If I made you cannon fodder, how did you manage to achieve your goal of conquering the wolf's l

After the soldier finished speaking, his body went limp.

Guo Shan quickly supported him.

The accompanying medical staff cut open the broken nail plate on the chest, revealing two rolled-up wounds underneath.

One is on the shoulder, and the other extends down the back along the ribs.

Xu Qingshan squatted down.

"What's your name?"

"Deng Wu".

The soldiers' lips turned white.

"The soldiers of Broken River Fortress."

"Where did the grain carts depart from?"

"Iron Gate Fortress".

Guo Shan's expression changed slightly.

"When did this happen?"

Three days ago.

Deng Wu took a few breaths.

"Sun Kui said that Duanhebao was short of food and asked us to send eight cartloads of wheat there."

"The leader of the team was Jiang He, the squad leader under his command, along with nine personal guards."

Guo Shan asked, "When did Sun Kui deliver grain to Duanhe Fort?"

Deng Wu shook his head.

"We also find it strange."

"Jiang He said that an epidemic has broken out in Duanhebao, and Deputy Fort Chief Ma is urging us to act quickly, so we can't delay."

"After the grain carts reached the Black Pine Forest, he suddenly ordered the troops to leave the official road and take a detour along an abandoned mountain path."

Xu Qingshan asked, "What's the reason?"

"They say they've spotted barbarian scouts ahead."

"You saw it?"

"I didn't see it."

Deng Wu said, "Just as the brothers were about to ask, a group of masked men rushed out of the woods."

"They were dressed as bandits, but Jiang He and his nine personal guards did not draw their swords."

"The leader even spoke a few words to Jiang He."

"What did you say?"

"It's too far away, I can't hear clearly."

Deng Wu raised his still-movable right hand and grabbed Guo Shan's sleeve.

"Later, Jiang He told us to put down our weapons, saying that we were just passing through."

"Old Wu refused, and was slashed with a knife."

"We tried to run, but arrows started shooting from both sides of the woods."

"I rolled down the hillside into the ditch, and only climbed out after those people drove away with their grain carts."

Guo Shan's face was gloomy.

How many ordinary soldiers were traveling with you?

Six.

Deng Wu's voice gradually trembled.

"On my way back, I only saw two corpses."

"The remaining people may still be alive."

Xu Qingshan stood up.

"Save lives first."

Medical staff carried Deng Wu into the fort.

Hou San walked over, leaning against the wall, with a thick layer of burlap wrapped around his waist again.

"Centurion, eight carts of grain is quite a lot."

"Sun Kui must know that Jiang He led the grain carts out of the fort."

Su Jinniang said, "The knots in the Black Wind Stronghold granary also match up."

"Most of this grain was given to Black Wind Village by Sun Kui."

Xu Qingshan looked at Guo Shan.

"Which route did Tiemenbao use to transport grain to Duanhebao?"

"Go south along the official road, pass through the black pine forest, and then go east along the river valley."

Guo Shan said, "If we walk normally, it will take a day and a half to get there."

"Where does that abandoned mountain road lead?"

"Southwest direction."

"Go another thirty li or so and you'll reach the territory where Black Wind Stronghold operates."

Hou San said, "What else is there to investigate?"

"The grain was delivered by Sun Kui, and the people were brought by Jiang He. In the end, they fell into the hands of Black Wind Stronghold."

"Dig up Sun Kui's body and ask him; maybe he'll still talk."

Zhou Laoqi glanced at him.

"Take care of your back first."

"I'm much better now."

"Then why did you almost bump into the door frame when you got out of bed?"

"That's because the door frame is in the wrong position."

Xu Qingshan interrupted the two.

"Uncle Zhou, take ten riders, along with Aman and Su Jinniang, to the place where the grain cart went missing."

Hou San immediately said, "I'll go too."

"You stay at Iron Gate Fortress."

"How can we investigate bandits without scouts?"

"If you lie on the horse's back now, people will think we just picked up a corpse from the roadside."

Hou San glanced down at his waist.

"Actually, it's more stable to ride a horse while lying down."

Su Jinniang said, "If he really dies on the road, Qin Yuenu can chase you all the way from Black Stone Fortress to Iron Gate Fortress and kill you."

Hou San fell silent.

