The low-key prince summons trainees from the Imperial Household Department at the start of the game.

Inside the private room, Li Shaoyuan poured himself a drink.

The liquor went down my throat, spicy with a hint of sweetness, much like the situation tonight.

We made a mistake, but we haven't lost yet.

He put down his wine glass and tapped his fingers lightly on the table three times, the rhythm unhurried.

"Prepare the ink," he ordered towards the door.

The attendant quickly brought over writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, and spread them out on the table.

Li Shaoyuan picked up his pen and wrote a few lines on a blank sheet of paper.

His calligraphy is not as elegant and graceful as that of ordinary scions of noble families; instead, his strokes are sharp as knives, penetrating the paper with force.

The letter was addressed to the capital.

"Xu Jie, the Vice Commissioner of the Jiangxi Provincial Surveillance Commission, has reached a crucial point in investigating the salt and iron tax accounts."

"If this man is not eliminated, Duan Xi will be in danger, the situation in Jiangxi will be in danger, and if Duan Xi falls, Zhao Huan will also find it difficult to escape unscathed."

"If Zhao Huan falls, the Li family's profits from procurement in the Ministry of Works will inevitably be affected."

"I earnestly request Your Excellency to use your connections in the Ministry of Personnel to quickly examine Xu Jie's performance evaluation records over the years, find his mistakes, and impeach him as soon as possible."

"Furthermore, Lu Zhi, the Assistant Prefect of Yangzhou, and Xu Jie were both Jinshi graduates in the same year. The two support each other, so we must also be wary of them."

After he finished writing, he put down his pen, picked up the letter, blew the ink dry, put it in an envelope, sealed it with sealing wax, and handed it to his attendant.

"Sent by express courier, over 800 li to the capital, and delivered directly to Vice Minister Sun of the Ministry of Personnel. It must not pass through any other person's hands."

The attendant accepted the order and left.

Li Shaoyuan then spread out a second sheet of paper, this time writing even more briefly.

"The case of Duan Xi is likely to have far-reaching implications."

"Brother Zhao Huan has served in the Ministry of Works for many years and has had many dealings with the Li family. If Duan Xi's affair fails, please make sure to find a way to destroy the purchase invoices related to Jiangxi in the Ministry of Works."

"The Li family will bear all the necessary expenses."

This letter, too, was sent by express courier to Zhao Huan of the Ministry of Works.

Zhao Huan was Duan Xi's most direct ally in the capital and a key figure in the Li family's procurement activities at the Ministry of Works.

If Xu Jie had indeed discovered the connection between the salt and iron tax accounts and the Ministry of Works' procurement, Zhao Huan would have been the first line of defense against the Li family.

He must reinforce this line of defense in advance.

After writing the two letters, Li Shaoyuan leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and mentally reviewed the entire game of chess.

Scarface's failure indicates that the seventh-rank expert beside Xu Jie was definitely not a rogue cultivator hired on short notice.

To be able to secretly protect a local official of the fourth rank for a long period of time, one must either be a member of the imperial court or belong to a powerful and well-organized group.

In either case, a head-on confrontation is not the best strategy.

However, Xu Jie had a fatal weakness.

His investigation was based on the impeachment power of the Censorate and the criminal investigation power of the Provincial Surveillance Commission, both of which were authorized by the imperial court.

If someone within the court were to impeach Xu Jie, accusing him of seeking personal revenge and overstepping his authority, his investigation would be put on the defensive.

This is the oldest and most effective way to fight back in officialdom.

With his way, he also gave his body.

He opened his eyes and wrote another letter.

This letter was addressed to his father, Li Chongxi.

"Father: There has been a slight setback in the Jiangxi affair. Xu Jie is being secretly protected by a seventh-rank expert, and Scarface has failed."

"My son has already taken a different approach, advancing through the Ministry of Personnel, the Censorate, and the Court of Judicial Review in the capital, in an attempt to impeach Xu Jie."

"Given the current situation in the capital, I earnestly request Father to utilize the Li family's connections within the Qingliu faction to coordinate with my efforts from afar."

"Xu Jie and Lu Zhi were both Jinshi graduates in the same year and served as officials in Jiangnan. They may have had deeper power backing behind them."

"This matter is no longer just about Duan Xi's personal fortune or misfortune, but rather concerns the Li family's interests in Jiangxi's salt and iron industry, and even their overall gains and losses in Jiangnan."

