Chapter 71: Secret Affairs

"Would Your Highness like to hear this humble servant play a tune on the zither?"

Tianxiang Lou, the same room overlooking the lake as last time.

Xu E was draped in a long white gauze dress, her every movement exuding charm.

It did not look at all like she had business with Zhao Xu; it looked more like a secret tryst.

Zhao Xu sipped his tea, showing no signs of restraint, boldly watching every move Xu E made.

He had never had the habit of pretending to be a gentleman.

With a Beauty before him, he naturally had to appreciate her properly, as long as he kept his composure and was not bewitched by her charms.

During this time, he had already heard some rumors.

A new courtesan had arrived at Tianxiang Lou, possessing peerless beauty and superb zither skills.

The wealthy merchants and sons of Rich Clans in Yan Commandery flocked to her, and some even came from other commanderies just to catch a glimpse of her face, hear a tune, and vie to be her suitor.

Yet, so far, no one had caught the Beauty's eye or become her intimate guest.

This person was none other than Xu E.

Others did not know this, but he was well aware.

Xu E's identity as a courtesan was merely a cover to deceive people.

"It is said that countless romantic scholars have spent thousands in silver just to sit here and hear you play a tune, but to no avail. For this Prince to receive your gracious invitation is an honor, a true honor. Please, go ahead." Zhao Xu raised his hand to gesture toward the zither stand in front of him.

Xu E's smile stiffened slightly, but in an instant, it became even more enchanting.

"How could those vulgar men compare to Your Highness? This humble servant only wishes to play this zither for Your Highness." Xu E spread her slender fingers over the strings.

A sound like flowing water striking stones drifted out from her fingertips.

The zither music was beautiful and melodious, the very same he had heard that day.

Sipping his tea, Zhao Xu listened to the music while admiring the Beauty, secretly thinking that this was the joy of princes and nobles.

"The green snow lasts ten thousand years, dare I ask the ice wheel, for whom do you wax and wane? Blowing up a town of fragrance..."

After the zither music had played for a while, Xu E parted her red lips and began to sing softly, her voice clear and pleasant.

Paired with her lovely face, she appeared even more soul-stirring.

But remembering her identity, although Zhao Xu felt amazed, he kept his composure.

As the song ended, Xu E's gaze shifted, "Your Highness, how was this humble servant's singing?"

"The person is beautiful, and the voice is beautiful, but the melody and lyrics are a bit cliché." Zhao Xu shook his head, looking regretful.

In his own time, he was bombarded with all kinds of music every day; although the song was beautiful, he had heard better.

Xu E said in surprise: "These are the lyrics and music composed by the number one talented woman of Jingshi, Dou Yu Rao, and they are sung all over Jiangnan."

Zhao Xu just shook his head, "Let's talk about why you came to see this Prince. If you tell me, this Prince will let you see what truly good lyrics and music are."

Xu E was stunned, then straightened her expression and said: "Your Highness is truly impatient."

Rising to look at Jinlin Lake outside the window, she said softly: "It is said that Your Highness wants to buy Warhorses?"

"That is the case." Zhao Xu was not surprised; Yang He was likely already inquiring with merchants at the trading firm.

Xu E only needed to ask around to find out.

"Actually, Your Highness does not need to worry about this. There is currently an opportunity for Your Highness to obtain three thousand fine horses immediately, without spending a single cent of silver."

"Oh? May I ask for your guidance, Miss Xu?" Zhao Xu stood up and walked behind Xu E.

Closing the window, Xu E signaled for Huan'er to stand guard outside the door.

She said slowly: "Does Your Highness still remember Qingfeng Stronghold?"

"Of course I remember." Zhao Xu felt a chill in his heart.

He was just planning to wipe out these wicked bandits once the Armor and Weapons for the Prince's Personal Army arrived.

"On the surface, this stronghold is just a group of mountain bandits, but in reality, they are the lackeys of the Zhang Family." Xu E walked to the bed and took out a map from under the bedding.

"So that's how it is." Zhao Xu narrowed his eyes; he had wondered how the Zhang Family could have managed to hire Qingfeng Stronghold to kill him.

