The governor of Ji Prefecture, Liu Dudu, was someone Du Chengfeng knew about.
Much like the famous swordsman Liu Qingyun, Liu Dudu mostly served as a backdrop in people's conversations. However, as the leader of the entire Ji Prefecture, Liu Dudu's status was much higher than Liu Qingyun's.
This was evident in Liu Qingyun's life, where he might occasionally mention Liu Dudu in conversations, but had never actually met him in person.
In the end, no matter how famous a swordsman might be, he was still just a swordsman. Trying to enter the governor's mansion was still far beyond reach.
But just because Liu Qingyun couldn't do it, didn't mean Du Chengfeng couldn't.
After all, during the knife grinding process, he had learned that this time the Khitan invasion wasn't just an ordinary raid, but a full-scale war initiated by the Khan from the depths of the prairie, with the Qingyang Tribe serving as the vanguard. These prairie warriors, who survived the harsh north, would stop at nothing to seize the warm southern lands. And at this critical moment, there emerged a terrifying general like He Xiqing from the Qingyang Tribe, who seemed to have no weaknesses.
Undoubtedly, this was extremely important military intelligence. If this information could be delivered to Liu Dudu, he might just be able to deploy troops in advance, setting up an ambush to deliver a crushing blow to He Xiqing and even the Qingyang Tribe behind him.
However, despite the good notion, Du Chengfeng felt he would encounter quite a few difficulties in actually seeing it through.
For instance, like now.
"What? You say the Khitan people are coming to attack?"
The next day, Du Chengfeng, who rarely got up early, rushed to the governor's mansion in Ji Town, only to be stopped by the soldiers guarding the gate.
"Okay, got it. You can leave now. Liu Dudu will send troops to rescue you later."
Clearly, the guards at the gate didn't take Du Chengfeng's words seriously. The reason being that there were simply too many reports of similar intelligence. Ji Prefecture, located at the border, had the prairie to its north. Raids by the prairie people were so frequent that even if there weren't a thousand, there were at least several hundred every year. A dozen Khitan horsemen daring to come and rob was not uncommon; it's not like they had much to lose other than their lives. Even if the governor's mansion sent troops to aid, they couldn't keep up with the frequency of these raids.
It's precisely because of this that the Yang clan and similar strongmen emerged in some villages in Ji Prefecture. After all, if people didn't organize themselves for self-reliance, depending solely on the governor's mansion to send troops for rescue, by the time help arrived, everyone might already be dead.
However, after various towns and villages under its jurisdiction self-organized for self-defense, the governor's mansion found itself with less to do. Unless there was decisive intelligence indicating a major Khitan force at the border, the governor's mansion was quite content to let strongholds like the Yang family's organize their resistance to lighten its load.
Fortunately, Du Chengfeng had indeed brought back conclusive information this time.
"This is the axe left by He Xixuan, a general of the Qingyang Tribe who recently attacked the Yang family stronghold."
As he said this, Du Chengfeng carefully unwrapped the coarse cloth covering the axe blade.
"I'm a knife grinder, so I could extract intelligence from this axe. Take it to your Master Craftsman; someone will understand what I'm saying."
"This..."
Glancing at the axe for just a moment, the two guards at the gate instinctively stepped back half a step.
After Du Chengfeng handed over the axe, the two guards didn't even dare to take it.
Being soldiers accustomed to handling weapons, they could easily recognize the kind of danger this large axe represented.
"You wait here; we'll go report this immediately!"
The two soldiers dashed into the governor's mansion as if fleeing, causing Du Chengfeng to furrow his brows.
Originally, Du Chengfeng thought that since Liu Dudu governed the border town of Ji, he must be a formidable leader. Such a person would naturally have competent soldiers under his command. However, based on what he had seen, the two guards at the gate seemed no different from the household guards of ordinary wealthy families, fleeing in panic at the sight of a mere axe.
This tolerance was indeed too low, even less so than Li the Carpenter. After all, Li the Carpenter had even asked him last night, while drunk, if he could douse the axe in wine so he could use it to chop wood.
Judging from this, it was likely that the governor's resources were not dependable. If Liu Dudu's soldiers were at this level, it was hard to say whether rallying them together would result in combat capacity or simply serve as resources to bolster He Xiqing's strength.
And the news brought back by the two guards left Du Chengfeng shaking his head even more.
Liu Dudu was not in the mansion, and neither was the Master Craftsman, according to the guards, as they had ridden out early that morning.
It's hard to say if this was true or just an excuse concocted by the guards. However, knowing he couldn't meet Liu Dudu, Du Chengfeng lost interest in staying in Ji Town.
Relying on others is inferior to relying on oneself. Instead of placing hope in external factors like Liu Qingyun and meeting a fatal end, it was better to hone himself with the methods he had recently learned.
Though there was no guarantee of victory, perhaps in death, he could at least die a glorious death in battle.
Thus, he mounted his horse and returned to the Yang family stronghold.
But upon returning to his own small courtyard, Du Chengfeng suddenly saw the old man Yang Xuan, the steward of the Yang family stronghold, standing at his gate.
"What is it now?"
Du Chengfeng dismounted, puzzled.
"Did you bring me a new knife again?"
"Not a new knife, an old knife… oh wait, mighty warrior, let's speak in private first."
Yang Xuan hesitated for a moment before pulling Du Chengfeng aside.
And it was then that Du Chengfeng learned the reason.
Indeed, it was about the old knife, the Broken Horse Long Saber from yesterday. Right after Liu Qingyun was killed in a duel, Yang Xuan had immediately purchased the sword from Liu Qingyun's family and brought it to Du Chengfeng.
Du Chengfeng gained a valuable weapon and an opportunity to hone his skills, and the Yang family of Ji Prefecture gained his friendship. It seemed like a win-win situation.
But that's where the problem arose.
"It was only last night that I found out the Master Craftsman from the governor's mansion also had eyes for that Broken Horse Long Saber."
Here, the elderly Yang Xuan couldn't help but wipe some sweat from his forehead.
"That's the Master Craftsman from the governor's mansion, after all..."
"So you're asking me to stand up for you, right?"
Du Chengfeng immediately caught the underlying meaning in Yang Xuan's words, though he wasn't feeling annoyed.
After all, he'd always been grinding knives alone, and it was just about time to connect with his peers. Due to the Broken Horse Long Saber, he now had the opportunity to do so.
"Set a time, and I will go talk with him."
"No need to set a time."
Yang Xuan smiled awkwardly and gestured towards the small courtyard beside him.
"They are already here, right in the courtyard."