When Zhang Shixun heard about Gao Yanei being made the Director of Intelligence, he immediately objected: "Gao Yanei is too unreliable. Putting him in charge of intelligence work is like putting the wrong person in charge. It won't take long before he messes up the intelligence network... No, intelligence work is no small matter. We can't give it to him, but to anyone else."
"Look, you underestimated me, didn't you?" Wang Dong laughed. "I thought so too at first, but he approached me a few days ago and said he wanted to help me gather intelligence. I flatly refused, saying that bird-walking was the best thing for you, so you should go home and walk your birds. Guess what happened?"
"how?"
"This guy fell to his knees, hugged my legs, and cried bitterly, saying that when the Jin soldiers besieged the city, the imperial court had almost confiscated all his family's gold and silver..."
"Hey! Is there such a thing? Why haven't I heard this guy mention it before?"
"It was his father Gao Qiu who forbade us to speak."
"Haha! Gao Qiu is quite a man of character."
"It's not that he has a backbone. The old guy is old and shrewd. He knows that telling us will only gain some sympathy and nothing else. So he simply keeps silent. He also appears responsible."
"The Gao family only lost money. Compared to Cai Jing, Wang Fu, Tong Guan and others, the Gao family is much luckier... Go on, what did Gao Yanei say when he knelt down before you?"
"He said that the Gao family was about to fall, and as the only son in the family, he was unwilling to accept this and was determined to turn over a new leaf..."
"Fuck! The sun is rising from the west."
Zhang Shixun imagined Gao Yanei's heartbroken expression in his mind and couldn't help laughing out loud.
"When I saw him crying miserably, I felt sympathy for him..."
"You have compassion? How come I didn't know that?"
"Get lost! If you want to listen, don't interrupt."
"hehe!"
"I suddenly remembered the central database, which contained a set of advanced agent textbooks. So, with a desperate attitude, I copied the textbooks onto a tablet. Then, I threw him into the tunnel and asked him to study the contents of the textbooks. After that, he had to write a concept and plan for establishing a Song Dynasty intelligence agency..."
"I said I haven't seen Gao Yanei recently. Turns out you locked him up in the tunnel."
"I just went in to see him. He looked unkempt, with an unshaven beard. His round face had become long and narrow."
"Fuck! Did you abuse him?"
"I'm too lazy to abuse him. First, I don't have the time, and second, I have no excuse."
"How's he doing with the stuff you gave him?"
"When this guy saw me, he shook his sleeves and saluted me respectfully. Then he took out a stack of papers, held them high above his head, and said that they were his ideas for establishing the Great Song Dynasty intelligence network and asked for my feedback."
"Is he really as respectful and polite as you said? Is that true?"
"It's absolutely true. I'm not exaggerating at all."
"It seems like this guy really wants to 'start a new life'."
"I read the concept he wrote. It's nearly ten thousand words long, covering everything from organizational structure, personnel recruitment and training, intelligence gathering and transmission, undercover assassinations and sabotage, to spreading rumors... Damn! This guy is a genius at intelligence work."
"Genius?" Zhang Shixun didn't believe it at all. "It's just empty talk. Old Wang, you should be more cautious."
"Yeah! Of course I won't rashly hand over the entire intelligence network to him. For now, I'll be in charge, and he'll handle the specifics. We'll observe for a while before making any decisions."
"Okay! Let's do it."
When it was getting dark, Gao Yanei arrived.
"Brother, Mr. Wang told you about my situation, right?"
"Boss Wang?" Zhang Shixun looked him up and down. He had indeed lost a lot of weight. "Tell me again, what did you call him? I didn't hear it clearly."
"Boss Wang." Gao Yanei smiled awkwardly, "He said that's what we'll call him from now on."
Zhang Shixun suppressed his laughter and asked, "Do you know what 'always' means?"
"I guess that's what the steward meant."
"Haha! That's about right. It's just a name. Just call me whatever he wants."
Gao Yanei nodded, then said seriously, "He gave me a novice mission, saying it was a test. If I couldn't complete it, he would let me go."
"Oh? What mission?"
"A pyrotechnics mission, with a time limit. You must obtain a thousand kilograms of pyrotechnics within three days."
When Zhang Shixun heard the words "fierce oil", his heart moved.
This is good stuff.
The so-called fierce fire oil is what later generations called petroleum.
As early as the Han Dynasty, historian Ban Gu recorded it in his book.
China has a two-thousand-year history of exploiting and utilizing petroleum. In the early days, it was called lacquer, kerosene, fierce fire oil, naphtha, etc. It was named petroleum by Shen Kuo in the Song Dynasty.
The first person in history to use oil in war was Emperor Wu of Zhou, Yuwen Yong, who ordered his soldiers to use oil to start a fire and burn the enemy's engineering equipment.
In the Song Dynasty, defending the city became even more dependent on kerosene.
Li Gang used this thing when the Jin army besieged the city.
"Yanei, where can I get some kerosene?"
"In the Military Equipment Bureau, there is a special pool for storing these things."
Zhang Shixun patted him on the shoulder and encouraged him, "Go ahead and get as many as you can."
Gao Yanei said: "This thing is not easy to do. The court controls it very strictly."
"If it were easy, it wouldn't be called a mission. Use your brains and make good use of the people on the roster."
"Don't worry, brother. We have people in the Military Equipment Bureau. It's just..." Gao Yanei hesitated, "I need some money. Can you take some out from the hotel first? I'll pay you back later."
"You're not doing it for yourself, so why are you paying for it yourself?"
Zhang Shixun thought for a moment and said, "How about this. Regarding the money, I'll discuss it with Wang Dong and give you some money as activity funds. However, this money can only be used for intelligence work and cannot be used for other purposes."
"I won't spend it recklessly, don't worry."
Zhang Shixun walked into the house and took out fifty taels of silver and handed it to him, "This fifty taels of silver will be used as the funds for this activity."
Gao Yanei took it and said embarrassedly: "My family has some changes, and I am a little short of money. Otherwise, I wouldn't ask for it."
"Yes! I've heard what Wang Dong said."
At this point, Zhang Shixun said solemnly, "Yanei, go back and persuade your father to sell the family house."
Gao Yanei said, "That's what my father planned. Recently, many people have taken a fancy to our house. I think we can sell it soon."
Zhang Shixun nodded and asked, "How is your father's health?"
Gao Yanei's face showed a trace of sadness. "He's not doing well. He lies in bed every day, and his health is getting worse day by day. The doctor said that he doesn't have much time left. He'll be lucky if he can survive this year."
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