142: Emperor Qing builds a divine shield! Lin Wan'er takes charge of the inner treasury

Chapter 141: Emperor Qing Forges a Divine Shield! Lin Wan'er Takes Charge of the Imperial Treasury! (23)

A few days later, inside the Imperial Study in the capital.

News of Ye Liuyun's appearance in Jiangnan Road reached the capital. Emperor Qing expressionlessly read two intelligence reports from the Shadow Guard and the Surveillance Bureau.

The reports stated that the Junshan Society rebel case and the Imperial Treasury smuggling case had both traced back to the Ming Family's accountant.

The Great Grandmaster Ye Liuyun was entrusted by the Junshan Society to rescue the accountant.

As soon as this Great Grandmaster made his move, he was struck by heavenly lightning and fell into the sea.

"Si Xiang, what do you think?"

Hong Sixiang said with certainty, "The so-called heavenly lightning should be that divine weapon from more than twenty years ago."

"Otherwise, this old servant truly cannot imagine what other weapon could injure a Great Grandmaster."

As Emperor Qing's absolute confidant, Hong Sixiang knew that the divine weapon was a source of distress for Emperor Qing.

Emperor Qing looked at the report and said, "A sound like heavenly thunder, Ye Liuyun's abdomen bleeding, he jumped into the sea to escape."

"But more than twenty years ago, my two uncles were almost shattered!"

Hong Sixiang analyzed logically, "It should be that the divine weapon's speed was too fast, directly passing through the flesh and blood, without the... explosion you mentioned before."

Over the years, Emperor Qing had not stopped researching the Assassination of the two princes back then.

However, due to a vast knowledge gap, he could only make wild guesses based on some terms Ye Qingmei had left behind.

Emperor Qing was now certain that Fan Xian had opened Ye Qingmei's box.

And the divine weapon in the box was the same divine weapon that killed the two princes back then.

Because when the two princes were killed by heavenly lightning, Emperor Qing and his father, Prince Cheng, were the direct beneficiaries.

Ever since Prince Cheng and Emperor Qing successively ascended to power, Ye Qingmei had smoothly accomplished many things in Southern Qing.

Ye Qingmei understood so many strange things, and now knowing she came from the temple, Emperor Qing had concluded that Ye Qingmei had used the temple's divine weapon to help their father and son ascend to power back then.

It seemed that Fan Xian had already mastered the divine weapon, which made Emperor Qing very uneasy.

If Fan Xian were to uncover the truth about Ye Qingmei's death, the divine weapon could potentially be aimed at Emperor Qing!

"Si Xiang, do you think that if the temple envoy's body were melted down into armor, it could withstand the divine weapon?"

Hong Sixiang said, "The envoy came from the temple, and his body's strength is far superior to ordinary steel. It's worth a try."

Emperor Qing immediately said, "You are to immediately select craftsmen, take a secret imperial edict, and go to the Three Great Workshops to find Princess Yichen. Have the craftsmen learn metallurgy from the Three Great Workshops' craftsmen."

"Once they have mastered it, I want to build a small smelting workshop in the Inner Court to forge a divine shield!"

Hangzhou City.

Fan Xian only waited three days before Teng Zijing came to visit.

"Lord Fan, it will take at least ten days to half a month to fully investigate the smuggling case."

"Here is the progress of the case. His Highness Prince Yong was worried you might be anxious, so he specifically sent me to deliver it."

Fan Xian took the scroll from Teng Zijing's hand, feeling very puzzled.

Why not wait until everything was thoroughly investigated before handing it over? Would Li Chang'an really be so enthusiastic as to worry about Fan Xian's anxiety?

Once Fan Xian finished reading the scroll, he understood. Li Chang'an was making him run errands.

It turned out that the scroll Teng Zijing brought contained the smuggling routes and key individuals confessed by the Ming Family.

Li Chang'an never had the task of investigating smuggling, so of course, he wouldn't expend his own manpower on these matters.

Chang Kun, the Admiral of the Jiaozhou Naval Fleet, was very arrogant, and his ten thousand strong naval force was fierce and powerful. It would not be easy to arrest him.

