In fact, the struggles in politics and business often have one thing in common, that is, whenever it seems to be at the end of the mountain, it seems that there is a bright future.
Regarding the battle of the Ministry of Households in Kyoto, Xinyang and Donggong thought that they had figured out the pulse and caught the biggest handle of the Fan family. They acted arrogantly and aggressively, and wanted to change the owner of the Fangyuan emblem of the Fan family. , but it was a reverse toss, and a large amount of strength was lost for no reason.
Talking about Jiangnan again, Fan Xian held the imperial envoy's bright sword in his hand, cleared the internal treasury, took charge of the transshipment department, and through Xia Qifei's hedging, the Ming family's money was tightened. With the help of the huge Overwatch Council, the Ming family is being embarrassing everywhere in the world, with an overbearing aura, it seems that the Ming family may be crushed into a pile of powder at any time.
But at such a moment, who would have thought that so many shocking things would happen.
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"My people are going to enter the garden." Fan Xian slapped the table, looked coldly at the person in front of him like hooks, and said word by word: "Master Xue, I have been waiting for ten days, and I won't wait any longer today." .”
The person sitting next to him was naturally the most powerful person in Jiangnan, Governor Xue Qing of Jiangnan Road, and the place where the two of them were talking secretly was in the study of the Governor's Mansion.
The accountant of the Junshan Society, that is, someone Zhou, the head steward of the Ming family, has been found out by the Overwatch Council and is hiding in the Ming Garden. Whether it was because of the previous assassination of Jiangnanju, or Fan Xian's strong interest in the Junshan Society, the Overwatch Council had enough reasons to rush into the Ming Garden and find that person out.
However, it is Ming Garden after all, one of the three major gardens in the world, it represents the interests of countless people in the south of the Yangtze River, their wealth and lives, and their spiritual sustenance.
So even if Fan Xian wanted to send people into the Ming Garden to search for people, he had no choice but to first go to Jiangnan Governor's Mansion to communicate with Xue Qingtong. care.
It's just a pity that time is tight, so there is no way to send Dabao to Wuzhou first, and naturally it is impossible to clearly know what Xue Qing's bottom line is from his father-in-law.
Fan Xian had no choice but to directly enter the Governor's Mansion and put forward this seemingly appalling proposal.
And Xue Qing's attitude is also very clear.
Want to search Mingyuan? Can.
Want the Governor's Office to send staff to assist? There are no doors!
The governor of Jiangnan is naturally not afraid of offending the Ming family, but he is very ruthless in his heart. The Ming garden is like a door. In the first few months, he and Fan Xian were outside the door to clean up the Ming family's property and torment the Ming family's spirit. It touches the foundation of the Ming family, so the other party blindly retreats, shows weakness and seeks perfection, but once the people from the government step into the high threshold of the Ming family...
This means that the struggle has reached the core area, and the two sides have torn their faces, which is the end of life and death.
The dignified court of the Qing Kingdom naturally didn't care about overthrowing a rich merchant family, even if this family was the richest family in the Qing Kingdom. But the problem is that the Ming family directly and indirectly supports hundreds of thousands of people, and even affects the lives of most people in the south of the Yangtze River. The Ming family does not need to fight back vigorously. As long as this situation emerges, the stability of the entire Jiangnan will become a big problem.
Governor Xue Qing looked at the young people around him coldly, thinking that you are an imperial envoy, and when the time comes to make Jiangnan into a mess, you can pat your ass and leave. After returning to Beijing, there will be His Majesty the Emperor, Dean Chen Fan Shangshu These people support you, but what can you do yourself? Could it be that he left all the mess afterwards to himself
Jiangnan is unstable, what should I do as the governor
So when Fan Xian came to the Governor's Mansion to discuss the matter with great courtesy, Xue Qing resolutely rejected the request of both parties to cooperate in handling the case. What he said was very clear. The problem that came out, since it does not involve local government affairs, it is okay for my own people to clean up the Overwatch Council on the periphery, but I am not willing to do things that cause trouble such as going directly into the Ming Garden.
