“Commissioner Feng surely didn’t come just to deliver a few suspicious individuals, did he?” Chun Thirteenth Niang glanced over with captivating charm, staring at Feng Yi’s face as she asked.

“I calculated with my fingers that I would encounter Spring Niang and Miss Yao here, so I eagerly snatched up this assignment. Do you believe me?” Feng Yi asked with a shameless grin.

“If Xirong said this, I’d believe it. Coming from you, forget it.” Chun Thirteenth Niang sighed languidly.

Though Chun Thirteenth Niang was over thirty, she was precisely in her prime beauty. Seeing her like this, Feng Yi recalled romantic old memories, and his heart couldn’t help but stir. He stared blankly for a while before collecting himself and saying:

“You all know about Tangyi sending people into the upper river valleys of Baishui River and Guan River last winter to organize local militia and such. Now entering the second month, the ice and snow will soon melt, and the Shouzhou Army’s mountain access routes will subsequently open up. But our plank road from the upper Yanzi River to the upper Baishui River still has one last dangerous section remaining, needing two months to complete. The Left Martial Guard Army and Left Vermillion Bird Army have been out of Huaiyang Mountain for almost a year now. Yiyang and Lingshan have both been fortified by you into impregnable strongholds. Could you consider actually using troops against Luoshan City this spring?”

Yao Xishui and Chun Thirteenth Niang exchanged glances, not expecting that Feng Yi had come hoping to borrow their side’s military action against the Shouzhou Army to reduce pressure on the Tangyi army’s forces on the north slope of Huaiyang Mountain. But this topic was something they had no way to address right now.

Upon entering the command tent, they saw that Guo Que was also at Lingshan.

In his early years, Guo Que had been merely a family soldier serving beside Han Qian. Now with a lean frame and ordinary appearance, at first glance he was just a quite unremarkable, honest young man. But in recent years he had become one of the most important core figures beside Han Qian in charge of reconnaissance and intelligence gathering.

When Yao Xishui and Chun Thirteenth Niang entered the main tent, they didn’t see Li Zhigao’s figure—Guo Que was talking with Li Xiu in the tent.

Li Chong had committed suicide out of fear of punishment. Li Pu bore the main responsibility for the annihilation of the naval main force and Right Divine Martial Army, was stripped of his position as Vice Commissioner of Military Affairs, deprived of his ducal title, and demoted to commoner status. This implicated Li Yao in the palace, who was also demoted to Noble Lady. Duke Changguo’s mansion had completely fallen into decline.

Although Li Pu had escaped death, he was ordered to remain in his Jinling residence and not leave the capital at will.

In a wider scope, or in the eyes of the world, Duke Changguo’s mansion was considered part of the Li clan lineage of Prince Jun of Zhedong. Apart from Li Changfeng serving in the Ministry of War and Li Zhigao commanding the Huaixi Imperial Guards being unaffected by the connection, Li Xiu, Li Chi, and others as generals of the Right Divine Martial Army had all been stripped of their military positions.

Disheartened, and with casualties among Li clan sons and family soldiers quite severe, after Li Xiu and Li Chi were relieved of their military positions, they led the remaining followers back to Hongzhou to recuperate.

It was only mid-last year, seeing the Second Prince brought to the Palace of Benevolent Longevity to be raised by the Empress Dowager, that Li Pu felt Duke Changguo’s mansion still had hope of recovery. Only then did he write a letter, brought by Yao Xishui and her group to Hongzhou, persuading Li Xiu and Li Chi to emerge again.

Neither Li Xiu nor Li Chi held formal military ranks. Serving under Li Zhigao’s command, Li Xiu mainly helped advise on military affairs, while Li Chi was primarily responsible for leading small elite forces to eliminate bandits and mountain brigands entrenched on the eastern slope of Tongbai Mountain. At the same time, learning from the Tangyi army, he subdued stockades in the mountains that operated independently without county supervision, expanding Xiangbei’s population as much as possible.

Although the Right Divine Martial Army had suffered disastrous defeat, Li Chi and the Li clan sons’ martial valor was renowned throughout Jianghuai.

