Two days later, Fan Xian and his group prepared to leave Qingzhou. This trip required them to go deep into the grasslands, so it was not convenient to ride in carriages. Other than carts carrying goods, the rest of the merchants all traveled on horseback. During these two days, Mu Feng 'er had already naturally established a good relationship with the merchants and agreed on a journey.
Early that morning, when large numbers of merchant groups began to leave the city, the Qingzhou riders, who had once again left the city to hunt rabbits, just happened to be returning to the city. The two groups brushed past each other.
The riders did not look directly at these merchants. Although their superiors would sometimes send these riders to escort these merchants, most of the time, the two sides rarely interacted. Without the Qing army escorting them, perhaps these merchants would be safer.
Ye Ling 'er, with a tired expression, sat on her horse. A few strands of black hair leaked out of her helmet and mixed with her sweat. It was sticky. She used her finger to play with it. Her gaze unconsciously flickered to the merchant group outside the city gate.
It was just a glance, but it was like she was attracted by a magnet. Ye Ling'er furrowed her brows and looked suspiciously at a young merchant standing next to a horse in the caravan. The merchant wore a cotton robe. It was ordinary and did not appear to be eye-catching, but Ye Ling'er felt that it was a little strange.
From this angle, she could only see the young merchant's back. It was this back that allowed Ye Ling 'er to discover his true identity. Her expression suddenly changed. A complicated emotion flashed through her eyes.
It was Fan Xian.
How could Ye Ling 'er so easily discover Fan Xian's figure? Because Fan Xian was her teacher, he had once taught her little tricks for a year. Ye Ling 'er had also taught him the Ye family's coffin-breaker without holding anything back. Their palms crossed and their bodies fought. They were familiar with each other's movements, habits, and body characteristics to a terrifying degree.
Ye Ling 'er stared in a daze at the figure's back. Biting her lip, she suppressed her emotions. She did not ride forward. Instead, she cracked her whip, called out to her teacher, and cried loudly.
…
…
She knew that since Fan Xian had come to Qingzhou in disguise and had not come to see her, then it was certainly not a private matter. Rather, it was an important mission for the court. The Overwatch Council wanted to make some noise on the grasslands.
If it was not an important matter, a noble son like Fan Xian would not take such a big risk and enter deep into the grasslands. Ye Ling 'er was no longer the spirited little girl of the past. She had matured a great deal. She would not expose Fan Xian's identity in front of everyone. She only glanced deeply at his back and then silently led her horse toward the manor.
After entering the government, she didn't even rest for a moment before she said, "A few days ago, the Dingzhou General's manor gave the order for the Autumn Hunt. It is time for us to make some moves."
A general who was listening at the side felt a chill in his heart. He thought to himself that Miss was getting more and more ruthless. It was just that they had launched an attack in the middle of the night, and their men and horses were already exhausted. He explained, "The Great General's orders are clear. Qing Province is not within the scope of this Autumn Hunt."
"Then we'll make it ourselves." Ye Ling 'er lowered her head. She was no longer a little girl who had come to play, but a female general with a lot of experience. Add to that her identity and background, and the words she spoke, even her immediate superior had to consider them seriously.
No one knew why Ye Ling 'er insisted on the Qingzhou army joining the scope of the Autumn Hunt. No one knew that the Commissioner of the Overwatch Council, Fan Xian, had come to Qingzhou, left Qingzhou, and entered the grasslands. Ye Ling 'er's suggestion was to use the Qingzhou riders to attract most of the Hu people's attention and protect the safety of the merchant group along the way. "There have been especially many merchants this year. No one knows if the Hu people will suddenly go crazy."
The nobles of the Hu tribe are still counting on the merchants to bring in an endless stream of goods. How could they go crazy? The general thought to himself and furrowed his brows. "Don't worry about those merchants. If we send out troops, I'm afraid it will make things more inconvenient for them."
