Prime Minister

Chapter 139, Section 138: [Calculating Every Ten Steps]

East of Xinghua County, within the territory of Taixing County.

“Brother Huai, Magistrate Luo must be as anxious as an ant on a hot pan right now, running around in circles.”

Shen Qingluan picked up a chilled fruit and handed it to Xue Huai.

Xue Huai took it and said solemnly, "He has lived too comfortably all these years, while the people in the territory can't even get enough to eat. It's already too lenient for him to suffer a little now."

During his undercover investigation in Xinghua County, Li Shun was the one dealing with people, and he stayed hidden to avoid attracting attention. However, he had already witnessed firsthand how, under Luo Tong's absurd behavior, the entire Xinghua County was like boiling lava in a volcano, where even a spark could ignite a raging inferno.

To be honest, he felt some dissatisfaction with Tan Mingguang because of this matter. He could understand Tan Mingguang's helplessness in trying to protect himself, after all, the other party did not have his background or backing, and the local officials and gentry in Yangzhou had long been in cahoots, and upright officials like Zhang Shi were a very small minority.

However, as the prefect, Tan Mingguang held the power to promote and demote all officials in the prefecture. At the very least, he could appropriately warn officials like Luo Tong to prevent them from acting recklessly.

Even if it's just a temporary fix, it's better than ignoring it.

Shen Qingluan noticed that Xue Huai was in a bad mood, so she took the opportunity to ask, "Brother Huai, how were you able to foresee that there was a conspiracy in the trip to Xinghua?"

“When dealing with the Hu family in Qingshan Town, Yizhen County, I already knew that the Salt Transport Office would not let the matter rest, and that the so-called four families of Yangzhou would also take risks because of the fate of the Hu family.”

Xue Huai put the fruit in his mouth, and the cool, sweet and sour taste made his thoughts clearer. He slowly said, "There aren't many tricks they can pull, especially when it comes to trying to distance themselves from me and drive me out of Yangzhou. There are only a few ways."

Shen Qingluan smiled and said, "Brother Huai, can you tell me about it?"

"of course can."

Xue Huai nodded and said, "According to the rules of officialdom, either some of the policies I formulate have harmed the interests of the general public, or I have made a major mistake in handling official business. The former is obviously impossible, because I have not implemented any substantive policies in the two months I have been in Yangzhou; I have only been dealing with problems left over from the past. As for the latter, I dare not say that all my decisions are correct, but at least I will seek verification from multiple sources and use evidence to determine right and wrong. It will be difficult for them to find any fault with me."

Shen Qingluan praised, "That's what my father said too. He said that even though you're young, you're very experienced in handling things."

A faint smile appeared on Xue Huai's face, and he continued, "Compared to Uncle Shen, I still have a long way to go. Apart from those two points, the only way those people can bring me down is by causing a large-scale riot under my jurisdiction, because the imperial court has always advocated the responsibility of the principal official. Now that I am inspecting various places, and Prefect Tan is stationed in the prefectural city, if a civil unrest occurs when I arrive in a place, I will naturally bear the primary responsibility."

"So that's it."

Shen Qingluan rested her chin on her left hand and asked curiously, "Then why does it have to be Xinghua County?"

“There’s no need to elaborate on Jiangdu and Yizhen County,” Xue Huaiping said calmly. “I had a direct conflict with the Salt Transport Office in Yizhen County, and I will be on high alert in Gaoyou Prefecture and Baoying County. They will naturally understand this. If they want to lower my guard, they probably won’t create trouble at these two stations. And most importantly, Xinghua County is really too poor, and the people are naturally resentful of the government. This is easy to exploit.”

Shen Qingluan gazed at Xue Huaiqing's thinner face, his deep eyes becoming even more focused and spirited, and she couldn't help but recall the events of ten years ago.

At that time, the Shen family was in turmoil, and she often saw her parents with furrowed brows. As a young girl, she felt lost and helpless until Xue Huai, who came from the capital, appeared in front of her, comforted her, and took her around Yangzhou to relax. What impressed her most was his always bright eyes.

When they met again in the capital last year, Shen Qingluan could sense that Xue Huai was very different from the Huai-gege of yesteryear. It was an indescribable feeling, both familiar and strange. Even though he was standing in front of her, he was somewhat different from the one back then.

Only now did Shen Qingluan finally feel relieved.

People don't stay the same forever. Ten years is enough to change a lot of things, especially for someone like Xue Huai who has experienced dramatic changes in his life and walked on the edge of death. It's even less likely that he would still be as innocent and bright as he was in childhood.

Regardless, his fundamental nature remained unchanged; he had simply learned some cunning and manipulative skills, which was precisely the change Shen Qingluan hoped to see. Otherwise, she worried that Xue Huai wouldn't be able to withstand the intrigue and backstabbing in officialdom.

Shen Qingluan brought her thoughts back and asked, "Brother Huai, what do you think of this nest-recognition event?"

She had mentioned the recent developments in the prefectural city before, and Xue Huai thought for a moment before asking, "Uncle Shen, how do you plan to deal with this?"

“Recently, we haven’t had enough cash at home, but we need to give an explanation to the Salt Transport Bureau and reassure the small and medium-sized salt merchants who follow our family. Therefore, my father plans to borrow some money from a familiar money exchange.”

Shen Qingluan asked without any hesitation, "Brother Huai, do you think this is appropriate?"

Xue Huai was not good at business matters, and he felt that with Shen Bingwen's knowledge and experience, he should not make such a basic mistake. However, he was more used to thinking about problems from a holistic perspective.

