Deng Zi Yue thought for a moment and understood the commissioner's words very clearly.
The so-called head of Northern Qi was indeed a risky assignment. However, it was also the most important link on the Overwatch Council's external battlefront. Anyone who had held this position would be given an important position after returning home. There was no need to talk about the previous Yan Bingyun, Sir Yan junior. At such a young age, he had already become the head of the Fourth Bureau. Everyone knew that after Director Chen retired and Sir Fan junior took over the position of Director, Sir Yan junior would certainly have an even more important assignment.
Deng Zi Yue's familiar old superior, Wang Qinian, had been in the Council for 10 years. The moment he met Fan Xian, he had been sent to Northern Qi. Hearing the Commissioner's earlier words, after Wang Qinian returned home, he would also become the new head of the First Bureau.
The trip to Northern Qi was risky, but it was also political gilding.
The Commissioner had asked him if he was willing to go to Northern Qi because he was prepared to promote him. Furthermore, he had heard that the old head of the Second Bureau was getting old and preparing to retire. He had also come from the Second Bureau.
Deng Zi Yue's heart was endlessly excited. He knelt in front of Fan Xian and said in a low voice, "I will listen to your arrangements."
Fan Xian smiled and didn't continue to say anything. Through the Jiangnan matter, he felt more and more that although the Emperor trusted him greatly, he still absolutely prevented him from having any connection with the military. It was to the extent that when he did things, the absolute power he held in his hands was still limited.
Otherwise, he would not be so afraid of the existence of the Jiangnan governor, Xue Qing.
The person sitting on the throne didn't even trust his legitimate son, much less Fan Xian. Fan Xian knew that it was already good that the Emperor had given him so much power. However, he also knew that the other party would not allow him to expand his power. Since it was difficult to obtain power from outside, then Fan Xian had to hold the power he already held more firmly.
For example, the Overwatch Council in the post-Chen Pingping era had to change its blood. It had to be replenished with new blood loyal to him.
…
…
Deng Zi Yue reported to him the Overwatch Council's recent actions in Jiangnan. The main focus was still on the Ming family. Although the Overwatch Council was in charge of supervising the governance of officials and did not have direct power over the power of the people, there was no lack of reasons from the government in this world. The Overwatch Council had already made early preparations. At any time, they could follow Fan Xian's orders and intervene in Jiangnan affairs. From the palace treasury to Suzhou to the docks, from the tents to the warehouses, they would suppress the Ming family in all aspects.
This was all Fan Xian could do at the moment. Since they could not find concrete evidence of the Ming family's crimes, it was impossible to use official power to suppress them. The officials of Jiangnan Road were all watching him. Presently, the Overwatch Council's job was to further reduce the Ming family's income through harassment of the Ming family's trade routes, as well as the palace treasury transport company tampering with the supply of goods. This would cause the other party's flowing silver to sink into a shortage. Only by doing this could they force the Ming family to continue moving silver on a large scale.
And the method was actually hidden in the transfer of silver.
"How long has it been since there was any news from the island?" Fan Xian furrowed his brows. The island matter that was enough to crush the Ming family had suddenly sunk into silence.
Deng Zi Yue heard Fan Xian's worry and also had some misgivings in his heart. He reported, "The Quanzhou branch also feels that the matter is strange and has already sent people to the island. There will probably be news back the day after tomorrow."
Jiangnan was vast. It would take too long for news to travel from the islands of the Eastern Sea to Suzhou. Fan Xian knew that he could only wait for now.
After Deng Zi Yue left, only then did Fan Xian feel a little tired. He stretched and walked out of the room, taking a stroll in Hua Garden.
Although the Hua Garden was Yang Jimei's luxurious garden, it wasn't tainted with too much of the wealthy aura of a salt merchant or the arrogant smell of illicit salt peddlers. Instead, it was beautiful and elegant. The shallow flowing water, verdant fake mountains, layer upon layer of mountain peaks, and the pavilions that lined the corridors and the mountain pavilions were all arranged by the skillful hands of the designer back then. The entire garden seemed to have come to life, like the verdant mountains of Jiangnan, like the clear water of West Lake, gently and lightly surrounding the people in the garden.
