At dawn on the fifth day after the Battle of Boulder Town, the sentry reported that a lone rider had arrived from the north. Art asked the sentry to bring the messenger to the camp, and then ordered people to call Angus and bring the young bandits imprisoned in the camp into the military tent.
The person who came was the second leader of the remnant bandits, riding a miscellaneous horse and carrying three thousand pfennigs of silver coins to redeem his son. In the past two days, he had seen heads one by one along the west trade road, which caused a great psychological shock to him. And fear, for the sake of safety, he has moved the bandits' nest to another hidden canyon. Before leaving, he has ordered the dozen old brothers who are still with him to be ready to escape at any time. If he does not return before evening, the remaining bandits will take their families and find another way out.
When the second leader of the remnant bandits held his breath and walked into the gate of the camp, the camp was filled with soldiers holding sharp blades and looking murderous.
The second leader's Adam's apple squirmed. He swallowed and looked at the soldiers beside him. The soldiers gave him a gentle push and signaled him to go to the military tent inside.
After entering a slightly larger military tent, his son was gagged and held on his knees by two soldiers.
Just as the second leader was about to step forward to see his son, Art's voice sounded, "Take the young master of the second leader down." Then Art drove away the other soldiers, leaving only Art Angus and the second leader of the bandit in the tent.
"You've seen your son, how about it, I'm a man of credibility." Art sat on the wooden chair, leaning forward slightly.
The head of the second leader followed the kidnapped son around until he disappeared outside the tent.
“Sir, Inspector, I have brought the money, not even a copper coin, please let my son go~” The second leader’s attitude was extremely respectful, with pleading in his tone.
Matt and Angus looked at each other and smiled: "Of course, you are very trustworthy."
"Then can I take my son away?" The second leader frowned.
Matt and Angus stared at the second leader without answering, and the second leader began to look nervous again.
A moment later, there was still no movement from the two people in front of them.
The eyes of the second leader of the bandits opened wider and wider. He loosened his fingers and slipped the money bag, then fell to his knees with a plop, "Master, you said you wanted me to use the money to ransom people~"
Angus smiled lightly, stepped forward, picked up the money bag on the ground, weighed it, and said, "My master promised to let your son go, but we didn't promise you."
The second leader collapsed on the ground, and he was prepared for such an outcome.
While the second leader was desperately waiting for the soldiers outside to drag him down and behead him, Art, who was sitting on a wooden chair, took the money bag from Angus, walked slowly in front of the second leader, and threw the money bag into his arms. The second leader failed to catch it, and the money bag fell to the ground again.
"I won't kill you."
The second leader, who was paralyzed on the ground, thought he had heard wrongly and raised his head to look at Art in surprise.
"You heard me right, I won't kill you, and neither will your son." Art looked sincere.
But the more sincere Art looked like this, the more the second leader of the bandit's heart pounded. He couldn't figure out what the guy in front of him who was cutting heads like melons wanted to do.
"Sir, if you think the ransom is too small, I will go back immediately..."
"No, no, no, no, no, I don't need the ransom." Art interrupted the second leader.
"Then what do you need, tell me, and I will agree to it!" The second leader said with a tearful voice.
Matt glanced at Angus, who smiled softly, and then came over to help the second leader who was kneeling on the ground, but the second leader did not dare to get up despite his words.
"Get up." Art bent down and pretended to help the second leader who was on the ground with tears in his face. The guy on the ground finally stood up tremblingly.
"If I remember correctly, your name is Redoan, Redoan Fai, right?"
"Yes, sir, I am a commoner from the north of the county, and I became a robber because I couldn't survive. If you can get around me, I am willing to stay and be your slave." Now that life is important, the second leader can't care about anything else.
"You can put the matter of being a slave aside, now I have a more important task for you."
The second leader was at a loss. He really couldn't think of what kind of task a noble knight would give to a bandit leader. But now he was finally sure that his and his son's heads were saved, at least for the time being.
"Sir, tell me, what is the mission?"
"How many bandits do you have under your command?" Art asked.
"This~this~" The second leader thought that Art wanted to kill all the remaining miserable brothers under him, so he hesitated.
"Don't worry, I still look down upon those little minions under you." Art guessed the other party's concerns.
The second leader relaxed a little and replied respectfully: "I am only the second leader. The big leader always has all the power. On weekdays, I only have about a dozen old and weak subordinates. Originally, we had more than 150 people, but you and your warriors killed them a few days ago. No, they were annihilated. Most of them, the rest fled for their lives. Now I still have thirteen old brothers who are willing to follow me, and there are also several families who have nowhere to go. "
"You are a bandit and you still have your family members with you???" Art looked in disbelief.
