Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 88: In the fifth watch, the golden rooster crows on the shelf (asking for the first order)
When Cao Yong arrived at the prime minister's residence, he was led into the "Qingxi Hall" by the housekeeper.

This is a flower hall built in the backyard.
Usually only very close guests, and those who are not discussing business matters, are invited here.

The "Qingxi Hall" is like a pavilion, a terrace, a hall, and a hall. It faces east and sits west. The beams are of the raised beam type.
The house has boat-shaped pavilions on all four sides, a T-shaped five-way jumping bracket, carved arch eye walls, and pastoral shepherding patterns carved on the beams, which is full of interest.

Cao Yong had finished half of his cup of tea when Qin Hui walked in leisurely.

Cao Yong hurriedly stood up to greet him. Qin Hui called him by his name and said with a gentle smile, "Xingfan, there is no need to be so polite. Please sit down."

Cao Yong waited for Qin Hui to sit down, then he leaned forward and sat down, cupping his hands and saying, "My Lord, I have tried my best to find the cat that Madam Tong lost, but I still can't find it.

"Now that so many days have passed, it is unlikely that he will be found. I dare not keep you waiting for long, so I come to apologize to you."

After hearing this, Qin Hui glanced at him meaningfully but said nothing.

Cao Yong raised his hand and pointed to the box on the table, and then said, "I have found a skilled craftsman to make a kitten in the shape of Chiyu, hoping to make Madam Tong happier."

Qin Hui smiled slightly, stroked his beard and said, "Yesterday, a child went to Fenghuang Mountain to relax and found a kitten by chance. She said it was Chiyu's reincarnation. As a child, if she said it was, then it was fine. As long as she is happy, it's fine. So, it doesn't matter whether Chiyu is found or not."

Cao Yong said with surprise, "Is this true? It would be great if Madam Tong could stop being sad about Chiyu."

Qin Hui said with a half-smile, "Your daughter accompanied Tong'er to Phoenix Mountain yesterday. Don't you know about this?"

Cao Yong said with a guilty look on his face: "I really don't care much about my daughter's affairs, so I didn't know about this. Otherwise, I wouldn't have to worry about this. But, this cat has been made, and since Madam Tong likes cats, I'll just use it as a decoration."

Qin Hui chuckled and said, "Okay, Xingfan, you are thoughtful."

Cao Yong bowed and said, "It is my great honor to be able to help you relieve some of your worries!"

Qin Hui suddenly laughed out loud and said with a smile, "But was it the people from Youqiusi who came up with this idea for you?"

Cao Yong was shocked. The Prime Minister actually knew about this?
Cao Yong did not dare to hide it, and quickly stood up, and said in fear and trepidation: "Prime Minister... also knows about the 'Youqiu Division'?"

If Qin Hui had not sent people to keep an eye on Yang Yuan, how could everyone know about it?

Even the most powerful intelligence agencies in modern times cannot monitor the entire world, let alone in this era.

However, Qin Hui did not mind taking advantage of this opportunity to create an all-knowing image in front of Cao Yong.

Therefore, he just smiled mysteriously, neither denying nor admitting it.

But he didn't expect that his ambiguous attitude was equivalent to stamping certification for "Youqiusi".

From now on, who would dare to doubt the existence and ability of "Youqiusi"?

Qin Hui said calmly: "I have only heard a little about them, but I have never had any contact with them."

Cao Yong smiled and said, "That's right, that's right. In the Song Dynasty, is there anything that the Prime Minister wants to do but can't accomplish? Of course, there is no need to pay attention to them."

Qin Hui glanced at him and asked, "What does this 'Youqiusi' usually do? How come it even cares about such trivial matters as cats and dogs?"

Cao Yong hurriedly flattered him, "To the Prime Minister, this is of course a trivial matter. But a trivial matter in the Prime Minister's family is a huge matter to the people of the world!

"I am ashamed. I have tried my best but couldn't even find a cat. I am ashamed and scared. I am too embarrassed to report to the Prime Minister. So I thought of asking for help from the Youqiu Division and asked them to help me make a decision."

County Magistrate Xu was an avid fan of the Three Kingdoms, so he quickly became convinced of the "Youqiusi" even though he had never trusted them.

However, Cao Fuyin only agreed that the idea Yang Yuan gave him was a good one.

As for the existence of the mysterious society "Youqiusi", he actually didn't quite believe it before.

After all, he was the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and the Prefect of Lin'an Prefecture. What was so great about a company that even a high-ranking official of his level had never heard of before?

But now it seems that even Prime Minister Qin knows of its existence!

Doesn’t that mean that the reason I don’t know is because my level is too low?
No wonder they only sent a guide to get me and sent me away.

With this in mind, in order to raise his own status and let Prime Minister Qin know that he, Cao, was also qualified to access the top resources, Cao Yong used the rhetoric that County Magistrate Xu used to brag about the "Youqiusi" for his own use.

After listening to Cao Yong's introduction to the situation of "Youqiusi", Qin Hui's fear of "Youqiusi" was slightly relieved.

Do a group of high-ranking officials, including retired officials, meritorious officials and relatives of the emperor, use their network of connections to help people arrange transportation and solve problems, and make money from it?
In this case, it is not an imminent threat.

Although Qin Hui never established any "Youqiusi", his power alone was greater than that of the "company" formed by this group of people.

He himself was a model of nepotism, so it was natural that he would not reject such a company.

A group of people who came together for money, a "company" with no political stance, no political demands, and whoever feeds them is their mother. When it reaches the level of Qin Hui, he really doesn't take it seriously.

However, just because it is not a threat now does not mean it will not be a threat in the future, so he still needs to be cautious.

Because desires will continue to change as your strength grows.

