Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 820 Realizing Someone Wants to Do Something to Xia Lin
There's still some time until the baby's 100th day. Xia Lin is actually quite tired, but there's still a lot to do. This is just the beginning. Moreover, if he can completely connect the Western Regions this time, or even without fully mastering them, then goods from the Wakhan Corridor will be able to enter the Middle-earth world more conveniently and quickly.

This includes minerals, spices, and various scarce raw materials. China is a good place, but if we rely entirely on our current resources and technological capabilities to make technological progress, we will still have to take some detours. Xia Lin doesn't want to take any detours at all, so he probably can't avoid this trip to the Western Regions.

However, over the years, the Western Regions have become highly Sinicized, and with the northward shift of rainfall, the area of ​​the neighboring desert has shrunk considerably. According to information from traveling merchants, the area is now lush and green.

This is a good opportunity to take advantage of the improved weather and quickly lay the railway, completing a vital artery connecting the east and west. As long as the train can reach the Western Regions, there will be no possibility of rebellion in the future. After all, the core of resolving conflicts is development. Once development is achieved, there won't be too many problems in essence.

"My lord, extravagance has resurfaced these days, with many merchants spending lavishly. A few days ago, the Li and Chang families in the city bid up to 70,000 taels of silver for a tiger skin. Yesterday, the Hong and Zhou families raised the price to 30,000 taels for a set of glass Buddhist shrines."

His subordinate's report interrupted Xia Lin's thoughts. He looked up and asked, "Do they still eat people?"

"I wouldn't dare do that. I've become much more restrained in this regard, and I've never heard of anyone treating human life so lightly."

"Then let's ignore them." Xia Lin waved his hand: "These nouveau riche need something to raise their status and distinguish themselves from ordinary people. They're nothing but ants."

"Understood, sir," Xiao Wang from the secretariat nodded, then continued organizing the documents.

During this time, some documents were also sent over for Xia Lin to review. After all, he was the county magistrate in office, and he couldn't neglect his work.

"grown ups."

At this moment, Sun Jiuzhen, who was in charge of intelligence, walked in quickly. He glanced at his secretary, Xiao Wang, who immediately understood and got up and left the study.

"What happened?" Xia Lin put down the documents waiting to be reviewed and looked up to ask, "I rarely see you in such a hurry."

"Yes, please forgive me, sir. But it seems our field scouts have discovered something."

"tell me the story."

Sun Jiuzhen stepped forward quickly, placed the documents in her hand in front of Xia Lin, and said: "In the past three months, there have been cases of grain buybacks and hoarding in four regions, namely Chenzhou, Chizhou, Nanping and Zhuzhou. In addition, there have been unusual military movements in these four places."

After taking the report, Xia Lin frowned as he read it: "It seems that this proposal to weaken the power of the feudal lords has really touched a nerve, and they are planning to protect themselves."

"The General Staff sees it the same way, but the final decision rests with you, sir."

"Well, let's ignore them. At the right time, we can send some people to add fuel to the fire. It would be best to sell them some outdated military equipment, but of course, we should find trustworthy people."

"Understood. If you have no further instructions, I will take my leave."

"Wait a moment." Xia Lin raised his hand: "Call Hongxiu over."

"Yes."

It's been a long time since I've seen Hongxiu. Five or six years have passed since she returned to Fuliang for further studies. I heard a few days ago that Hongxiu got married, but I don't know which family she married into.

Before long, Hongxiu rushed over. Upon seeing Xia Lin, she bowed gracefully and said, "My lord, it has been a long time since we last met. I have been thinking of you a lot."

Xia Lin noticed that she was dressed simply, like an ordinary farm woman. Her hair was styled in a bun, which made her look less worldly than before. However, perhaps because she had come in a hurry, there was still a glint of gold foil on her rouge-painted lips, and a pair of trembling pearls inadvertently peeked out from the tips of her shoes. These were "pearl shoes," a new style that had become fashionable this spring, brought by a foreign merchant. A pair of these shoes was worth half a year's worth of food for an ordinary family.

"Hongxiu, you seem to be doing quite well after getting married."

Hongxiu bowed gracefully, her mature figure twisting slightly, and said with a flushed face, "What are you saying, sir? If you hadn't abandoned me, I would have preferred to be a maidservant adding incense to your home than to marry someone else."

"Alright, alright." Xia Lin waved her hand. "I didn't fire you. Have you had your baby yet?"

"I have a son." Hongxiu dared not hide the truth, but she spoke with genuine fear. Everyone else thought Xia Lin was kind and benevolent, but only she, who had worked for him as a black glove for several years, knew how ruthless and heartless Xia Lin was. When he instigated the massacre of the aristocratic families, he spared no one, not even the elderly, women, or children, uprooting them all: "My lord..."

"Are you already starting to think about where you've wronged me all these years?" Xia Lin laughed, looking up. "It's nothing, I'm not here to cause you trouble. I originally wanted you to take some people to infiltrate Changsha and Zhuzhou to investigate something, but since you have a child, I'll give up on that idea. How old is the child?"

"Not even two years old."

"Then we absolutely cannot lose our mother. You may leave."