"Yes, sir, most of those who go into the mountains to become bandits cannot survive. They are untouchables. They become bandits just to provide food for their wives and children, right?" The second leader looked helpless.
"You can eat as a robber, but the civilian farmers who were robbed will starve to death. Okay, I won't talk to you any more nonsense. From today on, you and your minions don't have to worry about starvation. I will provide for you." Art said brightly.
二首领眨巴眨巴眼，没听懂亚特的意思，「大老爷，我没听懂您的意思。」
「从今天起，你和你手下的伙计就是我的属下。」
"You mean to let me and my brothers join your command as soldiers in the army?" The second leader was extremely surprised. Being able to become a soldier who eats food and gets paid is much better than being a bandit who is frightened all day long.
Angus on the side couldn't help but laugh after hearing the words of the second leader, "You think well, become a soldier? Do you think those bastards under you can become soldiers?"
"What do you mean, sir?"
Art patted the second leader on the shoulder and said: "From today on, I will appoint you as a patrol officer. The Bandit Suppressor Officer under the Border Officer will receive a monthly salary of seventy pfennigs from me based on the treatment of soldiers in my army." Before the second leader could react, Art added: "But the position of the Bandit Suppressor Officer is hidden. Your other identity is a bandit leader active in Tyniec County, and I am the shadow hiding behind you."
Although the second leader is honest, he is by no means stupid. After listening to Art's words, he chewed them carefully again. He somewhat understood what Art meant. He raised his head and said, "Sir, tell me, what do you need me to do?"
When Art saw that the second leader immediately changed the name of himself, he knew that he had chosen the right person, and his eyes towards the second leader became much softer.
"Ledoan, I like to deal with smart people, and I'm lucky that you are a smart person."
At said that, he sat back on the wooden chair, pointed to a low stool in the tent and motioned for the second leader to sit down, but the second leader did not dare to sit down at all. He stood respectfully in front of Ater with a slight bow and waited for Ater's order.
“I know that you bandits have been crippled by me. I don’t need you to do anything big for me these days. Do three small things after you go back. The first is to stabilize the brothers who have been following you and prevent them from scattering; the second is to absorb as many scattered bandits as possible to expand. Your team must be carefully selected when recruiting people, and don't mix in any miscellaneous people. The third is to find out the traces of the more powerful bandits in the county. After a while, I will send troops to eliminate them. After I beat them to a close, you can absorb a group of remaining elite bandits."
At paused, and said softly to the bandit leader: "The third thing, I need you to help me keep an eye on Lane Manor. Some time ago, I heard that a group of bandits came out of Lane Manor. You keep an eye on them for me..."
At added a few words.
"As for the future, I will arrange it myself."
The bandit leader Redoan nodded repeatedly, indicating that he fully obeyed Art's arrangements.
"Sir, since I am now your subordinate, can I take my son back?" the bandit leader Ledoan asked in a low voice.
Matt smiled and said, "You want your son to go back and continue to be a bandit? Your son doesn't have to go back with you for the time being. I will arrange for him to be in my territory and take good care of him. If he behaves well, I can take him with me as a follower. Following me is not much better than following you as a bandit, isn't it?"
Seeing that Redoan still looked worried, Art comforted him and said, "Don't worry, as long as you work well for me, your son's life will definitely be safe. If you want to send other family members to my territory to enjoy a good life in the future, that's okay."
Seeing that Redoan's expression had returned to calm, Art pointed at Angus and said, "This is Angus, the adjutant of my army. He will be responsible for contacting you from now on."
Redoan quickly bowed deeply to Angus.
Angus also smiled and said: "Congratulations, bandit suppressor Redoan, you will be one of ours from now on. At noon ten days later, I will take three people to escort a batch of food supplies allocated to you to the entrance of the birch forest on the north side of the trade road. You bring a few of your absolutely trustworthy subordinates to wait there to receive them. The three people I brought to escort the supplies are the bandit soldiers captured five days ago, and you all know them. They will stay to help you, and you can arrange a position for them. "
· Art added: "I can tell you clearly that I have spies among them, but if you dare to let them go or kill them, I will chop off your son's fingers with my own hands."
· "No, no! Absolutely not, I swear to God to be absolutely loyal to you." The bandit leader Redoan quickly expressed his stance.
Seeing that the matter was almost done, Art stood up and picked up the money bag on the ground, took Redoan's hand and patted it into his hand, "These three thousand pfennigs are considered as the military expenses I allocated to you to reorganize the team. Don't let anyone know about what we are talking about today except you, understand?"
Redoan nodded quickly and took the money bag that Art handed over for the second time.
"Okay, you can leave here and start performing your duties as a bandit suppressor officer."
...