As Yao Xishui and her group entered, Guo Que’s attention was drawn over. Turning his head, he saw behind Li Chi stood a magnificently imposing and brave warrior whose presence was even stronger than Li Chi, who appeared somewhat thin by comparison.

Guo Que naturally recognized this man as Zhong Yanhu, who had once served as Military Commissioner of Jiangzhou.

During the Jinling Incident when the Left Vermillion Bird Army attacked Jiangzhou, Zhong Yanhu was defeated by Li Zhigao and subsequently disappeared without trace. Now seeing him wearing personal guard military officer armor, Guo Que could guess that in the Jiangzhou battle he must have been captured by Li Zhigao, but only recently had he truly submitted and pledged service under Li Zhigao’s command.

Guo Que guessed that Zhong Yanhu’s allegiance might have some relationship with Li Xiu and Li Chi—otherwise it would be difficult to explain why he only appeared under Li Zhigao’s command so long after the Jinling Incident.

When Yao Xishui and Chun Thirteenth Niang arrived locally, their public identities were special envoys of the Palace of Benevolent Longevity. Therefore, when Feng Yi and Guo Que came to discuss coordinated military operations against Shouzhou between the two armies, the two women need not avoid the discussion.

After sitting and talking for a while, Li Zhigao, who had gone somewhere earlier, and Deng Tai pushed the door open and entered.

Although it was already early in the second month, the wind rushing in from the doorway still carried a chill. Who knew whether this year’s ice and snow melting time would be delayed even later than last year.

However, no matter how delayed, by the third month, the passages from southern Huozhou along the stream and river valleys of Guan River, Baishui River and others into the heartland of Huaiyang Mountain’s north slope would open.

Although the Tangyi army had concentrated eight to nine thousand troops on the north slope of Huaiyang Mountain, they lacked armor, not to mention excellent weaponry. The vast majority were new recruits who had courage but had not undergone sufficient and complete training, with poor physical condition—their combat capability was merely equivalent to local militia.

Once the Shouzhou Army concentrated elite forces to attack the heartland of Huaiyang Mountain’s north slope, relying only on the flimsy stockades in the mountains to withstand the Shouzhou Army’s military edge would be very difficult.

Feng Yi and Guo Que had come hoping that the Xiangbei army and Tangyi army elite forces would respectively dispatch troops from Lingshan military camp and Wujin Ridge military camp, attacking from left and right flanks, making the Shouzhou Army throw caution to the wind and not dare easily use troops on the north slope of Huaiyang Mountain.

Of course, there had always been communication regarding coordinated operations between the two armies.

This time Feng Yi and Guo Que had specifically crossed the lofty mountains and steep ridges of Huaiyang Mountain’s western section to come over, making it especially solemn. They hoped Li Zhigao could dispatch troops on a large scale on the western flank, rather than the small-scale, ineffectual harassment of the past.

At this moment, seeing Li Zhigao and Deng Tai return, in front of Yao Xishui and Chun Thirteenth Niang, Guo Que solemnly emphasized this point again, hoping Li Zhigao could give a clear response.

“The Shouzhou Army wasn’t devastated severely enough by the flood at Jinwu Ridge? It’s only been this long, their scars haven’t even healed—they truly dare attack mountain regions defended by the Tangyi army?” Yao Xishui’s beautiful eyes fixed on Feng Yi and Guo Que as she asked.

Feng Yi always had a lazy, listless appearance. Guo Que patiently said:

“Early last spring, our Tangyi army officers and soldiers could use water momentum to defeat the Shouzhou Army. To be frank, there wasn’t much mystery to it. Nearly a year has passed—even if the Shouzhou officers are incompetent, we believe they’ve long since seen through it. Therefore, before the ice and snow melts, the Shouzhou Army doesn’t dare enter the mountains. But after the ice and snow melts and before the rainy season arrives, if they’re still timid and hesitant, then recovering the Shou and Huo states and driving the enemy forces north of the Huai River will truly be just around the corner without any suspense—Palace Commissioner Yao must have already figured out by now what methods we used to repel the enemy forces early last spring, correct?”

