"Who got there first?" Liu Zhigao's face was ashen, murder on his mind.
They had busted their asses all day, thinking they could swoop in and reap the rewards. Instead, they'd lost dozens of men and gained absolutely nothing.
Zhang Zhiliang's expression was equally grim. He had planned to wipe out the Li family army's supplies and give Jiang He an explanation. Now, that plan was completely shattered.
"Who the hell moved the supplies?" he muttered.
"Could it be Ming Zhenglong, or some other Ming family higher-up, who arranged for someone else?"
Zhang Zhiliang pondered for a moment and figured it was possible. Aside from them, only the Ming family higher-ups knew where the Li family army was hiding. Liu Tiezhu and his men had no time to move the supplies. Besides, he had just seen them empty-handed. So the Li family army's supplies definitely weren't taken by them.
After a moment of silence, Zhang Zhiliang voiced his thoughts. Liu Zhigao listened and immediately cursed, "Those Ming family bastards are truly despicable. We worked our asses off, and they leave us nothing."
"Let's not dwell on this. We're heading back," Zhang Zhiliang said.
"Back?" Liu Zhigao was stunned. "What about the Zhang family army's supplies?"
"If the Ming family higher-ups have made arrangements, they've likely done the same for the Zhang family army. With our numbers, we can't get those supplies, and we'd risk exposure," Zhang Zhiliang warned.
Liu Zhigao thought it over and, though reluctant, led his men away.
At the same time, two hundred meters away at the Zhang family army's assembly point.
The leader, Zhang Guosheng, chain-smoked, nervously puffing on a cigarette. Around him stood a dozen team leaders, all waiting for his decision. The recent gunfire had spooked them, and Zhang Guosheng had called them together to share their thoughts.
The gunfire came from their rivals, the Li family army. That was both good and bad news. Good, because eliminating the Li family army meant one less competitor for the copper mine in Huaiyang. Bad, because whoever took them out might target them next.
They had already been burned once, losing the copper mine to the Ming family. Learning from that, they were now cautious, unwilling to leave their temporary camp. Still, Zhang Guosheng saw this as an opportunity. The Li family army was locked in a fight to the death—perfect timing to swoop in and pick up the scraps.
But his subordinates were too spineless. After a long silence, no one offered an opinion. Finally, Zhang Guosheng turned to a burly man beside him. "Zhang Honglin, take fifty men and sneak over to check things out."
Zhang Honglin's face went pale. The gunfire had stopped, meaning the fight was over. Sending him now was a death sentence—if discovered, he'd be celebrating Qingming Festival early. Zhang Guosheng was practically forcing him to his death.
After a moment of hesitation, Zhang Honglin said, "Guosheng, the fight's over. Checking now is pointless. This could be a trap. If we leave our post, we might get ambushed."
Zhang Guosheng's face darkened with rage. He cursed under his breath and turned to the others. "What do you all think?"
These team leaders were shrewd. They knew Zhang Guosheng wanted them to pressure Zhang Honglin into accepting the mission. But they weren't fools. If they pushed him now, they'd be next. No one was stupid enough to do that. Exchanging glances, they all agreed with Zhang Honglin.
Zhang Honglin breathed a sigh of relief, understanding their solidarity. They were all pawns of the Zhang family. If they didn't stick together, they'd all die at the family's hands.
Frustrated, Zhang Guosheng waved them off, telling them to get back to their posts.
Meanwhile, Liu Tiezhu was busy making his own plans. Using Guo Qixing's detailed maps, he had already figured out the Zhang family army's personnel and deployment. But he didn't rush to attack. Instead, he ordered everyone to stay hidden and wait for his command. He needed to give Guo Qixing time and wait for the right moment.
The gunfire had just stopped, so the Zhang family army was still on edge, highly alert. Attacking now would trigger a swift counterattack—a situation Liu Tiezhu wanted to avoid. So he waited, for Guo Qixing to prepare and for the Zhang family army to let their guard down.
They crouched in the weeds until the dead of night. By then, the Zhang family army had relaxed, convinced no one would attack. Except for the sentries, everyone else had returned to their tents to sleep.
Liu Tiezhu checked the time and decided it was enough. With a wave of his hand, hundreds of men crept toward the Zhang family army's camp.
"Fire!" Liu Tiezhu shouted, taking out the sentry at the camp's entrance with a single shot.
The others reacted instantly, charging into the camp with rifles raised, shooting anyone in sight.
Bang, bang, bang...
Gunfire erupted across the camp. Hundreds of men storming in was a terrifying sight. A hail of bullets, without needing to aim, mowed down all the sentries in one volley.
Inside the tents, the Zhang family army scrambled awake, grabbing their guns to fight back. But the moment they picked up their weapons, bullets tore through their bodies.
In just a few minutes, the Zhang family army's camp was ablaze, screams filling the air. Leader Zhang Guosheng was captured alive, and the rest of the army was wiped out.
The Ming family lost over thirty men in the battle, with more than fifty severely wounded. After counting the casualties, Liu Tiezhu ordered Lin Changxing's team to transport the Zhang family army's supplies back.
Through several observations, Liu Tiezhu had identified Lin Changxing as Jiang He's spy. Since the guy wanted to stir up trouble, he'd have to be ruthless.
Hearing the assignment, Lin Changxing could barely contain his grin. Transporting supplies was a cushy job. The Zhang family had a lot of supplies, and they hadn't been inventoried yet. He could easily skim some off along the way. His entire team was loyal to him, so no one would snitch.
After receiving the order, Lin Changxing immediately had his men move the supplies ahead. He needed to create distance from Liu Tiezhu's group to make his move.
Watching Lin Changxing disappear into the distance, Liu Tiezhu smirked coldly. He knew exactly what Lin Changxing was thinking. Letting him handle the supplies was just setting him up as a scapegoat.