Chapter 1 Chun Nan’s Lingering Hope

“Is Chun Nan really still trying to survive?” Recent news made Tan Xiaopei extremely dissatisfied. The main battlefront of Chun Nan was already under control, but the Fuhu Tang (Tiger Subduing Hall) was still causing trouble.

After the Chun Nan emperor's repeated purges, the effects on Fuhu Tang were minimal. After all, it was originally a joint effort by Jiang Yan and the old emperor, with extremely deep roots. Now, most of the various forces that could be mobilized were connected to the Fuhu Tang, either openly or secretly. Many of the officials sent to eliminate the Fuhu Tang were themselves key members of the organization. It was anyone’s guess what effect such purges could have. But the Fuhu Tang was only a minor problem. When faced with the Dongping offensive, the Fuhu Tang extended an olive branch and cooperated with the Chun Nan emperor. The Fuhu Tang’s wealth, manpower, and ubiquitous intelligence network could still play a significant role for Chun Nan. Relying on information from the Fuhu Tang, the Chun Nan emperor was able to prevent at least three instances of surrendering cities, turning the tables and inflicting considerable losses on Dongping, forcing them to adopt a more cautious attitude towards defection and surrender. After Dongping temporarily slowed down its advance, the behind-the-scenes dealings between the Fuhu Tang and the Dongping Intelligence Bureau became mainstream.

Controlling a large number of experts, the Fuhu Tang also considered solving the problem at its source, and assassinating Tan Xiaopei, Ye Tao, and Tan Weixin was naturally the most appealing option. The several waves of experts and highly trained assassins dispatched by the Fuhu Tang, although failing to carry out the assassinations, did manage to disturb Sophie's carriage in one operation. Sophie, who was returning from the construction site of the imperial palace to the Ye family residence, fell from the carriage and was almost trampled by the frightened horses. Although she only suffered minor injuries, she was quite frightened. This also infuriated Dongping. Sophie was not the most critical or central figure, but neither was she someone the Fuhu Tang could afford to offend.

"Your Majesty, let me handle this matter." Ye Tao suggested calmly, but the coldness in his tone was unmistakable.

"Good, it's most suitable for you to handle this." Tan Xiaopei appeared serious on the surface but secretly chuckled. Ye Tao always had that calm and confident demeanor, and it was rare to see him angry. Offending this version of Ye Tao, it was hard to imagine what kind of retaliation the Fuhu Tang would face.

Taking revenge on the Fuhu Tang was indeed not a simple matter. Deeply rooted in Chun Nan’s society, with a top strategist like Jiang Yan setting cautious guidelines for their actions, things were hard. But after all, Jiang Yan and the old emperor were no longer in charge, and the more an organization entrenched itself in society, the more points of contact it had with various aspects of it. If Dongping were to build such an organization, due to the foreseeable bright future, the entire organization would actively and positively find ways to solve various problems when faced with external pressure. But the current Chun Nan was not like that. The Fuhu Tang was facing a dynasty that was bound to collapse. According to the original guidelines set by Jiang Yan, the entire organization would go underground to protect the descendants of the Chang family, hoping to make a comeback one day. This prospect clearly didn't inspire much hope. Therefore, the people within the organization would have various ideas, but the people in the Intelligence Bureau probably didn't have quick enough channels to contact those with dissenting views. But Ye Tao didn't actually need to contact these people; he only needed to be able to use them. Ye Tao had many resources he could use, and one of the least valued was: money.

A bounty of five hundred taels was offered for ordinary members of the Fuhu Tang, one thousand taels for small leaders, five thousand taels for area managers, eight thousand taels for deputy branch leaders, ten thousand taels for branch leaders, fifty thousand taels for general headquarters area managers, and one hundred thousand taels for hall masters. Payment could be made in silver, silver dollars from the Yunzhou Bank, bank drafts, or converted into equivalent items. If multiple mid-to-high-level members of the Fuhu Tang were killed, the bonuses would be added together and multiplied by a reward coefficient. In addition, if members of the Fuhu Tang defected, the bounty would be doubled... Basically, if someone could wipe out the Fuhu Tang's headquarters, they could directly receive a bounty of nearly three million taels of silver...

Ye Tao spread this bounty all over the world, even airdropping bounty notices to various cities in Chun Nan by airship, causing a great sensation. This was undoubtedly the largest bounty in history. Ye Tao took out more than ten million taels at once... This number was absolutely terrifying. More than ten million taels was enough to conduct a war. And the wealth of the Ye family and Ye Tao’s determination to protect his family were absolutely undeniable.

