Chapter 511: It's Not Easy

In order to completely eliminate the hidden dangers of Taiping Dao in the future, Yuan Xi made an agreement with Yang Feng to let him go. After all, you can't catch a wolf without sacrificing a lamb.

But even though he had made a bet with Yang Feng, Yuan Xi did not intend to just leave the Taiping Dao forces within his territory alone. He transferred Tian Yu over because he had always been in charge of the management and intelligence work of his spies.

Up to now, Tian Yu has done a good job in Youzhou, but Yuan Xi had previously overlooked Xuzhou, a place where Buddhism and Taoism are mixed. Mi Fang suffered a great loss in Qucheng, which made Yuan Xi suddenly realize that what happened to Mi Fang might very likely happen to him one day.

Grasping as much as possible the movements and details of the Taiping Dao under his jurisdiction is also the most effective and direct means to prevent the enemy from using it to infiltrate and sabotage, so Yuan Xi asked Tian Yu to go to Xuzhou to start a special registration of people related to the Taiping Dao, so that if something happens in the future, the source of the problem can be found as quickly as possible.

This move was also a warning and deterrent to Yang Feng, so that if Yang Feng had any ulterior motives, he would be cautious in his actions. After all, Yuan Xi could not put the safety of the people under his rule entirely on that bet. Who knew if any accidents would happen?

Tian Yu brought with him a hundred capable men this time. After he finished talking about the recent situation in Youzhou, he saw that Yuan Xi was quite satisfied, so he took the opportunity to say, "I have a few immature ideas, and I hope to report them to you, Your Excellency."

After hearing this, Yuan Xi said, "Brother Tian, ​​please speak."

Tian Yu said: "Gathering intelligence and spying on the enemy requires a lot of energy, but it is very important. Although these things are now in the hands of this general, we must find a more suitable person to take charge."

Yuan Xi smiled and said, "Brother Tian is very suitable, isn't he?"

Tian Yu said hurriedly: "I am the commander of the Wuhuan Guard, and I still have a lot of things to discuss with the Southern Xiongnu. When I return to Youzhou in the future, I can handle the intelligence there in a timely manner, but Xuzhou is too far away to reach it."

"Moreover, many of these matters are collected by local officials and then sent to Youzhou for analysis. I am afraid that the back and forth will delay important matters."

Yuan Xi agreed with this and asked, "What do you think, Brother Tian?"

Tian Yu said sternly: "Young Master now has the power to establish a government, so you can set up an independent institution."

"Besides, I prefer to ride a horse and fight. It is best to leave this matter to the counselors around you, young master."

After hearing this, Yuan Xi knew what he meant, "Brother Tian, ​​what do you think of Boyan?"

Tian Yu listened and said without hesitation: "He will do better than me in the future."

Yuan Xi nodded and said, "In that case, starting tomorrow, Brother Tian and Boyan will work together to find a way to build this organization and teach Boyan about it."

He thought that he still had too few people under him. Seeing that Tian Yu was hesitant to speak, he said, "Brother Tian, ​​do you have anything else to say?"

Tian Yu said: "It is good for Boyan to lead the overall situation, but to investigate and infiltrate a place, you still need familiar local people."

"I am originally from Youzhou. My connections and familiarity with Youzhou are the guarantee that I can get things done smoothly."

"Young Master used the surrendered soldiers from Black Mountain as scouts to explore the path through Black Mountain and thus captured Yang Feng. This was quite similar to the way Wei Huo used the Xiongnu spies to find the way and penetrated deep into the desert to destroy the Xiongnu royal court."

"Now in Xuzhou, we also need to find a local person to do things."

Yuan Xi thought about it and felt that Chen Deng seemed to be the most suitable person for this matter. However, his father and son both held important positions in Youzhou and Xuzhou. If such a crucial matter was handed over to them, if an enemy spy infiltrated the Chen family, the trouble caused would be devastating.

If we use checks and balances... He raised his head and said, "How about temporarily handing over the local affairs of Xuzhou to Zang Hong?"

