Prime Minister

Chapter 248, Section 247: [First Strike]

When Jiang Fangzheng introduced himself, the private room fell into an eerie silence.

Cheng Dong was not actually afraid of the young master of the Canal Gang. Firstly, this was Yangzhou, and no one was more powerful than the official in charge of the government. Secondly, he would not dare to attack Sang Chengze, and the leader of the Canal Gang would not make a blood feud with him over such a trivial matter.

His confidants had already examined the wounded. They all looked terrible, but they were all superficial injuries that would heal quickly. Sang Chengze and his men were very careful in their actions. They were not here to cripple the people today, but only to take this opportunity to humiliate the Qiao family.

However, as Sang Chengze said, the fight was initiated by Qiao's family members, and they were acting in self-defense. There are still many points to be discussed in this lawsuit.

Cheng Dong estimated that Xue Huai wouldn't cripple Sang Chengze directly. He would probably just give him a beating, make him apologize to the Qiao family, and pay the injured a sum of money. That would probably settle the matter. So he thought he would take these people back to the government office first.

However, the appearance of Chiang Fang-cheng complicated the matter.

Although Jiang Fangzheng currently only holds the nominal title of Vice Director of the Imperial Seal Office, he is the only son of Jiang Jizhou, who is a second-rank governor-general in charge of the grain transport of eight provinces and the long-distance canal transport. He is a true high-ranking official in the imperial court, whose power even surpasses that of the governor of Jiangsu.

His timing was so perfect, and he was on friendly terms with Sang Chengze. Cheng Dong felt a chill run down his spine. This matter was beyond what he could resolve on the spot. If Jiang Fangzheng stood firmly by Sang Chengze's side, could he really forcefully bring the Grand Canal Governor's only son back to the government office?
Lord Xue may not be afraid of Jiang Jizhou, but who does Cheng Dong think he is? Jiang Jizhou could destroy everything with a sneeze!
He suppressed his surging emotions, clasped his hands in a respectful bow, and said, "So it is Young Master Jiang who has arrived. My apologies for my disrespect."

Jiang Fangzheng smiled warmly and returned the greeting, saying, "Inspector Cheng, you're too kind."

This scene turned Qiao Wenxuan's face pale.

For the Qiao family, the Grand Canal Transport Commissioner was indeed a very important figure. Now that Jiang Fangzheng has made his relationship with Sang Chengze clear, it seems that today's matter can only be dropped.

He could accept being beaten for nothing, just like being bitten by a mad dog on the street, but he couldn't tolerate the Qiao family being humiliated.

Just as he was about to lose his composure, his elder brother Qiao Wenhao coughed lightly and turned to signal him not to act rashly.

Qiao Wenxuan could only grit his teeth and stand still.

At this moment, Cheng Dong spoke again: "Young Master Jiang, a fight and assault case has just occurred here. There are witnesses and physical evidence. Sang Chengze and others must come with me back to the government office for questioning. This is my duty, and I hope Young Master Jiang will understand."

In any case, he has to show the proper attitude.

"Understood, understood."

Jiang Fangzheng was mild-mannered, lacking the domineering arrogance often associated with sons of powerful families. He glanced at the indignant Qiao Wenxuan and then spoke in a consultative tone: "Inspector Cheng, gentlemen Qiao, Sang Chengze is my sworn brother. He is known for his rough and sometimes impulsive nature. Would you gentlemen please give me some face and allow us to discuss how to handle this privately, without troubling the officials of the prefectural government? What do you say?"

Upon hearing this, Cheng Dong looked at the Qiao brothers.

Qiao Wenhao paused for a moment, then said expressionlessly, "Since Young Master Jiang has spoken, how dare I disobey?"

"Thank you."

Jiang Fangzheng cupped his hands in greeting to him, then smiled and said, "Let's move to a clean private room to talk."

A moment later, in the elegant room on the third floor, Jiang Fangzheng, Sang Chengze, Cheng Dong, and the Qiao brothers sat at the table with different expressions, while Wu Ding personally served tea and water to them.

