Eagle-eyed and wolf-watching

Chapter 1680 Assassination of the Censor?

On September 6th, Yi Jing

At noon, a thin scholar in a blue robe entered Chen's Teahouse, the most famous teahouse in Yijing. Upon his arrival, a young maid immediately greeted him and inquired:
"Sir, do you have an appointment?"

Faced with the maid's question, the distinguished scholar in blue robes did not answer immediately. Instead, he glanced around the teahouse and, seeing nothing amiss, began to speak:
"I booked room number 15 yesterday!"

Upon hearing this, the maid tentatively asked:

"Sir, what is your surname?"

"My surname is Wang!"

"Please come this way with me!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the scholar surnamed Wang, dressed in a blue robe, followed the maid up to the private room on the second floor.

At this moment, the scholar surnamed Wang, dressed in a blue robe, did not notice that a pair of eyes were silently watching him from a hidden corner on the first floor!
After entering the private room, the scholar surnamed Wang, dressed in a blue robe, seemed to be waiting for something, rather than paying attention to the exciting storytelling downstairs.

After waiting for a full half hour, the scholar surnamed Wang, dressed in a blue robe, finally couldn't wait any longer when the person who had arranged to meet him stood him up. He then walked out of the private room, paid the bill, and left Chen's Teahouse.

After the scholar surnamed Wang left Chen's Teahouse, an ordinary-looking young man silently followed behind him, trailing him back to his residence.

Three hours later, at the Imperial Palace of Yijing
Consort Murong of the Great Qian Dynasty, who was preparing to rest, sat in front of the dressing mirror combing her hair. Looking at the fine wrinkles appearing at the corners of her eyes, Murong Qingwu's expression was somewhat complicated.

Although rationally Murong Qingwu knew she was already in her early thirties and a mother of two, the desire to look beautiful is a woman's nature, so seeing wrinkles now was still somewhat hard for her to accept…

Just as Murong Qingwu was feeling down, Ying'er came to her side and reported:

"Your Majesty, Ah Da has brought news that Wang Tong went to Chen's Teahouse at noon today, presumably to meet with Zhao Dahai, but Zhao Dahai did not show up even after Wang Tong waited for half an hour!"

Upon hearing this news, Murong Qingwu frowned slightly. Ever since she received her father Murong Yuliang's commission to intercept and kill Zhao Dahai, the former second manager of Wanfu Trading Company, Murong Qingwu had been very concerned about this matter!

In order to find Zhao Dahai as soon as possible, Murong Qingwu also gave Zhang Mang an order, in his capacity as Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, to contact the Yijing government and tell them that Zhao Dahai was a notorious bandit. Therefore, the Yijing government was instructed to carefully check all the city gates of Yijing and to arrest him immediately once he was found to have entered Yijing!

In addition, Murong Qingwu also sent her capable subordinate, A'da, to keep a close eye on Wang Tong, the Censor of the Censorate, who was planning to meet with Zhao Dahai.

In the end, Murong Qingwu guessed that the reason her father asked her to kill Zhao Dahai was because something had happened to Wanfu Bank.

However, since there was no evidence yet, Murong Qingwu still investigated this Imperial Censor Wang Tong carefully!
This censor, Wang Tong, was from Huainan. He was originally an official in the Huainan Provincial Administration Commission. During Xu Zhaojie's control of Huainan, this prosperous place was subjected to the wrath of both heaven and man. As a result, Wang Tong, who was only the head of the Huainan Provincial Administration Commission at the time, also wrote a memorial to Xu Zhaojie.

Although Wang Tong's original intention was to advise Xu Zhaojie to cherish the people's strength and not to excessively exploit them, Xu Zhaojie at that time only wanted to wage war and expand his army, hoping to dominate the world by relying on the wealth of Huainan...

Therefore, Wang Tong's suggestion undoubtedly angered Xu Zhaojie.

Xu Zhaojie immediately ordered Wang Tong to be imprisoned, intending to make an example of him and use Wang Tong's head to intimidate the officials in Huainan, making them all silent and afraid to oppose his policies.

At that time, many officials in Huainan, especially local Party members, shared the same view as Wang Tong and disliked Xu Zhaojie, an outsider. However, Xu Zhaojie was too powerful, and everyone was afraid to speak up for the sake of their own lives. Only Wang Tong, a hothead, dared to speak frankly and remonstrate.

