dognovel Chapter 127 The mole's identity is difficult to ascertain; a counter-strategy is employed.
Chapter 127 The mole's identity is difficult to ascertain; a counter-strategy is employed.
In the back study of the city lord's mansion in Winter City, Jiang Li moved gracefully among the towering bookshelves, her fingertips brushing over the classics, occasionally picking out books that interested her to read carefully.
These books were not cultivation manuals for eating impure things, but rare works covering many fields such as military strategy, tactics, power politics, and intrigue. Through years of studying them, Jiang Li gained profound knowledge and exceptional wisdom.
Jiang Li casually pulled out a book titled "108 Types of Scams from the Jiang Xiang School".
This book is a secret manual of the Jiangxiang Sect, which ranks third among the heretical sects. It details various fraud methods. Every disciple of the Jiangxiang Sect has a copy and has used it to swindle countless people out of money. Even the royal family has not been spared.
This sect is known for its wicked and wicked ways, and its infamy is widespread, causing people to avoid it at all costs.
One hundred and eighty years ago, the Jiangxiang Sect carried out an unprecedented deception that swept through the common people, cultivators, nobles, and even the royal family of this corrupt world, causing countless families to be destroyed and people to be destitute.
This scam made them famous and quickly propelled them into the top three of the evil sects.
However, their good fortune did not last long. Due to their numerous crimes, they eventually attracted the joint attack of the royal family and powerful figures. Jiang Xiang's disciples were either arrested or killed, and those who were lucky enough to survive went into hiding and dared not reappear in this evil world.
Jiang Li pulled herself out of her reverie, gracefully returned to her desk, landed steadily, and glanced at the two men who were waiting quietly.
Du Jiulang and Qiu Qilang both came from the Du family and the Qiu family, respectively.
To the outside world, the four major cultivation families of Winter City are Wei, Gu, Qiu, and Du.
Little did they know, the Qiu and Du families were actually vassal families secretly cultivated by the Jiang family.
Its purpose is to balance and suppress the power of the Wei family.
The Wei family has deep roots and a long-standing feud with the Jiang family.
The Jiang family could not openly suppress him, but they had to contain him in secret.
Once, the ancestors of the Wei and Jiang families swore a blood oath to jointly build Winter City, verbally agreeing to share the position of city lord after its completion.
However, after the Jiang family ancestor ascended to the throne of city lord, he remained silent about the matter of co-governance, leaving the Wei family with a bitter pill to swallow. Although the Wei family was resentful, they could only swallow their anger and bear it in silence.
Over the course of six hundred years, whenever the Wei family's power began to rise, the Jiang family would exert pressure from the shadows. It was against this backdrop that the Qiu and Du families came into being.
To outsiders, they appeared to be on good terms with the Jiang family, but in reality, they were pawns manipulated by the Jiang family.
To make everything appear more natural, Jiang Li deliberately sent people from the Qiu and Du families to infiltrate Zhou Qingfeng's camp. Even if Zhou Qingfeng sent people to investigate, they would find it difficult to detect any clues, greatly reducing the risk of exposure.
Even so, Jiang Li still made two preparations, because she believed that with Zhou Qingfeng's displayed intelligence and strategy, he probably already anticipated that she would send an undercover agent, and Zhou Qingfeng would definitely find a way to screen out the mole.
One agency isn't enough; if they're exposed, the undercover operation will fail.
Therefore, two undercover agents were specially dispatched to ensure that nothing went wrong.
Jiang Li walked slowly to the throne behind the desk, sat down calmly, and said in a deep voice, "Tell me, how has it been lately?"
Upon hearing this, Du Jiulang and Qiu Qilang respectfully clasped their hands in a salute.
Du Jiulang reported first: "Young Master Jiang Li, everything is proceeding according to plan. I have successfully made contact with Zhou Qingfeng. The conversation went very smoothly. He has no suspicion of me. It is expected that the alliance agreement will be signed within a few days."
"The only pity is that Zhou Qingfeng is very cautious and has not revealed any information about other forces forming alliances. If we want to know who dares to form an alliance with Zhou Qingfeng behind the back of the Jiang family, we will probably have to wait until the alliance meeting to find out."
Qiu Qilang followed closely behind, saying confidently, "Young Master Jiang Li, my progress is also going very smoothly. All of Zhou Qingfeng's plans are under our control, so you can rest assured."
Jiang Li lowered her head and turned the pages of the book, her eyes sharply glancing at Qiu Qilang out of the corner of her eye.
When Qiu Qilang felt that piercing gaze, he couldn't help but feel a tightness in his chest and become uneasy.
Jiang Li didn't care about Qiu Qilang's panic. Instead, she encouraged him, "You did very well. Remember, the key is to win Zhou Qingfeng's trust. Only in this way can you better guide the situation."
"But at the same time, you must also be adaptable and try to avoid being discovered by Zhou Qingfeng."
"You know, he's not someone who's easily fooled."
After hearing this, Du Jiulang and Qiu Qilang clasped their hands in a fist and promised again that they would act cautiously to ensure the plan would proceed smoothly.