Such a large bounty did stir the hearts of many people within the Fuhu Tang. When they looked at their colleagues, they felt as if bounty numbers were floating above their heads, and the clause that doubled the reward for internal defections made everyone in the Fuhu Tang feel threatened, fearing that their heads would become the stepping stone for their seemingly amiable colleagues. The martial world of Chun Nan quickly took action and began to intercept and kill members of the Fuhu Tang. To obtain the reward coefficient, they even organized into groups to form hunting squads. Their friends, relatives, and various connections were fully utilized, and people from all sides had countless ways to contact the Fuhu Tang. Ye Tao's bounty also applied to the Intelligence Bureau, and they could cash in even faster than others. Those people from Chun Nan who handed over corpses and heads inevitably needed to have the situation verified, but the Intelligence Bureau only needed to report the numbers to Ye Tao. Ye Tao successively threw out more than four million taels of silver in three months, but he had destroyed almost half of the Fuhu Tang, and the remaining half lived in constant fear. Some people and clues hidden deep within the Fuhu Tang's system completely lost their effectiveness because they lost contact with their single-line connections... Ye Tao forcibly crushed the Fuhu Tang with silver. But even a wealthy country like Dongping couldn’t do something like this. The Dongping treasury had enough silver, but it couldn't have that much unscheduled funding. But Ye Tao did have it...

By tormenting the Fuhu Tang in this way, the human cost for Dongping was very small, but the results were extremely fruitful. After the Fuhu Tang fell into chaos, its intelligence support for the Chun Nan army dropped by more than one level. Especially in counter-espionage, some of the Fuhu Tang's lurking personnel, even if they knew there was a problem, dared not easily come forward to make contact. Many secret sentries fell silent forever, acting as if they had never been involved with the Fuhu Tang.

The Intelligence Bureau was able to obtain a steady stream of "rewards" from Ye Tao during the operation to crack down on the Fuhu Tang. This was considered an unexpected income. The intelligence agents and assassins who participated in the operation were able to receive the most generous rewards, and the Intelligence Bureau itself became well-funded, and immediately followed suit. The Intelligence Bureau also announced a list of bounties, with prices that were even more shocking. Moreover, the names on this list were all well-known and highly targeted. At the same time, they also noted behind the bounty list that if assassins needed intelligence support, they could contact the Intelligence Bureau...

A country about to unify the continent was playing various tricks to weaken its enemies, playing with abandon, which was truly unexpected by many. But these measures had excellent effects.

Ye Tao created the bounty craze mainly because it was impossible for him to actually run to the front lines to do anything. The Intelligence Bureau was the most important institution in Dongping, and it wasn't his family's business. Ye Tao had never been willing to use public resources for private gain. Even the officials and censors who disliked him the most could not find fault with this. With limited means available, the bounty became the means to mobilize external forces to the greatest extent. Ye Tao had never been shy about this approach. "Outsourcing" was just as effective in this era.

Although there was no rush to quickly eliminate Chun Nan, Ye Tao was still the Grand Commandant. Although he didn't have to urge the army to advance, or even worry about the well-organized logistics and training matters, he still had to do something, right? He rebuilt the Grand Commandant's mansion in Danyang, which could be considered part of his duties. The new Grand Commandant's mansion was divided into above-ground and underground sections. The above-ground section was naturally a large office area, corresponding to the increasingly complex, sophisticated, and specialized practical applications of various departments such as military command, communications, logistics, review, and technology. Ye Tao actually understood very well that after him, probably no Grand Commandant would emerge again. A unified empire could no longer allow a person who controlled the command of the entire country's army to exist. But the Dongping army did need a strong and professional command organization. In Yunzhou, the huge role played by the Central Army Camp had already been seen by everyone. And the entire Dongping had even higher requirements in this regard. The Grand Commandant's mansion also fully applied the latest communication, electrical, and other technologies, and also considered the various requirements for future expansion and defense. Overall, it was a fortress-style office area. But the underground part of the Grand Commandant's mansion was even more classic, reaching dozens of meters underground, basically the limit of underground construction in Dongping at the moment. It had independent water supply and drainage and power supply systems, independent warehouses for grain and other materials, an independent wired and wireless telegraph system, and a spacious command hall... Even if the entire Danyang was occupied by the enemy, the Grand Commandant's mansion's bunker could operate normally for at least thirty days, effectively commanding the troops scattered in various locations.

The construction progress of the Grand Commandant's mansion was naturally not very fast. After presenting the plan, Ye Tao simply handed it over to his second senior brother, Zhao Dazhu, who seemed to have encountered a fun challenge again, to manage. If no major problems were encountered, the Grand Commandant's mansion should be fully operational three months before the imperial palace was completed.

