Chapter 293: Expedition

"Your Highness."

Xu Ke bowed and saluted.

"At ease." Zhao Xu waved his hand.

Nowadays, Xu Ke no longer had to sneak in and out of the Prince's Mansion as he once did.

The reason was that he himself had been a spy in the past, responsible for gathering intelligence, so it was not appropriate to expose his identity.

But ever since gaining control of Yanzhou, there was no longer a need for Xu Ke to personally gather intelligence.

Most of his time was spent training members of the Flame Guard and establishing intelligence outposts.

Therefore, after weighing the options, he decided to let Xu Lie step out from behind the scenes.

He would officially lead the Flame Guard in the capacity of an official.

Just like the intelligence ministers of various contemporary nations.

Their identities were public, but the actions of their subordinate agencies remained secret.

However, he naturally would not announce that he possessed a Flame Guard.

Xu Ke's public identity was also not that of the Flame Guard Commander.

In order to supervise officials, the Government Office also had its own regulatory agency.

This was similar to the function of the Censorate.

In Yanzhou, this was called the Supervisory Court, which consisted of officials from three courts.

Later, he established a fourth court, and Xu Ke's identity was the Supervisor of this fourth court.

However, unlike the other three courts which were under the jurisdiction of the Government Office,

he required this fourth court to be directly responsible to him.

Thus, the name "Flame Guard," which was more likely to arouse suspicion, could be said to have vanished.

There was only the Supervision Four Courts.

And as soon as Xu Ke took office, according to Liu Fu, many officials turned pale at the mention of his name.

To them, this fourth court, directly under the Prince's Mansion, was simply a sharp sword hanging over their heads.

What they did not know was that this fourth court was actually an intelligence agency.

Of course,

it was not without reason that the officials thought this way.

After all, the fourth court did indeed possess their intelligence.

"What are the movements in Qinzhou?" Zhao Xu asked.

"The Ma Family has mobilized a total of one hundred thousand troops, currently assembled at Sizhou Ferry," Xu Ke said.

Zhao Xu nodded.

The military strength of the Eight Great Influential Clans was basically around two hundred thousand.

It was precisely because of this that Yuan Li's ego inflated after he possessed over two hundred thousand troops, leading him to proclaim himself the ninth great influential clan of the Great Song.

"How is the investigation into the case of the Ma father and son going?" Zhao Xu asked again.

Without obtaining actual evidence, all deductions were meaningless.

"Replying to Your Highness, according to the information my subordinate obtained, on the day the Ma father and son met with misfortune, someone saw a carrier pigeon fly out from the Ma Family residence."

He paused, then took a short arrowhead from his sleeve; the arrowhead was black and only the length of a finger.

"This is an arrowhead found along Ma Han's escape route, while the other arrowheads were cleaned up." Xu Ke presented the arrowhead.

Zhao Xu nodded, "With a carrier pigeon flying out, it seems the Ma Family had an inside traitor long ago, and this sleeve arrow is not something commonly used by thieves. Thus, it appears Ma Xuan was indeed murdered through internal and external collusion."

"That is likely the case," Xu Ke said coldly.

Zhao Xu looked at Xu Ke, unable to see any change in expression on his face.

Ever since he took over the Flame Guard, he seemed to have developed an increasingly cold and detached temperament.

And in his view, this was unavoidable; after all, intelligence agencies always hide in the darkness.

"Moreover, after Ma Chong arrived at the Ma Family, he quickly grew close to Ma Jin. This inside traitor is likely this Ma Jin," Xu Ke continued.

"Are there any traces of the Dou Family?" Zhao Xu asked again.

"Not at the moment," Xu Ke bowed and said.

Thinking that the war in Jinzhou was currently the priority, he paced back and forth, "Are there any movements in Xiliang?"