So he simply kicked it to Fan Xian, letting him busy himself with it.

"Commander Jing, please inform His Highness Prince Yong that I thank him for the clues he provided."

"This official will do his utmost to apprehend these key accomplices involved in smuggling."

Teng Zijing said, "His Highness also said that he hopes you will act with military swiftness."

"A ruthless character like Chang Kun, knowing that the Ming Family has fallen and their accountant has been arrested, might well defect to Eastern Yi City."

Indeed, whoever arrested the Ming Family gained the initiative.

Fan Xian, the dignified Imperial Commissioner of Jiangnan Road, was now being ordered around by Li Chang'an.

"Thank you for your trouble, Commander Jing."

Outside Hangzhou City, Mist Mountain.

With Li Chang'an's help, Lin Wan'er quickly purged the Ming Family's core forces in the Three Great Workshops.

All the stewards originally cultivated by the Ming Family were arrested by the Shadow Guard on charges of unauthorized transfer of the Three Great Workshops' assets.

The Ming Family's accountant handed over the Junshan Society's true accounts for these years, and Li Yunrui had taken a large sum of money from the Ming Family.

This money supported a large number of Jianghu experts, the most prominent of whom was the Great Grandmaster Ye Liuyun.

This Great Grandmaster's extravagant food, clothing, and housing were all supported by the Junshan Society's organizations in various places.

Although the Junshan Society still had many members who merely exchanged resources with each other, the accounts could not reflect the actions of all Junshan Society members.

This was related to the Junshan Society's loose structure, but these accounts alone were enough to destroy the core of the Junshan Society.

In recent years, with the help of the local Net, Xia Qifei's influence had expanded rapidly.

Therefore, he completely took control of the Ming Family at a very fast pace.

The current Ming Family would be completely loyal to Li Chang'an and Lin Wan'er.

Less than a month later, the Ming Family's case was fully investigated.

Li Chang'an had all the main individuals involved in the Ming Family case imprisoned by Xue Qing, then he took Lin Wan'er and Fan Ruoruo and set off back to the capital.

Shangjing City, Northern Qi, Imperial Palace.

In the early morning, Zhan Doudou slowly opened her eyes, only to find that Si Lili in her arms had already woken up.

Si Lili's current identity was Zhan Doudou's imperial concubine. To cover up, Zhan Doudou often spent the night with Si Lili.

When she was in Southern Qing, Si Lili had already told Li Chang'an that she and Zhan Doudou had some subtle affections.

Therefore, Zhan Doudou sleeping with Si Lili was something the young emperor herself was very happy about.

"Noble Consort, you're not thinking about your man again, are you?"

Discovering that Zhan Doudou had woken up, Si Lili immediately felt embarrassed.

"Your Majesty, you're awake. This concubine will serve you as you change."

While being served by Si Lili, Zhan Doudou began to complain.

"What's so good about Li Chang'an that makes you so unforgettable?"

"He has already returned you to me. You won't see each other again in the future."

Although Zhan Doudou had been completely subdued by Li Chang'an, she knew nothing about his power.

Si Lili was different; Li Chang'an had explicitly told her that he would definitely bring her back to his side in the future.

"Your Majesty, you seem to be in a much better mood today, even joking with this concubine."

Zhan Doudou sighed, "It's not that much better."

"Western Qin State has occupied all the vassal states of Great Qi, but the Imperial Advisor has been unwilling to help suppress them."

"The Imperial Advisor said that Western Qin merely wants to establish its own independence and has no intention of destroying Great Qi's imperial ancestral temple."

Western Qin's independence severely affected Northern Qi's status. Ku He did not suppress it because he knew that the "Lord of Western Qin State" was a Great Grandmaster.

This meant that Western Qin was destined to be a country standing shoulder to shoulder with Northern Qi and Southern Qing.

"The most hateful thing is that Western Qin actually supported Tan Wu in rescuing Shang Shanhu from prison."

