Chapter 200: Geng Bing

South of Jilu Fortress, by the shore of Tushen Ze.

After seeing off Xiao Bai, Mom, and the others, Mo Xiaobai did not enter the Player Camp again. Instead, he walked around the outer perimeter of the fortress and carefully inspected the entire Jilu Fortress from the outside.

The fortress wall pass was not very high, at most five or six meters tall. However, there were many entrances and exits on the outside, making troop movements seem extremely convenient.

“Isn’t this Han People territory now? Why are there so many Hu People here?” Fatty asked, unable to understand the sight of so many nomadic troops and horses, both inside and outside the western passage of the fortress.

“If the nomadic tribes of the north were not fighting each other, how would we have gotten so much intelligence about the Northern Xiongnu?” Mo Xiaobai chuckled softly before speaking. “Back in the day, when the Champion Marquis Feng Langju Xu, he only had a little over one hundred reliable Xiongnu cavalry guides. But look at the number of Xiongnu soldiers here now. Even if we assigned a few guides to each Han Army squad, we would still have enough.”

“From ancient times to the present, warfare has always been a battle of information. The hard-won experience from the bloody battles during the era of Emperor Wu is far more important than Feng Langju Xu itself. Without the Champion Marquis’s bold use of Xiongnu soldiers to improve our grasp of battlefield intelligence back then, how could there have been a Feng Langju Xu later? And how could we have the current situation in the Northern Lands today?”

“Just like this war before our eyes, it will surely become a textbook for future battlefields after the Eastern Han.”

After Mo Xiaobai finished speaking, his gaze scanning the surroundings landed on the nearby Great Banner bearing the surname Geng.

Now he finally knew under whose command he had been assigned.

This Great General with the surname Geng must be General Geng Bing, the Western Expedition General.

“If it is him, then things will be easier.”

Mo Xiaobai touched his chin, a smile flashing across his face.

Right now, the only Great Generals with real authority at Jilu Fortress were Dou Xian and Geng Bing. Additionally, General Ban Gu, the Grand Marshal of the Central Guard, held a decent status. Mo Xiaobai had previously estimated that his superior would be one of these three.

Now that he saw all the Great Banners with the surname Geng flying at his Drill Ground camp in the western camp, he finally put aside his greatest worry.

If the Intellect Brain had assigned him to Dou Xian, Mo Xiaobai would have to be very careful dealing with him to pursue his own plans, because Dou Xian’s greedy and unreasonable nature ran deep in his bones.

One could not rashly use White Qilin Horses and Lingzhi Wine to bribe Dou Xian. It was quite possible that this man, seeing the wealth, would have decided to kill him on the spot and could have claimed he was “executing him according to the law.”

In comparison, if his superior was Ban Gu, Mo Xiaobai could at least play the “Ban Chao” card of family connection. After all, they were kin. If he explained the situation in the Western Regions to Ban Gu, Ban Gu might be convinced and let him go.

“Of course, if the superior was Ban Gu, it would be almost impossible for him to gain other benefits, since Ban Gu’s status was still a bit lacking. In comparison, the best starting situation was under Geng Bing. As long as he could handle Geng Bing, besides his own territory of nine hundred Soldiers, he might even be able to get more people from him.”

While Mo Xiaobai calculated in his heart how to break free from “Jilu Fortress,” he had already looped back to his own Drill Ground camp. This was the basic perk of a Colonel, as military positions were still very valuable in this era; a Colonel was a mid-to-high level commander in the Han Army.

Before Mo Xiaobai could speak to tell Fatty to take his own people and find a place to rest, he heard the sound of “plop” from behind as someone dismounted.

“May I ask the General, is it me, my, the Li Family’s Ancestor?”

The young general who had been following Luyu rushed to Li Guang as soon as his feet touched the ground: “I am Li Xin, a descendant of the Li Family who luckily escaped death back in the day.”

Li Xin?

Ancestor?

Descendant?

As soon as the young general spoke, everyone around turned their attention to him and Li Guang.