Mentioning this, the corners of Xu Ke's mouth rose slightly, "Three months ago, my subordinate obtained the household registration of a person in Wuwei, Xiliang, and arranged for a West Courtyard operative to infiltrate Xiliang under this identity. Now, they have successfully blended into Wuwei. According to the information they sent back, not long ago, a group of Great Song people entered Wuwei to meet Cui Yan, and later met with the Xiliang Prime Minister, Li Xin."

Zhao Xu felt a shock in his heart; this was extremely important to him.

It was nothing for Great Song people to go to Xiliang.

After all, there were middlemen everywhere looking to profit from both sides.

However, meeting Cui Yan was a problem.

"Do you know what they discussed?" Zhao Xu asked.

"That is unknown, because Cui Yan is known to everyone in Wuwei; everyone knows he is a traitorous general of the Great Song, so his every move is hard to conceal, but the others..." Xu Ke felt somewhat helpless.

Zhao Xu smiled and patted Xu Ke on the shoulder, "Being able to do this much is already quite good; after all, one cannot become fat in a single bite."

And with this piece of news, it was worth his vigilance.

For Great Song people to go and see the Xiliang Prime Minister, they must be plotting something significant.

At present, the only thing they could be plotting seems to be this matter in Jinzhou.

After asking Xu Ke about a few more things, Zhao Xu ordered Xu Ke to return.

The next day, a massive grain transport convoy set out from Yancheng toward Feihu Pass in Shanggu Commandery.

Three days later, the troops for this expedition to Jinzhou gathered outside Yancheng, and Zhao Xu donned his armor to set out on the campaign once again.

"Your Highness, you must be careful. If you truly cannot win, just run; do not try to be a hero." At the gate of the Prince's residence, Feng'er clutched her handkerchief and wiped away tears.

Luan'er was also weeping like rain, sobbing uncontrollably.

Although they had also been very worried about the Yuan Family affair last time.

But this time, Yan Wang was going to Jinzhou to fight against Xiliang.

Arriving in a place where people were unfamiliar and the land was unknown, they felt uneasy.

Zhao Xu shook his head, wanting to say something but feeling it would be superfluous, so he simply spurred his horse and rode away.

Otherwise, with all the crying and seeing-off, he did not know when it would end.

With such a great commotion, the commoners within Yancheng were also stirred.

They watched Yan Wang depart, closed their eyes, and pressed their palms together to begin praying.

"Sigh, Yan Wang is truly ill-fated. Having just pacified Yanzhou, he now has to go fight Xiliang," one commoner said.

"Indeed, Yan Wang must return safely; Yanzhou cannot do without him," another person said.

"May the Heavens bless him."

"..."

The Warhorses trotted through the streets.

The concern of the commoners and their worry for him warmed his heart.

He had always believed in one saying: everyone for me, and I for everyone.

And the facts were indeed just so.

By exchanging heart for heart, his governance of Yanzhou during this period had undoubtedly made his position in the hearts of the commoners even more secure.

Arriving at the West City Gate.

Chang Wei was already waiting; joining the ranks, as a horn sounded, the Prince's Personal Army marched forward.

Sizhou Ferry.

Hundreds of ferries were transporting Ma Family soldiers to the opposite bank of the Jin River.

At this moment, his demeanor was relaxed, without a hint of the tension before a great battle; it was more like he was going on a long journey.

People from Xiliang had returned, bringing back good news.

Xiliang had agreed to stage a play with the Ma Family.

Upon receiving the reply from Xiliang, he breathed a great sigh of relief.

The Ma Family and Xiliang had been locked in battle in the northwest of the Great Song for years, so he naturally understood the strength of Xiliang.

If they truly had to fight Xiliang to the death, he feared the losses would be significant.

And in this way, the Ma Family would not need to lose any men or horses this time, and could fulfill their promise to the Dou Family to weaken Yan Wang's strength; it was simply killing many birds with one stone.

"Yan Wang, do not blame me; who told you to be so detestable?" Looking toward the rolling Jin River, Ma Jin smiled grimly.