Several days have passed, and Xie Hong couldn't help but frown.

He urged Vice General Gao to return almost every day.

However, Vice General Gao always made excuses to avoid coming back. In short, he always said he wouldn't come back.

Xie Hong initially felt that he should quickly interrogate them and bring back all the treasures from Yunhe Village.

but……

Deputy General Gao could easily bring the person over and lock him in the dungeon.

Xie Hong couldn't help but wonder if Deputy General Gao was planning to embezzle the money.

But then he thought again, it couldn't be that bad. In the capital, the Gao family still had to rely on the Gu family, how could they possibly have the guts?

Even if you gave Vice General Gao a hundred lives, he wouldn't dare to act recklessly.

Xie Hong frowned, then belatedly realized that he had never seen the soldier who delivered the message before.

An absurd thought popped into his head.

Could it be that Vice General Gao led a thousand men and was defeated?

Xie Hong found it absurd.

However, he remained cautious. Guangcheng was not too far from Shawan County, so Xie Hong directly sent several scouts there.

Xie Hong is usually a bit arrogant, but he does have basic abilities.

He sent five trusted men to guard Shawan County, while only one of them was sent to scout ahead.

In this way, if Lin Jinyue sends a false letter, there are four other people who can help verify the situation.

He didn't believe the Lin family was keeping an eye on Shawan County as well, given how small the village was.

Xie Hong repeatedly instructed them to keep their identities hidden before frowning and looking at the map.

He picked up a pen and drew a blood-red "x" on the small patch of ground in "Yunhe Village".

He'll wipe out Yunhe Village sooner or later!

Meanwhile, Lin Jinyue, who rarely had time to rest, was leisurely strolling through the village.

The city wall is now basically complete and can be considered an impregnable fortress.

The village has been developed quite well now.

The port used to only be able to accommodate a few small boats, but after the renovation, it can now accommodate ten boats, and there are dedicated people to look after it. There is also a watchtower, with people taking turns guarding it every day.

Once you enter from the port, there is a long cement road.

Green plants were planted around it.

This wide and long cement road leads directly into the village.

First, there was the village affairs center, various shops, and restaurants. Further ahead was a residential area with a large reserved area. Almost every household had built a two-story house, but these were basically taken over by the people who had fled the famine together.

The academy is located in a slightly quieter area behind the house.

This is the most bustling part of the village.

Behind the shops is an apartment area built by Lin Jinyue, with all kinds of apartments, including large dormitory-style rooms, individual enclosed beds, single rooms, and suites.

The Tan family currently lives in the suite because Mr. Tan is wealthy.

Lin Jinyue originally wanted the Gu family to stay, but they were too embarrassed and ended up sleeping in the dormitory.

This apartment complex is quite large. Behind it are low-rise brick and tile houses, and further back are some temporary wooden huts where the residents live in slightly worse conditions.

Similarly, there is a commercial area, but it is just a simple shed with roadside stalls set up haphazardly.

Lin Jinyue built cement roads in all these places and also installed a simple drainage system. Although it was a bit troublesome, Lingnan has a lot of rain, so these facilities are quite convenient.

The village has very good infrastructure.

Lin Jinyue was very satisfied.

After the Gu family went to war, the weapons stockpile in Yunhe Village was greatly reduced, so they had to step up their defenses.

It was a bit hot at night, so Lin Jinyue lay down on the bamboo bed on the terrace and slept in the cool breeze.

The village was quiet at this time of day, but as she was sleeping, she heard a scream.

Lin Jinyue opened her eyes groggily and saw a soldier in armor not far away, clutching his injured arm and howling.

Lin Jinyue was wide awake and immediately pushed her way forward, asking, "This...this means we've been targeted by Xie Hong?"

Does Xie Hong still have time to keep an eye on their village at this time?

Lin Shucheng reassured his daughter, "Don't worry, Yueyue, he probably didn't come from Shawan County. He's most likely from a village or town in the southwest. Besides, we only saw him around here."

Lin Jinyue breathed a sigh of relief. "Dad, let's see if we can get any information out of him."

As they were talking, Lin Jinyue squatted down to be at eye level with the man and asked him, "Do you know about the Ten Great Tortures?"

The man's face was rather pale.

Lin Jinyue said unhurriedly, "Let me think. We don't have anything like the Iron Lady or dismemberment here. The only punishment we can use is castration, which will cut this part off directly."

As he spoke, he gestured to the man's crotch: "However, in the palace, at least there are doctors to help apply medicine when castration is used. Here, whether you live or die is up to fate. If you are castrated, not only that, we can also have your feet cut off."

Lin Shucheng pointed to his knee: "If we dig this knee off, he'll be crippled for the rest of his life."

A foul, fishy smell wafted over; the soldier had wet his pants.

Lin Jinyue shook her head: "No need for such trouble. If he doesn't talk, then it's useless. Father, why don't you try the slow slicing method later? Slice off his flesh piece by piece and put it in a pot to boil. I want to see how many cuts he can endure."

"I'll talk, I'll talk, I'll tell you everything."

“We are General Xie’s men who plunder grain and fodder. I was scouting ahead and saw that your village was still lit up at night. I also heard that your crossbows are quite good, so I was thinking of capturing you to earn merit… Please let me go, I promise I won’t say anything.”

Lin Jinyue's eyes lit up. Transporting grain was a good idea.

If we can intercept their grain transport, then we'll have both their carts and their grain.

The captured soldier was named Tian Quan, and he was Xie Hong's subordinate who transported grain and fodder.

However, the world is in chaos and food is hard to find, so Xie Hong had to send it from other cities.

They were all wearing leather armor and carrying weapons; they were all trained and weren't afraid of the common people coming to rob them.

This actually benefited Lin Jinyue and the others.

Lin Jinyue has no shortage of food supplies, but things are different now. Xie Hong has become their enemy. The less food he has, the better Lin Jinyue's chances of winning.

The grain transport team consisted of 150 people. According to Tian Quan's information, these 150 people arrived in haste, and only 50 of them had leather armor and weapons.

And there are no archers.

In other words, it would be quite easy to rob them.

This amount of grain was nothing to Xie Hong, but to them, it could be the food rations for more than thirty people for a month.

For at least the next month, Lin Jinyue won't have to watch the people of Linjia Village starve to death in front of her, and she can feel a little more at ease going to the farm to eat.

Lin Jinyue immediately said to her father, "Let's rob Xie Hong of his supplies and put him in a difficult position. I think Prince Jing is a useless fool. Let's help the Gu family beat Xie Hong up."

"If we miss this opportunity, we may never have another chance."