Li Guang was first stunned, then a surprise gradually rose in his eyes, though a hint of embarrassment also appeared within that joy: “Are you saying, you are my Li Guang’s descendant?”

“Insubordinate descendant, paying my respects to my Ancestor!”

Li Xin bowed deeply again. When he had seen Li Guang earlier, he had suddenly felt a great sense of kinship. Now that he was truly before Li Guang, he immediately confirmed that the middle-aged general before him was indeed his family’s Ancestor.

The Flying General, Li Guang!

“It seems the Intellect Brain’s settings worked. Fatty, you actually managed to draw out people from the Li Family of Qing Province?” Mo Xiaobai was not surprised by the Li family’s recognition scene; what shocked him was that Fatty could actually chip away at the foundation of the Great Han Prefecture City.

“Bro, you never told me that General Li Guang was with you!” The surprise in Fatty’s eyes was even deeper than that of the suddenly reunited Li Guang and Li Xin.

As a Great Han Player, like everyone else, he only knew that Mo Xiaobai had a group of famous Civil Ministers and Generals, but he could only confirm the names of those like Guo Jia and Zhang He.

Suddenly, a Li Guang appeared out of nowhere, giving him a real scare.

A-Dai on the side was not in a much better situation. Although he had been to Daming Village a few times and had seen Li Guang several times, he truly did not know that the middle-aged general beside Mo Xiaobai was Li Guang.

Because Li Guang had never told him his full name.

Luyu and A-Dai would not know that just as Mo Xiaobai was flipping off his horse, the top general of Daming Village walking from the other side was the Great Tang famous general Li Ji.

It was not that Mo Xiaobai deliberately hid this fact; he simply felt there was no need to introduce him.

After the two Li families finished their recognition, Mo Xiaobai waved his hand and told Li Guang to take his “junior” to rest. He knew Li Guang must have many things he wanted to say to his descendants, so he simply gave them a private space to talk.

At the same time, he told Li Ji to settle the others down, and then said to Fatty and A-Dai: “I plan to go see my immediate superior to get his approval for our plan. I probably won’t be back for a while. You two please keep an eye on the camp. I brought some delicious food made by the chefs from my manor; you two taste it.”

“Sure, go ahead.”

“No problem.”

A-Dai and the two nodded one after another. Mo Xiaobai immediately took out some of the food prepared by Cheng Liya, then turned around again, picked up two White Qilin Horses by their reins, and left the Drill Ground.

Carrying his “heavy gift” to the tent of General Geng Bing, Mo Xiaobai thought that as a Junior Officer, paying a visit to the Western Expedition General at any time clearly was not yet eligible. However, he also held the title of Second-Class Baron. Since Geng Bing had not yet been ennobled as a Marquis and was merely a general with a rank but no title, he would naturally not refuse Mo Xiaobai from his tent.

“Your subordinate, greets General Geng.”

Geng Bing was not like Dou Xian. Although he was also proud, he at least followed proper etiquette and would not do anything to look down on royalty or Nobles. After Mo Xiaobai bowed, Geng Bing nodded slightly: “Baron, please rise. You and your new arrivals at the fortress, why did you not go to the Drill Ground camp to organize, but instead came here?”

“While on the way, I met a horse merchant returning from the south of Wuyuan. I bought two good horses from him. Given my low status, I could not use them, so I specially came to offer them to the General.”

“A horse merchant from Wuyuan? Where are the horses?”

“Right outside the tent.”

“Hmm~ The Baron is indeed straightforward. Very well, I shall take a look for you.”

Geng Bing nodded again, his expression still casual. He did not really believe Mo Xiaobai could have any good horses, because even the Northern Xiongnu might not have horses as good as the Great Han’s warhorses at this time.

However, when Geng Bing walked out of the main tent and saw with one glance the two White Qilin Horses that were as white as jade all over, with four strong and vigorous hooves, his leisurely pace instantly sped up. He crossed several steps in a few strides and arrived in front of the White Qilin Horses.