Xie Yuan established the Embroidered Guard, and Luo Peiyu became one of the first Embroidered Guard envoys.
On the surface, she continued to work as a teacher at the Prince's Academy.
Secretly, she began to receive various forms of training.
Xie Yuan copied the information on training agents from the spy novels and dramas he had read in his previous life.
Helian Jue also wrote down his method of raising secret guards.
Xie Yuan combined, supplemented, and revised various sources of information, and then developed a training manual for intelligence personnel.
Following this tutorial, she began training the first batch of embroidered messengers.
Tracking, makeup, shorthand, hidden weapons, poisons... a series of tutorials, intensive and well-organized.
The first batch of "students" carefully selected by Luo Peiyu and Xie Yuan began their intensive studies.
Meanwhile, the Imperial Guards under Helian Jue's command were also undergoing intensive selection and training.
Helian Jue began to rank the secret guards.
As a junior guard, he remained responsible for the security of the Prince's residence and his master.
At the intermediate level, Helian Jue brought this group of secret guards out of hiding.
They were given surnames and given names.
They are no longer cold, impersonal designations like Xuanjia, Huangyi, and Dibing.
They had names and surnames, and they all held official positions in the army.
As long as they continue to make meritorious contributions, they will be promoted, and it is not a dream for their wives and children to be granted official positions in the future.
The highest-ranking secret guards were drawn out by Helian Jue to form the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
Helian Jue's Embroidered Uniform Guard was not only responsible for gathering intelligence and monitoring local areas.
They were also responsible for supervising several large camps and many generals.
They were secret guards with official ranks, names, and grades.
They were Helian Jue's most trusted confidants.
The first commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard was Tianjia, who was the number one person in the Tian-ranked secret guards.
For Helian Jue, his loyalty was no less than that of Helian Chen.
In a sense, in Helian Jue's mind, Tianjia was more trustworthy than Helian Chen.
"From now on, you shall have the surname Zhou. I bestow upon you the surname of the dynasty!"
Helian Jue said softly to Tianjia, "As for the name, let's choose the character 'Cheng' (诚)."
Sincerity means loyalty.
Zhou Cheng, a homophone for "loyalty".
Helian Jue specially bestowed upon Zhou Cheng the imperial surname and named him "Cheng" (诚), all in order to ensure Zhou Cheng's unwavering loyalty.
"Thank you, Your Highness!"
Zhou Cheng knelt before Helian Jue and said with utmost respect, "Your subject Zhou Cheng will certainly not fail Your Highness's trust!"
As a bodyguard, his life belonged to his master.
Now his master has given him a title and the opportunity to enjoy wealth and luxury.
He felt only gratitude towards his master.
I would gladly sacrifice my life for this cause.
With the establishment of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, they also had their first commander.
Helian Jue began making arrangements:
"First, retrain the Embroidered Uniform Guard."
He referenced Xie Yuan's training methods for the Embroidered Uniform Guard and began a new round of training for them.
"Second, send people to the capital."
Helian Jue needs to plant enough spies in the capital.
Helian Jue didn't need to worry too much about the palace. Although Empress Ashina had lost the right to manage the harem, she had been empress for more than 20 years and her position was already deeply entrenched.
Her tentacles have long been buried deep and far away.
Even though the Emperor and Consort Xiao had cut off many of Empress Ashina's men in the past two years, she still had some trump cards up her sleeve.
Empress Ashina secretly handed over all these people to Helian Jue before he left the capital.
Helian Jue's remaining personnel in the capital maintained this network of connections within the palace.
Now, what Helian Jue needs to do is not just "maintain" the status quo, but also to deepen cooperation and further develop the business.
Although he was thousands of miles away, he could not escape the notice of any activity in the capital or the palace.
Secretly, Helian Jue sent people to the capital.
On the surface, the Prince of Yue's palace sent New Year's gifts to the capital in a grand manner.
"Goodness, how come there's so much stuff?"
"These were all transported from Lingnan? One, two, three... nine, a full nine oxcarts!"
"Look at those tire tracks, they're several inches deep. The carriage must have been packed full."
"Huh? This time, the Prince of Yue isn't sending gifts to the Third Prince, but rather presenting them to the Empress?"
The soldiers stationed at the city gates of the capital clicked their tongues and discussed among themselves when they saw this long line of oxcarts.
At the end of last year, the Yue King's Mansion in Yuezhou also sent a generous gift to the capital.
However, there were only three or four oxcarts that time.
This time, however, there were as many as nine vehicles.
Furthermore, the "consignee" is different.
Last time it was the Third Prince, this time it's Empress Ashina.
"Huh? Wasn't it said that the Prince of Yue was controlled by the people sent by the Third Prince, and even the Prince's residence was controlled by the Third Prince's confidants?"
"Tch, that's all ancient history! Back in the summer, it was already spreading in the capital that the King of Yue was pretending to be a pig to eat the tiger, and that he was secretly using the strategy of 'openly repairing the plank road while secretly crossing the Chencang pass' in Lingnan."
"No way, was it all an act when you came to deliver the New Year's gift to the Third Prince before?"
"Yes! It must be an act, otherwise why would they change the actor this year?"
"Huh? Wasn't it said that King Yue and Empress Ashina didn't get along? When King Yue went to his fiefdom, Empress Ashina didn't even send anyone to see him off!"
"...Alas, who can say for sure about royal affairs? I doubt even the emperor himself would know, let alone the royal family."
The crowd chattered and discussed amongst themselves.
Perhaps the motorcade was too ostentatious, because in less than half a day, the news spread throughout most of the capital.
Inside the palace, there were also many people gossiping.
"They were all given to Her Majesty the Empress."
"Yes, a cartload of top-quality refined salt, weighing over 600 jin. How much could it fetch if sold?"
"It's not about the money. Salt is so rare, especially the best sea salt."
"Oh dear, everyone says Lingnan is a wild and uncivilized place, but Lingnan is by the sea, so we can boil salt there."
“It’s not just salt, but also pearls. A girl from my hometown works in the Queen’s palace, and she saw it with her own eyes. She said that the King of Yue presented the Queen with a pearl-embroidered shirt directly.”
"A pearl-embroidered dress? A dress made of pearls? Good heavens, how many pearls would that take?"
"Besides, Lingnan is by the sea, how could it be without pearls?"
"What are pearls? There are also coral trees that are over a foot tall. The King of Yue sent twelve of them directly to the Queen."
Each pot is quite valuable, let alone twelve pots at once.
"...My God, this New Year's gift alone must be worth at least several hundred thousand strings of cash."
"Hundreds of thousands, strings of cash?"
These days, to describe someone as wealthy, people say they have "a fortune of ten thousand taels of silver."
Ten thousand strings of cash would make one a truly wealthy household.
His Highness the King of Yue sent a New Year's gift to Empress Ashina, which was worth hundreds of thousands of strings of cash.
Such enormous wealth would tempt even the emperor, let alone the palace servants.
"Lingnan has so much wealth?"
Sea salt is one thing, but that requires firewood and an iron pot, so the initial investment is also considerable.
Pearls, coral trees, ambergris, and other treasures were obtained directly from the sea, seemingly without any investment!
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