Tian Yu showed a relieved expression on his face, "My lord, you are wise."

Seeing Tian Yu's expression, Yuan Xi thought that as his power in position increased, his subordinates would also have many concerns. Someone like Zhao Yun, with whom he had a close relationship and who spoke with responsibility, was okay, but Tian Yu obviously had many concerns.

I am afraid that in the future when I get along with my subordinates, both sides will have to guess each other's thoughts.

Yuan Xi felt a little annoyed when he thought that Zhao Yun was currently stationed at the border between Guangling and Donghai with his troops to block Yuan Tan's southward advance and Cao Cao's eastward advance. Originally, Yuan Tan could have joined forces with him to attack Cao Cao, but the other party obviously had other ideas now, resulting in a situation where he could not break free!

Yuan Xi pondered whether he should go to the East China Sea in person and have a good talk with Yuan Tan?

At this time, Tian Yu asked, "Sir, what do you think the name of this newly established organization should be?"

Yuan Xi smiled and said, "Anyway, it can't be called the Imperial Prison."

The Han Dynasty Imperial Prison was established as early as the reign of Emperor Wen of Han. Its main function was to help the emperor deal with those who posed a threat to the imperial family, so it was also called the Tingwei Prison.

At that time, even meritorious officials such as Zhou Bo were arrested and imprisoned in the Imperial Censorate. Once in the imperial prison, the possibility of coming out alive was very slim. At the peak, there were more than 100,000 prisoners and tens of thousands of prison staff. Later, during the Three Kingdoms period, the institution based on this prototype further developed and grew.

Each country in the Three Kingdoms period set up spy intelligence agencies to varying degrees. In the early days of Cao Wei, the School Official was established. The so-called School Official was a spy official who supervised the words and deeds of all officials. He had the power to monitor all officials and place undercover agents in their homes. Sun Quan later followed Cao Cao's example and set up the School Official as well.

Nowadays, all the princes in the world have their own spy systems to spy on each other and undermine the stability of the enemy's rear, thus laying the groundwork for conquering cities and territories.

Therefore, in many cases, intelligence has been leaked before the war even starts. The party that leaks the intelligence will naturally have a greatly reduced chance of winning.

In order to deal with these spies, the princes used various means, including large-scale searches, counter-espionage tactics, and confidentiality measures.

On the battlefield, the generals would disobey orders from the troops outside so that the enemy could not figure out their intentions, or they would adopt a swift strategy and reach the enemy's doorstep before the intelligence leaked out.

This era was an era of open and covert struggles. There were both brave generals on the battlefield who became famous all over the world and strategists behind the scenes who made great contributions.

Yuan Xi smiled at Tian Yu and said, "Brother Tian, ​​I think you know that Boyan is married, right?"

"It's just right that I'll take you with me to congratulate him."

Tian Yu heard this and said awkwardly: "I came too hastily and forgot to bring a gift."

Yuan Xi smiled and said, "Don't worry, Brother Tian, ​​I have prepared it for you."

He called Mrs. Du over, opened his private storehouse, took out four pieces of silk and a box of dressing supplies, gave them to Tian Yu, and went to find Lu Xun.

Lu Xun's courtyard was not far from Yuan Xi's residence. After hearing the report from the doorman, he and his wife Liu came out to greet him. Seeing Tian Yu holding a gift, he hurriedly said, "I got married but haven't had time to entertain you, General. Please let me serve wine to show my gratitude."

While he welcomed the two people in, he asked Liu to prepare wine and food. Soon the three of them were seated, and Yuan Xi told them his purpose.

Lu Xun knew that the secret service was a most confidential department and only the closest people could be appointed to it, so he bowed to Yuan Xi and said, "I will follow my brother's orders."

After hearing this, Tian Yu thought that the young master did have two sworn brothers, but there was a huge difference between the two men in terms of their personalities, behaviors, and even family backgrounds. Could this also be a way for the envoy to exercise checks and balances?

Lu Xun got straight to the point, "Does the envoy have a name for the new office?"

"Is the Lord inwardly or outwardly?"

