The establishment of the Celestial Dynasty began with the bestowal of the title upon the River God.

Military secrets have always been kept confidential, and as soldiers, our only task is to carry them out.

That being said, the time limit given by Meng Yunjie was far too tight, and everyone couldn't help but look at each other in bewilderment.

The target is a local deity!

What use is a swift horse running fast in front of the Earth God?

A few Qi-cultivating cultivators plus a large number of ordinary people, what chance do they have against each other?

This is clearly using human lives to pay the price.

The Tiger Might Battalion's scout captain then chimed in:

"The Great Yanwu Dynasty is a tiny country, not much larger than Qifeng County. So it is not something to be proud of that a single official can inspect nearly half of the country."

That land is different from Qin Gong's; it is a land of wood element, and its speed is far inferior to Qin Gong's. Moreover, the various scouts cannot make a big show of themselves; they must disguise themselves, act separately, and not be too conspicuous.

The captain then changed the subject, "While it may not be a matter of life and death, it is still like snatching food from a tiger's mouth. You all must be prepared."

Zhong Ming, with a solemn expression, asked:

"May I ask the three gentlemen, how do you plan to gather information? It's the coldest time of winter; aside from unscrupulous bandits, who would choose this time to invade?"

The Tiger Might Battalion Commandant and Meng Yunjie exchanged a smile.

"You're right, that's exactly what we need to do—pretend to be bandits!"

"Ascertaining the territory is a prerequisite for the army's advance. However, the task is dangerous. Each squad will select two men, giving us six squads in total; with another five or six from Fengxia Pass, that will be enough."

None of the scouts responded, and Meng Yunjie, seeing this, sneered.

Do you all believe that Fengxia Pass and the Great Yan Dynasty have always lived in peace?

"Don't underestimate the Great Yan just because it's a small territory. You think you're the balance between the Great Zhou and the Great Li, and you've always acted with impunity. Every winter you organize cavalry, and even collude with bandits. Do you think you're here to sing, dance, and put on a show?"

The scouts' expressions changed.

Meng Yunjie's tone softened slightly, "It's nothing new for two countries to raid each other's territory. Allowing you to investigate as bandits is a favor we're doing you. Do we really want you to forcibly enter the Great Yan Kingdom's borders and confront the local deity directly?"

After hearing him say that, it seemed that pretending to be a bandit was no longer unacceptable.

Not to mention that this identity was not of my own volition, but rather an order from my superior. What could I do?

One of the teams, looking ashamed, clasped his hands and said:

"We have misunderstood the three of you."

Meng Yunjie slowly shook his head and waved his hand, saying:

"Go and discuss this further, and submit the list within fifteen minutes—"

His tone suddenly became much more serious, and he rebuked:

"From now on, any orders must be obeyed without questioning!"

The scouts were mostly ashamed and unanimously agreed.

Li Yi chose a corner and gathered the people under his command around him, feeling somewhat troubled for a moment.

It's a pity that Horse Face is under Zhong Ming's command, otherwise we would have just chosen him.

Sanyizhuang is definitely going to take the lead right now, so he'll be the first to step up.

The other one is not so easy to choose.

The other four smaller flags within the main flag had similar personnel configurations, with two to three people who had entered the Dao and cultivated their bodies, while the rest were all strong and healthy ordinary people.

He suddenly remembered the boastful words of Xu Rong, a minor officer from one of the four or five villages, at the city gate early that morning, and subconsciously turned his gaze towards him.

Unexpectedly, the other person seemed to be startled and quickly looked down at their feet.

Mom's...

It seemed that no one could be expected to volunteer, so Li Yi thought for a moment and came up with a compromise.

"Let's guess."

The four junior officers looked at each other, but couldn't think of a better solution, so they had no choice but to agree.

Li Yi casually grabbed a handful of pebbles. "Guess! Keep the ones that are close, and choose the one that is the least accurate."

He Shouli, a junior officer from the 72nd Manor, asked doubtfully:

"Sir, don't you guess?"