Ye Ling 'er didn't say anything. She lowered her head and thought that if the three roads into the grasslands were thrown into chaos, it should make it easier for Fan Xian to do things. Although she didn't know why Fan Xian had risked his life to enter the grasslands, she only knew one thing. Her teacher had always been the best at obtaining the greatest benefit from chaos.
…
…
During these two or three days, there were suddenly many outsiders in the Dingzhou headquarters behind Qingzhou. Some of these people used the identities of court officials and said they were there to check on the expenditure. Some were merchants from various places. There were also hard laborers who had come to the West to make a fortune while the war was about to end.
These people's identities were very messy, so they didn't attract much attention. They were only faintly divided into many small groups. There was a leader in each group. Just as Fan Xian's group left Qingzhou and began to head toward the grasslands King's tent in search of Songzhi Xianling, these leaders quietly entered the General's manor.
There was an important matter in the General's manor, so all the unrelated people had been chased out of the manor. Looking at the dozen or so people in different clothing below the hall, General Li Hongcheng couldn't help but smile bitterly and say, "Fan Xian's spending this time is quite large."
The people who had entered Dingzhou were all officials and secret agents of the Overwatch Council. At this moment, in the General's manor were the heads of each department. Only one person had the right to sit in the chair below the hall. This person was already middle-aged. His hair had not yet turned white, but his gaze was tired. It looked like these three years in a foreign country had been unusually difficult.
This person looked at Li Hongcheng and bowed. "The Council thinks that if we want to clear out the spies in Dingzhou, we must use thunderous methods."
Li Hongcheng looked at this person and furrowed his brows. "But, we can't have you come personally. Deng Zi Yue, you're not in Shangjing. You've suddenly come to Dingzhou. What about the court's matters in the North?"
Li Hongcheng's status was noble, but he spoke more politely to this middle-aged man because he knew he was the head of the Overwatch Council's spies in Northern Qi. His more important identity was the head of the Qinian Unit and one of Fan Xian's most capable trusted aides.
This Overwatch Council official in charge of Dingzhou's elimination of spies was Deng Zi Yue, who Fan Xian had sent to Northern Qi for more than two years. No one knew what went wrong with the mission this time for Fan Xian to bring him back.
If I don't come back myself, how can I capture those people? Deng Zi Yue thought to himself, but he didn't say it out loud to the Crown Prince. This matter not only involved the battle between Xi Hu and the Qing Kingdom, but it also involved another powerful power.
Fan Xian had moved him South with no intention of having him return to Shangjing. He wanted to use his three years of infiltration of the Northern Qi Brocade Guards in Shangjing, as well as his familiarity with Northern Qi.
"After finishing this matter, I won't return to Shangjing." Deng Zi Yue bowed respectfully to Li Hongcheng.
Li Hongcheng looked into his eyes and slowly said, "How will the Western camp cooperate?"
…
…
"Deng Zi Yue should have been in Dingzhou for three days." Fan Xian sat on the horse with his eyes half closed. It seemed that he was not worried at all that the horse would throw him off. He yawned and said, "According to the agreed time, we have to be fast. Otherwise, if they attack in Dingzhou and anger the people on the grasslands, I'm afraid it won't be appropriate."
He had been preparing for this matter for four months. If the anger in his heart had not accumulated to such a strong degree, perhaps Fan Xian would not have used such crude methods. However, he also knew that the other party had entered the grasslands long before him. Their infiltration of Dingzhou had already been going on for over a year. He was already much slower in terms of time. If he couldn't delay the other party's commander on the grasslands, something might go wrong.
Mu Feng 'er glanced at Fan Xian and then at the long line of merchants in front of him. Furrowing his brows, he said, "These people move too slowly. Furthermore, they will stop at each tribe along the way. If we really walk to the King's tent, who knows how long it will take?"
According to the original plan, Fan Xian's group of merchants should have separated from the main group of merchants yesterday. There had been a fork in the grasslands yesterday. Hu Ge should have sent his trusted aide there to receive them. Then, Fan Xian's group would take a shortcut and reach their destination.
