Chapter 94: Military Intelligence

"Hahaha... General Chang, you've gone to great expense."

Evening.

In a private room on the third floor of the hot pot restaurant, Liu Fu raised his cup toward Chang Wei, his face full of smug satisfaction.

Chang Wei gloomily downed his Wine in one gulp; after leaving Fushi Village during the day, they had gone to other villages as well.

Although Chen Hu already had some understanding, when facing the Village Soldiers who would hide underground and then pop out, they still fought very uncomfortably.

What was worse, the more time they spent, the more the Village Soldiers in nearby villages would actually rush over to provide support.

It even resulted in situations where they were outnumbered.

Zhao Xu was also there; besides him, generals of the Personal Guard Army like Chen Hu had also come, and even Wang Ying had come over.

Returning to Yancheng, Liu Fu had pestered Chang Wei to treat him to a taste of something new at the hot pot restaurant, so Chang Wei had endured the heartache of the cost and come here.

Zhao Xu felt it was necessary to make a comprehensive plan, so he had called all the important officials and generals over.

In this way, they sat noisily at three tables.

"This is only an exercise; if it were a real battle, your losses would be even more miserable, because this Prince has not yet handed the Weapons and Armor to the Village Soldiers," Zhao Xu said sternly.

"What weapons does Your Highness intend to give them?" Chang Wei asked.

"Armor just like yours, and also Crossbows."

Upon hearing this, Chang Wei and Chen Hu both shook their heads and clicked their tongues.

If these things were given to the Village Soldiers, their combat effectiveness would rise by a large margin.

Especially the Crossbows; when the time came, they would truly cause a massive number of casualties to the enemy.

"Besides that, there is also a secret Weapon," Zhao Xu said proudly.

Hearing this, Wang Ying smiled without a word; he knew what that thing was.

The others all revealed curious expressions.

"What is it?" Chen Hu felt he would have nightmares when he went back tonight.

"That is temporarily confidential," Zhao Xu did not intend to say it now.

Hearing this, the crowd suddenly felt an itch they couldn't scratch, but they didn't ask again.

Just as they were speaking, a guard walked in from outside the door, holding a small Bamboo Tube in his hand.

He said a few words to Xu Lie, and Xu Lie handed the Bamboo Tube to Zhao Xu.

The eyes of the crowd immediately focused on Zhao Xu.

Taking the Bamboo Tube, Zhao Xu pulled out the slip of paper inside; seeing the content on it, Zhao Xu frowned.

This was intelligence sent by the Flame Guard.

Xu Ke had discovered that the person he had been tracking last time had appeared again, and had gone to the Zhang Family.

At the same time, there was also intelligence regarding the Grassland.

They had discovered that the troop movements on the Grassland had suddenly become somewhat frequent.

Putting the slip of paper away, Zhao Xu fell into deep thought.

The spies of the Northern Di had arrived again, and at the same time, the Grassland was making moves.

This was likely not a coincidence.

Looking toward the crowd, he said, "This Prince has just received news that the Northern Di has had unusual movements recently; this is not good news."

"Unusual movements from the Northern Di?" Liu Fu frowned tightly, "What do they want to do?"

"Besides burning, killing, and looting, what else can they do?" Chang Wei said coldly, "Your Highness, you should send out Scouts to investigate frequently, so as to avoid any accidents."

Zhao Xu nodded.

He turned to Wang Ying, "Director Wang, when will the Weapons and Armor for the Prince's Personal Army be ready?"

"Within a month, it will be ready," Wang Ying said.

Zhao Xu looked at Liu Fu again, "During this period, you must continue to go to the countryside to implement supervision; you cannot slack off."

"Yes, Your Highness," Liu Fu replied; this news made him inevitably feel nervous.

Finally, Zhao Xu said to Chang Wei, "Step up the training of the new soldiers."

"Yes, Your Highness," Chang Wei cupped his hands.

Having distributed the tasks, Zhao Xu drank with everyone for a while longer.

Returning to the Prince's Mansion, he immediately instructed Xu Ke to strictly monitor that Northern Di spy.

