Contrary to Qi Chenglang's expectations, the distance between this hilltop and the hilltop of the mountain stronghold was not very close, probably due to the difference in distance between the mountains.

It took about fifteen minutes for Qi Chenglang to finally reach the foot of the mountain stronghold. At that moment, the constables and guards escorting the prisoners slowly came down from the mountain.

When they saw Qi Chenglang, everyone was taken aback. One of the guards quickly came forward and asked, "Captain Guard, what brings you here?"

Qi Chenglang didn't explain, but pointed to the names of two guards who were more skilled in martial arts: "Besides the two of you who go with them to escort these people into Changzhou, the other guards will come with me up the mountain again."

These people followed Qi Chenglang up the mountain again. Qi Chenglang led them down from the top of the mountain to the middle of the mountain. After entering the cave, the two of them carried a box forward. Then Qi Chenglang left one guard behind and let the other guards go down to take the box first.

After the torches were lit below, Qi Chenglang and his team began sending the boxes down one by one.

The horses had already been brought over, and the group worked together to find several very simple horse-drawn carriages in the mountain stronghold. After harnessing the horses, they hurriedly headed towards Changzhou Prefecture.

At this moment, Qi Chenglang finally spoke: "You didn't mention those guards who escorted the reward money before. Did they die?"

Robbing bounty money and killing royal guards—the people behind these bandits are incredibly audacious!

Zhang Yuankai sighed softly: "The chieftain didn't say this explicitly, only that they were taken away. When you went to look for them, I went around there again and found a secret passage with recent footprints. Those guards should have been taken away through this secret passage."

Those guards were very likely acquaintances of them; they hadn't even had a chance to meet and catch up during their trip to the northern desert before their fates became unknown...

Both men were clearly in a bad mood, but they couldn't vent their anger at the moment and could only remain silent. However, they both secretly vowed to find the person behind this and make him suffer a fate worse than death.

Before dawn, Chief Secretary Xie was woken up from his bed. The person briefly explained the situation of the mountain stronghold, and Chief Secretary Xie was immediately so shocked that he was wide awake. He waited on the city wall early in the morning, accompanied by Prefect Qi.

It wasn't until 1:15 AM that the two saw the group escorting the bandits return. Prefect Qi didn't have time to say much before leading his constables back to the government office.

Before leaving, Chief Secretary Xie stopped Prefect Qi and said, "The identities of these bandits are questionable. Prefect Qi, keep them in solitary confinement and have someone you trust guard them. No one is allowed to visit them except for the two of us, especially the chieftain."

If possible, he would prefer his own people to take over the custody, but this is Changzhou, and Prefect Qi is the official in charge of Changzhou.

He hoped that Prefect Qi would live up to his trust.

Prefect Qi didn't know much about the inside story, but when he heard what Chief Secretary Xie said, he was alarmed and nodded repeatedly: "Don't worry, I know what to do."

After Prefect Qi left, Chief Secretary Xie waited for a few more quarters of an hour before seeing Qi Chenglang and his entourage return. Seeing the carriage behind them, Chief Secretary Xie finally breathed a sigh of relief.

If His Highness fails to reclaim this reward, his situation will truly become difficult.

At this moment, the city gate was wide open, and Chief Secretary Xie was standing outside the gate waiting. After Qi Chenglang drove the carriage to the city gate, he jumped down first: "Chief Secretary Xie, everything is here. We need to have Eunuch Ran count it. Also, we haven't found a single box of medicinal herbs."

Qi Chenglang only knew that the rewards included gold, cloth, jewelry, and medicinal herbs, but in the end, they searched the entire cave but couldn't find any herbs. He even walked back and forth on the mountainside twice, trying to find other caves, but to no avail.

He described the cliffs, caves, and sloping slides in detail: "Those bandits claimed to be villagers from Jingxiang, and that the chieftain was a villager, which I believe to some extent. But how did these Northern Barbarians manage to bypass the defenses and specifically burn this village? And how did the burning of the village go unnoticed by the Northern Army? Most importantly, do the number of corpses match up? Why did the government directly determine them to be dead?"

Qi Chenglang scratched his head, feeling that there were many suspicious points in this matter. He was racking his brains trying to figure it out, so he simply waved his hand and said, "Chief Secretary Xie, I, Old Qi, am not good at this kind of thing. I am only responsible for His Highness's safety and bringing these things back. The rest, picking up Ran Gonggong and investigating the person behind this mountain stronghold, will be up to Chief Secretary Xie."

His words carried a hint of roguishness, causing Chief Secretary Xie to shake his head repeatedly: "Let's go."

He knew Qi Chenglang's personality well. It was already quite remarkable that he could think of so much. If he were to use his brain any more, he would probably just quit and leave.

Qi Chenglang offered a horse, and Xie Changshi mounted it. He turned around and glanced at the boxes, his mind in turmoil, feeling that he had overlooked something.

"Thank you, Chief Secretary." Qi Chenglang spurred his horse forward. "I've been thinking about this on the way here. Do you think this bandit was created by that person?"

He frowned and shook his head slightly: "Otherwise, I can't imagine who would spend so much money to build such a cave. Judging from the wear and tear on that slide, these bandits must have robbed a lot of money."

Suddenly, Xie Changshi had a sudden realization. He turned his head and stared straight at Qi Chenglang, making Qi Chenglang feel uneasy. He steered his horse aside with one hand and pointed at Xie Changshi with the other, saying, "What are you doing? You don't suspect me, do you?"

Qi Chenglang thought about it more and more and it seemed possible. He was so angry that he yelled, "I'm telling you, you scheming bastard, you're overthinking things. How old was I fifteen years ago? How dare you doubt me?"

"No." Xie Changshi suddenly laughed, tugged on the reins, and patted Qi Chenglang on the shoulder as he approached him: "Old Qi, you're something else, you've given me a new idea."

Fifteen years ago, the Mobei border trade was opened. In the following years, bandits continued to roam the area. The Mobei army repeatedly sent troops to suppress them but failed. The Mobei general was implicated and punished with a reduction in salary and twenty strokes of the cane. The prefects of Changzhou and Qingzhou were dismissed from their posts. Subsequently, Prefect Qi and others took office, and news of bandits in the area gradually disappeared.

Two years ago, a major corruption case broke out in the Northern Desert Army. General Huo Qiyuan of the Northern Desert Army was deeply involved and was sentenced to beheading. Before he could be escorted to the capital, the late emperor passed away and the new emperor succeeded to the throne, granting a general amnesty. Huo Qiyuan's sentence was changed from beheading to exile, which took place in the iron mine of Xinliang.

By carefully examining the details, it becomes clear that he was involved in many of the events.

Xie Changshi reasonably suspected that the bandits were still committing crimes, but they had been suppressed.

Chief Secretary Xie subconsciously stroked his beard, and couldn't help but think that if his guess was true, then it would confirm the Emperor's guess that the person really had contact with the Northern Di people.

But there's still one thing I can't understand: why would he allow these bandits to rob the imperial gifts...?