High Martial Arts Three Kingdoms: The Incompetent Strategist

Except for the date, every single word in this letter was handwritten by Tang Ke himself!

Tang Ke calculated the days and realized that there was less than a month left before the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out. Ma Yuanyi should be almost in Luoyang by now, and the next step should be to contact the court's inside agents.

If it were revealed at this moment that he had any connection with the Yellow Turban Army, the consequences would be unimaginable.

We must eliminate the Yellow Turban Army's influence in the capital as soon as possible!

"This is a secret letter that Mengde intercepted. On his way back to Luoyang, he was attacked. The attacker was suspected to be a eunuch from the palace. Anyone who dares to leave the palace to attack the imperial cavalry must be acting under his orders, even if he is not a palace attendant. It's a pity that the letter was not signed."

After taking the letter back, He Jin handed it to Chen Lin. "It's nothing serious. You're good at imitating handwriting, so just make some minor changes to the letter and add Zhang Rang's name. Also, imitate Zhang Rang's handwriting in a reply letter. You need to carefully consider the point in the letter that leads to the assassin's ambush. We absolutely cannot let anything happen at the He residence."

Cao Cao continued, "Of course. It just so happens that your newly built Beauty Bathing Pool will be completed in the next few days. If we just leak a little information to His Majesty, he should be interested. Then I will personally lead troops to deploy around the Beauty Bathing Pool, let the assassins in, and capture them in one fell swoop. It will be foolproof."

"The biggest problem now is finding a trustworthy assassin to carry this reply and complete the mission."

Cao Cao nodded and sighed, "Ziyou's plan is most difficult in this step. Where can we find a group of people willing to risk the extermination of their entire families to die? Their martial arts skills can't be too low, otherwise they won't be able to break through the outer perimeter. If their martial arts skills are too high, I'm afraid His Majesty will be in danger."

Chen Lin's face turned deathly pale. "The most terrifying thing is that if someone is left alive, the consequences would be unimaginable. We can only be safe if the people we find are completely unaware of our existence."

After speaking, the three of them turned their gazes to Tang Ke in unison. Now that even He Jin and the other three had been assigned tasks, which was a crime punishable by the extermination of an entire clan, it was obviously unsettling for them not to participate in the specific actions.

Isn't this forcing me to find someone? The three of you are all officials, and I'm just a nobody who no one knows who I am. If things go well, we'll all share the spoils, but if things go wrong, you'll just push me out to take the blame?

While Tang Ke was ranting and raving, a bold idea suddenly popped into his mind. He cautiously said, "Why don't you give me the reply and I'll give it a try? Anyway, nobody in the capital knows me. If something goes wrong, I'll just run away."

Cao Cao said noncommittally, "General He and I have been in Luoyang for many years without finding a suitable candidate. Ziyou has just arrived; where are we going to find such a person?"

Tang Ke wasn't entirely confident either, so he vaguely said, "I have a few friends in Ji Province whom General Cao has met before. They hate the Ten Attendants to the bone, and they might be willing to lend us a hand."

"Those fellow villagers of yours?" Cao Cao thought carefully for a moment and asked suspiciously, "They even avoid me, so they might not dare to listen to your plot to rebel?"

"If we drive them to the brink, what wouldn't they do? We need General He's help with this. We need to create portraits of these people and issue warrants for their arrest throughout the city, so that they can't contact the outside world."

Although He Jin and Cao Cao were both puzzled, they did not press the matter further. They immediately had Chen Lin write a reply to Tang Ke and arranged for an artist to paint Ma Yuanyi and others according to Tang Ke's description.

Once everything was arranged, Tang Ke took the letter and left the He residence alone, heading straight to his own house. He disguised himself, putting on a large beard and a headscarf.

After making sure he wouldn't be recognized, he added Feng Xuan's unique mark to the letter and quietly slipped out the back door.

Right now, there's no one more suitable to be assassins than Ma Yuanyi and his gang!