Back then, he only wanted to own a hundred acres of paddy fields and enjoy the joy of farming.

Now even if he had one thousand or ten thousand acres of land, would he still be satisfied?
If it is not an immediate threat, you can plan it slowly. Maybe one day you can even use this "Youqiu Division" for your own benefit.

That Yang Yuan is some kind of guide in the "Youqiu Division". It's a fancy name, but to put it bluntly, isn't he just a person in charge of making contacts and running errands on the periphery?

After figuring out Yang Yuan's identity, Qin Hui had a more reasonable speculation about Yang Yuan's confusing behavior.

It seems that Yang Yuan did not participate in the plan of the Imperial City Sikou Heiyi and Yang Che.
On the contrary, it was because of my suspicion of him that I accidentally discovered Kou Heiyi and Yang Che's investigation of Guan Hao?

These thoughts quickly passed through Qin Hui's mind. Despite this, he should continue to keep an eye on Mu Si. It's better to be cautious. Qin Hui thought about his own thoughts and laughed at Cao Yong, saying, "Xingfan, we have been close friends since we were humble. Now we are not only ministers in the same palace, but also relatives. If there is anything you can't say directly, you don't have to be so cautious."

Cao Yong smiled and said yes.

He thought so too, but ended up getting scolded by his master.

Looking at Prime Minister Qin's appearance now, I think what my master said was right.

Although Prime Minister Qin seemed to be blaming me, his expression showed that he was clearly satisfied.

Qin Hui was indeed very satisfied with his performance.

He was originally a close confidant and was someone he planned to use when he was about to hand over power to his son.

His performance this time was again remarkable. He was sensible and knew when to advance and retreat. We can show him some favor.

For Qin Hui, finding the cat was originally intended to test the attitudes of officials towards him and the loyalty of his confidants.

Officials who have no hostility towards him will not use this incident to impeach him for abusing public resources for personal gain and being arrogant.

Officials who are loyal to him will not take his trivial matters seriously and will try every means to help him solve them.

As for how much public funds were spent and how many people were mobilized, that is not important.

Finding the cat is the dividing line between teams and a touchstone of loyalty.

He will reward those who satisfy him.

Only by spending a fortune on horse bones can you win people's hearts.

Now, Cao Yong is lucky enough to become that horse bone.

Qin Hui smiled and said, "You should focus more on state affairs and government affairs! Don't let me down for recommending you and the high regard the government has for you."

"I have kept your teachings in mind. I have always worked very hard on the affairs of the Ministry of Revenue and Lin'an Prefecture, and I dare not slack off for a moment."

"Well, you've done a really good job in the past two years!"

Qin Hui nodded and said, "The Minister of Revenue is old and will soon retire. I think it's time for you, the Junior Minister of Agriculture, to move up a level."

Qin Hui only made a brief mention of the suggestion, but Cao Yong was overjoyed when he heard it.

The Ministry of Revenue is the government office that controls the financial affairs of the Song Dynasty. It is the god of wealth of the Song Dynasty.

In the early Northern Song Dynasty, the three most important powers of the Song Dynasty, namely politics, military and finance, were shared by Zhongshu Menxia, ​​Privy Council and Sansi.

At that time, the Three Commissioners were also called "Prime Ministers" and were the most important officials after the prime minister.

However, after the Yuanfeng reform, the three offices were broken up, and the largest part of the financial power of the three offices was transferred back to the Ministry of Revenue.

From then on, the Ministry of Revenue became the highest administrative agency for the financial affairs of the Song Dynasty.

Today, Qin Hui is the prime minister, and his son Qin Hui controls the Privy Council.

Cao Yong was also the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and the Junior Minister of Agriculture.

If we go up a little further, what is that?
That is the Grand Minister of Agriculture, the Minister of Revenue, the person in charge of the wealth of the Song Dynasty!
Wouldn't that mean he would become the third most important figure in the Qin Party?

Cao Yong was so grateful that he burst into tears and immediately expressed his loyalty to Qin Hui.

When he walked out of Prime Minister Qin's residence, it was as if he was stepping on clouds, floating in the air, and he wanted to become an immortal!
……

At this time, Eunuch Li Rong had quietly arrived at the Qiyun Jinbiao Society.

During the Song Dynasty, the martial arts spirit was very strong among the people, and the government was very lenient in its management of martial arts associations among the people.

Various sumo clubs, tournament clubs (practicing bows and crossbows), and Yinglue clubs (practicing sticks) were allowed to develop without any restrictions.

This kind of association is more common in rural areas. In Water Margin, the Shijiazhuang village, led by Jiuwenlong Shi Jin, rescued each other and protected the village together to resist the bandits from Shaohua Mountain. This is a form of association.

Zhujiazhuang, Hujiazhuang, and Lijiazhuang were able to mobilize 10,000 to 20,000 people, and they would help each other in times of good or bad luck. This was also a kind of association.

The "Qiyun Jinbiao Society" in Lin'an City was the place where Qin Hui placed his assassins on a daily basis.

Where are so many strong men usually accommodated?

Naturally, there must be a public identity and a public place.

And this kind of place is the most suitable place to hide them.

Eunuch Li received Qin Hui's order to kill Kou Heiyi and Yang Che as soon as possible and cut off this tentacle of the Imperial City Bureau.

He did not dare to delay and rushed there immediately to meet the leader of Qiyun Jinbiao Society, Ba Tingzhang, the deputy of the society, Di Jiuzhou, and the recorder Lu Zang.

These three people are the three leaders of "Three Gentlemen".

The next morning, when the golden rooster crowed, Eunuch Li quietly left the Qiyun Jinbiao Society.

The hunt begins...

(End of this chapter)