Chapter 124 – Fishing

Deng Ziyue thought a little bit, and then thought through the Lord Tiji’s preamble.

The so-called Chief Head of Northern Qi is indeed an extremely risky mission, but it is also the most important link on the external front of the Supervisory Yuan, but anyone who has done this position will be reused after returning to the country – the former Yan Bingyun, little Mr. Yan, needless to say, has already made it to the four heads at such a young age, and everyone knows that, in the future, after Dean Chen retires, little Mr. Fan will definitely have an even more important appointment. Fan Sir took over the position of dean, Little Eunuch Yan will definitely have a more important appointment.

And Deng Ziyue’s old boss Wang Qinian, who he was familiar with, had been sent to North Qi after ten years of warming his nest in the courtyard, as soon as he met Fan Xian. Listening to Lord Tisi’s earlier words, Wang Qinian would also become the new head of one of the organizers after he returned to his country.

The trip to Beiqi was an adventure, and even more politically gilded.

Lord Tisi asked himself if he is willing to go to North Qi, naturally, is ready to promote themselves, and heard that the old organizer of the second division is old and ready to return to the old …… himself and the second division origin.

Deng Ziyue’s heart was thrilled, kneeling in front of Fan Xian, he said in a deep voice: “I will listen to all of your arrangements.”

Fan Xian smiled and didn’t say anything further. After the incident in Jiangnan, he felt more and more that although His Majesty the Emperor did trust himself very much, he still absolutely prevented himself from having any connection with the military, so that the absolute strength in his hands was still limited when he did things.

Otherwise, he would not be so afraid of the existence of Jiangnan Governor Xue Qing.

The one sitting on the dragon chair did not even trust his own legitimate son, let alone Fan Xian. Fan Xian knew that the emperor had done well to give himself such a large amount of authority now, but it was also clear that the other party would not allow him to expand his power any further. Since the way to ask for it outwards was very difficult, Fan Xian had to hold the power he already held a little more firmly.

For example, the Supervisory Yuan, the post-Chen Pingping era of the Supervisory Yuan must be replaced, must be supplemented with fresh blood loyal to himself.

Deng Ziyue also reported to him some of the recent action of the Supervisory Yuan in Jiangnan, the main theme is still about the Ming family, although the Supervisory Yuan specializes in supervising the duties of the officials, for the civil power does not have direct access to the right to do so, but the world’s most important is the reason for the government, the Supervisory Yuan has made preparations for the ready, according to the Fan Xian’s instructions, intervene in the affairs of the south of the Yangtze River, the inner treasury to the Suzhou to the dockyards, the account to the warehouse, all-round oppression of the Ming family, the police will be able to take action against the Ming family. The government is ready to intervene in Jiangnan affairs at Fan Xian’s command, from the inner treasury to Suzhou to the shipyards, from the accounts to the treasury, to oppress the Ming family in all directions.

This is all Fan Xian can do at the moment. Since he couldn’t track down concrete evidence of the Ming family’s crimes, it was impossible to use official power to oppress them. Jiangnan Road officials are all staring at him …… Nowadays, the work of the Supervisory Yuan is through the harassment of the Ming family’s commercial routes, as well as the internal treasury transit division to do something about the supply, further compressing the Ming family’s incoming money, so that the other side’s running silver is in short supply, only then can they force the Ming family to continue to transfer silver in a big way.

And means, in fact, hidden in the transfer of silver.

“How long has it been since news came back from the island?” Fan Xian frowned, the island matter that was enough to crush the Ming family had suddenly fallen into silence recently.

Deng Ziyue heard Fan Xian’s concern, and with some misgivings in his heart, he reported, “The Quanzhou branch office also feels that there is something fishy going on, and has already sent someone to sneak onto the island, and there will be news coming back around the day after tomorrow.”

Jiangnan was a large place, and it would take too long for news to reach Suzhou from the island in the East China Sea. Fan Xian knew that he could only wait for the time being.

After Deng Ziyue left, Fan Xian felt a little tired, stretched his waist, walked out of his room, and took a walk in the Huayuan Garden.

Although Hua Yuan is Yang Jimei’s mansion, it is not tainted with too much of the salt merchant’s richness and the arrogant flavor of private salt trafficking, but rather is a taste of the clear beauty and elegance. With other houses and gardens are no different from the shallow water, green mountains, layers and layers, corridors and pavilions, by the original designer’s skillful arrangement, will show a different vitality, the whole garden seems to come alive, such as the green mountains of Jiangnan, such as the West Lake, gentle and light surrounded by people in the garden.