Unexpectedly, there was no one at the fork in the road to receive them. It was only one of Hu Ge's trusted aides who had found an opening and sneaked into the tent at night to express his apologies and explain the reason.
The other two roads on the grasslands were being attacked by the Qingzhou army. As the foremost ace under the Left Virtuous King's banner, Hu Ge just so happened to be there with his subordinates. Naturally, he had been moved to provide support. It was impossible for him to leave the majority of the group to receive the Qing Kingdom's Overwatch Council.
Fan Xian didn't know this was Ye Ling 'er's intention. He had not thought that his female disciple wanted to share his burden and instead brought him even more trouble.
"Since that person still hasn't shown himself, even if we get to the King's tent, we won't see him," Mu Feng 'er looked at Fan Xian and reminded him. "The other party won't make such a mistake. He knows it is a merchant group from the Qing Kingdom. He won't show himself in front of us."
The horses slowly moved forward. Their hooves stepped on the autumn grass.
"Dingzhou is ready," Mu Feng 'er reminded again. Mu Feng 'er reminded again. In his opinion, even if there were so-called aces in the Hu King's tent, as long as they caught all the spies in Dingzhou, the other party would not be able to raise too many waves. Why take the risk?
Fan Xian's thumb gently moved on the reins. A moment later, he said, "I have to know who that person is. This is a very important point. If the other party is who I think they are, then I have to change my tactics. Just catching everyone in Dingzhou in one fell swoop will not have a fundamental effect."
He had never heard of the name Songzhi Xianling, nor did he know what this name meant in the Hu language. But almost subconsciously, he thought that the person with this name was a woman. This was an unreasonable inference. It was somewhat mysterious and did not make sense.
Fan Xian believed more and more in his deduction and became more and more angry.
In the distance, there were a few white birds flying quickly on the knee-high grasslands. Fan Xian raised his eyes and looked. He could faintly see that behind the grasslands in the distance was a vast desert. What was further away from the desert?
"To the east of the desert is the North Sea." Mu Feng 'er looked at his slightly furrowed brows and knew what he was thinking. In a quiet voice, he said, "Beyond the vast North Sea is Northern Qi."
"I've been to the North Sea." Fan Xian looked in that direction as if he wanted to see the reeds in the North Sea. Faintly, he said, "This desert stretches for thousands of li. It is said that no one can pass through it alive. Although the North Sea is beautiful, it is boundless. If one wishes to cross it, it is extremely difficult. I've been thinking about this problem. How exactly should one go from Northern Qi to Xi Hu?"
"First head south into the border of the country. Then, from northwest of Jingdou, head straight for Dingzhou, and then Qingzhou into the grasslands. That is where we are now." Mu Feng 'er had clearly put in a lot of effort in Jingdou. "It will take a long time, but it is convenient. Compared to forcefully crossing the North Sea and passing through the desert, it is more feasible."
"But, the Xi Hu King's tent and the two Virtuous Kings would never trust a Central Plains person from the Qing Kingdom," Fan Xian said with a cold expression. Fan Xian said with a cold expression, "To win the trust of the seemingly warm but actually overly suspicious Hu people is a difficult task in itself, so I am very curious as to how they did it."
In the next dozen days, the merchant group advanced deeper into the grasslands. Everywhere was a scene of autumn grass. Occasionally, they saw nomadic herders grazing hundreds of cows and sheep. They were like white clouds floating above the gently rising and falling meadows. It was beautiful and peaceful.
This place was no longer the place where the Xi Hu and Qing armies fought, so it gradually gave off the feeling of a paradise beyond the Great Wall.
Along the way, they passed through two large tribes. The Qing merchants had sold a lot of goods. The entire merchant group appeared much lighter, and their speed also increased. However, there were still no merchants who finished selling their goods and retraced their steps back. The most valuable goods were the lighter. Furthermore, if they wanted to sell them for a high price, they could only go to the Hu King's tent.
