Chapter Seventy: Unprecedented Rebellion!

Originally, Li Yun hadn’t paid much attention to the bandits of Ten Kings Fortress. Most of them were simply ordinary members, and anyone could lead him along the mountain paths they knew. In fact, the map drawn by Liu Bo back then would have been enough to guide him straight to Ten Kings Fortress.

However, when Commander Du wanted to take these men away, Li Yun realized that among these bandits, at least one or perhaps several held important positions within Ten Kings Fortress.

Now, Magistrate Xue had already departed Qingyang, and the time left to Li Yun was growing short. He had to seize every advantage, including identifying the key figures hidden among these bandits.

This was no difficult task. In this era, fearless and ruthless outlaws were not rare, and Ten Kings Fortress was full of them. But among the dozen or so prisoners in the jail at this moment, there could be no such men. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have surrendered or ended up locked in here.

The moment Captain Li spoke, three or four of them fell to their knees, kowtowing to Li Yun. “We want to live, we want to live!”

Captain Li nodded slowly. “Among you, there are those with high status in Ten Kings Fortress. Point them out, and I guarantee you’ll suffer less, and won’t die in this jail.”

The bandits had already been gathered together. Upon hearing Li Yun’s words, the four kneeling men all turned their heads toward a thin, disheveled man in his thirties.

This man’s hair was tangled, his face filthy. After taking a deep breath, he clenched his teeth and stepped forward, kneeling before Li Yun. “I… I pay my respects, sir.”

Li Yun sized him up, squinting his eyes. “This is unexpectedly easy. I was prepared to spend half a day tormenting you lot.”

He walked over, grabbed the man by the collar, and lifted him effortlessly, smiling. “You hid yourself well—after all these days, I never realized I’d caught such a big fish.”

The man looked aggrieved. “Sir… I wasn’t hiding, you just never asked…”

Li Yun was at a loss for words. It was indeed his oversight; he hadn’t expected to find any surprises among these surrendered bandits.

After glancing at the man, Li Yun sat back in his chair and asked, “What’s your name? What do you do in Ten Kings Fortress?”

The man’s face twisted with misery as he knelt again, head bowed. “My surname is Sun, my humble name is Shouli.”

Li Yun laughed. “A bandit with the name ‘Shouli’—keeper of propriety?”

Sun Shouli raised his head and forced a bitter smile. “I was originally a scholar, taken up the mountain by them. It’s been six or seven years now. I’ve stayed on Lingyang Mountain, keeping accounts for the bandits.”

Captain Li was puzzled. “If you’re just the accountant, why did Boss Tong take you along for battle?”

Sun Shouli bowed his head, smiling bleakly. “Sir, that day… that Tong fellow said he was going to destroy Cangshan Village atop the mountain. After the raid, there’d be loot to tally, so he brought me along for the accounting.”

Li Yun couldn’t help but laugh in anger. The Ten Kings Fortress really was audacious—before the fighting even began, they were already planning how to count their spoils!

But soon, Li Yun understood why Du from the prefecture wanted to take Sun away.

He stood with hands clasped behind his back and strode out. “Come with me.”

Sun Shouli took a deep breath, glanced back at his companions in the cell, then gritted his teeth and followed Li Yun out.

Li Yun led him to a secluded room in the county office, personally poured him a cup of tea, and asked, “You’ve been keeping accounts for Ten Kings Fortress all these six or seven years?”

Sun Shouli took a sip of tea and nodded quickly. “Yes. Few in the fortress can read, even fewer can do arithmetic. All the accounts are managed by me. That Tong fellow is obsessed with money—every day, he demands I report how much is left in the coffers.”

Captain Li smiled. “I’ve heard that many prominent families in Xuanzhou have dealings with Ten Kings Fortress. That means you know exactly which households are involved.”

Sun Shouli was stunned at first, then seemed to understand. He looked up at Li Yun and sighed. “You’re a righteous man, sir, but even if I tell you, it won’t help.”

He bowed his head. “You won’t be able to bring them down, nor win in court.”

“Who says I’m going to sue them?” Li Yun sneered, then brought out paper and brush, placing them before Sun Shouli. “Write down the names of those families one by one. I promise you won’t die in Qingyang jail.”

Sun Shouli knew how powerful these people were, and still hesitated to write. He bit his lip and bowed his head. “Sir, I was forced by the bandits—I’ve never harmed anyone…”

“You think I don’t know the rules of the fortress?” Li Yun sneered.

“For an outsider like you, if your hands aren’t stained with blood, would the fortress let you live there?”

This last remark broke Sun Shouli’s final defenses. For an outsider to live peacefully in Ten Kings Fortress for so many years, he must have proven himself upon arrival.

The accountant of Ten Kings Fortress, trembling, began to write on the paper, glancing up at Li Yun as he tried to squeeze out a smile.

“Never… never thought you’d know so much about the fortress, sir…”

Captain Li’s bearing was upright and unyielding.

“Know yourself and your enemy, and you’ll never lose a hundred battles!”

Half an hour later, Li Yun finally had the list Sun Shouli wrote.

After reading it, Li Yun sneered, then unlocked the accountant’s shackles and said in a low voice, “In the next two days, I’ll gather men to attack Ten Kings Fortress. You’ve been there for years—you must know the hidden paths up the mountain.”

“When the time comes, you’ll lead me up front.”

Sun Shouli’s voice trembled. “Sir, if the fortress people see me, they’ll kill me.”

Captain Li sneered. “If you cooperate now, you may survive. Refuse to help the magistrate, and I’ll cut you down right here—do you believe me?”

When imperial law was strict, a death in the county jail would surely prompt an official investigation. But now…

Li Yun could cut down all these bandits one by one, and the court wouldn’t bother with such trivial matters.

Sun Shouli shrank back and asked one last question. “Sir, does this count as… atoning for my crimes?”

……

Two mornings later, the county’s thief-catching squad assembled at the gates of Qingyang office. Captain Li raised his arm and shouted, “Forward! Destroy the bandits!”

The constables shouted back, “Destroy the bandits!”

Just as the group of more than twenty prepared to leave, a somewhat plump figure hurried over, panting heavily.

“Wait… wait!”

After catching his breath, he shouted.

Everyone turned to look, and even Li Yun frowned. “Registrar Jiang, what is it?”

“What are you all about to do?”

“Didn’t you hear, Registrar Jiang?” Li Yun frowned. “We’re heading out to suppress the bandits.”

“To… to attack Ten Kings Fortress?” Registrar Jiang clenched his fists and said coldly, “With just you lot?”

He turned and barked at the constables, “Listen up! With these numbers, going to Ten Kings Fortress is suicide. I’ve received orders from the prefecture: Qingyang’s officers are not to act rashly!”

“If you disrupt the prefecture’s plans, you’ll pay dearly!”

Registrar Jiang, the fourth master, was also the official in charge of constables and thief-catching. This matter was indeed under his purview; it seemed Commander Du had met with him before leaving and made arrangements.

Li Yun had no patience for his nonsense. He dragged his spear behind him, “Thief-catching squad, follow me out of the city to suppress the bandits!”

“If you don’t have the guts, go home and sleep.”

With that, he ignored Registrar Jiang. Alone with his spear, he strode toward the city gates.

Li Zheng and Zhang Hu were the first to follow.

Then Chen Da and Huang Yong followed suit.

Soon, all the constables poured out after Li Yun, leaving Registrar Jiang standing in the distance, his face turning from green to pale.

A long moment later, he shrieked.

“Rebellion! They’ve all gone mad!”