C39

Yang Lin walked down the slope and by the time he returned to his own tent, Yang Hu and Yang Bao were already there waiting. The two brothers were very secretive and nervous, upon seeing Yang Lin return, they followed him into the tent, as if there was something important to talk about with Yang Lin.

"Big Brother, we have spies in our caravan!"

"Ah, there's a traitor in our caravan?"

Yang Lin was shocked, seeing that the mounted bandit had their eyes on him from the beginning to the end, he never thought that his caravan would have a traitor! This is a real internal problem. Were these bandits attracted by these traitors? But he had only been in Chi County for a few days. How had these bandits colluded with him?

"Tell me, what happened?"

Yang Hu and Yang Bao, the two brothers had obviously discussed this beforehand, upon hearing Yang Lin's question, Yang Hu looked at his brother Yang Bao and pouted. Yang Bao understood that it was time for him to speak, so he hurriedly took a step forward and whispered to Yang Lin.

"Big brother, we noticed a few people the day before yesterday. They often walked at the back of the group and left marks on the road that we passed by. It's the same as when we were hunting in the mountains, afraid of getting lost and making marks, but why would they do that? We two brothers became suspicious and kept our eyes on these people. We found out that they have to make a mark every few dozen miles, so we guessed that these people were spies. There should be other people following behind our team. "

"Good brothers, you did too well."

No wonder those guys were following him. They had an inside story. Good man, it looks like they were already prepared. When we were preparing cloth and equipment in the county, they had already colluded with us. So where were they going to do it?

"Public Ridge?"

Yang Lin's mind immediately recalled the dispute between Su Shuang and him regarding the route. The two of them were very clear about the dangers of Public Ridge, but why did Zhang Shiping mention that he wanted to go to Public Ridge? Why were the mounted bandit in front waiting there? How do they know our route? Who provided them with the route?

Zhang Shiping?

Impossible, if Zhang Shiping is also a traitor, then why did Tang Qing tell him that there are mounted bandit s here and there, and that it would be better for us to fall into their trap? Why did he mention it? If that was the case, the mounted bandit would most likely judge if we were to pass by the Ma Lin Mountains and set up an ambush here.

"Who are they?"

"They are all the subordinates of eagle peak's Second Leader, Li Yan. There's about seven of them."

Oh, is Li Yan involved?

"Li Yan was not found involved."

"Then is Liang Tian, Dong Jian, Ding Ji and Gu Hui participating?"

"None of them."

"Other than Li Yan's subordinates, is there anyone else worth suspecting?"

"Nope."

Yang Hu, go and find Li Yan, Liang Tian, Dong Jian, Ding Ji, and Gu Hui. Yang Bao, go and capture those seven secretly.

"Understood."

When Yang Hu and Yang Bao left the tent, Yang Lin gnashed his teeth in anger. He was not angry at Li Yan, he had never trusted him. He was angry at Liang Tian, since this guy did not tell him, was he also participating? If so, I'll cut him up.

"Yang An, Yang Shun."

"Here."

"Yang An, go inform the rest of you to come to my tent. Yang Shun, go inform the people from the various villas to get ready for battle."

"Understood."

Not long later, Yang Hu called Li Yan, Liang Tian, Ding Ji, and Gu Hui over. The five of them had never entered Yang Lin's tent before, so they did not have any special relationship with Yang Lin.

"Sit down. I've called you all here to have a chat. How about it, are you two used to the snowy plains? "

"Thank you Master Yang for your concern. When we were in Jizhou, snow often fell during the winter as well. Master Yang is from the south, I doubt that he will get used to it. "

Although Li Yan was muttering in his heart, he was still chatting with Yang Lin. Yang Lin was also amiably talking and laughing with them. Gradually, they relaxed and naturally sat in Yang Lin's tent to chat. However, everyone's hearts were still unsettled.

Not long after, Zhang Fei, Dian Wei, Dian Wei, Yan Liang, Yan Liang, Wen Chou, Lin Feng, Luo Yong, Luo Yong, Cang Ba and the others arrived at Yang Lin's tent, after everyone had settled down, Yang Lin suddenly took out a long rod with three black stripes wrapped around it, and held it up.

"Have any of you ever seen this kind of long rod?"