This is the way of being an official. Xue Qingming knew that Fan Xian was not sure about the possible disturbances caused by the search of Ming Yuan, so he dragged himself into the water together. How could he just submit so obediently
It has been ten days, and Xue Qing still refuses to let go, and Fan Xian gradually becomes annoyed.
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After leaving the governor's office, Fan Xian got into the carriage, frowned, propped his jaw, and began to be dazed.
Deng Ziyue glanced at the lord, and said softly: "People have been staring at the gate of the Ming Garden. I heard that the Fourth Master Ming didn't suffer much in the Suzhou mansion. When will we enter the Ming Garden to arrest people? I just did it... In fact, it doesn't necessarily require the help of the Governor's Office, but I'm afraid it will cost some manpower."
Ming Yuan naturally has its own thugs, even powerful personal armed forces. Fan Xian once took a look at the garden from a distance, and knew that the garden would become a strong castle with a little modification. Without the help of the black knight, it would be very difficult.
And if Xue Qing didn't nod his head, it would be impossible for the black cavalry to go deep into the bustling city in the south of the Yangtze River.
"Entering the garden is not difficult." Fan Xian smiled wryly and shook his head: "As long as the Ming family is not planning to rebel, and the Overwatch Council takes the handwritten letter of an imperial envoy from me and searches the garden, don't they dare to stop them?"
"The armaments of the castle are all fake, and the old matriarch Ming dare not adjust them alone."
His face gradually turned cold: "But there are two problems in order to enter Mingyuan to take people. One is that we don't know how many masters will be here in Junshan. , Will those masters protect him from Suzhou? Secondly, the matter should not be too big. The Ming family has been showing weakness for several months, and the atmosphere of sadness has been extremely strong, especially when the Fourth Master Ming was arrested and brought into Suzhou. After the Suzhou Mansion, the Suzhou Mansion has been closed, and the rumors outside are getting more and more bizarre... "
Deng Ziyue listened quietly from the side, knowing what the chief minister was worried about. Now there are rumors all over Jiangnan that the Overwatch Council, under the command of Fan Xian, oppressed the Ming family with the intention of dominating their family property, and it was about to turn into murder and seizure of property. story.
A teacher must be famous, but the imperial court has not straightened out the name of the Ming family. So in Jiangnan, from the gentry to the common people, they all began to stare at Fan Xian with that kind of fear and disgust. Fan Xian's reputation in the capital for two years had already been greatly polluted.
"Ming Qingda is a smart man." Fan Xian frowned and said, "This move is really beautiful. It seems that they are blindly retreating, and we have to push forward step by step. In the eyes of the world, we always have emotional tendencies Yes, and their Ming family has very deep roots in the south of the Yangtze River, and their ability to mobilize public opinion is much stronger than our own eight families."
Ever since we found out that Butler Zhou was hiding in the Ming Garden, the Overwatch Council’s Inner Warehouse Transshipment Department has become more and more aggressive towards the Ming family. The Ming family’s property industry has been constantly harassed, and it gradually looks like the sunset on the western mountain. It looks extremely pitiful. .
"Public opinion is a very important thing, and reputation is also very important." Fan Xian sighed, "If you continue to suppress the Ming family like this, not to mention that the common people will feel disgusted with me, even the imperial merchants contacted by Xia Qifei, I'm afraid They will also be wary of the imperial court, and no one knows whether they will be the second Ming family."
"The thing that bothers me the most is." He shook his head: "We don't know the situation in Jingli now. I don't know. If there are too many actions, too many dead people, and too many criticisms, will Jingli be disturbed?" The people in the city found an excuse to send me back to Beijing."
With the situation in the south of the Yangtze River now undecided, Fan Xian was unwilling to return to Beijing, especially after returning to Beijing, he would be constrained by those women in the palace, which was not a situation he could accept.
Car to Huayuan. After a few words with the third prince and others, he took Deng Ziyue and a few confidants into the study room, spread out a map on the big desk, and began to meditate.
