Chapter 8, The Law of the Leader

In order to express loyalty, Du Yuan clasped his hands and said: "It is rare for His Majesty, the King of Hongnong, to hold us bandits in such high regard. I, a humble man, am willing to recommend my elder brother to join the righteous army and serve His Majesty."

What you say makes sense; the head of the household is indeed thoughtful. This young man must be calculating this, and although they are skilled, we cannot just surrender. In any case, death is inevitable, so it is better to disperse now while we still have a chance to survive. If we are tricked into the city, we will only be waiting to have our necks stretched for the knife.

By employing the principle of the leading sheep, the constraints have frightened the bandits. Just as a shepherd can easily manage the flock by taking care of the lead sheep, and a horseman can easily manage the horses by taking care of the lead horse; the same principle applies to humanity.

Liu Bian nodded: "Absolutely true"

As humans are the knife and I am the fish meat, how could the bandit leader dare to disobey? He immediately scrambled to his feet and shouted at the fleeing bandits: "All of you, stand still! Whoever dares to run, I, Du Yuan, will find your home and kill your entire family!"

Liu Bian calmly expressed his intentions and then tossed the token to Du Yuan: "This token can serve as a token of trust for you. If I deceive you, you may publicly announce my breach of faith. Moreover, you do not need to follow me into the city; it suffices for you to practice outside the city, without any concern that I might trick you into the city and capture you like fish in a barrel."

Liu Bian rode swiftly to the front of the captured leader and shouted, "If you do not wish to die, then stop your men from fleeing and have them remain in place to obey orders. For every one that escapes, I will chop off one of your fingers; for two, I will chop off two fingers; for ten, I will chop off all your fingers"

Of course, Xiao Li Guang is not merely a name without substance. With this arrow, the bandit leader will most likely meet his end, and the remaining bandits can be easily scattered; one person, Hua Rong, is sufficient for this task, not to mention the fierce woman Mu Guiying assisting him. Liu Bian felt no fear at all; on the contrary, he suddenly thought of a way to expand his strength.

Liu Bian was immediately delighted and asked from his horse: "May I ask what your elder brother's surname and given name are, and where he is now?"

Hua Rong did not understand the meaning of Liu Bian's words, but still followed his instructions. With a slight tremor of his hand, he released an arrow, which with a "thud" struck the shoulder of the bandit leader, resulting in a scream as he fell from his horse.

Du Yuan was both astonished and delighted, and immediately prostrated himself on the ground: "Commoner Du Yuan is willing to serve King Hongnong, even if it means going through fire and water, I shall not decline!"

We are bandits, precisely the targets of the authorities' pursuit; how could we possibly partake in the imperial rations

At that moment, the bandits all threw down their weapons, knelt down on the ground, and shouted in unison: "We, the commoners, are willing to serve King Hongnong!"

I am a descendant of the royal family, and I am currently planning to recruit soldiers to fight against the rebel Dong Zhuo. Today, I see that all of you brave heroes are strong in stature and have experience as soldiers. Although you were Yellow Turbans, you have at least been on the battlefield, so I intend to enlist you under my command

Du Yuan's courage gradually grew, and with a heart full of doubt, he cupped his hands towards Liu Bian and said: "This young master should not play tricks on us here. To be honest, we are all subordinates of General Zhang Mancheng of the Yellow Turban Army. After General Zhang was killed in battle, we had nowhere to go and could only take refuge here. Yet you say you want us to receive imperial rations; could it be that you intend to deceive us down the mountain and lure us into the city, so that the authorities can capture us and claim the reward?"

Du Yuan and the bandits were overjoyed, kneeling down and loudly proclaiming: "We, the commoners, thank the great king and the young master!"

The sound of hooves echoed as a fine steed galloped forward, the glint of blades flashing. Wherever it passed, heads rolled chaotically, and in an instant, over a dozen bodies lay fallen. The remaining bandits, terrified, retreated in haste, exposing their leader directly beneath Mu Guiying's blade

If there is a road to take, who would be willing to become a rebel, as the officials referred to the Yellow Turban Army, living each day on the edge of a knife? Once they have become rebels, they can never return to their hometown. After their defeat, becoming bandits became their only means of survival. At this moment, hearing this young man say that he can provide them with imperial rations and make them stewards, how could they not be moved?

The bandits, forced by circumstances, could only throw down their weapons and plead for mercy: "Esteemed heroes, please spare our lives. We truly had no other choice and resorted to robbery out of desperation. We did not expect to offend such valiant individuals. We hope you will show mercy and let us and our leader go."

The bandit leader was almost scared silly, today he felt he had encountered the worst luck in eight lifetimes, what kind of people are these? The man's archery skills are impressive, but why does the woman seem even more formidable?

The answer is singular: Liu Bian lacks soldiers and wishes to turn these mountain bandits into his own troops

Then he reached out and summoned Du Yuan to his side, lowering his voice and saying: "I will not hide it from you, you have heard about Dong Zhuo deposing the Emperor and making him the King of Hongnong, right? I have been entrusted by the King of Hongnong to go to Nanyang to recruit righteous troops. If you are willing to join now, not only will you be exempt from the crime of rebellion, but when the King of Hongnong ascends the throne again, you will be a meritorious minister in the restoration of the state"

Upon witnessing the head of the household being captured alive, the other bandits were instantly terrified, scattering in disarray like birds and beasts, turning to flee in all directions

Liu Bian took a look and saw the four large seal script characters "Shang Jun Xiao Wei" written on it. He realized that this was the token of the leader of the "Eight Captains of the Western Garden," Jian Shuo. It was likely left in the palace after his death and picked up by Tang Ji, who kept it as a valuable item. At this moment, it was just right to use it to stabilize these mountain bandits first. Liu Bian was truly eager to have his own army; without soldiers, how could he talk about unifying the world?

