Tang Dynasty Swordsman.

Nie Feng was quite meticulous, especially recalling the day he handed his biological daughter over to the female Taoist priest to take away... He asked the female Taoist priest that day, "Although I am a martial artist, even if I were to follow in my father's footsteps, it wouldn't be my daughter's turn. So why did you take my daughter away, Taoist priest? What skills are you going to teach her?"

The female Taoist smiled and replied, "What I teach you, young lady, is not the skill of using spears and halberds on the battlefield, but the agility and leaping techniques of the martial world. Not to mention that the world is not yet settled and each prefecture and county has its own troops, even in times of peace and prosperity, women are weak and vulnerable and cannot avoid unexpected dangers. If you learn my technique, you can live in peace—and it may even be of help to the general in the future."

Nie Feng had never heard of Jingjing'er, but he instinctively sensed that Qin Rui's superhumans would come to break him out of prison, so he set a trap in advance...

Dreaming and Recommendations

My usual routine is to do chores and research during the day, and only start writing formally late at night after my child has gone to bed. This not only results in me going to bed very late, but even when I lie down, my mind is hard to clear; the plot of the book keeps replaying in my mind, and I unconsciously start brainstorming the next stage of the story… So my sleep quality is very poor, and I always have vivid dreams. But there's nothing I can do; the habit is already formed. During the day, amidst all the noise, it's impossible to write anything. Even if I force myself to type, I'm definitely not satisfied with what I write afterward.

A friend of mine has a habit of carrying his laptop during the day and choosing a corner of a coffee shop to sit in, secretly observing the flow of people while immersing himself in the hustle and bustle of the city. It is said that this is when his thoughts flow freely – I really envy him.

As the saying goes, what you think about during the day, you dream about at night. Since my mind was full of novels before bed, it was inevitable that they would enter my dreams after I fell asleep. Speaking of which, I had a really strange dream last night. I dreamt that Li Ji, wielding a long sword, leaped into a train from the back and charged straight at the front.

The enemies he killed were, of course, Tibetan soldiers. However, he hadn't time-traveled again, because the train belonged to... the Uyghurs! In the latter part of the dream, perhaps as I was about to wake up and my mind began to regain some self-awareness, I wondered if this writing style was too absurd and difficult for readers to accept. Or perhaps I should insert a plot earlier, saying that Li Ji first "invented" the train, which was later stolen and copied by the Uyghurs.

Not good either, it's still a bit ahead of its time. Thinking this, my gaze seemed to move quickly, sweeping all the way to the front of the train—but there was no front train, only four fine horses pulling the carriages along the tracks.

Hmm, that seems to make sense now... Then I finally woke up, and couldn't help but curse inwardly: This is totally illogical!

That's how dreams are. When you're immersed in them, your brain often gets the illusion that you've come up with a great idea, only to find out when you wake up that it's useless—what happened to Mendeleev discovering the periodic table in his dream? Am I just not trying hard enough?

This book is almost 1.5 million words long, and I will continue to work hard. I sincerely ask readers to subscribe, comment, vote, and help promote it. Many readers have offered valuable suggestions in the comments and feedback, but unfortunately, replying on the app is difficult, so I can only appreciate many of them. Regarding typos and misspellings, I will correct them if pointed out, but I may not be able to reply to everyone individually in the future. Please understand.

By the way, I've recently been reading *The Fiery Era* by Fuchun Mountain Residence on this site, and it's truly a wonderful book. Although the beginning is a bit long and slow-paced, the pace gradually picks up after the protagonist returns to China. Coincidentally, Fuchun Mountain Residence also recommended *Time Traveler 4251*, so I clicked to check it out. It's incredibly rare for a work of this genre not to be censored (404), so it's highly recommended and deserves protection!

Chapter Thirty-Two: Willing to Be an Inside Agent

To be honest, the martial arts world in those days wasn't exciting enough. It lacked the folk tradition of martial arts societies and martial arts practice found in later generations, and it couldn't compare to the wildly imaginative world of novelists. In Nie Feng's mind, so-called extraordinary figures in the martial arts world were simply adept at using their location to commit petty theft and thievery.

Following the old strategy of preventing surprise attacks on the battlefield, several shallow ditches were dug outside Qin Rui's prison room beforehand, lined with firewood, and ropes were strung in the ditches with bells hanging from them...

