Xu Zhan withdrew his gaze and stepped forward to follow the convoy.
Zhenbei City, the main hall of the Commander-in-Chief's Manor.
The scent of tea permeated the hall. Tie Lanshan sat upright in the main seat, holding a rare blue-and-white porcelain teacup. The tea emitted swirling steam, blurring his deeply lined face.
Several civil and military officials sat below the hall, no one uttering a sound. These people had been sitting for a long time.
Assistant Regional Commander Zhao Xiong finally couldn't hold it in anymore. He sprang to his feet and strode to the center of the hall.
"Commander! We can't wait any longer!" Zhao Xiong's voice was extremely loud. "What time is it now? The sun is already high up! There's still no sign of that boy Xu Zhan!"
Tie Lanshan did not look up. He merely used the tea lid to gently skim the floating leaves off the surface of the water and took a slow, deliberate sip of tea.
Seeing that the Commander didn't respond, Zhao Xiong paced around in circles anxiously: "What kind of place is Wild Fox Shoal? The reed marshes are taller than a man, and the mud pits can trap a horse's legs so deep they can't be pulled out!"
"The nomadic cavalry of the Helian Right Luli Prince are foraging in that area every day. Xu Zhan led thirty-some cripples out of the city! These people going to Wild Fox Shoal, isn't that just offering their heads to the Helians for nothing?"
Wang Wenyuan, the Director of the Registry who sat in the first chair on the right, put down his teacup upon hearing this, adjusted his cuffs, and spoke slowly.
"General Zhao, you really need to change this impatient temper of yours. If fighting a war depended solely on brute strength, what would we need brains for?"
Zhao Xiong whipped his head around, glaring at Wang Wenyuan: "What does a pen-pusher like you know about military formations? When I was rolling around in piles of corpses, you were still reciting the Four Books and Five Classics in the capital! Xu Zhan is overdue. He most likely perished out there. If he's dead, how are we going to pacify Xu Qinghuan?"
Wang Wenyuan stood up, clasped his hands behind his back, and took a couple of steps in the hall.
"I don't know military formations, but I know how to read people." Wang Wenyuan stopped and looked straight at Zhao Xiong, "You only focus on Xu Zhan risking danger alone, but you've forgotten who sent him out of the city. Is that Imperial Envoy Xu someone who makes losing deals?"
Zhao Xiong snorted coldly: "Accurate calculations? If her calculations were really that accurate, would she have let He Minghu confiscate all eight carts of goods? Those were eight whole carts of precious glass! He Minghu didn't even write an IOU; he just hauled them straight back to the Vice Commander's manor and locked them in the storehouse."
"That Xu Qinghuan didn't even let out a peep and just slinked back to the posthouse with her tail between her legs. You call that having means?"
Wang Wenyuan shook his head, a hint of mockery in his tone.
"General Zhao, gentlemen, why don't you recall this Imperial Envoy's track record since Jiangning?"
"In Taoyuan County, she created an agricultural miracle out of thin air. In the capital, she came up with some 'hunger marketing' that played those high officials and royal relatives for fools. Not to mention her father, who, in a mere ten days, forcibly filled the Ministry of Revenue's deficit of three hundred thousand taels of silver! With such world-shaking methods and such unfathomable depths, would she let her own second brother go to his death for nothing?"
The hall fell silent for a moment. The several military generals looked at each other, momentarily at a loss for words.
Everyone spontaneously looked towards Bai Yushu, who sat in the first armchair on the left. This former Hanlin Academy Compiler gave up a splendid future in the capital and instead came to the bitter cold of the northern border to serve as a strategist for Tie Lanshan. His vision and resourcefulness were naturally superior.
Bai Yushu held a folding fan in his hand. He didn't open it, merely tapping the bamboo ribs gently against his left palm.
"General Zhao, you were fooled by He Minghu, and you were also fooled by Imperial Envoy Xu."
Bai Yushu spoke unhurriedly, and everyone present heard him clearly.
Zhao Xiong was stunned: "Mr. Bai, what do you mean by that?"
Bai Yushu stood up, walked to the center of the hall, and cupped his hands towards Tie Lanshan.
"Commander, He Minghu confiscated those eight carts of glass, thinking he had taken a massive advantage. But what did he do in the middle of the night yesterday? He secretly dispatched his trusted aide Zhao Si, leading twelve fully armed personal guards, and slipped out of the North Gate under the cover of darkness. Where did they go? Also to Wild Fox Shoal."
