Pa, pa, pa, pa. The sound was crisp. It was not like the muffled sound of the cane landing on the bodies of the Imperial Censorate outside the Royal Palace. Instead, it was like someone was beating the beat to a piece of music with a strong sense of rhythm.
The beat only fell 10 times before it ended. In the end, the three workshop masters were not like Brother Baoyu, who breathed in but did not exhale, nor did they faint like Second Fan.
Fan Xian watched the scene with great interest. He couldn't help but be surprised at the toughness of these three masters. After being beaten 10 times, they did not even make a sound. He was someone who knew his subordinates' style. Since he had yelled for them to be beaten, not a single one dared to hold back.
The three masters lay sprawled on the long bench. Their clothes had been lifted up, and their pants had been pulled down. Their buttocks and backs were covered in red marks. They looked wretched, but they had suffered too much humiliation. In front of Fan Xian, they forced themselves not to make a sound for mercy. However, it was always painful to be beaten. Other than the pain, there was also a shred of humiliation from having their clothes ripped off. It made tears begin to well up in the eyes of these middle-aged men. They were watery and filled with hatred, like pitiful puppies.
Fan Xian clapped his hands and said, "Strike them out."
"Yes," his subordinates replied in unison. They helped the three masters up and walked out of the yamen.
Behind these three masters, who had long been humiliated beyond measure, Fan Xian did not forget to call out like a merchant, "Three days, three days, don't you forget!"
…
…
The yamen immediately quieted down. The gazes of the officials looking at Fan Xian grew a glimmer of fear. Everyone under heaven knew of Fan Xian's reputation, but they were not from Jingdou. These officials had not personally experienced the coldness hidden within Fan Xian's clean and scholarly reputation. They were not as clear of the pain as the civil officials the Second Prince had sent.
But today, everyone finally saw it. Other than being secretly afraid, they also couldn't help but sneer. Beating him was fine. He was beating the treasurers, and it was for us officials to see. However, no matter how knowledgeable Sir Fan was, he was still completely ignorant of the affairs of the palace treasury. Now that he had offended the masters of the three large workshops, it would be interesting to see how he would clean up after this.
Perhaps Fan Xian did not know that his subordinates and officials had the intention of watching a show three days later. Perhaps he did not care about this at all. He casually said a few more words and ordered everyone to pay back their debts within three days. If there was anything illegal, they were to investigate themselves. He then let the officials out of the yamen.
He left behind the general from the Ye Family and his close assistant, the Vice Commissioner of the Transport Division. In many ways, he still needed the help of these two people to do what he was going to do in three days.
No one knew what he said to the two officials in the back garden, but their expressions grew heavier and heavier. In the end, they slowly nodded their heads, bowed respectfully to Fan Xian, and left.
…
…
"Sir." Su Wenmao handed over the intelligence report the Overwatch Council had sent up. Fan Xian accepted it and nodded slightly as he read. It looked like the people of the Fourth Bureau still had some use. However, these years, they had been suppressed by the Eldest Princess and the treasurers from top to bottom and hadn't had a chance to display their skills.
Su Wenmao looked at him immersed in the file and thought of the scene earlier. He couldn't help but furrow his brows. Gathering his courage, he quietly said, "The masters of the three large workshops were killed."
Fan Xian raised his head to glance at him and couldn't resist smiling. "Of course they were killed. However, killing is not like cooking. If you can eat, you can eat. If you can kill, you don't have to be in a hurry to kill."
"Sir was too gentle earlier." Su Wenmao came from the First Bureau of the Overwatch Council. When it came to managing officials, he was always vicious and merciless. He truly felt that Fan Xian's earlier punishment had been too kind. It was merely three masters. If they were killed, then they were killed. Since they wanted to establish their might, then they had to strike like lightning. How could he speak for so long and only give them 10 beatings?
He unhappily said, "Sir, you only gave them 10 beatings earlier. That was too light. I'm afraid it will make these people feel dissatisfied."
Fan Xian waved the Overwatch Council intelligence report in his hand and calmly said, "Based on the evidence in my hand, if I chopped off those three heads with one stroke, no one would dare say anything."
Su Wenmao was startled. Since this was the case, why had the thunder and rain been small earlier and let go of those three people who had no law in their eyes?
Fan Xian smiled and explained, "Thunder and rain, they are all … grace. If I had punished them harshly earlier, although the officials and the treasurers would not be satisfied in their hearts and would even grow jealous out of fear, they could only agree. Furthermore, they would be intimidated by the sharpness of the executioner's knife and would become obedient. These three days … I'm afraid that in less than a day, the officials will all make up for the deficit. As for the treasurers, they will crazily send silver to the yamen. "
"Isn't this … the situation you want to see?" Su Wenmao became more and more confused.