Jingjing came to rescue Qin Rui at night. Originally, she climbed the walls and scaled the walls to avoid the guards and sneak into the dungeon like a gecko. But when she saw Qin Rui, she naturally had to jump down so that it would be easier to slip through the door and pick the lock. As a result, she stepped into a trap. It was because the dungeon was dark and there were no lights in it. Otherwise, with her experience in the martial arts world, she would not have fallen into the trap so quickly.

The shallow trench was no problem for Jingjing'er; at most, she would just stumble. What was dangerous were the ropes and bells... As soon as the bells rang, the area outside the prison erupted in a commotion, with guards grabbing their weapons and rushing in to search and kill.

Jingjing'er was dumbfounded, but Qin Rui reacted quickly and said, "It's all over now, you must go quickly! And remember to send a letter to Li Ji's wife for me. I have some past acquaintance with her. If she can plead for me, I can eventually get out of prison!"

Jingjing agreed and quickly leaped up the wall again—the prison was narrow, and if a dozen or twenty soldiers rushed in, even with his excellent lightness skills, he would have little chance of escaping.

Even though he was quick to react and managed to escape in time, he was still forced to throw darts, injuring several people, and he himself was shot in the shoulder by an arrow. He barely managed to escape with his injuries.

Meanwhile, the rescue of Guo Mo went extremely smoothly.

Jingjing'er was not the only one with supernatural abilities under Qin Rui's command. Relying on his lightness skills and ability to infiltrate, he came alone to rescue Qin Rui, but ordered another team to rescue Guo Mo at the same time. Although Guo Mo said that you should rescue Qin Shuai first and then rescue me, it is conceivable that if Qin Rui could be rescued from prison, the security in the yamen would be even more stringent. Would there still be a chance to rescue Guo Mo?

Nie Feng didn't think much of Guo Mo and his men—primarily because he didn't know Guo was the former commander of the "Shenji Battalion"—treating him only as a weak and incompetent civil official, thus his guard was relatively lax, and Guo was easily rescued by his subordinates. After the two sides reunited, Guo Mo was forced to consider his next move—he had only considered that Qin Rui would escape while he himself would not, failing to foresee that the actual situation would be exactly the opposite—and couldn't help but stamp his foot and say, "If we can't rescue Commander Qin, what should we do?"

Jingjing said, "Qin Shuaiyun, you can write to the wife of Wei Bo Li Shuai. She used to have some friendship with Qin Shuai, and she may be able to help you smooth things over and ask Li Shuai to forgive you."

Guo Mo sighed, “Now it’s not Li Shuai’s problem… As you said, the Tianxiong Army has reached outside the city. I’m afraid Xindu will be difficult to defend. Once the city falls, Qin Shuai will fall into Tian Chengsi’s hands, which will be very dangerous.”

Jingjing smiled instead: "I actually look forward to the Tianxiong Army breaking through the city. When that happens, will there still be so many guards in the government office? We can then lie in ambush and seize the opportunity to kidnap Commander Li and hide temporarily. I have already arranged a secret place in the city. Unless the Tianxiong Army massacres the city and searches every household, it will not fall."

However, to their surprise, the Tianxiong Army withdrew early the next morning... Yang Shigu rushed to the city of Xindu, explained the battle situation in Zhangbei, and presented Xing Caojun's letter. Fu Lin was forced to lead his troops eastward and temporarily settle in Wuyi County.

To stabilize the situation within the city, after meeting with Yang Shigu, Nie Feng posted notices along the main streets and had soldiers loudly proclaim how the Weibo army, under Commander Li's leadership, had fought fiercely in Zhangbei, ultimately defeating the enemy and driving away Tian Chengsi. Upon hearing the news, Guo Mo, Jingjing'er, and the others were all dumbfounded, exchanging bewildered glances.

The first thing Guo Mo said was, "The Qin general is in grave danger!"

If Weibo were to also lose, even if the defeat is not too severe, it would still have to rely on Wushun and Zhaoyi to jointly resist the northern invasion. Li Ji would not dare to do anything to Qin Rui, and no matter how long he was imprisoned, he would eventually be released. But now that the Weibo army has won instead of being defeated, and Li Ji is in the midst of his triumph, would he still care about Qin Rui's life?

Guo Mo judged: "If I were Commander Li, I would take advantage of the victory and return in triumph. Once I reach Xindu, I will know that Commander Qin is already a prisoner. I will seize the opportunity to take advantage of the situation, bypass the main city, and take over my two prefectures of Bei and De!"

Jingjing'er was a little confused: "Since Weibo has won and driven out Tian Chengsi, shouldn't it continue to advance and sweep away the enemy's territories? Why is it that they want to retreat instead?"