Upon hearing Xia Lin's words, Hongxiu not only did not back down but immediately knelt down: "My lord, please give me a chance. I have trained several disciples over the years. May I introduce them to you?"

Xia Lin didn't speak, but tilted his head to look at Hongxiu kneeling on the ground. Hongxiu's heart skipped a beat, and she hurriedly stood up: "My lord... it's been too long, I forgot that you hate it when others kneel down."

“Forgetting means you don’t care. You may leave.” Xia Lin waved his hand. “I have someone else in mind.”

As soon as Hongxiu stepped out of the yamen, tears welled up in her eyes. She felt like slapping herself hard. The opportunity she had finally gotten had been lost because of her kneeling. She was getting old now, and she had finally managed to bring out a few apprentices to inherit her mantle. She had ruined such a good opportunity.

However, Sun Jiuzhen caught up with her from behind and said to her old colleague with a teasing tone, "Sister Hongxiu, you've been living such a good life that you've forgotten the taboos of adults."

"Good brother, please help your sister."

"That's not up to me. You definitely can't do it, old lady. Lord Xia doesn't like your fancy stuff."

Hongxiu grabbed Sun Jiuzhen's sleeve: "Little brother, you're a favorite of the adults right now, so say a few good words for your sister."

Sun Jiuzhen waved her hands repeatedly: "I wouldn't dare, but I can help you introduce your disciples to the master."

"really?"

"Why would I lie to my sister? It was you who helped me back then."

The two hit it off immediately, and that afternoon, Hongxiu's disciples were introduced to Xia Lin. There weren't many of them, but they were all carefully selected by Hongxiu. The four young girls, around seventeen or eighteen years old, were quite charming and graceful.

When Xia Lin woke up from his afternoon nap, he saw Sun Jiuzhen and the four young girls standing at the door of the study. He was quick-witted and understood that these girls were most likely disciples of Hongxiu.

However, after taking a closer look, he felt that although these girls were young, they were quite shrewd, so he asked, "What are you each good at?"

"Reporting to my lord, we are skilled in espionage and assassination."

Do you have identification?

"Not yet, we're waiting for the adults to assign us tasks."

Xia Lin thought for a moment and said, "In that case, I won't send you on any infiltration missions. You can go to the Western Regions first to help me gather information. Your teachers have taught you all that, right? I don't need to say anything more, right?"

"Please rest assured, sir!"

"Okay." Xia Lin nodded: "Jiu Zhen, go and make arrangements for them."

After they left, the secretary next to him said to Xia Lin in a half-joking manner, "Does the master not believe them? The intelligence from the Western Regions has never stopped."

“How can we trust someone just because they recommended one person? But we can’t deny young people a chance.” Xia Lin laughed. “Let them handle it. Consider it a chance for them to gain experience. Go and inform Jiu Zhen to mobilize all six departments. I want to see what those people are planning to do to me.”

"Yes."

Sun Jiuzhen was also taken aback when he received the order. He hadn't expected that the Sixth Intelligence Department would be involved this time. This was the most ruthless and efficient group among their nine departments. The Sixth Department's motto was "Success or failure is all that matters, right or wrong is irrelevant." Once this group was deployed, there was a high probability that the target would be eliminated.

"My lord, this time there are imperial relatives involved. Should we just use the Seven Ministries?" the secretary asked cautiously after Sun Jiuzhen left. "If we deal with them directly, what will His Majesty say?"

"Royal relatives?" Xia Lin's eyes slowly lowered, his face devoid of even the slightest pity. "To be merciful to the enemy is to be cruel to oneself. I generally don't carry out assassinations; I only eliminate traitors for the country. The closer someone is to royalty, the more they deserve to die. Do you understand this logic?"

The secretary agreed and then fell silent. Xia Lin didn't seem to take it too seriously, but that very night, all six departments mobilized, and the seventy-five most elite agents of the era sped off in four directions.

At this moment, Xia Lin sat in a chair scratching his head. Faced with Jia Ye's homework, Xia Lin was on the verge of collapse.

Speaking of Jia Ye, he inherited Dou Ya Zi's skin appearance, Dou Ya Zi's personality, Xia Lin's sense of danger, and Xia Lin's chivalrous heart. However, he did not inherit their intelligence. He is a naturally short-tempered, good-looking, and naive girl.

Li Zhi is the same age as Jia Ye, only a few months older. His older brother has already skipped three grades to attend the advanced class, while Jia Ye is still stuck in the beginner class, consistently ranking second to last in the class. Once, she ranked third to last, but that was only because her grandmother, who was originally third to last, passed away that day and she couldn't attend the exam.

"Father, am I stupid?"

Kasyapa raised his head, his eyes red, clearly having just cried. His small face was full of grievance and heartbreak, which shattered the heart of an old father as well.

"My mother said I was beyond saving."

"It's alright, you're not stupid. Your mother is talking nonsense. I'll argue with her tomorrow. But it's already past midnight, so maybe we shouldn't write anymore." Xia Lin sighed and said, "How about you get some rest?"

Kasyapa's little mouth twitched, and it looked like he was about to cry again.

"Okay, okay, write...you write. I'll stay with you."

(End of this chapter)