After Wang Meng left, Zhao Yuan gently touched his forehead, his expression solemn.

Qin Ze was personally brought to Beiliang Pass, and he clearly only brought eight hundred personal guards with him; there is absolutely no way he could be lying.

However, Wang Meng's words didn't seem to be false. Could it be that Qin Ze used some kind of trick to wipe out these two bandit groups?

Or perhaps he gathered the people of Shifeng City and forcibly conscripted them to serve as soldiers in the bandit suppression campaign?

However, regardless of the circumstances, as Wang Meng said, if Qin Ze really takes down these two bandit groups, and if he manages to capture Black Tiger Stronghold and discover his relationship with Wang Meng, then things will be troublesome.

In fact, Wang Meng's words just now already contained a hint of threat.

Thinking of this, Zhao Yuan snorted coldly, his face growing even more somber. He summoned several of his men and gave them his orders:

"Go to Qingfeng Village immediately and find out if the Prince of Zhenbei is there. If he is, find out how many troops he has!"

"Report back immediately after you have investigated, without delay!"

"Yes, sir!"

........

In Qingfeng Village, after a fierce battle, the battlefield had been cleaned up.

After a day's trek and fighting from dusk till late at night, everyone was exhausted. Qin Ze ordered the soldiers to rest early and recharge their energy.

Of course, the soldiers responsible for guarding the area had set up sentry posts outside Qingfeng Village and at the foot of Banyue Mountain, which had been arranged in advance.

In the early hours of the morning, the sentries at the foot of Half Moon Mountain, hiding behind the dense forest, immediately became alert upon hearing the sound of horses' hooves. Looking closely, they saw a group of soldiers in military uniforms.

The men who arrived were none other than the cavalrymen Zhao Yuan had sent out to scout. They had come here at breakneck speed after leaving Beiyuan City.

Just then, the group was about to head up the mountain when they suddenly heard a noise coming from the forest, and their expressions tightened.

The next instant, several arrows shot out from the forest, but they were aimed at the horses!

Even so, it greatly alarmed the group, who hurriedly jumped off their horses. As soon as they landed on the ground, several people suddenly emerged from the forest!

It turned out that the arrows were just a feint; before the cavalrymen could react, their swords were already at their necks.

"Don't do it! Don't do it! We are the commander's men! We are not bandits!" The leading cavalryman, Ma Tong, hurriedly begged for mercy.

"Hmph, shut up! Tie them all up!"

"Tie us up? Didn't I tell you, we are..."

"Clap clap clap!"

Before he could finish speaking, several slaps landed, forcing Ma Tong and the others to swallow their words.

"What good could come of this in the dead of night! Send him up the mountain!"

Soon, the sentries tied the men to horses, gagged them, blindfolded them, and took them to Qingfeng Village.

Qin Ze had already rested when he heard his men report that a group of Zhao Yuan's men had been captured at the foot of the mountain. He frowned and got out of bed.

Inside the lobby, Ma Tong and the others lay on the ground, tightly bound.

Qin Ze entered the lobby, his cold gaze sweeping over the group of people as he rested his chin on his hand, seemingly lost in thought.

He then ordered his soldiers to remove the black cloth from Ma Tong's face and take out the gag.

As soon as Ma Tong opened his eyes, he saw Qin Ze standing in front of him with a cold expression. His expression tightened, and he quickly said:

"General, you've kidnapped the wrong person. We are the commander's men. My name is Ma Tong, and I'm not a bandit."

Qin Ze stroked his chin and smiled faintly, saying:

"Really? Zhao Yuanming, what urgent matter brings you here in the dead of night? To help me kill the bandits?"

Ma Tong, with a bitter face, immediately said:

"The Commander-in-Chief heard that you had wiped out Wolf Head Stronghold and Green Peak Stronghold, and specially ordered us to come and check, to inquire if you need any assistance."

Upon hearing this, Qin Ze chuckled inwardly.

How did Zhao Yuan know about the annihilation of Qingfeng Village?

Could he, living in Beiyuan City, still see the flames of war here?

It goes without saying that someone must have informed him.

The informant was undoubtedly a bandit! Zhao Dayou's earlier words were enough to show that Zhao Yuan conspired with the bandits to harm him.

He dared not act on his own, so he used bandits to carry out the attack.

There were sentries set up along the way at Banyue Mountain. All the bandits from Qingfeng Village had been wiped out. The person who sent the message to Zhao Yuan must be from the Black Tiger Village.

Thinking of this, Qin Ze narrowed his eyes and came up with a plan to "drive the tiger to devour the wolf".

Zhao Yuan likes to do dirty tricks behind people's backs, so why can't I take advantage of that?

Thinking of this, he squatted down, staring intently at Ma Tongdao:

"The night I arrived in Shifeng City, the bandits of Wolf Head Village attacked me with their entire stronghold."

"After I wiped them out, I learned from the bandit leader Zhu Fu that it was Wang Meng of Black Tiger Stronghold who sent him. Today, when I wiped out Green Peak Stronghold, some bandits said that Zhao Yuan and Wang Meng had a close relationship. The news of my arrival in Shifeng City was passed on to Wang Meng by Zhao Yuan."

Upon hearing this, Ma Tong trembled, a look of panic appearing on his face, and he quickly said:

"Impossible! General, you are discerning and cannot believe the words of these bandits! These bandits are vicious and treacherous, they never tell the truth. How could the commander possibly assist the bandits in attacking you!"

"You are the Prince of Zhenbei, appointed by the imperial court. Even if we had ten times the courage, we wouldn't dare to do such a treasonous thing!"

Qin Ze stood up, a noncommittal expression on his face, then smiled faintly and said:

"Is that so? What you said makes some sense."

Seeing Qin Ze's expression soften, Ma Tong hurriedly nodded and said, "Yes! General, you mustn't take these bandits' words seriously, they..."

He had only spoken halfway when Qin Ze, his face dark with anger, rebuked him:

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