their hard work, and now they are returned to their original owners."

Zhang Fei admired Ying Xuanze from the bottom of his heart. He said loudly: "Brother, you are kind and righteous. The people of Gaoliu City will never forget your kindness."

"It's just a small favor, not worthy of praise. This is what we who are in high positions should do." Ying Xuanze waved his hand.

"When collecting food, villagers must line up and everyone must get some. Remember not to snatch it."

"Don't worry, big brother! But..." Zhang Fei paused, "There are two big mountain strongholds in Yingchuan, Qingfeng Stronghold and Longwang Stronghold. There are many bandits and the location is remote. If we take the initiative to attack, it may be disadvantageous."

Ying Xuanze nodded: "You are right. These two mountain strongholds are far away from us. Not to mention the complicated terrain there, we are very passive just because of this long and narrow supply line."

"Suppose we take the initiative to fight, if the supply line is cut off, and the bandits attack us from both sides, it will be very difficult for us to break out."

Ying Xuanze looked at the map of the entire Yingchuan and felt that his idea was entirely possible.

For this group of bandits who had lived in Yingchuan for many years, it was not difficult at all to bypass the mountains, just like the army he led before, crossing the western Gobi Desert was as easy as drinking water.

He tapped Qingfeng Village and Longwang Village with his fingers, and then said: "Although we are strong in men and horses, we must avoid fighting."

"Brother, do you mean to keep our troops in place?" Zhang Fei asked.

"Yes, we will stay put. We have destroyed Duotian Village and most of the main forces of Yunqing Village. The other two villages will definitely unite."

"But we have an absolute advantage, and that is the information gap, or intelligence."

Ying Xuanze smiled slightly: "These bandits don't know how many troops we have, they can only guess."

"But if you were the leader of the bandits, and saw that more than 8,000 bandits had died at the hands of the Marquis of Zhenxi, how many people would you estimate I had?"

Zhang Fei frowned, thought for a while, and then slowly said a number: "Ten thousand?"

Ying Xuanze laughed: "You have been thinking about it for so long, what do those bandits think?"

"If we don't attack, they will be afraid of our military strength, which will undoubtedly give us an opportunity to recruit soldiers."

"Yide, order the engineers to reinforce the city walls immediately and cut off any possible routes for the bandits to enter the city."

"I promise to do it well!" Zhang Fei agreed readily, but Ying Xuanze was still worried because some defensive fortifications required careful people.

He thought it was time to recruit a counselor to give the army a brain.

......

At the same time, Yunqing Village.

As Zhu Lie listened to his subordinates' reports, his originally calm face gradually became gloomy.

"Fourth boss, the entire hilltop where Duotian Village is located has been burned to charcoal. The first, second and third bosses... I'm afraid..."

The bandits didn't say anything, but they made it clear that the three leaders of their Yunqing Village all died in Duotian Village.

Zhu Lie clenched his fists tightly: "If Duotian Village wanted to kill my brother and his men, they would not burn down their own nest."

"So I guess someone took advantage of their meeting in Duotian Village to launch a surprise attack and then set fire to it!"

"Fourth Chief, the leader of Duotian Village robbed the Marquis of Zhenxi and only called our eldest chief to share the spoils. Could it be that the other two villages did it?"

Zhu Lie initially thought that it was Qingfeng Village or Longwang Village that killed his elder brother and the second brother, but this statement was untenable.

Although these two villages are very powerful, it is impossible to destroy the entire Duotian Village and half of Yunqing Village by one's own strength.

Moreover, he knew those village chiefs very well, and they all preferred to persuade them to surrender rather than kill them.

If the leaders are killed, the rest will naturally surrender and submit. Killing them all will only provoke a desperate resistance from others, which will only result in greater losses.

At the same time, the most crucial point is that if it was the other two villages that did it, how could their Yunqing Village live in peace?

"No, this is strange. I need to meet the two leaders of Longwang Village and Qingfeng Village immediately."

"Perhaps... this newly arrived Marquis of Zhenxi is much more powerful than we originally thought."

On the other side, Ying Xuanze and Zhang Fei came to the city gate together.

At this time, a large number of people from the city were gathered at the city gate. They were all cheering and shouting the name of Marquis Zhenxi.

Someone shouted "The Marquis of Zhenxi is here!" and everyone turned their eyes to Ying Xuanze.

The people knelt down and cheered, and Ying Xuanze also understood that these people had suffered too much and had been bullied by the bandits for too long, and the hatred in their hearts for these bandits could not be erased.

Now seeing this group of brutal bandits being killed, they will worship the Marquis of Zhenxi as a god and their savior.

Ying Xuanze rode up to the people on horseback. He drew his sword and pointed at the heads hanging on the city wall and said loudly:

"These bandits are capable of all kinds of evil! They bully the people of our hometown! They deserve to be put to death!"

"I, Ying Xuanze, am here on the orders of the imperial court to eliminate the bandits in exchange for a peaceful life for you!"

"From today on! As long as I, the Marquis of Zhenxi, am in Gaoliu City! In Xiliang! I will wipe out all the bandits!"

"Leave no one behind!"

As the last sentence fell with great force, the people cheered like a tsunami.

"Your Excellency is wise! But you have blocked the city gates for so long, don't you have to open the gates and let us go out of the city to work?" A commoner suddenly spoke up.

Ying Xuanze suddenly looked over, and the man noticed his gaze and immediately lowered his head.

"Yes! We want to go out to work, sir, please open the city gate and let us out!" another citizen spoke up.

"No? Why are you in such a hurry? Why are you still thinking about working when there is such a good thing happening today?" Someone said with an unhappy look on his face.

"That's right! All those damned bandits have been killed. What's wrong with being happy for a day? It won't be too late to go out and work tomorrow. Don't you agree, folks?"

"Correct!"

The corners of Ying Xuanze's mouth slightly raised, he narrowed his eyes slightly, and murderous intent gradually appeared in his eyes.