Chapter 41: The Princess Arrives and Captures the Enemy
Zhao Ling knew clearly that he was doomed to die, and even if the other members of the Zhao family survived, they would probably have to live as ordinary people and would never be able to get involved in officialdom again.
In the first half of his life, his family was proud of him, but in the latter half, they were ashamed of him.
If it weren't for Fang Lin's case, none of these bad consequences would have happened.
Zhao Ling wished that Fang Lin would die!
Seeing the anger on Zhao Ling's face, Zong Zhengxi's eyes flashed with satisfaction, and she said to him: "Don't worry, as long as you have made a contribution, this princess will protect your family for you."
With the guarantee from Princess Zong Zhengxi, Zhao Ling felt much more at ease. After all, the Zhao family had indeed done something wrong. Even if they turned around in time and sincerely atoned for their sins, it was still up to the emperor to decide whether to acknowledge their contribution in helping to redress the injustice.
"Thank you, Princess!" Zhao Ling clattered his head again.
Zhao Ling's joining is a good thing for Zong Zhengxi. Although she has a lot of evidence and people, it is still a bit troublesome to get things done.
But now that they have an insider like Zhao Ling, things are different. He has been in Beijiang for at least three years and must know a lot of secrets that they haven't discovered yet.
Zong Zhengxi wanted to capture Fang Lin quickly and efficiently, preferably without bloodshed. Zhao Ling's joining would be like adding wings to their army.
Sure enough, Zhao Ling quickly told them something.
Fang Lin'an had three confidants who were in charge of military training, mining, and water transport for him respectively. He was the commander behind the scenes, in charge of the overall situation.
However, due to interests, these three confidants were not in harmony with each other. The two who were in charge of mining and water transport could make the most money, and later they became relatives, and they were so close that they were almost wearing the same pants. Gradually, they began to exclude the one who was in charge of training the soldiers.
In order to balance the power of the three parties, Fang Lin'an also let his son marry the daughter of the man who managed the soldiers. However, the relationship between the young couple was not good. The daughter came home every few days to tell her how bad her husband was to her.
The commander was already angry, and when he saw his beloved daughter being wronged, he became dissatisfied with Fang Lin's case.
Fang Lin'an also vaguely noticed it, but he couldn't think of a solution for the time being, so he could only put it aside for the time being.
The relationship between the three confidants has been a little tense recently. I heard that there were several conflicts, and the trouble even got to Fang Lin'an. However, in the end, they were all given fifty lashes and sent back. Fang Lin'an did not favor anyone.
It doesn't mean that everything will be alright if you are not biased. The one who was in charge of training the soldiers was wronged. Not only was he bullied by the majority, but the boss also didn't help him.
Fang Lin's impartiality in the case actually meant he was biased towards the other two people.
Zhao Ling said: "My wife likes to eat vegetarian food and chant Buddhist scriptures. She and the women in his back house often go to the temple together to listen to the master's lectures. The relationship is pretty good."
Zong Zhengxi glanced at him and said, "It seems like you haven't been doing nothing in the past few years."
Madam Zhao was on good terms with the other woman's relative, and Zong Zhengxi didn't believe that this was not instigated by Zhao Ling. He did not try to curry favor with the other two who were more powerful, but instead chose the one who seemed the least worthy of making friends. Zhao Ling was quite scheming.
Zhao Linggan smiled: "Your Highness is wise."
Zong Zhengxi stopped talking nonsense and asked him, "Do you have the confidence to convince him? Don't try to persuade him but end up scaring Fang Lin's case."
Since she asked this, Zhao Ling had to say he had the confidence even if he didn't, not to mention that he really had the confidence.
"I can see that he is unwilling to be humiliated." Zhao Ling was telling Zong Zhengxi that he was confident and that he could trust himself.
"Then let's do it." Zong Zhengxi said.
Zhao Ling agreed, and within a few days, under his manipulation, the sons of the man in charge of training the soldiers and the man in charge of mining production had a conflict in the brothel because they both wanted a girl to serve them. Neither of them would give in, and they got into a fight out of excitement.
Two young masters started fighting, and servants from both sides joined in the fight. In the melee, the young master of the family that managed the mining property kicked the other one in the chest. It was said that he kicked too hard and the man who was kicked fainted from the pain on the spot.
Later, I asked a doctor to see her, and he said that it was incurable and that I might not be able to do anything else in the future, let alone have children.
Even Zhao Ling did not expect this result. His original intention was just to stir up trouble again and stimulate the conflict between the two families.
But no matter what, the ending was exactly what he wanted.
To have no descendants is undoubtedly the most terrible punishment for a man. The man in charge of training the soldiers was furious, and he went to the house with a knife, intending to kill the son of the family in charge of the mine to vent his anger for his own child.
They certainly wouldn't agree, so the two adults started fighting, which eventually alarmed Fang Lin to take action.
The one who was in charge of the training soldiers said that he could spare the killing, but he also wanted to kill the kid who was in charge of the mining business and make him become like his own son.
