At this moment, in Yuanxi, Wei Jin was training his troops on the training ground when Prefect Jin arrived with his men.

"General Wei, as expected, there are indeed some barbarians in Lanwei City. According to our scouts, the number of barbarians who have infiltrated the desert this time is not large, only a few. The leader of the barbarians is named Xiao Yi, who is very young, only in his early twenties."

"Thank you, General. Last time, General Huo was defeated in Lanwei. In addition to being attacked with explosives, he was also attacked with poison gas. It should all be the work of this person."

This Xiao Yi is no ordinary person. The men he brought not only know how to manufacture explosives but also how to use poison gas. If we can't solve these problems, it will be difficult to win this battle.

"General Wei is right. Last time, when the princess led people to Yuanxi, she eliminated Xiao Taiyuan's forces, thanks to the bombs made by Zhao Shaoqing."

On the battlefield, having bombs greatly increases the chances of victory in battle. Surprisingly, even the barbarians knew how to make bombs.

"General, there is no need to worry. Before I came to Yuanxi, I learned about the situation. The attack on General Huo's supply wagons was not caused by bombs, but by explosives."

Back at the border, Kuli Tuo invited Jia Feng to deal with Marshal Han. Jia Feng was a charlatan; he could not only make gunpowder but also cannons.

Fortunately, General Li Guang led twenty soldiers to the north and destroyed the powerful cannons. Jia Feng had no choice but to use inferior cannons, which unexpectedly killed his own men.

The foreigners now know how to make explosives, which was probably taught to them by Jia Feng. Although they don't know how to make bombs, they can make the most of gunpowder.

They buried a large amount of explosives in the desert and set up triggering devices to blow up the supply wagons.

They raided the camp at night, using fire to burn poisonous substances, causing them to release poisonous gas. Most of the soldiers were not burned to death, but poisoned to death.

In this campaign to quell the rebellion, we are not only dealing with the forces of Louye and Lanwei, but also with these foreign tribes.

"Does General Wei have a good plan for this?" Prefect Jin asked.

"We don't have a good plan yet. We need to continue to investigate the situation in Lanwei City. I plan to disguise myself as a jade merchant and go to Lanwei in person to find out what's going on."

“That won’t do. It’s too dangerous for General Wei to go to Lanwei. I know nothing about leading troops into battle. If anything happens to General Wei, then Yuanxi City will be lost.” Prefect Jin hurriedly said.

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I've just arrived in the desert and no one knows me yet. Going to Lanwei now is an opportunity."

"Everything in the military camp can be done at General Wei's command, but not this matter. I must ensure General Wei's absolute safety."

Prefect Jin's attitude was firm, and Wei Jin stopped pressing the issue, but they still had to find a way to obtain accurate information without going deep into Lanwei.

The two fell into deep thought, neither speaking, when someone nearby spoke up:

“Young Master, General Jin is right. You cannot go. Let me go instead. I will definitely find out the situation in Lanwei City.”

When everyone looked up, they saw that the man was named Wei Chenglin, around forty years old, with a thin appearance, and was a relative of Wei Jin.

The Wei family is a large family that values ​​martial arts and has produced many talented ancestors.

Wei Jin was a natural talent for martial arts from a young age, and his family paid great attention to his training, appointing Wei Chenglin, a man skilled in both literature and martial arts, as his first teacher.

When Wei Jin was very young, Wei Chenglin taught him martial arts and the Four Books and Five Classics. Later, when Wei Jin went out to learn from a master, Wei Chenglin followed him and never left his side.

This time, Wei Jin was ordered to go to the desert to quell the rebellion, and Wei Chenglin also came along to help Wei Jin.

"Uncle, this is not appropriate. How can I let you go on this dangerous journey to Lanwei?"

“Young Master, I understand what you are going to do. In this matter of suppressing the rebellion, you are the commander-in-chief. How can a commander-in-chief leave his soldiers behind?”

I know you wouldn't trust anyone else to go, so I'll go to Lanwei myself and find out the situation there. That should put your mind at ease, right?

Wei Jin began to hesitate. He didn't want Wei Chenglin to take this risk, but who else could he send?

Prefect Jin looked Wei Chenglin up and down and was taken aback. This man looked very much like a local jade merchant named Zhou Tong, except that he was thinner and older than Zhou Tong.

Zhou Tong provided crucial information in the previous campaign to eliminate Xiao Taiyuan's forces, earning him commendation from Prefect Jin. Subsequently, Prefect Jin took great care of him in the jade business, and some policies were even tilted in his favor.

From then on, Zhou Tong's jade business went smoothly, and he made a lot of money. Zhou Tong also had frequent contact with Prefect Jin.

Wei Jin just said he wanted to disguise himself as a jade merchant and go to Lanwei to gather information, and now there's a ready-made jade merchant here.

Thinking of this, Prefect Jin spoke up:

“General Wei, your uncle is right. Let him go to Lanwei to gather information. He doesn’t need to disguise himself at all. He can just say he’s a jade merchant. No one will doubt him. Even Huang Liang, the overlord of Lanwei, will believe him.”

Wei Jin found Prefect Jin's words a bit strange and, unsure of their meaning, spoke up:

"General, what do you mean by that?"

"General Wei, bring your uncle and come with me to the government office. I will let you see someone, and then you will know."

Wei Jin glanced at Wei Chenglin, then nodded and said:

"Okay, then let's go to the government office first."

Soon the group arrived at the former Xifu government office. Prefect Jin sent a yamen runner to Zhou Tong's jade mine to fetch him, as he had important matters to discuss.

Next, Prefect Jin began to explain Zhou Tong's situation, and the two finally understood what Prefect Jin meant.

"Don't worry, Zhou Tong is absolutely reliable. He made a great contribution by reporting Xiao Taiyuan back then. Princess Li Xue also trusts him very much. When the princess came to Yuanxi, she even visited his jade mine."

Soon after, Zhou Tong was brought to the prefect's residence. Prefect Jin asked Zhou Tong to sit down, and then someone served him tea.

When Wei Jin and Wei Chenglin saw Zhou Tong's appearance, they were first stunned, then burst into laughter. Zhou Tong laughed as well.

Without needing an introduction from Prefect Jin, they quickly struck up a conversation because of their similar appearances.

The arrival of 20,000 troops from the capital immediately became the talk of the town in Yuanxi, with people speculating about their purpose.

People quickly realized that the army had come to quell the rebellions in Louye and Lanwei.

The news that the army sent from the capital was defeated by Huang Liang some time ago shocked everyone.

Huang Liang only had a little over 3,000 men, yet he defeated the 15,000 men sent by the imperial court. That's incredible.

Huang Liang has already rebelled. If he leads his troops to attack Yuanxi, he can easily take Yuanxi, and then the people will have no good days.

The imperial court has dispatched 20,000 troops in hopes of successfully quelling the rebellion.