knife

Chapter 429 Two Top-Secret Intelligence Files
Qian Jia looked at the two intelligence reports in his hand, both marked as top secret, and chuckled.

The young master never puts all his eggs in one basket.

Even intelligence is no exception.

No matter how high the level or classification of intelligence, if there is no corresponding supporting evidence, then its authenticity must be questioned.

However, the two intelligence reports are currently providing completely contradictory information.

A report from Zhou Yi of Dading revealed that the Tiele tribes, who were entrenched in Dading and Zhending, would soon launch a large-scale attack against Beiting.

This attack was unprecedented in scale and could be seen as the Tiele making a desperate gamble, mobilizing all the forces they could muster.

Corresponding to this intelligence were not only the Tiele's attack route map, the generals and numbers of each army, but also detailed information on logistical deployment.

This intelligence can be described as perfect.

If Zhou Yi didn't have an insider in Da Ding's inner circle, he wouldn't have been able to obtain these things.

The other intelligence came from the far north.

The intelligence was rather rudimentary.

He wrote it directly on a piece of parchment, and because he wasn't very familiar with the Qin language, his writing was crooked and messy.

"The Tiele and Jebe have joined forces. Jebe will launch the main attack on Yandu, while the other directions will be feint attacks!"

Due to their classified status, both intelligence reports were placed directly on Qian Jia's desk and did not enter the Intelligence Analysis Department.

From any perspective, Zhou Yi's intelligence appears to be more authentic.

Of the two people who provided the intelligence, Zhou Yi was naturally more trustworthy.

However, Qian Jia laughed gleefully.

Zhou Yi has really messed up!
When he returns to Beiting, his face will probably be a liver color.

Well, maybe I'll pretend to be sick for a while and stay away from people.

Qian Jia laughed heartily, took the two intelligence reports, and went straight out of the headquarters of Zhi Qiu Yuan.

An hour later, he appeared on Qiyue Island.

Xiao Changche has gained weight.

Perhaps it's because of the pregnancy, but I've become a bit lazy.

The fact that Xiao Changche, the deputy protector-general of the Beiting Protectorate and a general of the cavalry, was a woman had been widely discussed outside the Great Wall for some time, but the matter had now died down.

Unlike in the interior of China, in the interior, it was common for women to shoulder the main responsibility at home, and many of them went to the battlefield to fight. In fact, no one really cared about these things.

Because outside the Great Wall, the primary task was survival.

As long as one can survive, everything else is secondary.

The people who actually reacted most strongly to this matter were the so-called "pure and upright" literati, but these people were not the mainstream outside the Great Wall.

Outside the Great Wall, those who truly hold power now are the group of people in Juying Hall in Tai'an City who are considered absolutely heretical by orthodox literati.

In the eyes of these men, whether Xiao Changche was a woman or not was completely unimportant. On the contrary, they valued this as an opportunity to formally incorporate women into the official system outside the Great Wall—a groundbreaking achievement unprecedented in hundreds or even thousands of years. Those who presided over this event would surely be remembered in history for it.

As for being condemned by those orthodox intellectuals as someone who will be infamous for eternity, they don't care at all.

Led by Mao Daxian, they believed that if they couldn't eat from five tripods, they should cook them in five tripods.

Being infamous for eternity is at least recorded in history, which is far better than dying in obscurity in a stinking ditch.

Moreover, they don't think they did anything wrong.

Especially given the already sparse population outside the Great Wall, keeping a large number of educated, knowledgeable, and capable women confined to their boudoirs and rooms to stay at home and educate their children was the greatest waste.

Resources are scarce outside the Great Wall, and waste is what they hate most.

Treating women like men and men like livestock was the most distinctive feature of the Beiting Protectorate outside the Great Wall.

Sitting cross-legged on the soft couch, the bright sunlight streamed through the window and fell on Xiao Changche. His originally oval face had become fuller, and under the sunlight, it was truly delicate and flawless.

Because it was at home, and he was meeting an elder like Tie Jia, Xiao Changche was not dressed formally. He wore a light yellow dress with a light blue shawl, sat cross-legged barefoot, and had his long hair down. His clothes were very loose, so there was no obvious change in his figure, but he had indeed gained a lot of weight compared to before.

Xiao Changche carefully examined the two intelligence reports, and Qian Jia noticed that she had actually painted her nails.

Everyone has a love for beauty. In the past, General Xiao seemed to be suppressing his feelings, but now that his true nature has been released, he seems to be radiating light.

“Zhou Yi really fell for that trap!” Xiao Changche put down the dossier and laughed.

"That's what I think too!" Qian Jia nodded and said, "The Tiele are quite shrewd. To be honest, if it weren't for the fact that you had planted the seed of An Xuan with Jebe a long time ago, we would have really fallen for their trick this time!"

“Tiele is a smart man!” Xiao Changche said. “He’s going all in, and he doesn’t actually want to defeat us. What he wants is to defeat Akdun right under our noses, so that he can reunify the Northern Yuan. Indeed, as you said, if we didn’t have An Xuan as a connection, we would have really fallen for his trick. If he achieves his goal and the Northern Yuan is reunified, we will be stuck outside the pass.”

“Yes! Aktun has done a terrible job. Now in Yandu, apart from the Renduo and Xifeng families who have actually benefited, the rest are basically disloyal to him,” Qian Jia said. “That’s precisely why Tiele saw an opportunity. He probably has a lot of support from people in Yandu, otherwise he wouldn’t be so confident. Actually, the key to his plan is just how to deceive us, which shows that he doesn’t consider Yandu an opponent at all!”

"Now that you know the enemy's true purpose, what do you plan to do next?" Xiao Changche asked.

"I've already sent someone to invite Master Mao over!" Qian Jia said. "Judging by the time, he should be here soon!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Luo Hua's voice came from outside: "Chief Secretary Mao, the Protector-General has been waiting for you for a long time, please come in!"

Mao Daxian stepped across the threshold, lifting his robe. At that moment, the sunlight shone through the window onto Xiao Changche, making the already radiant Xiao Changche appear even more stunningly beautiful.

Mao Daxian paused slightly, then resumed his normal pace and strode over. Without Xiao Changche saying anything, he directly carried a stool and sat down in front of the soft couch, standing next to Qian Jia.

Xiao Changche laughed and said, "When Elder Qian came in just now, he praised me a few times, saying that I was incredibly beautiful. I thought that the learned Chief Secretary Mao would also say a few words of praise to me!"

Mao Daxian laughed heartily: "In my eyes, you are merely the Protector-General; everything else is meaningless. Your elegance and beauty are all insignificant. A hundred years from now, we'll all be just a pile of bones. What's there to compare? The only thing we can compare is who gets more credit in the annals of history. Someone like Qian Jia probably won't even leave his name in history!"

Qian Jia snorted, but he couldn't refute it.

Because what Mao Daxian said is true.

For someone who does something like him, making a name for himself in history is harder than climbing to heaven.

"Take a look! What's your opinion?" Qian Jia handed the intelligence that Xiao Changche had finished reading to Mao Daxian.

(End of this chapter)