The next day.

Chang Wei again sent out Scouts to spy on intelligence from the Grassland, and at the same time, the Flame Guard also had personnel enter the Grassland in the guise of merchants to investigate the reason for the Northern Di's unusual movements.

Several days later, various pieces of intelligence were gathered at the Prince's Mansion.

Liu Fu,

Chang Wei, and he all judged one fact.

The time for this year's Northern Di Autumn Hunt seemed to be moving up.

In previous years, the Northern Di would basically only head south in October, or even November.

Because by then the autumn harvest would be over, and the commoners would have stored grain in their homes; it was the perfect time for looting.

But now it was only mid-August; even if the Northern Di prepared for another month, it would only be late September.

Just as everyone was feeling puzzled by this.

A letter from Yanguan allowed Zhao Xu to confirm this fact once again.

"General Mo said that the scouts they sent out discovered unusual movements at the Black Iron Royal Tent, so they sent Cavalry deep into the Grassland and captured a few prisoners; from the mouths of the prisoners, they learned that this year's Autumn Hunt has been moved up. General Mo wants us to prepare early; at the same time, they have also informed the Yuan Family and submitted a report to the Imperial Court."

In the Council Hall of the Prince's Mansion, Zhao Xu displayed Mo Di's handwritten letter and said slowly.

"Looking at it this way, the news is correct," Liu Fu sighed, "What should come has come after all."

Chang Wei's solemn expression carried a hint of excitement, "The Northern Di invade Yanzhou every year, slaughtering the common people and plundering everywhere. In the past, Yan Commandery was like loose sand, and the people could only stretch out their necks to be slaughtered. How can we allow them to be so presumptuous now? Even if I, this general, die on the battlefield this time, I will bite a piece of flesh off them."

Zhao Xu put down the letter.

Ever since he woke up, the Northern Di had been like a dark cloud, constantly hovering over the sky of Yan Commandery.

Now, this dark cloud was finally about to descend.

If he could not strike the Northern Di hard and wipe out the Zhang Family in this battle, it would be difficult for him to gain a foothold in Yan Commandery in the future.

But if he were victorious, his status and reputation would be greatly elevated, both in Yanzhou and in Jingshi.

"Let them come!" Zhao Xu slammed the table and stood up, "Now, this Prince has no way back; there is only a fight to the death."

Liu Fu and Chang Wei nodded.

Ever since they chose Yan Wang, they had decided to follow Yan Wang all the way to the end.

After discussing a few more matters, the two returned to their respective duties.

Next.

Zhao Xu had Xu Ke keep an eye on the Zhang Family, preparing to arrest Northern Di spies at any time, while he secretly plotted against the Zhang Family's plans.

At the same time, he kept his eyes on the Armory Bureau, urging them on every three to five days.

One month later, the weapons and Armor for the Armory Bureau were finally all in place.

And this made him breathe a huge sigh of relief.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

On the Command Platform, Zhao Xu and Chang Wei inspected the Prince's Personal Army.

Now, every soldier in the Personal Army had a set of bright, new Armor.

Now, they were lined up in neat formations, walking past them one by one.

At the very front were the Cavalry.

They had only trained for less than two months, so they still appeared green compared to experienced Cavalry.

However, their faces were filled with high spirits and fighting will.

Among these Cavalry, the front consisted of one thousand Light Cavalry wearing Scale Armor, and the five hundred behind them were Heavy Cavalry wearing Plate Armor, with their horses also fitted with equipment.

Following the Cavalry were the Infantry holding Long Spears, followed by the Shield-bearers.

They were all wearing Plate Armor that protected them to the teeth, passing before them like a metal torrent.

At the end were the Crossbowmen.

These Crossbowmen also wore Plate Armor; on the battlefield, they usually only fired three bolts before the lines clashed.

Therefore, after firing their Crossbow bolts, they would fight like ordinary soldiers.

The vast army of thirty thousand men slowly passed before them.

Looking at the magnificent and imposing force before him, Zhao Xu's heart surged with blood, "Just wait, one day, I will make you Northern Di afraid to cross Yanshan."