Two factions of Huo and Bian

  Pei Qiantong knew he was in the wrong and changed his tone: "You don't want people to know what's inside, are you hiding contraband?"

  "There's no need for you to know what's inside, this is a military restricted area, how can I let someone unrelated like you snoop around casually!"

  Pei Qiantong sneered coldly, "You think a small warehouse like yours is a strategic military location? You're not afraid of being laughed at, are you? Hand over the salt transportation official silver from last time, and our two gangs will get along peacefully. Otherwise, even if it means we both perish together, I'll make sure to burn your mining warehouse to ashes today!"

  Wei Chi Jing De let out a loud shout: "Give me back my mother's silver! You come and try burning it to see! I'll first burn that bird feather of Pei Zongtong to ashes!"

  "Hahaha..." The miners burst into a loud guffaw.

  Pei Qiantong's face sank, and he said no more, his hand waving lightly.

  "Kill them!"

  At the sound of the order, hundreds of salt gang members surged forward like a tide towards those people from the mine gang.

  The sound of killing shook the sky, the clash of arms rose, flesh and blood flew everywhere, wails filled the ground.

  Both sides were evenly matched, and neither could gain a slight advantage.

  Although the number of people in the mine was not dominant, the opponent had a Wei Chi Jingde holding a long gun, rushing into the crowd, as if entering a deserted land, killing with enthusiasm, and laughing loudly while killing, like a mad demon, no one within three feet around could get close.

  The people of Yanbang saw him approaching and fled one after another.

  Compared to Wei Chi Jing De, Zhu Zi looked even more powerful and unstoppable, wielding two large hammers that danced with a fierce wind, anyone who came into contact with them would spit out fresh blood and be knocked flying, taking down anyone else who was nearby.

  Not only Wei Zijun and Zhu Zi, but also Liu Wuzhou, the burly man standing behind him, and a woman with a large golden scissors on her shoulder, with a sullen face. None of these people are easy to deal with.

  Pei Qiantong's eyebrows gradually furrowed, he originally thought that the salt gang's sneak attack on the mine gang's warehouse was secretive enough, and it was his temporary idea, the mine gang couldn't have known about this sneak attack, even if the warehouse had heavy troops guarding it, they might not be able to withstand the many people he brought.

  He never thought that Liu Wuzhou could predict his actions in advance and make preparations beforehand.

  A faintly smiling face gradually emerged in his mind, and his heart skipped a beat.

  Now that things have come to this, although it's clear that they've been deceived by this person, they can only grit their teeth and persevere. If they were to suddenly order a retreat now, it would be equivalent to admitting defeat to the mining faction. At that time, not only would the morale of the salt faction plummet, but in the future, the salt faction would also inevitably be suppressed by the mining faction.

  Fortunately, the Salt Gang had the upper hand in numbers. Although the opponent had fierce generals like Wei Zhi and Zhu Zi, they were ultimately only two people and couldn't hold on for long. The Salt Gang was fighting with all their might, severely injured but still going strong. As long as they could seize the opponent's secret granary and destroy their base, the Mining Gang would no longer have the ability to rival the Salt Gang.

  Having figured this out, Pei Qian didn't have any more worries. Now both sides were in a situation where they couldn't back down, and it was just a matter of who would be the first to crack under the pressure. If the Salt Gang won, the Mining Gang would completely collapse, but if the Mining Gang won, the Salt Gang would only lose some manpower without being severely damaged.

  The majestic man beside Liu Wuzhou leaned in close to his ear and whispered a few words, Liu Wuzhou nodded, the majestic man waved at several archers nearby, they received the order and scrambled up the surrounding trees, set up crossbows, took aim at the various bosses of the Salt Gang, and fired at them.

  The helmsmen of the Salters were at a loss as to how to counter the hail of arrows flying towards them, and their offensive weakened instantly.

  "Despicable!" Pei Qiantong cursed under his breath.

  The two groups of armed men were locked in a stalemate for nearly half an hour, with both sides suffering heavy casualties. Pei Qiantong had brought 200 men, but now only about 100 were left, the rest either dead or wounded and lying on the ground, having lost their ability to fight.

