"Miss Wei, this is the map you wanted."
The next morning, when Zou Yun came to visit again, he brought a map of the Northern Barbarians painted on sheepskin, and along with the map, two new buckets of silver needles.
"The silver needle left on the barbarian yesterday has been destroyed. Miss Wei, you don't have to worry about it anymore."
"Thank you for your help." Wei Yunlan thanked him.
First put the syringe aside, then took the parchment map and unfolded it.
The map marks the locations of more than a dozen large and small tribes of the Northern Barbarians. Several areas close to the border tribes are drawn in more detail, while the further south you go, the more general and rough the drawings become.
Among them, the area occupied by the Huyan tribe was almost equivalent to 40% of the entire Northern Barbarians. Many small tribes were dependent on it. Although they were not annexed openly, they were actually no different from its affiliates.
"There may be some small tribes that are not recorded on the map, but the approximate locations of most of the stronger tribes are marked on this map."
Finally, Zou Yun added, "This map was newly drawn in the past two months."
Because the northern barbarian tribes are nomadic, the locations of many tribes will change significantly every few years.
This new map was recently updated by spies sent by Tianshu Pavilion to the Northern Barbarians.
Even the map of the Northern Barbarians held by the Beiguan Military Intelligence Department would not be much more detailed than this one.
Wei Yunlan didn't ask for this map these two days. She had mentioned it to Zou Yun a few days ago when she received the letter from Huangzhou.
Zou Yun asked his master for permission before he obtained the map from An Jiu and gave it to Wei Yunlan.
"The Pavilion Master said that this map should be given to Miss Wei. Please keep it properly and don't let anyone else see it."
Wei Yunlan nodded when she heard this. She would store the picture in her space after reading it. She was afraid that there was no place in the whole Dayong that was safer than her space.
"Thank you Mr. Xiao for me."
Zou Yun was stunned for a moment before he realized that the "Mr. Xiao" was addressing his master. After saying "No need to be so polite", he asked, "Why does Miss Wei want this Northern Barbarian Map...?"
When unfolding the map just now, Wei Yunlan had already taken a rough look at the target locations, and when Zou Yun asked about it, he no longer concealed anything.
He pointed to the far left side of the map, the continuous, mountain-like pattern, and said, "Look here."
"Hmm?" Zou Yun looked in the direction Wei Yunlan pointed.
It was a pattern representing endless mountains, running through the entire left side of the map from top to bottom.
"This is……?"
"It's Yandu Gorge." Wei Yunlan said, "To be more precise, it's the continuous, steep and rugged mountain range starting from Yandu Gorge."
"What do you mean, Miss Wei?" Zou Yun seemed to have heard the intention in Wei Yunlan's words, but he was extremely frightened. After swallowing his saliva, he said in a hoarse voice: "Miss Wei, this is not the mountain range between Zhuozhou and Liangzhou. Yandu Gorge is extremely dangerous. No one has ever gone deep into it since ancient times!"
It is rumored that there is a mountain god guarding Yandu Gorge.
Anyone who dares to set foot there will be punished by the mountain god. But in Dayong, it’s different. Some tribes in the north that are close to the mountains still hold activities to worship the mountain god every year.
If it weren't for the dangerous Yandu Gorge, given the temperament of the barbarians, seeing that the northern gate had been unable to be breached, they would have already crossed the mountains and entered the territory of Dayong from the western part of Huangzhou along the Yandu Gorge.
Although Yandu Gorge is dangerous, it is also one of the natural protective barriers of Dayong.
"How can you know if you don't walk around?"
Wei Yunlan said: "It is not easy for a large army to cross mountains and ridges. If we take fewer people, we will not have so much worries. We can only take a team of people who are familiar with the mountain roads and have better skills. We can go north from Yandu Gorge, take the mountain roads and pass through the various tribes of the northern barbarians, and investigate these recent events."
"Isn't this more covert than sneaking into the Northern Barbarians from the border front, and less likely to be detected by the barbarians?"
Wei Yunlan’s last sentence was indeed impossible to refute.
There are only a few people who can move back and forth along the entire border between Dayong and the Northern Barbarians. Even if one disguises himself and blends into a foreign merchant caravan to enter the Northern Barbarians, it is easy to arouse suspicion from the Northern Barbarians.
If they sneak in at night instead of taking this aboveboard approach, they might run into the cavalry patrols that patrol the northern border area every day for twelve hours.
In this case, Wei Yunlan's method really sounds safer...
Moreover, the mountain range running through the north and south of Yandu Gorge is close to the Huyan tribe, Tuoba tribe and Helian tribe. If they want to find the whereabouts of Princess Changning, Yu Qi and Miss Bai, it will undoubtedly be more convenient to start from this direction than to lurk through the border.
Zou Yun was somewhat moved by what he heard, but he still remembered the rumors about Yandu Gorge. "It is said that the mountain god guarding that mountain range has great magical powers, is majestic and solemn, and does not like humans to get close to him."
Wei Yunlan didn't say anything, just looked at Zou Yun calmly.
Zou Yun shrugged his shoulders. "Well, even if there is no mountain god, the road in Yandu Gorge is not easy to travel. The mountains are steep, with rugged rocks, and it is said that there are a lot of wild animals."
After a pause, Zou Yun continued, "It seems that there was a landslide at the gorge in recent years. The rocks inside may not be solid. Climbing this mountain is a hundred times more difficult than climbing Yueheng Mountain between Zhuo and Liang states!"
"Everything depends on human efforts. According to me, some brave villagers near Xiakou County in Huangzhou occasionally enter the gorge to hunt. It's not that the mountain is impassable, but one has to be fully prepared." The brothers Tang Chuan and Tang Hai, who once built a stronghold in Yandu Gorge and are now working under Wei Yunlan, and other people in their Xiayun Stronghold, are ready-made manpower.
There is no one in the entire Northern Barbarians who knows that mountain area better than them.
Zou Yun was somewhat convinced by Wei Yunlan that everything depends on human efforts.
How do you know it won’t work if you don’t try?
Can it get any worse than it is now? We know nothing about the situation in the Northern Barbarian Territory?
After thinking for a while, she said, "This is indeed a different way to go. When I go back today, I will report this matter to the master. If the master agrees, I plan to participate in this operation."
As she spoke, she clasped her hands and bowed to Wei Yunlan, "I would also like to thank Miss Wei for her advice."
Wei Yunlan laughed and shook his head, "Why thank me?"
She was not giving advice to Zou Yun and Tianshu Pavilion.
Entering the mountain range from Yandu Gorge, first proceed along the western part of the Northern Barbarians, and then to the northwestern countries.
Find out the whereabouts of Princess Changning, Miss Bai, Yu Qi and others, search for seeds that can increase grain production, sell the treasures in the mansion that are inconvenient to take out within the territory of Dayong, and then exchange them for products that are not available in Dayong in the northwestern countries.
Kill two birds with one stone.
She wants to walk this road herself!
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