socalfunplaces Page 195
Page 195
During this trip to the south of the Yangtze River, he held a long list of titles: Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, Director of the Supervisory Bureau and concurrently Chief of the First Division, and Imperial Commissioner of the Jiangnan Circuit.
This imperial mission, of course, was to continue punishing corruption and investigating bribery, with the authority to act first and report later.
Therefore, Fan Xian's journey south had two ostensibly: to punish corruption and to bring down the Ming family.
Only by bearing the banner of punishing corruption can one have the power to act first and report later. In fact, Fan Xian's most important task is to bring down the Ming family.
Fan Xian's deeper purpose in taking on this task was, of course, to gain control of the three major production workshops of the Imperial Treasury and to repair Barrett.
However, on the eve of departure, the Barrett and all the bullets were stolen!
The Fan residence is secretly guarded by Tiger Guards. To easily enter the Fan residence and steal such a heavy item without being noticed, one's strength must be above the ninth rank.
Therefore, Fan Xian quickly compiled a list of suspects: Emperor Qing, the Crown Prince, the Eldest Princess, Prince Yong, the Qin family, and the Ye family!
If Lin Wan'er hadn't been far away in Jiangnan with Qingwen and Xiren, Princess Yichen would also have been a suspect.
The cause of Ye Qingmei's death is shrouded in mystery, so it is currently impossible to investigate it accurately.
Therefore, Fan Xian's strategy is to firmly grasp the three major workshops.
If the other party doesn't understand how to use the Barrett and will never know that it won't fire without a trigger, then that's fortunate.
If the other party finds out that the Barrett is missing parts, they are very likely to find one of the three major workshops to manufacture the trigger.
Therefore, we must rush south to overthrow the Ming family and seize control of the three major workshops.
Perhaps in this process, we can discover who stole the Barrett.
Fan Xian boarded the large ship and found several people waiting to see him off.
Besides Fan Jian and Liu Ruyu, there are also the Crown Prince and the First Prince.
The Crown Prince is Fan Xian's current ally, an alliance formed when they fought against the Second Prince, and it hasn't fallen apart yet.
The eldest prince's mother was once a slave girl from the Eastern Barbarian tribe. On the way back to the capital when Emperor Qing's meridians were severed, she was captured by Chen Pingping and forced to serve Emperor Qing.
Chen Pingping developed subtle romantic feelings for her, but Emperor Qing forcibly took her as his own, and she later entered the palace as Consort Ning.
Ning Cairen offended the Empress Dowager and was almost sentenced to death, but Ye Qingmei spoke up for her and saved her life.
Therefore, because of Ning Cairen, the First Prince is currently quite friendly towards Ye Qingmei's son, Fan Xian.
Fan Xian shared a drink with the First Prince and the Crown Prince, then expressed his gratitude, saying, "Thank you both, Your Highnesses."
"Your Highnesses, I feel that I have not done a very good job as a son."
"As you know, I grew up in Danzhou and have always stayed at the Fan family residence since returning to the capital. I have never had the chance to visit the Fan family ancestral hall."
"As a member of the Fan family, it's not right for me not to have visited the Fan Family Ancestral Hall."
As he spoke, he turned to Fan Jian and said, "Father, please be my witness."
"When I return from Jiangnan, I should at least go to the ancestral hall to kowtow and offer incense."
As Fan Xian spoke, the Crown Prince simply smiled and remained silent.
The eldest prince couldn't help but remind him, "Think it over. Once you're in the ancestral hall and registered in the family genealogy, you'll truly be surnamed Fan."
Fan Xian smiled and said, "What are you saying? My surname is Fan."
Upon hearing Fan Xian's words, Fan Jian revealed a very smug smile.
He risked his own son's life to get someone else's son, and now he wants to put him in his own family's ancestral hall. I really don't know what he's so proud of.
The Crown Prince chuckled, "Very well, I'll bear witness for you!"
Fan Jian was both proud and gratified, "I'm waiting for you to come home!"
Once Fan Xian boarded the ship, Deng Ziyue and Zong Zhui reported the latest news.
"My lord, Princess Yichen is also planning to take action against the Ming family!"
Fan Xian said with some surprise, "She's only temporarily in charge, just needs to sort out the accounts, why go to such lengths to target the Ming family?"
Zong Zhui said, "Last month, Princess Yichen thought that there was too much discrepancy between the Ming family's accounts and inventory, so she wanted to send her own people to inspect the three major workshops on-site."
"However, the Ming family said that Princess Yichen was only in charge and did not have the authority to inspect the three major workshops, which caused a great unpleasantness between the two sides."
"Later, a Xia Qifei suddenly appeared, claiming to be the seventh young master of the Ming family, and sued the eldest young master of the Ming family, Ming Qingda, for seizing the inheritance."
"Now it seems that Xia Qifei has Princess Yichen's support behind him, and the Ming family is the most powerful local force, so no government department at any level dares to make a decision."
"The case has now been reported to Governor-General Xue Qing of Jiangnan, but there is still no verdict."