"Shang Shanhu, who already harbored rebellious intentions towards Great Qi, has joined Western Qin and will sooner or later threaten Northern Qi's security."

Shang Shanhu was in Northern Qi's imperial prison, but Zhao Gao used the power of the Net, in coordination with Tan Wu, to break him out.

Afterward, Shang Shanhu joined Han Xin's tutelage, was favored by Han Xin, and became a Disciple of the Military Sage.

Shang Shanhu was skilled in military strategy but not in political maneuvering, which Han Xin greatly appreciated.

The reason Shang Shanhu was disloyal to Northern Qi was ultimately because he felt that the Empress Dowager of Northern Qi and the young emperor were constantly vying for power, and there was no one stronger than him in the court.

However, when Shang Shanhu arrived in Western Qin, he was completely won over by Han Xin's military strategies and tactics, becoming a fierce general for Western Qin.

Si Lili said with a touch of sympathy, "In that case, things are indeed troubling."

Zhan Doudou smiled slightly, "Not entirely. Western Qin State has recently clashed with Southern Qing, which makes me very happy."

"Southern Qing's Northern Expeditionary Army has occupied a province of our Great Qi and also borders Western Qin State."

"Seeing Western Qin occupy a large area of land, they threatened Western Qin State to submit to Southern Qing, or else they would have a Great Grandmaster destroy the Western Qin imperial family."

This was like nuclear-armed nations threatening smaller countries tens of thousands of years ago.

With a Great Grandmaster, one would be very proactive in diplomacy.

Si Lili asked, "It is said that Great Grandmasters are enemies of ten thousand men, capable of escaping even when surrounded by tens of thousands."

"If Southern Qing truly dispatches a Great Grandmaster, the Western Qin imperial family will certainly be unable to resist."

"If Western Qin has broken away from Great Qi, will it then submit to Southern Qing?"

Zhan Doudou said, "Western Qin State, I don't know where they get their confidence, but they are not afraid of Southern Qing's Great Grandmaster's threats at all."

"Seeing Western Qin's toughness, Southern Qing has already begun small-scale skirmishes with Western Qin at the border."

"If they truly start fighting, we can draw troops and directly strike at Western Qin State's rear, perhaps even annihilating Western Qin State in one fell swoop."

...On his way back to the capital from Jiangnan Road, Li Chang'an also received news of Han Xin subduing Shang Shanhu and the border skirmishes between Western Qin and Southern Qing.

Subduing Shang Shanhu was a good thing; Western Qin gained another fierce general.

Although Southern Qing threatened Western Qin with the deployment of a Great Grandmaster, Li Chang'an knew that Southern Qing's Great Grandmaster could not go north.

Ye Liuyun's injuries should be severe, and Emperor Qing even sneaked out of the palace covertly.

Now that the barrett has reappeared, he dared not leave his residence even more.

Although Western Qin was in the north, compared to Northern Qi, it was still to the west and not a strategically vital area for Southern Qing at this stage.

If Southern Qing truly intended to launch an attack, letting Han Xin deliver a painful blow to Southern Qing would likely make them behave.

Upon returning to the capital, Emperor Qing immediately summoned Li Chang'an to the palace.

After reading all the Junshan Society's dossiers, Emperor Qing finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The sharp sword that Li Yunrui had personally hung over his head was finally removed.

"Your Majesty, all clues and dossiers regarding the smuggling case have been handed over to the Supervisory Council."

Emperor Qing sneered, "Fan Xian has been running around at your beck and call. Now, finally, all accomplices have been apprehended."

Li Chang'an asked, "Chang Kun, the Admiral of the Jiaozhou Naval Fleet, is both a Junshan Society member and a smuggler, making him a relatively troublesome one."

Emperor Qing said, "The intelligence just arrived yesterday, see for yourself."

Li Chang'an opened the Supervisory Council's intelligence and discovered that Fan Xian had used the same method as in the original novel, directly assassinating Chang Kun.

Because Chang Kun had rallied quite a few people in the military, and the Supervisory Council's reputation wasn't very good, directly arresting him would have been more troublesome.

