Prime Minister

Chapter 173, Section 172: [The Beginning of Splendor]

"Imperial Envoy!"

These two words seemed to possess immense magic, instantly freezing the noise in the room. The chaotic shouts that had just been caused by Xu Guanlan suddenly drawing his sword were completely cut off at this moment.

Chen Lun, the deputy commissioner of the Salt Transport Bureau, was halfway through drawing his sword when he froze on the spot as if struck by a pressure point, his eyes wide open as he stared at Xue Huai in disbelief.

The salt soldiers, who were agitated and indignant because of Xu Guanlan's humiliation, were as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over their heads. Their murderous intent, which had just surged up, was extinguished instantly, leaving only a blank and lifeless silence.

Liu Fu's expression, which had just ignited a glimmer of malicious hope, froze completely, then turned into utter despair. Even the thought of dying together with his opponent was crushed by Xue Huai's words!

As for Xu Guanlan, who was kicked to the ground and struggling to get up, the moment he heard the words "Imperial Envoy," all his strength seemed to be drained away instantly. His body, which was only halfway up, suddenly went limp, as if his spine had been removed. He collapsed to the ground, his throat making gurgling sounds but unable to utter a single word. Only endless terror filled his bloodshot eyes.

An imperial envoy? How could he be an imperial envoy!

The highest-ranking official present, Jiangsu Governor Chen Yan, looked at Xue Huai with suspicion and uncertainty. It was impossible for the other party to falsely convey an imperial edict in public, but why had he not received any prior warning? Even the secret letter sent by Ning Hengzhi did not mention it.

The only explanation is that even the cabinet was unaware that the emperor had issued this secret edict!
At this moment, Chen Yan felt as if he had swallowed a mouthful of bitter herbs. He hated Xu Guanlan and Liu Fu to the extreme. If he had known that Xue Huai could obtain the secret decree and that the imperial envoy was protected by his golden aura, why would he have bothered to wade into this mess?
Even Chen Yan was panicked, let alone the others. The entire Jinxiu Street seemed to have suddenly fallen from a boiling oil pot into an abyss of eternal ice, so quiet that you could hear everyone's heavy breathing and wildly beating heartbeats.

Countless gazes—fearful, surprised, bewildered, enlightened, and fervently worshipful—were all fixed on the Yangzhou Tongzhi, who still stood calmly with his back straight as a pine tree!

"I, Ye Qing, Commander of the Jing'an Division, now read out His Majesty's decree. All of you, heed the order—"

The man in his thirties who had kicked Xu Guanlan away earlier spoke loudly, his cold gaze sweeping across the entire room.

Upon hearing the words "Jing'an Division," Chen Yan immediately realized what was going on, while Xu Guanlan, who had just been helped up by Chen Lun and the others, looked ashen-faced.

No wonder Ye Qing didn't take him, a third-rank salt transport commissioner, seriously at all. The other party was carrying the imperial decree as if he were acting on the emperor's will, and Xu Guanlan dared to draw his knife against him. Ye Qing could kill him on the spot without any problem!

Chen Yan hurriedly dismounted and knelt down, and the crowd in the room all knelt down as well.

Ye Qing took out the secret decree from his bosom and read it aloud.

"By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Salt administration is the lifeblood of the nation; official conduct is the foundation of the state. The salt administration in Lianghuai is deeply entrenched in corruption and malfeasance. Xue Huai, the Assistant Prefect of Yangzhou, is loyal to the country and determined to clean up the source, repeatedly impeaching powerful and corrupt officials. Therefore, Xue Huai is hereby appointed as the Grand Inspector of Salt Administration in Lianghuai and concurrently Imperial Commissioner for the Investigation of Salt Transport, granting you the power of decisive action. Ensure that officials are honest and the people are at peace, and that salt transport is smooth and efficient. Report back secretly upon completion of the matter, and the Emperor will personally make the final decision. This is the imperial decree!"

"Your subject Xue Huai obeys the decree!"

In front of nearly a thousand people, Xue Huai accepted the imperial edict with both hands and then handed it to Li Shun, who was beside him, to keep it safe.

He turned to look at Chen Yan, whose face, which showed a complex expression, was that of the nearly sixty-year-old Jiangsu governor. It contained both a barely maintained official demeanor and a hint of obsequiousness that was not easily noticed.

To his surprise, Xue Huai did not mock him. Instead, he said calmly, "Your Excellency, please allow me to report that Xu Guanlan, the Salt Commissioner of Lianghuai, has served for more than seven years. On the surface, he has paid the full amount of salt tax every year, but the seriousness of his crimes has shaken the foundation of the country."

"You're talking nonsense!"

Xu Guanlan roared in fear and panic, the blood spilling from the corner of his mouth adding to his desperate and ferocious appearance.

"Nonsense? Today, I will expose your hypocrisy in front of everyone!"