Let's consider both sides of the story, focusing on one side only.
Jiang Li secretly met with the Qiu and Du families.
Meanwhile, at the mission's residence, discussions were also taking place regarding the screening of internal traitors.
Xiao Hongyun said, "Let's put aside the matter of the six-party alliance meeting and signing the treaty for now."
"The most urgent task is to determine the true intentions of the five forces cooperating with us, and which one is a mole sent by Jiang Xun to infiltrate our camp. This must be clarified, otherwise all talk is out of the question."
Although Zhou Qingfeng can use the communication bracelet to conduct remote negotiations with the leaders of the five forces.
However, strategic cooperation agreements must be signed in person and filed on file.
A mere verbal agreement has no practical significance.
Because without formal documents to bind them, cooperation becomes extremely unstable, and either party may break the alliance at any time and withdraw unscathed, or even turn against the Lord of Winter City, Jiang Xun, if things go wrong.
With this strategic cooperation agreement in place, we're all in the same boat.
At that time, no matter what happens, it will be impossible to turn against them and escape unscathed.
In addition, it is essential to ensure that the alliance partners are genuine allies.
Otherwise, it would deal a devastating blow to the alliance plan.
Zhou Qingfeng slowly sipped his Seven Treasures Lei Cha, calm and composed, not too worried about a traitor among his allies. He smiled slightly and asked, "Old Xiao, do you have any means to screen out the mole?"
Xiao Hongyun frowned, deeply aware of the immense difficulties: "Difficult, extremely difficult."
"Winter City is the Jiang family's territory, and their profound heritage accumulated over six hundred years gives them a natural advantage."
"If the Jiang family intends to plant a mole in our ranks, their identity, background, and affiliation will be perfectly concealed, making it impossible for anyone to verify. The difficulty of identifying such a mole is unimaginable."
Everyone present felt that the problem was exceptionally difficult to solve.
If the mole cannot be identified, the other factions may not dare to show up and sign a multi-party cooperation agreement.
Because as long as the mole is present, Jiang Xun will know in no time. At most, within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a large force will surround the meeting place, and everyone will be caught and wiped out.
Master Chen said, "Perhaps we can set a trap and manipulate the meeting place, giving each of the five forces a false meeting location, and then setting up sentries in these places to closely monitor the surrounding situation."
“If the mole gets the wrong information, he will definitely inform the Jiang family to set up surveillance at the designated location.”
"In this way, by checking whether there are any signs of Jiang family activity around the five fake meeting places, we can roughly determine where the mole is and distinguish which forces are trustworthy."
Jin Wei shook his head and sighed: "Alas, I'm afraid this won't work. Once our people step out of the mansion, their every move will be closely monitored, and any slightest disturbance will quickly reach the Jiang family's ears."
Ye Tingxiu angrily pounded his leg: "Damn it, no matter what I do, it won't work."
Zhou Qingfeng was not surprised to see that everyone looked worried and couldn't come up with any ideas.
Faced with the current situation, I can only come up with three strategies to break this deadlock.
Firstly, it's a pledge of allegiance. Every faction that wants to join the alliance must kill a specific member of the Jiang family at a designated time and place to demonstrate their loyalty. If someone is an insider, they wouldn't dare to do that.
However, it cannot be ruled out that Jiang Xun is a ruthless person who, in order to destroy his alliance, would rather have a few members of the Jiang family die than not send a traitor into his camp.
Secondly, make a wish to the Dream Fulfillment Organization, entrusting the Dream Fulfillment Masters in the organization to investigate the background information and recent activities of the four major families, compare and analyze their sincerity in cooperation, and kick out the ones with the greatest risk based on the intelligence.
Third, change the form of centralized alliance meetings. Sign an alliance agreement with only one party at a time, and sign the agreement in five batches. In this way, apart from oneself, none of the five parties will know of the other's existence.
The five forces will unite around themselves, gradually deepening their cooperation in future confrontations with Jiang Xun, screening their partners for reliability, and reducing the risk of all being exposed at once.
Of course, this is a fork in the road of fate.
Zhou Qingfeng wouldn't make a decision based solely on his own judgment; drawing lots would be the safest option.
Therefore, a divination had already been performed long before contact was established with the five forces.
[A very bad omen; cooperating with the Du family is ominous.]
[A very bad omen; cooperating with the Qiu family is ominous.]
[Zhongping Signing, in cooperation with Gujia, Ping]
[Zhongping Signing, Cooperation with the Wei Family, Balanced]
[Zhongping Signing, in cooperation with Yuanmeng, Ping]
[Auspicious omen: Cooperation with the Wei and Gu families and the Dream Fulfillment Organization.]
Following the principle of choosing auspiciousness if possible and neutrality if not, Zhou Qingfeng naturally chose to cooperate with the Wei family, the Gu family, and the Yuanmeng organization, excluding the Du family and the Qiu family.
Although I don't know why, the divination shows it this way, so it must be correct.