More importantly, if it were truly revealed that an admiral of a nation's naval fleet was colluding with an enemy nation in smuggling, it would look bad for everyone.

On Chang Kun's birthday, Fan Xian first infiltrated Chang Kun's residence and assassinated him in the latrine.

Then, he led his men to storm in through the main gate, claiming that Chang Kun had committed a major crime and demanded he come out immediately for investigation.

Subsequently, everyone discovered that Chang Kun had already died in the latrine, and Fan Xian declared that Chang Kun had committed suicide out of guilt.

"This brat is quite shameless."

Emperor Qing glanced at Li Chang'an, "He's still far from you. You actually used Xue Qing to help Xia Qifei seize the Ming Family's assets."

"Fan Xian went to Jiangnan Road with great fanfare, but in the end, he only punished some corrupt officials and couldn't even enter the gates of the Three Great Workshops."

"Oh, speaking of the Imperial Treasury, Wan'er's interim management period is almost up."

"Tell me, who do you think would be more suitable to take charge?"

Li Chang'an spoke frankly, "Either continue to let Wan'er take charge, or, according to Your Majesty's wishes, hand it over to Fan Xian."

"However, no matter who it is, they must be someone who can win people's respect and also inspire confidence."

Emperor Qing did not hide his intention to hand the Imperial Treasury over to his illegitimate son, "Then who do you think between the two of them is more trustworthy?"

Emperor Qing knew that Fan Xian was close to the Crown Prince, and Li Chang'an would definitely support Lin Wan'er.

However, Li Chang'an's words surprised him.

"Your Majesty, the deficit in the Imperial Treasury has been confirmed to be a staggering thirty million taels."

"How to better manage the Imperial Treasury is actually not simple."

"Perhaps we should let Fan Xian and Wan'er each submit a memorial first, to see their ideas."

Lin Wan'er's departure audit for Li Yunrui revealed an additional ten million taels compared to what Li Yunrui herself did in the original story.

The main reasons for the Imperial Treasury's deficit were nothing more than large-scale smuggling, and the Ming Family, Cui Family, and Li Yunrui all siphoned off a considerable amount of money from it.

What Li Chang'an said was also Emperor Qing's concern.

He wanted to hand the Imperial Treasury over to his illegitimate son, but he needed a convincing reason.

Originally, he intended for Fan Xian to deal with the Ming Family, and then his acceptance of the Imperial Treasury would be a natural progression.

However, Fan Xian did not outmaneuver Li Chang'an, and the Ming Family was instead brought under Lin Wan'er's control, so Emperor Qing had to find another reason.

Li Chang'an's idea was also very simple. In the original story, Fan Xian had many ideas about the Imperial Treasury, such as intellectual property and completely declassifying craftsmanship.

If he dared to truly propose those naive and ridiculous ideas, it would be a wonder if he didn't infuriate Emperor Qing to death.

Even if Fan Xian didn't propose those ideas, the anachronistic concepts in his mind would definitely displease Emperor Qing.

A few days later, Fan Xian returned to the capital and, as requested by Emperor Qing, submitted a memorial outlining his ideas for managing the Imperial Treasury.

Under Li Chang'an's guidance, Lin Wan'er proposed the idea of rotating management and decentralized marketing.

After receiving their memorials, Emperor Qing summoned Li Chang'an, the Crown Prince, Lin Ruofu, and Fan Jian to the palace.

"Crown Prince, you first read Fan Xian's and Wan'er's memorials and see who should be entrusted with the Imperial Treasury."

The Crown Prince first read Lin Wan'er's memorial, then opened Fan Xian's memorial.

After reading a few lines, the Crown Prince felt dizzy. Fan Xian had completely disregarded the advice he, the Crown Prince, had given.

"Your Majesty, this son believes that Wan'er's method is more appropriate."

The Crown Prince was very helpless, but he still had to admit that Lin Wan'er's method was more mature.

The memorial passed into Fan Jian's hands, his eyebrows gradually furrowed into a knot, and then he sighed.

"Indeed, the Princess's strategy is more suitable."