The low-key prince summons trainees from the Imperial Household Department at the start of the game.

The four hidden pieces have been steadily climbing along their respective tracks for the past six months.

The competition between them still exists.

Every now and then, several "performance reports" would appear in the evergreen flowerpots in the side hall.

The handwritings varied. Zhao Gao's report was concise like an official document, Wei Zhongxian's report was vivid like a storyteller, Gao Lishi's report was meticulous, and Zheng He's report was succinct.

Beyond the competition, the four have developed a subtle understanding. When faced with matters requiring interdepartmental cooperation, they will quietly cooperate with each other within their respective jurisdictions.

From different perspectives, a three-dimensional intelligence network covering the main government offices of the inner court was woven for Zhou Xing.

Outside the palace walls, another group is making equally encouraging progress.

The dilapidated temple in Xicheng, which used to be drafty on all sides, has now been completely renovated.

It wasn't renovated; Lu Changfeng and his Beggars' Clan brothers hadn't lived there for a long time.

The Beggars' Sect's capital city branch has now moved its headquarters to the backyard of a carriage and horse shop in the southern part of the city, ostensibly as the shop's staff dormitory.

It was actually a small courtyard with three sections, where about twenty core brothers lived. They had dedicated areas for eating, discussing matters, and practicing martial arts.

The network of informants has grown to nearly three hundred, covering the nine gates, thirty-six wards, and one hundred and eight main streets and alleys of the capital.

Lu Changfeng divided the capital into five regions: east, west, south, north, and center. Each region was assigned a chief incense master, and under each chief incense master were several sub-masters.

Each informant was in charge of three to five external informants, forming a well-organized and highly efficient intelligence network.

Lu Changfeng himself was stationed at the South City headquarters, where he processed the messages collected from various branch leaders every day, selecting and archiving the valuable ones.

The most important thing is to get them into the palace through Wang Mazi's pancake shop.

But over the past six months, Lu Changfeng's proudest achievement was not the expansion of his intelligence network, but his breakthrough in cultivation.

Although the Wild Bull Strength he cultivated in his previous life was a third-rate technique, he managed to cultivate it to the third rank with such a technique, and his comprehension of martial arts far surpassed that of his peers.

In the year or so since he came to the capital, he has spent all his time cultivating, apart from managing the gang's affairs.

His twenty or so brothers all possessed cultivation, though their ranks were not high. They sparred and encouraged each other, creating a cultivation atmosphere many times stronger than when he was struggling alone in the martial world.

Through years of arduous training and countless real-world battles, he finally broke through the bottleneck of the peak of the third rank and entered the fourth rank.

A fourth-rank martial artist is considered a second-rate expert in the capital's martial arts world, and is unique among the Beggars' Sect during the time of the dilapidated temple in the western city.

When the news reached the palace, even Xu Chu, when passing a message to Zhou Xing, added, "That old man Lu Changfeng is quite interesting."

The development of Heshengyuan Trading Company was a quiet revolution.

In just over half a year, an inconspicuous little grocery store in a corner of the West Market was transformed under the strategic planning of four Shanxi merchants.

It has quietly become a rising star in Beijing's business world.

As the owner, Yi Dun set the general policy of "first establish channels, then seek profits"—for the past six months, he has not pursued exorbitant profits from a single transaction.

Instead, they minimize the profit margin on each transaction, using extremely low prices and high credibility to quickly capture market share.

He started from the bottom, first securing supply contracts with several small and medium-sized teahouses and restaurants in Beijing, and then gradually penetrating into larger businesses.

As the accountant, Li Hongling meticulously managed all accounts, recording every expense down to the last penny, achieving the ultimate in cost control.

Mao Honghui was responsible for standardizing the management process of the business, from the staff's attire to the way goods were stacked in the warehouse, with each item having rules to follow.

But it was Lei Lutai who truly transformed Heshengyuan.

In the past six months, Heshengyuan has expanded from a general store to four major categories: grains, cloth, medicinal herbs, and tea.

The storefront expanded from a small shop in Huai Shu Lane to three, and the warehouse went from nothing to two large warehouses rented in Xicheng.

Lei Lutai was in charge of the main branch, spending all day at his desk from morning till night, his abacus clicking away, managing every penny perfectly.

When to stockpile goods, when to release goods, when to leverage existing resources, and when to recoup funds.

By the latter half of the twenty-first year of Yonghe, Heshengyuan had become a rising star in the Beijing business community, with its trade in general merchandise from both the north and south occupying nearly 10% of the Beijing market share.