The reason I asked them about the mole today was not because I really wanted them to come up with ideas, but simply to take the opportunity to tell them the identities of the moles in the Du and Qiu families, and then naturally reveal the subsequent plan to turn the tables on them.
"Alright, no need to worry, I've already privately identified which company is the mole."
"I have no intention of cooperating with the Du and Qiu families."
Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned, not understanding how Zhou Qingfeng had identified the mole.
Even the old cripple looked puzzled; he hadn't noticed anything wrong with him.
Xiao Hongyun asked curiously, "Old Zhou, how did you figure out that the representatives of these two forces were traitors sent by the Jiang family?"
As Xiao Hongyun asked the question, everyone looked at Zhou Qingfeng with curious expressions.
Zhou Qingfeng picked up the Seven Treasures Lei Cha (a type of tea), took a slow sip, smiled mysteriously, and offered no explanation.
Because explaining means lying.
One lie requires countless lies to cover it up, and eventually, a flaw will be revealed.
Rather than letting them realize they've been deceived, thus creating a crisis of trust, it's better to...
It's better to say nothing and let them guess.
Moreover, as the head of the delegation, I do not need to report to anyone for my actions.
Seeing Zhou Qingfeng smile without saying a word, everyone was puzzled. However, they did not think that Zhou Qingfeng was talking nonsense, because based on Zhou Qingfeng's unparalleled wisdom in the past, he would never speak without reason.
Since they dared to say that, they must have discovered some problem and have something to rely on.
They racked their brains, but couldn't figure it out, and could only feel that they lacked wisdom.
Xiao Hongyun sighed inwardly at the vast difference in their abilities and said with a wry smile, "Old Zhou, since you've already discovered they're the moles, why are you still maintaining contact with them? You might as well just kick them out of the game."
Zhou Qingfeng smiled faintly: "You've hit the nail on the head. Now that we've kicked the Du and Qiu families out of the game, the Jiang family will realize that I've already discovered the identities of the two families' representatives as traitors."
"Then the Jiang family will inevitably send another mole to contact me, and may even resort to more drastic and insidious means to sabotage my alliance plan, which will cause me to lose control of the situation once again."
"But as long as I maintain contact with them, it will lull the Jiang family into a false sense of security, making them believe that everything is under their control. Then I will turn the tables and use these two traitors to make a big fuss, passing on false information to the Jiang family, and covering up the smooth signing of the alliance between our side and the Wei family, the Gu family, and Yuanmeng."
Upon hearing this, everyone suddenly realized, "So that's how it is..."
Everyone understood what Zhou Qingfeng meant.
Jin Wei then raised his hand to indicate, "Young Master, Jin Wei has a question."
Zhou Qingfeng smiled and said, "Go ahead and say it."
Jin Wei said with a serious expression, "Jiang Xun has a keen eye for our every move."
"His intelligence network was like an impenetrable net, covering the entire Winter City."
“Once we leave the mansion, no action will escape Jiang Xun’s notice.”
"Even if we use two traitors to pass on false information and divert the Jiang family's power and focus to a fake meeting place, the seventy-seven cultivators led by Xing Cishu are still watching us."
"They will definitely follow us closely. There are only forty-two of us at most. Even if each of them keeps an eye on one of ours, it will be more than enough. How can we get rid of their surveillance?"
Zhou Qingfeng smiled faintly: "This requires careful discussion of the details of the operation. Everyone, please feel free to speak your mind. If you have a plan, please share it. Don't be afraid of being laughed at if you are wrong. We are all on the same side here."
Upon hearing this, everyone nodded and began whispering among themselves, discussing the details of the operation.
Only the old cripple leisurely sipped his Qibao Lei Cha (a type of tea), as if he had only come to listen in and make up the numbers.
An invisible game is unfolding silently.
This battle of wits and strategies is a contest of who has the superior skills.
If Zhou Qingfeng fails to overcome the numerous obstacles and successfully reach a strategic cooperation agreement with the three forces of Wei, Gu, and Yuanmeng, he will be at a significant disadvantage and become extremely passive in this covert confrontation.
Conversely, if the alliance can be successfully completed, it means that the country has gained the capital to confront Jiang Xun on an equal footing.
This will turn the tide of the current situation and allow us to regain the initiative and a strong bargaining chip.
Xiao Hongyun stroked his chin, a sudden inspiration struck him, and he suggested, "Perhaps we can use the same trick again, mixing truth and falsehood, so that Xing Cishu and Chai Ronggui's group can't tell the difference."
Zhou Qingfeng slowly sipped his Seven Treasures Lei Cha and smiled faintly: "Times have changed. Although this plan is useful, it is not the best choice in the current situation. Let's keep it as a backup for now."
"Gentlemen, do you have any other ideas?"
Upon hearing this, Master Chen cautiously offered a suggestion: "Special Envoy Zhou, I can set up an array in advance to prevent spies from following you and cover your arrival at the meeting place. I wonder if this will be feasible?"
Zhou Qingfeng pondered for a moment and nodded slightly: "Good idea, it has some room for operation, but I don't know how far Master Chen's array formation skills can go."