The vanguard has arrived.

Su Lie and Qibi Heli simultaneously came to a realization: their previous train of thought had been far too greedy for military glory.

After completing their last assault, the two of them should have proactively invited other friendly forces to join in, rather than sitting here alone, racking their brains over strategies to defeat the enemy as they were doing now.

By this point, the two men had even begun to feel a sense of relief that they had not achieved an even greater victory.

Otherwise, their future prospects in the military would have been bleak indeed.

Su Lie thought much further ahead than Qibi Heli.

Previously, his constant desire had been to lead the Dragon Cavalry to unparalleled achievements in order to repay the trust and appreciation shown to him by Li Jing and Li Zhi.

However, it was only at this moment that he suddenly realized his prior mindset could very well bring immense trouble upon both Li Jing and Li Zhi.

A towering tree in the forest will always be battered by the wind.

This proverb was vividly embodied in the ways of officialdom.

The Dragon Cavalry had already demonstrated its value.

What they needed to do next was to conceal their sharp edge.

Having figured this out, Su Lie turned to Qibi Heli with a face full of shame and said, "General Qibi, you and I nearly committed a grave mistake!"

Qibi Heli also spoke with a lingering fear written across his face, "Thank goodness the enemy's main force is not here; otherwise, the two of us would likely find it impossible to survive in the army from now on!"

Su Lie said, "Right now, you and I should quickly send men to thoroughly ascertain the situation of both enemy forces, so as to spare the Grand General extra effort when he arrives."

Qibi Heli nodded.

At this point, they dared not take the initiative to launch another attack against the enemy on their own.

However, finding out the enemy's situation so that Li Jing could immediately initiate battle upon his arrival was still something they could accomplish.

Thus, this task fell upon the scouts of the Dragon Cavalry.

As for Su Lie and Qibi Heli, they led their soldiers in tightly rationing their supplies and hunkered down in a mountain recess, patiently waiting for the main army led by Li Jing.

Back in Chang'an, after Li Jing and the others departed, Li Zhi dutifully went to work at the Jingzhao Prefecture office every single day.

By now, all the roads in Chang'an had been paved with concrete.

His next step was to properly focus on the economy and agriculture of the Jingzhao Prefecture.

The season for spring plowing was fast approaching.

Consequently, he first sought out Zhang Ru, the Minister of the Court of Agricultural Affairs.

After a year of experimentation, the seedling cultivation work of the Court of Agricultural Affairs had already achieved some results.

Li Zhi decided to first promote several superior crop varieties within the jurisdiction of the Jingzhao Prefecture.

Meanwhile, given that the common people of the Great Tang were currently accustomed to planting cash crops such as mulberry trees and various fruit trees in their hereditary private lands, Li Zhi also requested the Court of Agricultural Affairs to promote the seeds of fruits and spices he had collected.

There were many fine things among them.

Among them were figs, Persian dates, olives, and black pepper.

These were all cash crops, and Li Zhi told Zhang Ru that as long as the farmers were willing to cultivate them, he would take full responsibility for their sales.

Not only did he promote these within the Jingzhao Prefecture, but he also demanded that they be promoted within his own fiefdom.

Acting in his capacity as a student, he wrote a letter to Li Ji, the Chief史 of the Prince of Jin's Manor who was stationed in Bingzhou.

In the letter, he strongly recommended these cash crops, including cotton.

At the same time, he instructed the Court of Agricultural Affairs to send personnel to Bingzhou to guide the seed cultivation work there.

In his reply, Li Ji also sought instructions from him regarding a plan to divert the Fen River into Bingzhou to resolve the local problem of bitter-tasting water.

Li Zhi strongly supported this and sent him one million guan of coinage to ensure the project could be built on a grander scale.

Li Ji was another talented statesman capable of commanding armies in war and serving as a minister in peace, much like Li Jing.

Li Zhi found that many of his ideas coincided seamlessly with those of Li Ji.

