Even Zhang Yang, who had a rudimentary understanding of words, thought the letter looked odd.

Xi Zhicai, upon seeing Qiao Yan carefully draw the bull’s horn, couldn’t help but laugh until he almost fell over.

“Lord Qiao is truly…” he laughed for a long time before concluding, “truly ingenious.”

Previously, Qiao Yan had written a letter mentioning the story of Emperor Guangwu suppressing bandits, which Xi Zhicai had praised as a stroke of genius.

Now, he returned the compliment for her current action.

Her approach was indeed well-suited for Zhang Niu Jiao’s (Bull Horn) persona.

Moreover, the letter was designed to be understandable even by those who were illiterate.

It was the perfect kind of letter to give to the bandits of Yunzhong Mountain.

When Zhang Liao reached Yunzhong Mountain, he was intercepted by the bandits before he got halfway up.

He and Zhang Yang swiftly knocked down the interceptors, then claimed they were sent by the Black Mountain Army’s leader to deliver a message.

After scrutinizing their attire for a long time, the bandits decided to take them to their leader.

The bandit leader had features typical of the Hu people, with deep-set eyes and a high nose, giving him an imposing presence.

Casually playing with a ring-handled long knife, he glanced at Zhang Liao and asked, “I heard that Zhang Niujiao was captured by the Lord of Leping and is now a prisoner. Why would he send you to find me? Or rather, how could he even send you?”

The latter half of the question clearly expressed his suspicion of Zhang Liao’s identity.

Fortunately, while Zhang Liao’s upright demeanor didn’t resemble a bandit, Zhang Yang’s rough appearance helped mitigate some of the leader’s doubts.

The two had mentally prepared themselves before coming up the mountain and were quite brave.

Facing the leader’s questions, they showed no signs of fear.

Zhang Liao raised his voice and replied, “You are mistaken. Captain Niujiao underestimated Leping’s strength. He didn’t realize that the county lord could persuade the people to rally in just one month and that the Northern Army from Luoyang was stationed there. That’s why he was defeated. A single defeat means nothing.”

The bandit leader raised his chin, indicating for him to continue.

“Now the situation is different. The Lord of Leping, complacent after victory, even allows some of us to move about in the county to help with farming.

Captain Niujiao seeks to escape their control, so he found an opportunity to send us to seek external support. If successful, we will split the county’s wealth with you.”

“We have manpower, and if we can bring in external support to create a diversion, it will be a joint effort.”

Zhang Liao carefully observed the bandit leader’s expression as he spoke.

The bandit leader, intrigued by the proposal, pondered for a moment before responding, “And how do you propose to prove your allegiance and that you are truly sent by Zhang Niu Jiao?”

Zhang Liao produced the letter from Qiao Yan and handed it over. The leader looked at the circled character “合” (unite) and the bull’s horn drawing.

“This is our signal,” Zhang Liao explained. “It confirms our mission and ensures that we are who we say we are.”

The bandit leader, still skeptical, examined the letter closely. Finally, he looked up and nodded, “Very well. If what you say is true, then you have my attention. We will assist you, but be warned—if there is any deception, you will not leave this mountain alive.”

Zhang Liao and Zhang Yang both nodded firmly, their expressions resolute. They had passed the first hurdle, but the real challenge was yet to come. Now, they had to work out the details and make sure their plan succeeded.

As Qiao Yan had guessed, judging by how the other party operated in Taiyuan, it was clear that they had the intention to steal but lacked the courage. They were extremely cautious. Convincing them that there was indeed profit to be gained, while also making them lower their guard, was not an easy task.

Moreover, when Zhang Liao went up the mountain, he had fought with many of them. Now, there were several armed men standing between him and the bandit leader, making it impossible for him to directly attack the leader, no matter how brave he was.

It was clear that a gradual approach was needed.

Qiao Yan feigned a haughty demeanor, typical of the Black Mountain Army when dealing with common bandits. It looked as if he had only slightly restrained himself because he indeed needed something from the bandit leader. This made the leader frown, but because he was unsure of Qiao Yan’s intentions, he did not act immediately.