The number of employees under his name has grown from the initial twenty or so to more than one hundred, and the number of shops and the size of warehouses have more than tripled.

More importantly, Heshengyuan's business network provided Zhouxing's intelligence system with perfect cover and funding channels.

The Beggars' Gang's informants were no longer ragged beggars; Sheng Yuan had at least one store or warehouse in each neighborhood.

The core members of the Beggars' Gang transformed themselves into shop assistants, accountants, and warehouse managers at Heshengyuan, gaining legitimate access to various businesses and government offices.

Information transmission no longer relies on running around, but instead leverages the daily delivery and purchase logistics network of Heshengyuan's various stores. Messages are carried in the order slips and circulate between different districts, making it more than twice as fast as before.

The growth of Heshengyuan also brought Zhou Xing an unexpected benefit.

He now has his first group of legitimate people who are entirely his own and can operate openly.

These people, posing as shop assistants, entered and exited the palace to transport goods, and could legally interact with the imperial guards, eunuchs, and palace maids at various palace gates.

They could also legitimately deal with lower-level officials in various government departments, delivering goods, settling accounts, and signing for receipts. Every business transaction was an opportunity to exchange information.

All of this was perfectly protected by the commercial shell called "Heshengyuan".

The success of Heshengyuan naturally attracted covetous eyes.

Established businesses in the capital began to notice this rising star. Some secretly sent people to investigate Heshengyuan's background, some tried to cut off its supply chain, and some spread rumors that Heshengyuan was a nouveau riche that wouldn't last more than three years.

Yi Dun accepted all of this with a smile, and said with a simple and honest expression, "It's just a small business, thank you for your patronage."

He turned around and had Lei Lutai do three things behind his back.

First, they doubled down on prices, squeezing out several of their competitors' major clients.

Secondly, by investing in two north-south freight routes, they have secured the lifeline of logistics.

Third, they poached the three most capable employees of their competitor with high salaries.

After the three moves were made, several businesses that wanted to cause trouble took the initiative to come to the door to seek peace.

Lei Lutai, fiddling with the abacus beads in the accounting room, said to Yidun without looking up, "Master, the net profit has doubled again in the past few months."

A deeper strategic plan is also underway.

Lei Lutai has begun preparing a core business for Heshengyuan: a money exchange.

Over the past six months, he has thoroughly understood the operating models of more than a dozen money shops in the capital and has begun to conduct small-scale trials of inter-city remittance business by taking advantage of the trade route from the capital to Jiangnan.

If this path proves successful, Heshengyuan will transform from a simple trading company into a commercial empire with financial attributes.

At that time, they will not only be able to earn profits from trade, but also from finance. Exchange fees, deposit interest rate spreads, and loan interest are all sources of income that are far more lucrative and stable than selling goods.

More importantly, the clients of the money exchange business were all powerful and wealthy businessmen with a lot of money. Once Lei Lutai's remittance network was established...

He Shengyuan could legitimately access the wealthiest circles in Beijing, knowing who had how much money, who urgently needed money, and who was secretly transferring assets—information more valuable than any military secret.

When the progress outside the palace was summarized on Zhou Xing's desk, he was reading a book called "The Geography of the Great Zhou" borrowed from the Imperial Study by candlelight in a side hall.

Chunlan thought His Highness was studying diligently, but in fact, there was a thin strip of paper hidden in the book, which was densely covered with a summary of intelligence from various districts compiled by Lu Changfeng.

He compared the contents of the note with the map of power distribution in the capital in his mind, adding each newly marked location, name, and relationship line in his mind.

Then, he skillfully crumpled the paper into a small ball, stuffed it into his mouth, and swallowed it along with the tea.

He put down his book, walked to the window, and pushed it open a crack.

The chill of early winter hit us, and a thin layer of frost clung to the branches of the old locust tree outside the window, gleaming silvery-white in the moonlight.

The lights in the palaces and halls in the distance have been extinguished one after another, except for the Qianyuan Hall, which is still lit.

That was Emperor Wu of Zhou reviewing memorials.

And all his chess pieces were silently operating in their respective positions at this moment.

Everything was progressing steadily according to his plan, with each piece making its way solidly on its own path.

But he knew in his heart that all of these things—intelligence, wealth, and connections—were merely means, not ends.

He is now like a spider constantly weaving a web, the web getting bigger and denser, but he always stays in the most inconspicuous corner in the center of the web, waiting for his prey to run into him.

After lying low for so many years, he was waiting for an opportunity, a reason to truly step into the sunlight, a point where all his pawns, both visible and hidden, could exert their power simultaneously.

And now, that opportunity seems to be approaching him.