Chapter 864: Two Matters

After a simple drill ground banquet, Chen Wuji summoned Kong Jianshi alone into the Zhongjun Camp.

The night was already deep, but after finishing his drink, Chen Wuji still had a pile of things to attend to.

"Old Kong, have a seat!"

Chen Wuji greeted Kong Jianshi to sit down, then personally poured him a cup of his own late-night invigorating strong tea, and got straight to the point: "How is the Benevolent Aid Hall's influence in the Capital?"

"We have some manpower, but no experts holding the fort; the Capital is a deep pool, and a slight misstep would drag us into various factions' struggles, so we have retained only the most basic personnel to gather information." Kong Jianshi held his bamboo cup, his body leaning slightly forward.

Upon hearing this, Chen Wuji immediately scrapped the assassination plan.

With only the most basic manpower, this undertaking could not succeed.

Whether it's Ruan Yuchang, Yan Yan, or the Wise King, each of them is surrounded by experts, as formidable as a dragon's pool and tiger's den; even several grand masters barging in might not make it out unscathed.

It is foreseeable that the mansions of these few individuals are now probably more heavily guarded than the imperial palace's forbidden precincts.

"Young Master, does the Capital have any moves?" Seeing Chen Wuji silent for a moment, Kong Jianshi took the initiative to ask, "Although the personnel left in the Capital's surroundings are few, we can transfer people from elsewhere; if time is not especially urgent, I can draw experts from the Within the Passes and Inside the River areas."

"In about ten days we should be able to muster a force led by at least one grand master."

Chen Wuji waved his hand, "Let this matter rest; a single grand master barging in would have absolutely no chance of survival."

"Barging in…… Young Master, are you intending to assassinate a high-ranking court official?" Kong Jianshi asked.

Chen Wuji rubbed his temples and grunted, "Precisely, the target is Yan Yan; if the opportunity arises, we could also take out Ruan Yuchang and the Wise King along the way, but the difficulty of this endeavor is too great, so there's no need to consider it further."

Kong Jianshi opened his mouth.

The Young Master truly dares to think such things.

Yan Yan, Ruan Yuchang, and the Wise King—assassinating any one of them is as hard as climbing to heaven, let alone all three together.

"Young Master, assassinating all three together would likely fail. But if only one of them is targeted, I can order the personnel in the Capital's surroundings to give it a try. Storming the residence of any one of them would make assassination absolutely impossible; the only way is to seek an opportunity to get close to them." Kong Jianshi said.

"The personnel left in the Capital's surroundings usually deal with these dignitaries and nobles; perhaps they can ferret out an assassination opportunity."

Chen Wuji had originally held no hope, but upon hearing Xu Zengyi say that, he suddenly felt a stir of anticipation and asked, "Let's estimate—what are the chances?"

"Twenty… thirty percent." Kong Jianshi said, sounding very uncertain.

Chen Wuji laughed upon hearing that, "You're so lacking in confidence?"

"Mainly… the personnel in the Capital's surroundings are not under my command; I know only a rough situation, but I'm not clear on the specifics." Kong Jianshi said, "Not knowing the concrete details, I can only make a rough estimate."

Chen Wuji lowered his eyelids slightly, "How's the cleanup of those small fry inside the hall going?"

Within the Benevolent Aid Hall there is an unstable faction that, regarding him as the new hall chief, is quite dissatisfied and has constantly tried to stir up trouble.

However, Chen Wuji has never bothered to inquire about this; he is swamped with daily tasks, and when he has free time he still wants to rest properly, so he can't be bothered to look into such trivial matters.

But now we need to draw on the manpower of the Benevolent Aid Hall, and going forward we even need to merge the hall's intelligence with that of Qin Zhanhong's side, so these matters require attention.

If an intelligence agency leaks everywhere, it has no reason to exist.

Kong Jianshi chuckled, "The shopkeeper personally took action to clear obstacles for the Young Master; those petty troubles have long ceased to be troubles, and have been cleaned up."

"Since it's already clean, we can now speak openly about some matters." Chen Wuji lightly tapped his fingers on the desk.

"Don't blame me for distrusting you; intelligence work is of great importance, a single false report could lead to strategic misjudgment. Moreover, my understanding of the hall's situation is not thorough enough, so I must be cautious."

Kong Jianshi wore a strange expression; no wonder he's always had this feeling.

Having followed Chen Wuji for so long, he could sense that Chen Wuji trusts him as a person, but when it comes to the Benevolent Aid Hall, many of Chen Wuji's orders become arbitrary, like an adult tossing a toy to a child and letting him play with it on his own.

He initially thought it was because this Young Master had just taken over and lacked sufficient understanding of the Benevolent Aid Hall.

Now it appears the reason is actually a lack of trust.

"I can understand the Young Master's concerns; after all, it's indeed… of great magnitude." Kong Jianshi truly could comprehend, but he couldn't immediately figure out how to put it coherently, so he simply continued to echo Chen Wuji's wording.

Chen Wuji nodded, "That's enough if you understand; in fact, the Benevolent Aid Hall's manpower is crucial, especially its intelligence capabilities. But precisely because it's crucial, many matters require even greater caution. Greet the Old Master; from now on, you'll take charge of intelligence affairs."

Kong Jianshi hesitated a moment, "I have no problem at all, but… haven't intelligence matters always been handled by the Third Madam?"

"The spy agency in the prefecture is far inferior to the Benevolent Aid Hall's veteran network; we need to coordinate." Chen Wuji said.

Starting tomorrow, when his army crosses the pass of Ancestral Spirit Mountain, his vision can no longer be confined to Nan Jun alone; it must extend over the entirety of Zhongyuan. Once the strategy is thus laid out, his perspective and intelligence must keep pace, and the manpower of the Benevolent Aid Hall will have to be employed.

This is also why Chen Wuji needed to say these things to Kong Jianshi today.

The Benevolent Aid Hall is not merely a jianghu force active only in Nan Jun; its sphere of influence is extensive.

"I understand," Kong Jianshi said.

Chen Wuji stared at this great expert for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Old Kong, do you rarely command troops?"

"I've never led people." Kong Jianshi shook his head honestly, "I've always been by the Old Master's side as a guard; I know the hall's affairs, but many details aren't particularly clear to me—roughly speaking, I've heard of them, understand them, but not thoroughly."

Chen Wuji: ……

Damn!

What the heck are those two up to?

At this moment, Chen Wuji suddenly felt somewhat speechless.

He had thought Kong Jianshi knew, but now it seems Kong Jianshi has no idea what he's supposed to do.

Chen Wuji's assignment for Kong Jianshi was as the core person in charge of the Benevolent Aid Hall, yet it's obvious that Kong Jianshi has always seen himself as a guard.

After sipping a mouthful of bitter-astringent tea to keep his mind sufficiently clear, Chen Wuji said, "Two matters: first, quickly compile a personnel list of the Benevolent Aid Hall's members across Da Yu, detailing what they do and who they are involved with."

"Second, Old Kong, you need to get up to speed quickly."