Chapter 133: Li Yi's Strategy

"Enough people have died today; mutual slaughter will not be tolerated."

Li Yi sternly stopped the Suijin soldiers and the auxiliary troops, averting a bloody clash between the two sides.

Gao Jie said anxiously, "Commander, these auxiliary troops are bandits at heart. We should just kill them to prevent them from colluding with Wang Zuogua and betraying us."

"I have said before, there are no bandits here, only brothers who kill the enemy together. Gao Jie, if you dare to talk back again, do not blame me for enforcing military law."

Gao Jie still wanted to argue, but meeting Li Yi’s cold and piercing gaze, he shrank his neck and fell silent in fear.

"Flying Tiger, these are all your men. Tell me, how should we handle this?" Li Yi turned his head and asked.

Flying Tiger knelt on the ground with a sorrowful expression, kowtowing as he said, "This subordinate is willing to be a beast of burden for Your Honor. But these are all my fellow villagers and friends. I beg Your Honor to show mercy and leave them a path to survival."

Li Yi looked at Flying Tiger and nodded. "Very well, I grant this."

As soon as these words were spoken, the auxiliary troops looked at Li Yi in disbelief.

They had not expected that Li Yi would actually be willing to let them go.

"Commander, absolutely not!"

"Commander, if they turn to banditry again, Circuit Intendant Hong will surely punish us!"

Not only Gao Jie, but Gao Laoshi and Liu Zongmin also stepped forward to try and dissuade him.

Li Yi waved his hand to signal them to remain silent.

With a chilling gaze, he swept his eyes over the auxiliary troops and said coldly, "I can let you leave, and I won't even demand your guarantee that you will not return to banditry. But I want your promise that from now on, you will not bully the common people or slaughter women and children. Can you do that?"

The auxiliary troops looked at each other in dismay. Amidst the commotion, one man kowtowed to Li Yi and said, "Your Honor, we were originally bandits. If not for being captured by you, we probably wouldn't even have had the chance to accept amnesty. You did not disdain our humble status, you distributed reward money, and you treated everyone equally. We are deeply grateful for Your Honor's kindness. If Your Honor is willing to spare our lives today, we swear not to bully the common people and not to slaughter women and children. If we break this oath, let heaven strike us and earth destroy us."

Li Yi stared at him. "You have studied books?"

The man respectfully lowered his body and replied, "This humble person studied in a village school for two years."

It was rare for a scholar to turn bandit.

Li Yi pondered for a moment and said to the kneeling Flying Tiger, "You may get up as well. Since the auxiliary troops are leaving, you, their leader, should go with them."

Flying Tiger was somewhat stunned. He shook his head and said, "This subordinate will not leave. Your Honor must defend Longmen Town, and this subordinate is willing to fight to the death without retreating, to repay Your Honor's kindness."

Li Yi sighed, stepped forward to help Flying Tiger up, and patted his shoulder. "Since you pleaded for a path of survival for your fellow villagers and friends, why abandon them and stay here to die? You do not need to repay my kindness; I would rather have you help lead them away and ensure they keep today's promise."

Hearing these words, Flying Tiger could no longer hold back, his fierce eyes filled with tears.

The auxiliary troops were also deeply moved, holding Li Yi in even greater reverence and respect.

"When I accepted the amnesty, I said that those who fight shoulder to death are life-and-death brothers. What I, Li Yi, fear most is failing my brothers. Since you are leaving, the rule remains: five taels of silver for each person, to provide a little security for yourselves and your families."

As soon as these words were finished, some among the auxiliary troops burst into loud sobs, while the rest had reddened eyes and choked back their tears.

"There is no feast in this world that never ends. Pack your things and go."

Li Yi waved his hand and walked back into the house.

Unanimously, the auxiliary troops turned toward Li Yi's retreating back, heavily kowtowed several times, and then stood up and left.

With Li Yi having spoken, none of the Suijin officers and soldiers dared to stop them, no matter how bold they were.

Gao Laoshi led people to distribute the silver, but Gao Jie, Liu Zongmin, Li Goudan, Liu Dayong, and others were filled with resentment.

Not daring to disobey Li Yi's order, they stood in the courtyard, gritting their teeth as they watched the departing Flying Tiger.

"All of you, come inside."

At the stern command, Gao Jie and the others entered the room.

Observing their expressions, Li Yi asked indifferently, "What? Do you think I did something wrong?"

Gao Jie was the first to lose his composure. "Commander, it's not that we are hard-hearted. Once these auxiliary troops leave, they will surely return to banditry. If Hong Chengchou finds out, it will be a capital offense."

Secretly releasing bandits was a crime no less severe than colluding with them.

Let alone a minor commander like Li Yi, even a regional commander would be brought to justice for it.

Liu Zongmin also spoke up. "Commander, our forces are already insufficient. Now that we let the auxiliary troops go, how can Longmen Town possibly be defended?"

"If we keep them, can it be defended?" Li Yi retorted.

Liu Zongmin was left speechless.

With the remaining forces, even with the auxiliary troops added, it was utterly impossible to stop the bandits' advance.

Li Yi sighed softly, knowing that Gao Jie and the other close subordinates did not understand his actions and had accumulated much grievance.

He explained, "Even ants cling to life, let alone men. With the wounded soldiers evacuated, the forces in our hands cannot possibly hold back the bandits. Forcefully keeping the auxiliary troops would only breed resentment. If they were to turn against us in the heat of battle, we wouldn't even have a chance to break through and retreat."

Hearing Li Yi say this, the anger of Gao Jie and the others dissipated somewhat.

Yet Gao Jie remained dissatisfied. "Then why let them leave? If we find evidence of communication with the bandits, we could just lock them up."

Li Yi sneered. "You also know the auxiliary troops possess some combat strength. If a mutiny broke out, the bandits wouldn't even need to attack; the Suijin army and the auxiliary troops would slaughter each other."

Gao Jie shrank his head in embarrassment.

Indeed, the Suijin army had only a little over a hundred men left, while the auxiliary troops numbered over three hundred. If a fight broke out, not only would casualties be catastrophic, but Longmen Town could certainly not be held.

"Commander, do you have a plan?" Liu Zongmin sensed a clue and could not help asking.

Nearby, Li Goudan and Liu Dayong were already thoroughly confused and urged, "Commander, there are no outsiders here. Tell your brothers about it."

"Commander, I beg you, tell us quickly."

Li Yi smiled faintly. "Let me ask you this: even if the auxiliary troops and the Suijin army defended the city together, could we hold Longmen Town?"

Li Goudan shook his head. "The bandits are too numerous; our forces are simply not enough to defend all four walls of the city."

"Therefore, I have considered launching a surprise raid to throw the bandit camp into chaos and capture their leader."

Hearing this, everyone was greatly startled.

Liu Zongmin frowned and said, "However, the bandits have scouts patrolling, and we don't even know the location of Wang Zuogua's camp. How can we launch a sudden raid and capture Wang Zuogua?"

Liu Zongmin's question hit the nail on the head.

Li Yi smiled slightly. "It is true that we cannot evade the bandit scouts, nor do we know Wang Zuogua's camp. But Wang Zuogua and the others do not know that Flying Tiger has accepted amnesty. Flying Tiger was originally a trusted subordinate in Wang Zuogua's camp. If he suddenly leads men back into the bandit army, and Wang Zuogua learns of it, do you think he will grant an audience? And therein lies our opportunity."

Hearing Li Yi's plan, everyone's jaws dropped in utter astonishment.

They were stunned by this interlocking, wildly imaginative scheme.