This kind of skillful arrangement of heaven and man, without a doubt, made Miss Haitang, a direct descendant of the Heavenly Dao, appreciate it the most, so during her days in Suzhou, she spent most of her time meditating in the garden without going out to look for a glimpse of the characters of the south of the Yangtze River.

So when Fan Xian saw the flowery cloth dress by the small lake, he didn’t feel surprised.

“Something like fishing doesn’t seem to suit you.”

He walked to the edge of the lake and sat down, slightly further up the shore than Haitang, keeping a distance of a foot between the two of them, and from this angle, it was just right that he could see the stabilized shoulders of the Haitang girl, as well as the floral cloth scarf wrapped around her head, and a very usual straw hat, yellow in color, resting beside her.

Begonia did not turn around either, and harmonized back, “Why doesn’t it fit?”

The bamboo pole in her hand did not move, only the tip of the pole nodded, seemingly greeting the fish in the water, and not entrapping any other meaning.

Fan Xian laughed, rubbing his moss-stained hands haphazardly on his side, and said, “Fishing is also killing. I’ll teach you a method where you don’t put bait and just fish with your heart.”

This was one of the favorite tricks that the characters in those arcane novels that spoke of the arcane loved to play when he read novels in his previous life. Did not expect Haitang still did not turn around, also did not intend to move, on the contrary, scoffed: “How boring things, do not use the bait, is it that do not want to fish? Heart fishing …… since the request is the nature of the heart, your heart fishing, nature is fishing, as for fishing or not fishing up, what difference?”

Fan Xian was angry and bitter, thinking that he just wanted to chat, so why did he come up with all these vain conversations?

Haitang glanced back at him, smiled, and said, “I know you’re not quiet these days. Why don’t you sit together? Fishing is extremely good for calming the mind.”

Fan Xian shook his head and laughed, “A gentleman is far from a cook, let alone a spear hunter.”

Haitang couldn’t help but give him a blank look and shook her head, “Hypocritical fellow.”

Fan Xian hemmed and hawed and moved forward, who knew that his hips slipped and almost slid inside the lake, causing him to panic and ah ah ah ah.

The lake side of the stone, no trees, no grass, except for Miss Haitang, there is no place to borrow strength, so he naturally hands climbed Haitang’s shoulders.

Haitang’s shoulders slightly shook, then shocked his hands away, backhandedly clasped his wrist gate, helped him stabilize his balance, smiled and said, “More than hypocrisy, even doing a play is so false, too little heart …… Where in this world is there a ninth rank expert who can’t even sit still?”

Fan Xian looked up to the sky and sighed, “The world doesn’t know me, and Duo Duo doesn’t believe me. How can I live this life?”

Haitang flipped her wrist, letting him sit beside her, and naturally took out the other fishing rod beside her and slipped it into Fan Xian’s hand, saying, “Since you want to fish, you need to have some patience, don’t be in a hurry.”

The language with puns, but Fan Xian know very well, this is not the problem of girls, but to deal with the problem of the situation in Jiangnan, he smiled, from the side of the hair of a small clay pot took out earthworms, hanging on the hook above, hanging into the water, and then sprinkled some DuoDuo prepared things crumbs, into the water to lure the fish.

The lake immediately entered a calm state.

A few moments later, Fan Xian clear and light voice broke this rare tacit understanding: “I have patience, I’m not in a hurry, Jiangnan’s situation, is not difficult to control, and the plan is established, I will have the confidence to go step by step. The problem lies in the fact that Jiangnan is looking at Kyoto, but I can’t control what will happen in Kyoto, it’s possible that things there will go down the way I want them to go down, and it’s also possible that they will suddenly erupt into a big event that will make everyone unable to react for a moment.”

“Big events?”

“Not bad.” Fan Xian didn’t continue to say anything, but just said with a hint of doubt, a hint of admiration from his heart, “You know that I’m the Tishee of the Qing State’s Supervisory Academy, then you must also know who the true Grand Old Man of the Supervisory Academy is.”

“North Shawn, South Pingping.” Haitang’s smile was laced with a hint of bitterness, “That President Chen killed I don’t know how many of our people in the North, how could we not remember him?”

