Chapter 84 of Volume 5

  Tang Yin turned his back to Shangguan Yuanji, and with a sidelong glance, he saw Shangguan Yuanwu and Shangguan Yuanbiao, the two brothers. His face changed in an instant, and he regained his usual arrogant expression, smiling as he said: "You two don't need to thank me, if you want to thank someone, it should be your elder brother!"

  His words were very polite, but paired with his expression, the tone was completely different, as if he didn't take the two of them seriously at all, and couldn't even be bothered to give them a second glance.

  Shangguan Yuanwu and Shangguan Yuanbiao were so angry that they almost gnashed their teeth, exchanged a glance, the two brothers' minds connected, tacitly neither of them spoke, but in their hearts, they had already made up their minds to make Tang Yin pay the price.

  Clearly sensing the thick killing intent on both of them, Tang Yin's heart was calm and composed, secretly smiling to himself. On the surface, he remained expressionless, turned around, and said to Shangguan Yuange: "Shangguan brother can take them away now!"

  "This time... thank you so much for your kindness, Lord Tang!" Xiang Guan Yuanyi was grateful in his heart and bowed deeply to express his sincere thanks.

  Tang Yin waved his hand and smiled faintly, "Brother Shangguan doesn't need to be polite. If anyone should be thanked, I should be thanking Brother Shangguan for taking care of the soldiers of Pingyuan County all these years."

  He was very polite, and the impression of Tang Yin on Officer Guan also changed greatly. Although he felt that Tang Yin was a bit harsh when they first met, he still thought he was a man with feelings and righteousness.

  Tang Yin looked at Shangguan Jieping, who was filled with gratitude, and said: "My agreement with Brother Shangguan, I hope that after you return, you will consider it carefully. I am sincerely inviting you, surely you won't disappoint me?"

  "This..." Shangguan Jieping was very grateful to Tang Yin, but that didn't mean she was willing to accept his conditions and do things for him.

  Let's not talk about Tang Yin's character for now, but this job is not easy to take on. Dealing with internal affairs is laborious and time-consuming, and it's difficult to achieve results quickly. On the other hand, it's easy to make a mess of things. Pingyuan County is a particularly tough nut to crack, plagued by internal and external troubles. Handling government affairs is ten or even a hundred times more difficult than handling military matters. Tang Yin is currently living a carefree life and doesn't want to take on this thankless task that will only bring him trouble.

  Although unwilling to accept, but unable to immediately refuse, Shangguan Yuangei responded with another bow and said: "Of course, after returning, I will carefully consider it and give a reply to Lord Tang in three days!"

  "Great! Then I'll be waiting for good news from Officer Shang!" Tang Yin said with a confident smile.

  "Goodbye, Lord Tang!" Magistrate Ouyang Yuanji exchanged a few more pleasantries with Tang Yin before leaving the county yamen with his two brothers, Ouyang Yuanwu and Ouyang Yuanbiao.

  As soon as they left, Qiu Zhen, Bai Yong and others rushed up to ask in confusion: "Sir, why did you let Shangguan Yuanwu and Shangguan Yuanbiao go? We finally caught them after much difficulty!"

  "Yes! The landscape can change, but the nature of things is hard to shift. These two brothers have been tyrannical for a long time and this time they suffered a setback at our hands. They will definitely not let it go and will look for an opportunity to take revenge in the future!"

  "Moreover, how could Upper Official Yuan Ji possibly control these two? Otherwise, how would they be able to go and become bandits?"

  Everyone speaks out their dissatisfaction and unexplained feelings in their hearts.

  Tang Yin listened with a nonchalant expression, chuckling to himself. When they finished speaking, he smiled and said: "You're all right, Officer Guo can't control those two, they'll definitely come back for revenge. If nothing unexpected happens, they'll be knocking on our door tonight."

  Tang Yin, an orphan since childhood, looked down on the world's cruelty and ruthlessness. He couldn't say that he was 100% accurate in judging people, but he was about 80-90% correct. Shangguan Yuanwu and Shangguan Yuanbiao were both straightforward people who couldn't hide their feelings, and their hatred for Tang Yin was completely evident on their faces. With their hot-blooded personalities, they had been repeatedly humiliated by Tang Yin, so it would be strange if they didn't come to take revenge.

  His face relaxed, but the people around him were shocked and exclaimed: "Tonight? Sir... then it's even more impossible to let them go!"

  Tang Yin laughed and said: "If I hadn't run into the Shangguan brothers, how would Shangguan Qing have compromised? And how could I have also taken these two as my own?"

  Everyone present looked surprised when they heard this. Originally, they all thought that Tang Yin was only going to win over Shangguan Jieping, but unexpectedly he also included Shangguan Yuanwu and Shangguan Yuanbiao in his calculations. Even Qiu Zhen didn't think that Tang Yin could calculate so deeply...

  Shangguan Yuanwu and Shangguan Yuanbiao are both highly skilled masters, if they can be recruited, they will be of great use. Tang Yin would not lack the heart to love talent, it's just that these two men are too stubborn, so he uses the tactic of "luring by pretending to yield".

  Since he had already let two people go and knew that his brothers would come back for revenge, he actually had a plan in mind to deal with it.