Along the way, Fan Xian carefully paid attention to the Hu people's attitude toward his merchant group because this involved a very important matter in the future. He self-mockingly found that the gaze the Hu people used to look at the Central Plains merchants was still somewhat unfriendly and even contained a bone-deep hatred.
The blood debt of thousands of years could not be washed away with gems and tea.
However, the leaders of the tribes, the priests, and the nobles had a much better attitude toward the Central Plains merchants. Through Mu Feng 'er's careful questioning, he learned from the mouths of the people in the old merchant groups that this change in attitude had only begun a year ago.
It seemed that the Xi Hu King's tent finally understood the importance of trade and had given orders to the various tribes to strictly forbid them from harassing the merchant groups entering the grasslands. In some dangerous areas, they were even responsible for sending out the elites of the tribes to protect and escort these merchant groups.
A year ago, there was a poor little tribe that could not resist the temptation of the Central Plains merchants. They secretly attacked and stole a lot of goods, angering the King's tent. He directly sent out soldiers to exterminate them, or rather, slaughter them. Not a single person from the small tribe survived.
It was also this bloody example that made everyone on the grasslands understand the determination of the King's Tent. It also ensured the safety of the Central Plains trading caravans. From then on, even though they still faced some hostile gazes on the grasslands, the Central Plains merchants no longer faced any dangerous swords or sabers.
This was a long-term plan. Fan Xian secretly admired it. He knew that although the merchant groups were only selling some luxury goods, there was no life without trade. As long as the merchants on the grasslands were guaranteed to be unobstructed, who knew if the merchants of the Qing Kingdom, Dongyi, and Northern Qi would secretly disregard the Qing Kingdom's ban and secretly send daily and military supplies into the grasslands for the sake of profit.
If this went on and the border was relaxed, the power of the Hu people would grow day by day.
…
…
That day, the King's tent finally arrived. Looking at the crescent sea at the foot of the lonely mountain, the small desert beside the sea, and the large green grasslands, Fan Xian was slightly dazed by the beautiful scenery. The location of the King's tent was indeed different from other places. There was a different layout between heaven and earth.
In particular, the green grasslands made Fan Xian feel strange. It was autumn, so why was the grass still green?
On the side of the lonely mountain, countless cows and sheep were scattered across the wide grasslands.
The young women of the Hu tribe were washing pots and utensils by the crescent sea, preparing to welcome the guests from the Central Plains.
It was quiet. The sky here seemed to be much lower than in other places. It almost touched the ground of the grasslands. The autumn wind blew slightly and the grass bent low. It was very refreshing.
Fan Xian dismounted and glanced at a normal Overwatch Council official behind him. He smiled and turned his head. Looking at the beautiful scene in front of him, he couldn't help but shake his head.
After a while, the King would personally host a banquet to entertain these esteemed guests. The Western Lake man led the Central Plain merchants to a tent on the shore of the crescent sea and had them rest. After a while, the King would personally host a banquet to entertain these honored guests.
This group of merchants was probably the largest group of merchants this autumn, so the King's tent was very attentive in entertaining them.
However, Fan Xian still felt it was strange. The Western Hu people's attitude seemed to be overly good. Did that Songzhi Xianling really have such a deep influence on the King's tent?
After eating some food, Fan Xian rubbed his stomach and walked out of the tent. Walking to the meadow by the crescent sea, he narrowed his eyes and looked at the surrounding scenery. His current identity was that of a merchant. Other than not being able to spy on the King's tent, the Western Hu did not forbid these Central Plains merchants from wandering around. No one on the grasslands knew him, so there was no need to worry about his safety. His mood also lightened.
"The sky is vast, the wilderness is boundless …"
He only had time to say these words before he was interrupted by a cry of praise from beside him. Fan Xian turned his head and saw a young man walking quickly to his side and hurriedly calling out good.
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