Chapter 1 On the Road

On the road two hundred miles southwest of Yanjing, a convoy advanced slowly. To protect these forty-odd carriages, Gao Senqi had actually personally approved three hundred Flying Tiger Camp warriors to disguise themselves as guards. It wasn't for anything else, but because the goods they were transporting this time were extremely important, too important. Besides the telescopes, fine steel cavalry swords, some armor, and some aiming and measuring devices discarded by the main battle troops that they obtained from a few fixed merchants, there were also two integrated engines and control equipment used on airships manufactured in Chunnan. These two sets of things were sold to them by someone they didn't know before they entered Bei Liao, on the last day. Ren Fengping, who was in charge of this shipment, guessed that the other party was a Chunnan spy, trying to allow Bei Liao to linger for a while and ease the pressure on Chunnan through this method. Although Chunnan and Dongping were allies, Dongping's rise was too fast, and the pressure was too difficult to bear. Although Chunnan had intentionally introduced Dongping's military strength and military system under control to a level that it felt acceptable, Dongping's officer corps had returned to their country one after another, and Chunnan's army also had airships, crossbow cannons, and other equipment. However, they still lacked the absolute strength to compete with Dongping in these areas. If Bei Liao and Xi Ling could resist for a few more years, a dozen more years, or even several decades, perhaps Chunnan could rely on its accumulation of financial resources and deep foundation of various talents to rise with determination... Some insightful people in Chunnan might not agree with this idealized view. In the minds of many people, including Jiang Yan, what hindered Chunnan's development was not its profound tradition of governance, but the infighting and intrigue. However, in any case, some actions still needed to be taken.

Ren Fengping was quite surprised that the other party could find him so accurately, and he immediately understood that now that Bei Liao and Dongping were at war, this border smuggling business was becoming increasingly difficult to do. He was afraid that his upstream contact also had unclear connections, and he considered turning back to see the young general and asking him whether to stop this business. After entering the border of Bei Liao, finding the Flying Tiger Camp to escort them had already exposed him, and letting the Flying Tiger Camp disguise themselves was just a way to cover it up.

But what Ren Fengping didn't expect was that the last order in his imagination, also the most important goods, had a problem.

The convoy passed through a small village built on both sides of a narrow road. The village seemed to have no problems. In the thick night, only a few watchdogs barked a few times, and then some villagers scolded them. The passage of a large group of people at night was something that the people living near Yanjing had long been accustomed to. But safely passing through this road suitable for ambush still made Ren Fengping feel relieved. A dozen miles further ahead was a manor outside Yanjing City, specially used by the Western Route Army to receive smuggled goods. Once there, it would be completely safe.

A knight stood on the side of the road in front, holding a lantern. Seeing the team approaching, he asked loudly, "Are you Mr. Ren?"

Ren Fengping rode out, glanced at the knight wearing the livery of the manor, but who obviously had a military temperament, cupped his fist and said, "That's me."

"Lord Tao asked me to wait for you. You are almost a day later than the scheduled time. Everyone is very worried."

"Lord Tao?" Ren Fengping asked pretending to be puzzled, "Which Lord Tao?"

"Naturally... Tao Yehing, Tao Shilang..." The knight urged his horse to get a few steps closer, so that the lantern could illuminate his face and figure, and said somewhat awkwardly, "Mr. Ren, don't you have to do this every time?"

That face was indeed a bit familiar, and he had indeed seen him several times in the manor. Ren Fengping waved his hand, signaling the convoy to continue moving forward, and said with a smile, "The situation is different now, it's better to be careful."

Many people in the court knew that the Western Route Army was doing smuggling, and the Bei Liao court also tacitly allowed it. But there were indeed many people who were dissatisfied with them, especially since many goods were sold to the big shots in the court or wealthy families, turning into military expenses. In the eyes of some people, this was tantamount to drawing everyone's blood to cultivate the power of the Western Route Army. And the Western Route Army valued its smuggling business very much. Those people in the court only saw that they sold a lot of expensive things, but they didn't expect that the Western Route Army didn't earn much money on this route at all. They were very dissatisfied that they never took money out to share with everyone. If there was a chance to trip them up, these people would definitely do it. This kind of thing had happened more than once or twice.

Ren Fengping and the knight walked side by side. Ren Fengping asked, "What's your name?"

"My name is Tian Zhonglin. I was originally a junior officer in the Ninth Battalion of the Western Route Army. I was injured and retired... Fortunately, the young general was willing to take me in."

Ren Fengping nodded. The Ninth Battalion had been completely wiped out, and not many people survived. Gao Senqi had always wanted to rebuild the Ninth Battalion, but he didn't have enough manpower for the time being. All the troops had suffered heavy losses. Before replenishing the other troops, doing this kind of slow-effect thing was not in the best interest of the Western Route Army. But if there was a chance, officers like Tian Zhonglin would definitely be re-selected as the foundation of the new Ninth Battalion. Looking at Tian Zhonglin's demeanor, he would probably be at least a deputy general level figure in the future.

