Chapter 54: Flame Guard

"At the trading firm, His Highness said it himself. Father, just wait, I won't lose..."

Dong An told him everything about the trading firm's affairs in detail.

After listening, Dong Yuan was stunned for a long time before he came to his senses.

He looked deeply at Dong An, "His Highness Yan Wang has always been strict. On this matter, your father cannot help you; you must rely on yourself."

Upon hearing this, Dong An clenched his fists; this time, he must win.

The Yang Family.

Yang Cheng held a stick and chased Yang He across half the courtyard.

"You unfilial son, besides drinking flower wine, what other damn skill do you have? Now you even come to swindle me, saying His Highness gave you a chance to be an official..." Yang Cheng panted heavily.

Of the former Dong, Yang, and Lu families, only he and Dong Yuan could not hold their heads high now.

Now, every time the three of them were together, Lv Ran's head was held high to the sky.

Who could blame him when his son had the ability, became a soldier for Yan Wang, and was now a Colonel.

Yet, his and Dong Yuan's eldest sons could neither be soldiers nor officials.

They had already become a joke within the clan.

Yang He was furious. He climbed onto the rockery and shouted, "It is absolutely true! I didn't lie to you. If you don't believe me, go ask His Highness."

Just as his words fell, the Steward of Yangfu entered and whispered something in Yang Cheng's ear.

"Is this matter really true?" Yang Cheng dropped the stick and rolled his eyes.

Looking at Yang He, he said, "Father misunderstood you this time. This time, His Highness is looking after you. If you lose, don't come back in the future."

Yang He breathed a sigh of relief, "Just you wait and see."

At the same time, other children of the Rich Clans also informed their families of this matter.

While the Rich Clans were surprised, they were also secretly delighted.

For a time, the children of the Rich Clans each showed their own prowess.

At this time, Zhao Xu had already returned to the Prince's Mansion.

In the front courtyard, he summoned Xu Yuan and his son, Chai Wu, and the others.

Last time they were selected for the Prince's Mansion's intelligence agency, Zhao Xu had kept them recuperating.

Because they had suffered quite a bit, their bodies were very weak.

"Your Highness."

Seeing Zhao Xu, the sixteen people bowed to him.

Zhao Xu nodded and told them to stand at ease.

"Your Highness, can you use us now?" A flash of excitement crossed Xu Ke's eyes.

During this period, they had been eating and dressing well in the Prince's Mansion.

But they felt guilty, thinking they were a burden to the Prince's Mansion.

"Hmm, there is indeed something to entrust to you." A trace of a mischievous smile spread from the corner of Zhao Xu's mouth.

In this selection for the trading firm, there would definitely be people cheating.

To him, this would not do.

Therefore, he prepared to let Xu Ke and these people go out and keep watch.

And this was also a test for them.

He would decide which of them would lead this sixteen-person squad.

Thinking of this, he told them the reason.

"What do they look like? What are their names? We don't know anything," one team member complained with a bitter face.

Zhao Xu said sternly, "If you knew everything, would you still need to investigate? This is just a trivial matter; the things you will do in the future will be life-and-death matters."

Xu Ke nodded and licked his lips, becoming even more excited, "In the mountains, as long as there are traces, I can find wild beasts; finding people is a piece of cake."

Xu Yuan patted his son's shoulder, "Do not be careless; this is different from finding wild beasts."

Zhao Xu looked at the two, "This time, the Commander of the squad will be selected based on your performance."

After pondering for a moment, he continued, "Afterwards, you will officially serve as eyes and ears to monitor Yan Commandery for this Prince."

Upon hearing this, everyone's spirits were lifted.

Chai Wu said, "Your Highness, I heard that the spies of Xiliang all belong to Lijing Gate. Does Your Highness want to come up with a resounding name as well?"

Zhao Xu walked up to Chai Wu; this kid was also bold.

Just as Chai Wu said, Dasong, Xiliang, and Beidi all had their own spy agencies, similar in nature to the Brocade Guards of the contemporary Great Ming.

This included the powerful clans of Dasong, who also secretly cultivated spies.

He thought for a moment and smiled deviously, "This Prince does indeed have a good name for you: Flame Guard."

"Flame Guard? Why call it Fire Guard?" Everyone looked at each other in dismay.

