Before the Third Prince Yang Yuanpu, Li Chong, and the others, Han Qian didn’t conceal that his main energy during this period was spent at home helping his father compile manuscripts. Every few days he would select portions of the manuscript’s content to teach Yang Yuanpu, which conveniently allowed him to push aside other matters here completely.
Yang Yuanpu would only turn fourteen after the New Year. Ultimately he still had the temperament of a youth. Though he worked hard to study practical learning for governing the world, when he had doubts, Han Qian and guest advisors from Marquis Xinchang’s residence were always available to help answer his questions. Still, he inevitably found it somewhat dry and tasteless.
The Third Prince Yang Yuanpu was born under Anning Palace’s shadow. Even after leaving the palace to establish his residence, eyes and ears from Anning Palace were everywhere around him. The manuscript Han Qian was now compiling mainly discussed methods for cultivating secret forces, which was truly too well-suited to the Third Prince Yang Yuanpu.
Yang Yuanpu could even be said to have more natural talent in this area than anyone else. Moreover, within Marquis Linjiang’s residence, he could see at any time and place the manuscript’s shadow projected into reality.
Han Qian didn’t know whether teaching Yang Yuanpu methods of checks and balances as well as cultivating and employing secret forces was beneficial or harmful. But compared to other things, he only needed to teach these methods to continue gaining Yang Yuanpu’s trust, and the cost was actually the least.
However, now that the situation was stable and Anning Palace and the Crown Prince’s faction hadn’t yet noticed the changes at Taowu Gathering, Han Qian didn’t forget to remind Yang Yuanpu not to easily try methods of employing spies on Guo Rong, Song Xin, and others, lest they alert the enemy.
After the Lantern Festival, Feng Yi also formally arranged for people from the Feng family warehouses to use boats to transport lime from the manor into the city for sale.
The capital’s circle of powerful and noble was actually not large, and they were concentrated living near the Imperial City.
Around the Lantern Festival, the corners and alleyways of the residences of the Vice Minister of Revenue, Vice Commander of the Right Divine Martial Army, and other families all had quicklime sprinkled on them. It was hard for the capital’s nobility to avoid seeing it.
Feng Yi and Kong Xirong also vigorously promoted among their circle of bad friends that quicklime had uses for eliminating poisonous parasites and clearing epidemic diseases.
Of course, though the water parasite epidemic hadn’t spread extensively into the city, over these years it had been a shadow hanging over the heads of the capital’s entire nobility. Combined with Han Qian intentionally spreading rumors in the background that this year’s epidemic would rage severely, the quicklime stockpiled in Feng family warehouses at one point sold for higher than rice prices.
After the New Year, Han Qian also experimented at the manor with building larger kilns that saved manpower. The three hundred-plus workers hired didn’t increase, but they could maintain output of about four hundred dan of lime daily.
Half the lime produced at the manor was sold cheaply to the garrison military headquarters, while half was exclusively sold to Feng family warehouses.
Very regrettably, once news spread that lime could eliminate epidemic poison, many new lime kilns appeared in the surrounding areas.
Producing lime truly didn’t have much technical content. Even if the manor’s side didn’t leak secrets, with the still relatively primitive craftsman skill level of this era, as long as the scale of stone kiln burning reached a certain level and tasks like quarrying stone and chopping firewood were divided up, costs would inevitably drop rapidly.
However, even so, producing lime could contribute over ten thousand cash in daily surplus to the manor, filling in the expenses of the Han family maintaining so many household troops and servants in the city and at the manor.
After the New Year, Han Qian experimented with crafting some equipment suitable for scout concealment and reconnaissance. Selecting over twenty craftsmen from the garrison households, he no longer needed to subsidize additional expenses himself.
By the end of April, the situation at the garrison military headquarters had completely stabilized.
On one hand, under Shen Yang and others’ supervision, the low dike stretching ten li along the north shore of Chishan Lake was completed before spring waters rose. On the other hand, the initial construction of twenty-five camps was complete. Including lake beaches and initially requisitioned civilian residences, they had developed over seventy thousand mu of dry fields and conducted spring planting, sowing crops like mulberry, hemp, wheat, and beans.
More importantly, the epidemic was completely controlled.
