Thinking of this, Li Guang spoke:
"Going to the northern frontier to find the place where Jia Feng manufactures cannons is not easy, and destroying the cannons will be even more difficult. Jia Feng should have been prepared, and no matter how many people go, it may not be effective."
This mission to destroy the artillery can only be carried out through strategy, not by force. Therefore, I, the commander, will personally lead this mission.
To avoid arousing Jia Feng's suspicion, I, the commander, will only take twenty soldiers to the north to destroy the artillery and shells.
Upon hearing this, everyone immediately became worried. After all, Li Guang was the commander-in-chief, and with the commander-in-chief gone, Hanyu Pass would lose its backbone.
Li Guang smiled and said:
"No one but me is qualified to carry out the mission in the northern frontier. All soldiers, guard Hanyu Pass well and do not engage in battle."
"Yes, ma'am."
Everyone knew that this mission to the northern frontier was extremely important; if it failed, Han Yuguan would face annihilation.
We are simply not capable of this, and going would be pointless. We should stay home, defend the city, and wait for Li Guang's triumphant return.
Li Guang selected twenty soldiers who looked like barbarians and gave each of them a few bombs to use in an emergency.
Before setting off, Li Guang used a disguise technique to transform himself into a general from a foreign country who was over forty years old.
The soldiers were astonished to see this; they had not expected Li Guang to possess such a skill.
When Li Guang led this group to the northern frontier, no one doubted their identities; they were a group of barbarian soldiers.
With everything prepared, Li Guang led his twenty soldiers to the northern frontier.
In the sparsely populated northern region, they rarely encountered pedestrians along the way. Occasionally, they would see one or two small groups of barbarian soldiers, but they would pass by in a hurry without even saying hello.
Due to years of war, large areas of the land here are barren, with no crops to be seen.
This is normal. The northern regions are mostly inhabited by nomadic peoples who are not skilled at farming, so it's not surprising that you won't see crops there.
What's puzzling is that they rarely saw any herders along the way. This place used to be a fertile pasture, but now it's almost barren. It's understandable that there are no herders grazing their livestock here.
The group traveled non-stop and arrived in the northern frontier in less than two days.
The northern border was an important town of the foreign kingdom. It was an open city, so there was no need to worry about foreign invasion. The city gates were unguarded.
Even at night, the city gates were not closed, and people could come and go freely.
Before it got dark, Li Guang and his men took a stroll around the city.
Saibei is an ancient city with many ordinary people living their lives there, as well as many government offices.
They soon discovered the location of the city's granaries, which had been destroyed and were now empty of grain.
The climate here is dry, which is related to the fact that it rarely rains.
It's not hard to understand why the foreign people built granaries in the northern frontier, as the area is dry year-round with little rainfall, making it ideal for preserving grain.
Unexpectedly, a storm came recently, a once-in-a-century event that essentially wiped out more than ten years' worth of rainwater in one go.
The storm destroyed the granary, and a large amount of grain was soaked by rainwater. The high temperature and continuous rain caused the grain to quickly become moldy and spoiled.
Since the granary was damaged and could not be used for the time being, and a large number of troops stationed there had also been withdrawn, Li Guang was actually safe when he brought his men here.
They drove around the city, examining it carefully, but found nothing suspicious.
Ge Kaishan is right; Jia Feng couldn't possibly manufacture cannons and shells in the city.
Manufacturing cannons and shells is extremely dangerous, so it's essential to choose a location far from the city.
Of course, a small place is also not good. For safety reasons, the best place should be in the mountains.
It's getting late. Let's find a place to settle down first, and then head out of the city to search tomorrow.
The group arrived at the inn, and the innkeeper was immediately at a loss when he saw them. These soldiers were not only difficult to serve, but they also refused to pay.
But these are the people you absolutely cannot afford to offend, otherwise your business will be over.
The shopkeeper reluctantly came out to greet him, only to be surprised when Li Guang handed him a silver ingot.
"We've booked this inn. The innkeeper shouldn't take on any other guests. Prepare plenty of good hay and feed, and make sure the horses are well cared for."
"This is a tip; you won't be shortchanged on lodging and fodder," Li Guang said.
The innkeeper was overjoyed and hurriedly accepted the silver from Li Guang, his face beaming with smiles.
"Of course, of course, please come upstairs, sir."
This was the first time the shopkeeper had ever seen anything like this; it felt like the sun had risen in the west.
After checking into the inn, Li Guang instructed everyone not to go out, so as not to arouse suspicion from the locals and jeopardize important matters.
Everyone nodded in agreement. They had been marching for two days straight and were exhausted. They needed to rest now.
The following morning, Li Guang led his men to the outskirts of the city to begin their reconnaissance, their main target being the nearby hills.
Li Guang rode on his horse, holding a telescope, and looked around as he went.
There are some small hills around the city of Saibei. Some of the hills are bare, and you can see everything on them clearly through binoculars.
It seems that only by expanding the search area to the mountainous region further away from Saibei City can we find the place where Jia Feng produces cannons.
Li Guang led his troops to the northern mountains, and after walking for more than an hour, they arrived at the edge of a large mountain.
Li Guang took out his binoculars and observed the mountain. He felt that if Jia Feng wanted to choose a place to manufacture cannons, this would be the best choice.
Because they were dressed as barbarian soldiers, they could slip through the checkpoints and enter the mountains even if there were guards stationed there.
By this time, everyone had arrived at the foot of the mountain, and Li Guang wanted to go into the mountain to take a look. Fortunately, the mountain was not high and the mountain road was not steep, so he could lead his horse into the mountain.
Just as the group was about to enter the mountain, several barbarian soldiers came out from the mountain. They came up to Li Guang and his men, began to look them over, and then asked a question.
"Who are you, and what brings you here?"
Without hesitation, Li Guang replied, "We are under Marshal Kurituo's command and are here on important military mission. You lead the way and guide us into the mountains."
Li Guang's words greatly surprised the soldiers. They looked at Li Guang and his men again, then whispered among themselves. One of them spoke up:
"Since you are Marshal Kurituo's men, please wait a moment while we inform the general and then take you inside."
After speaking, the man turned to leave, while the other soldiers stared at them as if they were about to flee.
Li Guang sensed something was wrong; perhaps these barbarian soldiers had discovered a flaw, which was not a good thing.
It seems that we can only proceed to the next step by taking action and eliminating these people first.
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