The reason Fan Xian did not kill Hu Jinlin was very simple. The Third Workshop had always been jointly managed by the palace treasury and the Third Bureau of the Overwatch Council. They were specifically responsible for the research of military equipment and ships. The Third Bureau of the Overwatch Council had always been Fan Xian's fellow disciples, so they understood the situation of the Third Workshop the best. Hu Jinlin was wholeheartedly engrossed in studying the blueprints the mistress of the Ye family had left behind. His personality was wooden and dull. Although he had embezzled a great deal of silver, he had never done something that Fan Xian could not tolerate, such as taking over fields and bullying women. Compared to the masters of the First and Second Workshops, there was indeed a reason for him not to be killed.
Of course, the most important reason was that Fan Xian did not want to kill him. From another angle, it showed that he was not a righteous official.
The master of the Third Workshop was taken away. There were still many treasurers left in the workshop. These people looked at each other. At the beginning of the strike, everyone was secretly anxious in their hearts, but they still had some confidence. It was not the first time the treasurers had banded together to oppose the officials of the court's transport company. In the past, as long as their requests were not excessive, the matter would always be resolved peacefully. In their eyes, they only wanted to protect the silver they had extorted and harshly withheld over these years. It was indeed a reasonable request.
However, no one had thought that the new imperial envoy would be so vicious and merciless. After pointing out the nature of the palace treasury and inviting out the four old Ye family shopkeepers, the treasurers all knew that all of their trump cards had lost all effect in front of this young official.
At this moment, the treasurers were just a flock of chickens waiting to be slaughtered. It was just a matter of how many Fan Xian wanted to slaughter.
Not many. Following Su Wenmao's naming and statement of crimes, another three treasurers were pulled out from the crowd. These three treasurers had done many evil things and secretly colluded with the officials of the Suzhou government. The matters they had handled had violated countless Qing laws. Killing them 16 or 17 times was not enough.
Fan Xian accepted the file in Su Wenmao's hands and glanced at the treasurers in front of him who had wet his pants and couldn't even stand steadily. He furrowed his brows and said, "You're the one who married 12 concubines?"
The treasurers didn't even have the strength to nod. He was terrified.
Fan Xian shook his head and mockingly said, "Marrying 12 concubines only shows that you are rich and have a lot of confidence in the bed between husband and wife. But out of the 12 concubines, nine of them were taken by force. That is very shameful. Stealing someone's wife and killing their own husband? … Impressive, impressive. You are even more arrogant than the most famous hedonistic playboy in the capital. "
Although the other two treasurers did not commit such a crime, they still deserved to die.
Fan Xian waved his hand.
The Overwatch Council officials dragged the three treasurers out. Following the sound of three knives and three wretched cries, three lives were lost.
…
…
Killing people without a change in expression was something the Overwatch Council officials could do. Even the soldiers by the side of the workshop could barely do it. However, the officials of the palace treasury transport company could not take it anymore. Their backs were drenched in sweat. Some of them smelled the blood inside and outside the workshop and wanted to vomit.
Deputy Ma Jie was still relatively calm, but the sweat on his face began to drip furiously. Pitifully, he moved closer to Fan Xian's ear and said, "Sir, in a few days, the palace treasury will open for bidding. Killing people is inauspicious, killing people is inauspicious …"
Naturally, there was no way to save the people who had been killed, but Ma Jie was afraid that Fan Xian's vicious nature would explode and continue to kill.
Fan Xian smiled and said, "Sir Ma, don't worry. Six years ago, my Yue … the Eldest Princess personally came to the palace treasury for the last time. How many treasurers did she kill?"
He extended his thumb and pinky finger and said, "Six. I am a junior, so naturally, I won't kill too many. I've already killed five. That's enough."
Hearing these two words, the hearts of the officials behind him relaxed involuntarily. The treasurers in front of them were wild with joy. Regardless of who it was, they were all frightened by the five bloody heads until their legs felt weak. Only Su Wenmao suppressed the displeasure in his heart after a moment of surprise and didn't say anything.
