Han Qian’s emotions surged, and he didn’t sleep well all night. Rising at dawn, he practiced a set of boxing forms. Before noon, he didn’t go out, staying in the residence thinking about planning matters for the Left Bureau of the secret bureau. In his heart, he was also considering what strategy to use in coordination with the Marquis Xinchang’s household so the court would quickly transfer his father out of Jinling to take up a provincial post.
Dragging on until afternoon, he had Zhao Kuo and the others escort him to the Marquis Linjiang’s residence to help prepare for the grand wedding.
When Li Zhigao saw Han Qian arrive at the Marquis Linjiang’s residence, he pulled him aside and said: “Xuzhou Provincial Governor Wang Yu died of illness while in office. However, no one is willing to take the position. The Ministry of Personnel has been hesitating over this matter for some time. I wonder if Lord Han has any such intention…”
During the Kaiyuan period of the previous dynasty, Jiangnan Circuit was divided into Jiangnan East Circuit, Jiangnan West Circuit, and Qianzhong Circuit. Xuzhou was located at the junction of Jiangnan West Circuit and Qianzhong Circuit.
Even in this era when Jiangnan had been fully developed, Xuzhou remained a miasmatic barbarian land.
The Qianzhong region west and south of Xuzhou, although also incorporated into Great Chu’s territory, was entirely composed of nominal prefectures. The previous dynasty had never effectively brought it under central government control.
The provincial governors and other important positions in the Qianzhong prefectures were all hereditary positions held by local indigenous chieftains, who at this time only symbolically submitted some tribute to Jinling each year.
Xuzhou’s situation was slightly better than the Qianzhong prefectures, but not by much. Except for the provincial governor and other main officials who accepted court appointments, local indigenous tribal forces were still extremely powerful, existing in a semi-autonomous state.
Besides the mixed habitation of tribal peoples and complex local customs, Xuzhou had high mountains and treacherous waters, with miasmas everywhere. In the previous dynasty, it was truly a place people feared—where court officials were exiled only when they had committed errors.
However, in the current Chu Kingdom, the territory under its jurisdiction was only fifty-one prefectures. A prefecture’s provincial governorship, no matter how remote, was a real position countless people scrambled for. How could there be no one willing to take it?
It should be that for the Xuzhou provincial governor vacancy, several factions had been in deadlocked competition for many days without a conclusion yet.
Han Qian believed that for Li Pu and they to secure this position, they would also have to pay a considerable price. But deciding so quickly to let his father fill this vacancy should still be due to yesterday’s events playing a catalytic role.
Xuzhou was somewhat remote, but aside from not having the qualifications to pick and choose, sometimes remoteness wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Han Qian cupped his hands toward Li Zhigao and said:
“Thank you, Commander, for helping advocate for this. After Han Qian returns home tonight to report to my father, I will give the Commander a reply.”
“This is easily said. At this time of conflict on all sides, Lord Han has practical governing talent and should administer a region. In the future, ascending to the hall as prime minister is not impossible.” Li Zhigao laughed heartily.
Facing Li Zhigao’s expectations, Han Qian only smiled. In his heart, he thought that Third Prince Yang Yuanpu’s foundation was weak. However, there were less than four years remaining. If he didn’t have the courage and self-awareness to take each step with extreme caution from now on, the chance of seizing the imperial throne from the Crown Prince and Prince Xin was truly extremely remote.
“Yesterday there was quite a commotion at your family residence!” At this moment, Feng Yi, Kong Xirong, and Li Chong came out from inside. Seeing Han Qian and Li Zhigao talking at the corridor entrance, they immediately sneaked over furtively to speak.
“What are people outside saying happened at my family residence yesterday?” Han Qian asked with a smile.
Yesterday, Han Jun and Han Duan had used horses to transport the corpse of the evil servant Niu Erdan from the Han residence and left with resentment, when the sky hadn’t yet darkened.
Within the capital, with one person shot dead by an arrow and three others having their right arms broken, even if they were all Han family household soldiers, the military officers of the street patrol posts, upon seeing this, absolutely couldn’t not stop them for questioning.
No matter what excuses Han Jun and Han Duan found to deflect, not causing alarm was impossible.
However, Han Qian didn’t want to explain too much. Avoiding the important to address the trivial, he asked Feng Yi back.
