Hearing Cui Hongyu say this, the little girl snorted, "Exactly, only Sister Hongyu knows my situation. Sister, don't worry, I'll definitely protect Brother Xiaobei for you."
Hearing his words, Chen Xiaobei exchanged a look with Fang Jun. Fang Jun shrugged. Chen Xiaobei knew that Fang Jun couldn't appease her, so he came to him for help.
At this moment, the little girl also revealed her true intentions without any hesitation.
"Brother Xiaobei, I'll escort you to Wannian City, and also visit home. I still have a lot of things left at home that I haven't had time to take away."
Alright, this was both an escort and traveling together. He couldn't refuse the little girl's intentions anymore.
"Okay, okay, then we'll travel together. After we reach Wannian City, you can do your own thing."
"No, when we get to Wannian City, you'll live at my house. You can't possibly marry Sister Rumei at an inn, can you?"
Chen Xiaobei thought about it, smiled, and nodded. "What you say makes sense."
Seeing that he had agreed, the little girl shot her brother a glare. "I told you, Brother Xiaobei would definitely agree!"
Fang Jun had no choice but to nod and cup his fists at Chen Xiaobei. "Everything is entrusted to you."
"It's nothing. Then little girl, go back and prepare. We'll set off tomorrow morning. We'll ride at full speed, and we can reach Wannian City in three days."
Just as Chen Xiaobei began his preparations, Zhou Quan returned to Wannian City dejectedly.
Upon seeing Xiao Jingyun, Zhou Quan lifted his robe and knelt down with a thud.
"Your Highness, we were too late. We found a town, and the innkeeper said that some people had fought in the woods behind. By the time we found them, two brothers had already been killed."
"We searched and inquired with many people around, but found no clues, so we had to return."
Xiao Jingyun stepped forward and extended his hand to help Zhou Quan up from the ground.
"This is not your fault."
"We were not fully prepared and didn't expect them to have accomplices."
"By the way, I have already sent a message to Jingfeng. He had roughly interrogated that spy and should have made some progress."
"Alright, you can all go down and rest."
After arranging for Zhou Quan, Xiao Jingyun began to ponder over the map.
A few days ago, Xiao Jingfeng had also mentioned that Zhu Meng intended to attack Jizhou again.
Jizhou was too suitable for Zhu Meng.
Jizhou was only four to five hundred li from the border of Dalin Kingdom. Once Jizhou was occupied, the several hundred li of land north of Jizhou bordering Dalin Kingdom would essentially become Dalin Kingdom's territory. It would be very difficult to reclaim it.
Therefore, Jizhou had to be defended. Although he had sent Du Bai, Du Bai only brought thirty thousand troops. If Dalin Kingdom launched a full-scale invasion, they might not be able to hold on.
Thinking of this, he turned to the person beside him and said, "Go and summon Tian Wenhao, the Sima of the Military Affairs Department."
In a short while, Tian Wenhao arrived in a hurry. Before he could even salute upon entering, Xiao Jingyun stopped him.
"Sima Tian, there's no need for excessive formalities. I ask you, have you prepared the grain and fodder for the three hundred thousand troops that I ordered you to prepare some time ago?"
Tian Wenhao had a troubled expression. "Your Highness, most of the supplies of our Military Affairs Department were looted by Zhu Meng. Now it is the dead of winter, and it will naturally be difficult to gather them from all over the country. I beg you to give me more time..."
Before he could finish, Xiao Jingyun slammed the table. "I'll give you time, but who will give me time? Will the Dalin Kingdom wait for us to be ready before launching their attack?"
Hearing his words, Tian Wenhao stood there with his hands hanging down, silent. Seeing this, Xiao Jingyun naturally understood that Tian Wenhao was probably truly unable to do anything.
Xiao Jingyun was disheartened and waved his hand. "Alright, you can go."
Unexpectedly, Tian Wenhao did not leave in a hurry. Instead, he cupped his fists again and bowed. "Your Highness, your humble servant has a method. I don't know if I should speak it."
"Oh, what method do you have? Speak quickly."
Tian Wenhao cupped his fists again. "Your Highness, as far as I know, when Zhu Meng fled Qingniu Mountain, he left a lot of military supplies on the mountain. If I can gather those military supplies, it might solve the urgent need."
Hearing this, Xiao Jingyun's eyebrows shot up. That's right, how could he have forgotten this? The military supplies on Qingniu Mountain were not a small amount, enough to equip tens of thousands of troops, after all, Zhu Meng had provisions for three hundred thousand troops on the mountain at that time.
Thinking of this, he stood up. "Now that you mention it, I remember. When I left, I heard that Liu Rumei had also arranged for people to transport some down from the mountain. Tomorrow morning, you will immediately go to Qingniu Mountain, count the supplies, and see how much there is. With the help of these, you must equip me with three months of supplies for the three hundred thousand troops."
As he spoke, Xiao Jingyun walked forward, took his sword from the wall beside him, drew it out, looked at it, and handed it forward. "Take this with you. Anyone who obstructs you will be killed without mercy."
Tian Wenhao took the sword and bowed as he left.
Seeing him walk away, Xiao Jingyun breathed a long sigh of relief. This major problem was solved. It would be simpler to allocate personnel from now on.
Three days passed in a flash. In the afternoon of that day, over a dozen fast horses rushed into Wannian City like lightning. Chen Xiaobei, along with Yang Chun and the little girl, had arrived.
After entering the city, everyone followed the little girl directly to the mansion of Old Prime Minister Fang Zheng.
At this time, in Old Prime Minister Fang Zheng's house, there were only a few old servants guarding the house.
These were deliberately left behind by Fang Zheng. After all, such a large mansion could not be left to decay.
The old servants were overjoyed to see the little girl arrive and busied themselves cleaning the rooms.
At the same time, Chen Xiaobei called Yang Chun to the reception hall to discuss meeting Crown Prince Xiao Jingyun.
They went over the prepared lines again and, once they were sure there were no problems, ordered someone to escort the spy Ding Lao San to the Crown Prince's mansion.
Just as they were about to leave, Yang Chun suddenly stopped and turned to the person beside him. "Go and fetch a carriage."
Seeing how cautious Yang Chun was, Chen Xiaobei smiled. "Brother Yang, aren't you being a bit too cautious?"
Yang Chun chuckled. "It's better to be safe than sorry. If something goes wrong in the capital, wouldn't we suffer a great loss?"
Chen Xiaobei nodded and could only go along with him.
Soon, someone brought a carriage. Yang Chun shoved the spy Ding Lao San inside and then left Fang Zheng's mansion.
The two of them chatted and laughed as they drove the carriage to the entrance of the Crown Prince's mansion. Seeing that it was Chen Xiaobei who had arrived, the guards quickly went inside to report.
Soon, Zhou Quan hurried out to greet them. Upon seeing Chen Xiaobei, he cupped his fists and bowed. "Brother Xiaobei is here. Please, come inside quickly."
Chen Xiaobei smiled and pointed at Yang Chun. "I met Brother Yang Chun on the way, and I've brought a generous gift for the Crown Prince."