In Jizhou, after receiving the imperial edict, Liu Yan began to frown every day. Ever since the great proclamation promoting the curved plow was issued, the people of the entire Han Dynasty were now all devoted to the emperor.

If he tries to make any more moves, the chances are slim. As long as the emperor is alive, his ambitions will be difficult to realize.

In the governor's mansion of Ji Province, Liu Yan sat in the living room, lost in thought with his eyes closed. After a long while, Liu Yan opened his eyes, glanced at the imperial edict on the table beside him, and sighed softly.

"Go and fetch Jia Xu!"

Liu Yan looked at one of his trusted confidants standing beside him, his words revealing a sense of disappointment.

"promise!"

In a residence in the northwest of the governor's mansion, Jia Xu knelt before a table, reviewing intelligence reports submitted from various parts of Ji Province.

After leaving Luoyang and arriving in Ji Province, Jia Xu ostensibly joined Liu Yan, the governor of Ji Province, and became a chief clerk in the governor's office.

Secretly, they used the initial funds allocated by the emperor to continuously develop the Jizhou Investigation Bureau. Now, while it may not cover the entire Jizhou, it is no problem to learn about the situation of some powerful families in Jizhou.

"Thump~ thump thump!"

Just then, a rhythmic knocking sound came from the door.

"Enter!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a trusted aide who was in charge of managing the Ji Province Investigation Bureau in place of Jia Xu walked in.

This man, named Li Hu, was a wandering knight from Xuzhou. Because a local tyrant's son had humiliated his sister, he secretly sneaked into the tyrant's house at night and personally killed the tyrant's son.

Just as he was about to leave, he was unfortunately discovered by a maid in the household of a powerful family, and was chased all the way to Ji Province. By chance, Jia Xu saved him. As the saying goes, the grace of saving a life is greater than heaven. In addition, he could see that Jia Xu was no ordinary person, so he always served Jia Xu faithfully.

Li Hu bowed respectfully to Jia Xu and said, "Shangguan, the Zhen family of Wuji, the Su family of Yecheng, and the major and minor powerful families of Jizhou have almost all made their move!"

Jia Xu nodded and looked at Li Hu, "Yes! Tell the Su family that as soon as the Zhen family starts selling, they must immediately lower the price!"

"promise!"

"Is there anything else?"

Seeing that Li Hu did not leave immediately, Jia Xu looked at Li Hu and frowned.

"Reporting to the superior, according to the reports from below, besides the palace attendant of the Commandant of the Capital Region, it seems that some other personnel have also infiltrated Ji Province this time!"

"Oh? Where did they all go?" Jia Xu asked.

Li Hu: "Street corners and alleyways, local workshops!"

Jia Xu's expression remained unchanged as he softly said, "Understood. Ignore them! And don't follow them!"

"promise!"

Li Hu didn't ask any more questions. Now that he knew the true identity of his superior, he felt even more awe towards Jia Xu. He knew what he could and couldn't ask.

"Sir, the curved-shaft plow has been promoted in all the counties and prefectures of Ji Province, but Ye City is the only exception, with no movement yet. What do you think Governor Liu is doing?..."

"Ha~ This man is ambitious but incompetent. He doesn't dare to disobey the emperor and the court. It's just a matter of sooner or later!"

Jia Xu narrowed his eyes slightly, his expression and words filled with disdain for Liu Yan.

"How's the situation in Liangzhou?"

Upon hearing Jia Xu's question, Li Hu shook his head. "Cheng Zhongde made a fortune during the trade fair, and the Liangzhou Investigation Bureau is developing rapidly. He has already poached many of our people there! Moreover, their people have begun to infiltrate the Western Regions!"

Upon hearing this, Jia Xu frowned. He hadn't expected that Cheng Yu would take the lead without him noticing.

Jia Xu quickly smiled and said, "Alright, let's withdraw our people! Hurry up and send men to Youzhou! As for Cheng Zhongde's men, leave them there and don't touch them!"

"Shangguan! If we do this, won't we be able to hide anything from Cheng Zhongde in the future? Won't we be at a disadvantage?"

Li Hu looked at Jia Xu with some confusion. He really couldn't understand why those people were being kept around. Were they there to report their movements to Cheng Yu?

"If we mess with them, we'll truly be at a disadvantage. Just do as I say!"

"promise!"

Seeing Jia Xu's calm and composed demeanor, Li Hu said no more and then turned and left.

Not long after Li Hu left, the bookshelf behind Jia Xu suddenly moved slowly, revealing a hidden door. A figure walked out of the hidden door and bowed to Jia Xu.

"Shangguan!"

Jia Xu glanced at the man, then asked, "Have those people exiled from Xuzhou arrived in Youzhou yet?"

"arrive!"

"Go and select a few capable men, and then send them to seek refuge with the powerful and influential families in Youzhou!"

"promise!"

Then Jia Xu took a secret order. After the man received the order, he turned around and returned to the hidden door. The bookshelf behind Jia Xu also slowly moved back to its original position.

"Registrar Jia, Governor Liu requests your presence!"

Not long after that person left, the voices of Liu Yan's men came from outside the door.

"Please wait a moment!"

Jia Xu got up, put the intelligence on the table into a hidden compartment, and then went outside.

"I wonder what business Governor Liu has with me?"

The man remained expressionless and said softly, "You'll know when Registrar Jia arrives!"

Jia Xu remained expressionless and nodded. "Alright! Please lead the way!"

Before long, Jia Xu followed Liu Yan's men to the governor's mansion. He saw Liu Yan sitting in the living room looking preoccupied, and Jia Xu keenly noticed a trace of worry and hesitation in Liu Yan's eyes.

Jia Xu's lips twitched slightly as he stepped forward and bowed, "Xu greets Governor Liu."

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