Li Chong stared at Han Qian. Seeing Han Qian unwilling to say more, he secretly resented it, but also had no way to pry open Han Qian’s mouth to pursue what exactly had happened at the Han family residence yesterday that caused Han Qian to allow servants to kill someone, causing Han Daoming’s eldest son Han Jun, who had come to visit, to leave in such an embarrassed and resentful manner.
Seeing that after just one night, Han Qian already appeared calm and composed, Li Zhigao also secretly admired him. He thought that such a person controlling one bureau for the Third Prince should be able to accomplish some things.
……
……
Li Chong pulled Feng Yi and Kong Xirong away. Han Qian followed Li Zhigao to see Third Prince Yang Yuanpu.
Han Qian believed Li Zhigao and Li Chong had already found opportunities to tell Yang Yuanpu about many things that happened yesterday. It wasn’t easy for them to avoid Guo Rong, Song Xin, and others to discuss matters in the marquis residence, so they needed to seize the time. He said straightforwardly:
“To establish the Left Bureau of the secret bureau while concealing it from Anning Palace and Prince Xin’s eyes and ears, the office can be secretly established at the Qiuhu Mountain villa. The required personnel, under the name of hiring workers for the manor, can be hired and trained from the garrison military office’s craftsmen and soldier disciples. The required funds and provisions should also be drawn from transactions between the manor and the garrison military bureau, which should ensure we don’t alarm others…”
How Chai Jian established and operated the Right Bureau of the secret bureau was none of Han Qian’s business. Last night until midnight, he hadn’t slept soundly. This morning too, he had been constantly considering how to organize and establish the Left Bureau. He had also written down some thoughts, and now handed several pages of draft paper to Third Prince Yang Yuanpu to look at.
Although this matter ultimately still required Marquis Xinchang Li Pu and the black-veiled woman to decide, Han Qian still wanted to cultivate the habit of having everything first go through Third Prince Yang Yuanpu for review.
To accomplish anything, first you need people, second you need funds and provisions.
Han Qian had thought about how to arrange the household soldiers and household soldier disciples in the residence when his father truly had the opportunity to take up a provincial post.
Han Qian’s proposal was that Fan Xicheng, Zhao Kuo, the household soldiers who married famine refugee women before the New Year, and home-born sons like Lin Jingzong should all follow his father in leaving Jinling to go to Xuzhou.
This way, not only could he ensure that household soldier disciples of famine refugee origin like Guo Nu’er, having no roots remaining in Jinling, could be loyal to him without being threatened by others, but at the same time, those few household soldiers still remaining in Jinling following him would also not dare casually betray him because their offspring were serving by his father’s side.
However, after distributing the household soldiers and household soldier disciples this way, Han Qian would only have just over thirty people available by his side, far from enough to support the Left Bureau of the secret bureau.
Moreover, no matter how much Marquis Xinchang Li Pu and Third Prince Yang Yuanpu trusted him, they couldn’t possibly agree to him using only his direct trusted confidants throughout the Left Bureau of the secret bureau.
Currently, the manor’s brick kiln employed three hundred people, most hired from garrison army households. Han Qian was considering that hiring two hundred people from the garrison military office under the name of hiring craftsmen and craftsmen apprentices shouldn’t alarm others.
As for funds and provisions, they could of course be covertly allocated by the Marquis Xinchang’s household or Wanhong Tower, but Han Qian deeply understood the importance of funds and provisions.
With funds and provisions supply controlled by Wanhong Tower or the Marquis Xinchang’s household, the Left Bureau of the secret bureau could never escape the shadow of Wanhong Tower and the Marquis Xinchang’s household or gain a position independent of Wanhong Tower’s control.
Although the market price of lime had dropped severely, currently the manor’s daily supply of one hundred fifty loads of lime to the garrison military office was only half the market price.
Han Qian was thinking that from now on, the garrison military office could purchase lime from the manor at market price and gradually make up the previous price difference. This way, Han Qian could receive a fixed surplus of three to four million coins annually from the garrison military office to maintain the Left Bureau of the secret bureau’s operations.
This way, he could both avoid Wanhong Tower or Marquis Xinchang choking the Left Bureau of the secret bureau’s lifeline, while also ensuring power was concentrated under the Dragon Sparrow General’s Office framework.
As for how the Left Bureau of the secret bureau operated internally, Han Qian hoped he would have exclusive authority and only be responsible to and report to Third Prince Yang Yuanpu.