Fan Xian waved his hand. "Wrong. Suppressing it for a while and only killing the masters of the three workshops, what fundamental change can there be for the palace treasury? It's like hunting monkeys in the mountains. If you kill the monkey king, the monkeys will scatter in all directions. You also know that it is impossible for me to, and I do not want to, guard the palace treasury for a long time. What will happen in the future after we leave? Those monkeys will run out from the mountains again and steal our corn to eat. "
Su Wenmao's heart jumped. He understood something. The monkeys the commissioner spoke of were the numerous treasurers of the three workshops. If he beheaded the masters of the three workshops, the treasurers would obediently spit out the silver and return the wages owed to the workers. However, in that case, the commissioner would lose the opportunity to strike again. In the future, when the commissioner left North Min and returned to Hangzhou, far away from Shannan Road, the treasurers would probably become active again. The workers of the three workshops would probably have to face even more tragic revenge.
"This is squeezing out pus," Fan Xian said with a smile. "Your face looks flat, but the pus is still inside, so we don't rush to scrub first. Instead, we need to open up the pores and squeeze out all of the pus."
Su Wenmao was startled. It was clear he had never taken beauty classes, but he understood Fan Xian's meaning. He smiled and said, "The complicated you speak of, isn't it to lure the snake out of its hole?"
"Lure what? This is called beating the snake to startle the snake. " Fan Xian touched his smooth and smooth hair and found that his description was not very appropriate. He couldn't resist smiling and said, "In any case, in three days' time, the humiliation of the three workshops being flogged 10 times. Presumably, those arrogant and willful treasurers would not be able to endure it no matter what."
"What if … someone makes up for the silver? What then?" Su Wenmao asked with confusion. He was worried that after the commissioner's reputation spread, those little monkeys would not have the courage to jump out.
"Learn from past mistakes to avoid future mistakes, cure the illness and save the patient," Fan Xian said seriously. Fan Xian said very seriously, "As long as the treasurers who have not violated the Qing law completely return the silver, I will naturally give them a chance to turn over a new leaf. I am here to manage the palace treasury, not to break it."
"Understood."
"When it comes to enemies, we have to divide them, carry out order, treat them separately, and unite all that can be united. Let's see who jumps out in three days and we'll know who is rejecting my good intentions," Fan Xian smiled slightly. "Not only are we targeting the treasurers, presumably, the trusted aides the Eldest Princess left in the palace treasury will not let go of such a great opportunity. From Xinyang's perspective, if I offend all the treasurers, the palace treasury will naturally sink into paralysis. At this time, they will certainly jump out. Have the people of the Fourth Bureau keep a close eye on them for the next two days and finally draw up a list. I will ask these unstable elements to leave one by one."
Su Wenmao finally understood everything. The commissioner was going to do a thorough cleanup. He thought back to the conversation in the garden earlier and carefully said, "Only … sir, the deputy is someone from Ren Qian's clan, so he can be trusted. But the Ye family?"
Fan Xian knew what he was worried about. According to the news from Jingdou, a few days after the Great Prince married the Great Princess of Northern Qi, Ye Ling'er finally married the Second Prince. The Second Prince had also used this opportunity to be released from his house arrest with the empress dowager's intervention.
"Don't worry about anything, I didn't say too much. I just had General Ye pay attention to the routes out of the treasury. I'm not so arrogant as to think I can subdue the Ye family with just a few words."
Fan Xian smiled. What he had General Ye do was actually to prevent the treasurers from taking advantage of their location and secretly moving out the silver they had swallowed these years. Although most of the stolen silver had been used to buy land, the property deeds … the temperament of the treasurers had determined that they could only be left in their own homes.
"Furthermore, don't casually connect the Ye family to the Second Prince and the Eldest Princess," Fan Xian said after thinking for a bit. "The Ye and Qin families are known together in the world. They are not as simple as most people think. How could they one-sidedly lean toward one prince? That would be too stupid. Even if he leans, before the situation is clear, he will still have to give me some face. To fall out with me for the sake of a group of treasurers, unless Ye Zhong truly resents the Emperor for not sending him farther away. "
Su Wenmao froze and didn't say anything more. He accepted his orders and left.
