The moon was at its zenith, the third watch drum sounded, and the palace gate creaked open from the inside. Two tall figures appeared at the gate. They were Cai Dabao and Wang Yan.

The emperor, being slightly tipsy, talked a lot to the others, so it was already midnight when the two of them left the palace.

After leaving the palace, the two did not immediately get into their respective carriages, but asked their families to follow them from a distance.

Some things were not convenient to talk about in front of the emperor just now, and now both of them were not sleepy, so they talked while walking.

Cai Dabao lowered his voice and said, "Prince, I didn't mean to offend you just now. You know, the emperor is very suspicious, and the ministers in the court are indecisive. This is a good opportunity to revive the court, so..."

Wang Yan waved his hands and said, "Lord Cai, you worry too much. I have always thought about this. Although I have been in power for five years, the Northern Zhou, Southern Chen, and Northern Qi are still surrounding us. People are uneasy and some scholars and common people are indeed wavering."

"Now, with the protection of the Northern Zhou, the subjects are relatively obedient. However, it is better to control the situation in our own hands than to rely on others. However, the emperor wants to take advantage of the disputes between the Northern Zhou, Northern Qi and Southern Chen dynasties to benefit from it. Do you agree with this?"

Cai Dabao sighed and said, "I eat the emperor's salary, I eat the emperor's salary, I am loyal to the emperor and I worry about the emperor's worries! Your Majesty has always been worried about the Western Wei's capture of Jiangling. If you can cleverly use the conflict between the Three Kingdoms, it will be more beneficial to our dynasty. However, this benefit is limited and is not enough to fundamentally change the current situation of our dynasty's dependence on the Northern Zhou."

Some things cannot be said openly, but Wang Yan understood what Cai Dabao meant after just a few words.

The Later Liang Dynasty was born out of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, and everything was directed to Chang'an in the north. If there were constant frictions between the Northern Zhou, Northern Qi, and Southern Chen dynasties, the usefulness of the Later Liang Dynasty would gradually become apparent.

At certain moments, it even becomes a crucial weight, enough to decide which side the scale of victory will tilt towards. This is also the way of survival for some small countries, and politicians have mastered it as early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.

Wang Yan was refreshed and said, "Not bad! Good use of it. The status of our dynasty will be greatly improved!"

Cai Da nodded and said, "In this case, the court is firmly on the side of the Northern Zhou, but you can take this opportunity to see the attitudes of the other two countries towards me."

Wang Yan heard the hidden meaning in the words, his eyes flickered slightly, and he said: "Your Majesty's ambition is great, but the current situation is worrying. If the war does not reach Jiangling, the victory of Northern Zhou will be beneficial to our dynasty, and the victory of Northern Qi will also be beneficial to our dynasty."

"Speaking of which, Northern Zhou, Northern Qi, and Southern Chen are all our enemies. We cannot let Northern Qi and Southern Chen think that we are secretly contacting them behind Northern Zhou's back, and we must not let Northern Zhou know that we are flirting with our enemies while relying on them. This matter must be kept absolutely confidential, otherwise it will be a horrible disaster!"

Cai Dabao said: "That's right! In addition to investigating the Northern Qi secrets openly and secretly, I plan to recruit some more people. These people are not from the court on the surface, but they are actually controlled by the court."

Wang Yan stopped and stared at Cai Dabao: "It's not bad to find another way, but are these people reliable?"

Cai Dabao said, "My dear, this is exactly what I want to discuss with you in detail. I have initially thought that there should not be too many candidates, and they must all be carefully selected and must be loyal and capable."

Wang Yan smiled faintly: "Even if they are confidants, they will inevitably reveal the truth under torture. If you want to use them, you must naturally control their wives and children."

"You are right, my dear!" Cai Dabao nodded repeatedly. "I have thought about it. Since ancient times, merchants have been used the most in subversion, conspiracy, and intelligence gathering. They travel all over the country and can come into contact with all kinds of people. But the loyalty of merchants is the lowest. They can sell everything for profit. How can we control them?"

Wang Yan nodded slightly when he heard this. The imperial court was weak now and had to rely on others for support. It was unlikely that they would give him huge benefits. Cai Dabao's proposal was feasible in theory, but it was too difficult to implement in practice. It was a risky move.

Cai Dabao said: "I don't have a perfect plan for this matter, so I haven't told your majesty everything. My dear, you are very careful, please help me with the details!"

Wang Yan said, "Lord Cai, I think we can't rush this matter. Although the Northern Qi incident is an opportunity, it is very risky to act rashly. It is better to take it slowly."

"Exactly! Exactly!"

After the two of them discussed it, they both felt that it was necessary to establish an intelligence organization independent of the court and government but not firmly controlled by the court. This matter was put on the agenda from then on, and they would report the specific regulations to the emperor, after all, the appointment of personnel and operating expenses required the emperor's approval.

