Dafeng Night Watchman

Chapter 35: Discussion in the Study



The mastermind behind the tax case is Minister Zhou... Xu Pingzhi smashed the coffee table with a slap, stood up angrily, widened his eyes, opened his mouth to curse, but something seemed to be stuck in his throat.

Xu Xinnian glanced at his incompetent and furious father, his handsome face unusually serious, "Is the news reliable?"

Xu Qiyan nodded: "One of the chief officials in charge of the tax case, Chu Caiwei of the Imperial Observatory, told me."

He repeated Chu Caiwei's words.

Xu Xinnian raised his teacup, put it down again, and said thoughtfully: "So it seems that what happened today was not accidental, but Zhou Li deliberately took revenge."

Yes, worthy of being a scholar who can pass the imperial examination, his brain is very useful. Xu Qiyan was a little happy, knowing that this conversation would not be in vain.

If it was just Uncle Xu, he would not bring up this secret talk, it would be meaningless.

Because Uncle Xu was forced into a corner, he would only say: If you are a brother, follow me to chop people.

There is no way, after all, he is a crude warrior. He is good at chopping people, but he is blind at calculating people. They are in different professional fields.

Xu Qian'an asked, "What do you think, Erlang?"

Xu Xinnian glanced at his cousin and frowned, seeming to be dissatisfied with his tone of questioning, and said unhappily:

"What should we do? Of course, the first to strike is the strongest, and the last to strike will suffer."

Sure... Xu Qian'an was surprised. It was hard to imagine that Xu Xinnian would say such a murderous and decisive words.

Hearing this, Second Uncle Xu, who considered himself the head of the family and the backbone of the family, felt that he could not remain silent and scolded his son:

"Put away your ignorant and arrogant thoughts. Not to mention that you are just a juren, even if you are the top scholar, you can't afford to offend the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue."

As soon as he finished speaking, he was ruthlessly rejected by his nephew: "I think Erlang's idea is right."

Xu Qian'an continued: "We did not offend Zhou Li, but the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue Zhou Xianping. Zhou Li may not dare to retaliate again, but what about the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue?"

"Not only did we ruin his good deeds, but we also injured his legitimate son. As long as you are a decent person, there is absolutely no reason to endure this account. Besides, in the eyes of Minister Zhou, the Xu family is no different from ants. There is no reason for him to let us go."

Xu Pingzhi was dissatisfied: "No, we can't beat Minister Zhou. Ning Yan, you have made friends with Bai Yi from the Imperial Observatory, and Xinnian is a student of Yunlu Academy. With these two relationships, as long as we behave ourselves, no one will dare to provoke us." Is this really the case?

Xu Qi'an reminded: "Second uncle, you may not know that the white-clothed officials of the Imperial Observatory do not interfere in the government affairs."

Xu Cijiu continued: "During the tax case, wasn't I also a student of Yunlu Academy? The reason why my elder brother can come back today is because Zhou Li is not in the right and his methods are too low-level. But if it is Minister Zhou who takes action and another tax case is launched, and the entire Xu family is executed legally and reasonably, can the Imperial Observatory and Yunlu Academy still break the prison for us? To fight against the Dafeng Law for us?"

Feeling that the dignity of the head of the family was impacted, Xu Pingzhi frowned, "But what should we do to deal with the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, a dignified fourth- rank..."

I don't know either, I'm just a simple time traveler... Xu Qi'an cast his eyes on the handsome little brother:

"What do you think, Erlang?"

Xu Xinnian was silent for a long time. When Xu Pingzhi was almost impatient, he slowly said: "I have been thinking about something just now."

"The tax silver was robbed, and the emperor was furious. It is obvious that he attaches great importance to silver. He should severely punish the criminals."

"Didn't those two bastards commit suicide out of fear of punishment?" Xu Pingzhi said.

Glancing at his father, Xu Xinnian ignored him and continued, "I can think of two possibilities. One: the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue has a backer. Two: The emperor has some concerns, such as maintaining a delicate balance."

"My eldest brother said that the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue impeached Minister Zhou for embezzling money from the national treasury. Why didn't he impeach another minister, or the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue?"

Xu Qian'an's heart moved: "Are Minister Zhou's political enemies dealing with him?"

Xu Xinnian nodded: "Teacher said that from ancient times to the present, the core of the emperor's art is always balance. The emperor did not touch Minister Zhou, which means that this matter is likely to involve party disputes."

"What should we do?" Second Uncle Xu asked subconsciously.

Xu Qian'an touched his chin and said thoughtfully: "The emperor's mind may work in normal times, but now the imperial inspection is imminent. As long as we can find evidence against Minister Zhou, we will have a great chance of getting rid of him. The imperial inspection is an ancestral system, and even the emperor cannot do it alone. The core of Confucian dragon- slaying technique is the word "ritual system". So Minister Zhou's political enemies will not give up."

