There was one thing in this world that was the god of all people, the soul of all gods, and even ghosts were forced to fight for it.
On the Fan family carriages, one could often see the family crest of the Fan family, a square and a circle. It was the shape of this thing. Master Fan was the Minister of Revenue and controlled the national treasury. Young Master Fan was about to go to Jiangnan to take over the palace treasury. The wealth of the Kingdom of Qing was controlled by this family, and even the family crest was full of the stench of money.
Money. Money that people loved and hated. Money that could make people go to heaven and go to hell. Money that could make people laugh on a mountain of knives and dance crazily in a sea of fire!
Not only did the people love money, but the court loved money even more. That was why they set up so many taxes. They wanted to scrape off three layers of land. As for the court of the Kingdom of Qing, since the founding of the kingdom, they had begun to tax salt, iron, and tea in addition to land and corvee labor. Later, because of the sudden rise and fall of the Ye family, the palace treasury became the court's largest source of money. As for the glassware, liquor, toys, and ships produced by the palace treasury, the court naturally imposed heavy taxes. Furthermore, they were always guarded very strictly, and the Overwatch Council was in charge.
So when the Cui family's smuggling was investigated by the Overwatch Council, it shocked the world. It was not until today that the people of the Kingdom of Qing knew that there was such a big gap in the palace treasury, and that the court had lost so much money in taxes!
The Imperial Censorate was silent, and so were the officials who had been bribed by Xinyang. But there were still some officials from different factions or with righteous hearts who began to submit petitions, asking the court to investigate the matter thoroughly. Although no one dared to mention the Eldest Princess' name in the petitions, the spearhead was pointed directly at Xinyang.
In comparison, the young Emperor of Northern Qi also took advantage of the situation. The matter of Commissioner Fan of the Overwatch Council recovering on Cang Mountain was intentionally or unintentionally left out. Although everyone knew that Commissioner Fan was the mastermind behind this operation, making it easier for him to take over the palace treasury next year, no one dared to say anything.
On the contrary, the impulsive students of the Imperial College had already begun to prepare petitions, asking the Emperor to transfer control of the palace treasury to Young Master Fan. Fan Xian's reputation was indeed much better than that of the Eldest Princess. Naturally, part of this was due to the snowy words of the past.
And in recent days, rumors began to spread among the teahouses and dining tables of the capital. It was said that Xinyang had begun to send out crazy assassins to murder Young Master Fan.
The efficiency of the Eighth Bureau of the Overwatch Council was indeed high.
— —
Not everyone could completely understand the conflict between Fan Xian and the Eldest Princess.
Many lofty scholars had always been puzzled as to why the people of the world were so passionate about this kind of thing, to the extent that they would not hesitate to shed blood for it. For example, Shi Chanli. Although he was now a famous figure in the entertainment industry in the capital and the owner of the Baoyue Brothel, he still did not understand this point.
Why was the Eldest Princess so reluctant to let go of the palace treasury? Recently, he had even used such ruthless methods to deal with his son-in-law! She used the Cui and Ming families to smuggle to Dongyi and even overseas. Why did she dig so much silver from the palace treasury? Over the past ten years, where did all the wealth she had plundered go?
"Nurturing soldiers." Fan Xian looked at the only student by his side and explained, "The army is all the Emperor's and the court's. Although Yan Xiaoyi is the noble Governor of the North, if he wants to do anything in the future, I'm afraid he won't be able to stand up to the Emperor's edict. You know, in our country, particularly in the army, how high the Emperor's prestige is."
"If you want to contend with this kind of prestige, there is only one thing in the world that can have a certain effect."
"That is money," Fan Xian said with a smile. "A large amount of money. The monthly income of the officers under Yan Xiaoyi is so high that you would probably be dumbfounded if you heard about it. It is precisely because of this that Yan Xiaoyi is able to control the military power in his hands as firmly as possible."
Shi Chanli stopped copying notes with his right hand and laughed bitterly.
