Chapter 970: Family Heirloom, Coward
The arsonist was caught.
He was dragged and paraded through the city by the Night Watchmen.
Many people poured out of their homes and stood on both sides of the street watching silently.
An old man sighed and said, "What those people said... A powerful dragon cannot defeat a local snake. Alas! This local snake was beaten up by the powerful dragon who crossed the river, but he had no power to resist."
Shame on you!
Zhao Fu acted like a hero at first, but before he had walked for long, someone in the crowd asked, "Will Zhao Fu be exiled?"
Someone said: "He set fire to the Ministry of Revenue and killed the officials. He still wants to be exiled? He will surely die!"
Zhao Fu's courage disappeared in an instant and he collapsed to the ground.
Not far away, in a carriage, Xu Fan lowered the curtain and said, "Go back!"
The carriage went all the way back to the Xu family.
When he got out of the car and walked in, Wang Mengqiu was waiting for him, "Master, those celebrities have gone back."
They actually left without saying goodbye... Xu Fan sneered, "Why are they in such a hurry?"
"I listened to a few words, and the general meaning is that Suzhou Prefecture has prepared some measures, but those people want to see what Jiang Qingzhi does in Songjiang Prefecture first. If he is frustrated, Suzhou Prefecture will take the opportunity to make trouble."
However, Songjiang Prefecture was severely beaten by Jiang Qingzhi. Seeing that the situation was not good, those celebrities were afraid of being implicated, and even forgot the basic etiquette of farewell and ran away.
Wang Mengqiu looked at Xu Fan with mixed emotions. This young master regarded himself as the leader of the Southern Scholars. He thought that if he gave an order in Songjiang Prefecture, the whole South would respond. Who would have thought that Jiang Qingzhi slapped him, the leader, in the face as soon as he made a move.
Unless he can reverse the situation, Suzhou Prefecture will not respond!
Xu Fan's face was grim. "The arson was committed by Zhao Fu and Zhu Yi. Zhao Fu was captured and Zhu Yi escaped. Jiang Qingzhi now has the initiative. The next thing..."
Wang Mengqiu regarded himself as Xu Fan's think tank at this moment, and analyzed: "Jiang Qingzhi will certainly take advantage of the situation to urge all places in Songjiang Prefecture to report their land and population. My dear, I am afraid that Jiang Qingzhi is still killing monkeys to scare the chickens!"
If Jiang Qingzhi wanted to make an example of someone, he would start with the Xu family.
Open the door!
declare!
Xu Fan thought about this on the way here.
As he walked towards the study, he said, "Cleaning up is the first step, this is to find out the family's financial situation. The next step is to collect taxes. As for the privileges of the scholar-officials... Jiang Qingzhi once said in the capital that there is no such thing in the law! He does not recognize such subtle rules. Everyone knows what is waiting for us next, it is to be skinned and flayed!"
Xu Fan gnashed his teeth and said, "Isn't Jiang Qingzhi afraid of being criticized by thousands of people and dying without any disease?"
Wang Mengqiu smiled bitterly, "Since he has taken over the new policy, he must have made such preparations. Young Master, it's time to make a decision, should we report it, or..."
Xu Fan entered the study, kicked away the servant who followed him, sat down, and said, "If the Xu family reports it, how will the southern scholars view my father and me? Traitors? Cowards? In addition, if the fields and people in the family..."
Xu Fan didn't say anything else, but Wang Mengqiu knew what he was afraid of.
The Xu family has been acquiring land at an increasingly faster pace in recent years, and the eldest son's appetite has also grown. Wang Mengqiu has also heard about the large amount of land that the Xu family has acquired.
Xu Bancheng!
This is the nickname given to the Xu family by the locals.
This shows the greed of the Xu family.
Once the number of fields acquired by the Xu family becomes known, how will the outside world view it?
It turns out that Lord Xu, who was known in the capital for being incorruptible, was not really honest, but had countless fertile fields at home and was not short of money!
What integrity, what leader of the literati, his reputation has been ruined.
Wang Mengqiu thought that if he were in the same situation, he would definitely be in the same dilemma.
