Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 487 Killing the Prestige
The noble families wanted to show off their power and ability, but it seems they messed up.

Ma Zhou said nothing, but just kept agreeing.

Well, now there will be martial law over there in three days. Strictly speaking, it will be less than three days, but the whole city will be under temporary martial law starting at midnight in two days. And here, the resignation letters of more than 8,000 officials at all levels were all approved by Ma Zhou. He announced it in the court immediately. As long as it is approved by the central government and reviewed by the three provinces, the matter will be irreversible.

This has put the aristocratic families in a difficult position. Strictly speaking, they want to use the method of throwing tantrums to maintain their usual image of "you can't function without us".

But this time, they messed up. The old version of the game no longer worked in the new version, and they had to make a choice. In this situation, the opponent was forcing them to go down the field and force them to fire the first shot. Whether to accept this move, how to accept this move, and whether they could accept this move, now seemed to be no longer the most important issue.

They certainly cannot win, but whether the current situation is worth it for them to fight to the death is the most worthy issue to discuss.

However, judging from the current situation, it seems that the other party has no intention of completely breaking off relations, otherwise they would not have given a three-day buffer period.

But their attitude is also very firm, that is, the implementation of the assessment system is the bottom line, and no one can exceed this bottom line.

When many elders of the sects met together, they felt that this matter was not going to be handled this way, but it would be embarrassing to just give in, so they were caught in a dilemma.

The one who finally came out was Gao Shilian. As the face and spokesperson of the southern gentry, his opinion was very valuable at this time.

"If we move forward, we will both be destroyed. Our thousand-year-old foundation will be destroyed in an instant, and the northerners will take advantage of us. Don't forget that the Five Surnames, Seven Families and Eight Pillars of the State are all northerners. If our foundation is completely destroyed after the capital is moved, hehe..."

"Then tell me in detail."

Gao Shilian twisted a tuft of his beard with his fingers and said in a deep voice: "It's not that there is no way. We are all respectable people, so we should do respectable things and say respectable words. At present, they are respectable enough to come and go, but we are not respectable enough."

"Well, let's both take a step back. What do you think?"

"How do I withdraw from the law?"

Gao Shilian pushed a booklet in his hand forward, stood up and said, "Most of the nobles and dukes have made contributions to the country, and one of their sons can be recommended to serve in various government offices based on their achievements. But I think even this is still a little short of the mark, after all, the three-year assessment is unshakable."

"One? Who among you here doesn't have many children? Just one?"

"Then how many more do you want?" Gao Shilian quickly asked back, "If there are capable people among the clan, what is there to be afraid of?"

Gao Shilian weighed the pros and cons with them. Only if everyone took a step back could they get a broader way out. The most important thing was that if a conflict really broke out, the southern gentry might be torn apart, and all the benefits would go to the northerners.

If the Yankees become stronger, Xia Lin's life will not be easy. If the war continues like this, no matter who wins in the end, the final winner will be the Yankees.

They are all aristocratic families, but the conflict between the North and the South seems to be more serious than the current situation.

After fierce bargaining, the southern aristocratic group finally agreed to Gao Shilian's plan, and those officials who submitted their resignations also sent representatives to plead for mercy as soon as possible.

But it was too late now. More than 3,000 officials had already been reviewed by the three provinces and approved for dismissal. Even if they were beating their chests, the matter was already settled.

The remaining 5,000 people were returned for review and their resignations were not approved.

At this point, the incident that almost led to a coup d'état was gradually calmed down. The price was that the aristocratic families lost 3,000 seats and the ability to inherit the throne in the court. Of course, the subsequent assessments would cause them to lose more, but no one cared at the moment. They just knew that everyone was relatively decent this time and did not make it a life-and-death fight.

However, the person who assassinated Zhang Zhongchun must be handed in, because this case is different from the student case. That case could actually have a turnaround. After all, the deceased was trampled to death and not killed. At most, the people involved on both sides will be dealt with, each of them will be given fifty lashes, and then compensated with some money, which would be considered an explanation.

But if we don’t hand over Zhang Zhongchun, the assassination will probably not end well.

But who to hand over and who not to hand over? This is a big problem. Gao Shilian originally planned to let them go out and confess their crimes, and deal with them however they should. But they were protecting their own people, and he also told Xia Linna that he would give them an explanation within three days.

Now there are only two days left, but these people obviously have no intention of taking over this matter. Gao Shilian can't just go and ask others for help himself, and there is definitely no room for maneuver in this matter. He can only do nothing to help. The rest is up to fate and let the King of Hell take charge.

"I have already told them that it would be enough to just test it with words, but they insisted on resorting to martial arts. You'd better give an answer before tomorrow, otherwise the blood will be splattered all over you when the head falls off."