Deputy Ma Jie furrowed his brows, thinking that there was more to the imperial envoy's words. The Eldest Princess had killed six, and he had only killed five … if this matter went wrong in the future and the Imperial Censors reported him for violating court law and killing indiscriminately, it looked like there would be an explanation. It seemed that although this imperial envoy was young, his thoughts were ruthlessly meticulous. He could not miss the path that his cousin, Ren Shao'an, had painstakingly paved for him.
After thinking through this matter, Deputy Ma Jie solemnly agreed to Fan Xian's following appointments and measures without a trace of evasion or conflict. Although some of the officials of the palace treasury transport company were unhappy, since the head and deputy had set the rules, they could not oppose it.
In Fan Xian's plan, the masters of the three large workshops were either dead or imprisoned. It just so happened to free up the three most important positions for the three old Ye family shopkeepers to temporarily hold. Additionally, the "traitor treasurers" who had reported their colleagues' crimes to the Overwatch Council would take on the positions as assistants. It could be considered making up for the old shopkeepers' lack of familiarity with the palace treasury after not returning for 20 years.
Killing first and planting spies among them. With these arrangements, the entire group of treasurers could be considered stabilized. In the future, the "traitor treasurers" only had to guard against the treasurers below them feeling discontent and purposely picking on their mistakes. When they did things, they had to be particularly careful. Once the group stood, these deputy masters would be particularly vicious and stare at the subordinate treasurers. The two clashed — presumably, the things that Fan Xian did not want to see would gradually decrease.
"Three-day order, there's still half a day," Fan Xian said. Don't look at me, I know you can all read. Go back. Some of the workshops that you should be in are hundreds of li away. If you don't hurry home to raise the money and then return to the workshop to work, are you going to continue standing here like clay figurines? "Fan Xian said," Those who didn't die, spit out the silver and give me a clear account of what you have done. Write a note yourself.
His voice gradually became cold at the end. After saying this, he walked out of the large workshop under the terrified gazes of the treasurers.
The soldiers General Ye led gradually dispersed. The Overwatch Council officials all returned to their positions. It was still unknown who the spies placed in the workshops were. The officials whispered among themselves, but no one knew what they were talking about. The workers had watched a great show. After the treasurers had been taught a lesson through blood and fire, they became particularly obedient and terrified.
The heavy rain outside gradually stopped. A lively palace treasury strike incident ended in such an absurd and nonsensical manner under Fan Xian's knife and the shopkeepers' old faces.
— — —
The treasurers and officials returned the silver smoothly. After Fan Xian had examined them one by one, he also gently raised his noble hand. As long as they did not hide it too far, he left them some face and did not squeeze everyone dry of their family property. Being an official was only for money. If they were all swept clean, the officials of the palace treasury would not be able to show it on the surface, but they would certainly have a great knot in their hearts. When they did things, they would be incomparably lazy.
Even with all five fingers spread open and pulling at the silver, the yamen's three-day order still recovered a large amount of silver. Even though Fan Xian's family was extremely wealthy and he had seen a lot of things in this life, looking at the number on the account, he still sucked in a cold breath in shock.
He felt a faint regret in his heart. This matter had become a big deal. It was impossible to hide it from Jingdou. Under the eyes of everyone, the silver that was cleared, other than the wages owed to the workers these years, had to be sent into the palace treasury's special accounts. It was impossible for him to move it personally.
If he had known earlier that the treasurers were the fattest corrupt officials in the world, perhaps Fan Xian would not have organized such a purge. Instead, he would have directly had the swordsmen of the Sixth Bureau of the Overwatch Council be thieves. Other than things like land deeds, he would have stolen the rest of the banknotes into his own private hands.
He was currently short of silver. If he could have this large sum of silver, he would no longer need the help of the north, and it would prevent new problems from arising in the process. More importantly, it would also allow his father to stay out of the matter, so that he would not be implicated in the future bidding.
