"My lord, the latest intelligence from Luoyang..."
As soon as Chen Lian entered, he couldn't wait to report.
Luoyang is more than a thousand miles away from the Hetao region. This is supposed to be the latest information, but it is a major event that happened at least half a month ago!
Liu Wei remained calm and slowly said:
"Commander Shen, take a rest and have a drink of water!"
"I know it must be urgent, but don't rush."
"It's not too late to report after the strategist and the commander arrive!"
Shen Lian was stunned for a moment. Wasn't this just nonsense literature?
He took the water Guo Luo handed him and gulped it down.
Liu Wei asked Guo Luo to invite Yao Guangxiao and Xue Rengui to come and discuss the matter.
"Commander Shen, I heard you're from Shu. How are you settling in for life in this remote region? In your spare time, have you ever gone fishing in that lake?"
Liu Wei sipped his tea and chatted idly about trivial matters.
"My lord, I don't like fishing, and my wife is very strict with me," Chen Lian said helplessly, his voice thick with Sichuan accent.
"Tsk tsk, Commander Shen, you should learn from He Qiang!"
Liu Wei gave a strange laugh, "Of the ten measures of courage a man from Sichuan and Chongqing possesses, He Qiang alone has fifteen..."
He Qiang?
When the commander of the intelligence department first heard this name, he was completely bewildered.
“My lord, I have never heard of such a famous person in Sichuan. If you wish to have him, I will have the Embroidered Uniform Guard bring him here to serve you.”
Shen Lian said with a serious expression.
"hehe!"
Liu Wei's mind raced. "Besides gathering intelligence, you have this kind of ability?"
"It's just tying someone up; it's as simple as giving them water and food!"
This brings us to Chen Lian's area of expertise, and of course, he exudes confidence.
"Alright, I'll give you a list. Get these people to the Hetao region!"
"For every person you bring in, I will reward your intelligence department with a thousand gold pieces, and the executor will be promoted directly to captain."
Liu Wei never expected that a casual chat would yield such an unexpected result, and suddenly someone he wanted to kidnap came to mind.
Military generals are probably difficult to acquire, but strategists are still a viable option.
Hehe, bring the one from Nanyang and the one from Hanoi over too.
There were also Madam Zhen, Madam Sun, Madam Gan, Madam Mi, Madam Zou...
While we're at it, let's bring Hua Tuo along too.
Liu Wei picked up a pen and wrote down about ten names, both male and female.
"I will obey Your Excellency's orders. I will certainly do my best to assist anyone with a name."
Seeing the mischievous grin on Liu Wei's face, Shen Lian carefully put away the list and patted his chest to assure him.
"My lord, what urgent matter has summoned us here in such a hurry?"
Just then, Yao Guangxiao and Xue Rengui arrived together.
"Commander Shen has the latest intelligence from Luoyang, which must be of great importance to us. Let the two of you discuss it together!"
Liu Wei waved his hand, gesturing for the two to sit down. "Commander Shen, you speak!"
"Lord Marquis, Strategist, General Xue!"
Shen Lian's expression turned serious. "Our team of spies who spread the news in Luoyang that the Marquis had defeated the Xianbei people beyond the Great Wall has returned!"
"The Marquis gradually gained prestige in Luoyang. The people and gentry of Luoyang, upon hearing that the Marquis had defeated the foreign tribes and recovered the lost territory, slightly changed their previous views."
"The struggle between the Grand General and the Ten Attendants is becoming increasingly fierce. His Majesty seems to have recovered somewhat from his illness these days and has resumed personal rule!"
"Each member of the clan was also assigned to a post in a different prefecture..."
"Okay, Commander Shen, get straight to the point!"
Yao Guangxiao frowned; he hadn't expected the head of the Imperial Guards he had trained to be so long-winded.
He lost patience when he heard Shen Lian rambling on about the mess in Luoyang.
"oh!"
Shen Lian scratched his head awkwardly. Why didn't he lay some groundwork before reporting such important matters?
"Well...we've learned that the imperial court has issued an edict and dispatched a delegation consisting of Cai Yong, a court advisor, and Chen Ji, an official under the General's Office, to Yunzhong to deliver the edict to the Marquis!"
Is an imperial edict to be issued to Liu Wei?
Yao Guangxiao and Xue Rengui both let out a soft exclamation at the same time.
"When I was in the clouds, I said that within a month or two, the imperial court would definitely issue an edict concerning our lord!"
"I didn't expect it to be so fast!"
After exclaiming in surprise, Yao Guangxiao looked smug. "My calculations must be correct. The imperial court must be here to bestow honors upon our lord!"
"It seems that our efforts to spread the news in the Luoyang capital region about our lord's recovery of lost territories and expulsion of foreign tribes have had some effect!"
Yao Guangxiao naturally understood the power of public opinion.
Liu Wei previously had an extremely bad reputation in Luoyang.
Now he has transformed into a great hero who expanded the territory and protected the country. Such a stark contrast is sure to arouse the curiosity of the people of Luoyang.
"I don't think it's necessarily an additional title!"
Xue Rengui disagreed, saying, "If it's the emperor's decree, sending an eunuch will suffice!"
"Why send a completely unrelated councilor instead?"
"Moreover, there are people from the General's Mansion involved; there must be something fishy going on."
"Commander Shen, who else is in this delegation?" Xue Rengui pressed.
Shen Lian thought for a moment: "The delegation was quite large, with more than a hundred people, and it seemed that there were merchants dressed in white traveling with them."
"Oh? That's rather incongruous!"
Xue Rengui was also puzzled by the reason. "With my keen intuition as a soldier, I have a feeling that the people who came here have ill intentions!"
"My lord, it would be best to be extra careful!"
Liu Wei listened to their discussion and smiled slightly: "The area outside the pass is our territory, and with two great sages like the Great Monk and General Xue by our side, I doubt they can cause any trouble!"
"We'll deal with whatever comes our way. Whatever trouble they cause, we'll just ignore them. What can they do to us?"
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