"General Gao, are you not going to protect the people below you?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Gao Shilian became furious: "Protect! What protection do I need? Am I not protected enough? I risked my old face to plead with a man who could be my grandson, and he promised that he would not ask for anything more as long as the murderer was caught. What else do you want? I advised you at that time, but did any of you listen? If you had been willing to listen to me, you wouldn't have ended up like this today. Well, I don't care, you can do whatever you want." Gao Shilian got up and left, as if he had made up some kind of decision.

On the other side, Xia Lin was fishing with a fishing rod. Xu Jingzong next to him had caught a big fish and was walking back and forth with the fish in his hand. No matter whether they were peddlers or dignitaries, the first thing he would ask when he saw them was "How do you know this fish weighs four pounds and two ounces?"

After a long while, Xu Jingzong finally calmed down. The fish was almost stinking because of his show-off. Only then did he sit back next to Xia Lin.

"You said Gao Shilian did so many things this time, but was it useful?"

"It's useful. Of course it's useful. If it weren't for him, the conflict would have exploded long ago."

"Then his position in the family is becoming more and more stable?" Xu Jingzong frowned, "Old Gao is not easy to deal with."

"No, the noble families will not thank Gao Shilian." Xia Lin waved his hand and said, "They only know that they still have to pay a price, but they don't know that this price is the limit of what Gao Shilian can do. They are too arrogant, so arrogant that they can't understand how to write the word common sense. So they don't think they are wrong, nor do they think Gao Shilian is grateful. Not only will they not thank him, but they will blame him instead."

"Blame him? That's a bit too far-fetched."

"Of course." Seeing that he hadn't made any movement for a long time, Xia Lin simply threw the pole away and said, "I don't want to play anymore."

The guards behind him hurriedly stepped forward to pack up the fishing gear, while Xia Lin came over and sat on Lao Xu's left. "Some things are counterintuitive. They think this is just a trivial matter. You, Gao Shilian, can't even handle this. You must be in cahoots with Xia Daosheng. Besides, Lao Gao is very strong but overly cautious. He transferred his assets and family early on, leaving him alone in the capital. This makes it even more difficult for him to stand in the family. As long as they take even half a step back, these people will suspect that Lao Gao has reached some unspeakable secret with me."

"My dear, you always say that I am a sinister person, but in my opinion, you are the most sinister person in the world."

"How can I be yin? I've always been yang." Xia Lin glanced at Xu Jingzong and said, "You are a typical case of a person with a perforated intestine and a rotten stomach covered in pus."

"Then what should we do next? You know me. I am good at small things, but I can't see through big things." Xu Jingzong sighed and said, "To be honest, the most powerful person at the moment, besides you, is probably me, Prime Minister Ma."

"Don't worry, there is still a master who hasn't arrived yet."

"Who?"

"Cen Wenben." Xia Lin calculated silently in his mind: "According to the date, Cen Wenben should be qualified to enter the capital."

"Him! Well, well, he's a very capable guy, and he's also my classmate and friend. It makes me look a bit useless."

"Don't worry, you will be useful in the future. What did you ask me just now?"

"I asked what do we do now?"

"They will come to compromise in three days, but this will only restore the normal operation of the government. The case is not closed yet, so continue the investigation. It's time for you, the Inspector General of the Procuratorate, to take the stage."

Xu Jingzong nodded gently and said, "I actually roughly know who it is, but I just don't have any evidence."

"It's a false accusation." Xia Lin waved his hand and said, "Just kill him first and ask for permission later. It's quick. They will feel relieved after you deal with him. I want to change this unhealthy trend of killing people at will. From now on, before anyone kills someone, they should think carefully about whether they are supernatural powers."

"Yeah, you seem to never do assassinations."

"Too low-level and despicable." Xia Lin waved his hand: "Not worthy of my status. And if you do this once, you will lose your credibility. Think about it, who doesn't have a wife, children, old people and friends? Kill one today and another tomorrow, and kill them all until you get angry. Wouldn't that be a big mess?"

"Yes, this kind of trend should not be encouraged."

"It's not that we can't encourage it, but we need to completely eliminate it." Xia Lin turned his head to glance at Xu Jingzong: "This time we've caught the bandit leader, we'll drag him to the street and behead him, so that the whole world will know what it means to be disrespectful. I won't give him respect."

"Beheading? Great, great, the punishment that has been abolished for more than a hundred years is finally coming back to the light of day." Xu Jingzong touched his chin and said, "Then why not just fry him in a big pot, until he's crispy on the outside and tender on the inside."

"There's no need to be so disgraceful..."

(End of this chapter)