Chapter 224 Opportunity

Over the next few days, Gao Yang's mind was filled with thoughts of how to escape and how to take his family away from this land of suffering.

Perhaps summoned by his intense will, the opportunity he had been dreaming of day and night finally arrived.

On this day, just as the convoy left the borders of Qingzhou, the sound of a wooden clapper suddenly rang out from the mountain forest, and over a hundred men charged out.

"bandits! Watch out, there are bandits!"

Although the dozens of government soldiers responsible for the escort had sabers and armor, they had been far too careless along the way. Their armor had all been dumped onto the backs of the laborers, and there was no time to put it on now.

These bandits were clearly experienced. They charged directly at the soldiers in groups of several people, and a fierce slaughter began instantly.

Gao Yang looked at the officer who had targeted him a few days ago. Seizing the right moment, he swung the sack he was carrying in a wide arc and smashed it into him.

The mounted officer hadn't expected to be ambushed by a laborer. He fell directly off his horse, head spinning. Before he could react, his throat was slit by a blade.

With the officer dead, the Lu Army soldiers were leaderless and were soon completely wiped out.

With the government soldiers all dead, the hundreds of laborers were scared out of their wits. They huddled closely together, as if that were the only way to ward off their fear.

At this moment, a burly man with a bushy beard carrying a large saber stepped forward and waved at the laborers.

"Men, take all of them up the mountain to work as slave labor."

Hearing this, someone immediately knelt down.

"Great King, have mercy! Great King, spare us! We have elderly parents and young children to support... Ugh..."

"Noisy!"

The bearded man shook the blood off his blade. Then, he suddenly saw Gao Yang standing there motionless and felt challenged.

He strode toward Gao Yang, his large saber already raised. Just as he was about to swing it down, he was shouted to a stop.

"Wait! Spare him! Second Brother, this man just helped us kill the government troops..."

The bearded man paused, then turned back to look at the speaker.

"Third Brother, you're not tricking me?"

"I'm not. If he hadn't used that sack to knock the officer down just now, several of our brothers might have died."

Having received confirmation, the bearded man finally lowered his saber. The look in his eyes as he viewed Gao Yang changed.

"Not bad, kid. Interested in joining us on the mountain?"

Gao Yang thought for a moment, but eventually steeled himself and shook his head.

"I have to go back to save my mother and Xiao Cui."

The bearded man was about to get angry again, but the man who had stopped him earlier hurried forward to intervene.

"Forget it, forget it. Second Brother, don't you like people who are loyal and righteous the most? I see he's a filial person, so let him go. We have hundreds of people here anyway; we're not lacking one or two."

"Hmph! If Third Brother hadn't pleaded for you, I would have split you alive today."

Gao Yang breathed a sigh of relief. Suddenly seeing Qin Ji kneeling there trembling, he summoned his courage once more.

"Great Kings, I have a humble request."

"Hey, you're pushing your luck, kid! See if I don't..."

"What is your request? Speak, and I will listen."

Gao Yang pointed at Qin Ji.

"That elderly man is my father-in-law. I would like..."

Now, even the Third Leader was a bit unhappy. He stared at Gao Yang.

"Kid, aren't you being a bit too demanding? You don't think we're running a charity, do you?"

Gao Yang took a deep breath and stated his terms for the exchange.

"I can help you take the Qingzhou Granary."

The Qingzhou Granary was a transit warehouse established by Chang Xingrong. It didn't hold a massive amount of supplies, but it was definitely a significant temptation for these bandits.

The two bandit leaders looked at each other, seemingly unable to believe it.

"You're not trying to trick us, are you, kid?"

"What would I gain from lying to you? If you don't believe me, I can go with you. If anyone dies, we die together."

The two of them seemed tempted. The bearded man grabbed Gao Yang and pulled him close.

"What do you plan to do? Tell us brothers. If it's not reliable, I'll split you alive immediately."

Gao Yang took a deep breath and explained the plan he had just formulated in his mind.

"The key to this plan is that we need a group of skilled martial artists as a vanguard to seize the gate of the Qingzhou Granary and hold it until the main force arrives."

"Secondly, you need enough manpower. The Qingzhou Granary is guarded by two hundred soldiers, and only ten miles away is a Lu Army camp where five thousand troops are stationed."

The two men felt they were being played and immediately grew angry.

"Are you trying to scam us? Ten miles... our brothers probably wouldn't even have time to retreat before those five thousand troops arrived."

Gao Yang gave a mysterious smile and held up two fingers.

"As long as you give me a horse and a spear, I can guarantee that not a single person will escape to deliver the news. If no one goes to report it, those five thousand people won't come."

While the two were still hesitating, a voice suddenly came from behind them.

"I agree."

The two turned around and quickly bowed.

"Big Brother."

To Gao Yang's surprise, the First Leader of these bandits was actually an elegant middle-aged man. The man walked up to Gao Yang and cupped his hands in greeting.

"I see that you are no ordinary person, young friend. May I ask..."

Gao Yang thought for a moment and decided to reveal his identity.

"I am Gao Yang, son of Gao Jia, one of the Twelve Protectors of the Gao Family Army."

"So you are the descendant of a loyal martyr. My apologies for the lack of respect!"

The middle-aged man signaled his men to find the keys and unlock Gao Yang's shackles. Only then did he lead him aside.

"You still had half of what you were going to say left unsaid, didn't you?"

Gao Yang was stunned. The middle-aged man gave a confident smile.

"If the Qingzhou Granary is robbed, how could Chang Xingrong let it go? I'm afraid my brothers and I would face endless retaliation."

Gao Yang was frozen. He hadn't expected his hidden motive to be seen through, and he immediately broke into a cold sweat.

The middle-aged man patted his shoulder.

"If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it just now. However, you have to help me think—after robbing the Qingzhou Granary, where should I go from here?"

Gao Yang breathed a sigh of relief and held up three fingers.

"The first path: go north and join the Yan State. Yan and Lu are enemies. Since you are being hunted by Chang Xingrong, the Yan State will likely take you in."

"The second path: find a new mountain stronghold. The Yan and Lu kingdoms are at each other's throats, and war will surely break out next year. By then, they won't have the energy to trouble you."

"The third path: come with me."

"Go with you? To where?"

"To the south, to the Nanyue Kingdom. The Duke of Xicheng Commandery, Gao Yuan, is my elder brother, and the Prince of Nanyue is my sister-in-law."

The men left Gao Yang aside and huddled together to discuss. Gao Yang didn't know what final decision they reached, but he knew for sure they hadn't chosen the third option.

In their eyes, it was likely the most unreliable choice.

However, the plan to raid the Qingzhou Granary was confirmed. The elegant middle-aged man promised Gao Yang that if everything went smoothly, they would not only release him and Qin Ji but also give them two horses and some travel money.

Chang Xingrong would never have imagined that a group of bandits within his borders would be so audacious as to raid his warehouse.

The Qingzhou Granary was picked clean. The two hundred guards were wiped out, nearly a thousand sets of leather armor were lost, and the losses of grain and weapons were countless.

This was a direct provocation to Chang Xingrong, the kind of provocation that was right in his face. How could he possibly endure it?

In the following days, twenty to thirty thousand Lu Army troops gathered in Qingzhou, searching everywhere for the petty criminals who dared to provoke the King of Lu.

And at this moment, the culprit, Gao Yang, had already taken his father-in-law and ten strings of coins, riding back toward Qingzhou at the fastest possible speed.