Shangguan Zhan had never expected to encounter Han Chinese in a mountain range like this.
These people were strong and well dressed, unlike his own men, who were so thin they were little more than skin and bones, their clothes patched over and over again.
Shangguan Zhan tightened his grip on the knife in his hand. “We’re just ordinary civilians passing through.”
They had endured untold hardships and traveled for several days to get here. They absolutely could not afford to fail now. More than a thousand people in Wenlong County were waiting for them.
He had brought only six men with him this time, while the other side had more than a dozen, each carrying a strange-looking crossbow that appeared tremendously powerful. If they really came to blows, his men would likely be no match for them.
Qingming, however, paid little attention to his tension. After all, he had the powerful repeating crossbows on his side.
“Are you heading in this direction because you intend to go to Punan Commandery?”
Qingming had previously been in charge of the contact point near Lin County. After Fengzhou was conquered, the contact points within Fengzhou were naturally no longer necessary. Jiang Jin had then appointed him head of the contact point in Xigan Commandery.
Shangguan Zhan did not hide the truth. “Yes. Do you know what the situation is in Wenxia City now?”
Seeing his frankness, Qingming answered honestly as well. “Wenxia City has returned to Han control and is now under the jurisdiction of Princess Jinyang.”
Shangguan Zhan was overjoyed. “She really took Wenxia City?”
Qingming nodded. “That’s right.”
Shangguan Zhan hurriedly asked, “Princess Jinyang—is she still in Wenxia City?”
Qingming narrowed his eyes slightly. “Are you looking for Princess Jinyang?”
Shangguan Zhan’s gaze flickered. He suddenly asked, “You… you’re people from Princess Jinyang, aren’t you?”
He did not know whether these people were soldiers, but the crossbows in their hands were certainly no ordinary weapons.
That ruled out bandits and ordinary civilians.
And in this region, among the Han forces, it was probably only Princess Jinyang, who had captured Wenxia City, that possessed the ability to send people here to investigate the situation.
Qingming’s expression barely changed, but his eyes turned cold.
Judging by his reaction, Shangguan Zhan was now seventy or eighty percent certain.
He grew excited. “Don’t misunderstand us. We’re from Juan Prefecture. We heard that Princess Jinyang had taken Wenxia City, so we wanted to go there and have a look.”
Qingming frowned. Something suddenly occurred to him, and his expression became peculiar. “Are you people from Wenlong County?”
At present, apart from Daqing, the only other Han stronghold in Juan Prefecture was probably Wenlong City in Wuxiao Commandery.
Shangguan Zhan hesitated for a moment before deciding to trust his instincts and tell the truth. “Yes. Wenlong City is in danger, and we want to go to Wenxia City to ask Princess Jinyang for help.”
Only after hearing his confirmation did Qingming relax slightly. “Do you have any proof?”
Shangguan Zhan fell silent. After a moment, he reached into his robe and took out a letter bearing the official seal of Wenlong County.
Qingming accepted it and examined it carefully.
Although Gefeng was currently learning simplified Chinese characters, as someone responsible for special missions, he had also studied the official script used by the former Yanguo.
The letter described Wenlong County’s current crisis and expressed the hope that the princess would take charge of the county, among other things.
Qingming read it twice before handing it back. “Can you tell me more about the situation in Wenlong City?”
Shangguan Zhan’s expression turned solemn. “May I know who you are?”
Qingming smiled. “We are investigators assigned here by our lord.”
Although he had already guessed as much, now that he had received a definite answer, Shangguan Zhan and the others were overjoyed. It took them quite some time to calm down before giving a general account of Wenlong County’s circumstances.
After listening, Qingming regarded them with genuine respect. “You’re incredible. You’ve managed to hold out for so long.”
Shangguan Zhan shook his head. “I don’t deserve your praise. It is merely a minister’s duty.”
Qingming shook his head in turn. “If everyone had been as dutiful as you, perhaps Yanguo would never have been destroyed.”