Therefore, when Wang Tong was imprisoned, he received widespread sympathy from the Huainan police station. In addition, Wang Tong was quite popular, so his friends and colleagues replaced him with another prisoner before he was beheaded.

After escaping death, Wang Tong knew he couldn't stay in Huainan any longer, so he went to Jiangnan and sought refuge with his classmate Zhang Ke. It was at this time that he met Zhao Dahai.

Later, after learning about Wang Tong's deeds and how Wang Tong was living in poverty and dependence on others in Jiangnan, Lu Jianchao arranged a job for him, giving him a stable livelihood in Jiangnan.
After Xu Zhaojie's defeat and death, Wang Tong returned to his hometown of Huainan. Because of his resistance against Xu Zhaojie, Wang Tong was very popular in Huainan, which had suffered greatly under Xu Zhaojie's rule.

During his first southern tour, Ye Mingsheng heard about Wang Tong's deeds and, after learning that Wang Tong had a good reputation in Huainan, Ye Mingsheng found Wang Tong and conducted a face-to-face investigation of him.

The Yijing court, led by Ye Mingsheng, was initially founded in Liaoyang, so its main members were people from Liaoyang. Later, after Ye Mingsheng conquered the north, the Yijing court also absorbed many talents from Qilu, Youyan, Jiyu and other places!

After conquering the south and unifying the country, Ye Mingsheng also intended to recruit more talents from the south into his Yijing court, so that everyone could work together for the development of the Great Qian Dynasty.

Against this backdrop, Ye Mingsheng originally intended to have Wang Tong take up a position in the Ministry of Revenue. However, after face-to-face communication, Ye Mingsheng discovered that although Wang Tong was relatively clean-living and had excellent literary talent, he was rather conservative in his thinking and had never served at the grassroots level.

Therefore, Ye Mingsheng ultimately changed his mind about sending Wang Tong to the Ministry of Revenue and instead sent him to the Censorate as an Imperial Censor. Wang Tong gladly accepted the appointment and came to Yijing.

After Wang Tong arrived in Yijing, Xiao Lingyu, the then head of the Censorate and Left Censor-in-Chief, was an important figure in the Liaoyang faction of the Yijing court.

Although the Liaoyang Gang was a small, regionally-based group, Xiao Lingyu himself was not xenophobic. He admired Wang Tong's talent, while Wang Tong, though upright and honest, understood the dangers of being isolated and unpopular after years in office, and thus intentionally sought to align himself with the Liaoyang Gang, then the largest group in the imperial court…
Therefore, with Xiao Lingyu's help, Wang Tong quickly gained a foothold in the Censorate. However, his good fortune did not last long. Before the establishment of the Daqian Dynasty, Xiao Lingyu chose to retire and return to her hometown of Liaoyang to live out her retirement.

However, before leaving, Xiao Lingyu recommended his men to Cui Shao, the de facto leader of the Liaoyang Gang. Under Cui Shao's patronage, Wang Tong and his men fared quite well in the Censorate. Thus, Wang Tong, a man from Huainan, became an outer member of the Liaoyang Gang!
Because of Wang Tong's background, Murong Qingwu took this matter very seriously. She didn't know if it was just Wang Tong and Zhao Dahai who were in contact, or if the Liaoyang Gang had discovered something.

If it's the latter, then if my guess is correct, and Wanfu Piaohao really has some problems that have implicated my father, and given Cui Shao's political influence, my father will suffer greatly even if he doesn't fall from grace.

Therefore, we must not let Zhao Dahai meet Wang Tong now and hand over the evidence to Wang Tong.

Having made up her mind, Murong Qingwu instructed Ying'er:
"Tell Ah Da to keep a close eye on Wang Tong. Be alert to any unusual movements from Wang Tong. Also, tell Zhang Mang to keep an eye on the city gate. If Zhao Dahai appears, take him down immediately. Do not let him enter the city!"

"Yes! Your Majesty, I understand. I will arrange it immediately. But there is one thing that A-Da asked me to inquire about?"

What does he want to ask for instructions?

"What should we do if an emergency occurs, and what should we do with Wang Tong?"

Upon hearing this, Murong Qingwu frowned. This was exactly the question that was troubling her. Although Wanfu Bank was a business with a government background, it was not a structure directly under the government like Dadongsheng Bank.

So, although Zhao Dahai was very rich, he was still a businessman and his political status was not high. So killing him was no big deal!
However, Wang Tong, who met Zhao Dahai, was different. Although Wang Tong was not as rich as Zhao Dahai, he was a fifth-rank censor and a clean official in the court. His political status was very high!

