With Liu Muxiu's answer, Zhilian Mountain was completely in Zhang Rui's bag.

During the time when Zhang Rui and Liu Muxiu learned all kinds of data about the cottage, Liu Shishi and others followed Zhang Rui's order, and each of the nine bandits was killed by more than ten knives.

The next thing Zhang Rui has to face is bandits outside. The first to bear the brunt were the second leader Zhong Wuliang and the fourth leader Guo Jiatang and the twenty-six subordinates they brought out. Sixteen of these bandits were seasoned bandits.

"According to Liu Muxiu, they should come back in the next few days." Zhang Rui thought in his heart

Although this group of bandits looks much less than Zhang Rui's bandit team, since ancient times, battlefield fighting has never been the final word. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, it was not unreasonable for a few hundred officers and soldiers to dare to hedge against tens of thousands of peasant troops, and dozens of Qing soldiers dared to hedge against hundreds of Ming troops.

Their own bandit teams are all untrained villagers. Although there is some courage in ordinary fights, there have been no casualties.

Zhang Rui believed that once the casualties exceeded a certain number, the bandit crackers would inevitably retreat. At that time, the casualties will increase even further.

An army that can fight to the last man similar to the Red Army in later generations is not expected to appear in this era.

This group of bandits, who are much smaller in number, is definitely strong enough to fight with the villagers who have just put down their hoes. Once their own bandit team can't defeat them, and there are a large number of casualties in a rout, then their efforts in the past few days have been in vain.

The top priority at the moment is to step up the training of their bandit team when this group of bandits returns, and at the same time block the news that Zhilian Mountain has been taken down by themselves.

They still don't know that Zhilian Mountain has been taken, and it is the enemy who is in the open and I am in the dark. Once they know, they will join up with Zhou Tongtie's gang of bandits when the time comes. There are many bandits, and if the enemy is in the dark and I am in the light, everything will not be easy to deal with.

But before we can do that, there's one more important thing to do - the silver bounty.

The bounty is taken directly from the spare silver of the cottage. The specific reward list Zhang Rui also listed them one by one for Liu Muxiu, and asked Du Mu to assist him in preparing the silver reward together.

After arranging the relevant things in the cottage, Zhang Rui took the four people back to Datong Village.

……

The sun is scorching, and the weather after noon is the hottest part of the day.

Zhang Rui and the others returned all the way quickly, and in such a hot weather, they were not in the mood to be a literati traveler.

When Zhang Rui and the others returned to Li Si's house, they actually found that Li Laibao, the owner of the blacksmith shop in the town, was sitting at Li Si's house waiting for him to come back. It turned out that Li Laibao had already sent the spear that Zhang Rui said yesterday.

At the checkout this time, Li Laibao still miscalculated the account and undercounted two taels of silver. However, it did not affect the continuation of the pleasant transaction between the two parties in the slightest.

Although this time the spear was in a hurry, the quality of the barrel was somewhat flawed. However, the head of the gun is passable, and there is no problem in killing the enemy. So Zhang Rui also placed an order for Li Laibao again: three days later, the long spot of 50 sticks is still here in Datong Village.

This order of one hundred taels made Li Laibao very happy to take it. When leaving, I repeatedly promised Zhang Rui that I would ensure quality and quantity.

…

Returning to the village this time, Zhang Rui never imagined that the level of attention he received rose to a new height again.

It is said that those who followed Zhang Rui to fight and got a share of the silver were all praised by their own women, and they all smiled from ear to ear. The men who didn't go with Zhang Rui were scolded by the women of their own family and were depressed all day long.

So this time Zhang Rui returned to the village, and the villagers all ran over and told Zhang Rui that as long as there was a fight, he would call himself no matter what, and if he didn't call himself, he would look down on himself. Even if there is no silver to distribute, if the people of their own village fight, where can they let the people of other villages take the first credit.

Zhang Rui could only respond to the enthusiasm of the villagers one by one and expressed his gratitude to them for their enthusiasm.

Under Zhang Rui's various praises and promises, the villagers were persuaded to go back one by one. The members of the bandit team looked at the villagers' warm love for Zhang Rui, and they all felt that their faces were related.

Time has passed, the sun has entered the westward trend, and in the blink of an eye, it is afternoon.

Zhang Rui decided to leave Li Si and Wu Lei's family and Li Niushi first, and explained the relevant matters to them. At the same time, they were also given a reward of ten taels of silver, so that they could finish their farm work at home first.

When everyone didn't notice it, Zhang Rui took the rest of the bandit team members back to Zhilian Mountain Cottage.

……

The moon is in the sky, and the moonlight is like water. The sky is cloudless and starry.

It was night, and the cottage on the mountain lifted a grand feast.

The large pot of mutton soup with oily noodles, the wine in the big jar, the mutton in sauce, the white cut chicken on the large plate, the roast duck on the large plate, and some green vegetables and tofu to relieve the oil. These ingredients all exude an enticing aroma under the original chef of the cottage, which makes the mouths of those who smell them water, and they want to swallow them in their stomachs immediately.

The cottage people are busy serving food between the tables. After receiving Zhang Rui's personal promise that as long as the remaining bandits were dealt with, they would be released from the mountain and each of them would be given ten taels of silver as wages, and they were now working very actively.

The entire cottage was open to the dinner, including the seven women who were rescued from the dungeon. Because of the comfort and conditioning of Mrs. Liu Muxiu and the maids, their mental state was much better at this time.

The whole dinner was still explained by wolf spitting, even the bandits who defected. Such a rich dinner is not something they can eat if they want, and in normal times, they can eat a full meal. Unless it is a master or an old bandit, the meat is also eaten at different times and in the right amount.

As the dinner was approaching, facing the light of the torches, Zhang Rui said to everyone: "Have you eaten yet?" ”

"Eat it." Everyone replied in unison

"Have you drunk it?"

"Drink it." Everyone replied in unison again

"Okay, then let's start handing out the bounty now." As he spoke, he clapped his hands. At this time, six subordinates came out with three large boxes and placed them in front of Zhang Rui, and then left.

I saw Zhang Rui open the box, revealing white silver.

"Now the silver bounty begins. Now the one who heard the name came forward. ”

Zhang Rui's words made everyone excited. Especially those bandits who defected, the hearts that were still carrying them were completely relaxed at this moment.

"Sure enough, the sixth brother is a person who keeps his word."

Everything is new to them. It's a strange feeling, but I can't say it, but I feel more secure and comfortable than ever. And you don't have to worry about being taken by the old bandits when you get the silver.

……

The bandits had not yet been able to comprehend what was happening, when the silver was in their hands. When Zhang Rui asked them whether they wanted to leave or stay, all of them chose to stay without hesitation and swore that they would say

"No matter what happens in the future, stay and follow the sixth brother."