Underworld entries, starting with ghost stories.

Dou Xianniang went to the Great King's Palace, summoned everyone, and assigned Wu Qing's requests.

"One hundred Green Dragon Halberds?" one of them said. "We'll have to get the blacksmiths in the village to work on it as soon as possible. Halberds are not easy to come by."

His eyes were filled with confusion, after all, ordinary people would never need to use such a relatively complex weapon.

Those who can use the halberd well on the battlefield are all martial artists who have reached the highest level. There are not many martial artists in the mountains who have truly reached the highest level.

For most people, adding a side blade to a spear is of little use.

Dou Xianniang said, "Don't ask anymore, just do as the advisor says."

Although the man didn't understand, he still agreed and hurriedly went to gather the blacksmiths in the mountains to forge the halberd.

Dou Bin and Dou Kui then went to muster the troops, gathering a hundred warriors under their command. Once the halberds were forged, they would hand them over to the strategist for training.

When Dou Xianniang returned to the backyard, Shan Ailian greeted her.

Dan Ailian asked curiously, "Sister Dou, do you really listen to Young Master Wu in everything, even letting him do such strange things?"

Dou Xianniang smiled and said, "I suppose he has his reasons, and I believe him."

Dan Ailian pondered, "Young Master Wu's background is probably a bit mysterious."

Dou Xianniang said, "I don't know his background. I only know that when I first met him, he was as thin as a stick, and he cried while eating a piece of beef jerky."

She sighed, "Everyone's having a hard time these days, so I won't bother asking what he did before. Anyway, if there were a way to survive, who would want to do such rebellious things as murder, arson, and risking their lives?"

Dan Ailian looked at Dou Xianniang's full bosom and thought, "Sister Dou really has a broad mind."

It wasn't that Shan Ailian doubted Wu Qing; she was just too curious.

She began to pay attention to Wu Qing's daily life, and saw that in addition to supervising the various constructions in the village, he would go to the back mountain every day to inquire about various matters from the farmers who were cultivating the terraced fields in the deep mountains, and ask them in detail what their requirements were.

His skin, which had been fair and smooth for just a few days, started to tan again from the sun.

He would also regularly listen to reports from outside the mountains in a side hall of the main hall.

At this time, he often looked overwhelmed with worry, covering his forehead, as if he didn't know what to do.

That afternoon, Shan Ailian couldn't bear to watch any longer, so she left the side hall after the person who was reporting had left.

She personally carried the tea tray into the hall.

She placed the tea tray on the table, took the teapot, and poured a cup for Wu Qing: "Please enjoy, Young Master Wu."

Wu Qing stood up: "Miss Shan, how could I trouble you to do such a thing?"

Shan Ailian said softly, "Thank you for your help, Young Master Wu, and for taking me in, Sister Dou. I haven't been able to help much in the mountains. These are just small things, Young Master, please don't worry about them."

She sat upright beside him, and when she saw Wu Qing sit down again, she threw the paper in her hand aside, looking quite helpless.

She asked, "Are these all intelligence reports from outside the mountains?"

Wu Qing said, "Yes! But basically they are useless. It is difficult for the people we send out to enter the city. Now, castles are being built everywhere outside, and the people are locked up. Even when they are released to farm, their legs are often tied with ropes."

"The local gentry and landlords are clearly plotting to encircle and annihilate us, but I have no way of finding out how far they have gone or how many people they have."

Shan Ailian looked at Wu Qing and said softly, "Young Master Wu, if you want to gather intelligence, you're going in the wrong direction."

"No matter how many people you send out, with the government and local gentry keeping watch and preventing them, what can they possibly find out?"

Seeing her confident demeanor, Wu Qing stopped pretending and humbly asked for her advice: "Miss Shan, do you have any good ideas?"

Shan Ailian said, "Instead of going to great lengths to plant spies in the city, it would be better to directly bribe the yamen runners, the cash-strapped low-level workers, and the public servants around the officials."

"These people claim to be aboveboard, but in the eyes of ordinary people, they are even more corrupt than the underworld. Although they are considered to be in the underworld, they are acting on official orders and upholding the law."

"They have long operated between the legitimate and criminal worlds. The government pays them very little, and they rely entirely on their status to earn extra money. Therefore, most of them are easily tempted and bribed."

"These people are the ones who have the easiest access to government documents, understand the habits of officials, and know the background and strength of local powerful families."

"And once you've bribed a few key figures, it's easy to spread the word, one after another, making connections at every level..."

Wu Qing suddenly grabbed Shan Ailian's shoulders and said happily, "You're really something."

He realized he had gone astray.

As a time traveler, he was very clear about the importance of intelligence.

He also wanted to be like someone in another world before the founding of a nation, to plant a large number of underground workers infiltrating the imperial court and powerful families.

In his mind, the first thing underground workers need is a firm will and a high level of ideological awareness... but such people are so hard to find in this era.

Moreover, even if you find it, the times are different, and you simply can't break into it.

After being reminded by Shan Ailian, he realized that he had been clinging to outdated methods.

What they really needed to do was to bribe those low-level public servants who mingled between the legitimate and criminal worlds.

Whether in the present or in later dynasties like the Tang and Song, most of these low-level yamen runners and public servants did not have a fixed salary. Their income depended entirely on the officials above them turning a blind eye to their exploitation of the people.

Song Jiang in Water Margin is such a public servant.

Even if they did receive some money, it was often delayed, and the work they did was considered by the common people to be their lackeys and accomplices. They also had to deal with bandits and outlaws from time to time.

These people have no sense of loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, or righteousness; they can be bought off if there's enough money, and there's money in the mountains right now.

The money can be spent and then taken back later when we conquer cities. The most important thing now is to establish a firm foothold.

He grabbed Shan Ailian's shoulders, and she shook excitedly, her face slightly flushed.

Of course, she wasn't born knowing these things; her main business was simply dividing up the profits and helping people dispose of stolen goods.

To do this kind of business, you not only need to have good connections in the underworld, but you also need to cultivate relationships with people at all levels of government.

In the government offices around Erxianzhuang, who doesn't know that Erxianzhuang is involved in this kind of business? But they just can't get any evidence or arrest anyone. Why is that?

They've all been paid.

In the world of martial arts, strength matters, but so do interpersonal relationships. Why risk your life for just a few hundred coins a month?

Wu Qing recalled that the Shan family did this kind of business that straddled the line between the legitimate and criminal worlds.

The main reason he was forced to flee Taiyuan was because he had offended Li Yuan, the Duke of Tang, a powerful figure who could not be bribed.

So he began to seek further advice from Shan Ailian, and then discovered that he was indeed much worse than her in this regard.

They simply let her plan and arrange things, starting with bribing key figures in Cheng'an County.

After the other party has received a large sum of money, we will use this as a starting point to further bribe them and obtain intelligence.

Before long, intelligence from the city poured in like a sieve, all sorts of information, so simple it left him speechless.