Through Qiao Wenxuan's angry accusations, Jiang Fangzheng finally understood the whole story. He turned to Sang Chengze, who still had a smile on his face, and said solemnly, "Chengze, you're still too hasty. The Qiao family is a prominent family in Huaiyang, and Elder Qiao is a highly respected local worthy, even my father praised him highly. How dare you, a mere greenhorn, speak so rudely? If your father hadn't specifically asked me to look after you, I would have definitely ignored this matter today. Let's see how you clean up the mess then, you're simply outrageous!"

Sang Chengze, who had previously shown no fear in front of Cheng Dong, stood up obediently, bowed his head, and said, "Brother Jiang, I was wrong, but this matter cannot be entirely blamed on me. The Seventh Master of the Qiao family occupied the best private room, and I wanted to see what the courtesan Wei Qingyue looked like, but he didn't give me any face, which led to the argument. Then he had his men attack me, and I acted out of righteous indignation—"

"All right!"

Jiang Fangzheng raised his voice slightly, raised his hand to interrupt Sang Chengze, and then looked at Qiao Wenxuan and said, "Brother Wenxuan, you do bear some responsibility for this matter. You should not have ordered your henchmen to hurt people. If you had not done so, then today's incident is entirely the boy's fault. He deserves to be beaten or punished, and I will absolutely not plead for him."

Qiao Wenxuan opened his mouth but didn't know how to respond.

Just as Qiao Wenhao, who was sitting next to him, was about to speak, Jiang Fangzheng's gaze fell back on Cheng Dong's face, and he smiled and said, "Inspector Cheng is dedicated to enforcing the law, and I admire him greatly. However, this matter was nothing more than two young people acting impulsively, which turned from a verbal dispute into a physical conflict. Sang Chengze and the others did go too far, but it is an indisputable fact that the Qiao family's relatives attacked first. Don't you agree?"

Throughout, his attitude towards the three people was very gentle, perfectly displaying the refined manners of a young master from a prominent family. Moreover, he focused on the fact that the Qiao family's attendant made the first move, leaving Cheng Dong speechless despite having a thousand words in his heart.

In fact, Cheng Dong knew that Jiang Fang was favoring Sang Chengze. The problem was that this man's identity was really extraordinary, and the Qiao family probably wouldn't dare to provoke the governor who had the power to supervise the Yangzhou government.

He glanced to the side. Qiao Wenxuan was still furious, but his elder brother, Qiao Wenhao, clearly understood the deeper meaning behind Jiang Fangzheng's words and had no choice but to lower his head slightly.

Jiang Fangzheng took in the reactions of the three men and then said gently, "In my opinion, this matter should be resolved peacefully, so as not to escalate into an unmanageable situation. Of course, Chengze did act rashly today. I was asked by Chief Sang to take care of him, so I will settle this matter myself. What do you all think?"

He looked at Qiao Wenhao with a meaningful gaze.

As the eldest son of the Qiao family, Qiao Wenhao's humiliation at this moment was beyond words. His younger brother had been beaten and his family's reputation had been dishonored. Of course, he wanted Sang Chengze to pay the price he deserved. However, Jiang Fangzheng's eyes made him realize that if he didn't want to make enemies of both the Grand Canal Administration and the Grand Canal Gang at the same time, he had better do as he was told.

Thinking of this, Qiao Wenhao said in a low voice, "I wonder how Young Master Jiang plans to handle this matter?"

"Young Master Qiao is indeed a straightforward person."

Jiang Fangzheng laughed heartily and then said, "The Cao Gang will compensate for all the medical expenses of the injured today, as well as all the losses of the Lan Yue Fang. In addition, the Cao Gang will provide additional compensation of silver to the painted boat and each injured person. The specific amount will be discussed later."

Qiao Wenhao remained silent.

Would the Qiao family be short of money?
Jiang Fangzheng understood this as well, so he looked at Sang Chengze and said, "Chengze, you hurt Young Master Qiao and disrespected Old Master Qiao. Why don't you apologize honestly?"

