This road, known as 'Tianmen No. 1', was built by Zibao and connects four or five small towns and ethnic groups around Zibao in the southwest region, as well as the No. 3 Salt Lake area.

Accompanying Wu Ming were the two combat experts, Hu Zhi and Tang Wu, as well as all the members of the defense team.

"I wonder how Team Leader Wei is doing."

"He has been staying in Zibao to help Advisor Qin with diplomatic affairs, and he should be treated as an honored guest now."

Wu Ming chuckled and said, "If we send a gift to Zibao, they have no reason not to accept it."

Zhou Sen pondered for a moment and said, "Who is the leader of Purple Castle? I have never learned anything about him."

Wu Ming: "The leader is a successor from the same lineage. His family once organized an independence movement, which led Zibao to break away from the Southwest Freedom Alliance, thoroughly consolidating their military and political power. They also went through several wars, overthrowing the Freedom Alliance and becoming the hegemon of the Southwest region. They were recognized by external forces and independent regimes. It has been five generations since then."

Zhou Sen yawned: "Another descendant of a nobleman."

"Hehe, this leader is actually quite capable. The current Purple Castle military-industrial complex was built by him and his father. It took two generations of effort to bring it to fruition. It will be very difficult to seize Purple Castle's business. Since the advisor has chosen the method of diplomatic alliance, he must have taken Purple Castle's position into consideration. Taking it by force will only provoke unnecessary resistance."

After hearing Wu Ming's words, Zhou Sen glanced at him and said, "I guess... invaders are not welcome anywhere."

Wu Ming gave a half-smile, "Is invasion wrong?"

“Wrong, and terribly wrong,” Zhou Sen said.

I don't think so.

"Oh? Then tell me..."

As Wu Ming gazed at the city clusters drawing ever closer, he slowly spoke, “The sins are of this generation, but the merits will last for generations.”

Zhou Sen: ...

Hu Zhi, standing to the side, curled his lip and said, "This Advisor Qin acted quite quickly. He conquered Boiler City before they could react, and then used the alliance method to win over the tough Purple Fortress. With a two-pronged approach, he believes that more than a dozen cities in the southwest region will take the initiative to submit. He has made a good plan."

Tang Wu sat in the back seat with his arms crossed and said, "To put it simply, we'll use both literary and martial methods; there's candy, and there's sticks."

Hu Zhi scoffed, "Not particularly clever."

Wu Ming was speechless. He completely ignored his subordinate's outrageous remarks and said instead, "It's time. Why haven't we seen the person who's supposed to pick us up yet?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a cloud of dust billowed ahead as several metal-bodied vehicles sped toward them.

After the two convoys met, they both stopped.

Two men stepped out of the car opposite and bowed respectfully to Wu Ming and Zhou Sen, saying:

"I am Jiao Mu, the number two leader of the intelligence department. This is Master, the number four leader. I have come to welcome you both. Team Leader Wei is waiting for you at the embassy."

Wu Ming got out of the car and asked him, "Did Team Leader Wei say when he arranged to meet with those high-ranking officials from the Purple Fortress? Before that, we need the support of some people to meet the Purple Fortress leader."

Purple Castle is not a dictatorship. Although the leader still wields considerable power, he is not a stubborn or self-willed person.

People from various government departments carry a certain weight in their words. Some of these high-ranking officials are even bigwigs in the military industry themselves, while others are upstream suppliers. If these people can be won over, future negotiations will be much easier.

Jiao Mu, the second-in-command, bowed slightly. "Team Leader Wei has made all the arrangements. There will be a banquet tonight, which will be held in the Plaza Building. The officials in charge of the Purple Fortress have been invited. Because of our previous diplomatic exchanges, we have already established friendly relations with some of them."

Wu Ming breathed a sigh of relief and turned to look at Zhou Sen: "It seems like we've made a good start."

Zhou Sen said, "I have always trusted Team Leader Wei; he is exceptionally capable."

Wu Ming said, "Then please take us there."

“No problem.” Jiao Mu and his master exchanged a glance, got into the car, and led the way. After entering the city cluster, they saw the bustling scenery of Zibao and the traffic. They gradually went deeper into the area where wealth was concentrated, where the embassy was located.

You can still see thick smoke from the factory in the distance from here.

Purple Fortress has its own steel and charcoal smelting capabilities and its industrial strength is not weak. Otherwise, how could it have developed the Purple Light series of guns? Its army is also very strong. At the very least, if Qin Che used the same method to attack Purple Fortress with the Old City's self-defense force, he would only lose more often than he wins.

Even if Qin Che himself is very strong and can sweep away everything, the self-defense force of the old city will probably be completely wiped out.

However, since gaining independence, the Purple Castle has experienced many wars, which may have indeed taken a toll on it. Therefore, it has not changed its national policy of "rest and recuperation" to this day. The Purple Castle is not interested in war. What they care about most is being able to sell the guns they have.

Wu Ming and Zhou Sen met Wei Tuozhi here.

After many days apart, Wei Tuozhi remained unchanged, still looking the same, as if even the collapse of the sky was a trivial matter to him.

This calm and collected personality is ideal for intelligence infiltration work.

Of course, the diplomatic post was just a smokescreen.

Wei Tuozhi was also secretly bribing people in the Purple Fortress organization. Fortunately, Qin Che provided him with a lot of funds and also extracted a lot of money and grain from the Old City and the West Fortress, so people slowly took the bait.

They have now formed a small group and have a good relationship.

"Team Leader Wei, you've established yourself in Purple Fortress in such a short time. Advisor Qin has commended you multiple times in the Old City. Once the intelligence team returns, Advisor Qin can give you whatever you want." Wu Ming confidently conveyed Qin Che's message before the three of them took their seats.

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