Zhao Xiong gasped: "What did He Minghu send people to Wild Fox Shoal for?"
Bai Yushu turned around and looked at Zhao Xiong: "To trade with the Helians, of course."
"Imperial Envoy Xu's act at the North Gate was too convincing. She deliberately showed weakness and gave the goods to He Minghu, precisely calculating that He Minghu, driven by greed upon seeing the wealth, would absolutely be unable to resist the temptation of the glass wolf sculptures. He Minghu is desperate for money; he wants to swallow this deal all by himself."
Wang Wenyuan chimed in from the side: "Borrowing a knife to kill someone?"
"Correct." Bai Yushu tapped his palm with the fan ribs. "Imperial Envoy Xu used those eight carts of goods as bait to draw out He Minghu's greed, making him wade into the muddy waters of Wild Fox Shoal on her behalf."
"The Helians want the goods, and He Minghu also wants the goods. Imperial Envoy Xu threw the goods in the middle and let them fight over it. Xu Zhan taking his men there probably wasn't to fight a war at all, but to pull in the net."
The sound of sharp intakes of breath rose and fell in the hall.
Tie Lanshan finally put down the blue-and-white porcelain teacup in his hand.
"Yushu sees things very clearly," Tie Lanshan spoke, his voice deep and resonant. "This young girl has more schemes than a sieve has holes. She used He Minghu as a spear and the Helians as a knife. I held my troops back before because I wanted to see exactly how far she could play this dead-end game."
Zhao Xiong swallowed hard: "The Commander is still the wisest! So what do we do now? Just wait here?"
Tie Lanshan stood up, resting his hands on the edge of the desk, leaning slightly forward.
"No matter how good the scheme is, it depends on whether the people below can handle it. The variables at Wild Fox Shoal are too great. Zhao Si is a fool who only cares about money, but the men of the Helian Royal Court's Helian Right Luli Prince are no pushovers."
"Can Xu Zhan's thirty-some men really clean up the mess from the hands of the Helian elites and He Minghu's men?"
Tie Lanshan walked around the desk and down the steps.
"The bottom of the granaries in Zhenbei City has been scraped clean. The eyes of the soldiers below are turning green with hunger. Last night at the West Camp, someone already started secretly slaughtering warhorses. If there's no grain soon, the camp will mutiny tonight."
Tie Lanshan abruptly raised his voice.
"Pass on my military order! Muster five hundred elite cavalry. I will personally go to the North Gate to meet them!"
"Understood!" Zhao Xiong roared, turning around to head out.
Just then, the extremely urgent sound of footsteps came from outside the hall.
A messenger soldier stumbled up the steps. Running too fast, he tripped over the threshold, lost his balance, and tumbled into the hall, crashing heavily onto the floor.
His helmet rolled to the side with a clatter.
Tie Lanshan's face hardened as he shouted sternly: "What are you panicking for! The sky isn't falling! Catch your breath before you speak!"
Everyone in the hall held their breath, their eyes fixed on the soldier on the ground, waiting for the military report.
The soldier lay on the ground, lacking even the strength to get up. He panted heavily, his face covered in sweat and mud.
Without bothering to look up, he bawled at the top of his lungs.
"Commander! He's back! Centurion Xu is back!"
Zhao Xiong strode over in one step, grabbed the soldier by the collar, and hauled him halfway up.
"Xu Zhan is back? How many men did he manage to escape with? Was the entire force wiped out?"
The soldier was choked so hard his eyes rolled back, his hands slapping desperately at Zhao Xiong's arm.
"No! We didn't flee back!" The soldier struggled to raise his head, his face flushed bright red. "Cows! Sheep! It's all cows and sheep!"
Zhao Xiong was taken aback, his grip loosening a fraction. "What cows and sheep?"
The soldier broke free and dropped to his knees, gesturing wildly.
"Hundreds of sheep! Dozens of cows! And several carts of grain! Alive! They are all alive! Centurion Xu and the brothers of the vanguard camp herded all of the Helian tribe's livestock and provisions right back to the North Gate! The road outside the city gates is completely blocked!"
Tie Lanshan braced both hands against the desk and sprang to his feet.
The blue-and-white porcelain teacup on the desk tipped over from the sudden movement, warm tea dripping down the edge of the rosewood.
Hearing this, Tie Lanshan stood absolutely frozen, staring at the kneeling messenger in sheer shock.
