Chapter 46

In the main tent of General Zhao Zheng, a burly man who looked to be not yet thirty was brought in by Wen Fang. The bound man immediately fell to his knees upon seeing Zhao Zheng seated at the head, crawling towards him on his knees and crying out, "General, I was foolish, I have wronged you. No matter how you punish me, I have no complaints, I only beg you not to tell my family about this."

"Zhao Bing! You... sigh." Seeing Zhao Bing's weeping, Zhao Zheng's stern expression softened. These guards were all good young men who had followed him through life and death for many years. On the battlefield, they had to be constantly aware of their surroundings, ready to eliminate any threats to Zhao Zheng, and at critical moments, they had to shield him from knives. Over the years, many guards had died or been injured protecting Zhao Zheng.

"Wen Fang!" Zhao Zheng turned to Wen Fang, who was standing to the side, and asked, "How many people know about Zhao Bing's situation? I mean, the specific details."

"Report to the General!" Wen Fang, clearly anticipating this question, immediately replied, "Apart from a few guards who helped with the interrogation, the other guards only know that Zhao Bing might have committed a crime, but not the specifics. As for the ordinary soldiers and other generals, they don't even know that Zhao Bing has been arrested."

Zhao Zheng nodded. The situation was still under control. To ensure the success of the counterintelligence plan, no other soldiers who might be spies for the Lance family should know about Zhao Bing's arrest. At this point, only the guards knew, and these loyal guards could be trusted to keep quiet after a brief instruction. This way, Zhao Bing would still be considered a qualified high-level spy in the Lance family's eyes.

"Zhao Bing!" Zhao Zheng put on a serious face again and said to the still weeping Zhao Bing, "I ask you, are you willing to atone for your sins by performing a task? If you are willing, I have a mission for you. If you complete it well, I can guarantee here that your family will never know about your wrongdoing. Even the other guards will only know that you were arrested for stealing military supplies. After this mission, you will start again from the lowest rank of soldier."

"Thank you, General, for sparing my life! Thank you, General, for sparing my life!" Zhao Bing was extremely moved. He knew that this incident was serious enough to warrant a death sentence. Death might not be a big deal for him, but his family would be disgraced. Having a mistress in Okland and working as a spy for Okland was a great humiliation for a Tianhua person, something absolutely unacceptable.

"Don't thank me yet, listen to the task I have for you first," Zhao Zheng continued, "I want you to continue sending money and gifts to your Okland mistress. When necessary, you must visit her without revealing that you have been caught. I suspect that the Okland woman is a spy. You must also continue to meet with the Okland soldier who contacts you and accept the money and gifts he gives you. Can you do all of this?"

"Ah? This... General, what do you mean?" Zhao Bing was confused. Was the General really going to spare him, or was he speaking sarcastically? How could he continue such a mistake now?

Zhao Zheng said, "I won't explain the details to you. Just remember to do as I instructed. The most important thing is that if the Okland soldier who contacts you asks for intelligence, tell him that our Qingyang forces will gather in this area, taking advantage of the momentum from defeating the Wolf and Brian, and directly attack the Lance province."

Although Zhao Bing did not understand Zhao Zheng's true intentions, he did not think too much about it. Zhao Zheng had given him a chance to live, and he only needed to follow the instructions. The significance of this task was beyond his understanding. In the past, Zhao Zheng might have explained more, but now Zhao Bing had lost Zhao Zheng's trust.

Zhao Bing was taken away, and the tent was left with Zhao Zheng and the four others, including He Ping. The broad outline of the plan was already in place, and now they needed to discuss the details. Among these, He Ping's compressed biscuits played a significant role, and the biscuits were just the beginning. He Ping had other things that could help Zhao Zheng achieve his plan to gradually take over the Lance province.

"Besides Zhao Bing, we need to spread the news of our impending attack among other soldiers. Even if it's not direct, we need to create a sense of an impending battle among the soldiers, so that other spies will also pass on similar intelligence, making the information Zhao Bing passes more credible."

"It would be best to bring in some soldiers from other places to create the illusion of reinforcements. The newly arrived soldiers can camp elsewhere, and the likelihood of spies among them is low. We can use a small number of soldiers to create a large camp, making it appear that we have a large number of troops."

"The soldiers who will carry out the infiltration plan should not be selected from this camp. It would be better to choose from a distant camp or from multiple camps, then gather them to form a new unit. This way, we won't cause too much commotion and won't arouse suspicion."

"Additionally, the unit carrying out this plan needs a capable commander. Otherwise, it will be difficult to achieve significant results. Once they enter the Lance province, we won't be able to help them, and they will often have to decide their own routes and targets."

"There is also the issue of equipment. Besides carrying necessary weapons, dry rations, and other small tools are also essential. The dry rations will be provided by me, and I have some other useful tools here." As He Ping spoke, he took out a large-capacity camouflage tactical backpack. The three men's eyes lit up at the sight of the large backpack, which could hold a lot of items and had separate compartments for different types of items, making it much better than the usual soldier's backpacks.

Moreover, the biggest advantage of the military backpack was its durability and water resistance, which the textile industry in this world, still in its early stages, could not produce. The three men caressed the sturdy backpack as if it were a beloved woman. Although it was just a small backpack, they understood its significant meaning.

Seeing the three men's reactions, He Ping, who had been a country bumpkin for many years, finally experienced the feeling of watching others be country bumpkins. Feeling elated, he brought out a series of advanced equipment, including high-strength hook-and-loop military nylon ropes, multifunctional engineer shovels, individual sleeping bags, and pickaxes with ropes and hooks. Seeing these advanced tools, the three men, who understood their value, almost revered He Ping as a god.

"General!" Wen Fang, with an excited expression, said, "Please entrust this mission to me!"

[PS: First update of the day! Starting a new week, still three updates a day!]

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