"I am Jia Xu, an assistant under the Commandant of Sili, and I greet the General Protector of the Frontier!"

Jia Xu smiled and bowed to Huangfu Song.

"No need for formalities, please sit down!"

"Thank you, General!"

Jia Xu nodded slightly, then knelt respectfully opposite Huangfu Song, his movements displaying elegance and humility.

"What a pretentious show-off!!!"

Seeing Jia Xu's humble expression, dressed in a scholar's robe, and looking so refined, Huangfu Song's lips twitched involuntarily.

After settling down, Jia Xu looked at Huangfu Song with a puzzled expression.

"May I ask what brings you here, General?"

Huangfu Song chuckled lightly, "It's nothing, I just wanted to ask you how the various tribes in the Northeast are doing these days!"

Jia Xu nodded, and then said:

"At this time, the various tribes in the northeast have fallen into chaos. A few days ago, the 70,000-strong army of Goguryeo had completely destroyed the remaining dozen or so tribes of Hanye and Okjeo, and was advancing all the way towards Jinhan of the Three Hans."

The Shefu of the Northern Wuhuan, leading a force of 20,000 cavalry, has invaded Goguryeo territory and begun a massive plundering spree!

Jia Xu then informed Huangfu Song in detail about the situation of the various tribes in the northeast.

"Hmm, good! As expected of you, Jia Wenhe, you did a great job! You deserve the most credit for making them panic!"

After hearing the detailed situation of the various tribes in the Northeast, Huangfu Song immediately felt more confident and praised Jia Xu.

"General, you flatter me. I merely bought some slaves! As for their disorderly behavior, that's due to their greed..."

In response to Huangfu Song's praise, Jia Xu simply shook his head modestly, as if it were none of his business.

"You're really slippery. No wonder Zhang Rang was completely fooled by you back in Liaoxi..."

Huangfu Song gave Jia Xu a disapproving look, clearly annoyed by Jia Xu's attitude.

He's clearly a ruthless and vicious person, so why does he have to pretend to be harmless?

Jia Xu, however, remained unmoved and laughed, saying, "General, you are mistaken! Liaoxi was originally a task assigned to Zhang Rang by His Majesty; I merely gave it a push from behind..."

"Fine, I'm too lazy to deal with your affairs, but this time you must put in extra effort from the tribes in the Northeast and make sure they fight to the death!"

Seeing this, Huangfu Song was too lazy to argue with Jia Xu and directly explained his purpose in calling him over.

Upon hearing this, Jia Xu looked at Huangfu Song with a hesitant expression.

"General, I've only come to buy slaves...!"

Before Jia Xu could finish speaking, Huangfu Song chuckled and said directly:

"Alright, don't even think about negotiating with me. Don't think I don't know why you took those weapons and armor in the first place... Besides, I've been keeping it a secret from General Lu Zhi all along!"

Now I have also received His Majesty's secret decree: all those discarded weapons and armor are yours. As for what you do with them, I have no say in the matter!

Despite Huangfu Song exposing his scheme, Jia Xu remained unfazed, maintaining his indifferent expression.

Jia Xu then laughed and said, "In that case, General, please wait for good news!"

Huangfu Song waved his hand, "Alright! It's getting late, you should go back and rest too!"

Jia Xu nodded slightly, stood up, and bowed to Huangfu Song.

"I'll take my leave now!"

"It truly is a cursed blade. Fortunately, it is in His Majesty's hands, otherwise... if this person were in a chaotic world, he would surely become a source of calamity!"

As he watched Jia Xu's figure gradually disappear into the night, and recalling Jia Xu's deeds in Jizhou, Liaoxi, and Liaodong, Huangfu Song couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

Meanwhile, Jia Xu, having left the military camp, headed straight for a secret outpost of the intelligence agency in the border town, escorted by several spies.

Inside the stronghold, besides Li Qing, the head of the Liaodong branch of the Investigation Department and the team leaders from several surrounding counties had been waiting for a long time.

Upon seeing Jia Xu emerge from the darkness, everyone hurriedly stepped forward to pay their respects.

"We pay our respects to our superior!"

"Okay!! Please sit down!"

"Thank you, sir!"

After Jia Xu took his seat, everyone carefully knelt in their respective places and looked at him respectfully.

"How many slaves has Liaodong acquired so far? What is the situation?"

After everyone was seated, Jia Xu looked at the Liaodong official and asked in a deep voice.

The official in charge of Liaodong also quickly stood up and respectfully said:

"Reporting to my superior! Goguryeo has sent a total of 120,000 slaves so far."

Among them, there are 30,000 elderly people who can work, 20,000 children (mostly girls), 50,000 young and middle-aged men, and 20,000 young women!

They have been taken to various counties in Liaodong, and thanks to the help of government officials and the fact that everyone is well-fed, nothing has happened!

Jia Xu nodded slightly. "Hmm, this number seems to be more than 70,000 fewer than expected?"

The official nodded. "Yes, sir. Apart from those who escaped, the remaining women and children of Han Ye and Woju were taken back by the Goguryeo people to enrich their tribes!"

This is the approximate figure obtained from the investigation; please review it, sir!

As they were talking, the official in charge of Liaodong took out a detailed report and handed it to Jia Xu.

"Hmph, Goguryeo really has big ambitions! They're trying to take this opportunity to strengthen themselves!"

Upon seeing the report in his hand, Jia Xu couldn't help but snort coldly.

Immediately, Jia Xu said in a deep voice: "Go and spread the word that from today onwards, the price of slaves who are too old or too young will be halved, and those who cannot work will not be taken!"

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!