The man who managed the mine said that his child did not do it on purpose. He could pay compensation or beat his son up, but he would never agree to the other party's request to abolish his son.
At this point, Fang Lin'an was still trying to smooth things over and refused to take sides. As a result, the two families failed to come to a solution and parted ways unhappily. The family of the one who was in charge of training the soldiers had been going to the door of the one who was in charge of mining every day to make trouble.
Seeing that the time was almost right, Zhao Ling asked his wife to invite the women in his family out.
The man who managed Lianbing's surname was Huo. As soon as Mrs. Huo saw Mrs. Zhao, she started crying to her about how miserable her family was and how much she hated the family that managed the mine.
Mrs. Zhao naturally followed suit in anger, and even led Mrs. Huo to curse more and more harshly, even to the point of cursing on Fang Lin's desk.
"The governor is biased. He assigned the most tiring and unprofitable military training to my father, which led to the two families bullying our family. They have bullied us so many times before. This time, my son was hurt by his bastard, and they still want to send us away with a little money. What a wishful thinking!"
Mrs. Zhao held Mrs. Huo's hand and wiped her tears, "Poor Lei'er, he is still so young. What will we do in the future?"
Mrs. Huo's eyes were red and swollen. "I'm not afraid of being laughed at by my sister. Since he knew he was inhumane, Lei'er tried to commit suicide several times. One time he hung himself on the beam in the room. If the servants hadn't found him in time, I'm afraid..."
Mrs. Huo couldn't continue speaking, and tears burst out again. This was different from Mrs. Zhao's fake crying. The bean-sized tears kept rolling down, almost drowning her.
Seeing that Mrs. Huo was about to faint from crying, Mrs. Zhao quickly patted her back to calm her down, and said, "Why don't you go find General Fang again? Lord Huo has been with him for so many years, and the Huo family is the victim this time. I believe the general will deal with it fairly."
"Haha, what fair treatment?" Mrs. Huo said bitterly: "In Fang's eyes, how can we Huo family still be there, and how can we Huo family still be there for him? He can sit in this position today because my head of the family fought for him. If it weren't for the fact that the entire Beijiang River was his territory, we would have already..."
"Be careful with your words!" Madam Zhao grabbed Madam Huo's hand, looked around nervously, and then said with a relieved expression: "Sister, I know you trust me, but you also know that we all depend on the governor to stay alive. If he is unhappy, we will all die."
Mrs. Huo's eyes were filled with sorrow. She was not frightened by what she had said. Instead, she continued to murmur, "Yes, if he is unhappy, we will not be able to survive, and I will not be able to avenge my son..."
"Sister..." Madam Zhao hugged Madam Huo and pretended to cry with a cold face at an angle where she couldn't see.
Before Mrs. Huo left, Mrs. Zhao repeatedly reminded her not to say those words in front of anyone else except herself, to avoid getting into trouble.
"Okay, thank you for the reminder, sister." Mrs. Huo agreed, but she still looked fearless.
Mrs. Zhao seemed to be unable to deal with the stubborn Mrs. Huo, but in fact this was exactly the effect she wanted.
Arouse the Huo family's rebelliousness and make them realize that Fang Lin will never make the decision for them, and may even get rid of them because they push too hard.
The only way to get revenge is to get rid of Fang Lin's control.
The seeds of rebellion have been planted, and it is only a matter of time before they take root and sprout.
The news that the young master of the Huo family had become a useless person soon spread throughout Beijiang. People who passed by the Huo family's door pointed and talked curiously. It was said that one time, the young master Huo finally mustered up the courage to go out for a walk, but he met a few children who were singing a song that made fun of him becoming a useless person.
Master Huo fainted out of shame and anger, and after waking up he began to seek death again.
As if making a desperate attempt, the Huo family went to look for Fang Lin'an again, but when they heard that no agreement had been reached, the head of the Huo family had a quarrel with Fang Lin'an and was later driven out by Fang Lin'an.
Everyone saw that the Huo family was about to fall out of favor!
So those who wanted to replace the Huo family and those who already hated his family all started to take advantage of the situation.
The Huo family was in an extremely difficult situation at the time, but even so, Fang Lin'an did not stand up to speak for the Huo family. He even asked the head of the Huo family to rest at home for a few days and then go back to work after a while.
His action further confirmed the thoughts of some people - Fang Lin'an was really going to give up the Huo family!
But the truth is, Fang Lin'an just wanted to take this opportunity to let the Huo family calm down and think carefully about whether it was worth offending him for the sake of a son, and what would happen to the Huo family after leaving him.
The Huo family understood his thoughts, but the more they understood, the more heartbroken they became.
They just want fairness, is that so difficult?
The Huo family was unlucky. The other two families were quite happy at first, thinking that Fang Lin'an was favoring them. However, after seeing Fang Lin'an suspended the head of the Huo family from his post and stayed at home, they felt more and more that something was wrong.