In addition, the Danyang power transmission and distribution project was fully launched. The wind power plants and power transmission control stations in the suburbs started construction first. Although they occupied a large area, the land was also intercropped with flowers and other crops, which would only be a new scenic spot in Dongping in the future and would not be abandoned. The underground pipe layout in the city involved too many problems and could only be gradually rolled out. Generally speaking, it started from the imperial palace, the blocks where the ministers lived, and the areas where the wealthy households and aristocratic families resided, gradually expanding to the entire city. Ye Tao adopted the layout method of underground sealed pipelines from the beginning, using power poles only in a few areas to maximize the integrity of Danyang's urban appearance. The entire project, from power generation to terminal distribution, might take five to eight years. Basically, when Tan Xiaopei ascended the throne, only one-third of Danyang would be able to have electric lighting, and only for lighting purposes. More electrical appliances were not yet available for widespread use, and were only being piloted in small areas, allowing some people to enjoy them first.

Danyang was gradually changing, transforming from an ancient and magnificent city into a vibrant capital, changing every day. Perhaps it was the increasingly detailed and friendly road signs and indicators on the street corners; perhaps it was the city gates that were now open 24 hours a day, only closing in emergencies; perhaps it was that the city gates had increased from four to eight, and although entering and leaving the city still required the vigilant gaze of soldiers, there were no longer cumbersome inspections and city gate taxes; perhaps it was the amiable smiles of the officials and their gentle and patient attitude, which was very different from many other places; perhaps it was the increasing number of service outlets of various institutions, from the small postal stations that sent letters or packages to the banks where one could safely deposit all their belongings – and there were more and more banks. In addition to the most competitive Yunzhou Bank, there were also Kyushu Bank, Qihai Bank, Lingyuan Bank with investment from the Xiling and Northern Liao royal families, and Danyang Cooperative Bank, which was jointly invested by twenty-seven aristocratic families. Some small-amount businesses even realized deposit and withdrawal through an organization called the Bank Industry Federation, or UnionPay for short; perhaps it was that various public service measures in the city were not carried out through apportionment and conscription, but through the establishment of relevant institutions. From cleaning the streets to extinguishing occasional fires, professional institutions were always more reassuring... For those who occasionally came to Danyang, Danyang was not another city but another time and space. There was hardly a main street or a block without a bookstore, cafe, or teahouse. Shops selling durable consumer goods such as weapons and armor were also everywhere. Venerating culture, valuing martial arts, yet knowing how to enjoy life was the true spirit of the people of Danyang, the temperament of the people of a true national capital. "One side is the sixteenth century, the other side is the nineteenth century..." Ye Tao and Tan Weixin had this summary for this harmonious but always felt out-of-place scene. But from top to bottom, the entire country was watching the changes in Danyang and marveling at the ability of Ye Tao, Tan Weixin, and others to turn stone into gold and their inexhaustible flow of innovative ideas.

But what was most incomprehensible was the recent actions of Ye Tao, Tan Weixin, and their whole family. They seemed to be brewing something. "What exactly are they up to?" Tan Xiaopei now wanted to understand this problem.

Ye Tao had successively written and published a series of technical works, including *Preliminary Geometry*, *Preliminary Physics*, *Preliminary Mathematics*, *Craftsmanship and Design*, *Fundamentals of Electromagnetism*, *Fundamentals of Circuitry*, *Horticulture and Landscape Design*, *Engineering Mechanics*, *Structural Engineering*, as well as a series of military works such as *Command and Communications*, *Psychology of War*, *Intelligence*, *Special Operations*, and *The Dialectic of Technology and Military Affairs*... Tan Weixin also successively released works such as *Principles of Economics*, *Monetary Economics*, *Macroeconomics*, *Microeconomics*, *Principles of Accounting*, and *Auditing Strategies*... For a time, the entire Dongping was engaged in a heated discussion surrounding these high-quality, high-tech works.

Suddenly, Tan Xiaopei seemed to understand what Ye Tao and Tan Weixin were going to do. They were going to quit.

——————A long-lost dividing line——————————————————

Time is finally coming to an end. If I estimate correctly, there is probably only one chapter left. However, this should be a very long chapter. The feeling is really complex. *Heart of Time* is the longest book I have ever written, and it is also the book with the largest time span. In the middle of *Heart of Time*, I actually sandwiched a book of more than 800,000 words, *A Night in the Grid*, which I wrote very happily and爽. Even in Qidian, a place that is not uncommon, it is considered rare... I will express many feelings later, and I estimate that I still have to open a single chapter to explain something to everyone.

(The number of words up to the previous period is 4448...md, don't be so unlucky, okay? Add an auxiliary to celebrate...)

(4490...die, die, just work...算了 I admit it.)