"While I am in Nanchang, I will act prudently. Please rest assured, Father."

He sealed the letter and handed it to his third attendant, who then sent it to Jinyang by express courier.

After doing all this, he stood up, walked to the window, and pushed open the carved wooden window.

The Ganjiang River glistens in the morning light, with hundreds of boats racing on its surface, creating a bustling scene.

Li Shaoyuan gazed at this prosperous Jiangnan water town, but his eyes seemed to be watching a game of chess in full swing.

Meanwhile, in the capital, the next day after receiving the secret letter, Sun, the Director of the Personnel Examination Department, was...

Under the pretext of reviewing past performance evaluations, they retrieved all of Xu Jie's records from his time in Jiangxi.

This action was extremely inconspicuous; it was simply the duty of a junior official in the Ministry of Personnel to review the files of local officials, and no one would think much of it.

But shortly after, a censor surnamed Liu from the Censorate suddenly submitted an impeachment memorial.

The charges against Xu Jie include "acting out of personal vendetta and overstepping his authority" during his tenure as Vice Provincial Surveillance Commissioner of Jiangxi.

The memorial listed several old cases that Xu Jie had handled during his tenure as a censor.

Imperial Censor Liu reopened these old cases, accusing Xu Jie of having intended to form factions and use them as a pretext to attack his political enemies.

The impeachment memorial was extremely cunning in its wording, and did not directly accuse Xu Jie of corruption.

Instead, the argument focused on "procedural impropriety," claiming that he had overstepped the normal procedures of the Provincial Surveillance Commission and detained local officials without Duan Xi's approval.

This angle precisely hits the most sensitive boundary of the Censorate's authority.

How much power does the Deputy Provincial Surveillance Commissioner actually have in handling criminal cases and impeaching officials?

Whether the approval of the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner is required to detain someone is indeed a gray area in the current regulations of the Censorate.

Immediately afterwards, a junior official surnamed Zhou from the Court of Judicial Review also handed over an official document.

They requested a procedural review of several cases recently handled by Xu Jie in Nanchang Prefecture.

The Dali Temple's review of local cases is a routine matter.

But Zhou Shaoqing deliberately chose Xu Jie's most crucial cases.

The case of Ma Wencai's brother-in-law's land ownership and the case of the forged land deeds by the head of the Household Registration Office of Nanchang Prefecture.

These cases were the first nails that Xu Jie drove into Duan Xi's coffin.

If the Dali Temple sends the case back for retrial on the grounds of procedural impropriety, then all of Xu Jie's previous efforts may be in vain.

The three offensives were launched simultaneously from three different government departments, independent of each other yet working together seamlessly.

The Ministry of Personnel withheld Xu Jie's performance evaluation file.

The Censorate focused on Xu Jie's case-handling procedures.

The Dali Temple directly threatened the legal validity of Xu Jie's already concluded cases.

This was not a spur-of-the-moment decision, nor was it an action taken by a single government department; it was a pre-planned scheme.

Sun Langzhong of the Ministry of Personnel, Liu Yushi of the Censorate, and Zhou Shaoqing of the Court of Judicial Review were all of low rank.

But everyone had their most vulnerable point blocked Xu Jie's lifeline.

All three of them had intricate connections with the Li family of Jinyang.

They either received financial assistance from the Li family during the imperial examinations, were promoted by the Li family in their official careers, or established a strong alliance with the Li family through marriage.

What's even more frightening is that these three people never publicly revealed their relationship with the Li family.

They usually keep to their own duties, never form cliques or take sides, and their performance evaluation records state "neutral" and "upright in conduct".

But when the Li family needs them, they will not hesitate to lend a hand.

This is one of the true strengths of the Li family of Jinyang.

What sets them apart from other aristocratic families is...

They possessed both the fierceness of military generals and the meticulousness of civil officials.

For hundreds of years, it has integrated the two systems of military families and civil officials into one.

By using the warhorse trade in the north, they controlled the military lifeline of the imperial court.

They infiltrated the core of the upright civil officials in the imperial court using the method of apprenticeship.

Like a towering tree, its branches and leaves on the ground may seem sparse, but its roots have already spread to every inch of soil.

Those families that pride themselves on their long and distinguished literary traditions often refer to the Li family behind their backs as a "family of warriors."

But this was never meant as a derogatory remark; rather, it was an expression of fear.

An ancient family that can both ride a horse and wield a spear, and also strategize with a pen, is the most formidable opponent.