"You say, is this not surprising? I actually figured out what is under their land even before Lou Lan people themselves."

Gu Yun remembered the group of desert bandits he caught four years ago, his hairs stood up all at once.

Those bandits had already been secretly silenced by him and Shen Yi. Afterward, Gu Yun had sent people to investigate more than once; he had never found the so-called 'Ziliujin mine', and did not encounter a similar thing again.

Unexpectedly, a few years later, when this matter had gradually been thrown into the back of his mind, it returned under this circumstance!

And...why was the person who ordered the departure of the troops Qiu Wen Shan?

In the Black Iron Camp, Qiu Wen Shan was in charge of defense, and had never managed matters concerning the business road before. Otherwise, if replaced by an experienced person, they would absolutely not directly transfer those people without verifying the authenticity of the document. The Northwestern Guardian was directly under the Central Government. Once transferred, the Black Iron Camp would no longer have the right to intervene with any matters coming after.

Gu Yun took Shen Yi with him, but the leaders of the three major factions were still there. Where did they all disappear to?

Gu Yun: "Pardon your subject's rudeness, dare I ask Your Majesty, what was the time for the bandits' invasion?"

Li Feng: "At the end of last year, what's the matter?"

Gu Yun forced a smile: "It's nothing, your subject only feels that it is a bit strange, bandits from the Western Regions have been cleaned up for a long time now, why did they suddenly appear?"

His head became more and more painful. It seemed that the force of the medicine which Chang Geng suppressed with acupuncture had turned up again.

That was right; at the end of last year, there was a major market gathering on the Silk Road, bringing together countless nations. The Black Iron Camp had to increase the distribution of personnel for protection. The annual tributes transporting from the Northern Frontier back to the capital also moved past the northwest area, usually requiring a part of Black Cavalry as well... hence why everyone had moved out.

Why must they choose this exact time?

How come as the northwestern guardian's just discovered the 'Golden Fighter', the Emperor's secret envoy also instantly arrived, leaving no room for maneuver?

Moreover, how come he had never received any news regarding this matter, not before it happened, and not after?

The string in Gu Yun's head tensed up, his thoughts in a mess, suddenly finding it hard to breathe inside this Warm Pavilion where it was spring all throughout the year.

Li Feng: "The Western Region's bandits usually circle around outside Great Liang, with no letter for assistance, it's not convenient for you to mobilize troops. It truly wasn't easy for you to deal with them. But today, I especially asked Imperial Uncle to come, not to ask about how many bandits are out there, but to give Imperial Uncle an important task."