Although Sang Chengze was unwilling, he ultimately dared not disobey Jiang Fangzheng's decision, so he cupped his hands to the Qiao brothers and said, "Gentlemen, I drank too much today and spoke nonsense that offended the Qiao family. I apologize to you here and ask for your forgiveness."

Qiao Wenxuan still felt extremely aggrieved.

The commotion at Lan Yue Fang couldn't be kept secret any longer, since there were still many guests on the lower two floors, and it's likely that word has already spread.

The Qiao family's reputation has been trampled on today, and the perpetrator is just putting on a show of apologizing in a dark room. How can he accept this?
But it's clearly not his place to make the decision now.

Cheng Dong sighed silently in his heart. He was not surprised that Qiao Wenhao would endure the humiliation. After all, the common people cannot fight against officials, especially since he was a high-ranking official of the second rank with real power. The Qiao family could not afford to take this risk.

But he couldn't give up so easily, and immediately said, "Young Master Jiang, since I am here, I cannot turn a blind eye to this case."

The implication was that he had to bring Sang Chengze back to the government office in order to give his superiors an explanation.

Jiang Fangzheng gestured to Sang Chengze not to get agitated and slowly said, "Inspector Cheng, Yangzhou is a key city on the Great Yan's thousand-mile Grand Canal. My father was the governor of the canal transport, working tirelessly day and night to ensure smooth waterways and harmony between upstream and downstream. Today's matter is merely an accidental friction between salt merchants and canal guilds. If we handle this trivial dispute too harshly and cause even greater turmoil, then... I'm afraid neither of us can bear the consequences."

Cheng Dong was startled.

Qiao Wangshan is now the head of the Lianghuai Salt Industry Association, while Sang Chengze is the young master of the Canal Gang. In an environment where salt and canal transport are inseparable, if this matter eventually turns into a conflict and dispute between the Lianghuai Salt Industry and the Canal Gang, the consequences would be unbearable for him.

Jiang Fangzheng gently patted Cheng Dong's shoulder and said earnestly, "Inspector Cheng, you should be considerate of your superior. Lord Xue is busy with official duties, why bother him with such a trivial matter? Besides, the two parties involved have now turned hostility into friendship. I believe there is no need to create any more complications. Harmony brings wealth, that is the right way. Don't you agree?"

Cheng Dong forced an awkward smile and said with difficulty, "Since that's the case... then we'll do as Young Master Jiang says."

"Very good."

Jiang Fangzheng then raised his teacup, looked at everyone, and said, "Thank you all for giving me this face. I will offer you a cup of tea instead of wine. From today onwards, we are friends. If you ever need anything from me, please just say the word."

Cheng Dong and the Qiao brothers hesitated for a moment, but in the end, with mixed feelings, they picked up their teacups and took a small sip.

Sang Chengze also laughed, a laugh that sounded so grating to the Qiao brothers, yet they were helpless to stop it.

About fifteen minutes later, Jiang Fangzheng and Sang Chengze left together in a carriage.

As soon as they entered the carriage, Sang Chengze asked impatiently, "Brother, are we leaving Yangzhou tonight?"

Jiang Fangzheng said calmly, "Why leave overnight?"

Sang Chengze was no longer as arrogant as before. He said with some worry, "I heard that Xue Huai is a tough guy who won't listen to either soft or hard tactics. Cheng Dong definitely won't dare to hide it. I'm afraid he'll come knocking on our door tomorrow."

"hehe."

Jiang Fangzheng leaned back on the soft pillows and said leisurely, "If it weren't for wanting to see Xue Jingche's demeanor in person, why would I have come to Yangzhou?"

Sang Chengze wasn't stupid. After thinking for a moment, he still spoke the truth: "If he really wants to uphold justice and throw me into prison, brother, please don't abandon me and return to Huai'an alone."

A hint of anticipation appeared in Jiang Fangzheng's eyes as he smiled and said, "If Xue Huai really does this, it will save me a lot of trouble."

Sang Chengze looked at him, puzzled.

Jiang Fangzheng slowly closed his eyes and said softly, "Don't worry, I have my own plans."

(End of this chapter)