Warrior in Turbulent Han Dynasty

Upon hearing the news, Guo Shao ordered Huang Binglian, an official from Kaifeng Prefecture, to be dispatched (imperial envoy) on tour, and given the king's order to restrain the local area to hunt down the murderer. ,

Zhao Kuangyin must have done it! Guo Shao thought for a while in front of the window.

In the past, he also ordered the Jiafang Administration to make Wang Hong pay attention to preventing technology leaks. He also took some measures, such as surrounding the workshop area with walls, and dispatched soldiers and horses from Kaifeng Mansion to garrison for a long time; in terms of management, most people were not able to touch the whole process of armor-making, and only a few master craftsmen could handle the workshop; craftsmen were asked to sign on confidential documents.

But there are still big loopholes in governance that have not received enough attention. The main reason is that the ancients seldom stole it for specific technologies regardless of the cost. Perhaps it was because the rulers of various ethnic groups did not pay attention to craftsmanship, or they might have poor knowledge. Anyway, there have been almost no such cases over the years. For example, Zhuge Liang’s Trojan Horse Flowing Car, Zhuge Liannu and other technologies in the legend, there is no record that Wei State and Wu State sent people to steal them... Tang Dynasty has long been leading the world in various technologies, and there is no secret at all. Before Princess Wencheng brought craftsman tools, Tubo did not send people to steal technology. The rulers of various countries basically have no concept of technological development.

So Guo Shao just ordered the Jiafang Administration to pay attention to secrecy, and then he didn't care about it, and he didn't pay much attention to it.

Guo Shao took a few steps in front of the window, pondering: If there is any force that focuses on the armor-making technique and steals it regardless of the cost, this armor-making technique cannot be foolproof; it is nothing more than the difficulty of the other party's stealing.

First of all, hammer forging is very simple and easy to learn, not as complicated and professional as modern technology; secondly, the workshop is not located in the deep mountains and old forests, and the craftsmen are isolated from the world. As long as enough time and manpower are spent, secret agents will definitely find a breakthrough.

However, in order to increase the difficulty of the other party and delay the time of leaking, it is also meaningful. Guo Shao intends to pay attention to this matter, and put forward a pen to record his ideas: first, to strengthen internal governance; second, to set up a spy agency, in case any technology is leaked to a certain country, it can try to conduct offensive counter-espionage, and use subtle operations to eliminate renegade technicians in the enemy country.

... Soon, Zan Jurun, the envoy of the Hakka Province, wrote a letter and presented some suggestions.

He suggested building a city in the workshop area, and sent soldiers and officials to patrol and inspect, prohibiting idlers from approaching the small town; and controlling craftsmen to go out. Build houses for craftsmen and their families in the city, and separate them with high walls to reduce the noise in the workshop area. The Jiafang Department set up a purchasing office in the city to distribute to the craftsmen.

Officials were sent to inspect nearby markets and cities to prevent idlers from mixing in.

After reading it, Guo Shao felt that Zan Jurun was more talented in this area, so he immediately asked the officials outside the study to make an order to change Zan Jurun to be the military supervisor (a higher-level yamen than Jiafang Administration), and concurrently serve as a member of the Privy Council.

There are too many things in the imperial court, Guo Shao can't just focus on one place, he can only choose some people who he thinks have talents and brains to take charge.

After all, Guo Shao has been a military commander for many years, and his style is not like that of a scholar. He happened to think of a spy agency, and he was ready to start doing it right away...In his concept, he always thought that intelligence personnel were very useful, so he asked Jing Niang to organize the intelligence system secretly; but those things were all small-scale. But it's different now, he has just ascended the throne and already has unlimited power.

He turned his head and saw that the eunuch who was on duty today was Cao Tai, so he called him in.

Guo Shao retreated to the back room of the study, flipping through the files in his hand, the records of the bureaucratic organization that Prime Minister Wang Pu summed up, and asked, "Who is the Imperial City Envoy?"

This official position appeared at the end of the Tang Dynasty. The Imperial City Secretary later became an institution controlled by the eunuchs. It was mainly responsible for the opening and closing of the palace gates of the imperial city, the management of the weapons and armor of the guards, and the duty of supervising some special officials... The family members left by Zhao Kuangyin's party were managed by this Yamen.

In Guo Shao's view, the Imperial City Division is similar to the factory guards (Dongchang, Jinyiwei) in the Ming Dynasty, but its power and scale are obviously much smaller, and its role is not very great.

Cao Tai immediately replied: "Your Majesty, it is the eunuch Wang Zhong."

Guo Shao asked again: "Is he reliable?"

Cao Tai said: "When the late emperor (Chai Rong) was around, Wang Zhong was a favored eunuch by his side. Later, the late emperor was seriously ill, and this person secretly wanted to show his favor to the empress, and quietly passed the news of the late emperor's illness back to the palace from Hebei. Unexpectedly, his godson Wang Ji'en got hold of the matter, and it was revealed to the late emperor. Ji-en... is dead."

Guo Shao asked Cao Tai to send someone to summon Wang Zhong.

Not long after, a fat eunuch came. Guo Shao suddenly remembered that he had seen this person during the Huainan War, and he was indeed Chai Rong's confidant eunuch; but as an eunuch, he could not be loyal to the first emperor after his death, otherwise he would not have quietly defected to the queen.

Most of the eunuchs with some power in the imperial city defected to Fu Jinzhan. Guo Shao can only use them, eunuchs who go to Fu Jinzhan are the most reliable after all... Eunuchs also need talents, and those who have not been honed in the palace for many years are useless for a sudden promotion.

