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

As soon as Xu Qingshan finished speaking, Xiao Hongluan looked towards the old trade route in the southwest.

"More than twenty people, just got the horses, can't go fast."

"If we chase now, we can catch up before dark."

She raised her hand and selected six Zhenbei cavalrymen.

"Give me fifteen riders, that will be enough."

"Ah Man is watching from behind, I'll take a shortcut and block the front."

Xu Qingshan glanced at the grain storage tunnel.

Black smoke was still billowing out of the cave entrance.

The wooden door that Tie Niu had split open lay on the ground, and more than a dozen sacks of burnt grain mixed with wet sand covered the stone path.

On the other side, the wooden cell had just been opened.

Merchants, women, and children are still evacuating along the white cloth.

Several people with serious injuries were carried on door panels, and the procession moved very slowly.

Even outside the main gate, things are not peaceful.

The henchmen on the outskirts of Black Wind Stronghold had just laid down their weapons. Seventy or eighty people were separated and held in an open area. It would take time to check who had blood on their hands.

Xu Qingshan said, "Let's not pursue them for now."

Xiao Hongluan frowned.

"Letting him into White Wolf Village will only make things more difficult if we search for him again."

"So let Ah Man come along."

Xu Qingshan pointed to the wooden cell.

"There are still more than a hundred people in the village waiting to leave."

"There's still a smoldering fire inside the grain storage cave."

"If we take away all the capable fighters now, and the chief catches up, this village might be burned down."

Xiao Hongluan looked in the direction he was pointing.

Just then, a shout came from inside the grain storage cave.

"There's still a fire here!"

Two heavily armored infantrymen dragged out a smoking grain sack.

The bottom of the burlap cloth had been burned through, and as soon as it was carried outside, large patches of charred wheat grains spilled out.

Zhao Lihua rushed over with a bucket of water.

"Don't pour it all over the bag!"

"Open it up first!"

"Pour out all the unburnt grain!"

Several soldiers immediately cut the hemp rope and poured the grain into the open space.

The sparks were buried inside the grain pile, and when it was turned over, a plume of smoke rose up.

Xiao Hongluan withdrew her gaze.

"I stayed."

"Let Uncle Zhou seal off Black Wind Pass."

Xu Qingshan nodded.

"All roads leading in and out of the mountain stronghold are blocked."

"Today, let's focus on preserving both people and food supplies."

…………

Qin Yuenu arrived half an hour later.

She originally stayed on the south side of the mountain road with the rest of the group.

After the main battle ended, all the dozen or so stretchers and medicine boxes were moved behind the abandoned stone wall.

The original location where the crossbows were hidden was quickly turned into a temporary wounded camp.

A white cloth was laid on the stone ground.

The most seriously injured civilians were put in first.

Qin Yuenu squatted down next to an old merchant and cut open the trouser leg that was stuck to his wound.

"How long have you been detained?"

The old merchant's lips were chapped.

"More than twenty days."

"How did you hurt your leg?"

"I got stabbed while running."

"It just kept rotting after that."

Qin Yuenu had someone boil water and then took out a razor blade to clean the rotten flesh.

The old merchant was in so much pain that he dug his fingers into the mud.

"Bear with it."

"If it rots for another two days, this leg will be beyond saving."

A woman holding her child was queuing up next to her.

The child's forehead was burning hot, but his cheeks were already sunken from thinning.

Qin Yuenu reached out and touched it.

"Drink warm water first."

"Half a bowl of rice porridge."

"Don't feed it meat."

The woman nodded quickly.

The wounded camp is getting busier and busier.

The rescued people were given medical treatment first.

Secondly, there were the wounded soldiers of the Zhenbei Army and the Iron Gate Fortress.

Only later did they surrender to the bandits.

A bandit with an arrow wound in his leg saw the medics passing by and hurriedly shouted, "I'm bleeding too!"

Qin Yuenu turned around.

"If you can shout that loudly, you'll be at the back of the line."

"My leg is about to break!"

"The child in front of us is burning up and almost out of breath."

Qin Yuenu threw a roll of hemp cloth to a soldier next to her.

"Tie it up for him first."

"If you won't die, just wait."

The bandit opened his mouth, but eventually obediently lay back down on the ground.

When Xu Qingshan arrived at the wounded camp, Hou San was sitting on a rock.

Qin Yuenu stood in front of him, holding scissors in her hand.

The burlap sash around his waist was soaked with blood.

"Take it off."

Hou San instinctively shrank back.