The so-called "recognition meeting" was essentially a move by the Salt Transport Bureau to seek political achievements. They obtained a large sum of money from the salt merchants. While it was inevitable that some people would line their own pockets in the process, it ultimately brought real income to the national treasury. Therefore, the central government mostly turned a blind eye to the Salt Transport Bureau officials, unless the subordinates made too much trouble and failed to manage relationships with all parties properly.

From this perspective, the Salt Transport Bureau certainly did not want any setbacks in the reclamation ceremony, and it is likely that Shen Bingwen made the decision to temporarily borrow money to overcome the difficulties based on this judgment.

The Shen family certainly has substantial fixed assets, but the problem is that unless they are in dire straits, Shen Bingwen is unlikely to sell his assets. Guangtai Bank operates a money exchange, and if a crisis of trust is triggered and a run on the bank occurs, bankruptcy is not an exaggeration.

Borrowing from other banks temporarily without using the bank's principal is a normal business practice. Thinking of this, Xue Huai said seriously, "There's nothing wrong with this, but I wonder which bank Uncle Shen plans to borrow from?"

Shen Qingluan quickly replied, "The Qiao family. In previous years, the Qiao family and the Liu family fought to the death, and the two sides were like fire and water. This is one of the reasons why our Shen family has been able to develop steadily. Nowadays, the Qiao family and the other three families have no dealings with each other, but they are closer to our Shen family. The exchanges between the two sides have increased year by year, and Old Master Qiao and my father have also become close friends despite the age difference."

"The Qiao family..."

Xue Huai had been in Yangzhou for several months and had gained a very deep understanding of the local forces. He had dealt with many of them, but the Qiao family, who could stand on equal footing with the Liu family, remained shrouded in mystery.

He has never met any significant members of the Qiao family, only having gleaned some secrets related to the family from the sidelines.

After a moment, Xue Huai pondered and said, "Tell Uncle Shen that it's best not to have absolute trust in the Qiao family. I have a feeling that this matter is not so simple."

"it is good."

Shen Qingluan obediently agreed, and then said, "Brother Huai, my father has collected a lot of evidence of the illegal activities of the local powerful families. He wants to know when you plan to close the net?"

Xue Huai also had evidence, especially the account books that Hu Qing gave him, which detailed his dealings with powerful families like Liu Zheng, the Salt Transport Bureau, and even the Grand Canal Administration. However, this evidence was not enough to bring down those few truly powerful figures.

He wanted to achieve his goal in one fell swoop, after all, the other side also had connections and powerful backers. If it turned into a factional struggle in the eyes of the emperor, Yangzhou would become a complete quagmire.

Based on this, he calmly said, "Let's wait a little longer, at least until things in Xinghua are settled."

Shen Qingluan nodded slightly and then asked, "Brother Huai, now that you're hiding in the shadows and only dealing with the officials of the prefectural government and Xinghua County, will Luo Tong give up? After all, without your presence, he can't drag you into his scheme."

Xue Huai picked up a fruit, popped it into his mouth, and smiled, "If you were Luo Tong, what would you do?"

Shen Qingluan pondered for a moment and said, "If I were Luo Tong, having committed so many corrupt and illegal acts in the past, if I couldn't use this opportunity to shift all the blame onto you, I would still be dismissed from office and punished afterward. So I can only take action in advance to create chaos, which might force you to show yourself... I understand! Brother Huai, you want to lure the snake out of its hole, forcing Luo Tong and those enemies hiding in the shadows to take action, so that you can analyze what their conspiracy is and thus wipe them out in one fell swoop!"

"clever!"

Xue Huai gave her a thumbs up.

Shen Qingluan smiled sweetly, but when she saw the fruit crumbs still on Xue Huai's lips, she suddenly made a bold move.

She stood up slightly and wiped Xue Huai's mouth with a handkerchief.

The air seemed to freeze at this moment.

Not only was Xue Huai stunned by her sudden action, but Shen Qingluan also blushed after she came to her senses. She withdrew her hand as quickly as lightning and said with her head down, "Uh... there was something on the corner of your mouth, I was just wiping it for you."

Xue Huai knew Shen Qingluan's feelings, and Shen Qingluan also knew that he knew her feelings. The problem was that in this era, one could only have intimate actions after marriage, and the two of them were not even close to getting married yet. Xue Huai had not even paid his respects to Shen Bingwen.

Shen Qingluan pinched her right hand, which was hidden underneath, and thought to herself, "Why am I so useless?"

Xue Huai snapped out of his daze and, seeing her already quite embarrassed, coughed lightly and changed the subject, saying, "Qingluan, I plan to go to Xinghua County in a couple of days. I imagine Luo Tong will have already made his move by then. This time, I will not show any mercy to him or the people behind him."

Shen Qingluan quickly composed herself and said with concern, "Brother Huai, is there any danger? You have to be careful they might do something desperate. I brought quite a few people with me this time. If you don't mind, I can actually help you too..."

She was a little embarrassed.

Xue Huai smiled and asked, "You want to go?"

Of course, he wouldn't place all his hopes on the Shen family's guards. Knowing that Xinghua County was a trap, how could he not make sufficient preparations?

Shen Qingluan asked with a hint of eagerness, "Is that alright?"

"can."

Xue Huai nodded and said calmly, "The game in Yangzhou is about to end, and the Shen family certainly cannot be absent."

Looking at his calm and confident expression, Shen Qingluan couldn't help but have an idea. She had heard many stories of talented men from Jiangnan, but compared with Xue Huai in front of her, their resumes paled in comparison.

She suppressed this thought in her heart, and, imitating the manners of officials, bowed respectfully and said with a smile, "The Shen family is willing to serve you, sir!"

(End of this chapter)