Chapter 1 Ye Tao Sets Out

It was in this atmosphere that was acceptable to all parties but not entirely harmonious that Ye Tao set out. The day after leaving Danyang with Lotus Consort and her entourage, he left the direct route to Yu杭 (Yu Hang) and turned southwest, heading first towards 金州 (Jin Zhou). Neither Dongping nor Yun Zhou would simply entrust Ye Tao's safety to 春南 (Chun Nan). Behind Ye Tao and his party, no more than a few hours away, two small armies quietly trailed them. One was the Jia team from the Special Operations Battalion, currently only about 150 strong. After completing basic training, this kind of stealth march, where nothing seemed likely to happen, was a welcome change for them. The other was a contingent of 129 elite cavalrymen drawn from the Iron Cloud Riders, Jingyun Riders, Frost Wolf Silver Wings armies, the Imperial Guard Cavalry Battalion, the Blood Kirin Army, and the Imperial Guards. Each of these units was a formidable fighting force, and due to intense competition for spots, almost every soldier in this quietly assembled temporary cavalry team had a unique skill.

The mission of these two units was very simple: to follow Ye Tao into Chun Nan and, without being discovered by the Chun Nan side, keep Ye Tao within about an hour's reach until he boarded a ship in Yu杭 (Yu Hang). This was a very challenging task. Compared to Dongping, Chun Nan's army might be lax in training and combat power, but they were in Chun Nan territory. How easy was it to travel in stealth for several months without supplies? Yet, both small units accepted the challenge with great enthusiasm, precisely because the difficulty made this type of marching mission so interesting. In fact, the Special Operations Battalion's Jia team, upon receiving the mission, immediately began to deliberately misunderstand it. Their understanding was that they could be discovered as bandits, marauders, robbers, smugglers, Jianghu gangs, migrating refugees... anything, as long as they were not identified as Dongping soldiers.

Perhaps out of a desire to strengthen ties, Sun Jin accompanied Ye Tao. For Lotus Consort and those who were to play important roles in accompanying Chang Ling, Sun Jin was indeed dispensable. In fact, too many people had never understood why Chang Hongquan would marry Chang Huaiyin, who might not have been particularly favored within the royal family but whose grace and importance were unquestioned, to such an "insignificant" scholar from a poor family. This couldn't be explained by Chang Hongquan avoiding suspicion or not wanting to marry into a prominent family, lest it further incite his courtiers' jealousy.

With Sun Jin accompanying Ye Tao, the Chang residence naturally had to send people to take care of Sun Jin's daily life and security. Among the many people who came from the Chang residence this time, the one truly in charge was the steward, Chang Zeng, whose face Ye Tao had once humiliated.

Ye Tao's party moved much faster than Lotus Consort's carriage, which was slowly grinding forward, enjoying the admiring glances of the people along the way. They entered Chun Nan territory in just four days.

金州 (Jin Zhou) was located on the western side of Chun Nan, only three hundred miles from the border between Chun Nan and Xiling. In fact, Prince Ju Xian, Chang Hongquan's lineage, had become the mainstay of the region in resisting Xiling invasions, which was why their status in Chun Nan remained unshaken despite the internal struggles within the court. Anyone who dared to move against Prince Ju Xian's lineage would likely not truly quell the power struggle but instead trigger a full-scale rebellion from Jin Zhou and the four states along the entire defense line west of Jin Zhou. Moreover, in the territories of several states around Jin Zhou, although Prince Ju Xian had not deliberately courted or bribed them, the people of Prince Ju Xian's residence still held considerable influence. Ye Tao and his party felt this very clearly. Three days away from Jin Zhou, Chang Zeng's advance messengers would often simply inform the local officials, and when Ye Tao's party arrived, all arrangements would be implemented according to the highest standards. Chun Nan was indeed wealthy, even extravagantly so. Although Ye Tao didn't necessarily like this extravagant waste along the way, he didn't seem to mind since he wasn't paying the bill. He knew that the reception costs along the way were not being paid by Prince Ju Xian's residence either but were all included in Chun Nan's expenses for receiving relatives.

On this day, they arrived in 宜州 (Yi Zhou). This was a state in central Chun Nan with a unique topography. Most of Yi Zhou was very flat, with lush plains of deciduous broad-leaved forests and farmland. Agriculture and forestry were highly developed.

But on this almost entirely flat terrain of Yi Zhou, three mountains stood out incongruously. The bases of these three mountains were not large, but they were all considerable in height. The rugged terrain and good visibility made these three mountains the best places for powerful clans to build manor residences to control the territory around these mountains.

Because the terrain of 藏剑峰 (Cangjian Peak) was too steep, only an obscure Daoist sect built a Taoist temple on the summit, rarely interacting with the outside world except for daily purchases. Because 白马山 (Baima Mountain) had never been fully owned by any one family, there were many mansions of wealthy families scattered from the summit to the hillside. Although this did not detract from the beauty of the view of the plains from the mountain, it was a bit complicated and trivial to accommodate hundreds of people.

