Jingwei Camp marched for two consecutive days, and by the afternoon of the third day, they were less than twenty miles away from Meihe Town. Liu Ce ordered them to rest in place and sent Chen Qing and Guo Tao with a few men to scout around and gather military information to see if there were any abnormal movements of bandits.

  Feng Xiu took off his helmet, and the bright light reflected from his bald head was dazzling in the sunlight. Originally, he had shaved his head purely to defend against the sweltering heat of summer, but later discovered that being bald brought many conveniences to his life, especially when it came to washing his hair - all he needed to do was pour a basin of water over his head and wipe it with a cloth, so every time his hair grew out, he would ask Qing Shu to help him shave it off.

  "Its about time!" Fang Chouyan tossed his helmet aside, his face filled with excitement. "Tomorrow Ill twist off Jin Hengs head!"

  "General Flag is mighty! General Flag is majestic!" A few soldiers behind him couldnt help but flatter, making Feng Chouyan feel very pleased.

  "Just pick the good ones to say." Feng Xuan intentionally put on a stern face, pretending to scold, "Tomorrow, dont all of you act like women and shrink back, got it? Whoever runs away, Ill split him in two with one swing of my axe!"

  Facing the threat of Feng Qius intimidation, everyone was not afraid but laughed. A soldier said: "General, dont worry, brothers are now thinking about setting up a few dens for bandits, how can they run? However, General, you promised me that after this battle is over and we return, you will tell the general that I promised to marry Little Cui from the village..."

  The words of this soldier expressed the inner voices of those unmarried soldiers in the Imperial Guard. The rules in the Imperial Guard were very strict, especially the one about adultery; once discovered, no matter who it was, would be beheaded. Those who were already married thought that this rule was equivalent to protecting their own wives and daughters, and they had all experienced sexual relations between men and women, so their self-control was much stronger than those unmarried young men.

  The most important thing is that the treatment of the Jinwei Camps family members is limited to married soldiers, and Liu Ce stipulated that the materials captured on the battlefield are prioritized for distribution to generals with families. As a result, many soldiers and civilians in the village who had high hopes for the future of the Jinwei Camp began to think actively, especially those refugees who had unmarried daughters and young widows who had lost their husbands, as well as the women from the manor houses who were rescued from the occupied areas, all secretly thinking about whether they should find a Jinwei Camp soldier to be their son-in-law (husband), so that they would have someone to rely on...

  Feng Xuan heard this and suddenly burst out laughing, scolding: "What era is it now, youre still thinking about that? No problem, when I get back Ill go talk to the general, but you little brat cant force people! If I find out, no need for the general to take action, Ill personally twist your head off!"

  The soldier hastily said: "General flag, rest assured, I and Xiaocui are truly in love..."

  "Shut up! Get back in line!" Feng Chouyan made a kicking motion, scaring the soldier to hurry back into formation. Surrounded by the snickering of his fellow soldiers, he sat down with a bright red face. He was really embarrassed that he had blurted out such cheesy words in his haste...

  Liu Ce led Qin Mo to gaze at the narrow path not far ahead, and saw that the terrain on both sides of the path was treacherous, making it the best place for an ambush. However, he currently only had over a thousand men, which was insufficient to divide his troops to lure Jin Heng in. Moreover, Jin Heng wasnt a fool, abandoning the citys defense to run twenty miles and deliver himself to death...

  Qin Mo stood aside, constantly stroking the short whiskers under his chin, and after watching with Liu Ce for a while: "What a pity! With such good terrain, if we set up a fort here to guard the strategic pass, and station several thousand elite soldiers inside, even if tens of thousands of bandits come to attack, they will only return in vain. Alas, the court generals are all mediocre and incompetent..."

  Liu Ce sneered, "According to what Mr. previously said, the imperial court and the governors office are not incompetent, but rather intentional. Ive been in the military for many years and know a thing or two. On the surface, the Zhao familys local army and the Thunderbolt Army cooperate to suppress bandits, but in reality, theyre secretly hindering each other. Neither side wants the other to gain too much power, otherwise, how could the bandits have grown stronger step by step? I even suspect that the fall of Gaoyang was also their plan..."

  Qin Mo nodded in agreement, thinking that there was some truth to it, and just as he was about to say more, Chen Qing rode up on horseback from behind...

