Daming: The system rejected my request for salted fish

Chapter 1299

So he simply waited outside the camp gate with Zhang Hai. A few minutes later, two figures ran out of the camp.

One of them was the soldier who had just left, and the other, judging from his uniform, was the commander of the camp.

He ran quickly to Wei Wu and, before he could even catch his breath, immediately bowed to him.

"This humble general dares to ask, sir, if I may have the honor of showing you the token!"

Wei Wu knew he wanted to verify his identity, and without minding, he took out the token again and handed it over.

The commander accepted the token with both hands, examined it, then bowed again, returned it with both hands, and said:

"This humble general, Zhang Dequan, pays his respects to Your Excellency, the Duke of Zhenguo. Please forgive my rudeness!"

"It's alright, it's just verifying identity according to the rules, what crime is there?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dequan straightened up, looked at Wei Wu, and spoke again:

"My lord, you have come to Beiping on His Majesty's orders, so there must be important business here. This place is not convenient, please come with me into the tent!"

"There's no need to go into the military camp. I've only come to ask you about the Prince of Yan and where he is now."

"This……"

As soon as Wei Wu finished speaking, Zhang Dequan hesitated. Seeing this, Wei Wu assumed that he had some concerns.

After all, the whereabouts of a large army cannot be revealed casually. Once the news gets out and the enemy finds out, the consequences are unpredictable.

Seeing Zhang Dequan hesitate, Wei Wu spoke directly:

"I know this is no small matter, if you have any concerns..."

Before Wei Wu could finish speaking, Zhang Dequan quickly shook his head and then explained:

"My lord, you misunderstand. It's not that I have any concerns, but rather that His Highness the Prince of Yan has not sent the army's movements back to the camp."

Upon hearing Zhang Dequan's reply, Wei Wu felt somewhat helpless; he hadn't expected that Zhu Di wouldn't send back a message.

He was at a loss now. The grassland was so vast; he couldn't possibly fly around in a helicopter searching for it!

Putting aside the issue of time, the fuel consumption of the helicopter alone was enough to make his heart bleed.

After pondering for a moment, Wei Wu looked at Zhang Dequan again.

"Let me ask you, after you repelled the Northern Yuan invasion, from which direction did the Prince of Yan lead his troops in pursuit?"

As a border garrison commander, Zhang Dequan was aware of this matter, so he quickly responded.

"His Highness the Prince of Yan pursued them from the northwest."

"Okay, at least we have a direction. This will make the search much easier!"

After Zhang Dequan finished speaking, Wei Wu muttered something under his breath, but Zhang Dequan happened to hear it.

"Does Your Excellency intend to leave the pass to find His Highness? This humble general will immediately order the gates to be opened and send troops to accompany you beyond the pass."

"No need!"

Wei Wu shook his head and rejected Zhang Dequan's suggestion, then continued:

"You just need to keep the gate closed and watch over it. There's no need to send troops with you. I'll go myself!"

After saying this, Wei Wu turned to leave without waiting for Zhang Dequan to speak, but at that moment the sound of horses' hooves came from afar.

The crowd looked in the direction of the sound and saw a fine horse galloping away, arriving at the gate of the military camp in no time.

The soldiers on horseback saw Zhang Dequan standing in front of the camp gate and immediately jumped off their horses and quickly walked over to him.

"Reporting to Commander, His Highness the Prince of Yan has sent me back to deliver a message to you!"

"Bring it here quickly!"

Upon hearing what the soldier said, Zhang Dequan immediately responded and then reached out his hand.

The soldier then took out the hidden military intelligence and handed it to Zhang Dequan, who took it and quickly opened it to check.

After reading the military intelligence report, Zhang Dequan immediately looked up at Wei Wu and respectfully said:

"My lord, thankfully you haven't left yet. His Highness the Prince of Yan has sent word that he is currently encamped 500 li northeast of the pass."

"His Highness has sent word that he has instructed me to prepare supplies and have them transported there. You may accompany the supplies on your journey!"

Five hundred li northeast of the pass? That's about two hundred and fifty kilometers away, which isn't too far.

Having received accurate information from Zhu Di, Wei Wu breathed a sigh of relief, at least he no longer had to search aimlessly like a headless fly.

However, Wei Wu still refused Zhang Dequan's suggestion.

"No need. Traveling with the baggage train is too slow. I have limited time and need to get to the Prince of Yan as soon as possible."

Upon hearing Wei Wu's response, Zhang Dequan suddenly felt a sense of doubt, sensing that something was amiss with Wei Wu's reply.

If Wei Wu had traveled with the supply convoy, he would not only have been safer, but he also wouldn't have gotten lost on the grasslands.

After all, with scouts bringing back military intelligence to guide them, they could pinpoint the location of the army's encampment with great accuracy.

Although following the supply train is slower, it's not a big deal, and even if it's slower, it won't be a secret for long.

The grasslands outside the Great Wall are not like the terrain inside the Great Wall; they are full of mountains and rivers, and it may take ten days to half a month to travel hundreds of miles.

The terrain here is flat, so even if supplies are being transported, it should only take two or three days to arrive. Is there any need to rush?

In fact, Zhang Dequan's caution was not without reason. Wei Wu's arrival in Beiping was a temporary mission, and Zhu Yuanzhang had not given him an imperial edict.

Although Wei Wu used his Zhenguo Duke's token to prove his identity, his arrival was sudden and therefore lacked persuasiveness.

In addition, Wei Wu had just refused his request to send troops to accompany him, and then insisted on not traveling with the baggage train, insisting on leaving the pass on his own.

This is the biggest point of contention: Zhang Dequan had just offered to open the door for him, but Wei Wu refused outright.

The problem is that if Zhang Dequan doesn't open the gate, how can Wei Wu get out of the pass? This is what makes Zhang Dequan suspicious.

However, Wei Wu did not notice Zhang De's suspicion of him, because he turned and left after saying that time was limited.

Zhang Dequan, who had already become suspicious, immediately turned to look at the scout who had brought back the military intelligence, just in case.

"You should follow them, but be careful not to reveal your whereabouts. After you have found out what happened, do not alert them. Bring the news back to me first."

"I need to know how this Duke Zhenguo plans to emerge from seclusion if I don't open the door!"

Upon hearing Zhang Dequan's order, the scout was utterly shocked, never expecting that the person he had just met was actually the current Duke.

However, as a soldier, his duty was to obey orders, so he immediately saluted Zhang Dequan and said:

"Rest assured, Commander, I will investigate the situation and return to report to you immediately!"