This kind of skillful arrangement of man and nature being one was, without question, what the direct descendant of Tianyi Dao, Haitang, most of her time in Suzhou was spent quietly thinking in the garden and did not go out to seek out the elegance of the Jiangnan people.
Thus, when Fan Xian saw the flowery clothing by the little lake, he was not surprised.
"Such a thing as fishing does not seem to suit you."
He walked to the edge of the lake and sat down. He was slightly closer to the shore than Haitang. There was a foot of distance between the two of them. From this angle, he could just see Haitang's steady shoulders and the flowery cloth wrapped around her head. Beside her was a normal yellow straw hat.
Haitang did not turn her head and replied evenly, "Why not?"
The bamboo pole in her hand did not move at all. Only the tip of the pole nodded as if greeting the fish in the water. There was no other meaning.
Fan Xian smiled and rubbed his moss-covered hands carelessly by his side. "Fishing is also killing. I'll teach you a method. You don't need to put out bait. Just use your heart to fish. "
This was a trick he had read in the novels of his previous life. In those mysterious novels, mysterious characters liked to play the most. Unexpectedly, Haitang still did not turn her head or move. On the contrary, she laughed mockingly and said, "What a boring thing. If you don't use bait, does that mean you don't want to fish? Fishing in the heart … since what you seek is temperament, if your heart is hooked, then naturally you're hooking. As for whether or not you can hook it, what difference does it make? "
Fan Xian was angry and bitter. He just wanted to chat. Why did she have to create such a pointless conversation?
Haitang turned her head to glance at him and smiled. "I know your heart hasn't been calm these days. Why don't we sit together? Fishing is very good at calming the heart. "
Fan Xian shook his head and smiled. "A gentleman stays away from the kitchen, much less a fishing net and hunting fork?"
Haitang couldn't resist rolling her eyes at him and shaking her head. "Hypocritical fellow."
Fan Xian chuckled and moved forward a little. Unexpectedly, his bottom slipped and he almost slid into the lake. It made his hands and feet flustered and he began to cry out.
There were rocks by the lake but no trees or grass. Other than Haitang, there was no place for him to lean on. Very naturally, his hands grabbed onto Haitang's shoulders.
Haitang's shoulders shook slightly and shook his hands away. She turned her hand around to hold onto his wrist and helped him stabilize his balance. Smiling slightly, she said, "Not only are you hypocritical, even your acting is so fake. How can there be a ninth-level ace in this world who can't even sit steadily?"
Fan Xian raised his head to the sky and sighed. "The world doesn't know me, and Duoduo doesn't believe me. How can I live like this?"
Haitang flipped her wrist and had him sit beside her. Very naturally, she took out another fishing rod beside her and stuffed it into Fan Xian's hand. "Since you want to fish, you have to be patient. Don't rush."
Her words carried a double meaning, but Fan Xian knew that she was not talking about the problem of picking up girls. Rather, it was the problem of dealing with the situation in Jiangnan. He smiled and took out an earthworm from the small clay jar beside him. He hung it on the hook and dropped it into the water. He then scattered some of the scraps Duoduo had prepared and put them into the water to lure the fish.
The lakeside immediately entered a state of calm.
A moment later, Fan Xian's clear and light voice broke this rare tacit understanding. "I am patient, and I am not in a rush. The situation in Jiangnan is not difficult to control. Furthermore, the plan has been set. I have the confidence to walk it step by step. The problem is that Jiangnan is watching Jingdou, but I cannot control what will happen in Jingdou. Things there could develop in the direction I want them to, or they could suddenly erupt into a major incident that no one can react to. "
"Major incident?"
"Correct." Fan Xian didn't continue. He only carried a glimmer of doubt and a glimmer of sincere admiration. "You know I am the commissioner of the Overwatch Council, then you must also know who the true elders of the Overwatch Council are."
"Xiao En of the North, Pingping of the South." There was a glimmer of bitterness in Haitang's smile. "That Director Chen has killed countless people in the North. How could we not remember him?"
