Chapter 96 Secret Guard

With the money to sell the Luoyang Palace, the New Year of the Tumbay was very relaxed. The court had just restored the Han people's old surnames and declared the equal status of Han people and Xianbei people. In order to reflect the wish of the Tumbay and the people, Li Gang launched various celebrations until the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

Whether it is the people or the government, winter is a rare day for rest and entertainment. Yang Yong did not have time to rest, but was busy all day long. All the news from Chang'an showed that the establishment of the Sui Dynasty was not far away. Once the Great Sui Dynasty was established, Yang Yong had to go back to Chang'an and could only be trapped in the Eastern Palace from then on.

Judging from his treatment of Yang Su, Yang Yong has completely abandoned his fantasy of Yang Jian. Yang Jian is now in his prime. If he had been prime minister for ten or eight years before usurping Zhou, Yang Yong would still have confidence that he could become the crown prince and take over the throne steadily. Although the prime minister and the emperor both gathered great power, it was still different after all.

Now, judging from Yang Jian's step-by-step arrangement, he can't wait to be the emperor. If there is no accident, he will have to be the crown prince Yang Yong, who has been at least twenty or thirty years, to take over the throne. Over the past few decades, I don't know how many open and secret arrows will be shot at him. If he is not prepared, he will not be any different from Yang Yong in another time and space, and he may die even worse.

It is New Year's Eve tomorrow, and firecrackers are heard from time to time on the street. Although there is light snow in the sky and thick ice on the road, the pedestrians are smiling and greeting each other when they meet. The entire Zuifu has been decorated with lights and will be dark in half an hour. The servants and servants in the mansion are constantly shuttled through the corridor, preparing dinner.

On the street, the sound of three fast horses "Dede" hooves broke the tranquility. The three of them were all wearing blue official uniforms. Obviously, when the minor officials below the seventh rank of the Great Zhou Dynasty arrived at the gate of the Tombzai Mansion, the three of them suddenly lifted the reins. The horse under the climax screamed and stopped immediately.

The three of them jumped off their horses and looked at each other and smiled. One of them walked up and slapped the gate. The gate of the Tzunai Mansion creaked and opened. The Tzunai Mansion's clan member Lu Mulin personally welcomed it. Seeing several people, he immediately smiled: "Hurry up and invite you, you have been reciting for a few days."

The three of them quickly threw the reins in their hands and gave the horse to the servants who came out. When they walked into the inner courtyard, the gate of the Tomb Prison House creaked several times and closed them again.

If ordinary officials saw this scene, they would definitely be envious. Many officials above the fifth and sixth ranks in Qidi came to the Tuanzai Mansion and were turned away after visiting him. How could they enter Tuanzai Mansion so easily? What's more, they could be welcomed by Lu Mulin. Although Lu Mulin was not famous, through this betrayal of Luoyang Palace, everyone knew that he was a confidant of Lord Tuanzai.

In the study, Yang Yong was talking to a young man who was eighteen or nineteen years old, wearing a ninth-rank official uniform: "Yuan Hao, if this official asked you to take off this official uniform and live a life in the dark from now on, maybe you will never have the chance to make a comeback in your life, would you rather?"

Yuan Hao (Note 1) is also one of the orphans adopted by Yang Yong. He is a slutty person and is not good at communicating with others. However, he is very smart. He often learns from many things. A few days ago, Li Gang was arranged to be a county magistrate in the next small county in Jiaozhou, but Yang Yong transferred him back before New Year's Eve.

"When the general returns to the general, as long as the general needs it, the subordinates will be willing to lose their lives."

"Very good, then from today on, you will take off your official clothes and change your surname and name. I will give you 30,000 ounces of funding in the early stage. I want you to spread the intelligence network throughout the Zhou Dynasty within three years. From now on, you will only be responsible to me or the person I designated. No acquaintances can be contacted before, and you cannot report my name or borrow my relationship. Once you are accidentally discovered by someone and fall into the court, you will have to rely on your own abilities. Is there any problem?"

