"My two ministers, please tell me about the situation in the Northwest, the Western Regions, the Northeast, and the grasslands first!"
After briefly explaining the reorganization of the Detective Agency to the two men, Liu Hong couldn't help but inquire about the latest developments in the agency.
Cheng Yu spoke first, saying, "Your Majesty, we now have spies from the Intelligence Bureau lurking around Ma Yi of the Eastern Qiang, Shehetai and Dianxian of the Western Qiang, as well as other tribal leaders."
"Oh? That Dianxian has gone back to Western Qiang again?"
A smile involuntarily appeared on Liu Hong's face when he heard this interesting name.
"Yes, Your Majesty. He has now gained the support of Ma Yi, the leader of the Eastern Qiang, and has gathered an army in the Western Qiang. They are locked in a fierce battle with Shehetai, and most of the Western Qiang tribes have been drawn into the conflict..."
Cheng Yu then informed Liu Hong in detail about the situation of the various tribes of the Western Qiang.
"Heh, it seems this Ma Yi has quite the ambition..."
Upon learning of the Qiang people's current situation, Liu Hong couldn't help but sneer.
Cheng Yu said, "Ma Yi is a man with great ambition, but he is timid and hesitant in his actions. He is unlikely to achieve great things. On the other hand, that Dian Xian is someone we should pay attention to."
Liu Hong nodded: "We can send a message to Marquis Dingbian to keep a close eye on Shehetai and prevent him from suffering a too quick defeat."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
"By the way, how's the situation in the Western Regions?"
“Besides the four kingdoms of Cheshi, Xiaowan, Jingjue, and Qiemo, we are currently infiltrating the kingdoms of Khotan, Kucha, and Gaochang.”
"Good, well done!"
Upon learning that the Investigation Division had already begun making arrangements for the Western Regions, Liu Hong nodded in satisfaction.
Liu Hong then looked at Jia Xu: "What's the situation in the Northeast and the grasslands?"
Jia Xu respectfully replied, "Your Majesty, our intelligence agents have successfully infiltrated the Three Han states, bribed the local officials and nobles, and brought them under our control."
As for the grasslands, I have entrusted everything to Wenyou. Currently, there are spies both in the eastern and central Xianbei regions, and they have begun to infiltrate Tanshihuai's forces.
"That's good. Send someone to tell Wenyou that he must plunge the grasslands into chaos. At the same time, I will also send him an assistant."
"Let him return once the grasslands are pacified!"
When Li Ru was mentioned, Liu Hong couldn't help but sigh. Li Ru had truly sacrificed far too much for him and the Han Dynasty.
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
The following day at court, Liu Hong also announced to the officials the establishment of the Investigation Bureau.
Chen Fan, Yuan Feng, Xun Shuang, Li Ying, Cao Song, and others had known about the existence of the Investigation Bureau for a long time, and they also knew that the Han Dynasty would not be able to expand in the future without such an institution, so they did not say much.
As for the other officials, they didn't react much. After all, they already had three supervisory agencies under them: the Sili Yamen, the Tingwei Fu, and the Yushitai. Adding another Tanshi Si wouldn't make much difference.
Anyway, if you have too many lice, you won't be afraid of being bitten.
Subsequently, Liu Hong appointed Jia Xu as the Right Commander of the Investigation Department, with a rank of 1,600 shi, to be in charge of matters concerning the outer departments.
Cheng Yu was appointed as the Left Commander of the Investigation Division, with a rank of 1,600 shi (a unit of grain), and was responsible for internal affairs.
The two also stayed in Luoyang for the time being to take charge of the reorganization and handover of the Investigation Bureau.
On the other side, after several days of marching, Murong Tu's 20,000 Xianbei cavalry also joined forces with Shefu and rushed towards Daqing Army Town.
At this time, news of the defeat of the Yilou army had not yet reached this place, so Murong Tu was extremely confident about taking over Daqing Army Town.
Two days later, the Xianbei and Wuhuan allied forces arrived at a valley fifty miles west of the Daqing army formation.
As the sun set and the army halted, scouts reported that the defenses of Daqing Town were sparse and there were few guards.
Murong Tu, Shefu, Li Ru, and a group of military leaders and nobles began to discuss the siege.
"Chief Murong, now that all the troops defending Daqing have come out, we will surely be able to take it in one fell swoop tomorrow. However, you cannot go back on the agreed-upon distribution of supplies!"
Before the siege even began, Shefu started talking to Murong Tu about the distribution of supplies within the city.
Murong Tu laughed heartily: "Leader Shefu, rest assured, I only need the Daqing Army Town. However, for tomorrow's siege, it's impossible to send all 40,000 troops. We still need to clarify who goes first and who goes last!"
"Chief Murong is determined to capture the city, so the credit for being the first to scale the walls naturally belongs to your tribe!" Shefu said matter-of-factly.
Murong Tu pondered for a moment: "Hmm, I'm afraid that if my warriors enter the city, they might lose their minds over the money and provisions and break their agreement with the Shefu chieftain. How about your unit take charge of the initial attack?"
For a time, Murong Tu and Shefu began to shirk responsibility for who should attack the city first.
Both Murong Tu and Shefu had led their armies to raid the borders more than once, so they naturally knew the difficulty of cavalry attacking cities.
Although the Daqing Army garrison was small, it would be impossible to take it down quickly without heavy casualties, but neither of them wanted their troops to suffer too many losses.
"Sir, what do you think?"
After some back and forth, the two turned their attention to Li Ru, who was standing to the side.
Li Ru smiled and said, "The city has four gates, why should the two leaders fight over it?"
Upon hearing this, Murong Tu and She Fu couldn't help but feel embarrassed.
Yeah, damn it, how come I didn't think of such a simple method?
Murong Tu laughed loudly in embarrassment, "Haha~, you're right, sir. Tomorrow we'll each take one gate, and whoever breaks through the city first will be credited with the greatest merit!"
“Okay, let’s do it this way!” Shefu nodded as well.
Early the next morning, Murong Tu and Shefu split into two groups, heading towards the west and north gates of Daqing City respectively.
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