A family of loyal martyrs, starting with nine wives to continue the family line.

After receiving the imperial decree, Xiao Heng immediately selected twenty of his old personal guards.

There was no selection process.

There was no ceremonial procession.

The twenty veterans, the youngest of whom was over forty, had deep furrows on their faces etched by the wind and rain.

Some people lost two fingers, some walked with a limp, and one had only an old scar left over his left eye.

Wei Zhao looked at the twenty people and frowned slightly.

"Is this all the people Your Highness brought?"

Xiao Heng was tying his saddle when he heard this, so he turned around and chuckled.

"Your Majesty, those old brothers in the North still recognize my face."

Xiao Heng was the Prince of Kao Shan of the previous dynasty.

These four characters may not be worth much in Beijing.

They can serve in the North.

Wei Zhao dismounted and personally escorted him to the Shili Pavilion.

Xiao Heng also dismounted and bowed to him.

"Your Majesty, stay."

Wei Zhao clasped his hands in a salute and said nothing more.

Three days later.

Xiao Heng arrived at the first old border town, Huaiyuan Fort.

As soon as the fortress gate opened, an old general with white hair ran out, leaning on the city bricks. After taking two steps, his knees buckled and he was helped up by the soldiers next to him.

"Your Highness!"

The veteran's voice was terribly hoarse.

Xiao Heng reined in his horse and stared at him for a long time before recognizing him.

"Zhao Tongchui?"

The white-haired veteran's eyes suddenly reddened.

"Your subordinate is here!"

Xiao Heng dismounted, walked over, and kicked him in the shin.

"Has she gotten this old?"

Zhao Tongchui wiped his face and grinned.

"He can also wield a knife."

Several veterans nearby laughed along, but after a while, no one said a word.

They all saw the new military banner behind Xiao Heng.

When Xiao Heng came to the northern border before, he flew the old Wei King's banner.

Now, it's changed.

Zhao Tongchui lowered his head and lowered his voice.

"Your Highness, should we now address him as an imperial envoy sent by His Majesty?"

Xiao Heng glanced at him.

"Stop beating around the bush."

Zhao Tongchui immediately stood up straight.

"Yes."

Xiao Heng did not exchange pleasantries.

He knew these veterans' personalities all too well.

If we were to sit down and reminisce, we could go from our first battle in our youth to whose grandson could ride a horse.

But I don't have time right now.

"Have those unruly tribes on the grasslands made any moves lately?"

The smile on Zhao Tongchui's face vanished.

"have."

Xiao Heng's fingers stopped on the hilt of the knife.

Zhao Tongchui lowered his voice.

"A month ago, someone came from the south, bringing a lot of ironware and salt, and exchanged them for three hundred warhorses."

Twenty old guards looked up at the same time.

Xiao Heng remained silent.

Ironware.

salt.

Warhorse.

When these three things are put together, it's no ordinary business transaction.

Iron tools can be used to repair swords and spears, salt can stabilize tribes, and warhorses can gather cavalry.

Whoever gets these things on the grassland will be able to speak loudly.

What's more troublesome is that ironware and salt are both commodities that the imperial court has explicitly prohibited from being sold.

The fact that they could produce so much money at once suggests that the person behind them couldn't possibly be just a few smugglers.

Xiao Heng felt a chill in his heart.

That bastard Liu Suan really knows how to pick a place.

The new policies in the Central Plains have just been implemented, the border trade in the North has just been established, and the old guard of the grasslands has not yet been erased by the new military register.

At this time, when he was delivering iron and salt, it was like stuffing sparks into a haystack.

"Which route did you come from?"

Zhao Tongchui shook his head.

"We can't find them. They dispersed after entering the grassland, and the hoofprints were deliberately trampled. There aren't many people in our fort, so we don't dare to pursue them too far."

Xiao Heng nodded.

It's not his fault.

Huaiyuan Fort only has 700 garrison troops now. If they really chase them into the grasslands and get surrounded, even the messenger might not be able to escape.

"Write it down."

The guards behind him immediately retrieved the register.

Xiao Heng turned and mounted his horse.

Zhao Tongchui was getting anxious.

"Won't Your Highness rest for the night?"

"Never stop."

Xiao Heng looked to the north.

"If they rest for one night, they'll have one more night to work."

Zhao Tongchui's lips moved slightly, and finally he clasped his hands in a fist salute.

"This humble general will escort Your Highness for ten miles."

Xiao Heng cursed.

"Your leg is useless, guard the fort."

Zhao Tongchui stood in front of the fortress gate until Xiao Heng and his party disappeared, then slowly knelt down.

The second border town was Zheliu Pass.

The former guard who was stationed at the pass was named Sun Banshan. He had lost his right arm, and the sleeve was tucked empty into his belt.

His first words to Xiao Heng were the same.

"Your Highness, something seems amiss on the grasslands lately."

Xiao Heng sat in his tent, not even drinking his tea, and asked directly.

"Someone from the south?"

Sun Banshan nodded.

