Lord: Start with a book of Water Margin

Chapter 720 The Ten Prefectures of Liao and Song
Since the alliance was formed, Zhao Zhen had Shi Qian send spies to the allied countries. They didn't need to specifically investigate any secrets, but simply collect information from various countries so that Liang could better understand the [Floating Continent].

The two sent to Cao State were Zhang San, the "street rat," and Li Si, the "green grass snake."

It was subordinate to the Bureau of Military Affairs of the Privy Council, and its duties were surveying, military archives and intelligence collection. Shi Qian, the "Drum-on-the-Flea", and Bai Sheng, the "White-day Rat", were the judges.

The two men rented out a restaurant in the capital of Cao, and selected chefs from Taipinglou, Baxianlou, and Fenglelou to prepare Kaifeng cuisine, Shandong cuisine, and Huaiyang cuisine. They also sold specialty wines sent from Liang.

Business is booming; not only do we not need extra subsidies, but after deducting costs, we also generate considerable revenue every day.

The waiters and waiters were all from respectable families in Liang State. They served dishes and wine, and reported the news they heard to Zhang San and Li Si, who then relayed it back to the [Zhifangguan] every few days.

This time, however, the news that came back was about Tong Guan's campaign against Youyan.

After Shi Qian delivered the news, Zhao Zhen immediately sent someone to summon Zhang San back.

Zhang San recounted the information he had gathered in detail, but to be honest, there wasn't much of value in it. He only knew that Tong Guan was at war with the Cao Kingdom.

Zhao Zhen said, "Now that we have news of my father-in-law, we can't let it go. We must make contact with him no matter what."

Then he sent someone to invite the ministers to come and discuss matters.

After some discussion and making some assumptions, everyone realized that the first step was to make contact. Otherwise, no matter how much they discussed, it wouldn't be effective.

The problem has returned to square one.

"Zhang San, didn't you find out what the world Tong Shumi is in is called?"

"Your Majesty, it was just a waiter in the hotel who overheard a waiter talking about it; I really don't know anything else."

Chai Jin, the Vice Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial, said, "Your Majesty, this matter is easy to handle. I will go to the State of Cao and ask them directly."

Zhao Zhen said, "There's no rush. Logically speaking, the Cao Kingdom should include the invaded world in the list of enemy countries."

Bao Shuya shook his head and said, "That's not entirely true. In the world of [Duke Huan of Qi], there are some forces that, upon first contact, will not be marked as enemy states."

Zhao Zhen frowned and said to Chai Jin, "In that case, I would like to ask Chai Shaoqing to make a trip to the State of Cao and investigate. Nothing else matters, just find out about the world your father-in-law lives in first. Then we can send spies to make contact."

After the plan was devised, everyone acted accordingly.

As for Tong Guan, ever since the northern expedition against Yan and Yun, due to the battle between Zhao Zhen and Gao Qiu in Jingdong Road, the emperor had doubts about Tong Guan and sent his trusted eunuch Wang Renrui to supervise the army.

Tong Guan knew this all too well, and the army marched at a leisurely pace. The army made frequent stops along the way, urging the replenishment of provisions and equipment, which allowed the vanguard, Feng Mei and Wang Huan, to lead 20,000 troops into Tanzhou.

Tong Guan, however, led Bi Sheng, Liu Guangshi, Wang Bing, Wang Weizhong, Xin Xingzhong, Duan Pengju, and Chen Zhu to hold the fort in Xiongzhou in the rear.

The two generals entered Tanzhou and fought a fierce battle in Miyun County against Aliqi and Chu Mingyu, generals sent by Liao Guodongxian Shilang, the garrison commander of Tanzhou.

The battles between generals have been going on for days without a clear winner, and the soldiers have also suffered losses on both sides.

As the weather grew colder, both sides ceased fighting, but remained locked in a stalemate in Miyun County.