Guo Mo shook his head and said, “You do not understand military affairs. Although Weibo has won, it still only has more than 10,000 troops. The Hedong army cannot come, and the Zhaoyi army and my Wushun army have already been defeated. If they become arrogant because of their victory and advance deep into enemy territory alone, they will surely suffer a defeat. The Tianxiong army may still have the strength to fight again, and since Youzhou has already sent troops, who knows if they will not send reinforcements? Chengde is in the north, and his allegiance is unclear. This is a superfluous act, which a wise person would not do.”

Jingjing'er was still somewhat unconvinced and muttered, "Sir, you said Weibo would definitely lose, but it won; now you say it won't continue its advance, so it's not as you predicted..."

Guo Mo ignored him, stroking his beard and muttering to himself, "I must immediately write to Madam Li and ask her to put in a good word for me, perhaps she will be willing to release Commander Qin... However, Commander Qin's claim of an old acquaintance is unclear. I wonder how deep that relationship is. Is it that he has done him a favor, or that he has done Commander Qin a favor? I have no idea, and it's difficult to predict the outcome..."

After much deliberation, he finally stamped his foot angrily: "We cannot place the life of Commander Qin on the shoulders of a mere woman!"

Jingjing asked, "Sir, do you have a brilliant plan?"

Guo Mo said, “We should hurry back to Qinghe, gather our troops, and block the passes to prevent Weibo from taking advantage of the situation. Now that Weibo has retreated, the people are eager to return home. If we block the roads for them, the morale of the army will surely be thrown into chaos. Perhaps we can use this as an exchange with Commander Li to ask him to release Commander Qin and allow him to return to his post…”

So he seized an opportunity to sneak out of Xindu and hurried back. During a rest, Guo Mo wrote a heartfelt letter, earnestly pleading with Cui to lend a helping hand and save Qin Rui—of course, since he didn't know the true nature of their relationship, the letter was full of empty words, with almost no concrete details. He originally intended to send Jingjing'er to deliver the letter, but Jingjing'er smiled bitterly and said, "To be honest, I'm also an old acquaintance of Madam Li, and we're rather...unhappy. If I go to deliver the letter, it might only anger that woman." Guo Mo had no choice but to send someone else.

When they finally managed to return to Beizhou, the defeated soldiers had already fled back, and everyone in the prefecture knew that the royal army had been defeated in Zhangbei, causing widespread panic. Fortunately, Guo Mo, as Qin Rui's chief advisor, still had some prestige. He entered Qinghe City in time, stabilized the situation, and then ordered the blockade of the north-south roads and the Yongji Canal waterway to cut off the flow of people and information.

However, the defeated troops could not be regrouped immediately—after all, they had not been defeated on their own territory, and the journey from Zhangbei back to Beizhou was nearly two hundred li. The scattered soldiers had no food, so how could they easily escape back? And the troops left to garrison the prefecture numbered less than three thousand. Helpless, Guo Mo had no choice but to temporarily abandon Dezhou—ordering all the troops left to garrison Dezhou to head west and assemble in Qinghe County.

After the envoy entered the prefecture, he changed to a fast horse and galloped south to Yuancheng. He delivered the letter to the rear office of the Weibo military governor and handed it to Cui Cuo. Upon receiving the letter, Cui Cuo was filled with anxiety and paced around the room for a long time before finally ordering someone to "go and invite Judge Du here."

Du Huangshang was somewhat puzzled by Madam Cui's invitation, but he dared not be disrespectful. He hurriedly tidied his clothes and went to pay his respects. The key was that he knew that this Madam Cui was the daughter of the late Duke of Ye, Cui Guangyuan. She was a lady from a prestigious family and should be sensible and knowledgeable about etiquette. She would not easily meet with outsiders unless it was urgent.

However, upon reaching the door, Du Huangshang refused to enter. Instead, he sat on the corridor behind the curtain and asked what important matter the lady had summoned him for. Cui Cuo replied, "My lord often says that Judge Du is wise and resourceful, and can be entrusted with important matters. I have received a letter that I would like to ask Judge Du to read." He then ordered someone to hand Guo Mo's letter to Du Huangshang.

Du Huangshang was somewhat flustered when he opened the letter.

In fact, neither he nor Cui Cuo cared about the main content of the letter—whether Qin Rui was detained or in danger of losing his life was none of their business. In particular, Li Ji had never mentioned to Cui Cuo that Qin Shuai of Wushun Army was the former Zhen Sui. Cui Cuo was puzzled, saying, "I have a past with Qin Shuai, but I don't remember him."

