Chapter 187: Espionage

Fanyang.

Yuan Mansion.

Yuan Li looked at Guo Tu with a surprised expression, "You say Mo Di is returning to Jingshi ahead of schedule?"

"I fear so. The news sent back by our people at Yanguan cannot be wrong. It seems Mo Di's elderly mother has fallen ill," Guo Tu said.

Since being promoted to Chief Clerk of Yanzhou, Yuan Li had entrusted many important matters to him, including the eyes and ears at Yanguan.

Yuan Li frowned deeply.

In over twenty days, they were to ambush Mo Di's party at Lulong Mountain in Ping County.

This place was the only path for those traveling south from Ping County.

But now, this plan had been disrupted.

"Immediately have the Yuan Family soldiers enter Lulong Mountain to lie in ambush; there must be no mistakes," Yuan Li said.

If this opportunity were missed, killing Mo Di later would surely lead to complications.

"Yes, my lord," Guo Tu nodded.

The Yuan Family soldiers dispatched from the army had been training at the Yuan Family Manor outside Fanyang City, waiting for this very day.

As long as Mo Di was killed, the Yuan Family would be in an invincible position.

He exited the Yuan Mansion.

Guo Tu ordered someone to head outside Fanyang City to deliver the news to the commander in charge of this matter, Yuan Xiu.

This man was a younger cousin of Yuan Li's clan and deeply trusted by him.

At this time, at the Yuan Family farmstead.

Three thousand Yuan Family disciples were training on the manor's Drill Ground.

The armor worn by these soldiers was somewhat strange.

If a commander from Yan Commandery were to see it, they would surely find it laughable.

The armor these soldiers wore was specifically made in imitation of the Plate Armor of Yan Wang's soldiers.

It was just that the Yuan Family clearly lacked the craftsmanship of Yan Wang's Armory.

This armor was incredibly ugly; one dark, dull iron plate was tied to another, unable to achieve full coverage, being nothing more than oversized Scale Armor.

Worn on the body, it looked like the patched-up clothes of a beggar.

Moreover, because the iron plates overlapped, the armor was extremely heavy.

The training Yuan Family soldiers were drenched in sweat and panting.

"How the hell did that Yan Wang manage to make this armor?"

Yuan Xiu stood at the front, looking at the ugly armor on the soldiers with some frustration.

When Yuan Li went to Yancheng to intimidate Yan Wang for the second time, he had gone along, and at the time, he had nearly come into conflict with Yan Wang's Commander, Chang Wei.

Back then, he had felt astonished when he saw the armor of Yan Wang's soldiers.

Later, after Yan Wang defeated the Northern Di, both he and Yuan Li began to attach great importance to this type of armor.

It was just that the Yuan Family's craftsmen were truly clumsy and could in no way produce armor like that of Yan Wang's soldiers, which was pieced together from large, uniform plates without gaps.

In the end, they could only settle for second best and make the plates of their Lamellar Armor larger.

They also tied plates onto the soldiers' exposed parts to cover the whole body.

However, this brought another problem: such armor was far too heavy.

Once the Yuan Family soldiers put it on, they would be panting after running only a few steps.

Consequently, they had to give up.

They had only produced one thousand sets, which were now being given to the Yuan Family soldiers to wear for this plan to assassinate Mo Di.

After all, although this armor was heavy, it was still quite good for facing a Cavalry charge.

Just as he was thinking this, a soldier walked over and whispered a few words in his ear.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Xiu's spirits lifted, "That old dog Mo Di is finally coming out of his nest, hehe."

Having said that, he raised his hand to signal for the training to stop.

"Take off the armor, everyone rest for an hour, and prepare to head to Lulong Mountain," he shouted aloud.

"Go to Lulong Mountain now?" a Colonel asked in confusion.

"The plan has changed; don't ask too many questions," Yuan Xiu said with some displeasure.

"It's just that our Arrow supply is insufficient; we need to return to the main camp's warehouse to retrieve them," a Colonel said.

The original plan was for over twenty days, so some things had not yet been transported from the main camp.

Yuan Xiu frowned; he wanted to reprimand the officer, but thinking of the sudden change in plans, he could not blame him, so he said, "You take men immediately to transport them over; I will only give you one hour."