After all this time, if they still hadn’t seen through the secret of the ice dam, Yao Xishui thought they might as well concede defeat.

It was just that after the event occurred, piercing through this layer of pretense was easy, but beforehand who could have imagined Han Qian would use such a method to defeat the enemy?

Li Zhigao naturally wouldn’t give Feng Yi and Guo Que a response on the spot. As Regional Defense Commander controlling and commanding three Imperial Guard units and the military and political affairs of five states, his authority was even greater than Han Qian’s. He also need not personally placate Feng Yi and Guo Que, merely instructing a subordinate general to arrange for Feng Yi and Guo Que to first lodge at Lingshan military camp.

Dismissing idle personnel, with only trusted confidants remaining in the hall, Yao Xishui then said, “There will be dramatic changes in Hebei. Has Elder Brother made preparations on this side?”

In the era of Marquis Xinchang’s mansion, Yao Xishui together with Su Hongyu and other women had called Li Zhigao and Chai Jian elder brothers. Now that Li Zhigao was a direct general of the Wanhong House lineage was an open secret. However, Li Xiu, Li Chi, Zhong Yanhu and others didn’t know that Yao Xishui’s address of “Elder Brother” contained deeper, more direct meaning.

“There will be dramatic changes—what changes?” Li Zhigao furrowed his long brows and asked.

Not only was he completely clear about the Shenling Bureau’s remnant forces in the old commanderies of Hebei and Hedong, he even knew that when the previous dynasty fell, a small portion of scholar-gentry fled north to submit to the Mongol Uighurs and survived. Over the years they had maintained contact with each other. But regarding what Wang Jingrong wanted to accomplish in Hebei, or more directly in the Chengde Army, he wasn’t particularly certain, or rather, deep in his heart he didn’t hope such a thing would happen.

“If we delay further, Emperor Zhu Yu of Liang could capture Luzhou at any time. Then no matter what response Guanjiang House makes within the Chengde Army, they’ll fall into a passive position. Under Zhu Yu’s governance, the Liang army is several times stronger than the Chengde Army. The Jin army has also been thoroughly routed, repeatedly suffering great defeats. If we allow him to annex Hedong, Hebei and other regions, then raise hundreds of thousands of elite troops to march south, how can the Jianghuai region defend itself?” Yao Xishui’s beautiful eyes flashed with cold, unwavering brilliance.

“But how is this different from inviting wolves into the house?” Li Zhigao clenched his fists and said with displeasure.

“We cannot command Guanjiang House and the Xiao clan to do anything, nor does Guanjiang House and the Xiao clan need to obey our commands. That they can send word to inform us, so we can take advantage of the situation in Jianghuai, also shows they remember these years of unbroken ties,” Yao Xishui said, yielding no ground. “And since Han Qian has this time invited Elder Brother to dispatch troops to attack the Shouzhou Army’s flank, in Xishui’s view, Elder Brother can completely go with the flow, concentrate forces to approach beneath Luoshan City. Just wait for news of the dramatic changes in the north to spread and shake the Shouzhou Army’s footing, then Elder Brother can directly lead the main army along the south bank of the Huai River downstream, seizing Huo and Shou states before the Tangyi army…”

“How could it be that easy?” Li Zhigao sat behind his desk with deeply furrowed brows, sighing lightly. “Han Qian places the greatest importance on intelligence reconnaissance and collection. Even back when he managed Jinyun House with such scarce resources, he never forgot to infiltrate agents into the Liang and Shu kingdoms. How could he remain indifferent to Emperor Zhu Yu of Liang now attacking cities and seizing territory in the old Hedong commandery, without sending people to watch the movements in Luze and other places? Even if Tangyi hasn’t discovered anything now, as soon as Mongol Uighur cavalry sets foot on Hebei soil, I estimate Tangyi will receive the news within a month at most. By that time, the Shouzhou Army may have just received the news as well, their footing not yet in disarray. We may not be able to seize much opportunity…”

For them to seize this rare opportunity, Wang Yuankui leading the Chengde Army to submit to the Mongol Uighurs was merely the first step. Afterward, the Chengde Army together with Mongol Uighur cavalry marching south to sweep through Zhao Yi, Wei, Bo and other states would truly cause the situation north of the Yellow River to become completely turbulent.