Of course, even if she knew that Qin Rui was Zhen Sui, she probably wouldn't be willing to lend a helping hand—it would be good enough if she didn't kick him when he was down!

The two men only focused on the opening few sentences, which said that Zhangbei had been defeated, and both Wushun and Zhaoyi's armies had gone north, leaving Weibo as an isolated force... Of course, Guo Mo did not want to mention that Weibo had crushed Tianxiong's army that night and that Li Ji was about to lead his troops back—you should know that Li Ji was unharmed and was about to return, and might even send troops to support him, which would be perfect for attacking Beizhou from both sides—this was why he promptly ordered people to block the communication between the north and south.

Seeing that Du Huangshang had finished reading the letter, Cui Cuo ordered the curtain to be rolled up—"Judge Du, please come closer and speak with me."

Du Huangshang then apologized, rose, and went inside. He knelt down five steps away from Cui Cuo. He thought to himself that this Cui lady was indeed from a prestigious family and possessed great wisdom. She knew that such matters should not be easily publicized, lest it disturb the peace of the people in the prefecture… He needed to discuss how to deal with it first.

"Please advise, Madam, how much of what you wrote in the letter is true?"

Cui Cuo shook his head: "I don't know either... As for what you say about my past relationship with Commander Qin, I don't know where to begin. If it were a former general in the court, that would be fine, or he might know my father, but as far as I know, Commander Qin was originally a general who surrendered from An Lushan."

Du Huangshang nodded: "That's right." After a pause, he added: "This matter cannot be hidden from Commander Yan."

Cui Cuo hurriedly said, "Since Judge Du is a confidant of the young master, we invited Judge Du to discuss this first, and will then inform Commander Yan. If what is said in the letter is true, what should we do?"

Du Huangshang thought for a moment and replied, "I will send someone north as soon as possible to investigate the truth... especially the movements of Wu Shun's army. If what he said is true, then Commander Li and our main force in Weibo are now isolated and it will be difficult to hold out for long. However, the situation at the front is unclear, and the pontoon bridge on the Zhang River has been captured by the enemy. I fear that it will not be easy for Commander Li to return quickly..."

"Should we send troops to rescue them?"

Du Huangshang smiled bitterly, "There are only some auxiliary troops and garrison soldiers in the prefecture now, and no great generals, so I'm afraid it will be difficult to provide assistance." He paused, then added, "We can only hope that Heaven will protect us and that Commander Li will be able to escape danger... But I fear that what is said in this letter may not be true!"

Cui Cuo was taken aback upon hearing this and hurriedly asked, "If what you say is not true, then my lord is safe and sound. Why then does Judge Du look worried?"

Du Huangshang replied in a low voice, "I fear that Wu Shun's army will use this letter to unsettle the people of our town, and that they intend to take advantage of the state's vulnerability to launch an attack!"

Upon hearing this, Cui Cuo raised his eyebrows: "He dares!" Then he realized: "If that's the case, we must inform Commander Yan as soon as possible!"

Du Huangshang nodded and said, "Madam, do not worry. I will immediately send a letter to inform Commander Yan. Commander Yan is also a famous general who defends the city. He was not afraid of the hundreds of thousands of rebels during the An Lushan Rebellion. He will surely be able to protect Weizhou without any trouble now that the Wushun Army is here."

So he bid farewell to Cui Cuo and went to inform Yan Zhenqing. After careful consideration, Yan Zhenqing came to the same conclusion as Du Huangshang—first, if what was said in the letter was true, then we had few soldiers and generals, and were hundreds of miles apart, so we really couldn't help, and could only look north and pray… second, if the letter was a lie, then there was a high probability that Wu Shun's army intended to harm us!

In truth, if Wu Shunjun truly intended to sow discord and plot against Weibo, he would have secretly dispatched spies to spread rumors everywhere. How could he have only sent a letter to Cui Cuo? However, the people of Weibo generally distrusted Wu Shunjun, and thus naturally assumed that his intentions were the most sinister.

Yan Zhenqing said that we should urgently send scouts north to investigate the situation, and summon nearby auxiliary troops and garrison soldiers. I will personally lead them to the border of Guantao to guard against any unforeseen circumstances. I will leave the Yuancheng area to you, Zunsu.

Two days later, Yan Zhenqing led two thousand soldiers into Guantao. At the same time, news arrived from the north that Wu Shun's army had blocked all waterways, preventing travelers from traveling north and south. Yan Zhenqing clenched his fists: "Wu Shun's army is indeed plotting against me! Such fickle and treacherous generals are not to be trusted!"