Although Han Qian had only deliberated on these matters for one night, he had already considered all aspects.
The Marquis Xinchang’s household and Wanhong Tower had also entrusted all matters around Third Prince Yang Yuanpu to Li Zhigao’s control. They immediately decided that the Provisions Bureau would first allocate one million coins to make up the previous price difference, and Han Qian would recruit personnel from garrison army households on his own.
The personnel selected for the Left Bureau of the secret bureau didn’t need to be registered in the military office’s Personnel Bureau, but the list of personnel had to be handed to Li Zhigao to personally control. No matter how generous and trusting they wanted to appear, they couldn’t leave no checks and balances whatsoever.
Li Zhigao added: “The Right Bureau will also prepare a personnel list to give to Counselor Han!”
Han Qian nodded. Seeing Third Prince Yang Yuanpu’s eyes also full of anticipation, as if the current situation was truly excellent in all respects, he sighed inwardly. Under Emperor Tianyou’s shadow or rather suppression, Anning Palace currently had no heart-stopping ruthless moves, or perhaps their vision was mainly fixed on Prince Xin. But after this side bared its fangs, the situation would definitely not be as relaxed as it appeared now.
……
……
After receiving from Third Prince Yang Yuanpu a guard officer’s waist token engraved with a dragon sparrow pattern, Han Qian took his leave from Xiaoxiang Courtyard. At this time, inside and outside the marquis residence, everyone was setting about hanging lanterns and decorations. In four days would be the grand wedding of Third Prince Yang Yuanpu and Marquis Xinchang’s youngest daughter Li Yao.
Watching the many people inside and outside all appearing to take this seriously, Han Qian smiled inwardly. Third Prince Yang Yuanpu was much more precocious than his peers, but Marquis Xinchang’s youngest daughter Li Yao was even younger, having just turned twelve after the New Year. He didn’t know whether she truly understood the meaning of a grand wedding.
At this moment, Feng Yi somehow emerged from some corner again, asking furtively: “What matter did His Highness summon you for?”
“His Highness saw that my building of the brick kiln was quite effective and was thinking of having me help him establish warehouses and such in the city, perhaps thinking of placing some informants inside later…” Han Qian said without changing expression.
Han Qian didn’t tell the complete truth, but also didn’t think of completely concealing it from Feng Yi.
Although Feng Yi was idle and unproductive, he wasn’t blind.
Unless Han Qian no longer had contact with Feng Yi, otherwise with so many things he would do in the future, how could he possibly hide them from Feng Yi?
Hearing Han Qian say this, Feng Yi’s eyes lit up. Lowering his voice, he asked: “Are there any assignments for me and Old Kong?”
During this time, Han Qian had intentionally and unintentionally instilled in them the principle of betting on both sides. Feng Yi also very much agreed with this reasoning.
Even if Feng Yi worked for Third Prince Yang Yuanpu, at only nineteen years old now with only seven or eight servants attending him, compared to the entire Feng family, he was still somewhat insignificant, still far from sufficient to represent the Feng family.
As long as the Feng family’s attitude didn’t change, or even leaned further toward Anning Palace and the Crown Prince, in the future when Anning Palace and the Crown Prince’s faction sought to win over the Feng family, they wouldn’t exterminate them completely because individual family members had some flaws.
More critically, during this time Feng Yi had also frequently visited Taowu Market. Seeing that the Dragon Sparrow Army garrison military office, which he initially held no hope for whatsoever, had actually taken shape in just four or five months, seeing that Third Prince Yang Yuanpu wasn’t without chance of success, and thinking that his working for the Third Prince now might yield incalculable benefits in the future, his enthusiasm grew by several degrees.
Additionally, during these three or four months, Third Prince Yang Yuanpu hadn’t forced anyone. Feng Yi and Kong Xirong mainly helped Han Qian sell the lime produced by the manor through the Feng and Kong family warehouses to various counties. Not only had they suffered no harm, but they had also received one to two million coins for them to squander completely.
In the Feng family and Kong family, their fathers and elder brothers no longer saw them as unlearned, unaccomplished, and idle, no longer rebuking and scolding them at every turn. This feeling was something they had never experienced before, and now they wanted to take on more tasks.
Han Qian smiled inwardly, pulling Feng Yi outside, saying: “Come, let’s find a place to drink tea. With His Highness assigning me these tasks, I alone have no way to do so much…”