Chapter 532: Southern undercurrents

Shi Dun rested for a night in the Yue Family Army camp, and the next morning he took his leave and departed.

Yue Fei did not urge him to stay much, merely ordering someone to give him some dry rations and personally seeing him to the camp gate.

Both men understood that last night's exchange of ideas, though it yielded no concrete agreement, had left a deep impression in each other's hearts.

How the road ahead will go still needs to be shaped by the times.

"Stone Warrior, take care."

Yue Fei clasped his hands, his tone less scrutinizing than last night and more respectful toward the man of ambition.

"Commander Yue, until we meet again."

Shi Dun returned the salute solemnly, turned, and with Ruan Xiaoqi and the others swiftly vanished into the mist-filled reed marsh.

They needed to swiftly send the detailed situation of this contact back to Black Cloud Stronghold via secret channels.

At the same time, in the False Song's new capital Heaven-responding Prefecture to the far south, and along the intersecting water and land routes, another invisible network was quietly operating.

Qian Gui's long-running Southern Investigation Network was now operating with unprecedented efficiency.

Countless seemingly insignificant bits of information, gathered through merchants, couriers, beggars, and even courtesans, flowed to several hidden outposts, where specially trained intelligence personnel screened, analyzed, and relayed them.

Several days later, a few encrypted letters, traveling different routes, arrived almost simultaneously at Black Cloud Stronghold and were delivered to Chen Wen's desk.

The contents of the letters caused Chen Wen's brows to furrow deeply.

After the False Song court retreated south to Heaven-responding Prefecture, it did not, as some had hoped, rally its forces; instead it sank deeper into partisan strife and internal consumption.

Led by Qin Hui, the peace faction's power surged, loudly advocating in court "division of north and south, peace paramount," and ruthlessly suppressing any voices calling for northern expeditions or active resistance to the Jin.

What is even more unsettling is that Qian Gui's agents discovered that the Iron Crow Army's activities have recently become unusually frequent and overt.

They are no longer satisfied merely with manipulating from the shadows of history, but now appear directly more often.

Agents spotted in the outskirts of Heaven-responding Prefecture have seen figures clad in black crow-feather garments, with a chilling aura, entering and leaving certain noble mansions at night;

Brothers hidden in the Canal Gang reported that at key waterway nodes, unidentified strongmen were stopping and inspecting passing vessels, their conduct closely matching the description of the Iron Crow Army;

Even on the main roads leading south to active anti-Jin forces such as the River Yin Army, suspected Iron Crow Army covert outposts have been found, subjecting travelers—especially those carrying weapons and of sturdy build—to especially strict interrogation.

"The Iron Crow Army making such a show is certainly not without purpose."

Inside the commander's tent, Chen Wen passed the encrypted letters to Lin Chong, Wu Yong, and others for perusal, his voice low.

Wu Yong finished reading, shook his fan, and his face grew solemn:

"They are looking for something, or rather… someone."

"Such urgency, even at the cost of exposing themselves to some degree, shows they have sensed a variable capable of threatening their 'script' that is brewing in the south."

"Combining the information sent back by Shi Dun and his brothers, their target is very likely Yue Fei, and similar anti-Jin forces not under their control like him."

Lin Chong slammed his fist on the table, shouting:

"These sneaky rat‑like bastards! When they can't best us on the open battlefield, they resort to these vile tactics!"

Chen Wen's gaze settled, his fingertip slowly tracing the rough map until it came to rest on the spots marked "River Yin Army" and "Heaven-responding Prefecture."

"The Iron Crow Army is accelerating time, trimming nodes, in order to rush ahead to their preset historical stage."

"And a commander like Yue Fei, who holds fast to an unshakable anti‑Jin conviction and can rally strength, is undoubtedly the greatest destabilizing factor in their plan."

"They will absolutely not tolerate the smooth growth of Yue Fei's forces."

"Such searching and screening now is probably only the prelude."

"Afterward there will inevitably come more direct and brutal measures."

He lifted his head and looked toward the overcast southern sky outside the tent.

Through "Shi Yong," he could faintly sense that in that southern region, around the sharp halo representing Yue Fei, a gray‑black, malicious and corrosive "Fortune Momentum" was slowly gathering like storm clouds.

And the two waist tokens bearing the fortune of the Northward Aspiration Army were still moving steadily, having triggered no strong warning, indicating that Shi Dun's squad remained safe for the time being.

But how long can this calm last?

"We must do something."

Chen Wen withdrew his gaze, his tone firm and resolute.

"We cannot stand by while the Iron Crow Army snuffs out the southern hope‑fire one by one."

"\"What is the lord's will? \" Lin Chong asked."

"\"Two‑pronged approach. \""

Chen Wen quickly made his deployment.

"\"First, order Qian Gui to increase investment in the Southern Investigation Network, focusing on monitoring the Iron Crow Army's movements in Heaven-responding Prefecture and the southern routes, to grasp as much as possible of its personnel deployment and activity patterns, especially any collusion evidence with the peace‑faction officials of the False Song court. \""

"\"Second, speed up contact with Shi Dun's squad, and swiftly send back the detailed information they hold on Yue Fei's forces—exact location, troop strength, difficulties they face, and so on. \""

"\"At the same time, provided they stay safe, they may try to warn Yue Fei, alerting him to the Iron Crow Army's plot, but must take care in how they do so and not expose our intelligence network. \""

He paused, then added:

"\"Also, notify Zhang Cheng to request support from the Chen dynasty homeland through our channels. \""

"\"We need more medicines to counter Yuneng pollution, improved armament blueprints, especially weapons suitable for small units to carry that can effectively wound the Iron Crow Army and its lackeys. \""

"\"Also accelerate the optimization research of the Light Curtain Channel! \""

Orders were issued in quick succession, and the entire Northward Aspiration Army and the forces behind it began to mobilize accordingly.

The southern undercurrents have already begun to surge.

The Northward Aspiration Army, this ship, cannot merely survive in the northern winds and waves; it must cast its lines southward, into the more chaotic and dangerous whirlpools, to find companions to sail alongside and jointly withstand the impending towering waves.

Chen Wen could feel that his internal "Growth Progress Bar" had again shown a clear, visible increase as a result of this strategic‑wide decision and deployment.

The ability to face greater storms is accumulating faster under this imminent pressure.