"There are a lot of people here."

"Take off your clothes."

"Explain yourself more clearly."

Qin Yuenu raised the scissors.

"I can just cut it directly."

Hou San immediately took off his outer robe.

After the burlap was removed, the previously stitched wound reopened.

Qin Yuenu stared at it for a long time.

Do you think I have nothing to do during the day?

"How could that be?"

Hou San said, "Look at all these wounded people in this village."

"I was just worried you were too idle, so I gave you some extra work to do."

The needle has already been inserted.

Hou San's second half of his sentence turned into a cold breath on the spot.

Xu Qingshan passed by.

"Stay alive."

Qin Yuenu said, "My life can be spared."

"It's hard to say."

Hou San bit the cloth ball and remained silent.

…………

The inventory check in the grain depot continued until the afternoon.

All the burnt grain sacks at the entrance were moved outside.

Those that can be dried should be piled up separately.

Those mixed with oil and a lot of wet sand were picked out and fed to the horses to prevent them from being mixed with normal military rations.

Zhao Lihua led more than a dozen women to recount the bags.

Su Jinniang and Shen Qinghe's people registered at the cave entrance.

One hundred and twenty-seven.

One hundred and twenty-eight.

"This bag has the words 'Yunzhou Military Warehouse' on it."

"Put it separately."

Several soldiers carried the sacks to the left side.

The black lettering, though smoked, was still legible.

Beicang, Yunzhou.

The grain supply for the Yi-character camp.

There was also a batch of old seals from Qingyabao nearby.

Gao Bai squatted down after seeing this.

"I recognize this one."

"Qingyabao received a batch of grain last winter."

The reply from Yunzhou said that a snowstorm had struck on the road, and the grain carts had overturned into a ravine, so only twenty shi of grain could be replenished.

Xu Qingshan looked at the row of grain sacks.

"It seems that the mountain valleys are quite good at harvesting grain."

"They brought us all the way to Black Wind Stronghold in one go."

Su Jinniang instructed the clerk to record all the seals and quantities.

"Don't touch these yet."

"It will come in handy when checking the Yunzhou military supply accounts later."

The further inside the grain storage tunnel, the more things were piled up.

Millet, wheat, and beans.

There were also more than a dozen stacks of salt bricks, more than twenty bundles of dried meat, and fodder for winter.

There are two more rows of wooden crates at the very back.

Open the first one; it's filled with medicinal herbs.

Wound medicine, hemostatic powder, astragalus, dried ginger.

Qin Yuenu came over personally after hearing about it.

She rummaged through several packets of medicine.

"It's a bit damp."

"It can still be used after being aired out in the sun."

Hou San, whose waist had just been re-bandaged, also came over to take a look.

"I just said that it would be helpful to get more medicine."

Qin Yuenu didn't even raise her head.

"Your share has already been deducted."

Why?

"waste."

Hou San turned and left.

By the time all the grain had been counted, the clerk brought by Shen Qinghe had filled three sheets of paper.

Zhao Lihua read out the last number.

"Three hundred and eighty-six shi and seven dou."

The old soldier who came with Liang Shun was stunned on the spot.

"Almost four hundred shi?"

Su Jinniang recalculated.

"After deducting all the burnt, waterlogged, and spilled items, about 370 shi (a unit of dry measure) would still remain."

"Soybean feed is charged separately."

"Salt, dried meat, and medicinal herbs are not included in the calculation."

Shen Qinghe looked up from the account book.

"With the existing food supplies at Duanhebao, the four forts will not go hungry for a while."

Xu Qingshan looked at the rows of grain sacks inside the cave.

"This is what you call spoils from bandit suppression."

Hou San walked in from outside.

"You said last night that looting grain isn't really looting grain."

"Now it's proven I was right."

"Those eight carts originally belonged to us."

Xu Qingshan patted the grain bag beside him.

"These too."

"Look at the words 'military warehouse' on it."

Hou San glanced at it.

"The bandits have kept it for us for so long."

"They're quite helpful."

…………

After the grain depot inventory was completed, Su Jinniang went to the outer village warehouse.

It was much more chaotic there than the grain storage area.

The loot from more than a dozen caravans was all piled up together.

Cloth, salt, leather goods, copperware, wine jars, medicine packets, and seven or eight wagons with their wheels removed.

Ding Wang had just finished bandaging his wound when he noticed three bolts of blue cloth in the corner.

"Shuntong Caravan".

"The cloth has our master's seal on it."

Another businessman also recognized the two boxes of tea bricks.