The garrison military headquarters’ military and civilian population finally stabilized at around thirty thousand people. Though still two thousand seven or eight hundred had severe illness symptoms, most of those infected had stabilized symptoms and recovered some working capacity. Over the nearly three months after the New Year, new epidemic cases added up to fewer than thirty people.
Besides the initial hundred-plus household troops offered, after the New Year Marquis Xinchang’s residence either openly or secretly transferred over two hundred more veteran soldiers or household troops with rich combat experience to Taowu Gathering, incorporating them into the garrison troops to strengthen training and organization of the six thousand-plus garrison soldiers.
Though garrison troops were mainly scattered among various camps, to avoid alerting the enemy, Li Zhigao’s side hadn’t assembled all personnel for large-scale training. But Han Qian occasionally appeared at the garrison and could grasp the situation here at any time.
He could also see that after incorporating this batch of experienced junior military officers, even though the Dragon Sparrow Army’s scale was much smaller than a normal army organization, its combat effectiveness wouldn’t be much weaker.
This was also advantageous resources that Marquis Xinchang’s residence had accumulated over these years that other factions rarely possessed.
With Prince of Zhejiang Li Yu retiring to the wilderness, some military officers and officials from Li Yu and General Zhang Xiang’s retinue who fared poorly elsewhere, suffering exclusion and suppression, also had quite a few people attach themselves to Marquis Linjiang’s residence seeking opportunities under Marquis Xinchang Li Pu’s persuasion.
By the end of April, as the Third Prince Marquis Linjiang Yang Yuanpu’s wedding approached, besides the four people—Han Qian, Feng Yi, Kong Xirong, and Li Chong—who were formally appointed academic companion assistants, there were over twenty other assistants and guest advisors taking meals at the marquis’s residence.
Though these people were mainly recommended by Marquis Xinchang Li Pu, either directly disciples or assassins cultivated by Evening Red Tower, or people whose backgrounds Evening Red Tower had long investigated and who had previously served in Prince of Eastern Zhejiang’s and Li Pu’s commanded armies, it was unlikely Anning Palace’s spies could infiltrate.
However, with many people came many mouths. Before outsiders, Han Qian was still careful to maintain distance from Yang Yuanpu.
With the Third Prince Yang Yuanpu’s wedding to Marquis Xinchang Li Pu’s young daughter Li Yao imminent, Han Qian only asked his father to copy a version of the “Orchid Pavilion Preface” and offered his recently initially compiled manuscript “Commentary on the Chapter on Employing Spies” as wedding gifts.
Of course, the “Commentary on the Chapter on Employing Spies” Han Qian presented was also an edited version.
Han Qian mainly deleted technical methods that shouldn’t exist in this era and some that were too cruel and bloody, “possibly bringing harm to later generations and impeding moral education.” But even the clean version with most content deleted still had thirty to forty thousand characters, which in this era could already be called a rarely seen major work.
“This is a new manuscript my father just completed—my father’s insights from serving as judicial officer in Chuzhou. But the various methods of employing spies written in the manuscript are too underhanded and impede the Sage’s moral teachings. My father doesn’t wish this manuscript to be published. I secretly copied one version to present to Your Highness. As a wedding gift, perhaps it’s somewhat inappropriate. I hope Your Highness won’t blame me.”
Han Qian took advantage of entering the inner chamber with Li Chong and Li Zhigao to find the Third Prince Yang Yuanpu to discuss wedding matters to bring out the “Commentary on the Chapter on Employing Spies.”
Though Yang Yuanpu had successively heard Han Qian teach most of the content, obtaining the complete manuscript still made him extremely happy. “How could that be, how could that be? This precious gift—Yuanpu will read it constantly. It’s just a pity that for some difficult points, I cannot ask Vice Director Han for instruction in person.”
Han Qian smiled slightly in his heart, thinking that under Li Chong and others’ unceasing influence during this period, in Yang Yuanpu’s heart he had again become the type who only knew sinister schemes and tricks while his father was the one who truly possessed great talents, right?
Han Qian didn’t mind this either. Only in this way, when his father still couldn’t restrain himself and remonstrated offending the imperial countenance, would the Third Prince and Marquis Xinchang Li Pu’s side possibly exert full effort to protect his father.