This process itself required a certain amount of time.

After Wang Yuankui led the Chengde Army to submit to the Mongol Uighurs, stirring up the situation on the north bank of the Yellow River, only then would people within Liang Kingdom become panic-stricken. But for the Shouzhou Army’s footing on the south bank of the Huai River to fall into great chaos, giving them an opportunity to exploit, would require the Liang army on the northern front to suffer one or two severe defeats.

Otherwise, what kind of scenes hadn’t Xu Mingzhen experienced? How could they so easily gain advantage from him?

More critically, even if Han Qian could only obtain news from the north after a month’s delay, at that time the Shouzhou Army’s footing wouldn’t be in chaos, still having sufficient time for the Tangyi army to deploy troops and generals. Then if the Tangyi army directly dispatched troops from Huaiyang Mountain to attack Huozhou and Shouzhou, how much slower would their speed be?

“Unless something elsewhere can attract Marquis Qianyang’s attention, otherwise we cannot aim too high. We should honestly advance forces to beneath Luoshan City. Then when the time comes, surround and cut off Wen Bo’s retreat route, forcing him to surrender—that would also be a great victory.” Li Xiu said with composed bearing.

The Xiangbei Regional Defense Command Army had considerable forces. The main forces under Chai Jian’s Left Divine Martial Army were stationed in Deng and Jun states to guard against enemy forces from Wuguan in Guanzhong and the Fangcheng defense line. The forces they could muster at Yiyang and Lingshan actually held no advantage over the Tangyi army. Moreover, in many resource aspects, they were much more stretched thin.

Li Xiu didn’t think they should set their sights too high this time. Rather than trying to swallow Huo and Shou states whole, better to honestly target Wen Bo and his forces currently garrisoning Luoshan City.

Since the Jinling rebellion, Wen Bo had been like an unbreakable rock, causing everyone endless suffering.

However, since ancient times good generals could appreciate each other. Even though they had suffered greatly at Wen Bo’s hands, this didn’t prevent everyone from recognizing Wen Bo’s capability in governing and commanding troops. The ten-thousand-plus troops under Wen Bo’s command could be said to be among the few remaining elite combat forces of the Shouzhou Army.

If they could take advantage of the situation north of the Yellow River alarming the Liang realm to dispatch troops cutting off Wen Bo’s retreat route from Luoshan City, subsequently forcing him to surrender the city, that would be a great harvest.

“What if there truly could be something else to attract Han Qian’s attention?” Yao Xishui asked.

Li Xiu had just mentioned this point casually. He mainly hoped they wouldn’t aim too high. But seeing that Yao Xishui had fixed her thoughts on this point, he steeled himself and said, “If it could be so, perhaps we could be slightly more ambitious.”

“News of the great changes in Hebei may not be hidden from Tangyi for long, but no matter how well-informed Han Qian is, there are secrets in this world he cannot penetrate…” Yao Xishui said.

…

…

Lingshan military camp had no proper courier station, but the courtyard arranged for Feng Yi, Guo Que and their accompanying guards to reside in was spacious and clean.

“To say everything before was just speculation, but every time that woman Yao Xishui appears, she inevitably stirs up some trouble. So this matter is nine-tenths certain to be correct.”

Feng Yi sat cross-legged under the lamplight, speaking to Guo Que.

“You write a secret letter, bind it to A’Zi and A’Zhu’s claws, see if it can successfully be carried back to Wujin Ridge—I always feel relying on two pigeons to transmit messages is somewhat uncertain. With so many large eagles deep in Huaiyang Mountain, won’t they swallow these two fat pigeons in one bite?”

