It was dusk in Qingfeng Village.

Zhao Dayou was drinking and eating heartily with his men.

Amidst the clinking of glasses, Zhao Dayou's face was flushed, and he wore a drunken smile.

Second leader Sun Zheng raised his cup and laughed:

"Boss, it's been a while since we've had any freebies in the village. The brothers are itching for a cut. Hehe, when are we going down the mountain to pull off a heist?"

Zhao Dayou took a big gulp of wine, hiccuped, and laughed:

"What's the rush? It's autumn, those fools in Shifeng City should be harvesting their rice and wheat by now. When they come out of the city to sell, we...we'll just go down the mountain and rob them."

Sun Zheng smiled and nodded:

"Boss, we didn't plunder enough grain at this time last year, and the brothers didn't have a comfortable winter. I think we should plunder more this year."

Zhao Dayou rolled his eyes, waved his hand, and shook his head, saying:

"Hey, you're wrong about that. Damn it, they've robbed us of everything. They won't survive the winter. Who the hell is going to grow food for us next year? Don't you understand the principle of 'draining the pond to catch all the fish'?"

Sun Zheng slapped his forehead and quickly offered a toast.

"Yes, yes, the boss is right."

"Damn it, Beichuan is just too poor. If only we could pull off a big heist!"

At this point, Sun Zheng glanced at Zhao Dayou and then smiled:

"Boss, the Prince of Zhenbei must have brought a lot of money and food with him when he first came to Shifeng City. He's a big fish, but it's a pity that the Wolf Head Stronghold gang got to take advantage of him."

"It's a bit of a pity. If we had pulled off this job, life would have been so much more comfortable."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Dayou narrowed his eyes and sneered:

"What do you know? Wolf Head Stronghold attacked and killed the Prince of Zhenbei. No matter how bad the Prince of Zhenbei is, he is still an official of the imperial court. He committed such a serious crime. Even if the imperial court dislikes the Prince of Zhenbei, it will still put on a show of doing so in public."

"It might put pressure on the local commander to send troops to suppress the bandits."

“Zhao Yuan is a wicked fellow. He’s already starting to complain about the money we’ve been giving him over the years.”

"If our three villages fight over Stone Peak City, how much will we actually get?"

Sun Zheng suddenly realized and nodded repeatedly.

"Then it's definitely not worth taking that risk."

"But speaking of which, boss, shouldn't Lang Zhufu have already dealt with the Prince of Zhenbei by now? Why haven't we heard any news yet?"

Zhao Dayou snorted dismissively.

"Zhu Fu is ambitious and arrogant. Right now, he's probably transporting the things he looted from the palace into the village."

"When the goods are delivered to the village, won't he have a feast and be happy?"

"Surely the Prince of Zhenbei's household has some beautiful women and maids?"

Upon hearing this, Sun Zheng licked his lips, a look of envy in his eyes.

"It's a pity we didn't go to the Prince of Zhenbei's mansion..." Sun Zheng sighed inwardly.

Outside the mountain stronghold, atop a watchtower, several bandits strolled casually, completely unaware that several figures were lurking in the dense forest not far away...

......

In the military camp.

Considering the fierce battle of the previous night, Qin Ze decided to rest for a day today to allow the soldiers to recuperate and prepare for the next day's campaign to wipe out the second bandit stronghold, Qingfeng Village!

Wolf Head Stronghold launched an attack on their own initiative, which is why they were ambushed and defeated. However, it was a different story if they had taken the initiative to wipe out the bandits.

Therefore, Qin Ze arranged for scouts to go to Banyue Mountain, where Qingfeng Village was located, early in the morning. The first step was to explore the terrain, and then to understand their village's defenses.

Just then, a soldier rode up to report.

"General! We've spent the whole day scouting Qingfeng Village. The terrain of Half Moon Mountain and the exact location of Qingfeng Village have been determined!"

As he spoke, he took out a hand-drawn topographic map and presented it to Qin Ze.

Qin Ze unfolded the topographic map and stared at it for a long time.

After a moment, he said in a deep voice:

"Alright! Continue monitoring! Don't alert them. We'll set off for Qingfeng Village tomorrow!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Dian Wei grinned, secretly tightening his grip on his halberd, his eyes gleaming...

It was early in the morning, just as dawn was breaking.

The autumn wind was blowing, and the autumn morning was already a bit chilly. Qin Ze dressed and left the Zhenbei Prince's Mansion, heading straight for the military camp.

Considering that Banyue Mountain was dozens of miles away from Shifeng City and that they would have to travel through mountains to attack the stronghold, Qin Ze ordered his soldiers to carry two days' worth of dry rations and travel light.

If it's not enough, he can use points to exchange for more, so Qin Ze isn't worried about the food problem.

Furthermore, after capturing Qingfeng Village, we will surely be able to seize grain.

At the city gate, Qin Ze rode a fine horse, his face solemn. By this time, many people from the city had come to see him off.

"General, please be extremely careful on this mission to suppress the bandits!"

"General, these bandits are ruthless. Be careful on your journey."

Qin Ze turned to look at the people and said in a loud voice:

"Gentlemen, let's go back! After I wipe out the bandits, everyone will have a good New Year!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Qin Ze rode out of the city and addressed the assembled army:

"All troops, listen to my command! March to Half-Moon Mountain! Annihilate the bandits of Green Peak Village!"

"Yes, General!"

The ten thousand soldiers answered in unison, their spirits soaring!

Because sentries had already been set up along the route, Qin Ze was not worried that the bandits would notice his expedition.

At least until they reached Half Moon Mountain, there was no need to worry about this problem, so Qin Ze did not rush the journey.

Once we reach Half Moon Mountain, we will march quickly up the mountain and catch the bandits off guard!

Thus, it wasn't until the afternoon that Qin Ze led his army to the foot of Half Moon Mountain, where the soldiers who had come to scout ahead were already waiting.

"Reporting to the General, all the hidden sentries of Qingfeng Village have been located!"

Qin Ze's expression was cold as he said in a deep voice:

"Take care of them, then head up the mountain immediately!"

"Dian Wei, listen to my command!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Dian Wei stepped forward, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Your subordinate is here!"

"I hereby order you to command the infantry and archers and rush to Qingfeng Village at top speed. Guard all the entrances to Qingfeng Village and do not let a single one of them leave the village!"

"Yes, my lord!"

Dian Wei received the order and immediately led two teams, totaling six thousand men, into the mountains.

Considering the rugged mountain roads and the lack of good routes, Qin Ze did not choose to send the cavalry up the mountain first.

These infantrymen, having conserved their energy earlier, were now full of vigor and traveling light, making their ascent up the mountain extremely fast.

Qin Ze led 1,500 light cavalry and 2,000 shield soldiers in close pursuit, heading into the mountains.

In this way, even if the bandits in the stronghold sensed something was wrong and wanted to abandon the stronghold and escape, they would definitely not be able to escape this double encirclement!

However, Qin Ze understood that these bandits had no chance of escaping when he went up the mountain.

The scouts sent into the mountains earlier had already reported that the bandits of Qingfeng Village were indulging in pleasure in the village, and the so-called sentry posts were completely useless.

That makes sense, though. How could these bandits possibly want to fight when there's such a well-trained army of 10,000 men in Beichuan?

Qin Ze glanced at the points on the screen. From yesterday morning to this afternoon, in 30 hours, he had accumulated a lot of points.

Looking at these points, Qin Ze's gaze turned deep...