  Chen Qing dismounted his horse and came to Liu Ce and Qin Mo, clasped his fists: "General, a quarry was discovered several miles ahead, with over a thousand civilians laboring to transport large stones, and several hundred bandits guarding them. Guo Tao and the two brothers are currently continuing to keep watch, Ive come to report and ask whether..."

  "I was patrolling the camp with a few men and didnt notice any unusual movement on this side?" Liu Ze heard this news, his expression full of doubt.

  Chen Qingdao: "The bandits didnt send out scouts to patrol around, they just stayed within the quarry. Guo Tao and I observed for half a day and didnt see any scout horses coming and going, they were only concerned with supervising those civilians working and transporting stone blocks..."

  Liu Ce thought for a moment and said to Chen Qing, "Call Fang Jing over, I have something to ask him." To be on the safe side, Liu Ce decided to call Fang Jing over to clarify things.

  Before long, Fang Jing arrived at Liu Ces side with a hint of tension, wondering what instructions the young leader would give.

  Liu Ce looked at Fang Jing and said slowly, "Fang Jing, I heard that people near Meihe Town are more familiar with the terrain. Tell me, whats going on with the quarry a few miles ahead?"

  "General, the quarry originally belonged to the Ma family in Meihe Town. Villagers and townspeople would also come to work there part-time to earn some extra money. After the bandits occupied Meihe Town, the Ma family was robbed, and this quarry also fell into their hands. Now, the bandits are forcing the towns artisans and strong men to transport stones to reinforce the city walls..." Fang Jingyi said everything he knew, then stood nervously in place, waiting for Liu Ces response.

  "Isnt the bandit chief worried that someone will launch a surprise attack on the quarry?" Qin Mo asked from the side, "Why havent we seen any bandit scouts after our army has entered the Mei River territory for so long?"

  Fang Jing swallowed his saliva and said, "The bandits are now concentrated in the towns. Now that there are no government soldiers around here, how can the bandits be searching everywhere?"

  Qin Mo nodded to Liu Ce: "General, I think the morale of the soldiers has been high in recent days, but some new recruits are still nervous. Why dont we take down the quarry first and let those new recruits understand the combat power of the elite guard?"

  Liu Ce smiled and said, "Sir, I had the same intention. Lets consider it a warm-up before attacking the city tomorrow." Then he turned his head and asked Fang Jing, "Fang Jing, are you willing to join my Imperial Guard?"

  "Fang Jing listened and immediately stood up straight: General, please give your orders!"

  "Alright, later you will follow Yang Youhuai to fight in this battle. If your performance is satisfactory, then you can become a member of my elite guard! Liu Ce didnt wait for Fang Jing to speak and instead instructed Chen Qing: "Order the troops as follows: Yang Youhuai and Sun Chensuos units will be the vanguard, while Yang Kaisan, Feng Xueyan, Xu Hui, and our unit will provide backup. We will advance on Caishi Canyon in sequence!"

  …………

  Inside the quarry, a group of villagers carried large stones tied with grass ropes on their backs, laboriously moving towards the town. Many stonemasons sat in front of a huge stone, constantly pounding with hammers, their faces covered with lime powder, making it impossible to discern any expression. Not far away, several men swung large hammers at the massive rocks, and with each blow, a cloud of grey dust rose into the air.

  The outermost layer consisted of bandits holding various weapons, who were either sitting or lying down, each looking listless. Several bandits wielding whips constantly shouted at the civilians transporting stones, and anyone who was not obedient would be whipped.

  In the quarry, there was a man of about twenty-five years old who looked very robust. At this time, he was hammering at a huge stone, but his two eyes were sneaking around in all directions...

  "Bang!" A large stone broke off and rolled down, almost hitting the workers and the overseer below.

  "Sun Biao! Do you want to kill your old man? Youre looking for a beating!" Below, a convict overseer who had been hit by the dust from the rolling stone blocks yelled in exasperation, "Looks like youre itching for a fight! Do you want me to give you another few lashes?"

  That man was Sun Biao, who was brutally beaten by Liu Ce in the military camp a few months ago. Speaking of Sun Biao, he was also extremely unlucky. On that day, after being brutally beaten by Liu Ce, he wanted to take revenge, but that night he was taken away by Deng Jia.