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Chapter 1046 The Last Piece of the Puzzle 2
"Your Majesty, I have brought all the information as instructed. Among them are those collected by the Ministry of Rites and the Statistics Department of the General Staff, as well as archives from the Advisory Office."

About half an hour later, a man followed Wang Chengen in quickly. After saluting, he placed his briefcase on the table and took out folders while talking. The black folder had the Ministry of Rites written on it, the white one had the Department of Statistics written on it, and the red folder had no label on it.

The man was about forty years old, with short hair and no crown, looking like a soldier, but he was not wearing a military uniform. Instead, he was wearing a short grey suit and brown leather shoes, looking like a teacher in the Royal Academy.

This dress has only become popular in recent years. It is said that the emperor designed it specifically for the students and teachers of the Imperial Academy. The top is similar to a military dress without the epaulettes, with four covered pockets on the chest and hem, and the trouser legs are very straight and reach the ankles.

Does it look good or not? According to the aesthetics of the scholars in the Ming Dynasty, it must be very strange, lacking the beauty of elegance, and not suitable for a bun and a long beard. But if the hair is cut short, no beard or a short beard, it looks neat and capable like a soldier.

In fact, the beauty, ugliness and popularity of clothing are not determined by the likes and dislikes of the people, but by the top leaders. As the saying goes, what the leaders like, the people below will like even more.

After Emperor Jingyang appeared at the Royal Academy ceremony wearing this dress and personally presented the same dress to new teachers and student representatives, no one dared to publicly disparage its beauty or ugliness.

The students and teachers of the academy each wore a set of single clothes and cotton clothes, and they walked around the streets all year round, becoming a common sight in the capital. They were called academy clothes by the people, and they became a symbol of a new type of scholars.

Soon, some smart merchants began to imitate and sell them on a small scale, and the sales were quite good. In addition to the students and teachers in the Royal Academy who would buy them as replacements, many new senior students and officials from the Haihu Division also bought them enthusiastically.

How can we distinguish students, teachers and social workers when everyone is wearing similar clothes? After a long time, the people of Beijing have come up with a trick: look at what is in the pocket of the shirt.

If a small half of the metal stick is exposed, it is most likely a student or teacher in the college. That thing is called a fountain pen, which is said to have been invented by the emperor. After drinking enough ink, you can write anytime and anywhere, and you no longer need to carry an inkstone and a grinding block as a burden.

However, the production of fountain pens is not high and the price is very expensive. Apart from the Royal Academy issuing one upon admission, and very few staff members who really need to write anytime and anywhere, few people in other industries would spend a lot of money to buy one.

If a metal chain is exposed, it is likely that he is an official or military officer. They have both traditional brushes and expensive pens at work, so there is no need to carry them around. It is more practical to put a pocket watch in the pocket of the jacket to check the time anytime and anywhere.

Of course, there are some businessmen or young people from wealthy families who are willing to follow this fashion, but the number is not large. Because college clothes are not only clothes and leather shoes, but also require long hair and beards to be cut short. Before they grow back, they cannot wear traditional clothes. The price is a bit high.

"Big Head, you're addicted to smoking. Everything should be done in moderation. Too much is as bad as too little!"

Hong Tao took over a dozen folders and looked through them one by one. After a while, he looked up, pointed at the cigar in the man's hand, and criticized him in a very calm tone.

"Your Majesty is right. After students finish this box, their cigarettes will be halved!" The man bared his big white teeth when he heard this. He reached out and put the cigar box on the table into his briefcase, nodding and bowing to show his determination.

"Wang Chengen, give him a box to take with him... Pick a cheap one, so he doesn't get too high!" Hong Tao put down the documents in his hand, rubbed his nose, and instead of continuing to persuade Wang Datou to smoke less, he took the initiative to provide a large box of ammunition. Wang Datou, yes, was the head of the Statistics Department's spies who crisscrossed the ports in the South China Sea. Now he no longer works in the Statistics Department, but has been transferred to the Royal Advisory Office as director.

Although his work unit changed, the nature of his job remained the same: he was still the head of the secret service, and the highest-ranking spy in the country, directly reporting to the emperor's office, that is, the emperor himself.

At first he was very reluctant to be the director, mainly because he did not want to stay by the emperor's side. He preferred to travel freely and not have to worry about his work. As long as he could get the intelligence, he would be considered to have made a contribution.

For this purpose, he specially petitioned the emperor to serve as an ambassador to Europe, and he would go to whichever country was the most difficult to open up the situation and the most dangerous place. He also issued a military order, saying that if he did not see results within a year, he would be punished by military law.

But Hong Tao did not agree, and also gave a reason for transferring him back to Beijing. In the emperor's words, you have a talent for intelligence work, but if you walk by the river often, you will inevitably get your shoes wet.

If anything unexpected happens, all the training and experience gained over the past thirty years will be wasted. It will be a misfortune for the individual and a huge loss for the court.

Compared with a few key intelligence pieces, the emperor valued the role of mentoring more. Although he could no longer go on field missions, he could set up a study class under the Advisory Office to train intelligence personnel and pass on his experience and lessons to them, so that they could make greater contributions.

Finally, Wang Datou was convinced and personally selected 30 intelligence officers from the Statistics Department to form the advisory team. A year later, he established a training class in the East Garden of the Imperial City to train intelligence officers.

It was after he took over the Advisory Office that Hong Tao finally had a complete intelligence collection system. The Cuju Team was responsible for the palace, the East Factory and the Bihu were combined to be responsible for court officials and the country, and the Advisory Office was dedicated to foreign affairs.

"The Wansui Ye's cigarettes taste very ordinary, the taste is too light. Although the ones smoked by students are cheap, they are the top grade selected by Annan tobacco farmers, and the taste is rich and mellow."

After spending a long time together, Wang Datou could judge the emperor's mood from his expression and words. For example, if it was good now, he could say something that he dared not say at other times.

"Hey, you are quite good at research. Bring it out for me to taste!"

Hong Tao was not too arrogant in this regard. He had smoked famous tobacco leaves and cigars from all over the world in the later generations, but that was hundreds of years later. He had never paid attention to the flavor of tobacco leaves from different places. Wang Datou had been a migrant worker in Southeast Asia for more than ten years, so he must know more.

"Your Highness..." When the emperor was talking about official business, Wang Chengen never interrupted him and just stood quietly by the side. But when Wang Datou took out two bamboo tubes from his pocket, he immediately moved, took two steps forward and stretched out his hand.

"Yes, let the chief steward have a taste first... He is afraid that you will poison me. I took a quick look at the materials, they are not bad and quite detailed. Now I am going to give you a question, listen carefully. If the empire must choose between the Ottomans and Persia as its enemy, which one do you think it should choose, and explain why."

(End of this chapter)