Returning to Haitang, after that day of the strike, Fan Xian returned to the manor and bitterly complained to this girl. Other than righteousness, he analyzed the current situation in detail and warned her that the Qing Emperor probably already knew that the two of them were together. If she dared to go peep in the workshops in front of the Tiger Guards, he probably wouldn't be able to sit in his position in the palace treasury for more than two days. If he couldn't stay in the palace treasury, how much more silver would Northern Qi have to fork out in a year?
Haitang was a bit innocent. She thought that she was just bored, so she wanted to go for a walk. How did it involve some conspiracy?
Fan Xian was a bit suspicious. On the surface, he didn't bring up the matter again, but in his heart, he was still a bit uncomfortable.
Fortunately, the palace treasury affairs were gradually moving on the right track. This process only needed a few days. It had to be said that Fan Xian's cold-faced killing during the strike had deeply intimidated everyone. Furthermore, the old shopkeeper's reappearance and Fan Xian's clever arrangements had all played a large role.
The workers once again received the wages they had worked for many years. The girls who had been forcefully taken also returned to their homes. The entire palace treasury floor was filled with an atmosphere of joy.
Amidst the joyous atmosphere, there were also some discordant notes mixed in. Although Fan Xian's thoughts were meticulous and had long guessed some of it, he had used the power of the government ahead of time to suppress those bitter stories from happening. The Qing Kingdom's common people's own stories were always complicated. The common people did not like those women, but they were used to living happy lives with the little treasurer. Once the situation changed, they were not used to it.
The treasurers did not have sex in the middle of the night, so there were not many cases of forcefully taking concubines. Although there were not many cases, it involved matters between men and women. It created a bad influence among the people. Fan Xian was vexed, but he didn't have any good ideas. It was difficult for an upright official to resolve family matters. He, a ruthless official, was also not that strong, so he could only toss it aside.
However, these were just small interludes. On a larger level, the authority of the new head of the palace treasury transport company, imperial envoy Fan Xian, had already been established. Furthermore, in the hearts of the tens of thousands of low-level workers in the palace treasury, he had firmly forged an image of being upright and outspoken, incorruptible, and wise. Presently, he no longer needed the help of the Eighth Bureau. With his reputation as a civil and military official, Fan Xian had long become familiar with these methods.
The palace treasury gradually calmed down.
However, the strike had ended, but Fan Xian's plan had only just begun. To beat the snake to scare it, one half of the two-headed snake had been ruthlessly killed by him. With the other injured, it was time to begin moving.
"Is there any new news from Ziyue?" Fan Xian asked casually as he sat in a chair and looked with narrowed eyes at today's Council reports.
Su Wenmao replied, "Not so fast. According to your orders, even if those Xinyang officials send the news out, it will take at least a month for them to come and go."
Fan Xian sighed. "The Imperial Censors in the court do things too slowly."
Su Wenmao smiled bitterly, thinking, How could there be someone like the commissioner in the world who waited for the Imperial Censorate's Imperial Censors to come and report him? It was only because his background was strong enough that he could sit so calmly.
"We can't wait anymore. Tomorrow, we'll capture those people," Fan Xian said.
The target of these words was, of course, the trusted officials Xinyang had left in the palace treasury. At the beginning of the three-day order, these officials had secretly stirred up the emotions of the treasurers and incited them to oppose Fan Xian. After Fan Xian demonstrated his bloody methods, these officials were as happy as if they had eaten a sweet jujube. Throughout the night, they thought of ways to send out memorials without asking. Of course, it was to report to the officials of the Eldest Princess' faction in Jingdou.
At the beginning, Fan Xian had allowed the treasurers to link up for three days and finally form a strike to force the Emperor to abdicate. It was for the sake of making the pustules in the palace treasury grow more plentiful and to see who was playing tricks. Before and after, the Overwatch Council's secret agents watched the many officials in the transport company with great caution. These people had no way of escaping the net Fan Xian had laid out.