Fan Xian smiled and said, "Each has their own master, and each has their own beliefs. The two sides were once enemies. It is natural for you to kill me. I just want you to know that this old man is one of the two people in the world that I cannot see clearly. "
"Two people?" Haitang turned her head curiously.
"Correct," Fan Xian said with a cautious expression. With a cautious expression, Fan Xian said, "Even if it's my Emperor or your Emperor, I can guess some of their thoughts and positions. Since they sit on the dragon chair, they must think about things related to this chair. However, Chen Pingping is different. As they say, having no desires makes one strong, and having tolerance is great. When a person is about to die, his words cannot be pondered. What exactly this old man wants to do and what he is doing, I cannot see clearly. Given his present position, there is absolutely no need for him to be involved in the fight for the throne. Regardless of who becomes the prince, he must be treated well. Furthermore, he has always been so calm. It does not match his way of doing things in his life. "
Chen Pingping was the most famous schemer in the world. For such a person, it was fine if he did not act. Once he did, it would flip the world upside down.
Haitang thought for a moment and then quietly said, "If you hadn't avoided me and explained clearly the relationship between your mother and Director Chen, I would certainly have a different view of this matter. Everyone in the world would probably think that Chen Pingping's high regard for you is completely because of the Qing Emperor's edict."
"Correct."
"Through the things you've told me in the past, I seem to be able to see some unfavorable trends." Haitang smiled self-mockingly. "You want to support the Third Prince. Would Chen Pingping want to support you?"
"It is too difficult," Fan Xian said with a frown. "There are some problems with my birth. If I don't sweep clean the nobles in the Palace, I will not be able to enter the Palace. Furthermore, who knows who was hiding behind the events of the past? I will figure this matter out one day. However, I can't rush it right now. As for what you said about the Director's intentions … "
He smiled slightly and shook his head. "Being an Emperor is not being a commissioner. For such an important matter, if he didn't inform me, he would not dare to do it alone."
Haitang sank into deep thought. A moment later, she shook her head and sighed. "If I can't figure it out, then don't think about it for now."
"Jiangnan is only a small fish. Jingdou is the big fish." Fan Xian's eyes were calm as he stared at the two slightly undulating lines on the surface of the lake. After a long time, he said, "Fishing … I'm still worried whether I've caught a fish or if I've been dragged into the water by the fish and will never be able to climb back up."
Haitang smiled and said, "You've long gotten your feet wet by the river. Even if you don't want to step into the water, it's impossible."
Fan Xian smiled bitterly and said, "That's true. However, there is a sense of uncertainty. I don't like the feeling of having things that are not in my control."
"No one, not even the ruler of a country … can control everything," Haitang said quietly. "I just have to try my best to grasp the bigger picture. That is already good enough."
…
…
"Just now, you said there were two people you had never been able to see through. One was Chen Pingping. Who was the other?" Haitang was very interested in this question. She knew that Fan Xian was very confident in his ability to read people. He could even grasp certain aspects of the Qing Emperor's thoughts, yet he admitted there were people he could not see through. She very much wanted to know who the second person was.
"My father," Fan Xian said with a slight smile. Fan Xian smiled slightly and said, "Actually … he is the same as Chen Pingping. They are both very powerful figures. However, Chen Pingping has always been bobbing up and down on the surface of the water while he has always been at the bottom. Although I am his son, I do not know his true thoughts."
Fan Xian treated Chen Pingping and Fan Jian as if they were his father. He was sincere and not suspicious. After his mother passed away, he took charge of vengeance. On the night of Jingdou's bloodshed 14 years ago, he cleanly washed the empress's family in blood. Later, as he grew up, the care and love these two fathers gave him all made Fan Xian feel deep admiration.
Strangely, it just so happened that the two people closest to him were the ones he could not see through the most.
"So, what you've always been worried about is not Jiangnan but Jingdou," Haitang smiled slightly. "With these two unfathomable figures behind you, you indeed do not need to worry about the Jiangnan matter."
"I am the whetstone the Emperor has set for those brothers," Fan Xian smiled slightly. "This Jiangnan matter, the Eldest Princess, the Crown Prince, and the Second Prince … are they not whetstones father and Chen Pingping have set for me? The elders all have high hopes for me. I am very gratified. "
The word gratified was said with incomparable annoyance.
