On board Science.

After Zhao Hao calmed down, Zhao Liben explained to him:

"This case must be a royal case. We can only provide evidence, but how to investigate the case and how to convict in the end is up to the officials in charge of the investigation."

"But it doesn't matter who investigates this case right now. No matter who investigates it, there will be no other result." Zhao Liben and Xu Jie made the same judgment:

"In the short term, the imperial court will not kill people indiscriminately, but will keep things quiet."

"Oh?" Zhao Hao was confused for a moment. "Why?"

"The reason is very simple. The imperial court needs dignity and order. Therefore, a governor can die of illness, accident, or imprisonment, but he cannot be murdered. Otherwise, the four pillars will be weakened, discipline will collapse, and the country will perish." Zhao Liben replied in a deep voice.

"Yes." Zhao Hao understood. Indeed, if the safety of the provincial governors could not be guaranteed, the state's rule over the local areas would completely collapse.

Throughout history, no regime would allow such a terrible incident to happen.

If it happens, we can only find a way to make people believe that it didn't happen.

"But based on the same logic, no matter how long it takes or how much effort is put in, the murderer must be allowed to return to life at an extremely heavy price. Otherwise, how can we prevent others from following suit?" Zhao Liben said in a deep voice:

"Obviously, the power and term of office of the imperial envoy do not match, and it is most appropriate for the successor governor to handle this case." Zhao Liben said with a teasing smile: "Lord Xu must understand such a simple truth. I believe he has already taken action and wants to appoint a governor of Yingtian who will benefit the Xu family."

"Don't even think about it!" Zhao Hao snorted coldly, "I won't let him succeed."

"Oh?" Zhao Liben glanced at his grandson and asked with a smile, "My dear grandson, are you going to wrestle with Elder Xu?"

"It's not the first time." Young Master Zhao said calmly but with a hint of pride: "We had a fight when the court was discussing my father's crimes."

"It's different." Zhao Liben reminded him, "That time, the timing, location and people were right, so it doesn't count."

Zhao Hao said with a confident look: "Xu Jie can't beat me while he's in office, and he can't even think about it after he retires!"

"Good! You have guts!" Zhao Liben looked at him for a moment, then suddenly clapped his hands and smiled, "You are worthy of being my grandson, Zhao Liben. Since you have confidence, I will fully support you! If you can win this contest, you will naturally be unstoppable and invincible in the future!"

After that, he explained to Zhao Hao: "To appoint an official at the level of a governor, the Ministry of Personnel must first propose a number of people, and then the court will determine two or three people. The first one will be the main candidate, the second one will be the secondary candidate, and the third one will be the last candidate. Finally, they will be presented to the emperor for selection."

"But usually the emperor has no choice but to nominate the first choice. If he is not satisfied with the first choice, he would rather issue an edict to re-elect than nominate the second choice, let alone the last choice. Otherwise, even if the official is chosen, he will not dare to accept the edict, and he will be ostracized and targeted by his colleagues and regarded as a spineless and sycophantic official."

"As the saying goes, 'A man of honor is a man of honor who is shared by all'. A minister who is not popular with all will not be able to hold an official position." Zhao Liben picked up his teacup and said calmly, "No one who was specially appointed to a position by the emperor could last long."

Zhao Hao's face changed when he heard this and said, "My grandson's official title seems to be very simple as well."

"Pfft..." Zhao Liben almost spit out a mouthful of tea at him. "I'm talking about high-ranking officials above the third rank. What does it have to do with an eighth-rank official like you?"

"Now it's from the seventh rank..." Young Master Zhao corrected in a low voice: "A little bigger than a mung bean."

"That's red beans." Zhao Liben rolled his eyes at him and said, "Look, I forgot where I was talking about..."

"When it comes to the imperial recommendation, the Ministry of Personnel will preliminarily select a number of people, and then the ministers will jointly recommend the final candidate." Zhao Hao hurriedly reminded in a low voice.

"Yes, so there are two hurdles. You need to get the person you like on the list of the Ministry of Personnel. This is not difficult. I can help you do it."

"Don't worry, Grandpa. Yang Tianguan is still waiting for me to correct the Tai Railway for him." Zhao Hao smiled and said, "Besides, that person will definitely be selected without my help."

"Who?" Zhao Liben was stunned.

"To slay demons and eliminate evil, only the divine sword of Yitian can do it." Zhao Hao's expression became serious.

"Hai Gangfeng." Zhao Liben suddenly realized, "It would be great if he could be the governor of Yingtian. I heard that this year the court recommended seven or eight positions such as governor, governor-general and vice minister, and he was always among the candidates, but he was always a candidate and could never be the main candidate. Do you know why?"

"It's probably because he's too notorious." Zhao Hao couldn't help but smile bitterly.

"That's right. Wherever the King of Hell passes by, officials are miserable and gentry are terrified." Zhao Liben said with a smile, "Every time the Ministry of Personnel puts him on the list of governors of a place, the gentry officials of that place will immediately work together to prevent him from becoming the first choice. How can the powerful families in Jiangnan just sit there and wait for death?"

"That's exactly what we want." Zhao Hao said coldly, "They are too unscrupulous. If we don't deal with them properly, we won't be able to accomplish anything!"

Zhao Hao paused, then changed the subject and said, "But I'd better go to Nanjing first and ask him in person what he thinks."

"Yeah, that's right." Zhao Liben agreed and said, "Then I'll go to Nanjing with you, too. That's where we can do things."

"Wait a few days. I have something else to do." Zhao Hao scratched his head and said, "I was so angry before that I forgot there is another way. Maybe I can help Lin Zhongcheng."

"Well, I'll go ahead for you tomorrow." Zhao Liben knew that his grandson had come up with something new. He nodded and said nothing more.

~~

That night, Zhao Hao wrote down everything he knew about the case in a secret letter and put it in a manila envelope along with Zheng Yuanshao's confession.

Secretary Ma lit the blue sealing wax strip on the lampstand and dripped it onto the sealed surface the moment it melted into a viscous state.

Then he lifted the envelope and blew gently. When it was about to solidify, he placed it in front of Zhao Hao and said softly, "Sir, please use the seal."

"Yeah." Zhao Hao nodded, then took out the silver seal from his sleeve and stamped it firmly on the sealing wax.

Sister Ma put the envelope into the box, took it out and handed it to the guard to send away. Then she returned to the cabin and said to Zhao Hao:

"Sir, it's late, go to bed."

"I won't sleep tonight." Zhao Hao stretched, picked up a brass round box on the table, opened the lid and looked at the watch, and saw that the hour hand and minute hand coincided at twelve o'clock.

Yes, it's a clock.

To be precise, it is a pocket watch with hour and minute hands.

This is nothing surprising, pocket watches already existed in the West a hundred years ago.

This piece of jewelry was given to Zhao Hao by Jiang Xueying. It was all stock in her family’s warehouse and is quite old.

Of course, compared to those small and exquisite gadgets in Zhao Hao's impression, this pocket watch has no glass cover and is more than three times larger.

It feels heavy when hung around the neck, and bulges when put on the chest, which always reminds Mr. Zhao of Yu Qianer's watch.

Therefore, he would not carry it with him, but just put it on the table to check the time.

Putting down the big pocket watch, Zhao Hao took a sip of strong tea and said with renewed energy:

"Bring the drawing tools. I want to design a little gadget overnight."

P.S. Sorry everyone, I suddenly had a lot of things to do before the holidays, so I have only finished writing two and a half chapters...