“Ye Jinglüe, if people were to find out that all these things were done at your behest, I'm afraid the imperial court's memorials impeaching you would double again," said Nie Rui.

Nie Rui had secretly arrived at Zhongjun Town two days prior. As the head of the Intelligence Bureau, he had previously discussed various intelligence gathering matters with Ye Tao countless times, as well as developing suitable tools for intelligence personnel. The establishment of the Intelligence Bureau was suggested by Ye Tao and Tan Weixin. Now, Nie Rui had long grown into an intelligence chief far more professional than the amateur Ye Tao and Tan Weixin. Everyone in the court held him in great awe, but no matter what, his gratitude towards Ye Tao and Tan Weixin never changed. He had gone from an officer in charge of documents and military intelligence, with only a moderately suitable rank, to the most important and sought-after official in the court. The difference was too great. What fascinated him even more was how captivating the field of intelligence actually was. Although as the highest official in charge of intelligence work for a country, he certainly couldn't carry out field missions, being able to learn about all kinds of incredible things, this feeling of seeing through everything, was truly fascinating.

After the airship series of events finally came to an end, Nie Rui was able to free himself to communicate with Ye Tao about how the intelligence work against the Northern Liao should be arranged. And whether there were any opportunities to seize in other countries, to arrange several more important intelligence operations. Especially the most important intelligence sources, their communication had always been from your mouth, directly into my ears, without going through anyone. Each could make targeted deployments according to their understanding, without fully disclosing everything to their subordinates. Whether it was about Kong Xinhua, or Sun Boping, or the Song family, their caution in this regard was not without reason.

"I don't care about such things anymore," Ye Tao replied calmly. "Now, how is the progress on your side? There must be a lot of interesting things, right?"

Ye Tao was referring to the Kong Xinhua line, which he had now handed over to Nie Rui to manage. After all, the distance between Zhongjun Town and Yanjing was too great, and communication between the two sides had to detour, which was not efficient. But now, the Northern Liao might have important decisions and changes at any time.

Nie Rui said with a smile, "A guy who can frequently meet the Northern Liao's ruler can certainly give us a lot of good stuff. But... Ye Jinglüe, entrusting the airships to the Northern Liao, this is really a bit dangerous. Not to mention anything else, our own fine sons are very likely to be directly threatened by the local airships."

"This is indeed a problem. I hesitated about it at first, but in the end, I decided to reveal a little of the airship technology. On the one hand, Chunnan is already doing this kind of thing. They themselves are still amateurs, and they are already using airship technology to make trouble for us. Jiang Yan is indeed a very clever person. Even if others know they did it, there is no way to stop them. Even the sworn enemy, Western Ling, is the same. In addition, there are some surveys done by the workshops and research institutes. The chief technician of the airship workshop concluded that, with the technical level of Western Ling, Chunnan, and Northern Liao, to mass-produce things that reach our second-generation airship level, the cost is seven times, four times, and twelve times what it costs us to produce the same airship, respectively. This move is almost unsolvable for the Northern Liao. I can tell you... in the Ye family workshops, the cost of producing the most basic model of airship now is only eight hundred silver yuan. By next year, after the war with the Northern Liao ends, I am considering whether to suggest to His Majesty that airships can also be sold to ordinary people. Although this would require a large number of related regulations to be formulated, it would also allow airships to enter ordinary people's homes. For the country, such a large industry, such a large profit, I'm afraid we can all imagine it, right? But you also asked Kong Xinhua, right? The Northern Liao's production of the most basic experimental airship, which cannot yet enter mass production, already costs nearly ten thousand taels of silver. Whether it's comparing quantity or combat power, I won't be afraid of the Northern Liao in the slightest. Moreover, we already have a sharp weapon to shoot down airships. Just imagine, when the Northern Liao is confidently preparing to have an airship war with us, and is wiped out in one fell swoop, what will be the result for the morale of the people? I do look forward to a great victory. I don't seem to be so interested in small-scale nibbling with better practical results. A great victory may entail a relatively large price in a single battle, but it also gives me the opportunity to force the surrender of the Northern Liao."

"If there is such an opportunity... it is indeed worth the risk. But there are too many variables in it... we can talk about it here, but there is no way to explain it to the court." Nie Rui sighed. He knew that Ye Tao was annoyed by those guys who impeached him, and also knew that working hard silently for a long time would always affect Ye Tao's own reputation. For those who worked for Ye Tao, this kind of thing was also quite troubling. Nie Rui understood that Ye Tao, Tan Weixin, and Dai Yun were low-key, knowing that high position and power would inevitably attract all kinds of coveting and dissatisfaction, especially since they controlled one side, and now the power they held was almost no less than that of Tan Xiaopei. Moreover, this kind of power would probably continue to expand for a period of time. They would really have to wait until the world was unified to truly retire and enjoy the beautiful life they had created themselves.

"No need to explain," Ye Tao said with a smile, "But the imperial court should determine as soon as possible, how to handle the division of regions after the war in the Northern Liao ends, and who should be in charge. No matter what, it can't be hung under the Northern Frontier Pacification Commissioner's Office, right? The territory I manage is too large... if you add the Northern Liao, I will definitely quit."

