April 20th, the eighth year of Jianning.
As the sun rose, its warm rays bathed the Great Wall north of Yunzhong County in a soft golden light, making it appear like a giant golden dragon winding its way between the Han Dynasty and the grasslands.
A group of Han soldiers were diligently patrolling the city wall.
The soldiers held long spears in their hands and carried crossbows on their backs; their black iron armor gleamed brightly.
As the leader of the team walked, he kept gazing northwards.
Looking at the endless green of the north, the team leader's lips curled up slightly.
Another peaceful day!
Just as the team leader was feeling sentimental, two black dots appeared on the distant green horizon and rapidly approached the Great Wall.
"stop!!"
The captain raised his hand, halting the troops, and then focused his gaze northward. The Han soldiers following behind also turned warily to face north.
The soldiers breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that there were only two riders.
Before long, the two fast horses arrived at the foot of the Great Wall.
Looking up at the Han soldiers on the city wall, one of them took out a token and shouted, "We are from the intelligence bureau. We have an emergency to report. Quickly send us up!"
"People from the Investigation Division?"
The captain was slightly taken aback, then focused his gaze on the token in the hand of the man below the city.
Unfortunately, the distance was too great, and it was impossible to distinguish between the real and the fake.
"Go find a hanging basket, let them pull it up!"
"yes!"
One of the soldiers behind him agreed and turned to run towards the watchtower not far away.
Soon, the soldier ran over carrying a basket, and then several people worked together to pull up the person holding the token from below the city.
"Hmm? You're a Xianbei?"
Looking at the newcomer's appearance, the team leader frowned and asked with a wary expression.
"Yes, but I've already registered as a Han citizen. This is our intelligence agency's identification badge!"
The newcomer smiled and handed the token in his hand to the team leader.
After carefully examining the token, the team leader smiled and handed it back to the other party.
"Brother, please don't be offended. This is a strategically important border area, and we must be careful!"
"Of course!"
The man put away the token and said with a solemn expression, "We have important information that needs to be relayed to the Prefectural Governor's Office and the Investigation Division branch. We request that you send someone to escort us there!"
"no problem!"
The team leader nodded.
Before long, escorted by several Han soldiers, the two headed towards the capital of Yunzhong County.
After another day of travel, the group first arrived at the Cloud Detective Agency branch.
The person in charge of the Cloud Detective Division branch was named Zhang Xian. He was among the first group of people to follow Jia Xu. He was decisive and meticulous.
Upon receiving the message, Zhang Xian did not hesitate at all and hurriedly rushed to the prefect's residence.
Upon learning that Tan Shihuai had dispatched a cavalry unit to infiltrate the Han territory and carry out sabotage, Li Ping, the governor of Yunzhong County, was greatly alarmed.
Li Ping hurriedly asked, "When will that Xianbei cavalry arrive?"
"Reporting to the governor, according to the brother who came to deliver the message, they set off early in the middle of the night because there were few people and the burden was light, and they were heading straight for the Great Wall, so they were fast and the journey was short."
Based on this, it would take the Xianbei cavalry at least three days to reach northern Yunzhong. In addition, they would need to cross forest paths, which would take at least another three days.
Excluding the day the messenger would be delayed on his journey, in five more days, the Xianbei cavalry could infiltrate Yunzhong territory.
Zhang Xian also clearly and logically explained the time he had calculated to Li Ping.
"Five days..."
Li Ping stiffened, then turned to look outside the hall, almost shouting, "Guards!!"
A constable rushed in from outside the hall: "What are your orders, Prefect?"
Li Ping said urgently, "Quickly, immediately send someone to inform Commander Zhang to gather three thousand troops from various prefectures and kingdoms and rush to Wujin, Wuquan, and Shaling counties to set up defenses along the mountain roads."
At the same time, he summoned all the officials and servants in the prefectural government to immediately rush to the three counties to organize the local people and militia for defense.
"yes!!"
The constable answered loudly and then quickly ran out.
After the constables left, Zhang Xian stepped forward and said, "Prefect Li, Yunzhong is located north of the grasslands and is not far from Jiuyuan. There are many wandering knights in the prefecture who go to the grasslands to capture slaves."
I suggest that the government issue a bounty, sending these wandering knights to various villages and towns to assist the people in ambushing the Xianbei cavalry.
"Yes, yes, that makes sense!!"
Upon hearing this, Li Ping nodded, then quickly summoned a scholar from the mansion and instructed him:
"Immediately organize people to draft a proclamation stating that a small group of Xianbei cavalry will infiltrate the villages and towns in northern Yunzhong in four days to cause trouble."
The government is calling upon brave men to assist the local militia in fighting the enemy. They will be provided with weapons and rations, and a reward of thirty silver coins will be given for each Xianbei head, with the reward guaranteed for joining the Han army. Even if no Xianbei are encountered, each person will receive five silver coins as a reward for their service!
"Here you go!"
The scholar agreed, turned around, and ran quickly outside.
Then Li Ping looked at Zhang Xian: "Master Zhang, that secret passage is extremely dangerous, but the Great Wall guards cannot act rashly. At present, Yunzhong County is short-handed and cannot find it in a short time."
The task of searching for the passage is entrusted to your Investigation Division. It would be best if you could find it in advance, but even if you can't, you must block it before those Xianbei people escape!
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