Most of those who have turned to banditry are defeated members of the Yellow Turban Army, who, having no way out, resorted to becoming mountain bandits. Many of them are neighbors, familiar with each other's backgrounds. When Du Yuan shouted like this, who did not weigh the situation in their hearts? Indeed, they all stopped fleeing.

Liu Bian instructed Hua Rong's subordinates to spare the life of the bandit leader, as this was his intention.

What does this child mean, and why does it sound like nonsense?

"Ouch... it hurts so much, it's really damn hard, just stab me with a random knife!" The bandit leader rolled on the ground in pain, shouting fiercely.

If there is even a glimmer of hope, who would be willing to be a bandit in this remote mountain valley? Damn, one can't even see a woman in March, and one feels that even a sow looks handsome. Now, one can become a soldier, and moreover, a soldier of the righteous army of the Wang family of Hongnong; only a fool would not want that

Hua Rong let out a cold snort, swiftly took down the iron bow from his back, drew the bow, nocked an arrow, and aimed at the bandit leader: "Your Majesty, do not worry, let me show you my archery skills"

Mu Guiying drew her sword and pointed the cold blade at the neck of the bandit leader, coldly saying: "What audacity! You do not even open your eyes to see who we are? How dare you rob the road?"

Liu Bian rode forward on horseback and shouted loudly: "Brothers, do not panic. I understand that your becoming bandits was a matter of necessity. We will not only not make things difficult for you, but we will also ensure that you live well from now on, eat imperial rations, and become stewards!"

These bandits are lawless fugitives, and they will not be as courteous as the escorting officials. If they cannot escape, it is likely that both the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law will end up becoming the wives of these strongmen today.

Unexpectedly, the most feared situation still occurred. Empress He and Lady Tang had never witnessed such a spectacle, and they were instantly frightened to the point of turning pale, trembling all over.

Liu Bian complained to himself while speaking, I would indeed like to bring you all into the city, but I at least need to have a city of my own. Right now, apart from Mu Guiying and Hua Rong, I have no soldiers by my side, not a single inch of land. Otherwise, would I go to such great lengths to win over you mountain bandits?

"Tang Ji, do you have the imperial token?" Liu Bian turned around and asked

Hua Rong and Mu Guiying finally understood Liu Bian's reason for sparing a life with the arrow. If the arrow had killed Du Yuan, the bandits would have only been able to kill a portion of them at most, and the rest would certainly scatter like birds and beasts. It would be utterly impossible to persuade them to surrender. However, sparing Du Yuan's life and allowing him to persuade the bandits to surrender was indeed the best strategy.

Then, why did Liu Bian choose to use the bandit leader to restrain the bandits

Fearing that these bandits might go back on their word, Liu Bian resorted to buying their loyalty with official positions. After all, it was merely an empty promise, and he himself would incur no loss, so why not take advantage of it

After speaking, she signaled Mu Guiying to withdraw the large knife: "Let him go!"

Upon hearing Du Yuan's words, the band of mountain thieves erupted into another uproar, each one assuming a posture as if ready to flee at any moment

Upon hearing Liu Bian's words, more than two hundred bandits erupted in a flurry of discussion, as if a pot had been set ablaze

Du Yuan, having read books and recognized characters, was taken aback when he took a look; it turned out to be the renowned token of the First Commander of the "Eight Captains of the Western Garden." The fact that this item could be produced indicates that the young man’s words were not mere fabrications. He clasped his hands and inquired, "Could it be that the young master is truly of royal descent?"

"Esteemed lady, please spare my life. I am but a humble person who does not recognize greatness, and I hope you will show mercy."

Tang Ji had a bundle on her back, containing various valuable items such as delicate jewelry. After a hasty search, she found a token, the inscription on which she could not decipher. She reached out and handed it to her man, saying: "My lord... do you think this is of any use?"

The attire of these individuals does not resemble that of ordinary people. Since this young man speaks so confidently, perhaps he has his reasons. Let us listen to what he has to say.

Du Yuan finished bowing to Liu Bian and stood up, loudly addressing the bandits around him: "Brothers, this young master is entrusted by the King of Hongnong to go to Nanyang to recruit righteous troops. He just promised that as long as we are willing to serve the king, not only will we be exempt from the crime of rebellion, but we will also be rewarded according to our merits in the future. This is far better than being bandits here. Brothers, are you willing to follow me?"

The two individuals were immediately filled with admiration for Liu Bian; at such a young age, his thoughts were already so meticulous. What will he achieve when he grows up? Following a leader like him, there is great potential for the future

Although they are merely a rabble, lacking discipline and combat effectiveness, and most of them are plagued by vices, having them is still better than having none. There are only generals who do not lead their troops well, but no troops that cannot be led.

General Hua, do not shoot to kill; capture them alive

Liu Bian smiled and said on horseback: "There is no need for excessive courtesy, as long as you serve the King well in the future, you will not be treated unfairly."

Your name is Du Yuan, correct? If you can persuade your brothers to join the righteous army, it will be a great achievement for you! Here, on behalf of the King of Hongnong, I appoint you as the Jianwu School Captain. You may grant titles and rewards to your subordinates as you see fit, such as team leaders or garrison commanders.