"Let's do it," Fan Xian said with a pained smile. "We're all leaving. We can't keep them here to eat porridge."
Su Wenmao made a sound of acknowledgment and asked with confusion, "Sir, why didn't you cover up the news at the beginning? After all, there was a strike this time. Once the court in Jingdou discussed it, if Xinyang did something else, I'm afraid your days … would not be easy. "
Fan Xian fell silent. His fingers gently tapped against the armrest of the chair. This was a very common behavior when he was thinking about a problem. After thinking for a while, he decided to explain a bit more to his trusted aide. He raised his head and explained, "The palace treasury is divided into two parts. The workshops are the foundation, and the export merchants are the hands and feet. If I want to break someone's hands and feet, I have to first lay down a solid foundation. I have never been used to planning for a situation that takes too long, so I chose to force these people in the palace treasury to overreact first. Only then can I strike heavily and find an excuse to chase the Xinyang officials out."
Su Wenmao nodded, but he thought that this could not explain his earlier question. Looking at the commissioner's expression, he knew he had a sense of propriety, so he listened patiently.
"I want to force the enemies in the palace treasury to act," Fan Xian said with a slight smile. "Isn't the Eldest Princess also waiting for me to force her? Given her eyes in the court and palace, how could she not know that the old shopkeepers had followed me to Jiangnan? And she has never told this matter to the officials in the palace. It is clear that she does not want those officials to know my bottom line and not dare to … stand out bravely. Think about it, if everyone knew that the old shopkeepers were with us, how could this strike have happened? "
"Naturally, it would not have happened." Su Wenmao furrowed his brows. "If they knew that you had old teachers from Qingyu Hall at your side, those treasurers would not have dared to stand out and make irresponsible remarks. But the question is … why would the Eldest Princess … hide this information and wait for the palace treasury officials to secretly make connections, thus giving you a good opportunity to establish your might? If she had explained it clearly beforehand, the treasurers would certainly have been much more well-behaved. Those Xinyang officials would have also calmed down and not let us find any reason to do so. "
Fan Xian shook his head and sighed. "This Eldest Princess stands much higher than most people … yes, it looks like she has given me a chance to establish my might and even allowed me to intimidate a group of officials in the palace treasury. However, in the way I handled this matter, I had no choice but to borrow more of the people and power of the old Ye family. I had to kill people to establish my might. My methods would appear more violent and unscrupulous."
He continued to explain, "When I first entered the palace treasury, I killed five treasurers. If this news got to Jingdou, the court would certainly not have a good evaluation of me. As for using the old shopkeepers to control the palace treasury, it would touch on some people's taboos in the Palace. The Eldest Princess covered this pot of porridge and waited for it to boil. It looked like she wanted me to eat it, but in reality, she wanted to burn my mouth. "
Su Wenmao worriedly said, "Speaking of which, when you handled the strike that day, your words seemed to touch on some taboos."
Fan Xian smiled and didn't say anything.
Su Wenmao's face was full of seriousness. "After the strike, killing people, and the old shopkeepers get back to Jingdou, no matter what, the court will reprimand you. At the very least, your actions are reckless and careless, unbearable …"
He closed his mouth, but Fan Xian smiled and continued, "Unbearable? At the very worst, they could secretly say that I have different aspirations and still remember the Ye family in the past, and so on. "
Su Wenmao paused and immediately understood what Commissioner Fan feared the most in his life. He involuntarily sucked in a breath of cold air. Only now did he finally feel the Eldest Princess' methods. She had not done anything. She had only secretly helped Fan Xian hide the news of the old shopkeepers heading south. She had been able to place Fan Xian on the mouth of a very dangerous volcano.
"Since you understood the plan so well … back then, you should have brought out the old shopkeepers at the first opportunity. You should have been more cautious in your actions." He gathered his courage and admonished Fan Xian.