The Colonel answered in the affirmative and took some soldiers toward the Fanyang main camp.

As soon as they arrived at the main camp.

Several gazes were cast toward them, and one person quietly disappeared.

Zhong Li's bedroom.

Zhong Li gently uncovered the cloth bag on his shoulder.

The wound had already scabbed over, though it still hurt a little.

At this moment, he felt some admiration for the Commander of the guards beside Yan Wang; their archery skills were truly superb.

Just as he was sighing, a Zhong Family disciple came into his room.

"Young Master, this one saw Yuan Rong return."

Zhong Li stood up immediately; Yuan Rong was one of the Yuan Family disciples who had disappeared.

"We cannot miss this opportunity again; we must find a way to figure out what they are doing," Zhong Li said with a grave expression. "Zhong He, leave the camp and say I sent you out to buy medicine. Follow them secretly in a while and see where they go."

"Yes, Young Master." Zhong He replied, then turned and left.

Following Zhong Li's instructions, he took Zhong Li's token and left the main camp under the pretext of buying medicine.

After waiting for a while, Yuan Rong led soldiers pulling three carts of Baggage Train out of the main camp and headed toward the outside of the city.

Zhong He immediately followed, trailing them the entire way.

Upon reaching a patch of woods, Zhong He hid within the forest and continued to move forward.

Suddenly, he heard the sound of snow being trampled coming from behind him.

He turned his head back, only to see a Dagger pressed against his throat.

"Who are you?" the man holding the Dagger said sternly.

He was a spy for the Yuan Family specifically responsible for monitoring Fanyang.

Recently, he had been transferred to monitor the situation around the manor.

As soon as Zhong He appeared, he had aroused the man's vigilance.

Although it was the dead of winter, a layer of sweat broke out on Zhong He's back, and he stammered, "I am a hunter."

"Nonsense! If you don't tell the truth, this blade will pierce your throat." The man increased the pressure of his hand, and blood immediately seeped from Zhong He's neck.

Zhong He's expression twisted in pain; he guessed that this was an informant for the Yuan Family.

If he were exposed, his Young Master would be in danger.

Just as he was anxious and didn't know what to do, a figure suddenly flashed out from behind a tree and made a "shh" gesture at him.

Zhong He was stunned for a moment, his mind going blank.

Regaining his senses, he decided to take a gamble: "Fine, I'll talk."

A look of triumph appeared in the man's eyes: "Speak, which spy sent you?"

"I was sent by your grandfather," Zhong He chuckled.

"You're courting death!" The man was about to exert force when he suddenly felt a chill on his neck and felt a stream of warm liquid spraying out from it.

Making a "gurgle" sound, he collapsed.

The moment the man fell, Zhong He immediately pulled out the Dagger and pointed it at the newcomer, asking, "Who are you?"

"I am one of the Zhong Family," the youth said unhurriedly.

"Nonsense, how could I have never seen someone like you in the Zhong Family!" Zhong He immediately became vigilant.

Hearing this, the youth laughed softly and said slowly, "To tell the truth, I am one of Yan Wang's men, and my name is Chai Wu."

"One of Yan Wang's men?" Zhong He had not yet lowered his guard.

Chai Wu nodded; just now, he had been testing him.

After arriving in Fanyang, he had been keeping an eye on the Yuan Family's main camp.

When Zhong He left the camp and mentioned General Zhong, it had caught his attention.

So he followed him the whole way, and along the road, two Flame Guard members had even intentionally bumped into him to steal the token from his bosom.

Only after seeing the token was he certain that this was a member of the Zhong Family.

Thus, he decided to use this to make contact with Zhong Li, never expecting to run into this incident.

"General Zhong Li met with His Highness that night," Chai Wu added, seeing that Zhong He still didn't quite believe him.

Once Zhong He heard this, he had no choice but to believe.

After all, only a few people knew about that matter.

"That is excellent; there is a pressing matter at hand." Zhong He looked around and recounted the Yuan Family's suspicious behavior.

Upon hearing this, Chai Wu's expression became grave.

This trip of his was precisely for this matter.