He had entered the mountains this time because he had been entrusted by the Imperial College to write the biography of Fan Xian, the current civil official of the Qing Kingdom. Ever since Fan Xian published "Banxianzhai Shu Hua", his position in the world of poetry in the Qing Kingdom had been firmly established. Even when he left for Northern Qi and brought back Master Zhuang's carriage of books, his influence spread even further. Of course, the Imperial College was proud of this young Master Fan, who had risen from the Imperial College's principal to the Ministry of Education. They did not want to miss out on this kind of resource, so they decided to write a biography of Fan Xian, which would be published by Danbo Bookstore and distributed to the world. This was to win over more students in the north and Dongyi in the coming year, and also to bring more scholars to the Qing Kingdom to participate in the spring examinations.
But after Fan Xian was injured, he hid in the Cang Mountains and did not go to the Imperial College for a long time. Even Shu the Scholar could not find him, so he had to use his connections here and there to find Fan Xian's only student in the capital, Shi Chanli.
Shi Chanli also felt that this matter was very promising, and with the Imperial College's personal invitation, he felt that it was much more glorious than being the owner of a brothel in Baoyue Brothel. So he eagerly ran into the Cang Mountains. He was lucky that he did not see the corpses in the snow.
How could he have predicted that things would develop differently from what he had imagined?
Although he had begged his teacher to stay in the study, his teacher did not talk about his life, his studies, or his poetry. Instead, he talked about the secrets of the court, such as how the Overwatch Council defeated the Second Prince, and why the Eldest Princess refused to let go of the palace treasury!
Shi Chanli did not have the courage to write these things down on paper. Even if he did, the Imperial College would not dare to publish them even if they had 800 heads!
He looked at his teacher and said in a chilly voice, "Teacher, these things … can't be written into the biography."
As for the matter of writing a biography, Fan Xian felt that it was ridiculous. He thought to himself that he was so young. Were the scholars of the Imperial College going to seal his coffin? Seeing Shi Chanli's awkward expression, he laughed and scolded him, "Write my ass!"
He cursed and then said, "Is the Imperial College so free that it has nothing better to do? When will they be able to sort out Master Zhuang's books? The Danbo Bookstore is waiting to open the printing, and the Emperor is also rushing them. It's not like you don't know that the Emperor wants me to sort them out within three years … These freeloaders only know how to flatter me and don't know how to do proper work. "
Shi Chanli carefully explained on behalf of the Imperial College, "Master Zhuang's books have already begun to be printed in batches."
Fan Xian shook his head and continued, "Then tell me about the absurd matter of writing a biography for me. Even though I've written a few poems, sung a few songs, and conversed with Master Zhuang twice in my life, don't you know that my most glorious career, the one that I'm truly proud of … is still these shady, shady things. "
These words were spoken truthfully, and were even close to Roseau's self-analysis, except there was not a trace of remorse.
"What I am most proud of is killing people and using poison, not those romantic things. If you can write them, do you dare to write them?" Fan Xian stared into Shi Chanli's eyes. "If you want to write a biography for me, wait until the day I die, or when the people of this era all die. If you are still struggling to live, it won't be too late to talk about it then."
— — — —
Shi Chanli sighed sorrowfully. He knew that the work of writing down notes could not be completed. His teacher had already made up his mind, and it would be difficult for him to convince him otherwise. However, he had already been intrigued by the court secrets that Fan Xian had spoken of earlier. Returning to his teacher's previous topic, he said, "Regarding the matter in the north, I think that General Yan Xiaoyi blindly uses money to buy loyalty … even if he wants to rebel, I don't think it will be of much use."
Under the influence of his teacher for half a year, Shi Chanli was like Sisi from Danzhou. He had grown a lot bolder, and his words were also a lot sharper.
"The Emperor has a tight grip on the army." Fan Xian raised his eyebrows. "The Eldest Princess doesn't have any loopholes to exploit. She only has a trusted aide like Yan Xiaoyi, so of course she has to throw out a lot of silver. Every bit of loyalty she can earn is a bit more."
"Although it costs a lot to raise soldiers … that is the palace treasury. Is ten years only enough to do this?"