Xue Huai's voice suddenly turned fierce, piercing Xu Guanlan like a sharp blade: "You colluded with local powerful families to raise salt smugglers, using the Liu, Zheng, Bai, and Ge families as your henchmen, privately printing salt permits and altering the inventory. In the case of the fire at the salt depot in Taixing County, Yangzhou last year, what was burned was not just official salt, but also irrefutable evidence of your embezzlement of salt permits over the years! You embezzled national funds by privately selling official salt, taking official salt that should have entered the national treasury and official warehouses and selling it at high prices to the north or even overseas, with profits often amounting to hundreds of thousands of taels!"

These words struck Xu Guanlan's heart like a heavy hammer, causing his body to tremble uncontrollably, like a leaf falling in the wind.

Xue Huai, however, would not let him off easily. He said coldly, "I, along with Shen Bingwen, Qiao Wangshan, and other local merchants, have roughly estimated that the thirty salt fields in Lianghuai produce at least 5.5 million shi of salt a year. However, last year, the Lianghuai Salt Transport Office reported to the court that only 3.8 million shi of salt were sold! Xu Guanlan, I am here on His Majesty's orders to ask you, where did the nearly 2 million shi of salt that were left over from the Lianghuai salt fields go? Were they sold as smuggled salt by you in collusion with powerful families like Liu and Zheng?"

Standing to the side, Chen Yan was shocked and stared at Xu Guanlan in disbelief.

He knew that the salt administration had long been plagued by corruption, and that everyone from top to bottom was corrupt. He himself had also received a lot of benefits from the Salt Transport Office and those big salt merchants, which was why he came to help them.

However, he did not expect these people to be so audacious. He originally thought that they were just skimming a little profit from the salt administration's huge profits while the court turned a blind eye. Who knew that they would dare to intercept nearly 30% of the salt profits in advance, leaving the remaining 70% to be divided among the court, the salt transport bureau, and the salt merchants.

No wonder the emperor was so furious, no wonder Xue Huai was appointed as the imperial envoy to investigate!

Xu Guanlan was ice-cold all over, his face drained of color, and he said blankly, "You actually know all this..."

"To tell you the truth, I have been paying attention to the corruption and malpractices of the Lianghuai Salt Administration ever since I left the capital."

Xue Huai no longer concealed his intentions and said calmly, "It is true that I have been investigating the local powerful families in Yangzhou for the past few months, but they are only my secondary targets. The one I really want to investigate is you, Xu Guanlan, the Salt Commissioner of Lianghuai!"

Xu Guanlan smiled bitterly. Now that things had come to this, how could he not understand that the young man in front of him had pulled off a clever deception? This explained why he had not yet taken action against the Liu and Zheng families, even though he had already captured the Liu brothers and the direct descendants of the Zheng family.

Xue Huai was simply waiting for a reply from the capital, waiting for a precise opportunity, waiting for Xu Guanlan to leave his stronghold with the Salt Bureau's elite troops. He would then stall for time while Tan Mingguang, with the cooperation of the Grand Canal Army, launched a surprise attack on the Salt Transport Office, uncovering Xu Guanlan's secrets at minimal cost and giving Xu Guanlan no chance to turn the tide.

All his previous actions were merely to mislead Xu Guanlan, causing him to mistakenly believe that Xue Huai was only targeting the powerful families of Yangzhou.

Xu Guanlan suddenly recalled his conversation with Shen Bingwen, whose impassioned speech had successfully swayed his judgment, indicating that Xue and Shen had long had a meticulous plan.

This young man possesses such cunning and shrewdness at such a young age...

"Lord Xue, you have some impressive skills."

Xu Guanlan looked as if he had aged more than ten years, his whole body covered in a deathly gray aura.

Xue Huai did not respond to Xu Guanlan's lament of being at his wit's end. His cold gaze swept over Chen Lun's hand, which was still gripping the hilt of his sword but had become as stiff as iron. He said sternly, "Chen Lun! As the Deputy Salt Commissioner, you have committed an unforgivable crime of wielding a sword against your superior! Moreover, you have acted as an accomplice to the wicked, instructing the salt soldiers to commit numerous illegal acts. Your crime is doubled! Guards, seize this scoundrel and disarm him!"

"As ordered!"

Ye Qing, Jiang Sheng, and Qi Qingshi agreed almost in unison, and the three of them pounced on their prey like tigers.

Chen Lun then seemed to wake from a dream and tried to fight back with his knife, but Ye Qing swiftly grabbed his wrist and pulse point, causing the steel knife to fall to the ground with a clang in excruciating pain.

Jiang Sheng and Qi Qingshi slammed him to the ground. The whole process was as fast as lightning. The salt soldiers looked at each other and none of them dared to move!
With Xu Guanlan having completely resigned himself to his fate, who would dare to make any rash moves?
To lay a hand on the imperial envoy's personal guards is treason!
Xue Huai didn't even glance at Chen Lun, who was being dragged away like a dead dog, and turned back to Chen Yan, whose expression was filled with trepidation. His tone returned to its previous calm: "Governor, this case involves a wide range of people. According to His Majesty's secret decree, all officials involved, regardless of rank, must be detained first, and after the investigation is completed, the matter will be handed over to His Majesty for a personal judgment. In my humble opinion, Governor, you should be stationed in Suzhou at this time to stabilize the situation in the entire province and clean up the local accounts in preparation for a thorough investigation by the court. As for Yangzhou, I will handle it with Prefect Tan."

