Chapter 275: Training Spies and Ensuring Trustworthiness
Liang Run smiled and said, "That’s right, if he’s by your side, he can protect you."
"Second Uncle, aren’t you going to Wusun in a while? Take Ding Shan with you."
Hearing Zhao Yao’s words, Liang Run turned his head in surprise to look at Zhao Yao.
"Ding Shan is still young, and he’s never been on a long trip. I’m afraid it’s not a good idea to take him with me."
"Second Uncle, are you worried that Ding Shan can’t handle the long journey?"
"Yes, the child is strong, but after all, he’s never been far from home. I’m also worried he might not adjust to the different conditions."
"I don’t think Ding Shan is as delicate as you imagine." Zhao Yao had already finished four buns, "If he can’t endure the hardships of a long journey, how can he go to the battlefield in the future? Besides, taking him with you is the only way for him to grow."
Hearing this, Liang Run realized Zhao Yao’s intent.
"In that case, I will take Ding Shan to Wusun with me."
"Second Uncle, tell me honestly about the people Grandfather sent. Are they truly reliable?"
"Don’t worry, they are absolutely trustworthy," Liang Run said seriously, "They were carefully selected by your Grandfather and have passed multiple layers of tests."
"Oh, there’s even a test?" Zhao Yao was surprised, then asked curiously, "What kind of tests did Grandfather set up?"
"First, their business skills were assessed, followed by their character..." Liang Run explained the tests set up by Liang Shuren in detail to Zhao Yao.
After listening, Zhao Yao exclaimed, "Grandfather really put in a lot of effort!"
"It’s your matter, so naturally your Grandfather has to be very diligent to ensure everything is flawless."
Then, Liang Run elaborately introduced the people accompanying him to Wusun. After hearing them, Zhao Yao felt assured.
The matter of Liang Run and the others going to Wusun is extremely important and cannot tolerate any mistakes. If the people sent by Grandfather weren’t reliable, it would ruin Zhao Yao’s plan.
Liang Run added, "Once we reach Wusun and confirm there are no problems there, I will leave several people in Wusun. They will be responsible for the matters over there in the future."
"The shops and people in Wusun are very important. Not only do they need to do business there, but they also have to gather information. Be cautious when selecting people, Second Uncle." Actually, the primary responsibility of the shop in Wusun is intelligence. "We also need to train specialized spies."
"Yao Yao, the few people arranged to stay in Wusun this time are well-trained by the Liang family and are excellent spies in the business world," Liang Run said, "They can glean a lot of information from the tiniest details in the business arena."
"Spies in the business scene are ultimately different from those trained by the court," Zhao Yao thought with arms crossed and a furrowed brow, "We still need a way to train dedicated spies, but finding people to train spies isn’t easy." It’s really worrying.
"I heard that noble families all have their own spies, doesn’t Duke Zhen Country Mansion have them?"
"It should have, but it doesn’t seem as good as before." Zhao Yao knew a bit about the fine work of noble families. "During the turmoil, not only did the noble families lose many clan members, but many spies and death warriors also died. Most of those carefully trained spies perished during that time."
"Now the spies in the noble families can’t compare to before, so to speak." Zhao Yao found a perfect analogy, "The spies trained by noble families before were like gourmet dishes made by head chefs at Zhenxiu Building, whereas now they’re like side dishes made by the chef’s apprentices."
Hearing Zhao Yao’s analogy, Liang Run couldn’t help but laugh, "Yao Yao, listening to you, the spies trained by noble families nowadays aren’t that impressive."
"Indeed, they’re not that impressive. You must know that a stellar spy takes a lot of effort and time to cultivate," Zhao Yao said, "After the chaos of the previous dynasty, the noble families suffered greatly. When Great Zhou was established, they were busy fighting for power and profit and didn’t have the time or patience to cultivate spies like before."
"What about court spies? Great Zhou has also been established for just a short while?" Liang Run meant that the court would be like the noble families. Actually, the court was even worse than the noble families. While the noble families suffered significant losses, they had existed for hundreds of years, whereas Great Zhou was only established for over a decade. Compared to the noble families, the court was even less capable of cultivating excellent spies.
"It’s different. Although I don’t know how the court trains spies, the spies trained by the court are much better than those from noble families," Zhao Yao said, furrowing his brow, thinking, I can’t just ask my annoying father for a teacher specialized in training spies. "Spies must be trained from a young age."