When Wang Zhong saw Guo Shao, he was flattered and kowtowed on the ground.

Guo Shao asked him to get up, and said directly: "I have something for you to do."

Wang Zhong hurriedly bowed and said: "Your Majesty, just give me orders, I will not hesitate to do so..."

Guo Shaodao: "You are in charge of the Department of the Imperial City, and set up an Internal Affairs Bureau, which is independent from the opening and closing of the palace gates of the Imperial City. What does the Internal Affairs Bureau do? Take care of Zhao Kuangyin and other rebels' families, and Zhang Yongde, you must have sent someone to watch? If the emperor wants to investigate corrupt officials, you will send people to secretly investigate... People who do these things are assigned to the Internal Affairs Bureau."

Wang Zhong hurriedly said: "The servant obeys the order."

Guo Shao said again: "You have ready-made people to set up the Internal Affairs Bureau, and now I have two things. On the other side of the armor workshop, some officials and master craftsmen, you put in people to monitor and protect them nearby, and pay attention to monitoring and checking the idlers near the workshop area.

The second thing is that in Kaifeng Mansion, focus on the city gates, east and west markets, inns, restaurants, teahouses, and city chambers in the city of Tokyo. Secret agents will be deployed to monitor those suspicious people. He pondered for a moment, and then said, "If it involves officials or celebrities, you can't act rashly, you must report first." "

Wang Zhong worshiped: "Your Majesty, forgive me, you have to give the king's order to my slave family... The second thing requires a lot of people and costs a lot of money. The slave family has to ask the Ministry of Internal Affairs for money."

Guo Shao glanced at the eunuch Cao Tai next to him. This guy is one of the largest eunuchs in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the "Provincial Supervisor of the Ministry of Internal Affairs", but there is another supervisor who is Yang Shiliang.

Guo Shao nodded in agreement, thinking that in the past two years, he had wiped out the two great kingdoms of Shu and Southern Tang, robbed tens of millions of property and sent it to the internal coffers, and couldn't afford to support a bunch of spies? (Historically, the Northern Song Dynasty also robbed countless money, but it is estimated that a lot of money was spent when releasing military power with a glass of wine. I remember a story in which Shi Shouxin went home and saw the money piled up in the whole house. He said that I have done fart with so much money. It is better to sit and enjoy the wealth.)

... Then he hurriedly summoned the Privy Envoy Wang Pu.

Wang Pu walked into the back room of the study, and immediately said after prostrating: "The old minister wanted to see His Majesty. He just received an urgent report from Judge Huang (Huang Binglian) and found two bodies one after another on the bank of the Yellow River. They were the bodies of Sun Fangtou and a child who had been kidnapped. After the autopsy, they were found to have drowned.

Judge Huang guessed that after the ferry was strictly guarded by the government, the spies tried their best to cross the Yellow River in a panic. When they crossed the river, something happened, such as a boat capsized, and the two drowned. In addition, there were three secret workers and a workshop handyman surnamed Lu, but they were not arrested. "

Guo Shao heaved a sigh of relief when he heard that. Once Sun Fangtou, who mastered the structure of the armor-making workshop, died, Zhao Kuangyin would probably have difficulty replicating the workshop...but there are still risks. How much does the craftsman surnamed Lu know?

According to reports, Carpenter Lu used to work in the forging room, which is also the key to armor-making. In contrast, the wheels and waterwheels in the transmission room are not the key technologies. People in this era have long learned to use waterwheels as power. The extent to which armor-making skills can be leaked depends on how much craftsmanship Master Lu mastered; if a person with high savvy and cleverness worked in it for a period of time, he might figure out the principles and structures of those mechanical components.

"Judge Huang did a good job, Wang Shijun can send someone to reward him, and ask him to continue to work hard on the case, and arrest the rest of the people." Guo Shao said.

Wang Pu bowed and said: "The old minister has received the order."

Guo Shao said again: "I summoned Wang Shijun, there is another matter. A separate official office in the Privy Council is called..."

The first thing that Guo Shao thought of was of course the Intelligence Bureau. Its function was originally a foreign spy agency, but this kind of name was neither fish nor fowl, and there was no secrecy. He thought for a while and then said: "It's called 'Bing Cao Division'. Its main function is to undercover and spy on the enemy's government, focusing on the Liao Kingdom and the Northern Han Dynasty. You recommend a reliable person to form this official office. You need to plan a long-term undercover plan and a short-term spy plan."

Guo Shao rubbed his forehead, and said again: "This government office must be kept confidential, and the budget does not need to be accounted to the Ministry of Household Affairs or Yushitai. It is directly allocated from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs is also informed about the expenses."

Wang Pu immediately agreed. This is very easy... Normally, it is a happy thing for everyone to form a new yamen. On the contrary, there will be resistance if the government offices and officials are abolished.

It seems that there has never been such a specialized agency before, and at most it finds people temporarily to perform countermeasures and other things; foreign spies are mainly envoys and foreign envoys. However, the Privy Council also had some experience. Wang Pu sent people to secretly investigate and collect information on some important officials of the Southern Tang Kingdom, and recorded it as a file.

Guo Shao thought again, when Jingniang is gone, it might be beneficial to participate. When Guo Shao and Zhao Kuangyin were fighting fiercely back then, Jingniang did a good job in organizing eyeliners; Guo Shao also taught her how to use the store as a stronghold, how to forge identities, etc. The officials of the Privy Council may not know how to have one-way connections and how to avoid being breached. These organizational forms, but Jingniang learned from Guo Shao before.