When Junyou finishes reading it, he holds the letter over the candle beside him and burns it.
"Fushi, find my sister, and tell her I want the men armed, sober as can be expected, and assembled near the barracks in two hours."
He begins to write a new letter, in hasty-looking shorthand, addressed to himself. It reads:
Lt. Liang, The Bull has come to our village, resting and provisioning for another strike south. - Kaozhau
"The Bull" is a brigand-captain of some renown in the wildlands of Bingzhou, a contemporary of Junyou's, a known rebel sympathizer, and a thorn in the colonel's side of for nearly half a decade. He is the perfect excuse.
Junyou dons his armor and uniform, conceals the letter securely on his person, assembles his guards, and sets out to find Dewang and Zibing.