"Of course not." Fan Xian explained like a teacher. "The Second Prince wants to bribe the officials of the capital. This requires money. He wants to control public opinion. This requires money. Xinyang wants to befriend the local officials, the feudal lords of a region. This also requires money. The word 'official' has two mouths, and the officials of the Kingdom of Qing are all very healthy. Their mouths are wide open. To feed these people … it really costs a lot. "
Shi Chanli frowned. "This is equivalent to rebellion."
"You said that before." Fan Xian laughed. "Right now, it is only at the stage of the fight for the throne. If the Second Prince really succeeds, he will have imperial power in his hands. It will be very easy for him and his aunt to get back the silver they have given out."
Fan Xian suddenly thought of the scene in "The Deer and the Cauldron" where Wei Xiaobao framed Wu Sangui. He laughed bitterly. "Of course, once he becomes the Emperor, he won't need to care about this small amount of money. The whole world will be his."
Shi Chanli sucked in a breath of cold air. "Teacher, you want to take over the palace treasury, and you want to destroy the Cui family ahead of time. Isn't this cutting off the other side's source of money? This will cause great damage to the Second Prince's fight for the throne. No wonder Xinyang is so angry this time. Compared to the disturbance in the capital, their reaction is much stronger."
Fan Xian laughed coldly. "Reaction? Five or six years ago, that mother-in-law of mine began to react. "
His mind flashed back to five or six years ago, to that little building in Danzhou that had been burned to a crisp. It was in that building that he had killed someone for the first time. After entering the capital, Fan Xian used the power of the Overwatch Council to investigate this matter clearly. That year, Lady Liu wanted to poison him because of the two women in the palace.
It was in that year that His Majesty first proposed the marriage between the Fan and Lin families. It was also the same as proposing the transfer of jurisdiction over the palace treasury. Although this marriage did not succeed for the time being under Chen Pingping's strong opposition, it still made the Eldest Princess wary. She did not want to easily let go of the enormous wealth she firmly controlled, so she had arranged for someone to kill Fan Xian.
But no one could have imagined that four years later, when Chen Pingping was returning home to worship his ancestors, Fan Jian would bring up the matter again. Finally, he received His Majesty's permission. Thus, Fan Jian had Teng Zijing rush thousands of miles to bring Fan Xian from Danzhou to the capital.
When he thought of the muddle-headed twelve-year-old Fan Xian, he had already carried such a heavy burden on his shoulders, and had already gotten into so much trouble. Fan Xian, who had long since grasped power, still felt some lingering fear.
And then there was the Niulan Street incident. The second prince had invited him to a banquet, and the Eldest Princess had secretly instigated the second son of the Prime Minister's manor to organize a murder.
Now that he thought about it, his mother-in-law had tried to kill him three or four times, but had not succeeded. Fan Xian smiled bitterly as he thought about it. All the dangers he had faced in his life seemed to have been carried out by the Eldest Princess, who was so beautiful it made people forget her age. Furthermore, the Eldest Princess had not personally taken action. She had only used some scheming methods to dirty other people's hands. This woman, this woman with an obsession with cleanliness, had actually used people from Xinyang to assassinate him. It looked like she was truly angry and flustered.
A confident smile rose to the corners of Fan Xian's lips. As long as you are angry, it is fine. If you were still as calm as before, I would not know how to act.
He deeply believed in the Xinyang Princess's ability to scheme. Just from the Niulan Street incident turning into a clever scheme to seize Northern Qi's land, and the sale of Yan Bingyun in exchange for the Qing court's chaos, he could see the Eldest Princess's ability to scheme. But he was not afraid of this, because the Overwatch Council was also best at scheming. Sir Yan junior was also a genius, and he had an unresolvable hatred for the Eldest Princess. Most importantly, other than scheming, the Overwatch Council also had power, and this was what Xinyang lacked the most.
To deal with schemers, simple swords, blood, and fire were the most effective methods.
"The Eldest Princess is an amazing woman." Fan Xian woke up from his contemplation and sighed. "Truly amazing. At the beginning, all the civil and military officials in the court thought she was helping the Eastern Palace. No one thought of her agreement with the Second Prince. Those in the court who hate her, such as my father-in-law who has already left the court, will unconsciously lean towards the Second Prince. And the people she controls on behalf of the Eastern Palace can be thrown out at any time to be villains. If this situation continues for another seven or eight years, when His Majesty is old, perhaps the Second Prince will really be able to enter the Eastern Palace. "
"It's a pity she met the teacher," Shi Chanli said.