“Although we obtained A’Zi and A’Zhu from Lady Jun as auxiliary means, they should only be used when the situation is particularly urgent,” Guo Que shook his head. “Yao Xishui and Chun Thirteenth Niang appearing here merely further validates that Lady Jun’s speculation was correct. We only need to relay the news as usual…”

Outside Lingshan military camp, the lofty mountains and steep ridges to the east were already the edge of the Southern Huo Special Task Battalion’s activity area. From there to Wujin Ridge was only two hundred-plus miles in a straight line. But with the Huainan Plain region to the north controlled by the Shouzhou Army, if messengers had to cross the lofty mountains and steep ridges with no existing mountain roads, winding around in mountain valleys, they would need eight or nine days at least to reach Wujin Ridge military camp.

If messengers passed through the shallow hill region outside the north face of Huaiyang Mountain, the speed would be much faster, but they could encounter Shouzhou Army scout forces at any time, which would be extremely dangerous.

If a sudden situation truly occurred, attempting long-distance carrier pigeon messaging was one method. But Guo Que believed the current situation’s development was consistent with what Wujin Ridge military camp had predicted—there was no necessity to release the only two carrier pigeons they had brought along to fly back.

“Alright, we’ll do as you say regarding specifics.” Feng Yi said.

“I want to stay at Lingshan military camp two more days. Regardless of their attitude, I’ll make a trip to Yingzhou. After reaching Yingzhou, I’ll take a boat to circle back to Wujin Ridge military camp. There are some matters to handle along the way. Will you come with me, or return first to His Lordship’s side?” Guo Que asked.

“After reaching Yingzhou, it will be precisely spring’s lingering days with the spring river waters turning green. Of course I’ll take the Han River detour with you.” Feng Yi said.

He very much looked forward to traveling the Han River by boat, then following the Yangtze River downstream, then passing through Chaohu and Longtan River to re-enter Huaiyang Mountain to see Han Qian.

Although this would be several days later than the scheduled plan for returning to Wujin Ridge military camp, the entire journey could be by carriage, horse and boat—much more comfortable than crossing the lofty mountains and steep ridges of Huaiyang Mountain’s north slope. Besides, the spring scenery along the route would certainly be fine.

While Han Qian as supreme commander couldn’t conveniently move about everywhere, he encouraged Tangyi’s mid-to-high-level officers to take opportunities to inspect the actual conditions of various prefectures and counties as much as possible.

As a core figure in the Military Intelligence Staff Bureau handling reconnaissance and intelligence gathering, if Guo Que wanted to more directly judge whether the bureau’s external intelligence gathering was effective, if he wanted intelligence gathering work to go deeper and more detailed, he couldn’t always remain beside Han Qian serving…

After Guo Que and Feng Yi reached agreement, after discussing the details of coordinated military operations between the two armies with Li Xiu and others, besides sending messengers directly through Huaiyang Mountain’s north slope to return to Wujin Ridge military camp, they themselves, escorted by over a dozen guards, left Lingshan military camp, passed through Jiuli Pass, and headed toward Yingzhou City.

The five states of Xiangbei were after all Great Chu’s territory. If Guo Que and Feng Yi wanted to go to Yingzhou, even to Jun and Deng states, the Xiangbei Regional Defense Command couldn’t obstruct them. At most they could use the pretext of providing escort to send people to monitor them along the way, preventing them from freely gathering military intelligence in Sui, Ying and other states…

…

…

In mid-second month, at the mouth where the Han River entered the Yangtze, a double-masted armed merchant ship was anchored in the center of the river under the evening glow.

The sailing vessel was about eight zhang long from bow to stern. The ship’s hull sat deep in the water, showing the cargo hold was filled with bulk commodities. Waves beat against it, occasionally splashing water onto the deck.

The stars and moon were bright. At a distance one could still see painted in large lacquer on the ship’s side the characters “Chishan-28.” Atop the cargo hold, several crossbows gleamed with fierce cold light under the guard of over a dozen armored soldiers.

The Chishan Association’s medium and large cargo ships mostly had pointed bottoms and pointed bows. Fully loaded with cargo, they sat very deep in the water. Unless there was an existing dock where they could berth, otherwise if they wanted to anchor, they would directly drop anchor in the river’s center.

