After the major event of yesterday, the tolling of the bell now signaled another significant development. Everyone dropped their tasks.
At this moment, Fu Dadi, who had been pretending to be drunk, returned to the village. Seeing the commotion, he walked up and kicked Xiao Long, asking, "Young Master Gu, are you alright? I was pretending to be drunk and lying on the ground, freezing. To avoid him seeing through my act, I didn't dare to move a muscle."
Gu Qingcheng smiled and replied, "You've performed a great service this time. If you hadn't reported Xiao Long's suspicious behavior so promptly, we wouldn't have been able to capture them so smoothly."
It turned out that a few days prior, while Fu Dadi was on night duty, Xiao Long had been constantly seeking him out for conversations. Initially, their talks were normal, just casual chats. However, as time went on, Xiao Long's demeanor became increasingly abnormal.
Xiao Long began to voice complaints and frequently spoke ill of Gu Qingcheng.
Fu Dadi, a man who valued gratitude, had always held Gu Qingcheng and Dai Fa in high esteem. Therefore, he sensed a hidden agenda in Xiao Long's words. Not being foolish, he continued to observe, trying to understand Xiao Long's intentions.
Of course, he also promptly reported the matter to Gu Qingcheng.
When Gu Qingcheng considered Xiao Long's past behavior, she knew he harbored ill intentions. She then dispatched a sharp-witted hunting team member to follow him.
They discovered that Xiao Long had claimed to be going to Zhanchun Town when he descended the mountain, but he didn't actually reach the town. Instead, he veered off onto a secret path in the tall grass midway.
At the end of this path were several dilapidated huts inhabited primarily by villagers previously expelled from Fenghuang Village for their misconduct.
Xiao Long mingled among them, plotting with them the scheme to raid Fenghuang Village.
Upon learning of this, Gu Qingcheng remained unfazed. She decided to turn the tables on them, using the opportunity to eliminate potential threats and simultaneously test the villagers' responsiveness.
Fu Dadi then, following Gu Qingcheng's instructions, began to feign agreement with Xiao Long, making him believe he had been brainwashed and shared the same resentment towards Fenghuang Village.
Seeing that Fu Dadi had fallen into his trap, Xiao Long, along with Wu De, began to make preparations. They planned to get Fu Dadi drunk while he was on duty, thus enabling them to open the gate for Wu De.
The on-duty system was strictly enforced, and the other hunting team members were diligent in their duties. Xiao Long found it impossible to win over any of them.
He looked around and thought Fu Dadi to be rather simple and straightforward, so he approached him. He never expected Fu Dadi to actually become friendly with him, giving him the opportunity to ply him with alcohol.
Xiao Long believed he had successfully gotten Fu Dadi drunk that night, unaware that Fu Dadi's true tolerance was at least a bottle and a half of 34-degree sorghum liquor.
Therefore, the mixed drink of osmanthus wine and sorghum liquor had no effect on Fu Dadi.
Fu Dadi only pretended to be drunk to lure them into the trap.
After Fu Dadi feigned drunkenness, Xiao Long indeed opened the gate to welcome the invaders.
The rest, as they say, is known to the villagers.
Dai Fa listened and repeatedly expressed his relief, acknowledging Gu Qingcheng's astuteness and the villagers' unwavering support for Fenghuang Village, which had given Gu Qingcheng the time to respond.
When Xiao Long brought wine and meat to Fu Dadi, Gu Qingcheng had already received intelligence and was almost certain he would act that night. She then instructed Yan Xin to have the hunting team members ambushed at strategic points in the village.
The reason for this certainty was that Xiao Long was usually quite stingy. He would not have spared two bottles of good wine, along with braised beef and salted duck, unless he was planning something significant.
Xiao Long's solemn presentation of these precious delicacies surely indicated he was embarking on a major undertaking.
As expected, Gu Qingcheng's prediction was accurate. Xiao Long and Wu De began their move.
The two men believed they had successfully captured Fenghuang Village, but in reality, they had been cornered by Gu Qingcheng. All those with malicious intent were neatly caught in one sweep.
The villagers suffered almost no losses. A few houses were set ablaze, but the village would send craftsmen to repair them for free the next day, causing no significant impact.
Mi Guo said from the side, "Fortunately, Brother Fu wasn't truly won over by them that day, or we would have been in dire straits."
"Indeed. It seems we should heavily reward Fu Dadi."
Gu Qingcheng was quite satisfied with this practice run.
The intelligence network had been deployed, leading to timely feedback on undesirable information. The villagers' loyalty had increased, and their unity in times of crisis was evident. Most importantly, they showed no fear, ensuring the village's safety.
Gu Qingcheng herself paid a price, acquiring a knife wound on her neck. Fortunately, it was only a superficial cut, and with the application of wound medicine, it should not leave a scar.
Mi Guo had been terrified when she saw Wu De put a knife to her sister's throat. Afterward, she complained that her sister shouldn't have put herself in such danger.
However, Gu Qingcheng chuckled and said, "To make the act convincing, we even locked up Xiao Lang and Sai Hu. Otherwise, with Xiao Lang's sharp instincts, he would have already bitten those people."
Only by placing herself in such peril could the villagers of Fenghuang Village truly be tested.
Now, Gu Qingcheng had randomly tested several villagers for loyalty, and all had scored above an excellent 85 points.
By apprehending the thieves and thwarting the robbery, Gu Qingcheng gained the trust of the villagers. This time, she was rewarded by the system with 10,000 'Shuang Dian' (satisfaction points). With both popular support and satisfaction points, it was a resounding victory.
As dawn broke, Dai Fa volunteered, along with Yan Xin and other hunting team members, to escort the 29 bandits to the authorities.
Fenghuang Village was still a village under the jurisdiction of the Great Zhou Dynasty, officially established with government approval. Having suffered theft and robbery, it was imperative to hand over the culprits to the authorities.
Indeed, upon receiving this "great gift," the county magistrate was enraged. After all, no official governing a region wanted such chaos to occur within their jurisdiction.
Consequently, all 29 bandits were thrown into prison, branded on their faces, and subsequently exiled.
To appease Fenghuang Village, the government also rewarded them with 30 taels of silver.
While Gu Qingcheng didn't particularly covet this sum, it at least indicated the government's stance, which outwardly supported Fenghuang Village's actions.
After Dai Fa descended the mountain, Gu Qingcheng personally inspected the situation at the mountain pass.
Previously, they had considered the pass easy to defend and difficult to attack. However, against genuine brigands, it was still not entirely secure, as the defensive walls were quite low. If a strong assault were launched, they could still be breached.
Gu Qingcheng summoned craftsmen and had the defensive walls rebuilt with green pine stone to a height of over seven meters, constructed in a fortress shape. They incorporated embrasures for observing enemy movements and stockpiled a large quantity of weapons within the fortresses.
Among these weapons were firebombs that Gu Qingcheng had devised based on chemical and physical principles. In a critical situation, they could be ignited at the mouth and hurled downwards. Upon impact, the exploding bottles could clear a wide area of attackers.
This practical combat experience tested the villagers' loyalty and revealed the vulnerabilities in the village's protective measures, allowing for timely reinforcement.
In the evening, Gu Qingcheng sounded the bell to assemble the villagers.
Upon hearing the bell, the villagers immediately dropped their tasks.
Those feeding chickens stopped;
Those tending the fires for cooking hastily placed their half-cooked porridge on the stove, intending to finish it later;
Villagers returning from the fields wiped their feet and hurried towards the communal area.