Tang Ke knew that Taiping Dao had several strongholds in Luoyang, but after searching several, they found that they were all deserted. Clearly, they were also wary of his betrayal and had made preparations in advance.

However, it was impossible for such a large organization to completely replace its information transmission system in a short period of time. Tang Ke placed the letter under the eaves of the teahouse opposite Feng Xuan's residence and then hid in the shadows to observe.

This area was previously a designated information transmission point for the blocked area.

Cao Cao was also very efficient; wanted posters for Ma Yuanyi and others had even been posted at the entrance of the restaurant.

Tang Ke waited for five days in a row, and just when he was about to give up, he finally saw someone hurriedly take away the letter at midnight.

Tang Ke breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a great weight lifted from his shoulders. It seemed the wanted notice had some effect; the Taiping Dao hadn't yet made direct contact with Feng Xuan, and the plan was progressing much more smoothly than expected.

After receiving confirmation that Tang Ke's assassin had made contact, He Jin began preparing for the birthday banquet. Since Tang Ke was new to Luoyang and was engaged in a life-or-death matter, He Jin gave him special care and assigned him the task of purchasing supplies, only requiring him to disguise himself before entering the mansion.

Tang Ke was afraid of being discovered by the Taiping Dao people when he went in and out of the city, so he readily agreed to the request. The only thing he was unhappy about was that the master in charge of the disguise gave him a pockmarked face.

Because the emperor was expected to attend the birthday banquet, everything became complicated and the scale was greatly increased. Not only did they have to frame the birthday couplets given by the emperor, but they also had to set up a stage for operas and dances, as well as prepare entertainment such as pitch-pot, archery, cuju (ancient Chinese football), and even dice games.

The procurement process also became more complicated. In addition to the dishes, there was no need to mention the fine tea and fine wine. We also had to carefully select the best silk to make gorgeous clothes, and collect all kinds of rare ingredients and seasonal fruits to prepare a feast like the Manchu Han Imperial Feast.

He Jin also specially requested the commission of some exquisite porcelain and gold and silver utensils, each piece of which was required to be dazzling and radiant...

This was an enormous workload for Tang Ke. Even with several servants, he still found it very difficult. However, it was also a lucrative job, and of course, he couldn't help but skim off the top.

"Young Master Tang, this is a piece of top-quality silk from Ruifeng Silk Shop. Please take a look. Their boss also sent a letter, inviting you over for a detailed discussion. We can also have a set of clothes made for you."

"This is a vintage wine sent by Yuelai Wine House. Please enjoy it."

"This is……"

Tang Ke lay on the rattan chair, listening contentedly to the servant's report, while touching the invitation cards filled with silver notes.

The servant watched as he stuffed the gifts into his pocket, knowing that he had closed several deals for the day. He was delighted, having earned his dozen or so taels of silver in delivery fees. Now, of course, he wanted to strike while the iron was hot and present the grand prize.

"This is an invitation from the Dong Family Troupe. Their popular actress, Dong Ruyun, would like to invite you to a private audition tonight."

Upon hearing this, Tang Ke perked up and became interested. He sprang to his feet and headed for the door.

"Zhao Xiaoer, lead the way. Tonight I want to observe Miss Ruyun's wonderful skills."

The Dong family opera troupe was not far from the He residence. When the two arrived at the entrance of the troupe, the troupe leader, Dong Dahai, was standing at the door looking around. When he saw Tang Ke, he immediately perked up and greeted him with a big smile from afar.

Zhao Xiaoer lowered his voice and said, "Their opera troupe hasn't opened for business for three months. If we can't do this deal, they might have to disband."

He seemed afraid that Tang Ke hadn't squeezed them dry enough, so he added, "They're really eager for this opportunity to perform on stage for the birthday celebration. Don't agree to their requests too easily later. Just make your demands and don't be shy."

Tang Ke naturally understood and ignored Dong Dahai's greeting, walking into the theater with an air of nonchalance.