Fan Xian suddenly said, "Old Deng, is this Xia Qifei the leader of the Jiangnan Water Village?"
With its advanced intelligence network, the Surveillance Bureau has made Xia Qifei a well-known figure in the Jiangnan region over the years, thanks to the support of the local Luo Wang (a powerful network of intelligence agencies).
Deng Ziyue replied, "That's right, it's this Chief Xia."
We have prepared evidence of his plundering of merchant ships and his connections with local officials.
Fan Xian asked Zong Zhui, "Have any of Princess Yi Chen's people been in contact with Xia Qifei in private?"
Zong Zhui replied, "The people at the Jiangnan branch of the Surveillance Bureau are watching Xia Qifei every day. He has not had any contact with Princess Yichen's people."
Upon hearing this news, Fan Xian said with emotion, "That's good. With the evidence we have, we can make Xia Qifei submit."
"We also support Xia Qifei in seizing the Ming family's assets, making it difficult for Ming Qingda to manage both sides, and we will definitely be able to take down the Ming family in one fell swoop!"
Zong Zhui chuckled and said, "Princess Yichen thought that he helped Xia Qifei, and Xia Qifei would be grateful to her."
"However, she never expected that the master would subdue Xia Qifei ahead of schedule!"
A dozen days later, Fan Xian arrived in Jiangnan.
The Ming family now knows the situation is critical; if they cannot withstand Fan Xian's investigation, they will face utter ruin.
Although the eldest princess was still willing to help the Ming family, the Surveillance Bureau had extensive influence and connections, putting immense pressure on the Ming family.
Ming Qingda and Old Madam Ming discussed it for a long time. The Ming family had no way out. As long as the smuggling was confirmed, the only outcome would be the execution of the entire family!
After arriving in Jiangnan, Fan Xian made a special appointment to meet with Xia Qifei.
Upon seeing the irrefutable evidence presented by the Oversight Council, Xia Qifei was indeed terrified, his face turning deathly pale and sweating profusely.
Later, Fan Xian produced the Surveillance Bureau's badge and promised Xia Qifei an official position, which Xia Qifei readily accepted.
Fan Xian also used the power of the Surveillance Bureau to put pressure on Xue Qing, the Governor-General of Jiangnan.
However, what Fan Xian didn't know was that Xue Qing was the Emperor's confidant and wouldn't give face to anyone.
The Ming family's dispute over inheritance is a matter of great importance, and Xue Qing's secret report is almost at Emperor Qing's desk.
Without Emperor Qing's decree, how could he dare to easily award part of the Ming family's property to Xia Qifei?
The lawsuit is still ongoing, and Fan Xian has taken the initiative to meet with the Ming family to see if they can find a breakthrough.
In the afternoon.
Fan Xian and Ming Qingda had arranged to attend a banquet at the mansion that evening.
In a remote courtyard of the Ming family, dozens of middle-aged men in tattered clothes lay on wooden planks covered with mats.
Each person had a small table next to them with a bowl of herbal medicine, making it seem like a group of patients were about to take medicine to cure their illness.
A man who looked like a steward walked back and forth between the wooden planks, saying, "Fellow villagers, the Ming family is doing good deeds, so you should all do it!"
At this moment, a man dressed in a simple blue shirt with gray hair slowly walked into the courtyard.
The butler immediately bowed and said, "Master! What brings you here?"
The person who came was none other than Ming Qingda, the nominal head of the Ming family.
"We're all fellow villagers who volunteered, so why do some of them look so familiar?"
The butler quickly replied, "They have all been deeply indebted to the Ming family, and now, at this critical moment, they are willing to serve the Ming family to the death!"
Ming Qingda walked over to one of the men and patted him warmly on the shoulder, saying, "You guys have worked hard!"
Finally, he stepped to the front, cupped his hands in greeting to everyone, and said, "I, Ming Qingda, on behalf of the Ming family, thank you all, fellow villagers!"
After speaking, he turned around and lit three incense sticks, offering them respectfully.
Behind him, the men who had been lying down sat up and began to wail pitifully.
Because what they were carrying was not medicine, but poison.
Ming Qingda turned around and faced everyone, saying, "Gentlemen, a person cannot stand without integrity!"
"You can rest assured, the Ming family always keeps its word."
"After you drink this medicine, your family members will become members of the Ming family!"
"As long as the Ming family exists, the Ming family will guarantee them a life of plenty!"
These haggard-looking villagers, who were clearly poor, picked up the poison in their hands one by one.
One of them even shouted, "Thank you so much, Patriarch! You have shown us such great kindness!"
These people were all innocent ordinary people who sold their lives and tens of thousands of taels of silver to the Ming family.
The Ming family has infiltrated the three major workshops of the Imperial Treasury for many years, and all the key equipment and craftsmen in the three workshops have been transferred.
Because the eldest princess knew that she would lose the Imperial Treasury sooner or later, Li Yunrui did not want either Fan Xian or Lin Wan'er to control the three major departments of the Imperial Treasury.
Therefore, she had already devised a plan to escape unscathed.