Chapter 79: Casting the Net

"So it is true."

Zhao Xu picked up his tea, then set it back down.

Xu E's expression turned grave, "How did Your Highness come to know of this?"

Zhao Xu looked up and laughed: "This Yan Commandery is My Commandery; did you really think I would remain blind forever?"

Xu E's gaze shifted, "It seems Your Highness truly has a wealth of talent under your command. This matter is extremely secretive; I, too, have been ordered to investigate it."

"Have you found any leads?" Zhao Xu leaned forward.

He was very uneasy about this matter.

To him, Zhang Kang was nothing more than meat on a chopping block, but the involvement of the Beidi made it different.

"Does Your Highness know of the Black Iron Royal Tent closest to Yanzhou?"

"Liu Fu has told Me that in recent years, most of the Beidi Cavalry that have invaded Yanzhou have come from this Black Iron Royal Tent."

Xu E nodded, "Kutu of the Black Iron Royal Tent is the Nine Kings of the Beidi, the youngest brother of the Beidi Khan, and is said to have one hundred thousand cavalry under his command. The Zhang Family's trade mainly comes from this Black Iron Royal Tent."

After a brief pause, she continued: "According to the information I have gathered, this Black Iron Royal Tent has secretly deployed many spies in Yanzhou to gather intelligence and bribe Rich Clans and officials for their own use, or perhaps they have even greater schemes. As for the Zhang Family, I only know that Zhang Kang has dealings with people from the Black Iron Royal Tent, but I do not know what exactly they are plotting. However, the Yuan Family's trade with the Black Iron Royal Tent is also facilitated by the Zhang Family, though I do not yet have concrete evidence."

"That is about the same as what I have found so far." Zhao Xu frowned.

However, it seemed Xu E did not know much either.

But at least one thing was certain: Zhang Kang was much more complicated than he had imagined.

His identity seemed to be more than just a son-in-law of the Yuan Family.

"I hope you have not held anything back from Me." Zhao Xu rose to leave.

"Why is Your Highness in such a hurry to leave? Is my face truly so repulsive?" Xu E suddenly pouted.

Zhao Xu smiled, "You sing very beautifully."

Upon hearing this, Xu E giggled, "Your lyrics and music are still better, Your Highness."

Zhao Xu chuckled to himself; these were written by a great literary master of the modern era, how could they not be good?

Looking at Xu E, who was striking a coy and charming pose, he said: "It would be better if you, Miss Xu, were not a person of Tianxiang Lou."

Having said that, Zhao Xu turned and left.

"Your Highness..." Xu E was stunned. After a long while, she suddenly let out a faint sigh.

Leaving Tianxiang Lou, Zhao Xu returned straight to the Prince's Mansion.

Both Tianxiang Lou and the Beidi spies now made him very annoyed.

His Yan Commandery must be absolutely under his control, including intelligence.

Thinking of this, he summoned all the Flame Guard members to the secret chamber of the Prince's Mansion; this was the place for discussing confidential and vital matters.

"Xu Ke, if you see that person again, will you be able to recognize him?" Zhao Xu asked.

"Yes, the prey I have set my eyes on has never escaped." Xu Ke was very confident.

Zhao Xu nodded. During the last competition between the merchant firms, he had not assigned specific positions to the members of the Flame Guard.

Because Chai Wu and Xu Ke, father and son, performed similarly, while the others were slightly inferior.

But this time, Xu Ke's ability to track for so long without being discovered was enough to show his talent in tracking and concealment.

"Chai Wu, do you have any objections to Xu Ke becoming the Commander of the Flame Guard?" Zhao Xu asked.

Chai Wu scratched his head, "In the past, I was unconvinced by him, but now I feel I am still not as good as him."

Zhao Xu nodded, "Since that is the case, Xu Ke, today I officially appoint you as the Commander of the Flame Guard, to lead the Flame Guard."

"Thank you, Your Highness." Xu Ke and his son looked at each other, their expressions excited.

Xu Yuan, in particular, had slightly reddened eyes. Once, they had thought that they would be slaves for the rest of their lives with no hope of a future; they had not expected the Yan Wang to give them a chance at rebirth.