After talking for a while, they both went back home.

When Wang Yan returned to his mansion, he called over a confidant and whispered a few words to him, and the confidant then left.

When the moon disappeared into the clouds, the light in the row of houses behind the small restaurant became dimmer and filled with huge shadows. A remnant of moonlight came in through the window and slanted onto the ground, like a slender sword shooting straight in, in sharp contrast to the shadows all around, making it even more glaring and exuding a vaguely eerie feeling.

Intermittent snoring sounds, long and short, could be heard from the room. Fugui, the assistant in the canteen, was so busy during the day that he climbed onto the couch early at night, lay down and fell asleep.

There was only one employee left in the store, so he didn't have to worry about disturbing others even though he snores loudly.

In his sleep, Fugui felt a chill on his cheek. He turned over with a grin and wanted to continue sleeping, but the chill on his cheek did not disappear, and he opened his eyes in a daze.

But he saw a masked man in black standing in front of him, with a shiny, sharp sword pressed against his face. He was so frightened that he lost three of his seven souls. He wanted to speak, but found that his throat was gurgling, and he was in despair for a moment.

"Don't make a sound if you know what's best for you, or don't blame me for the knife in my hand not recognizing you!" The man in black blurted out a word, and with a slight flip of his wrist, he placed the knife on Fugui's neck.

"Spare my life, spare my life, yes, yes, yes..." Fugui said tremblingly. The words he said just now were just because he was scared, and they were not real. "The money... was taken away by the shopkeeper... taken away..."

"I want to ask you something. I heard that a spy from Northern Qi appeared in your restaurant yesterday..."

Before the man in black finished speaking, Fugui explained, "This... this has nothing to do with our shop. That... that little girl... is also here for the first time..."

The man in black shouted in a deep voice: "Stop making noise! ​​You need to tell me the whole story in detail!"

Fugui was sweating profusely and said hurriedly, "Yes, I was young at that time..."

Although 놛 was afraid, he was usually very eloquent and had a good memory, so it was not difficult for him to tell the story. He was a little stuttering at the beginning, but later he became much more fluent and told some details. The black-clad man also took the blade away from 놛's neck.

"What does this person look like?"

Fugui thought for a moment and replied, "His appearance...his appearance is very handsome, but he is different from the gentlemen I usually see...As for how he is different, I can't tell you! However, the woman next to him is like a fairy in a painting. She was wearing a purple silk skirt with eight pleats and embroidered sleeves..."

With a "slap" sound, the man in black slapped Fugui in the face, "You remember women very well!"

Fugui covered his red and swollen cheeks and said, "I dare not, I dare not..."

"Where did this person go?"

Fugui said with a bitter face: "I don't know about that. At that time, the shopkeeper asked me to clean up the cups, plates, bowls and chopsticks, and I didn't pay attention to where they went..."

The man in black said coldly, "Forget it. If someone asks you about what happened tonight, how will you answer?"

Fugui pondered over the words of the man in black, his eyes rolled, and he said hurriedly: "Tonight... tonight I slept like a dead dog, and I dreamed of getting married... ahem, I slept very sweetly this time..."

"You're smart!" The man in black sneered, "If you reveal even a word, you'll be in trouble!"

Fugui did not dare to move until the man in black walked out of the room. He tilted his ear to the side and listened until he could no longer hear any sound. Then he collapsed on the couch, his tight clothes soaked.

Although Fugui was still a little frightened, his mind was not idle. He soon figured out that the man in black broke into the room apparently to find out about the scholar.

Oh no, it must be that Northern Qi spies coming here to seek revenge. The scholar's life is in danger.

However, this matter may not be a cause of concern. We don't know where the man and woman went, so we naturally have no way to report it.

Back on topic, even if we knew where the scholar was, how many of us would have the courage to inform him?

Fugui tossed and turned on the couch like a pancake, but couldn't fall asleep.

An unknown amount of time had passed before the morning drum sounded in Jiangling City, and a majestic red light dispelled the cold darkness. The Big Dipper was eventually swallowed up by the rosy glow, and the sky gradually brightened.

Fugui got up, washed up, and came to the dining room. He first removed the fir door panels one by one, and then wiped the table.

Shopkeeper Li said that even though the store was smashed, business cannot be stopped, and even selling breakfast can make some money.

Shopkeeper Li will not come today as he still needs to buy furniture and tableware. This place will be left to Fugui.

Fugui was very efficient. He was covered in sweat after finishing the cleaning. He did not even take a break and started making water-inducing cakes. These cakes were cut into pieces one foot long and shaped like thin leek leaves.

When the water was about to boil over, he went to take the water cake on the table, but the cook turned around and was stunned.

놙 saw a person walking towards her from the other side of the street, waving at her with a smile.

When he saw the man's face, Fugui's legs went limp and he almost dropped his hands on the red-hot iron pot, and all the water cakes in his hands fell to the ground...