Fan Xian sat in the chair and sank into silence. A moment later, he sighed. In the end, Ye Ling'er was married. What would the Second Prince's fate be in the future? He was not a kind person, but in the tea shop outside Baoyue Brothel, he had once said that the reason he had beaten the Second Prince into the dust was because he wanted to keep him alive. This was partly because of his relationship with Ye Ling'er. Another reason was that he subconsciously wanted to compete with the Emperor, who was particular about raising his son, to see if he knew how to play or if he knew how to play.
For many months, the Ye family had been played by the Emperor. With no other choice, they could only get closer and closer to the Second Prince. Thinking of this, Fan Xian had a belly full of anger. Perhaps the Emperor's deep planning and foresight was true, but as an Emperor, his paranoia was even more true. It seemed that people sitting in different positions all had their own limitations. The Emperor sitting on the dragon chair, his limitation was that he was too paranoia. First, he used the bestowal of marriage to test the waters. Then, without reason, he gradually raised his guard and shamelessly framed the Ye family, forcing them to stand against the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince? Then why did the Third Prince follow him out of the capital?
The Emperor … was truly not someone who ate porridge. He always played tricks that people couldn't see through. Fan Xian was a bit vexed. He immediately comforted himself that he, a little bastard, couldn't understand. Perhaps the old bastard was also messing things up and he himself didn't understand.
As for why Fan Xian was so determined not to reconcile with his mother-in-law, it was not because he had been bullied by his son-in-law during the course of their relationship. It was also not just because of the reason he had told Haitang to "look after the family business." The most practical reason was that if Fan Xian and the Eldest Princess truly joined hands, the combined power of the two sides would reach a terrifying level. It would be enough to shake the foundations of the Qing Kingdom.
This was something the Qing Emperor would definitely not allow.
For Fan Xian, who did not have the power of the world in his hands, his current way of doing things was that great wisdom appeared stupid. As long as the Emperor did not allow it, he would not do it unless someone wanted to kill him.
… …
In the next two days, the imperial envoy Fan Xian, who had just arrived in the palace treasury, brought his seven serving girls and gorgeously inspected the workshops. He gradually became familiar with the process of the palace treasury and gained a deeper understanding of the Ye family's power. It was inevitable that he would touch the wood beside the waterwheel by the river and sigh with an endless sense of vicissitudes. Occasionally, he would sit and discuss with the workers in the workshop about the art of blowing glass. It was a pity that his skills were too poor and his face was too beautiful. He could not blow successfully, but the texture of the glass was undoubtedly revealed.
After two days, most of the workshops closer to the yamen knew what the new official looked like. As for the legendary Sir Fan junior, although they didn't dare to look at him directly, they still sneaked a few careful glances. They all said that this noble young master was very good-looking, but his hands and feet were a bit clumsy. His personality was also very kind. The seven serving girls at his side were all as pretty as flowers and jade. However, one of the serving girls was not very pretty. Her way of doing things and walking had the style of a country bumpkin. She did not look like a girl from a large family.
On the other side, the four lines of defense formed by the military and the Overwatch Council suddenly tightened their patrolling work. The palace treasury's patrolling had always been the strictest place in the world. With the sudden tightening, they immediately found some forbidden items. Although they were not the secrets of the palace treasury's techniques, they were still heavy items.
They were light pieces of paper, but they were heavy land deeds.
As Fan Xian had expected, the first reaction of the treasurers and related officials, including the masters of the three large workshops, after the three-day order came out was to find a way to move the most valuable things on them out and give them to their friends and relatives outside the palace treasury.
However, after encountering a strict search, the officials and treasurers finally lost all hope. They knew that the new imperial envoy would not allow them to move their property. If they kept the property on paper by their side … God, if they didn't make up for the deficit in three days, wouldn't their property be confiscated? Furthermore, how could these people be clean? If the imperial envoy wanted to find fault with them, death was the word "left and right".
Dan Da and General Lin's work was clearly effective. From the second day onwards, no one tried to move their property. A cold wind began to blow between the manors of the palace treasury and the three large workshops. As for who the source of the wind was, naturally, there were spies sent out to quietly find out.
It was night. Heavy rain fell from the sky in Min, and the river swelled. Although there were no problems because of the dam, the cold wind howling angrily and the turbid waves rising into the air had already begun to make many people feel strange.
The treasurers, who felt a strong sense of danger, began to link up. From top to bottom, there were more than 200 treasurers. They all had their own plans in the face of the three-day order. Some of them still had a conscience and were prepared to return the stolen money and start anew. Some of them were afraid of Fan Xian's power and began to secretly prepare to report their colleagues' illegal actions to fight for their innocence. Even more people began to gather in the manor of the masters of the three large workshops and secretly discussed how to handle this matter.
