Fang Shijie, eager to meet the contact person, immediately headed for the Ten Thousand Miles Inn. He didn't bring extra guards, only the one who had met Wen Yan once before. They disguised themselves before setting out, to avoid being discovered.
Wen Yan, using the money Su Fan gave him, had rented a room at the Ten Thousand Miles Inn for an extended stay. He sat downstairs, eating his meal with nothing much to do.
This task Su Fan had given him would surely involve a lot of idle time, so he had to get used to it.
Fang Shijie arrived at the Ten Thousand Miles Inn.
The guard scanned the area downstairs and recognized Wen Yan at a glance.
"My lord, it's him!"
The guard quietly pointed at Wen Yan and said to Fang Shijie.
Fang Shijie nodded and walked directly towards Wen Yan.
Wen Yan naturally noticed Fang Shijie approaching.
He guessed that this might be City Lord Fang Shijie.
His face remained expressionless, as if he hadn't noticed them, and he continued to sip his tea, enjoying the view outside the window.
Fang Shijie sat down directly opposite Wen Yan.
Wen Yan looked at Fang Shijie with an expression of surprise.
"I am Fang Shijie."
Fang Shijie spoke first, seeing this.
"Greetings, City Lord."
Wen Yan immediately prepared to rise and pay his respects.
Fang Shijie quickly pulled Wen Yan back, motioning for him to sit.
"There are many people here, so no need for formalities."
Fang Shijie stopped Wen Yan and said.
"Does your lordship have something you wish for me to deliver to Commander?"
Wen Yan didn't stand on ceremony. After sitting down, he asked Fang Shijie.
"No, I just came to see what the contact person looks like."
Fang Shijie shook his head and said.
"Your lordship is too kind. I am merely a messenger for you, there's no need for you to be so concerned."
Wen Yan said humbly.
"I can see that you are an extraordinary person. Since Xu Tian entrusted this matter to you, he naturally trusts you. From now on, our communication will depend on you."
Fang Shijie said solemnly.
Seeing Wen Yan, he realized that his subordinate's words were not exaggerated at all. He possessed a scholar's demeanor, yet there was an air of sharpness about him, truly extraordinary.
"I will do my utmost to serve your lordship!"
Wen Yan immediately seized the opportunity to pledge his loyalty to Fang Shijie.
"Very good. What is the situation in the army now?"
Fang Shijie had not come solely to see Wen Yan; he was more interested in understanding the current situation of the Vanguard Camp.
"Tomorrow, the Vanguard Camp will assist the Bandit Suppression Camp in a campaign against bandits. Commander said that after the campaign, we will await your lordship's orders. Then we can deal with Su Fan and the Bandit Suppression Camp together."
Wen Yan, following Su Fan's instructions and combining them with the current situation, organized his words and spoke slowly.
"Excellent, I will await their triumphant return!"
Fang Shijie said excitedly.
Afterward, he exchanged some trivial matters with Wen Yan and then departed.
After Fang Shijie left, Wen Yan also left the Ten Thousand Miles Inn and headed directly towards the vicinity of the Vanguard Camp.
He waited on the road that led to the Vanguard Camp.
After a long while, Xiao Jiu skillfully ran over from the direction of the Vanguard Camp.
"Someone in plain clothes has left the Vanguard Camp. No one entered the Vanguard Camp before that."
Xiao Jiu told Wen Yan.
"Mm, I understand."
Wen Yan noted the person's appearance and then proceeded to the north gate of Beiling City.
Since Fang Shijie had no military authority, the gates of Beiling City were basically unguarded, or if there were guards, they were from the Bandit Suppression Camp.
Wen Yan stood directly in front of the city gate, waiting for someone from the Vanguard Camp to arrive.
Soon, a man in green walked over from the direction of the Vanguard Camp.
Wen Yan stood at the foot of the city gate, watching the approaching man with a blank expression.
When the man in green reached Wen Yan, Wen Yan spoke.
"Someone from the Vanguard Camp?"
The man in green was taken aback and immediately stopped, looking at Wen Yan with confusion.
Wen Yan was immediately certain that this person was definitely from the Vanguard Camp.
"It's a sensitive time. To avoid detection, the City Lord has sent me to wait for you here. From now on, I will be the intermediary for communication with the City Lord, to prevent Su Fan from discovering us."
Wen Yan said to the other person.
The man in green looked at Wen Yan with some doubt, clearly not entirely believing him.
"The City Lord sent someone to deliver a letter to you, but there was no reply, so I was sent to wait here."
Seeing the other person's disbelief, Wen Yan directly mentioned the incident of someone from the City Lord's mansion delivering a letter to the Vanguard Camp that morning. Not many people knew about this.
The man in green immediately believed Wen Yan.
"Due to an accident this morning, the Commander did not see the letter. This is a letter from our Commander to your lordship."
The man in green took out the envelope from his embrace and handed it to Wen Yan.
"Alright, I will deliver it to the City Lord. If there are any developments in the future, you can find me at the Ten Thousand Miles Inn. Do not contact the City Lord's mansion directly, to avoid revealing any clues. The City Lord will also convey any matters to the Vanguard Camp through me."
Wen Yan nodded and said to the other person.
"Yes, I will inform our Commander."
The man in green nodded and said.
"Farewell."
After seeing the other person off, Wen Yan smiled, put away the envelope, and returned to the Ten Thousand Miles Inn.
Upon his return, as instructed by Su Fan, he carefully opened the envelope, took out the letter, and read its contents.
The letter merely stated the current situation of the Vanguard Camp, mentioned that Su Fan had intercepted the morning's letter, and inquired about what Fang Shijie needed.
It held no significant value, but it served as evidence. Wen Yan put it away and placed it in the cabinet.
Wen Yan's actions had directly transformed him from a fake contact person into a real one.
From now on, any correspondence from either side would pass through him. He could then alter the contents of the letters as he pleased and collect evidence from them.
Wen Yan couldn't help but laugh. Doing this was far more thrilling than being a bandit!
The next day
The entire Bandit Suppression Camp was ready and advanced towards their target.
The hundred sets of armor promised by Fang Shijie had also arrived.
Su Fan used these hundred sets of armor and the previous hundred warhorses to form a heavy cavalry unit.
A heavy cavalry of a hundred men was already a formidable force. The two great killing weapons on ancient battlefields were cavalry and archers.
A charge from a cavalry unit could often turn the tide of a battle, and a volley from archers could inflict heavy casualties on enemy infantry.
In fact, mounted archers were even more formidable, but they required professional training and talent, which the Bandit Suppression Camp currently lacked. The ability to form a cavalry unit was thanks to Fang Shijie.
Warhorses and armor were extremely expensive.
Because the heavy cavalry marched at a slower pace, Su Fan took a full day to reach their destination. The Vanguard Camp also maintained a similar pace, as it was primarily a cavalry-based military camp.
The three mountain strongholds that Su Fan and his men were to face were Fierce Fang Stronghold, Spirit Snake Stronghold, and Silver Moon Stronghold.
Each of these three strongholds had nearly five hundred men. If they were to launch a direct assault, the other two strongholds would come to their aid, putting the Bandit Suppression Camp in a disadvantageous position of fighting on two fronts.
However, the plan had already been decided, and there would be no change in strategy.