Several people who had just been rescued were emotional and rushed over to try and take their belongings away.

Su Jinniang raised her hand to block it.

"Register first."

"Accepting the goods is acceptable."

"If you have a delivery note, take the delivery note; if you don't have a delivery note, find someone in the same industry to testify."

"Black Wind Stronghold robbed so many caravans, and now they're all mixed up. It's hard to say who moved first and who moved later."

Ding Wang stopped.

"The Zhenbei Army wasn't confiscated?"

"Those who can prove who the original owner are returned."

Su Jinniang said, "The horses, weapons, and items purchased by Black Wind Stronghold for the crime should be returned to the army."

"Unclaimed goods will be sealed up first."

"We will take action after we have determined the source."

An old merchant asked, "What if the original caravan has all perished?"

Su Jinniang remained silent for a moment.

"If you have family members, contact them."

"We can't find it. We'll discuss it after you register."

"We can't just rob Black Wind Stronghold once and then have the Northern Garrison rob it a second time."

The merchants and travelers around them exchanged glances.

Ding Wang first clasped his hands in greeting.

"Manager Su, I've remembered what you said."

"If the remaining goods of the Shuntong caravan can be recovered, I am willing to keep 10% of them as compensation for saving lives and escorting the caravan."

Su Jinniang glanced at him.

"We'll talk about your business once we get back to White Wolf Town alive."

"We'll move the wounded first today."

…………

As the sun began to set, Black Wind Village finally quieted down.

The fire at the flag tower has been extinguished.

The black wind flag was burned down to only half.

The last few seriously injured civilians in the wooden prison were also carried to the wounded camp.

The surrendered henchmen were divided into four groups to guard the prisoners.

Qi Biao was tied up alone in the wooden house.

Twenty soldiers were stationed at the entrance to the grain depot, and anyone who approached had to report their presence.

Zhou Laoqi returned from Heifengkou.

The people originally in charge of the exchange tried to rush back after discovering the incident at the mountain stronghold, but were blocked by the men that Xiao Hongluan had arranged beforehand.

Of the dozen or so people, three died, and the rest were all captured.

"Black Wind Pass is sealed off."

Zhou Laoqi said, "Tonight, even if the chief wants to come back and fight his way in, he won't be able to get into the stronghold."

Xiao Hongluan looked towards the mountain road to the southwest.

"Can we pursue her now?"

Xu Qingshan, however, looked toward the wounded camp.

The sounds of crying, coughing, and Qin Yuenu's cursing mingled together.

Let's look at the grain storage tunnels again.

Several soldiers were still carrying out the damp grain to dry.

"Twenty people escaped; we can kill more later."

"If the grain is burned and people die, there won't be a second share."

Xiao Hongluan nodded after listening.

"Then let Ah Man continue to keep an eye on things."

"We'll move on tomorrow morning."

The sound of horses' hooves came from the back of the mountain.

The cavalry from Zhenbei, responsible for tracking them, charged into the village.

Before the horse had even come to a complete stop, he had already rolled off.

"Lord Garrison Commander!"

"Sister Aman asked me to come back and deliver the message."

Xu Qingshan looked at him.

"Has the boss entered White Wolf Village?"

"Not in yet."

The scout took a couple of breaths.

"They split into two teams north of White Wolf Village."

"The leader led seven or eight trusted men on their way, while the rest went to an old manor that Black Wind Stronghold used to store goods."

"We also saw someone ride a fast horse into Bailangji ahead of time."

Su Jinniang's expression changed.

"Send a message."

"There are still their people in White Wolf Village."

Xu Qingshan asked, "What happened to the wooden box that the chief took?"

"It's still there."

The scout said, "That tentman carried me the whole way."

"They were in a great hurry."

"It's like they're racing against time."

Liu Ruyan walked over from the direction of the warehouse and happened to hear the last few sentences.

"The location of the village's accounting office and accommodations has not yet been checked."

"If the complete account book had been left in the stronghold, the chief would not have fled with an empty wooden box."

Xu Qingshan looked at the wooden building in the inner village that had been taken over by the Zhenbei Army.

People in Bailangji are scrambling to destroy things.

There should also be something from Black Wind Stronghold that they didn't have time to take with them.

"Search the chieftain's wooden house first."

"Especially the walls, beds, cabinets, and floors."

Xu Qingshan paused for a moment.

"Ma Rong knew to hide the tent under the bed board."

"This leader of Black Wind Stronghold can't be less capable than Ma Rong."