"Because after this test, this Prince will teach you how to make a delicacy called hot pot, and I will also give you shops. From now on, this will be your public identity, but in secret, you will be spies. Fire means flame; Flame Guard."

After a pause, he continued, "Using Hot Pot House as your nest, you can recruit personnel, gather intelligence, and you can even open Hot Pot House in the Capital City."

Xu Ke and the others were dumbfounded.

This Yan Wang was too shrewd; he didn't forget to do business while having them gather intelligence.

He could even save the silver for paying them; they would earn it themselves.

"Hahaha... Brilliant." Chai Wu didn't know if he was crying or laughing.

This name was indeed novel, but he always felt the flavor was off.

"Hmm, it is decided." Zhao Xu was in a great mood.

He knew how to make hot pot base, the pots could be made of ceramic, and as for the fire, he had a way to solve that for now.

The next priority to resolve is the various types of vegetables.

Although not as abundant as in modern times, it doesn't matter if there are fewer.

Most importantly, this will effectively conceal their identities.

Having finalized this matter, Zhao Xu let them set off.

By now, the Rich Clan descendants are likely already in action.

This time, he wants to see who among these people truly has ability.

……

Zhang Family Fort.

Zhang Kang stood outside the gate, looked around left and right, then turned and entered a secret chamber.

This was a room located underground.

Confidential and important matters were all decided here.

At this moment inside the room, Tuoba Lie was admiring a painting of plum blossoms.

Zhang Kang entered and sat down before a stone table.

"That Chang Wei is truly lucky to have survived." Zhang Kang poured a cup of tea for Tuoba Lie, his tone expressing regret.

Tuoba Lie's contempt almost spilled from his eyes, "What is there to worry about regarding a defeated general? A scout troop of mine from the Northern Di, numbering just over two hundred, nearly took his life. Once the Autumn Hunting Army arrives, Yan Commandery will be nothing but a plaything."

"Hehe... Commander Tuoba is absolutely right." Zhang Kang's mood was unprecedentedly relaxed.

Originally, he had been somewhat worried, but now it seems Yan Wang truly will not live past this autumn.

In this way, his sacrifice of the Du Family and the Huang Family was worth it.

Tuoba Lie laughed wantonly for a few moments and asked, "Has the Refined Iron for this time been prepared?"

"It is prepared. In a few days, the Yuan Family will send someone to deliver it. Yuan Li asked this humble one to exchange it for one thousand Warhorses," said Zhang Kang.

Over these years, he has always been the middleman for trade between the Northern Di and the Yuan Family.

Relying on this, the Northern Di obtained grain, ironware, cloth, and the like, while the Yuan Family obtained large quantities of furs and Warhorses.

They even formed an elite Cavalry of thirty thousand men.

The Yuan Family also made a fortune from this trade.

Tuoba Lie nodded with satisfaction.

Resources on the Grassland are scarce; ever since the Great Song prohibited border trade, life on the Grassland has been affected.

The trade with the Yuan Family has slightly alleviated this problem.

At the same time, another reason they did this was to allow the Yuan Family to grow stronger.

Over these years, the Yuan Family has grown from a Rich Clan looked down upon by the Eight Great Influential Clans into an existence second only to the Eight Great Influential Clans; one cannot say this was without their contribution.

And the reason they did this was to let the Yuan Family's ambition swell, eventually leading to the partitioning of Yanzhou.

In this way, the one hundred and sixty thousand Imperial Guard of the Great Song stationed at Yanguan would make the Yuan Family uncomfortable.

In the past two years, the Yuan Family has several times submitted memorials impeaching the generals of the Yanguan Imperial Guard for evil deeds, and their righteous claim that the Yuan Family is willing to guard Yanguan for the Imperial Court is proof of this.

And a Yuan Family that has partitioned Yanzhou is much easier to deal with than the Great Song Imperial Clan, and there is even the opportunity for some secret dealings.

Just as he was thinking smugly, he suddenly saw Zhang Kang's face reveal a worried look.

Only to hear Zhang Kang say: "Commander, I have already discovered some suspicious details regarding the previous attack on the Prince's Mansion. I fear there are spies from Jingshi in Yan Commandery; you must be careful."

Tuoba Lie's expression turned cold immediately.