Fan Xian shook his head and said, "The Eldest Princess calculated that I had to intensify the conflict in order to take control of the palace treasury as quickly as possible. As for the aftermath, it is something I cannot care about right now. So, on this point, even if she watches coldly from Jingdou, I still have to do it. "
He smiled coldly and said, "As for the trusted officials of the palace treasury being dug out by me because of this … presumably, she also knows that with the help of the Overwatch Council, these people will not be of any use in the next few years. On the contrary, they will bring her unwanted trouble. Since they are already useless people, why would she care about their life or death? They are just a few abandoned chess pieces to give me some trouble before they die. Since no matter what she does, it is impossible to stop my complete takeover. Of course, the Eldest Princess is willing to see that my takeover will cause some trouble and bring me some hidden worries in the future. "
The so-called hidden worries in these words were naturally the nobles' understanding of Fan Xian. Perhaps there would be some subtle changes because of the palace treasury matter. Who knew if the cold-blooded side Fan Xian showed in handling the palace treasury matter would touch the empress dowager's sensitive nerve or make the empress and the Crown Prince think of the Ye family in the past?
Making connections was like a venomous snake that ate at one's heart and soul. Before Fan Xian had enough power to deal with them, perhaps they would become wary. The empress dowager, the Eldest Princess, and the empress were a group of women in the harem. The Crown Prince and the Second Prince were a pair of quarrelsome lovers. If they once again united because of Fan Xian's existence, and if the Emperor would have some kind of suspicion toward Fan Xian, the Eldest Princess would laugh.
The Eldest Princess should laugh, and Fan Xian should cry.
In the palace treasury matter, the so-called "with the shopkeeper in hand, I have the world." The Eldest Princess had to accept this reality, so she only wanted to obtain some benefits from it.
"What should I do next?"
Fan Xian lowered his head and said faintly and insipidly, "Nothing much. According to the Director's words, the Eldest Princess's vision is still limited to one palace. If the Imperial Censorate really accuses me this time, I'm afraid she will suffer a loss."
Su Wenmao looked at him with disbelief.
Fan Xian raised his head and a confident smile rose to his face. "Since the Emperor has given the old shopkeeper to me, it means that, in a short amount of time, he believes in my loyalty. If I go to Jiangnan to take over the palace treasury, it will damage the Eldest Princess's face. If the Eldest Princess maintains her silence at this time, then it's fine. If I do anything wrong in cleaning up the palace treasury, the Jingdou court officials will rise up and attack me. The Emperor … can't help but be suspicious. As for the problem of the old Ye family, it won't affect me too much. "
"I want this pot of porridge in the palace treasury to be cooked quickly. The Eldest Princess likes me to use a fierce fire, but I hope she will secretly help me use a fierce fire." Fan Xian smiled and said, "Although my actions in the palace treasury are impudent and worthy of suspicion, I did not purposely hide it. Naturally, the Emperor believes in my sincerity. Although the Eldest Princess looks on coldly from the side, she is scheming without authorization. This is the so-called insincerity."
He finally explained, "Any scheme, at the final stage, only depends on the Emperor's mood and closeness. I have always been completely honest with the Emperor."
He didn't know if these words were to convince Su Wenmao or to deceive him. In this battle, Fan Xian knew that his son-in-law had to obtain victory. As his son, he also had to obtain victory.
After the Emperor had established the Second Prince as an enemy for the Crown Prince, he had now successfully established Fan Xian as the most valiant whetstone.
The Eldest Princess only saw the pressure Fan Xian's rise brought to the two princes and the empress dowager and empress in the Palace. She did not see clearly that this kind of pressure was secretly cultivated by the Qing Emperor. This was what Fan Xian had said earlier through Chen Pingping's mouth. The Eldest Princess's vision was still limited.
It was not the limitations of history, but the limitations of her butt. After all, she was not an Emperor who sat on the dragon chair and looked down on the world.
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