He glanced at Xu Fan and was startled when he saw a fierce light flash in the eyes of this young master.
"Those fields are the bones and muscles of the Xu family!"
There was hatred in Xu Fan's voice.
It turns out that he was not worried about Lord Xu's future, nor was he reluctant to give up his land!
Wang Mengqiu was stunned. "Young Master, as long as Lord Xu doesn't fall, there will naturally be opportunities in the future."
Once Xu Jie succeeds in his counterattack and takes charge of the Council of Ministers, no matter how much land the Xu family wants to annex, isn't that something that you, the eldest son, can just ask for?
But Xu Fan said with red eyes: "Once the report is made, my father's reputation in the capital will be ruined. Even if Jiang Qingzhi fails in the case and Yan Song steps down, what are the chances of my father taking the position?"
Is Lord Xu, who is so ‘honest’, qualified to take over as the Prime Minister?
Wang Mengqiu sighed, "Young Master has forgotten that public opinion is in our hands."
What about Lord Xu? Isn’t it just a matter of a word from us?
We can say white is black, and black is white. It's just a matter of words.
But as a price, Lord Xu will have to compensate us after he takes office.
This is the exchange.
Historically, Xu Jie's reputation was ruined because of internal struggles. After Xu Jie retired, Gao Gong came on the scene. Gao Gong and Xu Jie had a deep grudge, so Gao Gong took advantage of the situation to beat Xu Jie when he was down. After some manipulation, Xu Jie's reputation was ruined. According to historical records, Xu Jie wanted to commit suicide several times, but was stopped by his family.
In the end, several sons were sent into exile and the Xu family was wiped out.
This is an internal struggle within Confucianism and has nothing to do with external enemies.
Therefore, what Wang Mengqiu said was absolutely correct.
As long as the new policy fails, it will not be difficult for Xu Jie to take over.
"If the new policy fails, your majesty will have to throw out a scapegoat. Either Jiang Qingzhi or Yan Song. But this is not enough. Your majesty must make concessions to appease the people."
Wang Mengqiu said confidently: "When the time comes, the eldest son will give an order in the south, and everyone will speak out together to push the elder to that position. It will be easy!"
Xu Fan stared at Wang Mengqiu for a long time and praised: "Are you interested in coming to the Xu family to help me?"
This is meant to recruit.
But Wang Mengqiu's life goal was to become an official, not to be someone's think tank. He sighed, "I would like to assist the eldest son, but... before my father passed away, he said that his biggest regret was that he could not become an official in this life. Don't forget to tell your father during the family sacrifice... I have only one idea in this life, to become an official to comfort my father."
Xu Fan felt quite regretful, and then said, "Let me think about this carefully."
After Wang Mengqiu left, Xu Fan pondered for a long time. He took out the letters sent by Xu Jie and read them carefully one by one.
In several letters, Xu Jie talked about some situations in the capital. Not long after Jiang Qingzhi went south, the Beijing guards held a large-scale exercise.
——This means warning and also deterrence.
I am using this move to tell the scholars and officials of the world that I am not prepared to compromise. If you dare to rise up, I have an army at hand and will not hesitate to shed blood.
Come on, if you have the guts, try to rebel.
Xu Fan had been so complacent earlier that he ignored the hints in his father's letter. Now he calmed down and found a lot of hints.
Xu Wei was cautious and would not mention certain things directly even in his letters to his son.
Instead, he used some familiar hints between father and son. Xu Fan closed his eyes, and those hints emerged one by one.
——You must not get involved in this matter.
——Songjiang Prefecture is a whirlpool. You should jump out of it before making a decision.
——Proceed with caution.
——Do not interfere!
——Stay indoors!
The hints in the several letters are more cautious than the previous ones.
The last letter actually hinted that Xu Fan should stay indoors.
But what about reporting?
Xu Fan recalled the contents of the letter himself.
——Watch!
Just watch, as long as you don't step forward, Jiang Qingzhi won't take the initiative to target the Xu family.
But Jiang Qingzhi wanted to kill the monkey to scare the chickens!
