Red Mansion: Seizing Jiangdong, starting with pirates

Chapter 277, The Etiquette Between Ruler and Subject

Fang Yong turned to look at Emperor Longqing.

At that moment, the atmosphere froze.

Although no one said a word, everyone felt immense pressure. Emperor Longqing was sweating profusely and was on the verge of collapse when he announced the execution of the six men.

Just then, someone stepped forward.

"Jia She! How dare you pressure His Majesty here! Even if these six men are indeed guilty, they should be handed over to the Three Judicial Offices for joint trial, handled by the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Censorate. This is the responsibility of the Three Judicial Offices, and has nothing to do with your Shuntian Prefecture. You dare to force the emperor here; do you have even a shred of respect for the emperor?"

In an instant, everyone's eyes were drawn to it.

The person speaking was not Yu Lian.

Fang Yongzao knew that Yu Lian was a blindly loyal person, so he had long ago arranged for him to go to the Ministry of Works to take charge of industrial transformation.

The person who spoke out in public is named Cao Shizhang, a minor official of the fifth rank, currently serving as a censor.

He was also a follower of King Chungshun, but because his rank was too low, it hadn't been dealt with yet.

Cao Shizhang may have realized that he would be dealt with sooner or later, so he stood up and confronted Fang Yong head-on, which can be described as a desperate act.

Upon hearing this, the Longqing Emperor's eyes lit up, and he thought to himself:

"Loyal ministers, our Great Xi still has loyal ministers!"

However, before Emperor Longqing could even feel pleased, Li Ni, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, stepped forward and said:
"Your Majesty, Lord Jia is utterly loyal to you. Cao Shizhang has spoken slanderously, sowing discord between the emperor and his ministers. According to the law, he should be executed!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than the soldiers outside walked in and, without waiting for Emperor Longqing to speak, dragged Cao Shizhang away.

The ministers were terrified at the sight, and none of them dared to speak out to stop it.

Emperor Longqing uttered a trembling "slow" that even he himself could barely hear. Upon hearing this, Fang Yong raised his eyes, and Emperor Longqing immediately dared not utter another sound.

Cao Shizhang cursed all the way, "Traitor! Traitor! Wang Mang! Dong Zhuo... Ah!"

The officials felt a chill run down their spines, and the Longqing Emperor shrank back in fear.

They dared not resist any longer and agreed to execute Liang Mo, Chen Zhan, Lu Sui, Gu Yao, Shen Huaibi, and Xu Heng.

After returning to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the Longqing Emperor and the Retired Emperor discussed the day's events.

The retired emperor said, "It is clear that there are already people who are dissatisfied with the enemy. The time is coming. What we need to do now is to accumulate strength and find an opportunity to contact reliable people."

Meanwhile, it had been a month since Xue Pan rescued Song Yun.

Song Yun was not originally good-looking, but he had become extremely thin from being imprisoned for several years and had not seen the sun for a long time, so his skin was unusually pale. After resting for a month or so, he had become somewhat more masculine.

Xue Pan spent a long time with Song Yun in prison, and their feelings for each other deepened. As a result, he often sought out Song Yun to pursue him.

That day, Song Yun had recovered enough to talk to Xue Pan about his future.

Xue Pan said, "Brother Song, don't worry, I will go and ask the Prince to help you find a respectable job."

Upon hearing this, Song Yun said with a face full of disdain:

"The traitor of Huaiyin is acting perversely and will not last long. He is better off without his official position!"

Xue Pan was actually somewhat dissatisfied when he heard Song Yun say that.

However, his relationship with Song Yun was extraordinary, so despite his dissatisfaction, he swallowed it.

"Then, Brother Song, what do you want from me?"

Song Yundao:
"Brother Xue, you said you're now in charge of procurement for the palace?"

Xue Pan nodded.

Song Yundao:
"Then could you send me to the palace and introduce me to His Majesty? If the Huaiyin bandit's empire collapses in the future, I will never forget Brother Xue's actions today!"

Upon hearing this, Xue Pan was shocked and quickly shook his head, saying, "How can that be!"

Even if Xue Pan was foolish, he knew that Fang Yong was his patron. Who would dig up their own patron? Besides, although he was in charge of procurement for the palace, he didn't have much power. The main affairs were handled by Xue San, and he was just waiting to get his share of the profits.

The idea of ​​getting Song Yun to Emperor Longqing's side was simply a pipe dream. Even if Xue Pan threw away his official robes, he could barely get past the gate. And that depended on luck; the inspection that day had to be less strict.

Even after entering the main gate, there were still layers of checkpoints behind it, with imperial guards patrolling and palace gates checking everything, making success impossible.

Song Yun pushed against Xue Pan's chest and said:

"Please beg your sister to help you, okay?"

Xue Pan shook his head and refused, "No, no!"

He could have done it himself; at worst, he could have just given up his official robes as a way of repaying Song Yun for his help in prison.

After all, without Song Yun, he really didn't know if he could have persevered until today.

However, since Baochai is involved, she will inevitably be investigated once the matter comes to light.

His sister had already suffered a terrible fate, with her family destroyed and falling into the hands of thieves. She had barely managed to escape, so how could he bear to drag her down with him?

Seeing this, Song Yun became angry and said:

"You unfaithful man, why did you rescue me in the first place?"

He immediately kicked Xue Pan off the bed.

In the following days, Song Yun began a hunger strike.

It is very difficult for ordinary people to stick to a hunger strike.

But Song Yun had already developed the habit of fasting in prison, and he fasted more frequently than he ate.

As Xue Pan watched Song Yun grow weaker and weaker, unable to eat or drink, he grew increasingly anxious.

The two recalled the days they supported each other in prison.

How could Xue Pan ignore this?

"I'll help, I'll help!"

Song Yun finally smiled.

At that time, Fang Yong's wedding to the British Empire was imminent.

During this time, the scientists and engineers brought by Earl Sweet also conducted a thorough investigation of the areas controlled by Fang Yong.

This includes the site selection and planning of steel mills and machinery plants, as well as the mining and exploration of some mines.

Fang Yong was a complete novice in this area.

His knowledge of mineral resources was limited to the more famous ones, such as Datong Coal Mine, Kailuan Iron Mine, and Daqing Oilfield.

The Datong Coal Mine and Kailuan Iron Mine in Daxi were already in operation, but the efficiency was relatively low because they did not use mechanical mining.

As for Daqing Oilfield, there are currently no widely used petroleum refining products in the world, and the internal combustion engine has not yet been invented. The main power source is still the coal-fired steam engine.

Although Fang Yong had studied internal combustion engines in his previous life, he had no memory of this brilliant achievement of mankind, let alone the ability to draw it.

But it doesn't matter. Even if he can't create it, there are people who can.

The royal families of various European countries have intermarried for generations. As long as he and Princess Sofia complete their marriage, their son will have a portion of the inheritance rights of various European countries.

Although this portion of the inheritance rights is very small and almost impossible to obtain, if he simply eliminates all those ahead of him in the line, wouldn't he be able to inherit legally?
At that time, the inventors of the internal combustion engine will all be one family.

Everything is now on track, and a bright future is just around the corner.

Meanwhile, Xue Pan requested an audience with Baochai.

Fang Yong received the message immediately.

(End of this chapter)