  Tang Yin was very clever, always had been, and when he started to seriously turn his brain, it was also terrifying.

  Seeing everyone's stunned faces, he smiled calmly and said: "Even if Officer Shang really comes to our doorstep, there's nothing to be afraid of. I've thought of a plan, let's see if it's feasible."

  As he spoke, he recounted his thoughts to everyone present in detail.

  After hearing his words, the crowd was first startled and then burst out laughing. Tang Yin's idea sounded a bit childish, but it wasn't a bad plan either...

  Qiu Zhen applauded for the first time and said, "I think this plan is feasible! If Shangguan brothers don't come, it's fine. But if they really do come, we'll have to take a good look at their embarrassed faces, haha..."

  Everyone nodded in agreement, and the smile on their faces turned into a sneer...

  "Doing this... won't be dangerous, will it?"

  "Don't worry! Both of their cultivations have reached the Spiritual Origin realm, and it's not that easy to harm them."

  "Hmm!" Bai Yong nodded thoughtfully, then smiled after a moment and said, "Let's do it the way adults do!"

  "Does nobody have an opinion?"

  Everyone shook their heads...

  Tang Yin smiled and said, "Alright!" He then turned to Liu Zhongsheng and Chen Fang, saying, "You two take care of this matter. Act quickly and try not to make any noise."

  "Understood!" Liu Zhongsheng and Chen Fang both stood up and left with the order.

  The matter was settled, and Tang Yin changed his tone, discussing military affairs with everyone.

  "He asked: 'Do we have scouts now? Can they monitor the movements of the barbarian army?'"

  Zhang Zhou and Bai Yong looked at each other, nodded and shook their heads...

  Tang Yin did not understand what the two of them meant.

  "We have scouts, but they don't dare to set foot in the barbarian state, let alone monitor the movements of the barbarian army."

  "Why is this?"

  "Perhaps the terrain was vast and we were completely unfamiliar with the geography of the place. When scouts went out, they often got lost, and after a long time, we didn't dare send scouts in that direction again."

  Tang Yin shook his head and muttered, "The barbarian troops are familiar with our movements, but we know nothing about them. If you know yourself and your enemy, you can win every battle without danger. In this situation, how can we possibly compete with them?"

  Everyone frowned, nodding in agreement while secretly being amazed, Tang Yin seemed to know no military law, yet he often said thought-provoking words like "know yourself and know your enemy, a hundred battles will not be perilous".

  They have no idea that in Tang Yin's time, this kind of talk had already been used excessively and was almost a common saying.

  Tang Yin continued: "I must be able to understand the movements of the barbarian army at all times, so our scouts not only need to be numerous but also well-trained. No matter how strange the environment is or how dangerous the conditions are, they can survive."

  He, who is now a killer god in the kitchen, understands the importance of intelligence all too well. Intelligence is equivalent to eyes and ears; without it, one might as well be blind and deaf, no matter how formidable their power may be, for on the battlefield they can only suffer defeat at the hands of others.

  Zhang Zhou and Bai Yong's faces turned serious, and they said in unison: "Sir, after we return, I will personally oversee the training of the scouting horses within our troops!"

  Tang Yin shook his head and said thoughtfully: "Simply relying on the scouts within the army is far from enough."

  A vanguard of one division would not exceed fifty men, and three divisions together would amount to no more than 150 men at most, which is far from what he wants. The best solution is to establish an independent intelligence agency directly under his command and control.

  Thinking of this, he looked around at the crowd. Qiu Zhenshan was good at planning, but liked to enjoy life and wasn't suitable for doing practical work. Zhang Zhou and Bai Yong were both battalion commanders, with many tasks to attend to, making it hard to find time. Gu Yue and Li Wei had decent abilities, but weren't kind enough to the common people. Finally, his gaze fell on Tian Le.

  After some thought, there isn't anyone more suitable for being in charge of intelligence than Baitian.

  Lok Tin was an archer, cold and taciturn yet not lacking in stability and caution. He was also the foundation of the people, with a clever head, whether it was his power of observation or his meticulousness, both were far superior to others. Thinking of this, he smiled and said: "I want to establish an independent scouting team!" As he spoke, he looked at Lok Tin and asked: "Lok Tin, how about you become the leader of the scouting team?"

  Lai Tian was taken aback at first, then immediately stood up and said: "Your subordinate has received the order!"

  Since arriving in Pingyuan County, Yue Tian and Gu Yue have been the same as everyone else, following Tang Yin around all day with the title of deputy general, but without any actual responsibilities. Now that Tang Yin has put him in charge of intelligence, he wouldn't dare refuse, and as an archer, it's only fitting for him to take on reconnaissance missions.

  Seeing his pleased expression, Tang Yin was also delighted and said: "Le Tian, let's temporarily set the number of scouts at 500. You can go to each battalion to select specific personnel, as long as you think they're suitable, regardless of their rank, no need to report back to me, you can just go find the battalion commanders yourself."

  Everyone present couldn't help but take a deep breath after hearing this, such an arrangement was tantamount to placing the newly formed Scout Troop above all other legions, from which one could see the degree of importance Tang Yin attached to it.