After thinking for a while, Fan Xian pointed to a certain city on the map, and asked softly, "Has the news from Quanzhou come back?"
The concubine of the young master Ming Lanshi of the Ming family lives in a village next to Quanzhou. The Overwatch Council has found out that the elder brother of the concubine has been on the East China Sea and is in charge of being a pirate for the Ming family. Business, the role of robbing their own merchant ships. The pirate leader had already been killed by the military personnel colluding with the Ming family, and the concubine had also disappeared. In the words of the Ming family, she went home to visit her relatives.
Of course, the Overwatch Council knows that this is a lie, but who can expose this lie
"The little concubine did not return to the village." A member of the Qi Nian team reported, "There was no sign of bandits along the way, and they should have been wiped out in Suzhou."
Fan Xian nodded. This was something that he had expected a long time ago. Of course, he was not surprised. He asked directly, "The key is the village. Since it is the hometown of that pirate, someone will definitely follow him to the island to become a bandit. There must be some understanding of this matter. Since the Ming family has washed the island with blood, those villagers will not stand on the side of the Ming family foolishly."
A trace of shame flashed across the face of the Qi Nian team member, and he said, "That village is already empty."
Fan Xian frowned. Is the village empty? There is no need to ask any more reasons. Since it is empty, it is natural to be inseparable from those dirty methods.
"Where are the family members here?" He still pointed his fingers directly at Quanzhou, and asked with a frown, "The shipping department and the ship's officials were killed by those pirates. When will those family members come to Suzhou Prefecture to report the crime?"
Another member of the Qi Nian team responded in a deep voice: "Most of those family members have returned to the mainland, and only some are still in Quanzhou. However, people from all over the place have tried to ask, and those family members have received a large amount of compensation. The hearts of the pirates have faded, the key is...the Ming family is really good to them, they don't believe that the Ming family will collude with the pirates."
Fan Xian was startled, and then said mockingly, "Of course it's not collusion, the Ming family is a pirate."
Immediately afterwards, he asked a few more questions about the previous arrangements, and all of them received unsatisfactory answers. Only then did he know that after he cut down the Cui family in the capital, during the days when Yan Bingyun was planning to plot against the Ming family, the Ming family's It has also made sufficient preparations, and there are not many loopholes left.
Fan Xian sat down, sitting on the somewhat cold chair, holding a bowl of warm tea in his hand, lost in thought.
His subordinates looked at Master Tisi and remained silent, not knowing what to say.
Taking the path of integrity, it seems that it is difficult to bring down the Ming family in a short period of time, but it is necessary to use the dirty methods of the Overwatch Council. After all, Jiangnan is not anywhere else, so we must be cautious about the reaction of the people. It really makes the whole people take a walk in the streets , The Overwatch Council did not end well.
Thinking of this, Fan Xian became annoyed at Xue Qing's vacillation. If the governor of Jiangnan came forward, he would follow up from behind, one in the bright, one in the dark, one red face, one white face, this matter might be much easier .
However, Fan Xian didn't feel too much frustration, because he knew that in the struggle between the imperial court and the Ming family, the Ming family would always be on the passive defensive side. Fan Xian had plenty of time to play slowly with the Ming family. Therefore, the key to his eagerness to enter Mingyuan was that he wanted to find out the role of Junshanhui.
In the contest with the Ming family, he can keep trying to defeat the opponent, even if he fails once, he can have a second time after taking a break. But the Ming family can't do it. This big family can't be defeated even once.
"Get ready." Fan Xian lowered his eyes slightly and said, "Be ready to enter the park to arrest people at any time."
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After hesitating for a while, Deng Ziyue said, "Not waiting for Governor Xue to express his opinion?"
Fan Xian sneered and said, "I don't always like to follow in other people's footsteps when I do things. After waiting for ten days, I gave Xue Qing enough face. At this time, I will do it myself, so he shouldn't blame me for being cruel."
"What about the comments of the people in the south of the Yangtze River?"