Zhang Fei and the other brothers were confused and shook their heads. As Li Yan glanced at the long rod, he calmly shook his head, indicating that he had never seen it before. However, Liang Tian's face was unsettled, and seemed to be a little surprised.

"To tell you the truth, in our caravan, there is a bandit's spy. They inserted this kind of long rod into the snow, and lead the bandit to follow us step by step. Now that the bandits are right behind us, can any of you tell me what exactly is going on? "

"Kill those who raise them."

Just as Yang Lin finished speaking, Zhang Fei jumped up and shouted angrily. The loud roar almost knocked over Yang Lin's tent. Yang Lin waved his hand and asked him to sit down. His eyes stared at Liang Tian until they turned cold.

Liang Tian's face turned purple, he looked at Yang Lin blankly, and did not know what to say. Dong Jian, Ding Ji, and Gu Hui were also panic-stricken, their eyes constantly looking at Li Yan. Only Li Yan sat like nothing had happened, with a faint smile hanging on his face.

"Well, what don't you want to say?"

"Master Yang, don't force them. This was done by me alone, it has nothing to do with them."

Li Yan laid on the bed shamelessly, taking all the blame on himself the moment he opened his mouth. He clearly knew that since Yang Lin had called them over, he must have already gotten hold of everyone here.

"Liang Tian, tell me, what is going on?"

Tears rolled down Liang Tian's face as he suddenly stood up and kneeled on the ground. However, he did not kneel to Yang Lin and instead kneeled down towards him, and kowtowed three times towards Li Yan with a "dong dong dong".

"Second Boss, I didn't think that you would still do it. You are harming our brothers."

Li Yan sat there motionlessly, his face expressionless as he stared at Yang Lin with a blank look. He really did not understand, his subordinates were all experts in the dark. How could they be discovered by Yang Lin?

"Master Yang, no matter how you punish me, I don't complain. I just hope that you can leave the Second Leader's life and not punish the other brothers.

"Do you guys have anything to say?"

Yang Lin ignored Liang Tian, and stared coldly at Dong Jian, Ding Ji, and Gu Hui. The three of them kneeled on the ground at the same time, and their expressions were calm. They looked at Li Yan, kowtowed three times towards Li Yan, and then kneeled down towards him.

"Master Yang, the Second Boss saved us at that time, and we saved him. Although we tried to persuade the Second Boss, he still did it, and we begged the Master Yang to spare the Second Boss, we are willing to die for him."

Yang Lin was speechless, Liang Tian, Dong Jian, Ding Ji, Gu Hui did not do anything wrong, can you force them to sell their benefactors? If they sold out the second-in-command today, they might sell out tomorrow. Do you want a righteous man who is willing to be punished for his benefactor, or do you want a villain who can sell out others as he pleases?

Just then, Yang Bao walked into the tent. When he saw that everything was still there, he nodded towards Yang Lin. Looking at him, Yang Lin could guess that he had captured all seven of them. Yang Lin waved his hand, telling him to speak in front of everyone.

"Brother, those seven people have all been captured, they admit that the Second Boss told them to do it, and even the long rod that was used as a marker was given to them by the Second Boss."

Yang Lin understood it all, it was all done by the Second Leader. It looked like Liang Tian, Dong Jian, Ding Ji and Gu Hui were not lying. But what should he do with the second-in-command? Kill him? He was really afraid of chilling Liang Tian, Dong Jian, Ding Ji, Gu Hui and the rest's heart, so he stared at Li Yan fiercely and spoke coldly.

"Second Boss, tell me, how should I punish you?"

"Hmph, there's no need for Master Yang to act, I'll kill myself."

Li Yan snorted coldly, he quickly pulled out the blade on his body and slashed his neck with lightning speed, only to see a spurt of blood spurting out, Second Boss still had his eyes open, and his body slowly fell to the ground. He had to admit that the Second Boss was indeed an expert at doing covert work.

"Second Boss …"

Liang Tian, Dong Jian, Ding Ji, Gu Hui and the rest knelt on the ground and cried loudly. Perhaps, they were completely free this time. They would no longer do something against their will in order to repay their gratitude. Yang Lin waved his hand, and Yang Hu, Yang Bao and the rest dragged the Second Boss out.

