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

Zhao Gao didn't say another word, bowed slightly again, and then turned and left.

As his figure disappeared at the end of the corridor, Qian Bao remained standing there, his fingers trembling slightly in his sleeve.

It wasn't fear, but a mixture of anger and disbelief that made this old fox, who had been navigating the inner court for forty years, feel for the first time that he might have underestimated this young man.

This news quickly spread throughout the various departments of the inner court.

Some gloated, some were secretly on guard, but everyone began to re-examine this young eunuch.

That evening, Zhao Gao summoned Wei Zhongxian, Gao Lishi, and Zheng He together in his cramped duty room.

The four people sat around a small square table, on which sat a pot of cold tea and four rough earthenware teacups.

Outside the window was the unique stillness of the inner palace at night, with the occasional chime of the clock tower in the distance drifting in the night breeze.

This private meeting involved an open discussion of their political maneuvering.

Zhao Gao did not fully disclose all the details.

He only mentioned that he accidentally discovered some old accounts of the Imperial Household Department while sorting through the old archives of the Imperial Household Department, and planned to use this as a breakthrough.

However, he did not mention that he had already had Wei Zhongxian verify Qian Bao's complete factional relationships from the personnel files, nor did he say that he had secretly colluded with the followers of Wang Zheng, the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial.

"Qian Bao is just the beginning," Zhao Gao said, sitting at the head of the table, his fingers gently stroking the rim of his teacup. "But our path doesn't end here. Of the twelve inner court offices, only the Imperial Household Department is truly in our hands right now."

"Even if we include the Directorate of Ceremonial, it's just the tip of the iceberg. We need more people, more resources, and more pawns."

He likened the Imperial Household Department to a piece of fat meat on the map of power in the inner court.

The imperial staff oversaw the emperor's daily life and expenses, and were not only highly paid but also extremely lucrative.

More importantly, it kept track of the emperor's daily whereabouts and personal needs. Whoever controlled the Imperial Household Department could more accurately predict the emperor's movements.

To bring down Qian Bao, simply making a show of force is not enough; he needs to make a serious mistake at a crucial juncture, which requires the cooperation of everyone.

The subsequent discussion among the four revealed their individual strategic wisdom, but each of them left room for maneuver.

Wei Zhongxian patted his chest and said that all the personnel files were in his head, and he could dig out all the details of Qian Bao's godson and godson within three days.

He then changed the subject, mentioning that he had discovered that the backgrounds of several people in the palace maids' files were quite intriguing. He exchanged a glance with Zhao Gao and then said no more.

Gao Lishi agreed to take charge of the accounting between the Imperial Kitchen and the Imperial Food Bureau in the aftermath of the birthday banquet.

He casually mentioned that he had found several jars of aged wine in the Imperial Kitchen's storeroom, and that the seals on them bore the mark of the Imperial Kitchen, as if he were talking about a trivial matter.

Zheng He noted that although the Imperial Horse Stable's armory and the Imperial Household Department rarely interacted, Qian Bao had a godson who worked as a clerk in the Ministry of War's Armory Department.

Occasionally, they would come to borrow military equipment, and he would keep an eye on that line, then change the subject and stop talking.

Only half a sentence was left about the possible connection between the Imperial Horse Administration and the Imperial Workshop in certain projects, but the specific details were left out.

The four of them tacitly kept their cards to themselves, maintaining a delicate balance between honesty and reservation in every word they uttered.

Meanwhile, the arrangements outside the palace are also progressing steadily.

After the private conversation between the three at the Peach Blossom Stone Pavilion, Wang Anshi and Su Shi began their respective actions.

After the banquet for the third-ranked scholar, Su Shi became a highly sought-after figure in the literary circles of the capital.

He never wore the jade pendant given to him by the eldest prince; instead, he strung it on a red cord and hung it in his book box.

Occasionally, when curious people asked, he would calmly reply, "It is something Your Highness encourages me to use, and I dare not use it lightly."

At the same time, he began to make connections with various figures in the scholarly circles of the capital, and he would inform Daoyan in advance before attending each banquet.

Who are the people you can befriend closely, who are the people you need to keep your distance from, and who have the backing of various factions?

Yao Guangxiao's analysis was so precise that Su Shi had to admit defeat. He even clearly explained what was troubling someone recently and which faction they harbored resentment towards.

Wang Anshi's expansion of the private school in Wangjiazhuang has also made progress, and Heshengyuan has been allocating silver and materials in batches under the guise of local gentry subsidies.

Under the guise of lecturing, he began to instill practical ideas into these students. The textbooks he used were ostensibly introductory readings of the Four Books and Five Classics, but in essence, they were popular interpretations of the essence of reforms throughout history.

Of the first batch of thirty students, he secretly selected seven or eight from the poorest families but with the most outstanding talents for special training.

They were given extra lessons explaining the advantages and disadvantages of land tax throughout history, and each person's family background and personality traits were recorded.

This list was later slipped into a sesame seed cake and sent to the palace.

Lu Changfeng's Beggars' Sect branch is operating more and more efficiently at the new headquarters.

An intelligence network comprised of 300 peripheral informants has achieved a routine operation of reporting to the capital every five days.

Every major and minor event that occurred in every street, alley, and market would be compiled into a book and sent to the palace within five days.

His cultivation level was also firmly established at the fourth rank. Although he was not considered top-tier among the underground forces in the capital, it was enough to intimidate most of his opponents.

In recent months, he has been secretly exploring the possibility of selling intelligence.

The information that beggars overheard while squatting at the entrances of teahouses and taverns, after being filtered and refined, contained some details that were extremely valuable to major businesses in the capital.

Such as which grain store is currently out of stock, which cloth shop's cargo ship is delayed at the dock, or which official's steward is secretly hoarding a certain medicinal herb.

This information was secretly circulated through Shengyuan's business channels and sold to merchants in need in exchange for intelligence funding.

Using intelligence to fuel intelligence, the Beggars' Sect is transforming from a purely consumer-oriented intelligence network into a self-sufficient, virtuous cycle.

Heshengyuan has experienced the most rapid development.

Under the strategic planning of four prominent Shanxi merchants, and after a year of channel accumulation and capital preparation, Lei Lutai officially launched the pilot program for the draft bank business.

The first officially registered Heshengyuan Exchange Shop opened on Qipan Street in the most bustling Dongshi area of ​​Beijing. Although the storefront was small, it attracted many small and medium-sized merchants to inquire on the day of its opening.

He adopted an extremely conservative expansion strategy, first engaging in intercity remittance of goods between the north and south, and then in deposit and loan business within the capital.

Every step is based on thorough market research and risk assessment.

The net profit at the end of the year was four times that of last year, and the scale of deposit and loan business has also begun to take off. It is expected that the cash flow will exceed 500,000 taels of silver by the end of next year.

At the end of the year, when Yi Dun was reviewing the accounts, he said something profound to the managers.

Heshengyuan is no longer a cash cow, but a machine that makes money on its own.

Everyone knew that next year's imperial examination would be a grand spectacle, but only he knew that the imperial examination was just one corner of the chessboard.

The real game is much bigger than anyone can see.