Nie Rui smiled. Tan Xiaopei hadn't failed to consider this issue, and had discussed it with him several times. The general policy had already been set, but Tan Xiaopei had not made a final decision. Nie Rui said, "Now, His Majesty favors Lord Chi Xianping... but I'm afraid this is not something the court can easily fight to a victory. Anyway, I'm not involved in this matter."

Nie Rui spoke lightly, but how could he not be involved? His Majesty favored Chi Xianping, on the one hand because his rank and influence were sufficient, and he also had two good sons, Chi Yun and Chi Lei. Pacifying the Northern Liao definitely required the army, and it had to be someone who could control the Northern Liao, suppress the strong folk customs, and have enough courage to deal with various rebellious troops. Chi Yun was an important general in the Imperial Guards, and had been preparing for the war with Western Ling and Chunnan for many years. Although he didn't have much military merit, his rank had still been raised, just so that he could suppress other officers in the future. This was definitely not going to change. But Chi Lei was different. Tan Xiaopei's plan was mostly to hand over Tan Weiran and Chi Lei to Chi Xianping to use together. With Tan Weiran's support, Chi Xianping's authority would be guaranteed, and others wouldn't dare to say anything. And Chi Lei and Tan Weiran had already won a great reputation in the Northern Liao. This prestige was probably enough. However, would Tan Weiran and Chi Lei be willing to part with the Frost Wolf and Silver Wing armies? Chi Lei was the best scout in the world. Although he wasn't bad at managing local affairs, that was definitely not what he wanted to do. Moreover, many people would attack the father and son for managing the affairs of the Northern Liao...

Ye Tao thought for a while and said, "Leave Chi Lei to me. How about I help the Grand Commandant with General Yu Fuzhong again? After all, General Yu is old. After the war with Western Ling ended, he kept grumbling, saying that he couldn't fight anymore, but he was reluctant to retire... General Yu brought out all the garrison battalions in the Northern Frontier. He's very familiar with this aspect. What do you think?"

Nie Rui chuckled and said, "That's what we want. Should I go back and tell His Majesty about this, or should you send a telegram directly?"

Ye Tao shrugged and said, "I don't have any objections, but if I directly recommend General Yu, I'm afraid... some people will be unhappy again."

Nie Rui was also a little helpless. Then, he said again, "His Majesty also has something to tell me. He asked me to borrow some money from you, so we might as well renovate Zhongjun Town completely. His Majesty said that there must be a place to transfer from Gondor to Yanjing. And Zhongjun Town... seems pretty good. However, His Majesty has no money now, so you have to pay for this sum first."

"Oh?" Ye Tao was slightly surprised. "His Majesty also thought of it. His Majesty doesn't have to be so aggrieved... it's clear that His Majesty doesn't plan to pay back the money. Well, while this is still my territory, I'll pay for this money. Zhongjun Town is bound to be an important town in the future. Everyone can see that. Now it's already starting a big commotion."

Nie Rui said "Oh." He originally thought it was just some strengthening and renovation work, which made Zhongjun Town look a bit like a large construction site. After all, Zhongjun Town was now an out-and-out heavy military garrison, and constantly strengthening its defenses was only natural. But he didn't expect that Ye Tao had already begun to consider the function of Zhongjun Town from another aspect.

With Ye Tao's explanation, Nie Rui realized what kind of changes were taking place in Zhongjun Town. Ye Tao didn't pay too much attention to things like city walls. Zhongjun Town might have been a thoroughfare before, but in the future, it was only an important hub in the north of the entire Eastern Peace Empire. It didn't have to be a military town anymore. The possibility of being impacted by a large army was very small. As for what would happen in the more distant future, Ye Tao felt that he didn't need to consider too much. On the one hand, Ye Tao used the abundant troops and manpower he had on hand to repair the roads around Zhongjun Town. The offices of institutions such as the Communications Bureau were very spacious, and the branch offices of the Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Bureau and the Commerce and Trade Bureau were also in place. These officials would be handed over to the administrative chief of the Northern Liao in the future. Regardless of whether Chi Xianping held this position, it would at least lay the foundation for a brand new Northern Liao. And the Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Bureau was already starting to deploy summer harvest matters. After a bountiful harvest with low taxes, the area that had already been occupied could be said to be completely consolidated. Originally, the Commerce and Trade Bureau was still worried about whether it could attract merchants to come here, but it didn't expect that Ye Tao's garrison here would be prolonged. The various needs of the soldiers and officers alone could drive a large market, and merchants flocked to it. After arriving here and actually seeing the efforts Ye Tao made for the future prosperity here, he naturally had more confidence in the future. Although this kind of "investment promotion" was a bit too expensive with military expenses, the effect was indeed excellent. With enough population, enough goods, and the flow of people, the status of Zhongjun Town would continue to consolidate. Moreover, in order to show his importance and love for Zhongjun Town, Ye Tao even took time out of his busy schedule to contribute some of his designs to Zhongjun Town...