"Discussion? You said I was bullying the Ming family? I went in gently, and I didn't beat or kill anyone. Why did I bully?" Fan Xian had a smile on his face, "Besides, I also I figured it out, reputation is something that's broken in Jiangnan, and I'll pick it up slowly in the future."
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Fan Xian waited for ten days. It wasn't that he was unsure of entering the Ming Garden to catch Steward Zhou. It wasn't that he was simply hesitant to discuss, nor that he wanted to wait for Xue Qing to express his position. More importantly, he was waiting for news from the capital.
After the internal treasury called for bids, he knew clearly that the eldest princess faction in Kyoto would launch an offensive against the household department, and what he was waiting for was the result of this matter.
The matter is in the south of the Yangtze River, but the general is in the capital. If the situation in the capital is unclear for a day, it will be difficult for Fan Xian to act in the south of the Yangtze River.
On the second day, birds chirped on the willow branches, and three fast horses rushed into Suzhou City under the cover of the morning light. The officials guarding the city only knew that the person coming was a spy from the Overwatch Council, so they dared not stop him.
The horseshoes rushed to the outside of Suzhou Chenghua Garden. Someone had already led the three horsemen into the garden.
This is the fastest way for the Overwatch Council to deliver news, and it is countless times faster than the express post of the Qing Dynasty court.
Fan Xian held the hospital newspaper from Mu Tie in Beijing, and was slightly overjoyed, knowing that the outcome of the matter was as expected, the household department was fine, and the eldest princess suffered a great loss.
He was as smart as he was when he saw the details, so he naturally saw clearly what His Majesty the Emperor wanted to take the opportunity to get the old Fan family from the capital to withdraw from the stage.
But before he had time to think about his father's affairs, Fan Xian shook his head, and said to the Overwatch Council officials who had been taking orders by his side, "Go into the Ming Garden and get someone."
The officials of the Overwatch Council took the order to go, and for a while, many officials came out of the four offices in Suzhou. Horseshoes broke the tranquility of the morning, and they left the city. Go straight to the Ming Garden in an upright manner.
"Be careful." Fan Xian turned his head and said gently, "No one knows who will be left behind by the Junshan Society in Jiangnan."
Miss Haitang put her hands in the big pockets of her calico dress, she tilted her head and smiled.
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Outside Suzhou City in the early morning, the early birds went back to the tree to sleep and sleep in the cage after chirping once. The surroundings of the official road are quiet, especially around the extremely beautiful and vast Ming Garden, only the faint sound of pouring water and washing can be heard from inside, everything is different from usual every day What a difference.
On the official road, dozens of horsemen suddenly galloped up, and everyone on the horse was wearing the official uniform of the Overwatch Council.
As these dozens of riders came to the outside of the Ming Garden vigorously, the secret agents of the Overwatch Council who were hidden around the Ming Garden and were in charge of surveillance also appeared from the trees and behind the mountain, and some of them joined the colleagues who came to check the garden. Among them, some nails disappeared without a trace.
With a serious face on his face, Deng Zi rode his horse to the main entrance of the Ming Garden, turned over and dismounted, and the subordinates behind him dismounted as well, with uniform movements.
At this time, Mingyuan was as quiet as a shy virgin, but Deng Zi could see more clearly that there were some metal lights shining with the light of soul-eating on the inside of the low wall, and the few people in the left hand direction On the commanding heights, you can even see the longbow and crossbow.
The other party was already preparing for battle. If a volley was fired, none of the dozens of Overwatch Council officials would be able to return alive.
But Deng Ziyue's expression remained the same, because he believed in the judgment of Lord Tisi. Although the Ming family was a bandit at heart, they would not be so stupid as to take the initiative to fight against the big bandit of the Overwatch Council.
Sure enough, the main gate of Mingyuan was slowly opened, his eyes were slightly red, as if Ming Lanshi, the young master of the Ming family who hadn't slept all night, stood respectfully by the gate, spread his right hand and said, "My lords, please."