Li Dao Xuan's field of vision was currently following Bai Yuan.
Bai Yuan was wandering through Heyang County.
Heyang County was now in a state so chaotic it could only be described as a total mess compared to Cheng County. There was no Dao Xuan Tianzun bringing rain here, no Dao Xuan Tianzun distributing grain either. Instead, there was only Fan Shan Yue running wild, looting, killing, burning houses, and forcing civilians into his ranks. He had been doing this since the early Chongzhen years, and it had already been nearly two years.
Within these two years, Heyang County had basically been hit with near total destruction.
The word "production" was no longer even relevant here. Half the county was in ruins, nine out of ten households were empty. White bones could be seen scattered along the roads like random roadside decorations. Only the eastern side near the Yellow River still had a bit of life left. The western side near Cheng County looked like the end of the world.
Bai Yuan walked and sighed all the way.
Li Dao Xuan, watching from above, also sighed along.
"This time, after establishing contact with the Heyang county magistrate, we should really help the common people here," Bai Yuan muttered to himself. "Lord Liang Shi Xian cannot directly intervene, but if we operate through civilian channels, it becomes much easier."
Li Dao Xuan nodded slightly in agreement. This idea was correct. Bai Yuan was clearly starting to align more with his own way of solving problems.
Li Dao Xuan had always helped common people by bypassing the government entirely and building from scratch. Unless he encountered someone like Liang Shi Xian, he generally avoided dealing with officials.
The reason was simple.
The Ming court was already beyond saving. The empire was like a body covered in rot and sores. Even scraping the bone would not heal it. Rebuilding was pointless.
It was better to just replace it entirely.
Bai Yuan followed the broken yellow earth road northward. He passed Yongning Village, then North Yongning Village, then Yang Village. After crossing a stretch of forest and moving along a ridge, he finally arrived near West Niu Village.
Only then did Li Dao Xuan and Bai Yuan understand why Fan Shan Yue had chosen this place as his base.
Because north of West Niu Village, there stood the continuous and towering Huanglong Mountain.
This was the southeastern edge of Huanglong Mountain. If anything went wrong, Fan Shan Yue could immediately retreat into the mountains and become a free roaming bandit again.
So he clearly knew what he was doing. He also knew that what he was doing was not exactly lawful, and the court might send troops to suppress him again. If the Shaanxi commander Wang Cheng En had not been recalled for imperial defense, he would probably already have fled into Huanglong Mountain by now.
Bai Yuan snorted lightly and said, "On the way here I was still worried about where I would even find a chance to ambush him. Turns out he is stationed right under Huanglong Mountain. Perfect. This is an ideal sniping position. Let's go up the mountain."
He led his retainers around the side and slipped into Huanglong Mountain.
Climbing up the slope, they hid behind a pile of scattered rocks. From the high ground, they looked down at West Niu Village below.
Bai Yuan grinned and said, "Alright. From now on, we just wait for the right moment."
He opened a large wooden case on his back and carefully took out a long flintlock arquebus. While smoothly loading powder and shot, he smiled and said, "Time to show real shooting skills."
The two servants sent by Heyang magistrate Feng Jun to guide him looked at him with confusion.
That is a gun, right?
It is called a bird gun, and people often brag that it can shoot down birds in flight. But anyone who actually understands it knows its accuracy is absolutely terrible.
Was this man planning to assassinate Fan Shan Yue from this distance?
They glanced down at West Niu Village. It was far. Way too far. There was no way it could hit.
One of them whispered, "We should go report this to the magistrate."
They politely bowed. "Sir Bai, we have delivered you here. We will return and report to our lord."
Bai Yuan waved his hand casually. "Go. Tell Magistrate Feng to wait for good news."
The two servants exchanged awkward looks.
Good news? More like impossible news.
They quickly left the mountain and went around to another slope where Feng Jun was already waiting in plain clothing.
As soon as he saw them return, he immediately asked, "How is it? What does Sir Bai plan to do with Fan Shan Yue?"
The servants looked embarrassed.
"Sir Bai took out a bird gun," one of them said carefully, "and it seems he plans to shoot Fan Shan Yue from Huanglong Mountain in one shot."
Feng Jun's expression instantly became extremely complicated. The kind of expression that clearly said, "this is impossible."
Then suddenly one servant shouted, "Master, your nose… your nose!"
Feng Jun wiped it.
A line of nosebleed streaked down his face.
He snapped, "The accuracy of a bird gun is that bad. How could this possibly work? This will only alert Fan Shan Yue. If he realizes we are targeting him, he might retaliate and even rush into the county in chaos."
The servants replied awkwardly, "But Sir Bai seems very confident."
Feng Jun shouted, "Nonsense! This is reckless! Completely impossible! Take me to him immediately. I must stop this absurd plan."
At that moment.
The gate of West Niu Village opened.
Fan Shan Yue rode out on a tall horse, looking extremely pleased with himself. He was surrounded by a group of men, all escorting him with arrogance and swagger.
He wore mountain-pattern armor, and his men carried a large banner with the word "Zheng" written on it. At the bottom right, there was a smaller line reading "Heyang Garrison Commander."
In truth, his real name was Zheng Fan Yue. Back when he was a bandit, he could not use his real name. But after accepting imperial amnesty, he was now officially a "legitimate" military officer.
Before, when he robbed civilians, he still had to fear militia resistance.
Now, wearing an official identity, militias did not dare touch him. Local wealthy families could only obediently hand over their wealth. It was extremely convenient.
He laughed loudly. "So, who are we robbing today?"
One of his men replied with a grin, "The Zhang family from Xia Village. They used to organize militias against us and fought us several times. Annoying bastards. Let's go squeeze them today."
Fan Shan Yue laughed. "Good. Very good."
Then he suddenly frowned. "Any news about Xing Honglang from Yongji? I have not forgotten the deaths of my second and third brothers. Now that I have official status, killing a salt smuggler would be completely justified."
His subordinate replied, "We found out she has recently been active between Xi'an and Cheng County."
Fan Shan Yue snorted. "Cheng County? I hate Cheng County the most. One day, when we shed this official skin, we will sneak into Cheng County and loot it properly…"
The words had just left his mouth.
A sudden sound echoed from a distant hillside.
Bang.
White smoke rose into the air.
A very loud gunshot.
But no one fell.
Fan Shan Yue and his men all turned toward the direction of the sound.
"Huh? That sounds like a fire gun," someone said. "What is happening over there?"