After the three masters of the three large workshops were beaten, they could only lie in bed. Although they were in three different places, the hatred in their hearts toward Fan Xian and the bitter resentment in their eyes were of one heart. In any case, they were not willing to lower their heads to Fan Xian because they had done too many bad things. Even if they lowered their heads, they would probably not be able to escape death in the future.
Among the collusion of these treasurers, the confidant that Xinyang had left in the treasurers also played a vile role. Using the name of the Princess far away in Jingdou, he assured the treasurers that the court's first concern was still the production and profit of the palace treasury and not the small pieces of silver that they were greedy for.
What about one chopstick? What about 10 chopsticks? In any case, most of the treasurers finally huddled together tightly and began to smash like bowling balls toward imperial envoy Fan Xian, who seemed to know nothing and only knew how to take a beauty with him.
…
…
On the last day of the three-day order, Fan Xian followed the rules of the previous two days and stayed in the yamen to discuss matters in the morning. Although the treasurers had not voluntarily handed over the stolen goods and admitted their guilt, many of the officials had returned some silver. As for whether or not they had returned the full amount, that was a matter for the future and could be discussed later. At least on the surface, they had acted respectfully.
There were also some treasurers who secretly admitted their guilt and took the initiative to climb up to the Overwatch Council to be tainted witnesses. Naturally, Fan Xian accepted them with a smile. It looked like the other party was indeed not a piece of iron. The palace treasury's casting skills were indeed not up to standard.
He drank his tea and looked at the fine rain outside the hall in a daze. He slowly thought of the heavy rain last night. Would the Qing Kingdom suffer another flood this year? It looked like he had to hurry. Otherwise, before the silver his father wanted could be transported to the banks of the Yangtze River, the banks would collapse again.
"Sir!"
An extremely panicked voice exploded like a muffled thunder, waking Fan Xian from his thoughts of a saint.
Fan Xian looked with bewilderment and saw a group of officials in completely drenched robes run in. These officials were all people who had gone to each workshop to announce the three-day order's deadline. Why had they all run back?
The person in the lead was the second-in-command of the palace treasury, the deputy of the transport company, Ma Jie. With a face full of shock, he pulled at the front of his robes and rushed in without a care for the dirty water and wet shoes.
"Sir Ma, why are you so panicked?" Fan Xian looked at him and furrowed his brows slightly, putting on a Cao Cao air.
"Sir, it's not good!" Although Ma Jie had long known that the treasurers would certainly retaliate against the three-day order, suddenly hearing of this matter, he couldn't help panicking and quickly came to report to Fan Xian.
"The three large workshops … are on strike!"
…
…
Fan Xian was slightly startled and stood dumbly on the stone steps.
Ma Jie thought the imperial envoy had also been shaken by the sudden bad news. He wiped the rain from his face and smiled bitterly. "This is good, this is good."
The three large workshops were on strike? This was something that had never happened since the Qing Kingdom had taken over the palace treasury. In reality, Fan Xian had not killed anyone. The methods he had used were not as bloody as the Eldest Princess's. However, the problem was that Fan Xian had issued the three-day order and had the power of spies in his hands that the Eldest Princess did not have. He had also blocked the treasurers' plans to transfer their family property. It was the same as preparing to swallow up the money the treasurers had harshly withheld these years.
What was money? Money was the life of most people. Thus, the treasurers dared to use such a shocking move as a strike to fight Fan Xian to the death.
Fan Xian was only slightly startled and immediately came to his senses. A faint smile rose to the corners of his lips. In reality, he was not shocked by the intensity of the treasurers' reactions. He was just thinking that this world also had a strike …
"Sir, what do we do? Should we first take back the three-day order? " Ma Jie asked with a face full of hope. He did not approve of Fan Xian issuing the three-day order. Now that the treasurers had truly gone on strike and the three large workshops of the palace treasury stopped work for one day, how much silver would the court lose? Who would be able to shoulder such a large crime? Even if Fan Xian's family background was different from normal people and he was not afraid of the opinions of the people, the Emperor would not easily forgive him.
Contrary to the expectations of Ma Jie and the other officials, Fan Xian gently stroked the glossy strands of hair on his head and stretched his neck. A faint trace of excitement appeared on his face. "As expected, they did not disappoint me. They made a big commotion. This is good. When I catch up, I will kill them all.