He ordered the city's defenses to be strengthened and that the city be kept under strict guard. Then, a few days later, someone suddenly swam across the Yongji Canal and brought a secret letter, signed by Du Liu, the military commander of Dezhou.

Du Liu had once encountered Li Ji by chance, but failed to recognize him. Qin Rui witnessed this and, from then on, Du Liu was sidelined and never given any important positions. Although Qin Rui appointed Du Liu as the Military Commander of Dezhou to save face for Li Ji, he also appointed three deputy commanders, each with their own battalion commander. However, Du Liu's troops were gradually transferred elsewhere, leaving him with fewer than three hundred personal guards…

Therefore, Du Liu would definitely not be involved in this campaign against Tianxiong Army, whether it was the eastern or western route. He could only stay in Ande City and continue to live a life of idleness. When Guo Mo returned to his post, he felt that his troops were insufficient, so he summoned Du Liu to Qinghe.

Upon learning the inside story, Du Liu's first reaction was, "Wu Shun's army is finished." This crushing defeat at the front wasn't enough; even the commander-in-chief had been imprisoned. If I didn't seize this opportunity to switch sides, when would I ever get another chance? He urgently dispatched a secret envoy to sneak across the pass and inform the Weibo side—and the letter thus fell into Yan Zhenqing's hands.

According to Du Liu's report, the Weibo army had not been defeated; in fact, rumors circulated that they had achieved a great victory, and Xindu City remained in Weibo's hands. The reason Wu Shun's army suddenly blocked the roads was because Commander Qin had been captured by the Xindu garrison commander. Wu Shun feared that the Weibo army would seize De and Bei prefectures on their return journey, and also intended to use this as leverage to exchange with Commander Li…

However, there is no general in Qinghe City now, only staff officers in charge, and the garrison is less than three thousand, with the rest scattered to guard the passes.

"If Weibo intends to take Dezhou, I am willing to be an inside agent!"

Chapter Thirty-Three: The Wise Man's Considerations

In this world, there are no truly shrewd individuals who can devise a hundred plans in one step. Moreover, when the situation is unclear and information is difficult to exchange, for rulers or military strategists, it is like solving a complex mathematical problem with most of the parameters unknown. They can only guess and make assumptions in hopes of obtaining the answer closest to the truth. If a situation arises urgently and a plan needs to be made, then it is quite normal to be negligent or even make mistakes in haste.

The truly talented are simply those who realize this sooner than others.

Guo Mo was just like that. When he returned to Qinghe and caught his breath, he finally had enough time to review his previous strategies and realized that he had made a big mistake.

He only wanted to deceive the Cui family of the Li clan with deceitful words, hoping to persuade her to plead for Qin Shuai in front of Li Ji. He thought that she was just a woman with limited knowledge and could be easily fooled. However, the more foolish a woman is, the less likely she is to influence the affairs of Weibo. She must consult with Yan Zhenqing and others. But would Yan Zhenqing and his ilk care about Qin Shuai's life or death?

He also ordered the blockade of the north and south routes, both to prevent Weibo from taking advantage of the situation to attack Beizhou, and to facilitate future negotiations with Li Ji to open up a retreat route in exchange for Qin Shuai's safe return. However, what would Yan Zhenqing and others think of these actions? Would they think that Wu Shun's army intended to attack Weizhou?

Ah, in my haste and momentary lapse of judgment, I've resorted to such a desperate measure...

Not long after, someone reported that Yan Zhenqing had led his troops away from Yuancheng and north into Guantao—he was indeed suspicious of me and wary of me!

However, the arrow has already been released and cannot be retrieved. If the blockade were lifted now and the news of the Weibo army's victory in Zhangbei were reported to Yan Zhenqing, not only would it be unbelievable, but it would also arouse deeper suspicion in the other party. Yan Zhenqing might directly lead his troops across the border in order to help Li Ji return south. By then, all the passes would have been lifted, and the main force of Weibo could move freely north and south. Wouldn't Qinghe then become an isolated city?

Should we place all our hopes on Li Ji having no intention of annexing Wu Shun, or on Yan Zhenqing daring not to overstep his bounds? Guo Mo believed that human nature is inherently evil, and those who would refrain from taking advantage of others' interests are extremely rare—if I were Li Ji or Yan Zhenqing, I would also seize the opportunity to take Beizhou!