Therefore, even Murong Qingwu dared not easily make the decision to kill Wang Tong!
The previous censor Liu Xinjie was killed by Ye Dong's men because he investigated Ye Dong's case. As a result, the General Investigation Department investigated the matter thoroughly. Although Ye Dong did not directly issue the killing order, he was implicated and demoted to a commoner and exiled. As for the other people involved in the case, they were all beheaded and their heads were displayed to the public!
Who is this Ye Dong?

His cousin, a close relative of His Majesty during the early years of the dynasty, was a member of the imperial family of the Great Qian Dynasty. He made numerous military contributions to the establishment of the Great Qian Dynasty and was enfeoffed as a marquis after the founding of the dynasty. He can be said to be one of His Majesty's most trusted confidants.

Despite his status, it wasn't even him who personally ordered the assassination of the censor; it was his subordinates who did it. Ye Dong was implicated and was demoted to a commoner and exiled!

Therefore, if I were to kill Wang Tong, things would get really out of hand!

Killing Zhao Dahai could be considered an economic issue, but eliminating Wang Tong, the censor, would, in a sense, be a challenge to the authority of the imperial court, which is a very serious problem!

Because she understood the seriousness of the situation, when instructing A'da, Murong Qingwu only allowed A'da to kill Zhao Dahai, without mentioning killing Wang Tong. However, A'da proactively asked for permission...
After careful consideration for a moment, Murong Qingwu still hesitated before giving the order:

"Killing Wang Tong would blow things up, so we can't touch him. But let Zhang Mang investigate Wang Tong thoroughly. I don't believe Wang Tong is truly innocent and without a single flaw!"

"Yes!"

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While Murong Qingwu was figuring out how to kill someone, in another room of the palace...

Ye Mingsheng, having finished a day's work, looked at his son in front of him and pondered for a moment before asking:

"Jingren, would you like to go with your father to inspect the southern regions of Hebei, Henan, Shandong, and other places?"

Faced with his father's question, Jingren did not give an immediate answer. The boy, who was about to turn eleven, looked somewhat conflicted, as if he was curious about the outside world, but also worried about the unknown.

After pondering for the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, Jingren finally asked:

"Dad, how long will it take us?"

Upon hearing this, Ye Mingsheng did a quick calculation and said:
"The exact time depends on the specific circumstances. It could be as short as two months or as long as three or four months. In any case, he will definitely be back before the Chinese New Year!"

"Oh! Will it take that long?"

"Hmm! So Jingren, are you willing to go?"

"I'm letting you know beforehand, this time when we encounter towns along the way, we'll stay in inns if necessary. But if we don't find any towns, we might have to eat outdoors and sleep in tents. Jingren, you should be mentally prepared..."

Hearing his father say this, Jingren's little face showed even more worry.

Ye Mingsheng was not surprised by this. After all, Jingren was his eldest son and had been pampered since childhood. He had a very good life. His mother and grandmother doted on him. It would not be an exaggeration to say that he grew up in a honey pot. Apart from the hardship of studying, he had never experienced any other hardships since birth!
So asking Jingren to endure the elements and tirelessly accompany him to inspect the disaster-stricken areas is indeed a difficult task for him!

Let alone Jingren, even Ye Mingsheng himself had some hesitation at first!

As the old saying goes, it's easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. Back when Ye Mingsheng was a commander, he was very used to this kind of hardship and sleeping in the open, and he didn't have any hesitation in his heart.

But it was different for Ye Mingsheng as the emperor. After all, it was so much better at home. He had all kinds of delicious food, special spring water, fresh prawns, Tieguanyin tea, a comfortable environment, and dozens of concubines to enjoy.

If you were to go and inspect it, all of these things would be gone. Even if you stayed in a hotel, in the best room, the environment and things there would be far inferior to those in the palace!

Moreover, during this inspection, there will definitely be times when he has to eat in the open and sleep in the wilderness. When he was sleeping in a tent in the wilderness, Ye Mingsheng even doubted whether his body could still withstand it!
Therefore, Ye Mingsheng did have some hesitation, but he felt that he was not yet forty, in the prime of his life, and shouldn't be lazy. He figured he wouldn't need to go when he was in his sixties or seventies and couldn't walk anymore. So, out of a sense of responsibility, Ye Mingsheng still made the decision to inspect the area…