"General, Beizhi is an orphan. Except for those students who study together, there are no acquaintances. If the general asks Beizhi not to contact them, it can be done. If Beizhi is arrested, the general's secret cannot be kept. Beizhi should be self-destructed."

"Very good. Your first task is to establish the first intelligence station in Yecheng first, focusing on Yang Su, the general manager of Yecheng. This official wants you to send someone to Yang Su's mansion within half a year to know Yang Su's every move. You can choose the personnel you need. Remember, you can't let them know who they are doing, and you can't let these people know your identity. Once they can expose you, you can decisively give up."

"Yes." Yuan Hao nodded, but hesitated for a moment and asked, "General, is Yubei alone?"

Yang Yong smiled and shook his head: "Of course not. I will give you three deputys. These three are also people you know, and they may arrive today."

Yuan Hao knew and the person Yang Yong trusted was of course the orphans adopted together. As soon as Yang Yong finished speaking, two "dongdong" knocks sounded outside the door, and Lu Mulin's voice came: "Sir, the other three have arrived."

"Speaking of Cao Cao, Cao Cao will arrive and let them in."

The door of the study opened gently, and the three people who had just arrived from outside quickly walked into the study, but Lu Mulin retreated and ordered several personal soldiers at the door: "No one is allowed to approach the study without the orders of Lord Tombzai, and no one in the mansion is allowed to see him."

Several personal soldiers straightened their chests: "Yes!"

When the three of them saw Yang Yong, they hurriedly saluted: "General." Seeing that Yuan Hao was also present, the three of them were happy, but they were not convenient to say hello.

Yang Yong smiled and said, "You three can get back today. Very good. From today on, you four will be able to cooperate, because only you four can trust each other. In the future, Lu Mulin will be your temporary contact person. Except for him, you cannot reveal your identity."

Yuan Hao was delighted. Although he said he didn't care about severing relations with his former acquaintances, if he didn't even have a trustworthy person around him, the pressure would be too great. Now these three people are people with good relationships with him. With them by his side, they will naturally feel much more at ease.

"General, since you want to set up such an organization, please give it a name."

Yang Yong naturally thought of the famous secret service agency in the Ming Dynasty. However, they were just upright and would investigate whoever they wanted to investigate, but everything was hidden in the dark: "Well, then call it the Secret Guard. Yuan Hao, you are the Secret Guard commander, and you three are the Secret Guard deputy commander. The following official positions can be planned to be thousands, hundreds, and ten households, and you will arrange them yourself."

Later, the three of them received Yang Yong's handwritten letter and rushed to the Zuizhou Mansion. Before they could figure out the reason, they were sealed off as deputy commander of the secret ward guard, and they couldn't help but be confused.

Yang Yong was too lazy to explain again: "Yuan Hao, come and tell them."

After Yuan Hao told the three of them that Yang Yong had said before, the three of them knew why Yang Yong hurriedly transferred them to Luoyang. Although he was reluctant to take off his official uniform and join a shameless organization, they were all given by Yang Yong, so naturally they could not refuse and said in unison: "I am willing to die for the general."

"Don't worry, if his Japanese official successfully takes over the position, the secret guard can be made public. I will give you greater power at that time." Although Yang Yong did not doubt their loyalty at this time, they must also have hope.

Yuan Hao did not respond at all, but the other three showed joy on their faces. The three of them naturally knew what Yang Yong meant to take over the position. As long as they paid attention to the situation in Chang'an, they would come to a conclusion. Yang Jian was not far from the day of becoming emperor. Yang Yong was the legitimate son. One day this position would be at Yang Yong's hands, and then they could go from secret to light.

"Okay, since you all know, let's discuss the details below."

This discussion took several hours. Yun Meier was worried that Yang Yong would go hungry and wanted to walk into the study and call people several times, but was stopped by her personal soldiers. She had to instruct the servants in the mansion to heat up the food over and over again.