Li Yi shook his head slightly, glanced back at his four subordinates, and said, "You may choose one of our teams to travel with us."

He Shouli remained silent, waiting for Xu Rong to guess "nine" and his colleague to guess "twelve." When it was his turn, he finally spoke:

"Seventy-two manor's sergeant, I'm going with you, sir!"

Li Yi's expression froze, while the other three junior officers looked even more astonished, with a hint of secret delight hidden in their eyes.

Do you agree?

There was silence.

Li Yi discarded the stones, no longer concerned with the specific quantity.

"Then I won't guess."

Seeing He Shouli's resigned demeanor, he offered no words of comfort, but turned to find Meng Yunjie and report the roster.

As expected, Zhong Ming and Ma Lian'er, the two flag bearers, were chosen for the second team much faster than Li Yi.

Meng Yunjie unfolded a map and circled the lower reaches of the Qiujiang River with his index finger.

"You are responsible for the area north of the lower reaches of the Qiu River, within a hundred li of the northeastern border of the Great Yan. Beyond that, there is no need to investigate."

Meng Yun stopped his index finger at the lower back of the northeastern border of the Great Yan Dynasty. "Set off immediately and be sure to return within twelve hours."

Li Yi and Zhong Ming exchanged a glance and said in unison, "Your subordinate obeys!"

Four small flag bearers, carrying provisions and water, rushed out of the city gate and headed west along the Qiu River, unaware of the complaints their subordinates had about their superiors.

Xu Rong looked embarrassed. He had just pledged his loyalty early that morning, but he never expected to be put to the test so soon.

It wasn't that he was unwilling to serve, but the job was simply too dangerous.

"He actually volunteered... He'd risk his life just to give Commander Li a little kindness?"

"What?"

Xu Rong looked over in alarm, then quickly waved his hands, "It's nothing!"

The two junior officers, however, looked indignant.

"Who says otherwise! They're eager to flatter their superiors, only to fear they might have the chance to do so but not the chance to enjoy the benefits!"

"How dare we challenge the Earth God? He Shouli is gambling with his life; he's lost his mind!"

Xu Rong secretly breathed a sigh of relief and echoed:

"This job is clearly a matter of risking lives to create a message; anyone who claims it is a fool."

……

The cold wind on the plain was like a knife, stinging Li Erhu and the others' cheeks, but they dared not delay for a moment.

Li Erhu had something he couldn't figure out, so he caught up with him and asked:

"We'll disguise ourselves as bandits, just to rob and plunder, and see if the local earth god will show up."

Li Yi nodded, and then listened to him say:

"If any small flags fail to return, how will the army determine the territory boundaries of that blank area?"

Li Erhu's eyes suddenly widened.

"If they can't come back, it means that the area under the jurisdiction of that small flag is the land's boundary..."

Is this how wars between two countries are conducted?

Paying with human lives?

Li Yi had already thought of this and comforted him:

"We set off together with more than ten small flags. The local earth god could not kill us all at once. At most, he could only drive us away before heading to the next village."

He stood close to the bell, braving the cold wind, and shouted, "How are we supposed to proceed?"

Zhong Ming recalled the map and roared, "It's a three-hundred-mile round trip, and we still need time to ascertain the territory under the local deity's jurisdiction. Time is too tight; we must split up!"

"Then we'll split into two groups, each exploring fifty li. My group is smaller, so we'll head north!"

"good!"

Zhong Ming didn't stand on ceremony. When they reached the narrowest point of the Qiujiang River, he parted ways with Li Yi and the others.

He Shouli caught up with Li Yi, holding a map in his hand, and spoke with difficulty:

"Further ahead lies the border of the Great Yan Kingdom!"

After pondering for a moment, Li Yi, unwilling to plunder the people, shouted:

"Enter the border first, then probe inwards little by little!" He turned back and shouted, "Change horses!"

The two flag bearers reined in their horses, and before they could change horses, they saw a group of people rushing towards them from afar. They seemed to have noticed them as well, and they all reined in their horses and stopped.