When Zhao Zhen summoned the Illusionary World to descend upon the [Floating Continent], the mist between the six prefectures of Youyun Land—Tanzhou, Jizhou, Bazhou, and Youzhou—along with the six prefectures of Hebei East Road north of Tong Guan, which served as the logistics base, dissipated, and a total of ten prefectures of Liao and Song fell into the [Floating Continent].

The two sides were evenly matched in strength, but Tong Guan's six prefectures had a larger population. The Liao soldiers were fierce and brave, and had a slight advantage, but they could not defeat Tong Guan's army.

The stalemate lasted for a long time, during which time other worlds also attacked. Since both sides were already at war, they naturally couldn't gain the upper hand.

After a long stalemate, the Liao general Wuyan Guang and the Song general Tong Guan were able to figure out the rules of the [Floating Continent].

Unfortunately, neither of them could gain a complete advantage, and they were both implicitly considered the rulers of this world. The power to wage war thus alternated between the two of them.

During this period, there were several rounds of proactive initiation and passive intrusion. Both sides were calculating against each other, and the losses and gains were roughly equal.

This time, it was Wuyan Guang who took charge and invaded the territory under Tong Guan's rule, which bordered the Cao Kingdom.

When a new world invasion occurs, the border general, as is customary, will send the intelligence report to the imperial court by fast horse.

Despite the constant warfare and conflict along the border, the region had remained relatively stable for many years. This kind of information wasn't exactly top secret.

The postmen and yamen runners could all chat about it, which was overheard by Zhang San's shop assistant, who then sent him back to Liang.

The matter involved members of the royal family, and of course, these members were special. As soon as Zhang San and Li Si saw it, they immediately sent word back to the Liang Kingdom.

Chai entered the State of Cao and presented a formal letter of credence.

Officials from the Cao state government, who were of equal standing, came forward to receive Chai Jin, inquired about his purpose for coming, and quickly gave him a reply.

The world that Zhao Zhen cared about was called the "Ten Prefectures of Liao and Song".

No wonder, when Zhao Zhen added allied worlds, he couldn't find any worlds related to Tong Guan or Tong the Privy Councilor.

After finding out the details, Chai Jin sent someone back to Liang to relay the message. Chai Jin himself stayed behind and interacted with officials from Cao.

When Zhao Zhen received the news, he was also in a difficult position.

Judging from the message sent back by Chai Jin, the world of the "Ten Prefectures of Liao and Song" is quite peculiar. To this day, this world has not constructed a passage through the mist.

It is impossible to get there through the fog passage.

Therefore, Zhao Zhen made a decisive decision and asked Dai Zong and Shi Qian to go through Cao State and head straight to the neighboring world of the "Ten Prefectures of Liao and Song" to make contact with Tong Guan.

Otherwise, it's uncertain when we'll be able to contact Tong Guan again.

Dai Zong and Shi Qian, carrying the things Zhao Zhen had prepared, immediately went to the State of Cao.

Through Chai Jin, the two obtained a pass.

Dai Zong tied on the armor and began to perform magic, traveling day and night towards the border region.

Finally, with only three days left to escape, they broke through the walls of Cao State.

The two men did not use Liang's name, but claimed to be family members of Tong Guan, the Privy Councilor, before being escorted by soldiers to meet Tong Guan.

"Dai Zong, Shi Qian? I remember you two. How is my son-in-law? How is my daughter? Is there any news from the Emperor?" Tong Guan asked in rapid succession as soon as they met.

Dai Zong said, "Prime Minister, His Majesty is well, and Consort De is doing well."

"We finally found out the whereabouts of the Grand Chancellor, and the two of us are here to see him as ordered."

"Your Majesty? Consort De?"

“Zhao Zhen has actually declared himself king? How can Jiaoxiu not be the queen?” Tong Guan said angrily upon hearing this.

Shi Qian hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Prime Minister, time is of the essence, this is not the time for details. Please choose an open place to build a passage through the fog."

(End of this chapter)