Empire

Although the two men in coarse cloth were caught, they stared and struggled, showing great unwillingness to cooperate.

"Kneel down!"

The guards detained the two of them in front of Chen Ziang and kicked them to their knees.

The two men in coarse cloth were pressed to the ground, but they still stiffened their necks and looked unconvinced.

"What's going on?"

Chen Ziang looked at the two captured men and cast his gaze towards the soldiers on guard.

""Sir, they are hiding in the woods, holding knives, and they are not good people at first glance." A guard soldier answered.

Chen Ziang looked at the two men again and found that they were muscular and strong, not like ordinary villagers.

"I think they are bandits who kill people and rob goods, so why not take them out and kill them?"

During these chaotic years, most people were struggling in dire straits, not having enough food to eat and not having warm clothes to wear, so they were naturally sallow and malnourished.

However, these two men looked like they had a lot of flesh on their faces, but they were strong and healthy. It was obvious that they lived a rich life, and they were carrying blades, so Zhang Bao suggested taking them out and killing them.

"What's the hurry? Let me ask first."

Chen Ziang is now a general in charge of the army. He began to restrain his killing heart.

They rebelled against the Far East Dynasty because they could not survive, not for killing people.

Therefore, Chen Ziang now has a little more compassion. Although human life is worthless, he still tries his best to avoid killing innocent people.

""Tell me, who are you?" Chen Ziang personally interrogated them.

The two men looked rebellious, snorted coldly, and ignored Chen Ziang at all.

""Damn it, are you deaf or what? We are asking questions!"

Seeing the two men keep silent, Zhang Bao, who was standing by, could not help but kick them a few times.

They felt pain and turned to stare at Zhang Bao fiercely, which made Zhang Bao furious and he drew his sword.

"Leopard, you need to change your impatience. You are now the deputy battalion commander, so you can’t be impatient.

Seeing Zhang Bao draw his sword when he disagreed with something, Chen Ziang couldn’t help but speak earnestly.

"Yes!"

Although Zhang Bao was furious, he followed Chen Ziang's lead, so he angrily put the sword back into the scabbard.

"Li Changqing, interrogate them separately."Chen Ziang ordered.

A hundred personal soldiers waved Li Changqing's hand, and the two men in rough cloth were detained separately.

Soon, one of the men was detained again.

"Your companions have confessed everything. I will give you one more chance. If you tell the same story as him, I can spare your life. Otherwise, you will lose your life."Chen Ziang said

"Damn Zhang Hai, the boss won't let you go!"

Hearing that his companion had confessed everything, the man immediately became furious and couldn't help cursing.

But just as he finished cursing, he saw Chen Ziang's faint smile and immediately stopped talking.

"You lied to me, Zhang Hai won't tell me."The man realized that he was cheated.

Chen Ziang wanted to continue asking, but the man was afraid of letting the cat out of the bag and refused to say anything.

Chen Ziang had to have him detained and another man was brought up.

"Zhang Hai, right? Your companions have said everything. If you don’t want to die, repeat the task your boss has assigned to you. If there is any difference from what he said, you will lose your life."

The man named Zhang Hai was shocked to hear that Chen Ziang even knew his name. He didn’t expect that he was betrayed.

In order to save his life, he had to tell Chen Ziang and others everything he knew.

Chen Ziang and others easily got the information they wanted from these two people.

These two people belonged to a group of bandits from the nearby Erlong Mountain. They guarded the official road. Their main task was to absorb refugees and find out the situation at the same time.

They thought that hiding in the shady woods would be safe, but Chen Ziang and others went straight to the woods.

The two of them hid in the woods and wanted to see how Chen Ziang and others were doing, but they were caught by the alert soldiers.

"It's really a piece of cake."

After learning that the bandits on Erlong Mountain had a lot of money and food, Chen Ziang couldn't help laughing.

They were ordered to collect food, but the villages along the way were empty, the fields were barren, and there was not a grain of food.

Now they were worried about how to report back, but unexpectedly learned that there was a bandit's nest nearby, and there was a lot of food in the bandit's nest.

Through interrogating the two captured bandits, Chen Ziang and his team learned that there were only a few hundred bandits on Erlong Mountain and they were not strong.

"Let's go, we'll raid the bandit's den, and get rid of harm for the people!"

Chen Ziang and his men can't find any food now, so since he's lucky, he decided to go to Erlong Mountain and get some food and money.

Moreover, most of the prefectures and counties in the entire Qinghe Province are now under the control of their Qinghe Army. They didn't expect that there is a bandit's den hiding here.

For their Qinghe Army, if they are not friends, then they are enemies. It is better to eliminate them as soon as possible. If they stab them in the back at any time, it will not be a good thing. Chen

Ziang gave the order, and several messengers He quickly jumped on his horse and ran away to summon Lin Yu, Yang Zhong and others who were collecting food separately, and asked them to come over and join him.

Even an eagle will use all its strength to fight a rabbit. Although there are only a few hundred bandits in Erlongshan, they are not ordinary people who have been able to hide under the nose of Qinghe Army for so long. He doesn't want to capsize in the ditch.

In just a few hours, Yang Zhong, Lin Yu and others who were collecting food separately led their teams to come over and join Chen Ziang.

The grain collection team led by Li Lang may have gone too far and too remote. Therefore, they did not arrive in time to join the group.

Although Li Lang's 1,000 men were missing, Chen Ziang and his men now had more than 3,000 men, which was enough.

Following Chen Ziang's order, 3,000 mounted infantrymen marched straight to the nearby bandit den, Erlong Mountain.

Erlong Mountain was some distance away from the official road, surrounded by high mountains, dense forests, and rugged rocks. There was not even a village within a radius of more than 20 miles, and it was truly deserted.

Moreover, the bandit's stockade was built halfway up Erlong Mountain, which was easy to defend and difficult to attack. There are tall trees all around, so it is very hidden and difficult for ordinary people to find.

Although Chen Ziang said he wanted to take down the stronghold of Erlong Mountain, he would not be stupid enough to attack directly. That was not his fighting style.

When he was still some distance away from Erlong Mountain, he pulled his troops to a hidden valley and left all the horses there.

Because the terrain was not suitable for cavalry combat at all. Besides, these half-baked cavalry had no combat power at all, and it was better for them to dismount and fight on foot.