Chapter 691: Chapter 686, Chapter 687: Chaotic Evil

Less than a hundred miles from Tianchuan City, the road began to get difficult.

The corruption in the Great Song’s administration began during the reign of Emperor Ling, and due to overseas expenses, the treasury was not affluent, leaving no extra funds to maintain the official roads.

Over time, except for the section near the Capital, the official roads in other states and counties became dilapidated, with potholes everywhere. After a few months of spring rain, the roads became terribly muddy.

The jolting was one thing, but if a wheel accidentally got stuck in a water-filled pit, even a draft horse couldn’t pull it out.

This situation had already happened several times.

Seeing the wheels stuck again, Chen Mo frowned and stepped out of the carriage, planning to continue on horseback.

His horse, the Snow Dragon Steed, was quite old. According to Xia Zhining, it was already seventeen, which for a horse, meant it was in its senior years.

Therefore, on this trip to Xiangyang, Chen Mo did not ride the Snow Dragon Steed, leaving it in Tianchuan as a "stud horse" to enjoy its twilight years.

Chen Mo rode a fine horse at a gallop, heading to Huai State with Xia Zhining, Nalan Yiren, Wu Changlin, Nangong Xian, and some personal soldiers. The Fish Scale Guard, being a large force, couldn’t match Chen Mo’s pace and fell behind.

During the day, they traveled through cities and towns, and at night, they lodged at inns, not disturbing the local government offices nor displaying any formalities.

Seven days later, they reached the boundary of West River.

Earlier in Tianchuan, several counties in the West River area had submitted memorials reporting bandits looting travelers on the main routes, not only robbing them of their money but also taking lives. Due to their mobility and the government’s lack of manpower, they were unable to deal with these bandits effectively, and thus requested the Court to dispatch troops for suppression.

Thinking of this, Chen Mo devised a plan. He dressed as a wealthy young master, had Xia Zhining change into a dress and sit in the carriage, then took Sun Meng, Luo Yong, and five or six personal soldiers, having them change into civilian clothes as well, and set off first, with the Personal Guard Battalion following behind.

Upon reaching the area mentioned in the memorials as bandit territory, sure enough, dozens of figures rushed out from both sides of the road, surrounding Chen Mo and the others.

Some spoke in the local dialect, chanting highwayman slogans: "This road was built by me, and these trees were planted by me. If you wish to pass, leave your toll money."

"Boss, it’s a woman, with such fair skin. Looks like we’ve hit the jackpot this time..."

"Bang..."

A bandit lifted the curtain of the carriage window and saw Xia Zhining inside, but before he could finish his sentence, Sun Meng, posing as a servant, struck first, punching the bandit in the stomach. Instantly, the bandit flew out like a cannonball, crashing into a large tree by the roadside, spewing blood and dying on the spot.

"Wang Chong..."

The other bandits were initially stunned by this scene, then they became furious. The leader of the bandits frowned and shouted, "He’s a Martial Artist, attack together, leave the woman, kill the rest..."

After an intense fight, all the bandits surrounding Chen Mo were lying on the ground, wailing in pain.

Neither Chen Mo nor Xia Zhining made a move; Sun Meng, Luo Yong, and the others dealt with all the bandits.

These bandits appeared ferocious, but in truth, they were ordinary people who couldn’t make a living and turned to banditry to get by. However, after spending so much time in this business, they’d lost their conscience and started bullying passersby.

Committing murder, rape, and other crimes...

When the Personal Guard Battalion arrived later, Chen Mo ordered these bandits to be handed over to the local government office for punishment, to determine who deserved to die and who could live.

Seeing this approach was effective, Chen Mo used it in all the areas where bandits were reported.

If they didn’t encounter them on the spot, they’d go into the mountains to suppress them until dismantling these bandit gangs.

During this period, an interesting incident occurred.

A bandit leader in one area, in a bid to save his life, divulged the presence of Black Wind Stronghold located tens of miles away in Hun County, where the leader Hei Feng was a Martial Artist lord.

He claimed that Hei Feng was even more ruthless, engaging in robbery and trafficking in people.

In Hun County, Hei Feng was essentially a local tyrant.

This information had not been reported to the Court.

Upon inquiring further, Chen Mo learned that Hun County was remote and due to the Court’s weak control there, since the last County Magistrate of Hun County died, the magistrates had been appointed by the local gentry without needing to report to the Court, immediately assuming the position.

Currently, the gentry in Hun County were rumored to be colluding with Black Wind Stronghold because the stronghold never attacked the gentry, and people who had offended the gentry would soon disappear without a trace.

As a result, Black Wind Stronghold could act unchecked locally.

Even neighboring counties, knowing about it, wouldn’t interfere.

Even those who would intervene found that during the time Xu Guozhong and Lu Sheng were in power at the Court, reporting it yielded no response from above, and over time, everyone became indifferent, forming a habit.

Even now that Chen Mo is in power, no one is willing to take the risk.

Hun County wasn’t originally on the route back to Linzhou, but after learning of this, Chen Mo secretly headed there.

Of course, upon arrival, even as a secret mission, he couldn’t find evidence of gentry’s collusion with Black Wind Stronghold.

But Chen Mo didn’t need evidence.

He just needed to confirm the affair’s existence.

That night, he broke into the gentry Cai family’s mansion, forced the Black Wind Stronghold’s location from Landlord Cai, and the next day, he went to Black Wind Stronghold alone.