He patted Shangguan Zhan’s thin shoulder. “Come on. Let’s return to our temporary quarters first.”
Shangguan Zhan was startled. “Aren’t you here to investigate?”
Qingming laughed heartily. “We are investigating, but we still need somewhere to live, don’t we?”
Their base was a cave hidden behind a cluster of bushes.
Aside from the dozen or so people who had gone out with Qingming, another dozen or so were concealed nearby.
The cave was fully equipped with everything they needed. In particular, the sacks of grain made Shangguan Zhan’s eyes burn with envy.
There were only a little over thirty people in total, yet they had stocked so much grain!
By the look of it, there were two or three thousand jin—more than half again as much as the two hundred people under his command could earn through hard labor in eight or nine days.
Even more astonishingly, vegetables had been planted beside a mountain spring not far from the cave.
Qingming introduced Shangguan Zhan and his companions to those lying in wait nearby. Everyone expressed admiration for them, leaving Shangguan Zhan somewhat embarrassed.
He truly did not feel that he had done anything extraordinary. Guarding a border city was simply their duty.
Qingming smiled at his companions. “All right, get back to whatever you were doing.”
“It’s almost noon. Prepare lunch, and since we have guests, add a little more meat,” he instructed the people responsible for cooking that day.
After watching them get busy, he briefly wrote down the matter concerning Shangguan Zhan. He then tucked the note into a bamboo tube, tied it to the leg of a homing pigeon, and released the bird.
Only then did Shangguan Zhan notice that there were several homing pigeons outside the cave. He could not help staring in astonishment. “You… you’re remarkably well equipped.”
Qingming smiled. “Nothing special.”
As a contact point, they naturally needed plenty of homing pigeons, since the birds were their primary means of transmitting information.
“If everything goes smoothly, our lord should receive the message tomorrow. Then we’ll see what he says.” Qingming offered him some reassurance.
Shangguan Zhan was stunned, but after considering the distance between this place and Wenxia City and the speed of a homing pigeon, he nodded inwardly.
“Can you tell us about the current situation?” They had been trapped in Wenlong City and could barely receive any news from outside.
Qingming nodded. “Our lord didn’t merely reclaim Wenxia City. He reclaimed Punan and Shangjing Commanderies, as well as all of Fengzhou.”
Shangguan Zhan’s eyes widened. “What? Fengzhou belongs to the princess now?”
Qingming’s voice held a trace of pride. “That’s right.”
Shangguan Zhan sucked in a sharp breath. “What about Quzhao’s army? Did the princess annihilate them all?”
Qingming shook his head and gave a brief account of what had happened in Fengzhou.
Shangguan Zhan was so excited by what he heard that he was about to speak when a wave of fragrance suddenly reached him. He could not help turning his head to look.
As it turned out, he saw nothing at all—the cooking area was completely blocked by several of his own shameless subordinates.
Qingming followed his gaze and explained, “They’re stir-frying vegetables. You may never have seen one before, but our lord invented something called an iron pan. Food really does smell incredible when stir-fried in one.”
Shangguan Zhan’s stomach rumbled twice at the most inappropriate possible moment. His face grew hot, and he felt terribly embarrassed.
Qingming, however, understood perfectly. He had once suffered through hard times himself. It was only after meeting his lord that he had eaten his first truly filling meal.
He led Shangguan Zhan over to the iron pan. “Have a look. It isn’t very large, but it’s extremely practical.”
When the soldiers from Wenlong City saw Shangguan Zhan approaching, they awkwardly swallowed and reluctantly moved aside.
Only then did Shangguan Zhan see that the dish being stir-fried in the pan was meat. He had no idea what seasonings had been added, but it smelled wonderful.
The fragrance was completely different from the thin porridge and stewed vegetables they were used to making. It was bold and potent, assaulting his senses and teasing his appetite until he wanted nothing more than to grab the pan and eat straight from it.
It took all his self-control to turn his attention elsewhere. “You actually use an iron pan?”
