They quickly sent people to the county town below to inquire. As a result, they found that as soon as they arrived, they disbanded the people and casually disposed of the goods, not at all like doing business. The more they investigated, the more suspicious they became.
Finally, the King of Qin sent people to chase in the direction of Binzhou, but they did not see any trace of them along the way.
When they were about to reach Binzhou, Wu Caiwei resumed her former attire. At this time, Ye Xingli had already led his men to capture the nearby Yizhou.
In fact, the chaos had already begun, and various forces were strengthening their training. They were all tough opponents. The reason for choosing Yizhou was twofold: it was close, and there was a county magistrate who had once received favors from the Carefree King, so there was an inside contact.
Originally, they did not know this. General Liu was very close to the Carefree King, and some matters were handled together. During a trip, they encountered a dying child. Seeing that the child's parents had passed away and he was homeless, they took him to a family they had previously helped. Knowing that the family had no son, they handed him over to them and instructed them to treat him well.
After so many years, they did not expect him to be working under the Governor of Yizhou.
To contact General Liu, the Governor of Yizhou sent someone to Binzhou as a spy a year ago, and he volunteered.
He managed to contact General Liu. Although General Liu appeared to trust him greatly, after not seeing each other for so many years, people's hearts could change, and he had approached them himself. Who knew if it was true or false? So, he tested him at every turn. Unexpectedly, he had been feeding Yizhou false information and had gone to great lengths to provide him with the terrain map of Yizhou and intelligence from Yizhou, making their actions easier.
When the time was ripe, he told the other party that the so-called strategist was the daughter of the Carefree King. The other party was so excited that tears streamed down his face, and he declared that he would follow her to his death.
It turned out that the family to whom the Carefree King had sent him back then had treated him very well to repay the Carefree King's kindness. Although their lives were not prosperous, they gave him enough care. It was just that the old couple were getting on in years. When he was in his teens, they passed away one after another. When they passed away, they were still muttering about the Carefree King's kindness to them, regretting that he had passed away before them and they could not repay him.
General Liu's concealment was understandable. The young lady's identity was so precious that if it were leaked, it would undoubtedly cause a huge stir. It was right to be cautious.
To gain the trust of the Governor of Yizhou, he discussed it with Ye Xingli and decided to give him some real information so that he could go back and achieve something.
The Governor of Yizhou did not expect this young man to go to Binzhou and obtain some recipes for brewing wine. This was extremely important to him. Although his territory did not have as many fruit trees as Binzhou, he could buy fruits. When the first batch of fruit wine was produced, the Governor of Yizhou looked at these wines as if he were looking at piles of silver.
He did not expect the profit from wine to be so great. One could imagine how much money Binzhou had earned over the years. However, he would also get a share of it from now on. Thinking that all this was due to Zhou Ziming's credit, he was so pleased that he appointed him as the magistrate of Qiuxian County.
The reason he sent him to Qiuxian was that Zhou Ziming had always expressed his longing for Qiuxian in front of him. After all, he had lived there since childhood. Qiuxian was adjacent to Binzhou, and it could be said to be a gateway.
He had been in office for some time and was initially unfamiliar with the county's affairs. It took him three months to slowly adapt. Binzhou had given him a lot of money and was willing to invest in relationships, so that after only three months, the garrison and officials here were all friendly with him.
As soon as Ye Xingli's army arrived at the city gate, it was opened from the inside. Of course, it was not that no one wanted to resist. To be safe, many people from Binzhou had mixed in beforehand and came to his side to protect him. As soon as those people drew their swords and intended to deal with Zhou Ziming, they were killed by the well-prepared Binzhou soldiers.
At this moment, everyone in Qiuxian finally understood the magistrate's ultimate goal, but it was too late. For the sake of their lives and livelihoods, they could only choose to obey. Even if they resisted with their lives now to express their loyalty to the Governor, he probably wouldn't believe them.
"What did you say? Zhou Ziming actually opened the city gate? Did he collude with the Grand Governor during those few months he was a spy in Binzhou?" Although it was a rhetorical question, the Governor believed so, and it pained him to think about it.
Qiuxian was the northern gateway to the prefectural government. It was easy to defend and difficult to attack, with steep cliffs on both sides and a river flowing through the entrance. The city walls had been continuously raised and reinforced over the years. It could be said that as long as they held their ground there, it would be as difficult as climbing to heaven for the enemy to break through their gates.
The reason why he entrusted this place to Zhou Ziming was that he was both skilled in civil and military affairs, and he was truly happy that he had obtained the recipes and earned so much money. He wanted to reward him handsomely, but unexpectedly, it turned out to be a case of inviting a wolf into the house.
It was too late to say anything now. The immediate priority was to quickly dispatch troops to defend the prefectural city. Without a doubt, he knew that Binzhou's next target would be here.
After resting in Binzhou, Ye Xingli led his men to the prefectural government. Seeing the enemy's ready stance, he simply kept his army outside their range and waited quietly.
Seeing that everyone was led by a man in a green robe, he speculated about his identity. At this moment, he suddenly regretted not bringing Zhou Ziming along. There was no one to identify the Governor for him.
After thinking for a moment, he took his bow and arrows from his confidant and drew three arrows. He aimed at the target and shot. By the time the Governor reacted, it was too late. He could only watch helplessly as the arrows flew towards him. It was his adjutant who reacted quickly and pushed him away. One arrow pierced directly into his heart, another hit a nearby soldier, and the third arrow struck an official. They fell to the ground. This scene terrified the Governor, who knew that the enemy's ultimate target was him.
The reason he stood openly on the city wall was that he knew he was beyond their range. He did not expect the enemy's archery skills to be so superb that they could shoot so far.
Ye Xingli was not disappointed that he missed his target. He had already prepared for the worst before coming. With so many people on the city wall, there were always hidden talents.
Having lost the first encounter, the Governor and the officials were scared out of their wits and dared not advance. Fortunately, they had the city wall as a barrier. As long as they held their ground and did not come out, the enemy could do nothing to them. Moreover, they were deep in the hinterland of Yizhou, and the soldiers from various counties would soon come to their rescue. They believed that the enemy would not dare to stay for too long.
Ye Xingli had also thought of the problems they could conceive. When he attacked the prefectural city, he had sent several teams to different directions. He estimated that those county magistrates were all struggling to take care of themselves.