Chapter 330

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Protagonist:

Yan Qianqian

Adult Li expressed agreement with Yan Wang's caution, nodding repeatedly and saying, "General Yan's words are absolutely correct."

After a brief pause, Adult Li continued to ask, "However, there is still one matter I do not understand. I wonder how many troops General Yan has brought this time? As far as I know, the Nan Liang soldiers stationed here number approximately seventy thousand, and recently they have been continuously increasing their forces; it is estimated they can now reach over eighty thousand. I wonder if the forces General Yan has brought are sufficient to cope?"

After listening, Yan Wang thought for a moment, then spoke frankly to Adult Li, "I will not hide it from Adult Li; this time I have brought seventy thousand soldiers. However, I am full of confidence in this operation and believe we will certainly succeed." Adult Li listened, nodded in acknowledgment, and said, "Since the General already has assurance in his heart, that is good."

Yan Wang then said, "Since we now have a general understanding of the situation, Ai Jiao and I will not disturb Adult Li further. We still need to return and make some deployments to ensure nothing goes wrong."

Adult Li deeply understood the importance of the matter and naturally would not detain them excessively, so he saw Yan Wang and Ai Jiao out the door.

Yan Wang and Ai Jiao left the city gate and returned to the garrison camp. Upon arriving at camp, Yan Wang went straight back to his own tent, then instructed Ai Jiao to stand guard outside the tent and not allow anyone to disturb him casually. After arranging these matters, Yan Wang called out A Ming.

Hearing the summons, A Ming hurriedly bowed in salute and respectfully called out, "Master, what matter do you instruct?"

Yan Wang signaled him to step forward, then lowered his voice and said to him, "I have an important matter to entrust to you." A Ming immediately replied, "Yes, Master, please instruct as you wish."

Yan Wang leaned close to A Ming, explaining the task in a low voice. A Ming listened with full concentration, nodding from time to time to indicate understanding.

After Yan Wang finished explaining, A Ming instantly understood his master's intent, then bowed in salute and vanished from the tent like a ghost.

At this time, Yan Wang walked out of the tent and said to Ai Jiao, "Go call Tang Qi over."

Ai Jiao cheerfully answered, "Okay, Wang," then like a happy little bird, scampered off. Not long after, he returned leading Tang Qi along.

The three entered the tent together. Yan Wang loudly called A Qiang over, ordering him to guard the tent well. Afterward, the three of them stood before a table. Yan Wang's gaze was like a torch, fixed on Tang Qi, and he asked, "Have you found out how many soldiers Nan Liang has?"

Tang Qi nodded steadily and replied, "Over eighty thousand, not yet ninety thousand."

Yan Wang listened, nodded slightly in acknowledgment, then asked further, "Has the Tongling Commandery Prefect received news that we have already arrived?"

(Tongling Commandery is divided into four prefectures: Yu Zhou, Peizhou, Dianzhou, and Fu Zhou. The four prefectures border each other, and Yu Zhou happens to lie at the border between Dachang and Nan Liang.)

Tang Qi answered without hesitation, "Even the Yu Zhou Inspector can receive the news; the Tongling Prefect must certainly know as well."

Yan Wang nodded again in agreement, then immediately asked, "When will the Tongling Prefect be able to arrive?"

Tang Qi pondered a moment and answered, "By rights, he will arrive within these two days."

Yan Wang pondered briefly, then decisively said, "We will not wait for him. This afternoon I will take Ai Jiao on a trip to Yifeng City."

(Yifeng City, as the garrison location of the Nan Liang soldiers, borders Yu Zhou.) Then Yan Wang said, "Tang Qi, you are responsible for holding this place. If the Prefect comes to Yu Zhou, you must send someone to investigate this person's situation." Tang Qi acknowledged Yan Wang's words.

Yan Wang continued, "For now, we must not rush to go to Yu Zhou and join forces with the garrison. I suspect someone has already defected to Nan Liang. If we act rashly, we may fall into a passive situation."

Tang Qi heard this, his heart tightened, and he hurriedly asked, "Do you suspect the Prefect?" Yan Wang did not conceal his thoughts and spoke directly, "Although I have not yet had contact with the Prefect and do not know him, in this situation it is still best to be cautious."

After saying these things, Yan Wang felt there was nothing more to explain for the moment, so he decided to go eat first. He turned to Tang Qi and Ai Jiao and said, "Let's leave it at that for now. Come, let's eat. After eating, we will discuss further." With that, the three walked out together.

At this moment, a large pot had already been set up outside, stewing a rich dish with Chinese cabbage, glass noodles, pork, eggplant, and so on, the fragrance overflowing.

Beside it were placed freshly steamed large mantou, steaming hot. Yan Wang casually picked up two mantou and ladled a bowl of vegetables; Ai Jiao and Tang Qi did the same.

The three sat at a table to the side and began enjoying this simple but delicious meal. Ai Jiao had quite an appetite; after wolfing down two mantou, he still felt unsatisfied, so he got up and took another mantou, continuing to eat heartily.

After the meal, Yan Wang and Ai Jiao rested briefly, then began to disguise themselves. They wore plain clothes and conical hats, covering their faces tightly, revealing only a pair of eyes. Once everything was ready, the two set off together for Yifeng City.

Approaching the city gate, Yan Wang observed the entry situation from afar. He noticed that every person entering the city had to queue and wait, then present their household register for inspection and verification by the soldiers at the gate. Only after the soldiers confirmed they were Nan Liang people would they be let through.

Seeing this, Ai Jiao couldn't help but ask Yan Wang worriedly, "Wang, what do we do? We don't have Nan Liang household registers!"

Yan Wang did not answer immediately but gazed into the distance, seemingly thinking of a countermeasure. After a while, he slowly said, "Don't rush yet; let's observe the situation a bit more." So the two waited patiently not far away, watching for a suitable opportunity to slip into the city.

However, after waiting a period of time, they still had not found a suitable opportunity. Just then, a sudden commotion came from inside the city gate. The two fixed their eyes and saw a squad of Nan Liang soldiers walking out from within the city. These soldiers each rode tall horses, imposing and awe-inspiring.

The leading man was tall and burly, his face covered in a full beard, his features fierce, looking quite ferocious. The person on the horse behind him was relatively smaller in stature. Only that smaller-statured person shouted loudly, "Lord Yale is traveling; all idle people quickly make way!"

The commoners were clearly accustomed to such scenes and swiftly cleared a path, afraid of being trampled by the horses. Yale, seeing this, proudly shouted, "Giddyup!" then rode his horse like a gale, leading the way out, the soldiers behind him following in single file.