Seizing the opportunity to eat breakfast, Yang Lin brought Zhang Fei, Dian Wei, Pan Feng, Yu She, Yu She, Yan Liang, Lin Feng, Lin Feng and the other brothers along with Zhang Shiping and Su Shuang to his own tent, and informed them of the situation of the bandits.

"Since this mounted bandit who was raised already knows of our whereabouts, then there's no need to be so polite. We have over thirteen thousand people, we can just eliminate him."

"But we have bandits and mounted bandit behind us. If we let them attack us from both sides, can we be confident? I think we might as well go east or west and get rid of them. Even if we can't get horses, it's still better than having them steal them away. "

Su Shuang immediately reminded them, he knew how powerful these mounted bandit were. If he was targeted by them, even if he did not die, he would still die. Rather than fighting them head on, it was better to just run away. He knew very little about the fighting capabilities of these village warriors and young men s, but he was very clear about those mounted bandit s.

"Brother Yang Lin, the biggest bandit leader of the mounted bandit on the desert is only one or two thousand people. This time, there are more than eight thousand people. I think it would be better to first eliminate the ones behind, and then eliminate the ones in front.

After eating breakfast, Yang Lin's caravan set up the camp, tying all the goods and equipment into bags and carrying them on the horses. Thirteen thousand caravan guards were gathered in the main camp. They stood in the snow quietly with their warhorses in their hands, waiting for the order to set off. Even Zhang Shiping and Su Shuang's team were standing in the camp.

Just as everyone was waiting to set off, Yang Lin and the rest of the brothers rode their horses to the front of the group. They stood at Yang Lin's two sides in front of the line, lined up in a row, with heavy expressions on their faces. Yang Lin's face turned gloomy as he replied.

"Brothers, we came to the desert this time just to sell our horses. We don't want to hurt anyone, so we have no choice but to ask for money. However, there are many people who want to kill us because of our wealth. What do you think we should do? "

The entire camp was still silent. Ordinary guards did not know what had happened, nor did they know the dangers they were facing, they all stared at Yang Lin with their eyes wide open. They all wanted to know who was plotting against the merchant caravan.

"Kill them!"

Suddenly, Zhang Fei called out. His voice was too sudden, and too loud, like a thunder in a snowstorm, causing all the guards present to jump in fright, but they immediately recovered from their shock and followed along with him shouting.

"Kill them!"

"Kill them!"

"Kill them!"

Everyone, be it the villagers from Henan Province, or the brave villagers from Jizhou, or even the bandits from eagle peak, all shouted out loudly. Didn't they join the merchant caravan to get rich? He hadn't provoked anyone, but someone had actually dared to set their eyes on him. How could he not be enraged?

Yang Lin slowly raised the pike in his hand, and the entire camp gradually quietened down. He had already achieved his goal, which was to make everyone angry. He wanted everyone to unite as enemies and fight to the death with the bandits and mounted bandit. He used all his strength and shouted.

"Here, brothers, I will tell you and at the same time tell all those who wish to harm us that our principle is: If anyone offends me, I will not offend them. If anyone offends us, I will definitely become a prisoner! Everyone who dares to offend me, what awaits them is … "Die!"

"Offenders... "Die!"

"Offenders... "Die!"

"Offenders... "Die!"

Yang Lin raised the spear in his hand once again, and the group slowly quietened down. Yang Lin waved his hand, and Yang Bao brought the seven spies over. The corpses of Li Yan were brought up as well, and were supported by two village men.

"Brothers, these people are the traitors who colluded with the bandits and mounted bandit. It's all because of them that they colluded with us. Right now, there are bandits and mounted bandit in front of us. They have already surrounded us. What do you think we should do with them? "

"Kill them!"

"Kill them!"

"Kill them!"

Everyone only hesitated for a moment before shouting in unison. Towards the traitor, they were even more furious than the bandits and mounted bandit. When everyone's shouting calmed down, Yang Lin waved his hand at Yang Hu and the others. Immediately, eight swordsmen walked over.

"Crack!"

"Crack!"

"Crack!"

A series of knife sounds rang out and eight heads fell to the ground. Blood spurted from their necks, staining a large patch of snow red. Although Li Yan committed suicide, he couldn't avoid this blow. Everyone quieted down and watched the eight heads rolling on the ground.