As for reasons for anchoring in the river’s center, there were many—avoiding wind and waves, avoiding at night having to pass through shoal areas with complex currents for temporary mooring, and many densely populated towns and ports along the river that lacked docks for berthing medium and large cargo ships, so one could only anchor in the river’s center and then use small boats for transfer.

Additionally, the Chishan Association hadn’t built dedicated warehouses in many places. The merchant cargo ships carrying goods on tributary streams and rivers versus main waterways varied greatly in size. The breaking down, consolidation, and transfer of bulk cargo often took place directly on the river surface.

In short, an armed merchant cargo ship of the Chishan Association anchored on the water surface northwest of E Prefecture City where the Yangtze and Han Rivers converged—in mid-second month of Yanyou Year Five, this was already quite ordinary.

As night deepened, another black-canopied boat came down the Han River with the current.

After both sides signaled each other with signal lamps, the black-canopied boat pulled close alongside the merchant ship.

Guo Que leaped nimbly onto the merchant ship’s deck. Feng Yi didn’t have Guo Que’s agile skills and still needed guard assistance, pulling on a rope to board the ship.

Seeing Lin Sheng standing on deck waiting for them dressed in gray robes in merchant fashion, Guo Que’s brows furrowed slightly as he asked with a grave expression, “What matter made you specifically wait here for us?”

“When we exited Dongting Lake eastward from Yueyang, we happened to see a Weaving Bureau official ship entering Dongting Lake from the Yangtze. I found it strange at the time and specifically arranged three patrol boats to take turns following. We confirmed that Palace Commissioner of Changchun Palace, Weaving Supervisor Yao Xishui was on that official ship!” Lin Sheng said.

The Chishan Association not only bore the responsibility of connecting Jianghuai, it was also the reserve force of the Tangyi navy, and moreover the main force for the Military Intelligence Staff Bureau to gather intelligence in Jianghuai.

Therefore, apart from Su Lie, Han Donghu, Lin Jiang and a few others who directly entered the Tangyi army, Lin Sheng, Guo Xiao and others continued to be responsible for the Chishan Association’s daily operations.

Lin Sheng was one of the six giants responsible for the Chishan Association’s daily operations. Normally he occasionally traveled with merchant ships but would always conceal his identity. This time, if not for such urgent intelligence, he wouldn’t risk remaining on the river surface at E Prefecture waiting for Guo Que and Feng Yi to arrive.

“This woman moves so fast. We clearly left Lingshan military camp earlier than her, and we didn’t delay much along the way either. Yet she’s gotten ahead of us,” Feng Yi said with deeply furrowed brows. “What is she rushing into Dongting Lake to do?”

The Weaving Bureau was the Palace of Benevolent Longevity’s eyes and ears. Its official ships had convenient passage through all prefectures and counties without obstruction. Appearing anywhere was normal. Even in recent years they had occasionally entered Xuzhou on the pretext of transporting tribute goods.

However, Yao Xishui had just appeared at Lingshan military camp some time ago. They had also speculated that her trip to see Li Zhigao should be to prepare for dramatic changes that could occur at any time in the northern situation. But at this moment, instead of remaining at Tongbai Mountain to counsel Li Zhigao, she had run into Dongting Lake—how could this not arouse their suspicion and alarm?

“Where has the Weaving Bureau’s ship gone now? Is it going up the Xiang River, or has it entered the Ruan River?” Guo Que asked Lin Sheng.

“The latest news I received before nightfall was that the Weaving Bureau’s official ship was still in the Qingpu Marshes water area of Dongting Lake. Temporarily we can’t tell whether it’s going to the Xiang River or the Ruan River—however, I’ve already ordered new patrol boats to keep following them.” Lin Sheng said.

“Immediately prepare a fast boat and organize some capable hands to follow us!” Guo Que said. Then he and Feng Yi and Lin Sheng entered the cargo hold. He immediately wrote a secret letter, had someone bring out the two carrier pigeons they had carried all along the journey, bound two identical secret letters to their grass-stem-thin claws, and released them to fly into the night sky…