"Take ironware and salt in exchange for warhorses."

Xiao Heng's expression darkened further.

"How many?"

"At least five hundred horses."

No one spoke inside the tent.

The sound of the cup hitting the table was very clear.

The old map of the northern border in Xiao Heng's mind gradually lit up.

Huaiyuan Fort has three hundred, Zheliu Pass has five hundred.

This is not a transaction.

It's like scattering bait all the way.

Liu Suan wasn't buying warhorses; he was testing which tribes on the grasslands still dared to accept the new forbidden weapons.

Those who dare to accept are those who have no intention of kneeling in their hearts.

Once he connects these people, the Snowfield Riders will have a backbone.

it is good.

very nice.

This person doesn't lead troops, yet he's more troublesome than those who do.

Xiao Heng asked, "Can you find out about the tribe?"

Sun Banshan gritted his teeth.

"We've made contact with the Snow Wolf, Black Horn, and Red Fox tribes. There are also several remnants of the old Northern Rong royal family's cavalry moving northwards."

Upon hearing the words "former royal family of the Northern Rong," Xiao Heng tapped his finger on the table.

"Does the new Khan know?"

That's enough.

Xiao Heng sneered.

"You know, but you don't care?"

Sun Banshan whispered, "The new Khan sent someone to say that the depths of the grasslands are not under the jurisdiction of the royal court, and that we should not act rashly."

"fart."

Xiao Heng cursed calmly.

The calmer it was, the less the border generals dared to raise their heads inside the tent.

"When they were robbing grain before, they said the Northern Rong were all one family. Now that their old subordinates have left, they say they can't interfere."

The old prince stood up.

"A fence-sitter is still a fence-sitter. Even wearing the new Wu-given robe, he can't change his habit of always looking at which way the wind blows."

Sun Banshan hurriedly said, "Your Highness, should we petition His Majesty to request the court to send troops?"

Xiao Heng glanced at him.

"His Majesty has already dispatched them."

Sun Banshan was stunned.

Xiao Heng raised his finger and pointed to himself.

"That's me."

Sun Banshan's throat moved, and he suddenly knelt down.

"This humble general is willing to accompany Your Highness northward."

Xiao Heng stared at his empty sleeve.

"What are you doing following me? Biting me?"

Sun Banshan's face turned bright red.

The old soldiers in the tent lowered their heads, suppressing their laughter, not daring to let it out.

Xiao Heng waved his hand.

"Guard the border. Make a copy of the registers of all caravans, people, and livestock that have passed through the border in the past month. Especially the salt merchants, blacksmiths, and horse traders—don't miss a single one."

Sun Banshan immediately responded.

"yes!"

The third border town is Heishi Fortress.

The situation here is even worse.

Before Xiao Heng even entered the camp, the old captain guarding the pass presented him with a package of broken iron arrowheads.

"Your Highness, you come from the grasslands."

Xiao Heng picked up the arrow, glanced at it, and his expression changed.

It's not rough iron from the grasslands.

It was a piece of scrap iron from the Central Plains Military Equipment Bureau, remelted. The craftsmanship was rough, but the quality couldn't be hidden.

The weapons that Shang Wanqing created were understandable to both Wei Zhao and Xiao Heng.

If this stuff leaked out of the Xinwu Army, it means someone was embezzling from the arms supply line.

If it's found in the old army's private vault, it means that the surrendered soldiers still have knives hidden away.

They should all be killed.

The old fire in Xiao Heng's heart was rekindled.

He had served the northern border for twenty years and hated this kind of person the most.

When the steppe cavalry come with real swords and spears, they respect your courage.

He could use ironware from the Central Plains to feed his old followers on the grasslands, causing the border people to bleed again. This kind of person is even more disgusting than Lu Song.

"Pass on my order."

Xiao Heng looked at the twenty personal guards.

"From now on, without resting or stopping at night, we will head straight for Yunzhong Town."

The guards responded in unison.

Yunzhong Town was Xiao Heng's old camp.

It is also the northernmost point of the North.

Further north lies the snowfield, where the new martial arts register cannot yet be suppressed.

On the night he arrived in Yunzhong Town, Xiao Heng did not enter the mansion.

He went straight into the old commander's tent.

The local garrison commander, Xu Zheng, knelt in his tent, his helmet still on and his armor covered in dust.

"Your Highness."

Xiao Heng sat in the old commander's seat and glanced at him.

"Stand up and speak."

Xu Zheng didn't get up.

"This humble general is guilty."

Xiao Heng frowned.

This is not a compliment.

If a border general apologizes to his comrades upon meeting them, it usually means something serious has happened.

"explain."

Xu Zheng looked up, his face grim.

"Your Highness has arrived at just the right time. The tribes in the northern snowfields have been gathering frequently lately, seemingly waiting for someone."

No one spoke inside the tent.

Xiao Heng looked at the pitch-black night to the north outside the tent, and slowly suppressed the corners of his mouth.

"Liu Suan".

His voice was very low.

"You are here indeed."