Fan Xian said with a smile, “Each is his own master, and each has his own beliefs in his heart; both sides were enemies back then, and it’s only natural for you to behead me and for me to kill. I just want you to be clear that this Boss Man is one of the two people in the entire world that I can’t fully see clearly.”

“Two people?” Haitang curiously twisted his head to see.

“Not bad.” Fan Xian said with a cautious face, “Even the emperor of my family, the emperor of your family, I can guess certain thoughts and positions of theirs, because when their asses are sitting on top of the dragon chair, they must be thinking about things related to that chair. And Chen Pingping is different, the so-called no desire is just, there is tolerance, people will die, their words …… are unfathomable, what exactly does this boss man want to do, what exactly is being done, how can I not see through. With his position nowadays, there is absolutely no need to mix into the battle for the throne, no matter who is the prince, he has to put him in a good supply …… and he has been so calm, and it is not in line with his style of action since this life.”

Chen Pingping was the most famous conspiracy everyone in existence nowadays, such a character, if he didn’t make a move, it would be a heavenly turnover.

Haitang said softly after a little thought, “If you hadn’t not avoided me and made clear the relationship between your hall and President Chen, I would have definitely had a different view on this matter, including everyone in this world today, I’m afraid that they would have thought that the reason why Chen Pingping valued you so much was entirely because of the Emperor of the Kingdom of Qing’s decree.”

“Not bad.”

“And through the things you said to me in the past, it seems that I can see certain unpleasant tendencies.” Haitang scoffed to himself, “You are trying to support the oldest three, will Chen Pingping …… be trying to support you?”

“It’s too difficult.” Fan Xian frowned and said, “There are some problems with my origins, and without sweeping those nobles in the palace clean, I am simply unable to enter the palace …… And who knows who is actually hiding behind what happened back then? This is something I will have to figure out one day, only now it can’t be rushed. As for what you said about the meaning of the dean lord ……”

He smiled and shook his head, “Being an emperor is not being a tisan, and for something this big, if he doesn’t ventilate with me, he would never dare to do it all by himself.”

Haitang fell into deep thought, and after a moment shook his head and sighed, “If you can’t think clearly, don’t think for the time being.”

“Jiangnan is only a small fish, the capital is the big fish.” Fan Xian’s eyes were calm, staring at the two thin lines on the lake surface that were slightly undulating, and said after a long time, “Fishing …… I am always worried about whether I caught the fish myself, or whether I was dragged by the fish into the bottom of the water, and never had the means to climb up again.”

Haitang laughed and said, “You’ve long since gotten your feet wet by the river, and you can’t think of not stepping into the water.”

Fan Xian smiled bitterly to himself and said, “That’s true, it’s just that there’s a sense of uncertainty, and I don’t like this feeling of having things not under my control.”

“No one, not even the king of a country …… can control everything.” Haitang said softly, “Just trying hard to grasp the general situation, which is good enough.”

“You just said that there are two people that you have not been able to see through, one is Chen Pingping, and who is the other?” Haitang was interested in this question. She knew that Fan Xian was very confident in his ability to read people, even the Emperor of Qing, he thought he could grasp certain aspects of his mind, yet he admitted to himself that there was someone he couldn’t see through, she was curious to know who that second person was.

“My father.” Fan Xian smiled and said, “Actually …… he is just as powerful as Chen Pingping, except that Chen Pingping has been floating up and down on the surface of the water, while he has been sinking under the water. Although I am his son, I am not sure what he really has in mind.”

For both Chen Pingping and Fan Jian, Fan Xian treated them as fathers, sincere and unquestioning. After his mother’s death, he presided over the revenge and washed the Empress family’s blood clean during the bloody night in Kyoto fourteen years ago, as well as the care and love that these two fatherly executives had bestowed upon him during his later growth, all of which made Fan Xian’s heart feel a sense of admiration.

But it’s amazing that the two people who are closest to him are the most impervious to him.

“It turns out that what you have been worrying about is not Jiangnan, but Kyoto.” Haitang smiled and said, “With such two unfathomable figures behind you, you really don’t need to worry much about Jiangnan.”

