Fifty li southwest of Luoyang, there is a small road leading to Runan.

The path is flanked by dense forests and lush trees.

Several secret agents from the Investigation Division hid behind the bushes in the forest, their eyes fixed on the end of the path.

Before long, a fast horse from Luoyang appeared in the sight of the spies.

"Prepare!!"

With a low shout from the leader, several spies from the Investigation Division immediately drew their bows and arrows, their chilling arrows aimed directly at the figure on horseback in the distance.

"Giddy up!"

A man dressed as a servant on horseback gave a soft shout and lashed his horse's back with his whip, completely unaware of the danger in the woods ahead.

"Team leader, they're from the Han family!"

"Um!"

In the woods, the leader of the intelligence agency watched the approaching messenger and a cold smile crept across his lips.

"Release the arrows!!"

With a shout from the leader, several secret agents from the Investigation Division immediately released their bowstrings.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh!"

Several arrows, whistling through the air, shot out of the forest and headed straight for the messenger.

The messenger, galloping on horseback, sensed danger approaching. Before he could react, he felt a sharp pain in his throat and fell straight off his horse.

"past!!"

Seeing the messenger fall from his horse, several secret agents from the Investigation Division also emerged from the woods and surrounded him.

Upon getting closer, they saw that the messenger had an arrow stuck in his neck, forehead, and chest, and was clearly dead beyond any doubt.

"search!"

At the leader's command, a spy stepped forward and began to grope the messenger.

Soon, the detectives of the Investigation Department found a secret letter in the messenger's boots.

"Team leader, this guy really knows how to hide!"

Holding the secret letter that had a faint smell, the agent approached the team leader and couldn't help but rub his nose.

The team leader took the secret letter and looked at it closely. He saw that the letter read: "Respectfully presented by Han Ping of Taishan County, to be opened by the Zhang family head!"

"Hmph, these fools who don't know what's good for them!"

The team leader looked at the corpse on the ground and snorted coldly.

"You lot, tidy up this place and continue the ambush. I'm going to report back to the captain!"

"promise!!"

After saying this, the team leader put the secret letter into his pocket and hurried along the woods towards Luoyang.

The remaining spies hurriedly carried the bodies of Han's servants into the woods and buried them in a pre-dug pit.

What about the horse?

Looking at the horses beside him, one of the secret agents asked his companion.

The other person smiled and said, "If we have someone take it back and sell it, it'll be a considerable income!"

"Hehe~, you're right!"

Several spies chuckled, then led the horses into the woods, cleaned up the bloodstains on the path, and lay in ambush again.

Not long after they had finished their ambush, the sound of horses' hooves rang out again on the path, and the spies stared intently in that direction.

"They're from the Yuan family, should we kill them or not?"

Looking at the servant's attire on horseback, from behind the bushes, one of the spies asked his companion beside him.

His companion replied, "No need. The Yuan family is now His Majesty's man. Let him pass!"

"good!!"

The others nodded and then hid again.

The Yuan family messenger seemed unaware of the unusual situation and sped away towards Runan.

Thus, all the roads, large and small, leading from Luoyang to the prefectures of Yu, Xu, Jing, and Yang were intercepted and killed by messengers sent by Li Jing, Han Ping, and others from Yang Qiu's intelligence agency.

The people sent by Yuan, Yang, Xun, and Chen were allowed to pass.

At this moment, Yang Qiu had more than a dozen secret letters on his desk in the Sili government office, all of which were written by scholars.

"These people really have a lot of power. If they succeed, it will be a real problem!"

Seeing that so many secret messages had been intercepted by their own people in just one hour, Yang Qiu's expression became more serious.

Li Li, who was standing to the side, said, "Captain, these people have connections with all the major families. They usually flatter each other, so it's not surprising that they have connections."

"Yes, one person can lead ten others, and ten people can lead a hundred others. If these people are not eliminated as soon as possible, they will surely become a major problem sooner or later!!"

The thought of the power of scholars now spread throughout the land made Yang Qiu, this cruel official, extremely wary.

Yang Qiu understood that if these people gained power, he would likely be the first to die.

Li Li asked, "Captain, what... should we do next?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Qiu immediately picked up the secret letter Han Ping had written to the Zhang family of Runan, a cold glint flashing in his eyes, and then said in a deep voice:

"Immediately instruct the brothers to find the handwriting of this so-called Zhang family head, and then use it to write back to Han Ping, saying that we are willing to join them in the uprising, so that they can prepare in peace! Do the same for the rest of you!"

After saying that, Yang Qiu handed all the secret letters to Li Li.

"Understood!"

After receiving the secret letters, Li Li sneered and strode out.

......

Meanwhile, news of events at court and the contents of the Empress Dowager's series of edicts had already reached the Imperial Academy.

In particular, the Empress Dowager's edict that those who wished to enter officialdom must relinquish their tax exemption privileges drew great dissatisfaction from the students of the Imperial Academy who came from aristocratic families.

Many students also abandoned their studies and gathered together, looking indignant.

Inside a school building, hundreds of imperial students gathered. One of them, from the Li family, stepped forward and announced in a loud voice:

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