Therefore, they had no choice but to continue down this path, maintaining martial law within the state, blocking roads and communications, and summoning troops from Dezhou and other places to gather in Qinghe in response to the unexpected events.

He had already dispatched eloquent and persuasive men from the prefecture north to Xindu, waiting for Li Ji to return with his troops so they could immediately persuade him. He also threatened that if Commander Li refused to release Commander Qin, they would petition Chang'an to impeach him, and that Beizhou had already amassed tens of thousands of troops, ready to march south and raze Weizhou at any moment, inevitably leading to mutual destruction…

Guo Mo had no idea whether the lobbyist's words would be useful, or what decision Li Ji would ultimately make.

Like Guo Mo, after seeing Yan Zhenqing off, Du Huangshang returned to his office and pondered the matter repeatedly. He quickly overturned his initial view—at that time, he was worried that if our army were really defeated in Zhangbei, we might not be able to return even with a single horse. He was somewhat flustered and his thoughts were not rigorous enough.

So he wrote a letter to Yan Zhenqing, analyzing the situation as follows:

"If Wu Shun's army is defeated and the pontoon bridge is burned by the enemy, then if our army is also defeated, it should be within a short time, and we will not be unable to get the news for a long time. If our army can temporarily stop the enemy's momentum and retreat to defend our stronghold, with Commander Li's ability to fight and the bravery of our soldiers, we may be able to escape the danger."

"Furthermore, in my humble opinion, Commander Li is a man of character who, though defeated, is not discouraged and is unyielding. He was the one who first proposed the northern expedition, and if it fails, he fears he will have no face to face the elders of Weibo. Therefore, he will certainly not be willing to return hastily. Xindu has no less than 500,000 bushels of grain. If it falls into the hands of the Tian family, they will surely rush south to seize Beizhou. Then Beizhou will gather troops to block the border, which may not be their intention to attack us. Commander Li will also not be willing to lose Xindu and will rush back to defend it. In the past, Sima Yi defended Pingyuan for a year, and Zhang Gong defended Suiyang for more than a year. Yet the Tian family's troops were far fewer than the An Lushan rebels. How can it be said that Commander Li is incapable of defending it?"

"If Commander Li truly occupies Xindu to curb the enemy's power, then detaining Commander Qin of Wushun Army is tantamount to fearing a rebellion in Beizhou and cutting off their retreat. Therefore, the current gathering of troops by Wushun Army to blockade the border, even if not for plotting against us, must be a sign of internal strife."

"This humble official is also unsure which of the speculations and judgments is true. If it is as the former statement is true, then I should hasten to take Beizhou to curb the enemy's power and to protect Wei, awaiting Commander Li's return—since Wu Shun's army has no commander stationed there, they cannot be relied upon to defend against the enemy. If it is as the latter statement is true, then I should also hasten to capture Beizhou, open up the roads, and receive Commander Li."

"In terms of the situation and human nature, this lowly official is truly ignorant of military matters, and the decision rests entirely with the Sima."

Almost simultaneously with receiving Xu Liu's secret letter, Yan Zhenqing also received a letter from Du Huangshang. Comparing the two, he couldn't help but stroke his beard and exclaim, "Du Zunsu is truly a man of wisdom and resourcefulness, adept at adaptability; I am no match for him." He then summoned a military officer—Li Ji had not taken all of them to the front lines—and asked, "When you accompanied the military governor incognito to Dezhou for reconnaissance before, did you ever see a military officer named Xu Liu? Tell me what happened that day."

The soldier then recounted the entire incident in detail. Yan Zhenqing thought to himself: "So, Xu Liu wasn't lying at this point. His request to be an inside agent today is most likely genuine." Moreover, as Du Huangshang said in his letter, regardless of the situation at the front or the motives behind Wu Shun's road blockade, we in the rear cannot possibly fly over to Xindu or even Zhangbei to rescue Li Ji. The best course of action is to take Beizhou first.

If we can capture Qinghe and open up the north-south passage, we can both support Li Ji's defeated troops heading south and block the potentially overwhelming Tianxiong army. Moreover, Li Ji might have fiercely resisted the rebels at the gates of Xindu, and with sufficient provisions and knowing his rear was open, his morale would be restored, and he might even have a chance to turn defeat into victory. Who knows?

Ultimately, I had too few troops at my disposal, and I feared there were too many troops stationed at Qinghe. Without Xu Liu's secret letter, even if I agreed with Du Huangshang's assessment, I might not have dared to advance rashly. Fortunately, Xu Liu was willing to be an inside agent, so how could I miss such a golden opportunity?