Tang Junyao was forced to flee to Chenxi after being chased.

But he still had his pride; he was the Third Prince's man, and he still had the pride that came with it.

Shenxi is able to accept people with different personalities.

Tang Junyao is just a little arrogant, and he's the easiest to coax into doing things. Once he's in a good mood, he'll do anything.

At this point, Chenxi used a coaxing strategy.

"Junyao, when it comes to training spies, all my men combined are not as capable as you. As the saying goes, the capable are always given more work."

You are my capable subordinate. Regardless of whether those ordinary spies are worthy of your attention, I ultimately need you.

For example, Dou Yong has a lot of ulterior motives, but he will never be half-hearted when it comes to the lord he has chosen.

Dou Yong is a fine knife; if used well, he can kill the enemy; if used poorly, he can also slit the throats of his own people.

Shenxi believed he could use the knife well.

It's been over a month, and with Fang Chenyan's excellent medicine, Zhao Rong's injury should be more than half healed. In another month or so, he should be completely recovered.

At that point, it would be about time for Zhao Rong to step in and deliver a heavy blow to Cao Sen of Linchuan County.

How could someone who offended Chenxi be let off so easily?

This past month or so has been the perfect time to deploy troops and arrange the battle situation.

"Junyao, have you heard back from the person you arranged to spread the news that Cao Qiang was killed by Cao Sen?"

"Yes, the Cao family has already sent people to Linchuan County to inquire, and they have also sent people here to investigate."

Tang Junyao wouldn't ask for the specific reasons.

His first two groups of spies had already infiltrated the Jianming Mansion.

He had people spread the word, and the effect was immediate.

Shenxi intends to incite chaos in Linchuan County within a month, thus preventing Cao Sen from having the mood to cause trouble in Bian'ai County.

"Have the people sent by the Cao family already started monitoring them?"

"Yes. No matter what they do, they are being monitored."

Are there any unusual developments at the moment?

"No, we're just secretly trying to find out if Cao Qiang is still alive."

Shenxi tapped the table twice with her little finger, clearly relaxed.

"Alright, let them investigate. We'll release the news once they know Cao Qiang is still alive."

"yes."

Cao Qiang's status in the Cao family was that of the eldest son of the Cao family.

Just as Tang Junyao was about to leave, one of his close students, Lu Jia, rushed over to request an audience.

Chenxi called for him to come in.

Lu Jia immediately bowed deeply to Shen Xi, saying, "Greetings, Commander."

"Get up, is there something urgent?"

Lu Jia glanced at Tang Junyao.

Tang Junyao glared at him: "Answer the commander first."

"Yes." Lu Jia realized he had made a mistake. This was a habit he had developed over the past few months: no matter what he was doing, he would first ask Tang Junyao for his opinion.

He was originally Qi Xiuwu's bodyguard, but Tang Junyao poached him to be a spy.

From initial reluctance to complete submission after Tang Junyao used his "all-around talent" approach on him, he eventually came to his complete respect.

But his habit today is a great disrespect to the leader.

Shenxi didn't care; it was common for soldiers to obey their generals and scouts to obey their leaders.

Furthermore, Lu Jia has already realized his mistake, and these people are all very smart and will not make the same mistake a second time.

There is absolutely no need to make a big deal out of this.

Lu Jia bowed deeply again: "Commander, news has just come that there is internal strife within the Cao family."

"Tell me about it."

Shenxi was very interested in the internal strife within the Cao family.

The key is to seize victory amidst chaos. If the Cao family and the aristocratic families allied with the Cao family are a united front, it would not be difficult for them to take over Jianming Prefecture.

When the Cao family is in turmoil, it is easiest to find an opening to cause trouble.

"Cao Ying, the head of the Cao family, was assassinated and seriously injured. He is currently undergoing emergency treatment. The assassins have been identified as Cao He, the second son of the Cao family, who conspired with Cao Ying's eldest son by a concubine to rebel."

They believed that Cao Qiang was dead, but Cao Ying wanted to give the position of young master to his favorite youngest son, Cao Changyu.

If Cao Changyu were the legitimate son, it would be fine, but he was also an illegitimate son, which naturally aroused the dissatisfaction of many people.

Cao Ying was seriously injured and unable to govern, so the sixteen-year-old Cao Changyu took over the administration and issued an order to strangle Cao He and Cao Changgeng.

The two sides have already started fighting. Some of the powerful families that are on friendly terms with the Cao family are either watching from the sidelines or have joined the fray.

Shenxi secretly exclaimed "Good!"

What's this called? It's like someone brings you a pillow when you're sleepy.

She plotted to seize Jianming Prefecture, which threw the prefecture into chaos, giving her an opportunity to take advantage of the situation.

"I wonder which one is stronger."

"Reporting back to the commander, the news indicates that Cao He's side has stronger forces."

"good."

Shen Xi looked at Tang Junyao: "Junyao, spread the word that Cao Qiang is still alive, and secretly relax the guard so that the Cao family can rescue Cao Qiang."

"yes."

Cao Qiang had been the young master for many years, and Shen Xi did not believe that he did not have his own power base.

Then, we'll just watch them fight to the death, and when they're both badly injured, we'll have Zhao Peng lead Tao Feng to wipe them out in one fell swoop.

When the time comes, assess the situation and seize Tao Feng's military power.

With military power in hand, Jianming Prefecture was now in the hands of their own people.

The internal strife within the Cao family stemmed from the short-sightedness of some members who, instead of focusing on seizing Jianming Prefecture and controlling Wu Aimin, engaged in infighting.

It's likely that none of them took the incompetent prefect Wu Aimin seriously.

They didn't even take the good-for-nothing Tao Feng seriously.

Their greatest enemy is internal, not external.

That's why they dared to start fighting amongst themselves at this time.

Everyone wanted to become the top official in Jianming Prefecture.

That day, the Cao family heard the news that Cao Qiang was alive and found out where he was being held.

The county has been searching for people for the past two days, so they can't move around freely.

But the search ended after noon today.

They are not afraid of routine searches; they all have legitimate identities, and even if they are searched, they will not give themselves away.

The soldiers guarding Cao Qiang took the money that Cao's family had bribed them and handed it over to their superior.

The officer waved his hand dismissively: "Take them yourselves. This is given to you openly, so just keep them."

Those who could keep an eye on Cao Qiang were all Shen Xi's confidants, who deliberately exposed flaws so that the Cao family could succeed in bribing him.

That night, the soldiers let the Cao family in, secretly took Cao Qiang away, and replaced him with someone who looked exactly like Cao Qiang.

After the Cao family took Cao Qiang away, before the soldier could interrogate the fake Cao Qiang, the fake Cao Qiang committed suicide by poisoning himself.

This made the soldiers' eyes widen in surprise.

No wonder the other party told them to rest assured that the fake Cao Qiang would never say anything.

Of course, this wouldn't reveal anything.

Dead people can't talk, of course.

The soldier immediately reported to his superior, and the news quickly reached Shenxi's ears.