Ren Fengping was a little more polite and said, "The situation has not been good recently... After this business is done, it will be difficult to have another one. It is becoming increasingly difficult to organize those equipments for the army."

Tian Zhonglin didn't say anything. After a while, he pulled on the horse and said to Ren Fengping, "There is a rumor that the court intends to take goods from the Kong family to replenish the Imperial Guards and the Eastern Route Army."

Ren Fengping was stunned, and then also pulled on the horse and asked, "What's going on?"

The affairs of the court were always very complicated, and these people who had been running around outside had never been able to get first-hand news. And this kind of procurement problem, especially military products, could very well represent a certain trend in the court.

Watching the team pass by in front of them, waiting until all the troops had passed, the two trailed at the end of the team. Tian Zhonglin then said that a Yunzhou army in the northeast had detoured to those barbarian tribes and had established a certain force, and the army was being mobilized to go north. Now, the court obviously felt that the Western Route Army's smuggling route, the barbarian Western Route Army, might not be abundant, let alone satisfy the Eastern Route Army and other troops. After the two major defeats of the Western Route Army, the court's trust in the Western Route Army had decreased a lot. Although a large amount of money had been spent on building a strong army, and the Western Route Army could indeed continue to take the majority of it, the Eastern Route Army, the Imperial Guards, and some local powerful troops that had recently been taken over by the court had received obvious support.

Ren Fengping was silent. After a while, he asked, "Why would you know?" A hint of doubt and vigilance flashed in his eyes.

"Because..." Tian Zhonglin smiled and said, "I am the one responsible for taking action."

An arrow accurately pierced out from behind and hit Ren Fengping's neck. He fell off his horse all of a sudden. Tian Zhonglin didn't say another word and turned around and left. Separating Ren Fengping from the team was his mission. Although this arrow pierced Ren Fengping's neck, the person who shot this arrow was Zhe Luo's junior brother, now Dongping's second archer, a temporary loan. This arrow wouldn't kill Ren Fengping no matter what. Him being alive, plus hearing so many things, was a good tool for instigation.

The allied forces launched a merciless attack on this smuggling team. Because they couldn't expose the Dongping army's foundation, these people used Dongping's "export products" for equipment, but the foundation of training and combat experience still made this army inhumanly strong. People familiar with the Yunzhou army might discover that the people who came here were actually the Special Operations Battalion, and the one leading them was none other than Dai Qiong. This unit of theirs would be lurking in Bei Liao for a long time, and before the opening of the main battlefield, they had countless things to do. And these warmongers had long been made hot-blooded by Ye Tao's high expectations, indulgence, and trust, and couldn't wait to solve the entire Bei Liao with just their one battalion. Not to mention this kind of advantageous ambush, even if they were asked to set fire to Yanjing, they probably wouldn't frown.

Although the warriors of the Flying Tiger Camp were elite, they were no match for the Special Operations Battalion at all. The battle ended in less than a quarter of an hour. After the entire smuggling team was killed, the Special Operations Battalion quietly left. And less than five minutes after that, Chen Su came with people to receive this batch of goods. By the evening of the next day, the entire batch of goods had already been replaced in another batch of carriages and quietly entered Yanjing.

This really let out a breath of anger, and Kong Xinhua looked at the carriages in the yard with satisfaction. Naturally, he would not covet these things, but he wanted to use these things to show his heart to Zhang Ci and others. But Chen Su's solemn expression made him feel a little bad. "Big sister, is there a problem?"

"There are two sets of airship components in the goods. Made in Chunnan." The Special Operations Battalion didn't check the goods, but Chen Su had to do this kind of thing. Seeing these two sets of things, he immediately felt bad. This was a hot potato. If these two sets of things were handed over, it was possible that Bei Liao could really figure out the principle of the airship and be able to imitate a qualified airship. If they didn't hand it over... the Western Route Army could easily put the hat of treason on their heads. This thing was too important.

Kong Xinhua didn't hesitate at all and said, "Quickly send a message to Zhang Ci, saying that we've caused trouble, and immediately send these two sets of things to Zhang Ci's mansion."

Chen Su was shocked and said, "What? How can we do that?"

Kong Xinhua smiled calmly and said, "Big sister, your confidence in Marshal Ye is not as strong as mine. Our move this time is just to vent our anger, remember. Apart from that, there can't be any flaws. Moreover, what kind of person is Marshal Ye? Not to mention two sets of airship parts made in Chunnan, which are not even as good as those ordinary airships in Dongping, let alone Ye Shuai still has the Snow Owl, and something even more powerful than the Snow Owl. Chunnan has been working on it for several years, and only has this kind of result. Do you think Bei Liao will have a few years?"

As soon as Kong Xinhua said this, Chen Su immediately woke up. He nodded and said, "Okay, I'll arrange it."