  The Salt Gang didn't have it easy either, Liu Wuzhou hastily came to defend, bringing only the elite of the Mining Gang, losing one was a pity, originally over 100 people, now only 40 or 50 are left.

  Wei Chi Jing De and Zhu Zi were both covered in blood, their faces showing signs of exhaustion. Zhu Zi's strength had waned significantly, and many of the Salt Gang's skilled fighters took advantage of this to get close to him, leaving several knife wounds on his muscular torso, with blood flowing non-stop.

  "Zhùzi, don't show off! Go back!" Wei Rui's life was saved by Yuchi Jingde, who broke the neck of the sneak attacker with a swift twist of his hand. Turning around, he shouted at Zhuzi.

  "Hey, Brother Wei Chi, don't worry, I can handle these few weaklings!"

  "This is an order!" Wei Rang's face sank, and Zhu Ziliu did not dare to insist any more, retreating back among Liu Wuzhou's men.

  Pei Qiantong saw this and shouted loudly to the few remaining men beside him: "Get me Wei Zhengde's head!"

  At the sound of an order, several division masters flew towards Wei Zhengde in a flash.

  At the same time, the majestic man beside Liu Wuzhou also moved and rushed directly towards Pei Qiantong's direction. Anyone could see that his target was Pei Qiantong.

  Pei Qiantong saw it in his eyes, and a cold smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

  Just as the two gangs were about to engage in their final showdown, a sudden and urgent sound of horse hooves echoed from afar.

  Soon, another group of nearly a hundred iron riders appeared on the mountain heads on both sides of the valley. One of the leading generals shouted: "General Feng has ordered that both parties immediately stop fighting, otherwise you will be arrested and taken to court for gathering and rebelling!"

  Pei Qiantong and Liu Wuzhou's faces changed at the same time, turning their heads to look towards the mountain slope where a team of silver iron cavalry with strict military discipline and majestic momentum was stationed. They both recognized the leader among them as Su Shichang, the chief steward of the Fiefdom.

  This man was around forty years old, with a slender build but wearing majestic armor, riding on a tall horse, pointing and commanding in an arrogant manner, looking particularly comical.

  In terms of fame, Su Shi Chang is even more famous than the leaders of Yan Bang and Mei Bang, rivaling Bai Hua Lou's Peony Fairy.

  He, who had once been the county magistrate of Luo County, was exposed for corruption by his subordinates and felt guilty. He knelt naked at the gate of the prefecture, allowing his subordinates to flog him ten times. Originally, it was just a show to gain a reputation for integrity, imitating Cao Mengde's cutting off his hair as a substitute for punishment. However, his subordinates were all made of solid wood and hit him with real force, causing him to cry out in pain, nearly dying from the beating. As a result, the whole city knew about it, and he became a laughing stock.

  He was eventually found to have hoarded a large amount of gold and silver at home, demoted to a commoner, and a few years ago he came to the Feng Mansion to offer his services, becoming one of Feng's door guests, responsible for copying letters and documents. Despite this, he still had some talent and was appreciated by Feng Lun, eventually becoming one of the stewards of the Feng Mansion.

  Pei Qiantong took one look at him and knew that there was imperial interference in this matter, it would be difficult to have a result, so he had no choice but to order the halt of the arrest.

  Liu Wuzhou also let out a sigh of relief, recalling the valiant Han men who had already charged halfway. The two sides slowly parted ways, each dragging back their dead and wounded comrades.

  Su Shi drove his horse down the slope, nearly falling off several times. When he finally reached a spot about 100 meters away from the two men, he adjusted his loose and heavy armor, slightly calming his frightened mood. Suddenly, he saw the gruesome scene on the battlefield and vomited over the horse's back. After clearing out the contents of his stomach, he gradually regained some composure.

  "Lord Feng has learned that the two of you have been provoked by others, and has specially sent me to mediate. Why not take my face into consideration and drop the matter? You should know that when two tigers fight, they will both be injured in the end. Lord Feng invites the two of you to come to his mansion for a chat, to clear up the misunderstanding. Please, go."