“I am the whetstone that His Majesty set up for those brothers.” Fan Xian smiled and said, “This Jiangnan matter, the Eldest Princess and the Crown Prince’s second prince …… are not the whetstone that my father and Chen Pingping set up for me. The elders’ hopes for me are all very deep, I’m very relieved.”

The word gratified was said with incomparable annoyance.

The two thin fishing lines were still calmly and unassumingly sunk in the gentle water, without a trace of wrist-induced trembling. Haitang glanced at him and said, “It seems that you really don’t need to use fishing to hone your mind.”

Fan Xian said, “I’ve always had a resolute nature and a steady state of mind, so it’s hard to get hung up on external things.”

Admitting one’s own merits in front of a woman was not embarrassing self-aggrandizement for Fan Xian, but a very good self-analyzing attitude.

“Just how old are you nowadays?” Haitang asked curiously, unable to understand how such a young man, suddenly holding great power in his hands and dealing with the complicated affairs of a party, was still able to maintain such a calm state of mind.

Fan Xian returned extremely quickly, asking in return, “How old are you this year?”

Haitang pursed her lips, her eyes bright, making the Bi Lake in front of her weaken, but she refused to answer this question.

Fan Xian grunted and said, “I’m eighteen out of eighteen.”

Haitang shook her head and mocked, “Seeing how you act on a regular basis, saying that you’re eighty wouldn’t be unbelievable.”

The old people have experienced spring winds, summer rain, autumn frost, winter snow, have long been accustomed to seeing everything in the world, so they are able to use that pair of eyes that appear to be a little indifferent, to see through everything in this world.

Only because of the experience, can lighten up, can use the most smooth mind, the most old-fashioned means, to face those who look unusually complicated situation. A necessary basis for the conspirators, is his desire to be less, so that the enemy can be exploited by the open door is less, so from ancient times to the present, but all the conspiracy planning well-known characters, either the old man old lady, or eunuchs.

Young people are always bloodthirsty, such as the second prince, such as the crown prince, and even the eldest princess, so they will all make certain not-so-wise choices at some point. And like Fan Xian who had two lives of experience, although he was criticized by Haitang with a sad label of eighty years old, but on the other hand, he did do things with patience like an old man, while using Xia Qufei to fight the family property lawsuit against the Ming family, the rest of the Supervisory Yuan’s side was silent until the storm of the family property lawsuit was just about to subside, when the Supervisory Yuan stepped in.

For a while, many officials in Jiangnan Road were politely invited to have tea at the offices of the four inspection divisions in Jiangnan Road.

Everyone knows that the tea of the Supervisory Yuan is the authentic Longjing, the tea is fragrant, but no official is willing to go to drink tea.

Although in the Xue Qing Governor’s face, Jiangnan Road officials and not a few people were detained, but in the process of drinking tea and chatting, the Supervisory Yuan occasionally talked about some of the old stories, still let those officials are immensely trembling, back to the house after they began to consider their own future headache immense personal safety issues before, and this corresponding, be reminded of the officials have also noticed that, for the protection of the Ming Family The officials were also reminded that it was impossible to protect the Ming family too much on the surface.

On the other hand, the Supervisory Yuan also began to harass the business of the Ming family, although it is not possible to directly take people and detain goods, but to detect spies in Dongyi City as the reason, within a day, the Ming family stores began to be checked by the government, and the Ming family fleet of ships in the process of transporting goods, but also encountered unprecedented trouble.

Although in addition to some of the small crimes of carrying private cargo, the Supervisory Yuan did not catch the Ming family what big handle, but under the repeated harassment, successfully forced the Ming family to spoil the large industrial system to slow down the speed of operation.

Business, is concerned about the delivery of goods, discounted into the silver back and forth speed, like a living river, now the Supervisory Yuan is like a myriad of gravel slowly sinking into the river, the river’s flow is slow, sediment is also deposited, this is a pool of living water, but now it is gradually into the mud, the action is not convenient.

Supervisory Yuan this move, with the least amount of manpower, caused by the smallest discussion, to achieve the effect is quite good, the Ming family in the payment of a huge amount of standard silver in the treasury after so many years, for the first time in the flow of water is a little overstretched sense of elasticity, and now by the Supervisory Yuan harassment, the flow of water is more and more some insufficient to use, and began to be forced to transfer silver to the Taiping money bank, at the same time, the long house Ming Qingda also began to secretly to the Merchants Bank to sign the bills of exchange.