CHAPTER 267: CHAPTER 190_3

This may cause significant harm to the northern borders of Great Zhou, so we have to be cautious!

"As the saying goes, ’Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.’ I intend to send people to gather intelligence on the Xiongnu." When it came to gathering intelligence, he had two plans. The first plan was to train his bird friends to help him gather various intelligence. Using bird friends to gather intelligence was not only safe but also very reliable.

The second plan was to set up an organization dedicated to gathering intelligence, and eventually send its members to various places to gather news.

The first plan was easier for him. The second plan, for now, was a bit tricky because it required a lot of people and someone to specially teach them.

Although he was a prince, he had never been in contact with people who gathered news, nor did he know anyone in this field; he couldn’t find someone to teach him for the time being.

His foul father must have had people specifically for gathering news, but he couldn’t ask his foul father for those people. His grandfather indeed had people who gathered news, but they investigated business matters, not state affairs. Spies come in many forms and shouldn’t be generalized.

"I also plan to send people to do business with the Xiongnu."

Mr. Xiao was shocked by Zhao Yao’s bold idea. He showed a look of incredulity and exclaimed, "You also want to send people to do business with the Xiongnu?"

"Yes! Only by doing business with the Xiongnu can we gather more information about them!" Zhao Yao grinned, showing his neat teeth, and said with a smile, "Sir, in this world, only money is something that no one rejects. The Xiongnu are people, not gods; they won’t refuse money!"

Zhao Yao shook his index finger and said, "Money makes the mare go, and this saying also applies to the Xiongnu!"

Mr. Xiao was utterly stunned.

"As far as I know, the Xiongnu haven’t had it easy these past ten or twenty years." Zhao Yao had previously heard from Liang Zhaoyi about the Xiongnu matters, "They have been internally fighting for years, and coupled with ongoing natural disasters these past few years, many tribes can’t even eat properly. If we do business with them, they would be very willing."

"What the Xiongnu lack most is food and salt. We can trade food and salt with them, but of course, we have to control the quantity." Zhao Yao, oblivious to Mr. Xiao’s peculiar look, continued, "There’s no need to worry about food and salt. Yangzhou, where my grandfather is, has an abundance of these. We can use them to hook the Xiongnu. Of course, we also need to give them money so that they unknowingly fall into our trap. With this approach, we can extract more information from them."

"Each tribe among the Xiongnu is very selfish, viewing each other as rivals, unwilling to unite. Using money to incite them is most suitable."

"Most importantly, the Xiongnu are barbaric, greedy, and selfish. Using money to tempt and control them is most suitable." Zhao Yao smirked with a calculating grin, "First, fill them up with food and money, then suddenly stop. They won’t be able to stand it and will come to us on their own."

Mr. Xiao listened with growing horror, his face increasingly astonished and even broke into a sudden cold sweat on his back.

"Of course, money must also be controlled so as not to satiate the Xiongnu too much, lest their ambition grows and they advance south prematurely." Zhao Yao rubbed his chin, continuing to mutter to himself, "It’s best to do business with key figures in each tribe, which would make information gathering more convenient. Initially, money might not work, but beauty traps should do the trick."

"The beauty trap... it can’t be just any beauty; the beauty must be trained to become an excellent spy to be effective..."

These thoughts were all spontaneous ideas from Zhao Yao, not something he had previously planned, so he was thinking while perfecting them.

Mr. Xiao listened, dumbfounded by Zhao Yao’s words.

"As for using beauties as spies, my second uncle should understand. Let’s have him handle it," Zhao Yao added, "Besides the beauty trap, we also need to employ a male beauty trap, as the women on the Xiongnu side might fancy our dashing men from the Central Plains."

Mr. Xiao: "!!!!!!"

"I’ll think over this period and then write out a detailed plan to hand over to my second uncle when I next leave the palace for rest." Saying this, Zhao Yao showed a troubled look, "This will cost a lot of money; I need to make money first. Oh, and we need many people; these people are hard to find..."