A daily intelligence report; in chaotic times and famine years, grain is plentiful.

"Is it worse than death? I'm really looking forward to it. General Xiao, please don't let me down."

Chen Mo, standing atop the mountain, laughed loudly again, showing no fear whatsoever.

The soldiers below all had stiff expressions and dared not look at Xiao Yunling.

If these words had come from someone else, General Xiao would have had them killed long ago.

This bandit probably knew he was about to die and wanted to vent his frustrations. But so be it, now that it's confirmed he can't escape, capturing him alive is only a matter of time.

Xiao Yunling snorted coldly in her heart, ignored Chen Mo, and turned to walk down the mountain.

Xiao Yunling had already seen through this despicable provocation.

However, the Zhenbei Army is currently only besieging Xiling Peak and cannot do anything to this traitor.

This hill is indeed easy to defend and difficult to attack; it cannot be taken without paying several times the price.

The Yun Battalion was Xiao Yunling's elite force, and she would not allow her soldiers to sacrifice themselves for personal grudges.

Moreover, in Xiao Yunling's view, although the mountain was steep, it was not easy to get down from it.

Even if Chen Mo had hidden a lot of food and water on it, he would eventually run out of resources and couldn't hold out for long.

If the siege continues and the bandits' supplies are exhausted, they will eventually collapse on their own.

Thinking about this, Xiao Yunling was already preparing to go down the mountain and make other plans.

At this moment, Chen Mo's voice came from the mountaintop again.

"General Xiao, are you thinking of waiting for us to run out of food? Let me tell you honestly, our houses on this mountaintop can last at least a month. If General Xiao wants to wage a war of attrition, we are willing to oblige."

Hearing these provocative words, Xiao Yunling's face darkened again.

It's only been a month, and the government troops still have plenty of food. Not to mention three months, even eight years, she can still outlast Chen Mo.

Xiao Yunling wanted to see if this band of bandits could hold out on this mountaintop for a month.

This traitor is nothing but bluffing.

Xiao Yunling did not respond. Under the cover of his soldiers, he slowly walked down the mountain, leaving a group of soldiers to guard the mountainside and keep an eye on the movements at the top.

In the following days, the two sides remained locked in a stalemate on Xiling Peak.

The government troops did not attack, and Chen Mo's side did not break through.

However, Chen Mo sent men to harass the government troops halfway up the mountain every day, occasionally firing a few arrows and making some noise, so that the government troops had to be on high alert at all times.

Moreover, Chen Mo would occasionally mock Xiao Yunling loudly, showing no respect for this female general of the Zhenbei Army.

Xiao Yunling was already used to these taunts.

The more Chen Mo provoked her, the less she reacted.

"By order of the general, only sentries need to be left on the mountain. The rest of the troops should make a big show of retreating down the mountain and let those bandits go down."

Xiao Yunling gave the instructions.

Although retreating down the mountain might disperse the defenses, she was confident that she could annihilate them all if Chen Mo dared to come down.

Following orders, the government troops retreated to the foot of the mountain in an orderly manner, deliberately making noise in an attempt to attract Chen Mo's attention.

But Chen Mo on the mountain showed no intention of breaking through.

Days passed, and before they knew it, the tenth day of the standoff had arrived.

There has been no movement on the mountain these days.

A few days ago, Chen Mo and his group would occasionally launch surprise attacks, but in the past two days, the entire Xiling Peak has been quiet.

"General, our scouts on the mountain report that the bandits on the summit have ceased their activity."

The deputy general reports.

Xiao Yunling frowned slightly, lost in thought.

The atmosphere has seemed a bit off these past few days.

Chen Mo was so arrogant before, it's impossible for him to suddenly disappear.

This traitor must have some reservations.

After a siege lasting ten days, even if there were plenty of food stored on the mountain, the water would have run out.

Xiling Peak is so barren that there is no water source at all. Surely those bandits can't go without water.

"Wait a little longer, remain vigilant, those bandits might break through."

Xiao Yunling said in a deep voice.

As the sun sets, the area around Xiling Peak is shrouded in darkness once more.

Looking at the quiet mountain, Xiao Yunling finally made up her mind.

"At dawn tomorrow, we will split into two groups and launch a surprise attack on the mountaintop."

time flies.

It was already the hour of Yin (3-5 AM), but Xiling Peak was still pitch black.

Three hundred soldiers of the Zhenbei Army split into two groups and slowly climbed up the mountain path.

The soldiers climbed up the mountain nervously, on high alert, fearing that the bandits on the mountain would discover them again.

The group continued upwards without encountering any resistance along the way.

More than half of the hour of Mao had passed, and the soldiers of the Yunzi Camp finally made another step forward, finally reaching the pile of rocks on the mountaintop.

They lay in ambush, pulling their companions up from behind.

But the mountaintop in front of us remained deathly silent.

Because it was still dark, the soldiers couldn't see if there were any ambushes ahead and could only wait for the main force to assemble.

As dawn broke, the remaining troops finally climbed to the mountaintop platform.

"Get ready to act!"

The soldiers immediately dispersed and surrounded the pile of stones not far away.

They gripped their knives tightly and approached step by step.

These bandits have shown no signs of breaking out, so they must be hiding behind this stone forest.

"kill!"

At the command, everyone rushed forward.

But when they stormed into the stone forest, the scene before them left them all frozen in place.

On this platform, there are only a few piles of long-extinguished firewood and ashes, and a pile of stones.

Apart from that, there wasn't a single person in sight.

Where are they?

The soldiers' eyes were full of confusion.

More than two hundred soldiers stood there, stunned, looking at each other in bewilderment.

The mountaintop is just a small area, with only the stone forest and a dozen or so dead trees, offering absolutely no place to hide.

You can see the whole thing at a glance; how could those bandits have vanished into thin air?

"Search carefully!"

Someone gave the order.

The soldiers immediately scattered, trying to turn over the stones to see if there were any hidden passages inside.

After a while of fussing, it was already completely light out, and they couldn't see any bandits, or even a single living creature.

"How could so many bandits just disappear like that?"

The soldiers were quite puzzled.

These days, despite their strict precautions and the blocking of all roads leading down the mountain, they haven't seen a single person.

The disappearance of these bandits left everyone puzzled.

The soldiers didn't dare delay and immediately sent someone to report to General Xiao.

"What's the situation up the mountain?"

Xiao Yunling saw the soldiers coming down from the mountain and went up to ask them questions.

"Reporting to the general, there is no one on the mountaintop."

Soldier's report.

"What? Nobody's here?"

Xiao Yunling frowned, her face full of doubt.

"We have searched all of Xiling Peak, but we haven't found a single bandit."

Soldier's report.

There are no bandits?

So what have they been confronting these days?

"Take me up."

Xiao Yunling set off immediately.

Before long, Xiao Yunling climbed the mountain with difficulty and saw the empty platform. Xiao Yunling frowned.

The anger that had been building up over the past few days finally became unbearable.

They thought this was the best chance to trap Chen Mo, but after besieging him for ten days, they still couldn't see a single bandit.

impossible……