Fan Xian was not modest. "I was just a bit lucky. And do you think the Emperor and Director Chen really don't know about this?"
Shi Chanli was slightly surprised.
Fan Xian smiled bitterly. "No matter how amazing a woman the Eldest Princess is, in the end, she is still no match for those old fellows. I am just a hand pushed to the front stage. Perhaps the Emperor … just doesn't want the empress dowager to be angry."
He suddenly tilted his head slightly and looked at the vast expanse of white mountains outside the glass window. With a slight sense of loss, he said, "However, among these powerful figures, the one I actually admire the most … is my father-in-law, who has long left Jingdou."
Shi Chanli didn't understand. He had thought his teacher would say the one he admired the most was Minister Fan.
Fan Xian smiled slightly. "My father-in-law is known to the world as a treacherous minister, but he is actually a rare capable official. The Qing Kingdom in the past few years could truly be said to be prosperous and the people at peace. Although there were small disagreements, in the end, they did not affect the overall situation. He made great efforts. What I admire about my father-in-law is that he is very patient and very decisive. At the beginning … because of the Eldest Princess, Sigu Jian killed my second brother-in-law. My father-in-law immediately agreed to my marriage to Wan 'er and stood without hesitation on the side of the Overwatch Council and my father. Don't forget, he and Director Chen's father have fought for many years in court. For him to make such an important decision and immediately make a plan, it is truly extraordinary. "
He then sighed and said, "Furthermore, my father-in-law holds the power of the Prime Minister in his hands, but he is not attached to it. Once he discovered that the Emperor had other thoughts, he immediately resigned. Although he lost the power in his hands, at the end of the day, his family is safe, and his clan is peaceful."
After Fan Xian's father-in-law, Prime Minister Lin Ruofu, retired, he had always lived out his retirement in Wuzhou. He was a wealthy man and often had correspondence with his family in Jingdou. It was said that he had been doing well recently. His health was even better than when he was in Jingdou.
"It is easy to understand others, but difficult to understand oneself," Fan Xian sighed and said. "Father-in-law knows people, knows oneself, knows the time, and knows the situation. There is truly too much for me to learn."
Shi Chanli's heart jumped slightly. He thought of how the court in Jingdou was still empty. It was only the officials of the Hall of Governmental Affairs who were helping with political affairs. In a small voice, he said, "Teacher, in the future, you will eventually become the Prime Minister of the court."
Fan Xian laughed bitterly and scolded, "Don't test me. I have no interest, and I don't have the ability. How can governing a country be as simple as cooking a little fish? As for me, in the future, managing the Overwatch Council is where my interest lies. Managing the palace treasury is the Emperor's edict. I won't do anything else. "
Shi Chanli smiled and said, "Teacher, your words are interesting. However, just mentioning these two things is enough to make others envious."
"Let me tell you something. You know that after my father-in-law retires, the Emperor does not plan to reestablish the position of Prime Minister."
Fan Xian stood up and leaned on his walking stick. Moving to the window, he pushed it open and smelled the cool wind coming from the snow. Faintly, he said, "The retiring Master of the Bureau of Documents, Mr. Hu, has already risen by imperial edict and is coming to Jingdou."
Shi Chanli paled in shock. "Which Mr. Hu?"
"How many others?" Fan Xian did not turn around. Lightly, he said, "When you and I were still children, that Mr. Hu pushed hard for the improvement of literature. The Emperor has ordered him to return to the capital as a scholar. In the future, there will be no place for the Minister of Appointments, Yan Hangshu. Qin Heng will also be the Jingdou garrison. The Hall of Governmental Affairs … will be led by a few scholars. There is no possibility of reestablishing the position of Prime Minister. "
Shi Chanli was silent. A moment later, he sighed lightly and said, "In the past, I only knew how to study and serve the court. Only now do I know that the matters of the court are incomparably complicated. It is not something that outsiders can guess."