Immediately, Xu Yuan pulled Xu Ke to kneel down, "Your Highness's grace is something we will never be able to repay. From now on, we will go through fire and water for Your Highness,"

"and would not hesitate to die ten thousand deaths."

"We are willing to die ten thousand deaths for Your Highness." Chai Wu and the others also knelt down and shouted in unison.

Zhao Xu nodded slightly and told Xu Ke and the others to rise.

"Since I have handed the Flame Guard to you today, you must manage it with care and not be careless." After saying this, Zhao Xu picked up a book on the table.

This was what he had copied out over the past two days, and the content inside was the top-tier spy training methods of the modern era.

He had plenty of this stuff in his head.

While copying, he had reorganized it using the language of the Great Song to make it easier for Xu Ke to understand.

"Your Highness, I am illiterate." Xu Ke scratched his head.

"I know, but you cannot remain illiterate forever, otherwise how will you transmit intelligence?" Zhao Xu said, "Now that the Flame Guard is established, you should find a way to recruit someone who is literate into your Flame Guard, and learn to read and write while you are at it."

He paused, then continued: "Also, I have prepared twenty thousand taels of Silver for you; take it and buy a shop by the Golden Scale Pond."

Xu Ke nodded. The Yan Wang was letting them officially begin to develop and grow.

With Silver, they could select personnel from the common people to join the Flame Guard and expand their own intelligence network.

However, hearing Zhao Xu tell them to buy a shop, he suddenly remembered, "Does Your Highness want to teach us how to make hot pot?"

"The hot pot is just a cover. You only need to pick one or two people to show their faces; the others must still hide their identities and cannot be exposed," Zhao Xu said.

"Yes, Your Highness." Xu Ke said loudly.

After giving these instructions, Zhao Xu let out a soft breath, "Alright, now it is time to teach you how to make hot pot."

Upon hearing this, the group took a few steps forward.

They were also curious about what exactly the hot pot the Yan Wang spoke of was.

At this moment, Zhao Xu picked up a pen and began to draw on a blank sheet of paper.

"Isn't this just a pot?" Chai Wu said, "But what is the purpose of the partition in the middle of this pot?"

"This kind of pot is called a Mandarin Duck Pot? One side for mild flavors, one side for spicy flavors," Zhao Xu said.

In the Great Song, chili peppers had not yet been introduced, or even if they had, they were perhaps not yet accepted.

At the very least, there was no such thing as a chili pepper in his memories.

However, there were substitutes for chili peppers in ancient times, and that was dogwood.

Although it was a bit lacking, he believed that this new style of eating, the hot pot, would still have a market.

"That depends on the customer's taste; this type of pot is just one kind, it could also be one without a partition," Zhao Xu said.

Next, he drew a low stove, inside of which was a honeycomb-like Coal Cake.

"This is the key to the hot pot: the fire," Zhao Xu turned to the crowd.

Modern hot pots have electricity to support them, but in ancient times, one could only use primitive methods.

"Crush the Coal Cake, wash it, and use a mold to press it into shape; such Coal Cake will have no smoke, place it in the stove, then put the pot on top, and you can boil it."

"Oh," the crowd suddenly understood, looking incredulous.

Following that, Zhao Xu spoke about how to prepare hot pot dishes, such as tofu slices, green vegetables, and sliced beef and mutton.

Finally, he spoke about the method for making the soup base.

"Soak the spices in water for half an hour, pour oil into the pot, add the spices, simmer for a quarter of an hour, render the beef tallow, remove the oil dregs, filter the oil from the simmered spice pot into the beef tallow pot, add the filtered spices, add Wine, and simmer for another half hour..."

"Oh..."

The crowd understood once more, and at this moment, Xu Ke immediately picked out three people.

His father and two young men, letting them be responsible for running the hot pot shop and showing their faces.

When Flame Guard personnel entered the shop, they would secretly issue them tasks or exchange intelligence.

"Your Highness, it is not that this humble one is showing favoritism, but one cannot have only young people running a shop," Xu Ke explained.

"It is fine, this Prince trusts you," Zhao Xu said, "Also, you must refer to yourself as 'this subordinate' from now on."

Upon hearing this, Xu Ke felt a warmth in his heart, "Yes, Your Highness, this subordinate will set about expanding the Flame Guard upon returning."