Xu Qingshan continued to confess.

"Guo Shan counted the troops at Tiemenbao and searched the residences of Sun Kui and Jiang He."

"Seal all letters related to Black Wind Stronghold and Broken River Fortress."

"Hou San is guarding the south gate. Anyone coming from the direction of Duanhebao should be detained first."

Hou San sighed.

"While others go after the bandits, I'll stay here and guard the gate."

Zhou Laoqi mounted his horse.

"You opened one door yesterday, so today you'll switch to guarding another one. It'll be a good start and a good finish."

…………

The Black Pine Forest is located more than forty miles south of Tiemenbao.

The official road gradually narrows after entering the woodland, with withered grass growing taller than a horse's belly on both sides.

The tracks left by the eight grain carts were very clear.

When they reached the middle of the woodland, the cart tracks suddenly veered off the main road and turned onto a small path covered with gravel along the western hillside.

Aman dismounted and squatted at the fork in the road.

She brushed aside the grass trampled by the wheels and then grabbed a handful of soil and rubbed it between her fingers.

"The grain carts moved in by themselves."

Zhou Laoqi asked, "How do you determine that?"

"The ruts are very neat."

Aman pointed to the ground.

"Eight cars, one after another, with roughly the same distance between them."

"If the bandits suddenly rush out and force the grain convoy to stop, the wheels of the cart will be thrown into disarray, and the horses pulling the cart will struggle."

"There isn't even a single overturned hay basket here."

Xu Qingshan looked in the direction she pointed.

Before turning onto the fork in the road, you can still find the footprints left by soldiers marching in an orderly fashion on the ground.

Several hoof prints remained on both sides of the grain cart.

When the grain convoy left the official road, the convoy was indeed still under the control of Jianghe.

After walking another two miles, a pool of dried blood appeared by the roadside.

There was a corpse lying in the grass.

One of the soldiers Guo Shan brought recognized the other man.

"It's Old Wu."

"The person Deng Wu was talking about."

The corpse had a knife wound in its chest, and the long sword at its waist was still in its sheath.

Aman examines the wound.

"The fact that it came down head-on means he wasn't prepared to fight."

Zhou Laoqi looked ahead.

"He was caught off guard when one of his own men suddenly drew his knife."

The Zhenbei cavalry quickly made a discovery after searching the surrounding area.

"There are still bodies here!"

The second body lay at the bottom of the ravine, an arrow lodged in its back.

The arrow shaft was broken off, with only a small part remaining inside the body.

Su Jinniang pulled the arrow out a bit, and after seeing the fletching clearly, she shook her head.

"The arrows commonly used by Black Wind Stronghold."

Xu Qingshan asked, "Are you sure?"

"Their arrows are only fletched on one side."

Su Jinniang said, "When shooting arrows from horseback, the arrow shaft rotates slowly, so the accuracy is average, but the advantage is that it's fast."

"The guards of White Wolf Village have fought with them many times, they won't mistake them."

After walking several more miles, the mountain path became even steeper.

The grain carts rolled over the gravel, leaving several deep tracks. Broken hemp ropes and a small piece of blood-stained clothing lay scattered by the roadside.

Su Jinniang picked up the hemp rope.

The rope was wrapped twice around the end, with a slipknot in the middle that could be quickly pulled open.

"The same as the ones in the Iron Gate Fort granary."

"After the people from Black Wind Village took over the grain cart, they re-tied up the goods."

Zhou Laoqi asked, "Where did the grain carts go?"

Ah Man rode his horse to a high place, observed for a moment, and then pointed southwest.

"The wheel tracks kept heading towards Black Wind Village."

"But the hoofprints split into a separate group."

Xu Qingshan walked up the hillside.

A dozen or so relatively new hoofprints split off from behind the grain cart and extended along the woodland to the east.

That direction leads directly to Broken River Fortress.

"Someone took the grain cart."

Zhou Laoqi said, "The others should have gone to Duanhe Fortress."

Xu Qingshan looked at the ground.

"Sun Kui delivered grain to Black Wind Stronghold, and Black Wind Stronghold then sent people to Broken River Fortress."

"These parties have been linked together for a long time."

A slight rustling sound suddenly came from the bushes behind me.

The Zhenbei cavalry quickly raised their short crossbows.