After a while, he became happy again. Although the things he heard today could not be recorded in history and were of no help to the Imperial College's advertising business, these secrets were never passed on. Since his teacher had told him today, decades later, if he had the opportunity to write this into the history of the country or publish a "Mountain Dwelling Notebook of the Master of Banxianzhai," he would, without question, leave his name in the annals of history.
Of course, his teacher had to be the victor of history.
Thinking of this, he felt a faint excitement in his heart. For some reason, he heard his teacher look out the window and laugh. "Do you know that Director Chen's true age is a bit younger than the Emperor?"
Shi Chanli's joyful heart was greatly surprised. He had once seen Chen Pingping from afar and knew that the Director was old and clumsy. It looked like he was about to sink into the yellow earth. Was he younger than the Emperor in his prime?
"Younger by a month," Fan Xian said with a not-quite-there smile. "The affairs of the court are too complicated. There is too much to worry about, so it naturally becomes like this. I wonder if, in the future, I will also age prematurely."
Outside the window was a bleak expanse of snow. From the end of the corridor came the laughter of girls playing mahjong. Rou Jia had shamelessly come again. Ye Ling 'er, that bold and thick-skinned person, had also hurried back from Dingzhou. The Fan manor's estate in the Cang Mountains was always lively in the winter. Compared to last year, it seemed that only the little fatty in Northern Qi was missing.
Fan Xian narrowed his eyes and welcomed the cold wind that blew against his face. In complete contrast to the joyous mood at home, he was silent. Working for the Emperor in this shitty court, just like Chen Pingping, was truly a very exhausting job. Everyone seemed to have a few faces at the same time. No one knew what kind of cards each person held in their hands. Fan Xian didn't know what other people's trump cards were, so he always held his trump cards tightly in his hands and would not easily play them out.
Following a rustling sound, Deng Zi Yue, draped in a black snowy robe, came to the front of the house. He was about to knock on the door when he found that the window was open. Commissioner Fan was waving at him. He was slightly surprised and walked over. In a low voice, he said, "The follow-up people from Xinyang have already retreated. The Director sent Zong Zhui to follow them."
Fan Xian nodded. The official called Zong Zhui and Wang Qinian were known as the Two Wings, and they were best at tracking. Fan Xian was not worried about his safety. Seeing the paper bag in Deng Zi Yue's hand, he very naturally extended his hand.
Inside the paper bag was the analysis of the intelligence reports drawn up by the Third Bureau, as well as the correspondence.
Deng Zi Yue's expression became somewhat strange. He chuckled and said, "There's a letter from the north."
Fan Xian was surprised, but immediately understood. He laughed and scolded, "You're a man. Don't learn from those women's mouths."
Deng Zi Yue handed the paper bag to him, covered his mouth, and turned to leave.
Looking at his subordinate's comical appearance, Fan Xian could not help but laugh again.
Using the excuse that someone needed to watch over the capital, he chased Shi Chanli out the door. Only then did he break open the first seal on the outside of the large paper bag and pull out a stack of letters. He flipped through them and, not surprisingly, found Haitang's letter. Deng Zi Yue's strange behavior earlier was naturally because of this letter.
The Overwatch Council's seal used rosin and silver cinnabar. They did not use lamp coal, so the safety factor was higher. Furthermore, the envelope was specially seamless, so there was no need to worry about someone deftly opening it on the way.
First, he read through the information from the Qinian Unit in the capital, and then looked over the intelligence reports from the other places that the Third Bureau had presented. Fan Xian nodded with satisfaction. Progress in each place had been smooth. Yan Bingyun had acted very quickly, and the Cui family would not be able to escape. The news had spread to Jiangnan, and even the Cui family's in-laws, the Ming family, had begun to move their wealth and goods. This move of striking the mountain to scare the tiger was beginning to take effect.
Finally, he glanced at the Council reports and picked up the letter that Haitang had sent. This had always been his principle. When doing things, he should put the public first and then the private. But after he finished reading Haitang's seemingly ordinary letter, he regretted that he had read it too late, even if it was only for a short while.
Because the contents of the letter were too shocking! Fan Xian's slender fingers gripped the thin paper, and he could not help but tremble. His expression was serious.
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