Liang Tian, Dong Jian, Ding Ji, Gu Hui and the rest were all at a loss. They were not sad nor angry, they were just at a loss. Yang Lin had done his best, and did not make things difficult for them. However, those who were killed were the subordinates of the eagle peak's second family, and the other people looked at them with hatred. Especially the subordinates of the eagle peak, who stared at them angrily, causing them to tremble in fear.

"Brothers, the subordinates of the eagle peak's Second Leader are these eight people who are involved in colluding with the bandits. The others didn't participate in the collusion with the bandits. They were innocent, so there was no need to hate them. They are also our good brothers. Now, I announce that the more than six hundred people under the Second Leader of eagle peak are led by Liang Tian, Dong Jian, Ding Ji and Gu Hui.

"Thank you Master Yang."

Liang Tian, Dong Jian, Ding Ji, and Gu Hui kneeled on the ground. Tears rolled down from their eyes as they kowtowed three times towards Yang Lin in gratitude. Behind them, over six hundred people knelt down at the same time and kowtowed. Yang Lin's words had given them complete relief.

They all knew better than anyone that if Yang Lin didn't speak up for them, even if Yang Lin let them go, the eagle peak's men would definitely not let them go. They already hated the Second Manager to the bones. If they had an excuse, they would definitely find an opportunity to kill him.

"Brothers, there are more than five thousand mounted bandit in front of us. Those are the mounted bandit s in the desert, and behind us, there are more than three thousand bandits. They tried to surround us and destroy us in the area of the Public Ridge. What do we do? "

"Kill them all!"

"Kill them all!"

"Kill them all!"

"Alright!"

Yang Lin raised his spear high up, his expression extremely heavy, his eyes releasing cold light, coldly sweeping across the entire audience. Everyone's emotions were stirred. Their faces were filled with murderous intent as their eyes burned with the flames of hatred.

"Brothers, all of you, mount up and kill them!"

Everyone immediately jumped onto their horses. Following Yang Lin's wave of his spear, Zhang Shiping and Su Shuang, together with their horse selling goods, their horse escorting teams and their non-combatants, continued to move towards the north. While Yang Lin, along with more than thirteen thousand village men and robust young men, were rushing towards the south.

The Great Master's Great Master was an old bandit who was in his fifties. Ever since he found out that Yang Lin's horse selling team had a large amount of money, he tortured them thoroughly. If he let the money slip away from his eyes, he would never forgive himself.

For this transaction, he had invested a lot of money. Not only had he gathered all of his subordinates, he had also taken out the money that he had looted over the years, and bought a lot of equipment for the bandits. It was to the point that his bandit team looked even better than ordinary State County soldiers.

"I found it, Great Master's. I found it."

From afar, Wang Kuan ran over while holding a long wooden stick high up in the sky. The three black lines on the tip of the stick stood out in the white snowy plains. In this vast snowy plain, any kind of mark would be quickly covered by the snow. Even the stick stuck in the snow would not be easy to find. This kind of conspicuous black line was the best mark.

"Hehe, this Li Yan, he really has a plan."

Great Master raised his left hand, wiped the snowflakes off his face, and revealed a pair of narrow and small eyes, smiling at Wang Kuan. In the vast snowy plains, besides the snow that was all over the place, he couldn't see anything. Even the footprints of Yang Lin's team members were already covered in snow. If it wasn't for the wooden sticks that were left on the ground, he probably wouldn't have been able to hit Yang Lin's team again.

"Wang Kuan, how far is it from Public Ridge?"

"Great Master, I've already asked around. Those people who were leading the way said that they are still about a hundred miles away from Public Ridge."

"Do you know where Yang Lin's team is?"

Oh, they are almost at Public Ridge?

The Great Master could not help but frown. He wanted to do this trade by himself, but when he arrived at the Youzhou, he realized that the Youzhou had also set his eyes on Yang Lin's team, and even had a good plan. It was only because the Youzhou was worried that they did not have enough manpower that he agreed to work together with him.

"Summer, Zhu Kan, lead your brothers and ride on horses. You must catch up to Yang Lin before he reaches Public Ridge."

"Understood."

Two of the sturdy bandits immediately responded. They raised the horsewhips in their hands, urging the bandits to increase their speed. These two bandits called Xia Xia and Zhu Kan were the two fierce generals under Great Master's command. They took the lead and rushed to the front of the group of bandits.