"Ah?"
The officials stood stupidly in the fine rain. On the wooden beam of the yamen, a pair of swallows danced gently.
— — —
In the sky full of rain, Fan Xian wore the black robe of the Overwatch Council and led the officials of the transport company, a total of over 20 people, hurriedly to the first workshop that had called for a strike. The officials stood outside the workshop and found that they could not hear the sizzling sound of the furnaces. There was also no black smoke coming out of the workshop. There was a death-like silence. Everyone couldn't resist casting their gazes on Fan Xian, thinking, How exactly was he going to deal with this silent protest?
No one knew that the Qinian Unit and the swordsmen of the Sixth Bureau who had followed Fan Xian to Jiangnan were already wearing raincoats and waiting silently not far from the workshop for orders.
Even further away, General Ye's face was heavy as he clenched his fists tightly. His heart was perturbed as he spoke with Su Wenmao beside him. His mind was completely on the workshop that was on strike. Behind the two of them, a battalion of soldiers with knives and spears in their hands were waiting.
The people on strike in the first workshop were all gathered in this large workshop. There was still the remnants of heat from last night inside the workshop. This was where they were responsible for making glass.
Fan Xian walked with steady steps into the workshop and raised his head to glance at the tall roof of the workshop. He sighed in admiration and said, "The rain protection is done well."
The workers were huddled in twos and threes at the back. Their faces were full of fear. These lower-level workers did not know why they had suddenly stopped work. Looking at the newly arrived imperial envoy, their hearts were filled with fear.
In front of the workshop, a dozen green-robed treasurers forced themselves to remain calm and bowed to Fan Xian.
"Why hasn't work started?"
"Good to let you know." Master Xiao, who was still injured behind him, glanced at Fan Xian with a hateful gaze. "Last night, the rain was too heavy and extinguished the furnace. It washed away the molds, so there is no way to start work."
The master and treasurers were not idiots. They knew they couldn't openly say they were on strike. Otherwise, if Fan Xian really went crazy and raised a knife to kill them all, they could still justify it. Thus, they could only find some reasons. In reality, they were still using the strike to threaten the other party.
Perhaps this was the so-called art of negotiation.
In terms of poetry, Fan Xian could be said to be an artist, but his job was often to destroy art without any sense of beauty. With a heavy face, he said, "The molds are ruined, and the furnace is wet. What about the second workshop? Could the molten steel that could burn people to death have also solidified? Can a spinning machine also rust? "
Without waiting for Master Xiao to reply, he narrowed his eyes and said, "I think you treasurers are the ones whose brains have truly become rusty!"
There was no such thing as negotiation. Fan Xian only needed someone to make trouble. It was necessary to change the technical director of the palace treasury. How could he miss this opportunity?
"Come, cut off this master Xiao's head for me and use his blood to warm the furnace," Fan Xian clapped his hands and said evenly.
Master Xiao paused as if he didn't understand the meaning of the imperial envoy's words.
Just as Fan Xian's voice fell, the Overwatch Council officials wearing raincoats had already walked into the workshop. A subordinate lifted up a chair for Fan Xian to sit. A few others had already cleanly kicked master Xiao to the ground and pulled him to the side of the furnace about 50 feet away from Fan Xian.
Fan Xian waved his hand.
The officials of the transport company behind him broke into an uproar. Deputy Ma Kai's anxiety attacked his heart and he cried out in fear, "Sir, you can't!"
Master Xiao, who had been pushed to the mouth of the furnace, finally came to his senses. He knew the imperial envoy really wanted to kill him … really dared to kill him. He began to struggle with all his might. His feet kicked against the dirt on the ground, making a rustling sound. With a sobbing tone, he cried out, "Spare me, sir, spare me!"
There were many fools in the world who could not see through the ways of the world. It was a bit too late to beg for mercy when they were about to lose their lives.
The eyes of the treasurers who were on good terms with master Xiao were about to burst. They all rushed forward, wanting to save master Xiao.
With a whoosh, a snow-white knife light flashed.
A head with a dark complexion rolled into the furnace. Fresh blood sprayed out and hit the walls of the furnace.
Countless cries of shock exploded in the workshop. Everyone was shocked by the bloody scene in front of them. The young treasurers howled in pain and fear. In a flash, they stopped moving forward at the same time. Their survival instincts finally won over the heat in their hearts.
Fan Xian glanced at the body at the mouth of the furnace and then at the hundreds of workers gathered together with faces full of fear. Calmly, he said, "I kill people, naturally I have my reasons."
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