Xu Xinnian was surprised. He didn't expect that the rough cousin would say the three words "dragon-slaying technique". Is this still the fast cousin?

.... I just watch a lot of costume dramas! Xu Qian'an said to himself.

Of course, part of the reason is that I have learned more history.

History books are the essence of human culture. If you study history carefully, you will learn a lot from it.

History books are also the most useless things, because the only lesson humans have learned from history is that humans cannot learn any lessons from history.

Xu Qian'an, who likes to read history, originally sneered at this sentence, but later found that there is some truth in it.

The reason is that when he was studying, his parents and teachers always told him earnestly: You must study hard, study hard, otherwise you will regret it in the future.

No one took it seriously.

It was not until he experienced setbacks and was beaten by society that he woke up.

Xu Qian'an's cousin was not fond of studying. He failed in business and blurted out: You must study hard, otherwise you will regret it in the future.

After saying that, he was suddenly stunned.

Xu Xinnian raised his chin and said in a testing tone: "Then what do you think we should do,

big brother?"

You really refuse to admit defeat... If you are the heroine, this arrogant character is not very pleasing... I prefer the 36D queen who acts cute and coquettish... Xu Qian'an complained in his

heart and said calmly:

"Why did Minister Zhou create the tax silver case? It must not be embezzlement, because embezzlement can be done at any time, why bother to bear the cusp of the Beijing

inspection?"

"Unless he urgently needs a sum of money to fill the hole, and the reason for filling the hole is

to deal with the Beijing inspection." Xu Qian'an fully exerted his logical reasoning ability.

"So?" Xu Xinnian raised the corner of his mouth.

So we have to find out the real reason why Minister Zhou embezzled tax silver, we have to solve the case, so that Minister Zhou has nowhere to hide and confesses his crime... Xu Qian'an was about to say this, but suddenly saw Xu Erlang's half-smiley eyes, so he didn't say

it out loud.

"I understand!" Second Uncle Xu slapped his thigh, spitting excitedly: "So we have to expose this matter and make Zhou have nowhere to hide."

He was so excited that he felt that his brain finally had a bright spot.

I'm not stupid... Second Uncle Xu thought proudly.

Xu Xinnian said, "Father, do you think that with your status as a centurion of the Imperial Sword Guard, you can openly investigate the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and have

access to the files of the Ministry of Revenue?"

Xu Pingzhi's face stiffened instantly.

Xu Dalang said, "Of course not."

Thank you, Second Uncle, for taking the risk.

Xu Xinnian, who failed to suppress his cousin intellectually, was a little dissatisfied and asked, "What do you think we should do, brother?"Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Xu Qian'an tapped the table with his fingertips, "Driving the tiger to devour the wolf, we are not the main force to deal with Minister Zhou. What we have to do is the last straw that breaks

the camel's back."

As for how to do it, he hasn't figured it out yet.

Not bad... Xu Xinnian nodded in approval and continued, "Take a step back. We don't have to deal with Minister Zhou. He is a fourth-rank official with scheming and tactics. We can't deal

with him now, but people have weaknesses."

Xu Qian'an's eyes lit up and he clapped his hands excitedly: "Zhou Li!" "Yes, compared to Minister Zhou, Zhou Li, the playboy, is easier to deal with. The impeachment charges are not sufficient, so we will make up charges. Hand the knife to Zhou Xianping's political enemies and let them help us kill Zhou Xianping." Xu Xinnian's eyes, as

bright as stars, flashed a sinister look:

"The imperial examination is imminent. If Minister Zhou's son does something that angers the heavens and the people, as a father, Zhou Xianping cannot escape the blame. The emperor is willing to protect him once, but not necessarily the second time."

At this point, Xu Xinnian frowned and said, "Although this entry point is good, people are not fools, and the means of framing may not work."

Uncle Xu listened to his son and nephew talking back and forth, and suddenly found that he,

the head of the family, had been pushed to the edge of this secret conversation and could not

get a word

in.

But as his son analyzed it layer by layer, Uncle Xu's thoughts became clearer and clearer, and

the more he thought about it, the more possible it seemed. He couldn't help but slap the table

excitedly:

"My son has the talent to be the prime minister."

Don't you think your nephew has the talent to be the prime minister? Xu Qi'an glanced at his

uncle and took the opportunity to diss Xu Erlang:

"Erlang, so it is said that scholars' empty talk will ruin the country, and you can't escape the

cliché."

Xu Erlang twitched his mouth and said sarcastically: "Please teach me, big brother."

Xu Qi'an was not panicked at all, "I can't give you a ready-made solution, but I can provide an

idea."

Uncle Xu said anxiously: "Hurry up and tell me."