Yuan Xi and Tian Yu looked at each other and said with a smile, "Bo Yan hit the nail on the head."

"The first question is very important. Sooner or later, this office will be known to everyone, and we must try our best to prevent officials and subordinates from associating it with the imperial prison, so the name must be carefully considered."

"Leave this matter to Boyan."

"The second question is the core."

"What exactly is this office for?"

"My idea is to take both internal and external factors into consideration. I can't give up."

"I won't tell anyone about this. This is something that must be taken care of."

"But if we are fierce and aggressive towards the people, it will easily cause panic among the people, which will be disadvantageous to us since we are currently weak."

"But giving up completely is not feasible either. It would be like handing a knife to the enemy. If there is no control in the future war, the same mistakes as the Qucheng Rebellion will happen again."

"And I'm sure that some of the spies in Qu City have infiltrated Haixi City now."

Seeing Tian Yu and Lu Xun nodding in agreement, Yuan Xi sighed inwardly. In fact, when gathering information, the most important thing is the cover of identity. In this regard, the Taiping Dao alchemists have a natural advantage.

But unfortunately, Taiping Dao cannot be used for his own benefit now, and he can only take it step by step. Before that, he must find a way to get through this difficult period.

Thinking of Cao's army occupying Xia Pi, Yuan Xi became furious and said, "Let's see, will you be the first to lose control, or will I be the first to lose control?"

In Xia Pi City, Cao Ren and Yu Jin stood on the top of the city wall, looking at the dark mass of Yuan Shu's army below the city, and suddenly felt the pressure coming towards them.

After Yuan Shu declared himself emperor this time, he mobilized an army of more than 100,000 and divided it into three routes. One route started from the two cities of Jiujiang, Yinling and Zhongli, and marched north to attack Xia Pi where Cao Ren was stationed.

They advanced eastward from Pei State in Yuzhou and attacked Pengcheng, north of Xia Pi, where Xiahou Yuan's Le County was stationed. If they lost along the way, Xia Pi's retreat would be cut off.

Another route was to attack Tangyi in Xuzhou from Liyang in Jiujiang, where Taishi Ci personally led his troops to defend.

Taishi Ci's route was actually the easiest, because Liyang and Tangyi were both connected to the Yangtze River in the south, which was very suitable for the navy to perform. In addition, Tangyi was to the east of Guangling and to the north of Lingxian. The three cities cooperated with each other, and Yuan Shu's army was frustrated in the siege and suffered a few big losses.

What Cao Ren feared most now was that if Yuan Shu's army saw that it was hopeless to attack the city, they might turn around and join the attack on Xia Pi.

At that time, Xia Pi City would not be facing tens of thousands of people under the city, but an army of nearly 100,000. Even if Cao Ren was good at defending the city, he would not have the confidence to hold on when facing an enemy that was ten times his size.

The reason why Cao's army only deployed 10,000 soldiers in Xia Pi was because this was the limit they could muster at the moment. After all, the previous battle with Xionghu had seriously damaged Cao's army.

Before the war, no one in Cao's camp had expected that Xionghu would react so strongly. He actually gave up his plot against Yuan Shu and fought to the death with Cao's army with all his might. This did not seem like the behavior of a smart person at all.

However, Cao's advisers also doubted that this was not a stupid move at all, but that the fierce tiger was ready to overturn the table when he didn't know that Cao Cao's target was him!

Could it be that the rumor that one of his subordinates is an expert in stargazing is true?

This miscalculation caused Cao's army to temporarily fall into a military vacuum, and they would have to hold out for at least two months before they could recruit troops from Yanzhou.

Before this, they can only rely on the current military strength to hold on. Cao Ren predicted that the worst case scenario would be that when his side was at a disadvantage, the fierce tiger would stab him in the back.

Cao Ren couldn't help but wonder, was it really worth it for Cao Cao to fight with the ferocious tiger in which both sides suffered losses?

I'll add another chapter today. It's the end of the month now. If you have extra monthly tickets, please vote for Xiaotu. Thank you so much!