"Report! Reporting to the Prefect, a letter has arrived from Miss Zhang Ning of Black Mountain!"

As the battle of Yanmen Pass in the northern frontier began, the rest of Bingzhou also began its own preparations.

"Hmm... Miss Zhang is a person who understands the big picture and considers the overall situation. However, if she cannot help the young master achieve great things, she will ultimately be a hidden danger."

Wei Ran handed the bamboo slips in his hand to the generals below for them to read.

Today, the forces under Shangdang are not what they used to be. They have many more generals and commanders than before.

They are not afraid of going to war with Montenegro.

"Wei Zhang, do you have any insights?"

Among the newcomers, Wei Ran was always wary of this person who shared the same surname as her.

In his mind, perhaps only this guy could steal his thunder.

"Hehe, now that you have been appointed as the prefect by the young master, you must have a plan to deal with it. Zhang shares the same surname as you, so he will naturally follow your arrangements."

Wei Ran chuckled, then looked at the newly arrived group of Yang family members.

The oldest and most senior general bowed upon hearing this.

"Prefect, your humble general Yang Duanhe is willing to lead the vanguard and annihilate all those Black Mountain bandits who refuse to submit!"

Wei Ran nodded slightly, then gave the order.

"Bai Rao, Yu Du, Guo Daxian... of the thirty-eight generals of Black Mountain, only a dozen or so obey Zhang Yan and Zhang Ning's orders. Since they can't control these men, then we'll have to do it for you, young master!"

According to intelligence and Zhang Ning's request, if we can only punish the ringleaders and not resort to violence, she is willing to bring the Black Mountain tribes to integrate into Bingzhou.

Therefore, although you generals are all excellent commanders, remember not to add to the bloodshed for the sake of military achievements.

"Rest assured, Prefect, we are all willing to die for you, young master, and we will certainly fulfill your request!"

Zhao Hao has made it clear that Bingzhou's primary goal now is population, population, and damn it, population.

If the Black Mountain tribe is subdued, the population of Bingzhou could skyrocket. This would be even more significant if the campaigns against the Xianbei and the conquest of Hedong were successful.

Under Zhao Hao's rule, the population could potentially reach over 6.5 million!

"Such a gracious move! A veteran of the Yang family has emerged, a perfect opportunity for me to see your prowess. Come, let's make our move tonight..."

Amidst laughter and conversation, a comprehensive plan for dealing with the impending uprising of the Black Mountain bandits was quickly devised by the soldiers...

"General Wang, what are your thoughts on the White Wave bandits and the remnants of the Xiongnu?"

Another place, Xihe County.

Sima Cuo was discussing the advance into Hedong with a group of newly appointed generals.

"Hehe, General Sima Cuo is also someone the young master values. Even if I had no opinion, General Sima could easily wipe out these villains, right?"

Sima Cuo stroked his beard and smiled apologetically, "General Wang, how can my abilities compare to yours? Moreover, the Wang family has many outstanding generals, who will be a sharp sword that you value more in the future."

This time, the young master deliberately gave us the credit, but what he really wanted was to create momentum for General Wang and your group.

"I ask this only to borrow General Wang's great talent and strategy, and to share in some of the military merit."

Seeing Sima Cuo's humility, Wang Jian nodded and spoke earnestly.

"Among the White Waves, there are many righteous and heroic men. Among them, only one named Xu Huang is valued by the young master. It is said that Guo Tai is not a vicious and wicked person, but since the lord ordered us to act as we see fit, he must value this person even less."

As for the remnants of the Xiongnu army? Their bones in the tombs are easily destroyed!

Sima Cuo nodded in agreement, "That's right. If General Wang were to lead the army, how would he eliminate these bandits and allow the young master to secure Hedong?"

After a moment's thought, Wang Jian shook his head.

"If we had an army of 100,000, dealing with these people would be a piece of cake."

But clearly, we don't have that many people at the moment.

To take Hedong, we need a strategy.

Sima Cuo raised an eyebrow. "Oh? General Wang can also use stratagems? I wonder what kind of strategy it is. I am all ears and hope that General Wang will not hesitate to enlighten me."

Wang Jian stroked his goat beard and slowly uttered two words.

"Sow discord!"

"Use space...? This..."

"Well, to be precise, it should be described as driving one tiger to devour another, causing the White Wave bandits and the remnants of the Xiongnu to fight each other."

Sima Cuo suddenly realized and said that neither side had anyone they were absolutely loyal to, so there was no opportunity to use a divisive tactic.

But if it's about driving away the tiger to devour the wolf, and then our army fighting like the snipe and the clam while the fisherman benefits... then he understands!

"The Xiongnu are ultimately not of our kind. Their scattered soldiers and lack of resources will inevitably lead them to plunder the masses."

If Guo Tai and Xu Huang truly had benevolent hearts, they would not stand idly by while the Xiongnu harmed the Han people.

If the plan succeeds, the two armies will fight, and I believe it won't be long before our army can reap the benefits.

If that fails, then two plans will be devised. One plan is to send brave warriors disguised as mountain bandits to infiltrate the Hedong region and into the White Wave Army.

Our brave warriors could find another opportunity to create conflict with the remnants of the Xiongnu, which could also make the plan succeed.

The third strategy involved sacrificing the western part of the Yellow River for the sake of sending a large army to infiltrate the eastern part of the Yellow River, ultimately trapping the White Wave bandits and the Xiongnu forces in a single location through encirclement.

The mountains and forests east of the river are plentiful; all it will take is a big fire…

"General, you are indeed the person the young master values. In this way, you mistakenly sent someone to infiltrate Hedong first, causing a conflict between the Xiongnu and the people of Hedong, thus escalating the contradictions between the two."

As for setting fire to the mountain, I hope General Wang will not resort to this unless absolutely necessary.

Our young master is a great ruler who desires eternal peace and the foundation for an everlasting dynasty! This action has offended the harmony of Heaven and will surely displease him. General Wang, please remember this well.

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