“We are near!” The White Horses approached Nanpi City in the dark. Though Cao Cao had a large army, the defenses at various locations were quite lax. After all, they had already defeated the Yuan Army while the Liaodong forces were their Lord’s dogs. There was no reason to be on guard and the troops began to slack off.

Zhao Yun had their horses covered with cloth to mask their approach. They were also able to move during the night as Zhao Yun was familiar with the area in Youzhou. Even then, it took several days.

When the sky turned bright, the gate captain of Nanpi City lazily stretched his body. Though he was a minor insignificant officer under Cao Cao, he was still in charge of the city walls. All the merchants entering the city had to be respectful to him if they wanted to enter the city without being harassed. Otherwise, he could simply claim that they were remnants of the Yuan Army.

Because of this, the gate captain lived a very comfortable life. He even had three women waiting on him the previous night which resulted in his fatigue in the morning.

After struggling with his sleepiness, he gave up and handed over his job to one of his men, Zhang Lei. He instructed Zhang Lei to open the city gates at the right time and to let merchants with a certain token into the city. If Zhang Lei were to encounter merchants without these tokens, those willing to pay can enter. Otherwise, Zhang Lei has to stall them until the gate captain returns.

These tokens were the gate captain’s own creation. It was easy to spot at a glance. Anyone with that token has paid this fee before and will not be bothered. Others would be given the opportunity to also pay that fee for this sign. If they refuse, they would be chased away. Even if these merchants had connections, they cannot do anything since the gate captain is “enforcing the law”. Every business had its share of shady dealings. If the gate captain gets serious, these merchants would be helpless.

“Yes General!” Zhang Lei replied after the instruction. This gate captain was very good at dealing with people. Half the money he collected was given to his superior. He kept half of the remaining and the rest were divided amongst his subordinates. Everyone gains from this so everyone was willing to follow his lead.

“General. Where are you going?” Zhang Lei suddenly asked.

“Me? Hahaha. I am going to talk about life and ideals with Lady Zhou!” The gate captain said and left. Zhang Lei was stunned as he wondered what family this Lady Zhou was from. Their captain would not fancy her unless she was a beautiful woman.

Meanwhile, Zhao Yun and the White Horses had taken shelter in the nearby forest. They were close enough to the city to observe it with a telescope.

Nanpi City was not yet completely repaired after Cao Cao’s attack. The drawbridge seems unable to retract as it hasn’t moved since the day before. However, the city gate was still usable.

“General. Let’s charge in!” A 1000-men general suggested.

“No.” Zhao Yun shook his head. Although he and his men were light cavalry, it would still take an incense stick of time to reach the city. By that time, the enemy would have already closed the gates. How was light cavalry supposed to attack the city gates? Zhao Yun was not so foolish so he rejected that idea.

“General. Can’t we do the same thing like in Fancheng?” Someone suddenly remembered and asked. At that time, they sent people to feign attack and stall for time while waiting for the main force to show up.

“Alright.” Zhao Yun thought for a moment and nodded.

He looked through the telescope and saw caravans passing through. The presence of Cao Cao’s army was a good business opportunity since the soldiers needed to buy things. Though the soldiers did not have high salaries, there were a lot of them. Because of this, there were quite a few caravans coming and going.

“We disguise ourselves as a caravan group.” Zhao Yun said.

“Caravans? General. Are we selling anything?” One person was confused. He had no objections in pretending to be a merchant but they still needed something to sell.

Zhao Yun thought for a while. Horses? They were precious at the Central Plains but they were also worthless at Hebei. Zhao Yun and the others also did not bring much food with them so they can’t sell it. Even their horses were all mares so they could drink milk for when food is short.

“General. Why not sell this?” One man pointed and they all turned to the telescope in Zhao Yun’s hand.

“The telescope?” Zhao Yun frowned. The telescope was made in only one factory in Yangzhou. On top of that, only troops who is at least the rank of a captain can hold one. In other words, the telescope was precious and expensive, especially the lens. This is true even though Yangzhou was now producing something called glass.

This telescope was personally by Liu Mang to Zhao Yun so Zhao Yun was reluctant to part with it. But when he thought of accomplishing his Lord’s great cause and saving the people, he hardened his resolve. Zhao Yun was willing to give up even his own life. The telescope was worth less.

“Alright.” Zhao Yun nodded. In the White Horses, almost every squad of a hundred men have one telescope. Zhao Yun had his men gather about twenty of those telescopes and packaged it.

After removing the saddles from the horses, Zhao Yun led several men on horseback towards Nanpi City.

“Who are you!” Zhao Yun and the others were stopped at the gate.

Zhao Yun furrowed his brows. His hand approached the sword hidden on his body. He thought that their identities were exposed.

“Do you not have the token?” The gatekeeper asked.

“Token?” Zhao Yun was confused.

“Are you merchants here for the first time?” The gatekeeper asked.

Zhao Yun nodded. “Yes. We just came here to do business.”

“No wonder I have never seen you before.” The gatekeeper, Zhang Lei, replied. He had seen several caravans come and go but few looked so muscular Zhao Yun’s group. If anything, Zhao Yun and his caravan looked more like soldiers than merchants. Fortunately, Zhao Yun had authentic Youzhou dialect. Since Cao Cao no longer had enemies in Youzhou, Zhao Yun must not be one.

“What are you selling?” Zhang Lei asked. His captain already instructed him to ask new merchants about their business and then ask for payment depending on their scale.

“We are here to present treasures!” Zhao Yun was an honest man but even he had learned how to be sly after mixing with Liu Mang.

“Treasures?” Zhang Lei’s captain did not teach him what to say when people come to present treasures. “What treasure are you presenting?” Zhang Lei asked subconciously.

“General. Come and take a look! This is the treasure we are planning to present to Prime Minister Cao.” Zhao Yun said and handed a telescope to Zhang Lei.

“What is this?”

“This thing is a clairvoyance! You can see far away with it!” Zhao Yun patiently explained.

“A clairvoyance? Why not give me magic ears as well!” Zhang Lei said as he accidentally dropped the telescope.

Zhao Yun’s heart sank as he heard the crack. Zhang Lei then picked it up and looked through it. Everything now looked smaller.

“What is this!?”

“General. That one is broken. Use this one. Use it like this.” Zhao Yun hurriedly demonstrate. He was very unwilling to see another one broken.

“Woah!” Zhang Lei followed Zhao Yun’s instructions and as expected, the distant objects became visible. Zhang Lei was so startled he nearly dropped the telescope again but Zhao Yun quickly caught him.

“What a treasure!” Zhang Lei exclaimed excitedly.

“General. Can you let us into the city?” Zhao Yun asked with a smile. He had shown plenty. Surely, that officer would let them in as honored guests right?

“No!”

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