The two thin fishing lines continued to sink steadily into the gentle surface of the water. There was not the slightest tremor caused by the wrist. Haitang glanced at him and said, "Looks like you indeed don't need to use fishing to train your nature."
Fan Xian said, "My personality has always been firm and determined. My state of mind is calm. It is difficult for external things to haunt me."
For Fan Xian, admitting his good points in front of a woman was not embarrassing to blow his own trumpet. Rather, it was a very good self-analyzing attitude.
"Just how old are you now?" Haitang asked curiously. She could not understand how such a young person could suddenly grasp great power in his hands and deal with the complicated affairs of one side and still maintain such a calm state of mind.
Fan Xian replied very quickly and asked back, "How old are you this year?"
Haitang pressed her lips together. Her eyes were bright, making the blue lake in front of her lose its spirit. She refused to answer this question.
Fan Xian huffed and said, "I turned 18 on the eighth of the New Year."
Haitang shook her head mockingly and said, "Looking at the way you usually do things, it's not like no one would believe you if you said you were 80."
— — —
Old people had experienced the spring wind, summer rain, autumn frost, and winter snow. They had long seen everything in the world. That was why they could use a pair of seemingly indifferent eyes to see through everything in this world.
Only because they had experienced it could they look down on it. Only then could they use the calmest state of mind and the most ruthless methods to face those seemingly unusually complicated situations. A necessary foundation for a schemer was that he had fewer desires. Thus, there were fewer openings that could be used by the enemy. Thus, from ancient times until now, those who were famous for scheming were either old men or old women or eunuchs.
Young people were always hot-blooded, such as the Second Prince, the Crown Prince, and even the Eldest Princess. Thus, they would sometimes make unwise choices.
For someone like Fan Xian, who had the experience of two lives, although he had been given a sorrowful 80-year-old label by Haitang, when he did things, he was indeed as patient as an old man. While using Xia Qifei to fight the family property lawsuit against the Ming family, the rest of the Overwatch Council remained silent. It was not until the storm of the family property lawsuit was about to die down that the Overwatch Council acted.
For a moment, many officials of Jiangnan Road were politely invited to the Fourth Bureau inspection office in Jiangnan Road to drink tea.
Everyone knew that the Overwatch Council's tea was authentic Longjing tea. The fragrance of the tea filled the air, but no official wanted to drink it.
Although not many of the Jiangnan Road officials were detained for the sake of Governor Xue Qing, during the process of drinking tea and chatting, the Overwatch Council would occasionally talk about some old matters that still made the officials tremble in fear. After they returned to their manors, they began to worry about their own futures and personal safety. Correspondingly, the officials who were reminded also noticed that they could no longer protect the Ming family too openly.
On the other hand, the Overwatch Council also began to harass the Ming family's business. Although they could not directly seize people and seize goods, using the excuse of investigating Dongyi spies, within a day, the Ming family's shops began to be inspected by the government. The Ming family's fleet also encountered unprecedented trouble while transporting goods.
Although the Overwatch Council did not find any major evidence against the Ming family other than a few small crimes of carrying personal goods, under the repeated harassment, they successfully forced the Ming family's favored industrial system to slow down.
What the business was particular about was the speed at which goods could be transported and converted into cash. It was like an endless river. Presently, the Overwatch Council was like countless grains of sand slowly sinking into the river. As the flow of the river slowed, the silt also settled down. It was originally a pool of running water, but now it gradually became muddy, making it difficult to move around.
The Overwatch Council's actions used the least manpower and aroused the least discussion, but the results achieved were quite good. After the Ming family had paid the palace treasury's large amount of bidding silver, for the first time in many years, they felt their cash flow was stretched thin. Now, they were being harassed by the Overwatch Council. Their cash flow was becoming less and less, and they were forced to transfer silver from Taiping money house. At the same time, the eldest branch, Ming Qingda, also began to secretly sign a bill of exchange from Zhaoshang money house.
(To be continued, if you want to know what happened next, please log on to WWW. CMFU. com. More chapters. Support the author. Support original reading!)
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