Regarding the matter of seizing a mountain and becoming bandits, it was a first-time experience for everyone—like a maiden riding in a bridal sedan for the first time.

Some couldn’t adapt, while others got into character astonishingly fast.

The former included the Eighth Prince, while the latter referred to Wei Yu.

Being a mountain king, especially when dealing with subordinates who’d turned to banditry, Wei Yu took his promises seriously. The first one: make sure they had full bellies.

The food was all brought along by his group. With nearly 200 people already at the stronghold and another 100 or so under his own command, the total added up to more than 400. Feeding them all daily was no small task.

For the first couple of days, all the food and supplies came from Wei Yu himself.

Then, once the bandits had eaten their fill and regained their strength, Wei Yu began fulfilling the primary duties of a mountain king.

—He had his third-in-command lead the way as they raided nearby rival bandit dens.

What a brilliant idea!

After two days of being spoiled with good food and drink, the third-in-command caved fast. Knowing the current chief was a capable man who kept his word, any thoughts of rebellion disappeared. He became even more loyal and fawning than Xiao Anzi at Wei Yu’s side.

So when he heard that Wei Yu wanted to lead a raid on surrounding bandit dens, worry wasn’t even an option—he almost jumped for joy!

Just look at Wei Yu’s men: every one of them highly skilled and well-equipped. Charging in with such a group—who could stand against them?

Weren’t they themselves defeated in the exact same way?

Besides, the bandits in the surrounding dens weren’t good people either. Out of fear of them, the villagers had fled into the mountains in the first place and ended up becoming bandits themselves.

Wei Yu didn’t participate in the raids.

He was a “combat power rating: five” weakling. Why would he take part in something so violent? That’s what underlings were for!

He was more suited to be the mastermind behind the curtain—rarely appearing, but when he did, dazzling like a human disco ball!

That’s the vibe of a true overpowered protagonist, isn’t it?

So, while Fang Sheng led the team on raids, Wei Yu and the Eighth Prince spent their days leisurely playing poker in the camp.

The raids lasted four or five days.

Their targets were disorganized bandits who relied on guts rather than skill. Fang Sheng, a former Deputy Commander of the Gray Guards, had no trouble sweeping through them.

The post-raid cleanup, however, took time.

There was looting to organize and prisoners to settle.

Loot was easy—grains, gold, silver, jewels, all hauled back and stockpiled. These were consumables and would be gone quickly. The problem lay with the prisoners.

They were all captured mid-raid. To them, Wei Yu and his group were nothing more than armed robbers breaking into their home!

Even as bandits, they felt Wei Yu’s crew was worse!

So of course the prisoners didn’t show any goodwill.

If it weren’t for Fang Sheng’s brutal reputation, they would’ve hurled insults the moment they were dragged back and saw Wei Yu.

Despite their poor attitudes, Wei Yu was a kind-hearted man.

The first order he gave regarding the prisoners was: have them build fences and repair houses.

The third-in-command was so moved by this order he nearly cried.

Among the prisoners, the order stirred a wave of reactions.

Some good, some bad. Among the honest were troublemakers who refused to comply and wanted to mouth off.

Wei Yu believed such people were just spoiled.

Anyone with a good attitude and willingness to work?

Great—carry on.

Those with a bad attitude and constant swearing?

Forget it. Tie them up and toss them in the back, no food or drink. Let them stew until they’re ready to submit. Only then can they come out and build.

There were over 600 prisoners, all healthy adult men—more than the people already in Wei Yu’s camp.

Killing the troublemakers? Absolutely not.

They were people!

Living, breathing people!

Labor force!

Very cheap—in fact, totally free labor!

Wouldn’t using them be better than wasting them?

Sometimes, when people don’t listen, you just need to train them a bit. Not all criminals are doomed to die. Didn’t people in ancient times realize how valuable manpower was?

Great Wei lacked people. He himself lacked people to do work.

Especially now.

As the head of bandits, he couldn’t be living in a luxury carriage while his men slept in broken straw huts!

Wei Yu looked over his “kingdom” and sighed.

People need to love the work they do.

Since he’d become a bandit, he had to go big or go home!

So what if he was a “salted fish”?

Even salted fish needed to put in effort to be properly seasoned!

Otherwise, what was the point of living in a shack chewing on dry grain and salty vegetables, worse off than a dog?

Might as well hustle a bit for some bun money.

Because of Ninth Prince Wei Yu’s ambition to turn his bandit business into something grand, Fang Sheng and the guards were working their butts off.

They didn’t have many people, but per His Highness’s orders, they were split into four teams:

One to protect Wei Yu and the Eighth Prince, one to guard the camp, one to supervise the prisoners, and one to scout remaining bandit dens.

Even the most capable guards weren’t made of steel.

Out of necessity, they started recruiting from the original bandits in the camp and trained select groups.

Every morning before the prisoners even started work, the once-carefree bandits were woken with whips by the guards and sent out for training.

Gray Guards’ training regimes were no joke.

Every day, the former bandits were so dazed and disoriented, they barely knew what year it was.

They weren’t even the ones forced to labor—so why were they being tortured?

If any bandit dared to cry and complain, before the Gray Guards even reacted, the now-loyal third-in-command would start yelling.

“You little bastards have no idea how good you have it!”

The chief treats you well—feeds you, shelters you, even has his guards teach you martial arts. Anyone with a brain can see it’s a great deal. Just a little hard work, and you’re whining?

You think learning skills doesn’t come with hardship?

What, you think this is worse than digging in the mud all day?

You clearly need a beating.

With the third-in-command keeping them in check, the bandits, no matter how bitter, didn’t dare complain again.

So from then on, every day in the camp was full of fiery construction and clouds of dust from training.

Anyone in the stronghold, be they bandit or prisoner, had the words “utterly miserable” written all over their sweaty faces.

And somehow, this indescribable shared misery from the depths of their souls actually fostered a sense of mutual understanding.

Out of pity for one another, both sides started treating each other better.

Which left Wei Yu—watching it all unfold—clicking his tongue in amazement.