It was not until late at night that Yang Yong, Yuan Hao and others decided some of the secret guard's regulations. Everyone felt hungry and roaring. Yang Yong rushed out of the study and found that Yun Meier was still guarding a table of steaming food, dozing off while waiting for him.

The twelve-year-old child was sleepy. Looking at Yun Meier's little face that was red from cold, Yang Yong couldn't help but feel pity in his heart. But of course, Yuan Hao and the other four were not too intimate. Just when they were about to wake her, Yun Meier had already woken up by herself and said in surprise: "Young master, you are finally out." As soon as he finished speaking, he yawned a big yawn.

"Okay, you go to bed first."

"No, I want to serve the young master before going to bed after eating." Yun Meier said stubbornly.

Seeing Yun Meier so determined, Yang Yong couldn't persuade him anymore. Seeing that the dishes on the table were still steaming, he knew that Yun Meier must have heated the kitchen every once in a while. Maybe it was too hot and had been poured out a few times. He greeted the four of them: "You can eat together."

"Thank you, General." Whether in the manor or in the military camp, Yang Yong often ate with them, and the four of them were not restricted. After sitting down, they began to eat voraciously.

After the four of them were full, several servants guided them down to rest. Yang Yong said to Yun Meier with pity after seeing the four of them leaving: "Silly girl, you can go and rest now."

Yun Meier supported her half-pulled eyelids: "Well, young master, you should go to bed early too."

The next day was the New Year. Yang Yong summoned Yuan Hao and four others in the study room for a whole day. After staying in the Zuizai Mansion for three days, the four took off their official uniforms and put on plainclothes, and rode a horse with the money prepared by Yang Yong for them. Their files in the government had been written off by Lu Mulin, and the four people seemed to have never appeared.

After giving Yuan Hao 30,000 guan, Yang Yong suddenly felt the tension of money again. These 30,000 guan was just the start-up capital for them. To arrange a secret network all over the country, how huge the funds are needed? 30,000 guan is just a drop in the bucket. Yang Yong estimated that Yuan Hao and others would last for at most half a year, and as the organization increases, the speed of demand for money will continue to accelerate.

It seems that we either look for other sources of wealth or order Sun Qing and Yang Qinghou to expand the production of sugar as much as possible. Moreover, Suizhou may not be safe, and the production of sugar must be transferred. Of course, Yang Yong knew that the most suitable base for producing sugar was Yizhou, which is Taiwan in later generations. It was definitely suitable for the growth of sugarcane and the area was large. However, the Chen State was destroyed, and it was too far from the Zhou territory. Now it is a wasteland. Except for some indigenous people, there is no population at all, so we can only reject it.

Yang Yong looked carefully on the map and felt a little moved. Perhaps he could find a suitable island overseas in Qingzhou. In the past few years, sugar has been sold as overseas tributes and has successfully concealed it from everyone. It is difficult to guarantee that it will be leaked one day. It is better to simply move to the island. At this time, the people of the Central Plains have a natural fear of the sea, and the court does not pay attention to the ocean. Many small islands not far from the mainland are uninhabited. Only by migrating thousands of people over the past can they become sugar production bases.

But Yang Yong suddenly thought of something, but his face changed and shouted: "Come on, call Lu Mulin and Yang Shi."

"yes."

After a while, Lu Mulin and Yang Shi hurried to Yang Yong's study: "General."

"Mulin, how much money is left in my private warehouse?"

"There are more than 223,600 generals."

"Yang Shi, how much money has been paid in the past few years?"

"The General, the first year was 100,000 jin, the second year was 120,000 jin, the third year was 110,000 jin, and the fourth year was 120,000 jin, totaling 450,000 jin."

Yang Shi naturally knew the most about Yang Yong. Yang Yong had asked Yang Shi to manage the expenses of this private money for a while, but found that Yang Shi was really not a financial management talent and replaced by Lu Mulin. Yang Shi undoubtedly knew the whole story of the matter best, and others didn't even know where the money came from.
Chapter completed!