A soldier parted the withered grass, revealing half a blood-stained hand.

"There are living people here!"

Several people worked together to drag the person out.

He was a soldier around thirty years old, with torn clothes wrapped around his abdomen, an arrow piercing his left leg, and a long, blunt-bladed sword beside him.

The soldiers Guo Shan brought recognized him.

"Li Mao!"

Li Mao opened his eyes, his consciousness already blurred.

"water……"

The water bag was brought to the mouth.

He took two sips and coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Xu Qingshan asked, "Where did Jiang He go?"

"The grain carts were given to Black Wind Village."

Li Mao struggled to open his eyes.

"He...he went with the bandits."

"The six of us refused to lay down our weapons and were surrounded by them."

"The people from Broken River Fortress are also inside."

"Who?"

"Ma Rong's personal guards."

Su Jinniang and Zhou Laoqi exchanged a glance.

Ma Rong, the deputy commander of Duanhebao, was the one who sent the peace documents back to Yunzhou in the last two months.

Xu Qingshan continued, "Why did they come to collect the grain?"

Li Mao grabbed his wrist.

"It's not about receiving grain..."

"The grain is for Black Wind Village."

"Ma Rong told them to go to Duanhe Fort at midnight."

"Enter through the side door."

"What are you going in for?"

Fear flashed in Li Mao's eyes.

"Capture the castle!"

"The food supplies at Duanhe Fort are almost gone, and the fort commander has disappeared again."

"Ma Rong said that after Black Wind Village entered the city, the soldiers and women in the fortress all belonged to them."

Zhou Laoqi's face turned cold.

"How many soldiers are left at Broken River Fortress?"

"More than forty."

"Most people listen to the fort chief."

Li Mao's voice grew weaker and weaker.

"After the fort commander went missing, Ma Rong separated them to guard the wall."

"Only a dozen or so people were willing to follow him."

Xu Qingshan asked, "What's the code for opening the door at midnight?"

"All I heard them say was..."

Li Mao gasped for breath for a long time.

"Fire breaks out on the mountaintop."

"Three short, one long."

After saying that, he was in so much pain that he couldn't speak.

The medical staff rushed forward to check his injuries.

"Send him back to Iron Gate Fortress as soon as possible."

Xu Qingshan had two cavalrymen make a stretcher out of spears and cloaks.

Just as everyone was about to leave, Ah Man, who was on guard duty, suddenly looked up.

There is a horse in the southwest direction.

Intermittent hoofbeats echoed through the woods.

A rider crossed the hillside alone, a black leather bag hanging beside his saddle, and traveled at a very fast pace.

Upon seeing the Zhenbei cavalry appear in the woods, the enemy immediately turned their horses around.

Ah Man turned and chased after him.

The two horses galloped along the mountain path for over a hundred paces.

The rider in front took down his short bow, turned around, and shot.

The arrow grazed Ah Man's shoulder.

She lay prone on her horse to avoid the second arrow, and then swung out the lasso in her hand.

The leather rope was wrapped around the other person's shoulder.

The rider was dragged off his horse and rolled several times along the gravel.

The Zhenbei cavalry quickly caught up and pinned the man to the ground.

Su Jinniang searched his leather bag and found a roll of cloth and a black wooden plaque.

The wooden sign is engraved with a swirling wind pattern.

"The people of Black Wind Stronghold."

Zhou Laoqi asked, "Where are we going?"

Xu Qingshan looked at the sky in the distance, which was gradually darkening.

"To send a letter, or to reply to a letter."

The captured bandit gritted his teeth and turned his head away.

Xu Qingshan put away the black wooden plaque.

"Bring it back to Iron Gate Fortress."

"Hou San is a gatekeeper, so it's good to find him something to do."

The last ray of sunlight sank behind the mountains.

Suddenly, a ball of fire lit up the mountain on the other side of the valley.

The flames died down for a moment, and then a second one appeared.

Next up is the third group.

After three brief bursts of light, the entire hilltop fell silent for a few breaths.

A long line of fire rekindled, standing out clearly against the dim sky.

Three short, one long.

Aman looked towards the direction of Duanhebao.

"The signal has been sent."

Xu Qingshan mounted his horse.

"This is troublesome... Black Wind Stronghold should be entering the city tonight."