Chen Yan's face turned pale and then red, her heart churning like a stormy sea.

Now that Xue Huai holds a secret decree and possesses so much irrefutable evidence that could stir up a huge uproar, how could he dare to continue protecting the Liu family of the Salt Transport Bureau? He might not even be able to protect himself!
He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the turmoil in his heart, and forced out an extremely ugly and difficult smile. He cupped his hands to Xue Huai and said, "Your Excellency, the Imperial Envoy, are discerning and decisive in eliminating harm to the country. I admire you greatly! Since this is His Majesty's will, I entrust all matters in Yangzhou to Your Excellency! I will immediately return to Suzhou to rectify official corruption and await further orders from the court!"

Having said that, he almost impatiently waved his hand and shouted to the stunned guards behind him, "Return to Suzhou!"

Chen Yan's departure means that the last obstacle preventing the opponent from turning the tide has disappeared.

Xue Huai then turned his gaze to Xu Guanlan, who was like a walking corpse, and slowly said, "Xu Guanlan, the salt administration barrier you painstakingly built is not indestructible. My previous inspections of various places to exert pressure were the first blow I delivered, openly forcing you to make mistakes; the defection of those dozens of salt merchants was the second blow tailor-made for the Liu family; this standoff in front of Jinxiu Street, which transferred you and your cronies away from the Salt Transport Office headquarters, was the third blow! As for Prefect Tan and the canal army surrounding the salt office, and Assistant Prefect Huang's inside-outside cooperation in opening the gates to thieves, that was the final blow that broke the camel's back, ensuring that all the evidence of your crimes as corrupt officials would fall into my hands without exception!"

Xu Guanlan listened dejectedly, the last glimmer of light in his eyes completely extinguished.

After a long pause, he laughed self-deprecatingly and said, "Your strategy is profound and ingenious, especially today's series of deadly traps. I, Xu, have no reason to lose."

Xue Huai stared at him intently, and said slowly but firmly, "Take him down!"

At his command, his guards and government officials immediately stepped forward and lifted up Xu Guanlan, who was powerless to resist.

The once arrogant and powerful Salt Commissioner of Lianghuai hung his head, his eyes vacant as if all his soul had been taken away, only the slight trembling of his body proved that he was still alive.

Xue Huai then looked at the hundreds of salt soldiers and shouted, "Why aren't you laying down your weapons and waiting for inspection? Are you plotting a rebellion?"

Now that Xu Guanlan has surrendered and Chen Lun has had his jaw removed and been dragged away, the salt soldiers are leaderless and dare not resist.
As the first person dropped his weapon, the others followed suit, and then squatted down in rows.

They dared to act arrogantly in front of salt merchants and salt producers, but when faced with the imperial envoy holding the imperial edict, no one dared to risk the punishment of their entire family for such a rebellious act.

With the situation completely calmed, Xue Huai finally looked at Liu Fu, whose face was ashen and who was trembling uncontrollably. His cold gaze held no pity as he coldly said, "As for you, Liu Fu, for years you have relied on the government to run rampant in the countryside, preying on the people. Your whole family has been devouring the flesh and blood of the people of Lianghuai. I said before that your Liu family would pay the price for your blood debt. Guards, arrest the entire Liu family and bring them back to the government office for trial!"

"Follow the order!"

Hao Shifang ordered the yamen runners to step forward and detain Liu Fu and the others. He also ordered the archers of the patrol office to draw their bows and arrows, forcing the Liu family's gate to open. Seeing that the situation was hopeless, the guards naturally dared not resist any longer.

The Liu family, the head of the four prominent families in Yangzhou, was once an extremely illustrious and powerful clan. Today, their many sins have finally been exposed to the light of day by the long sword that has broken through all the layers of cover!
The moment the patrolmen stormed into the Liu family mansion, the Yangzhou residents who had gathered at both ends of Jinxiu Street suddenly erupted in thunderous cheers.

Someone shouted "Xue Qingtian" first, and then more voices joined in.

Shouts of "Xue Qingtian" converged towards the center, the sound waves soaring into the sky!
Xue Huai stood on the long street, the autumn sunset shining on his tall figure and his somewhat simple blue official robe. His handsome face still showed that calm and determination, only deep in his eyes, a hint of relief and a deeper determination flashed.

His gaze passed over the shouting crowd and looked toward the Salt Transport Office to the north—there, Tan Mingguang must have already begun to take stock of the irrefutable evidence of the crimes committed by the Lianghuai Salt Administration. This was just the first blow he had inflicted on the rampant corruption and misery of the officials and merchants in the Great Yan Dynasty!

One day, this blade will surely cleave through the iron curtain that blots out the sky over this land!

(End of this chapter)