Then Zhang Liao handed something to the leader and said, “This is a letter from General Niujiao for you.”

A letter?

This bandit leader was born to a Hu mother who had been taken by force by his father. Based on the information from the Wang family, Qiao Yan judged that his literacy might be similar to the Jie people in later times, meaning he probably did not recognize many characters.

In fact, this guess was quite accurate.

As soon as he took the letter and saw the densely packed characters, he felt uneasy. But if he admitted he was not very literate, wouldn’t he become a laughingstock?

Fortunately, when he unfolded the paper, he saw a conspicuous circle and a signature.

This… this brother Zhang Niujiao was quite a clever man!

There were very few literate people in those days. It was possible that Zhang Niujiao also recognized only a few characters and didn’t want to show his weakness in front of the leader, so he came up with this method.

But this also made it easier for the bandit leader.

If Zhang Niujiao, who was far away in Leping at the time, knew how the bandit leader viewed him, he would have felt unjustly accused.

No matter how illiterate he was, he wouldn’t just draw a horn as his signature.

But at this moment, he had no chance to clear up any misunderstandings from afar; he could only allow the bandit leader to form his mistaken judgment.

Holding onto this peculiar letter, the bandit leader asked Zhang Liao, “What is this?”

Naturally, he was referring to the paper, not the letter itself.

Being rough and reckless, he had nearly torn the paper in half when he first received it to see the characters. Surprisingly, the paper didn’t tear even with his forceful pull, which was quite unusual.

“This is from Leping…”

Zhang Liao was about to say “mulberry paper,” but he reconsidered. This type of paper had not yet become widely known in Bingzhou, and Qiao Hou might not want it to be known, fearing that if any bandits escaped later, they might leak the information. Thinking quickly, he changed his statement, “Leping Hou paper.”

“Leping Hou paper?” The bandit leader examined the paper for a while, thinking about the Cai Hou paper mentioned earlier and now the Leping Hou paper. It didn’t seem entirely unreasonable.

Then he heard Zhang Liao continue, “General Niujiao is resourceful. He was sent by Leping Hou to the place where Leping Hou paper is made, claiming it as a way to redeem himself. This opportunity also allowed General Niujiao to send this page of paper to you, so that you know, despite Leping being a small county, Leping Hou paper alone is already a significant fortune.”

When the bandit leader heard the first half of Zhang Liao’s explanation, he thought it was just flattery from Zhang Niujiao’s subordinate, calling him “resourceful,” which was quite amusing. It seemed like an attempt to not diminish his prestige. But when he heard the second half, he couldn’t sit still.

He wasn’t entirely ignorant; he had his own way of analyzing the profitability of goods and wealth. Listening to Zhang Liao, he began to see that this item could indeed be considered a substantial sum of money.

Leping Hou paper was more durable than Cai Hou paper. It was conceivable that those with many books in their homes would be willing to pay more to acquire it.

Furthermore, if what Zhang Liao said was true, and Zhang Niujiao was sent to work at the place where the paper was made, did it not mean that he also possessed the knowledge of its production techniques?

With this realization, even looking at the nine unfamiliar characters on the “letter paper,” he thought they looked quite elegant, just a bit unfamiliar.

Zhang Liao didn’t miss the flicker of interest in his eyes and pressed on, “If you assist General Niujiao in attacking Leping, the rewards won’t just be Leping Hou paper alone.”

As he said this, Zhang Yang, who had received his signal, immediately took off his outer garment to reveal the mulberry paper armor underneath, which Qiao Yan had instructed them to wear before they set out.

Pointing at it, Zhang Liao continued, “Here in Leping, this mulberry paper armor piles up like mountains. Even us captives each have one. Do you think this isn’t also a form of wealth?”

Seeing this, the bandit leader stood up at once. “Indeed, how could it not be!”

Among the spoils from their winter raids, there were a few pieces of mulberry paper armor. With the warming weather of March, these had little use, but he knew from personal experience that wearing it made a difference.

He also knew that with this armor, there would be no need to worry about the next winter.

A few of the captured pieces had been accidentally torn, but they had been successfully mended with thread, showing their durability.

This was indeed a valuable and durable item.