Therefore, the place where they stayed in Yi Zhou was the Wanke Mountain Villa on 梡岱山 (Huantai Mountain), which belonged to the extremely famous Wang family of Yi Zhou. Wanke Mountain Villa was rebuilt by the Wang family's patriarch, Wang Shi, over nearly twenty years when he was young, and only then did it have its current scale. Hidden in plainness was exquisite detail. The layers of buildings, both dense and sparse, perfectly complemented the mountain terrain, combining natural scenery, architectural beauty, practicality, security, defense, and ease of daily maintenance. It could be considered an anomaly in Chun Nan's tedious and flamboyant architectural style. After the patriarch Wang Shi showed off Wanke Mountain Villa in a showy manner, Ye Tao privately retracted his comment to Sun Jin that "Chun Nan has no gardens worth his visit." This could be considered a very high compliment to the patriarch Wang Shi.

The patriarch Wang Shi had already handed over the family affairs to his children and grandchildren and had become fond of various gadgets, especially those that were exquisite. Ye Tao's arrival made Wang Shi overjoyed. In his study, there were still three 叶氏工坊 (Ye Family Workshop) 天梭座钟 (Tiansuo pendulum clocks) that he had disassembled and failed to fully reassemble. Wang Shi had bought a total of six pendulum clocks. In addition to the three placed around the villa, he had disassembled the other three. He had originally disassembled a clock with an anchor escapement mechanism and couldn't put it back together. He wanted to buy another one to disassemble for reference, but the one his subordinates bought was a second-generation clock with a grasshopper escapement mechanism. When he disassembled it and couldn't put it back together, he bought another one… it turned out to be the latest model with a coaxial escapement mechanism, of which the Ye Family Workshop had only produced a small number.

The lovable personality of the patriarch Wang Shi and the great charm of Wanke Mountain Villa prompted Ye Tao to decide to stay here for two more days. It was also a chance for the Chun Nan guards who were desperately keeping up without falling behind to catch their breath and rest. The next day at noon, Bi Xiaoqing suddenly came to report, "Sir, the Special Operations Battalion sent intelligence that they camped in the forest to the northwest yesterday. There was something unusual in the forest. They didn't take action at night to avoid being discovered. After investigating, they found that there had been a fight in the forest. Judging from the traces left behind, both pursuers and pursued had passed through the forest, heading roughly in this direction."

Ye Tao frowned and said, "Tell everyone to be more careful. This is Chun Nan, after all. As long as they don't really clash with us, we should try not to interfere in their internal affairs."

Bi Xiaoqing replied, "Yes, sir. Please rest assured, sir." For the guards around Ye Tao, they had always been very vigilant, and their strong individual abilities made things like double guards and double sentries meaningless. Bi Xiaoqing only mentioned that there might be a situation, telling everyone to be aware of it, and then sent a total of fifteen people divided into five groups, ostensibly to hunt and play, to scout around Wanke Mountain Villa. The two trained golden eagles they carried, which could be used to send messages and search the ground, were also released to ensure that there was nothing unusual on the ground around them, at least before nightfall.

Although Bi Xiaoqing had arranged these things in a very low-key manner, the movements of Ye Tao's guards still attracted the attention of the Chun Nan side.

Before long, Huo Dong, the Chun Nan military commander, found Bi Xiaoqing and cautiously asked what was going on.

Bi Xiaoqing weighed the situation, thinking that it didn't matter as long as the Chun Nan people didn't discover the Special Operations Battalion or the guard cavalry. The fact that the Special Operations Battalion had reported the situation to him was enough to prove that something had definitely caught their attention, and what had happened in the forest where they were lurking might not be so simple. But how could he explain this to Huo Dong? A golden eagle flashed past Bi Xiaoqing's eyes, and he immediately had an idea.

"General Huo, the eagle we brought with us spotted something in the forest to the north," Bi Xiaoqing helpfully explained. "This is an eagle trained by Yun Zhou for battlefield reconnaissance and military intelligence, and it has a particularly large range of ground reconnaissance. It must have seen something, and it's quite far from here, so it shouldn't be coming this way. But even if it's just to be prepared for the worst, at least let our brothers stretch their muscles and run around a bit."

Bi Xiaoqing's words were very persuasive. The golden eagle actually flying in the air was the best illustration.

Huo Dong didn't think much about it and naturally showed a worried look. He was originally just a mid-level officer in the Chun Nan Imperial Guards, and he was almost forty-five years old, still in a position that was neither up nor down. He was afraid that he would have to retire from the army in a few more years. This escort mission, Ye Tao was still quite easy to get along with. Except for being tight on the schedule, he was very easy to talk to at other times. And Jin Zhou was already in sight, so Huo Dong was indeed a little relaxed.

"Please rest assured, Bi, I will instruct my men to pay more attention. It would be terrible if someone disturbed Commissioner Ye." For Huo Dong, this was indeed the case. If something happened, he, the Imperial Guard commandant, would probably really lose his position.

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Coding all night, my biological clock is messed up. I'll try my best to update again tonight.

The last day of the home page recommendation, I'll try to finish well. Thank you for your support and subscriptions.