Xu Fan felt that his father was taking things for granted.
If he doesn't take action, and Jiang Qingzhi sends someone to his house to urge him to report, will he report it or not?
Report, I can’t stand it.
If he didn't report it, Jiang Qingzhi was not an official from the Ministry of Revenue, and Xu Fan could just make up an excuse that he was not at home to avoid it.
What a dilemma!
Xu Fan was quite conflicted.
"Master, there is a guest who wants to see you."
"Who?" Xu Fan opened his eyes.
"Songjiang Prefecture gentry!"
Wang Mengqiu was originally looking at a painting on the wall with his hands behind his back, waiting for Xu Fan's decision. Upon hearing this, he turned around abruptly and stared at Xu Fan.
Where to go?
If you, Xu Fan, really want to commit suicide, don't blame me for becoming a stranger to you from now on.
Xu Fan's expression changed...
……
Dozens of gentry gathered at Xu's house.
The Xu family's reception hall was full, so many people were strolling in the yard, looking quite anxious.
The steward came back in a hurry, and someone asked, "Where is the eldest son?"
The steward said, "The eldest son caught a cold while studying until midnight last night and is now being treated."
The eldest master is busy, so go and do whatever you need to do.
"What? I just..." Someone had seen Xu Fan walking around the streets before. Where the hell did this disease come from?
Everyone looked at each other and knew that this young man was avoiding suspicion.
"Please tell the eldest master that Jiang is very proud at the moment. How should Songjiang Prefecture respond?"
"If Jiang Qingzhi asks us to declare, should we declare or not?"
"The fields of the Xu Mansion...are the best in Songjiang Prefecture!"
These people are becoming more and more rude.
The steward said coldly, "Show him away!"
Damn it, if you don’t want the face I give you, then get out of here!
Dozens of gentry left the Xu family, and some said, "Gentlemen, even this man dares not to come forward, what should we do?"
"Once we file a report, our foundation will be gone. Our children and grandchildren's wealth will also be cut off."
"How is this different from revenge for the murder of my father?"
"Don't even think about asking me to declare it!"
"I don't have land, but I have my life!"
"Yes, as long as we join hands, why should we be afraid of him, Jiang the thief?"
"Let's go discuss this somewhere else."
Everyone responded with a roar. Before leaving, someone spat at the Xu family and said with disdain, "What the hell is the first son? He is just like his father, a coward. Bah!"
When their own foundation is shaken, all the leaders of the literati community become stinking dog shit.
Before long, these people's words reached Jiang Qingzhi's ears.
"Master, Xu Fan is scared." Xu Wei waved his fan and said with a smile: "This so-called No. 1 son is in a dilemma. Now the whole Songjiang Prefecture is waiting for Master's next step. Will he continue to kill the monkey to scare the chickens, or..."
"My Lord!" A guard came in and reported, "A woman came and said she was from Qinhuai River and wanted to see my Lord for something important."
"Qinhuai River?" Jiang Qingzhi was stunned.
Isn’t Qinhuai River the most famous red-light district in the Ming Dynasty?
Jiang Qingzhi nodded, and soon he heard some noise.
"When the ladies under my command mention Lord Changwei, their eyes light up. I bet that if Lord Changwei went to Qinhuai River, he would be eaten alive by those ladies. By the way, they say Lord Changwei is extremely handsome, but is it true... Ouch!"
The woman appeared outside the door, stared at Jiang Qingzhi, and waved her hand, "My uncle! My heart is beating fast when I see him in person. He is indeed a handsome man who can make women in the world fall in love with him. I am moved."
As she spoke, the woman squatted down and said, "Nunanmei greets the uncle."
Jiang Qingzhi said calmly: "What is the important matter you are talking about?"
The woman straightened up and said, "Someone went to Qinhuai River and spent a lot of money to have me gather dozens of prostitutes and bring them south to Songjiang Prefecture to cheer for Master Bo."
What the hell!
Jiang Qingzhi was stunned.
Xu Wei couldn't even fan himself anymore.
(End of this chapter)