This made Li Zhi feel extremely fortunate.

It could be said that the strength of the people surrounding him by this time far surpassed that once enjoyed by the heavily favored Li Tai.

Having already achieved a measure of success in politics and the military, Li Zhi's next focal point of work naturally leaned more heavily toward the economy.

He intended to invest greater effort especially in the Jingzhao Prefecture region and his personal fiefdom.

Currently, his Prince of Jin Pavilion was undergoing intensive construction.

Therefore, he decided to seize this opportunity to encourage the common people near the capital to grow more fruits and vegetables.

Once stir-fry dishes were introduced to the public, the demand for vegetables and cooking oil would undoubtedly increase exponentially.

Lard, on the other hand, was a highly nutritious cooking oil.

Consequently, Li Zhi believed that it would not be long before the pig-farming initiative he had previously promoted would experience massive development.

Under the premise that industrialization could not be achieved in the short term, the breeding industry could provide the common people with a source of income throughout all four seasons of the year.

In this way, the living conditions of the common people would naturally improve as well.

While Li Zhi was busy with these matters, the five thousand vanguard cavalry led by Li Jing finally successfully rendezvoused with Su Lie and Qibi Heli.

By this time, the massive stockpiles of supplies accumulated by the Dragon Cavalry and the Liangzhou army had been largely depleted.

Had Li Jing not arrived just in time, Su Lie and Qibi Heli had already intended to lead their men directly to capture that enemy encampment by force.

Immediately upon his arrival, Li Jing organized a meeting of all the generals.

They needed to quickly understand the battlefield situation in order to formulate the next phase of the campaign plan.

Li Jing spoke first, asking Su Lie, "What are the recent movements of the enemy? Have their troop deployments been ascertained?"

Su Lie replied, "Reporting to the Grand General, the main enemy force has been resting and reorganizing in a city a hundred miles away. This encampment holds only five thousand soldiers and a small number of handymen."

Li Jing asked further, "Is the city heavily fortified? Will large siege engines be required?"

Su Lie said, "In reply to the General, the city walls are rather crudely built, less than two zhang in height. However, according to our scouts' observations, the interior features numerous buildings and narrow streets."

Li Jing noted, "That being the case, the interior of the city is unsuitable for cavalry combat?"

Su Lie answered, "Indeed so."

Cheng Yaojin chimed in, "Does General Su have a brilliant strategy?"

Su Lie replied, "Your subordinate originally hoped to wait until the enemy forces returned to this encampment before launching a surprise attack, but the enemy has made no movement whatsoever."

After saying this, he added, "Moreover, there is another enemy force of twenty thousand men located two hundred li to the north of the city, which is why your subordinate dared not easily launch an attack."

Yuchi Jingde said, "Right now, our side has over seven thousand cavalry. Why don't we wipe out the enemy force here first and then decide on our next steps?"

Li Jing stated, "Although there is the risk of startling the snake in the grass, it is certainly worth a try."

Su Lie offered, "Your subordinate is willing to lead the Dragon Cavalry to intercept fleeing troops; the esteemed generals can carry out your plans with complete peace of mind."

Upon seeing these five thousand cavalrymen and the gathering of chief commanders, Su Lie had already concluded that these men must be itching for action.

Daring not to steal the credit at this juncture, he had no choice but to proactively volunteer for the trivial cleanup work at the end.

Seeing how tactful Su Lie was, Li Jing could not help but nod inwardly.

Cheng Yaojin and the others were also quite satisfied with Su Lie's attitude.

Consequently, Cheng Yaojin took the initiative and said, "General Su has had numerous experiences in defeating the enemy. How about the Dragon Cavalry continues to spearhead the main attack, while the rest of us lead our men in a supporting role?"

Su Lie hastily declined, saying, "The enemy's defenses are lax and their chief commander is absent. For our troops to wipe out an equal number of them would be as easy as chopping melons and vegetables. It is far better for your subordinate to lead men in plugging any potential gaps."