“Elder brother, could the General’s office secretly establish a bureau specifically in charge of employing spies and gathering intelligence?” Yang Yuanpu pressed the seventy to eighty pages of manuscript under his hand and looked toward Li Zhigao to ask.
In two days Yang Yuanpu would formally marry Li Yao. In private he also addressed Li Zhigao and Li Chong as elder brothers to show intimacy.
Han Qian raised his head to glance at Li Zhigao.
Though he had secretly taught Yang Yuanpu methods of checks and balances, and the chapter on employing spies focused even more on constructing and using secret forces, when Yang Yuanpu brought up this matter now, he still felt the timing was slightly premature.
Though now on the surface, Marquis Linjiang’s residence was full of eyes and ears from Anning Palace and the Crown Prince, and even the Second Prince Prince Xin, everyone knew clearly in their hearts that Evening Red Tower had lurked in the shadows these years. Whether in the past or present, Evening Red Tower could promptly transmit messages to the Consort, indicating Evening Red Tower had infiltrated and planted spies within the palace precincts.
To say the Crown Prince and Second Prince Prince Xin’s side had no Evening Red Tower spies—not to mention Han Qian, even Yang Yuanpu wouldn’t believe it.
It was just that how many spies Evening Red Tower actually controlled and how many assassins and scouts they had secretly cultivated—not to mention Yang Yuanpu, even Han Qian couldn’t see clearly.
Even if Yang Yuanpu didn’t mind borrowing Evening Red Tower and Marquis Xinchang’s residence’s power to compete for the imperial throne, he still hoped Evening Red Tower and Marquis Xinchang could place these openly or secretly held secret forces within range of his vision so he could see them.
Han Qian teaching him the study of employing spies and instructing on constructing and using secret forces made him recognize the importance of this matter and also gave him a very good pretext.
Of course, Yang Yuanpu had asked Han Qian’s opinion beforehand. Han Qian hoped he wouldn’t act too hastily. It was just that some days ago Emperor Tianyou caught a cold. Reportedly after Emperor Tianyou recovered from illness, his entire person showed much more aged appearance. This also alarmed many people’s thoughts, making everyone’s thinking become urgent.
From this perspective, Han Qian thought that the Third Prince raising this matter now perhaps couldn’t be considered too hasty after all. After the succession conflict intensified, he would be even less daring to act rashly and might never again have opportunity to mention this matter.
Of course, Han Qian didn’t believe this was a decision the Third Prince Yang Yuanpu made alone. Thinking carefully, aside from timing, if it weren’t for Consort Wang being autocratic and arbitrary, it was hard to imagine Yang Yuanpu, who had just turned fourteen, could bear the pressure that this matter might be directly rejected by Marquis Xinchang’s residence and Evening Red Tower.
“Father and Madam know His Highness has been learning matters of employing spies with Assistant Han during this period. They also often hear second brother mention Master Han’s wonderful theories. Both Father and Madam find them quite marvelous. This matter should be taken seriously so we won’t be caught helpless when incidents occur suddenly,” Li Zhigao said impassively. “It’s just unknown whom Your Highness has in mind to control this matter?”
Seeing Li Chong’s eyes look over resentfully, Han Qian cursed darkly in his heart: Damn it, the Consort is more formidable than you imagined and doesn’t wish to completely become your puppet. What use is this grandson glaring at me?
“I also felt inspired from studying during this period, but as for how specifically to proceed, I’m still quite unclear. I still need to ask elder brother and you all to decide,” Yang Yuanpu said.
“Master Han could serve as Staff Officer of the Secret Bureau,” Li Zhigao looked toward Han Qian.
“Commander Li, don’t harm me. Han Qian can help His Highness with some ideas, but to truly do the work, I’m completely in the dark!”
Han Qian wasn’t foolish. If he took on the position of Staff Officer of the Secret Bureau, how could Evening Red Tower and Marquis Xinchang’s residence possibly hand over control of secret forces to him?
No matter how Li Zhigao persuaded, he only declined: “Furthermore, I serve as assistant beside His Highness—my father already disapproves. If I truly specialized in Secret Bureau affairs, given my father’s temperament, he would definitely break my legs.”
Seeing Yang Yuanpu also had no intention of persuading Han Qian, Li Zhigao said, “Since Master Han declines in every way, then this matter should wait until Zhigao reports to Father and Madam before proceeding.”