Xu E spread the map on the table, "Besides killing and looting for the Zhang Family, this Qingfeng Stronghold is doing something extremely secretive: smuggling Weapons between Yanzhou and the Northern Di to exchange for Warhorses."

【Empty line】

"The Great Song strictly forbids smuggling Armor and Weapons to the Northern Di; this is a capital offense." Xu Lie whispered to remind Zhao Xu upon hearing this.

Zhao Xu nodded.

The Great Song and the Northern Di had long ago severed trade relations.

But among the common people, merchants still traveled between Yanzhou and the Northern Di to sell goods, and it could not be stopped.

The Imperial Court was helpless about this and could only turn a blind eye to merchants selling ordinary goods.

After all, the Great Song also needed Warhorses, and it was naturally a good thing if merchants could buy them from the Northern Di.

However, the Imperial Court strictly forbade the exchange of grain and military equipment in such trade.

These things would strengthen the power of the Northern Di.

Therefore, any merchant caught violating this requirement would be killed.

"This Prince has long intended to eliminate Qingfeng Stronghold. Since that is the case, there is even more reason to take action." Zhao Xu said in a deep voice.

Xu E shook her head, "Your Highness, this matter is far from simple. Qingfeng Stronghold is just a bunch of bandits; how could they have so many Weapons and Armor?"

As Xu E spoke, Zhao Xu actually already had a vague guess in his heart.

Since Qingfeng Stronghold were the lackeys of the Zhang Family, then the Zhang Family probably could not escape involvement in this matter.

"Qingfeng Stronghold belongs to the Zhang Family, and Zhang Kang is the son-in-law of the Yuan Family. The water in this matter is very deep. The purpose of this humble servant's trip to Yan Commandery is this very matter. Now there is finally some progress, but there is no evidence in hand yet." Xu E said.

Pointing to a location on the map, she continued: "This humble servant found out that in three days, Qingfeng Stronghold will exchange Warhorses with Northern Di merchants at this location. All parties will have people there. If you can catch them in the act, Your Highness can not only use this to eliminate the Zhang Family, a thorn in your side, but perhaps even get a handle on the Yuan Family."

"It is indeed a good opportunity." Zhao Xu admitted that he was tempted.

Now, the Zhang Family of Yan Commandery was like a pile of dung lying in front of him, making him very uncomfortable.

After all, the Zhang Family still has private soldiers in their hands, and more than one hundred thousand commoners are bound to the Zhang Family's manors.

Only by destroying the Zhang Family can Yan Commandery truly be considered his.

And once he grasps the matter of the Zhang Family smuggling weapons, the Yuan Family will no longer be able to protect the Zhang Family.

"Therefore, Your Highness only needs to secretly ambush troops here and round them all up when the transaction takes place," Xu E said, a charming smile reappearing on her face.

Zhao Xu pondered for a while and felt that this was indeed a good opportunity.

He looked at the location on the map and read aloud, "Qingfeng Pass."

Xu Lie said, "The mountain paths here are narrow and the vegetation is dense; it is indeed suitable for an ambush."

"Is the information accurate?" Zhao Xu was still a bit uneasy.

This place was indeed suitable for an ambush, but it was also suitable for the enemy to ambush his men.

The terrain of Yan Commandery consists of plains in the south and Yanshan in the north.

From Yanguan, a Great Wall winds along the mountains all the way to Yan Commandery, built by successive dynasties.

Among them, Yanguan is the largest pass on this Great Wall.

Besides this, there are two smaller passes, one in Ping County.

One is in Shanggu Commandery to the west of Yan Commandery, both of which have garrison troops guarding them.

It is just that the roads at the passes are easy to travel and convenient for marching, so they require the garrison troops to guard them as a priority.

However, it is impossible to station soldiers at every section of the hundreds of miles of the Great Wall; otherwise, even a million troops would not be enough to cover it.

And those places without garrison troops have rugged roads, often with only scattered guard towers for sentry duty.

Thus, this leads to the annual occurrence of the Northern Di Cavalry finding a place in the north of Yan Commandery to breach the wall and enter Yan Commandery to plunder.

And this Qingfeng Pass is a route that the Northern Di often take.