After entering the room, the guard took out a letter from a hidden compartment in his clothes and handed it to Zhao Xian. Then he took the tea that Li Xue offered and drank it in large gulps.

Zhao Xian opened the letter, glanced at it, and then handed it to Li Guang, saying:

"Li Guang, just as you predicted, on the recommendation of the eldest prince, the emperor agreed to appoint Wang Bingling as Wei Jin's deputy general to accompany the army to the southwestern frontier."

Li Guang glanced at the contents of the letter and said:

"Sister, we can now basically confirm with this letter from the Fourth Imperial Uncle that Wang Bingling is indeed Wang Ling, the bandit leader of Wild Wolf Village."

Li Xue took the letter and looked at Li Guang with excitement in her eyes. Li Guang knew about the events that were happening in the capital, thousands of miles away, without even leaving his house. That was amazing.

After confirming that Wang Bingling would accompany Wei Jin's army to the southwestern frontier, Li Guang and Zhao Xian began preparations to set off early the next morning for the Great Northern Dynasty's southwestern frontier.

For this expedition, Li Guang served as the commander-in-chief, with Gu Huai as the deputy commander, leading the way. Zhao Xian and Li Xue accompanied the army.

As for Wei Jin, at the end of the month, he led an army of 30,000 men, with Wang Bingling as his deputy, to the southwestern border.

Wang Bingling was recommended to the Emperor by the eldest prince, Li Hui. The Emperor was somewhat pleased to see that Li Hui was very concerned about the affairs of the southwest and even recommended a capable person to the court.

The Emperor had heard of Wang Bingling and hoped to find talented people like Wei Jin to serve the Northern Dynasty. Therefore, he agreed to the Crown Prince's recommendation and sent Wang Bingling to the southwestern frontier as Wei Jin's deputy.

Because Wang Bingling was a few years older than Wei Jin, and was recommended by the eldest prince, and was also skilled in martial arts, Wei Jin respected him very much.

However, Wang Bingling always had a cold face and rarely communicated with people. When important things happened during the march, Wei Jin would take the initiative to find Wang Bingling, communicate with him, and seek his opinion.

Wang Bingling seemed indifferent, but Wei Jin didn't mind. Unless it was something important, he wouldn't bother Wang Bingling. As the commander, he had the authority to make decisions on some matters and didn't need to consult with Wang Bingling.

After marching for almost a month, Wei Jin hoped to join Li Guang's army as soon as possible so that he could discuss some things with Li Guang.

Some time ago, when the court officials learned that the emperor had ordered Wei Jin to lead troops to the southwestern frontier, they were a little worried. However, when they learned that Li Guang would send 20,000 troops from Shuixian Village to the southwestern frontier to help Wei Jin, they were all relieved and no longer worried.

A few days later, the eldest prince recommended Wang Bingling to the emperor, asking him to accompany Wei Jin to the southwestern border. The emperor eventually agreed.

The army had reached the southwestern border, where the terrain became significantly more complex, with more mountains and increasingly difficult roads, slowing down the army's pace.

Wei Jin wasn't worried about safety while marching here, but there were a lot of mosquitoes. The soldiers had trouble sleeping at night because of the mosquito bites.

After more than ten days of marching, scouts reported that Lishui City was ahead, the southwesternmost prefecture of the Great Northern Dynasty. There was a border crossing here, and a few dozen miles further ahead would lead into the Southern Dian Kingdom.

Wei Jin immediately ordered the camp to be set up, preparing to go to Lishui City the next day to meet with local officials.

The soldiers endured a long and arduous march, especially at night when they had to swat mosquitoes almost all night long. Unable to get proper rest, they suffered greatly.

The mosquitoes here are quite venomous, and a few soldiers have already fallen ill. Although there are military doctors, the medicines they provide are not very effective, which makes Wei Jin a little anxious.

After the camp was set up, they began to cook. Just then, someone reported that Li Guang's army was less than two hundred li away and the two groups would soon join forces.

Not only that, Li Guang also had several large wooden boxes sent over, filled with mosquito repellent. The soldiers would burn these medicines at night and would no longer be bitten by mosquitoes.

Wei Jin was excited. If this mosquito repellent had been available earlier, the soldiers would have suffered less.

Soon, the mosquito repellent was distributed to the soldiers. The medicine was indeed effective. When lit, it emitted a faint fragrance, and the mosquitoes that were flying around them quickly disappeared. The soldiers were happy, knowing they could get a good night's sleep.

Since Li Guang's army would take another two days to arrive, Wei Jin was not in a hurry to enter the Southern Dian Kingdom. He decided to wait until Li Guang arrived so that the two could discuss some important matters together.

The next day, Wei Jin, accompanied by several attendants, went to Lishui Prefecture. When Du Aimin, the prefect of Lishui, learned of Wei Jin's visit, he hurriedly went out of the city to greet him.

Lishui City is very small, smaller than a county town in the Central Plains. The prefect of Lishui, Du Aimin, is only a sixth-rank official, while Wei Jin is a fifth-rank official, a higher rank than Prefect Du.

"Greetings, General Wei. I learned that General Wei will be leading a large army to the southwestern border, and I have already made preparations to welcome your arrival."

"Prefect Duan, you are too kind. This expedition to the southwestern border has caused you much trouble. Please forgive us."

"General Wei, you flatter us. Assisting the court in managing border affairs is the duty of us officials. Please feel free to give us any instructions, General Wei."

Next, Wei Jin inquired about some matters concerning the southwestern border region and the Southern Dian Kingdom.

Prefect Duan told Wei Jin that during this period, the Southern Dian Kingdom frequently sent envoys to Lishui City to inquire when the imperial army would arrive.

Since the beginning of this year, the Southern Dian Kingdom has suffered greatly from invasions by some neighboring countries.

If the imperial army does not arrive soon, some of the salt resources of the Southern Dian Kingdom will be seized by other neighboring countries.

Now that the imperial army has arrived, Prefect Duan is preparing to send someone to the Southern Dian Kingdom to ask them to send envoys to discuss sending troops to the Southern Dian Kingdom.

Wei Jin nodded and said:

"As far as I know, the most troublesome country in the Southern Dian Kingdom is Bagong. This time, the army will take action to teach them a lesson and make an example of them, so that other troublemaking countries will restrain themselves and stop acting recklessly."

Wei Jin knew that he had brought troops here to protect the safety of the Southern Dian Kingdom and its numerous salt mines, and to organize the mining of the largest salt mine in the Southern Dian Kingdom. The imperial army of 30,000 was mainly there to serve as a deterrent. As for whether to garrison the area, that would depend on the specific circumstances.

Prefect Duan nodded and said:

"General Wei, rest assured, I will immediately arrange for personnel to go to the Southern Dian Kingdom. Their envoys will arrive in Lishui City in just two days."

"Alright, then I'll trouble Prefect Duan. I'm going back to the barracks now, and I'll come back in two days." Wei Jin said before leaving with his men.

In order not to disturb the lives of the officials and people of Lishui City, Wei Jin planned to formulate some rules to prevent soldiers from entering the city at will and disturbing the lives of the people.