It seems that these three people are the most valued by Fang Lin'an. They train soldiers for him and make money. They are also well-known figures in Beijiang.
But now the money, power, and even fame in their hands are not actually theirs. Fang Lin'an can take them back at any time if he wants to.
Just like the Huo family, who accompanied Fang Lin from obscurity to the position of governor, and even conspired with him to rebel, the Huo family paid with time, money, and even gambled with their own lives.
What's more, the Huo family and Fang Lin'an are related by marriage.
But look at it now, just because the Huo family made some trouble, Fang Lin'an completely trampled them under his feet, and the Huo family did not even have the ability to resist.
Thinking of this, the two couldn't help but feel sad. Who knows if it was the Huo family today, it might be one of them tomorrow?
Five days after the head of the Huo family was suspended from work, Beijiang welcomed the first snow of this winter.
Mrs. Huo and her son both fell ill. The head of the Huo family sat in the study with a sullen face all day. Finally, he dressed up and left home in the dead of night, quietly going to an inn in the city.
Here, he met Zong Zhengxi and his husband.
The head of the Huo family had already noticed something as early as when Mrs. Huo returned home after meeting Mrs. Zhao and told her husband what happened that day.
After all, everyone knew why Zhao Ling was sent to Beijiang to be the prefect. Although he was now shackled by Fang Lin's case, no one could guarantee that he was really honest.
If it were in the past, even if there was just the slightest suspicion, the head of the Huo family would go and report the case to Fang Lin and ask him to thoroughly investigate Zhao Ling.
What they are doing could cost them their lives, so they have to be careful and cautious.
But seeing that Fang Lin'an was only concerned with balancing the forces of several parties and had completely forgotten the kindness of the past, the head of the Huo family temporarily kept this secret in his heart.
Until Fang Linan abandoned the Huo family and left it in the wind and rain, and then looked at his weak wife and his son whose life was ruined, he was disheartened. When Zhao Ling extended an olive branch, the head of the Huo family finally accepted it.
He talked in detail with Zong Zhengxi in the inn until midnight. Zong Zhengxi assured him that the day Fang Lin's case was brought to justice and he was imprisoned would be the day when his Huo family would get revenge and rise to a high position.
If a man does not work for himself, he will be punished by heaven and earth, let alone Fang Linxian who was unkind and unjust. The head of the Huo family did not hesitate for too long and agreed to Zong Zhengxi's invitation for cooperation.
On the surface, the head of the Huo family was depressed and frustrated because he was abandoned, and he was drunk at home all day long. It seemed that Fang Lin's case really crushed his fighting spirit.
However, the fact is that the head of the Huo family privately contacted many middle and lower-level Beijiang officials who were also dissatisfied with the biased treatment given by Fang Linan.
In fact, unless they are forced to do so, like the previous dynasty's tyranny and heavy taxes, when the people really can't survive, most people, even military officers, are unwilling to rebel in peacetime.
Everyone is afraid of death. Even if one longs to be granted a title or become a prime minister, he or she must live to enjoy it.
Moreover, if the rebellion fails, not only will one die if one is not careful, but the entire family will be implicated and even infamous for eternity.
The decision to revolt was made by the leaders like Fang Lin'an, and the officials under them had no choice but to obey. Otherwise, they would lose their official positions at best, and their entire family would be killed at worst.
On the one hand, they had complaints about Fang Lin's case, but on the other hand, they really did not want to rebel, so when the head of the Huo family came to persuade them, most people chose to join his camp without much hesitation.
The Fang Linan had been partially stripped of power without him noticing. This was all thanks to the Huo family's master, but Zong Zhengxi was also not idle.
Their targets were the two mortal enemies of the Huo family, the ones in charge of mining and water transport. However, their method of dealing with them was not to recruit them under their command like they did with the Huo family, but to cultivate their rebellious nature.
Fang Lin'an's attitude towards the Huo family shook the loyalty of these two families. No one wanted to become the next Huo family, and they had already lost trust in Fang Lin'an.
Zong Zhengxi did nothing but revealed to the two families that Fang Lin had planted people in the two families, exacerbating their uneasiness.
In fact, from Fang Lin's perspective, what he did was a major event that endangered the entire nine clans. Mining and water transport were the top priorities for making money. He wanted an extra layer of protection, and it was perfectly normal for him to place his own people around a few trusted people to monitor them.
But the two families have different ideas. You said you trusted us and gave us such an important task. So what does it mean to have people keep an eye on us secretly?
You know, these two people have taken a lot of money from the departments they are in charge of, and they feel guilty about it.
Now that they suddenly realize that everything they did was under Fang Lin'an's nose, it is hard not to wonder whether Fang Lin'an has not killed them yet because he wants to collect evidence first and then take action after he sits on the throne?
At that time, we can deal with these heroes openly and honestly without having to bear the stigma of crossing the river and destroying the bridge.
What a good calculation!
On the surface, the two companies did not take any action, as if they were unaware of the other party's surveillance, but secretly they had actually been planning to betray their master at any time.
Fang Lin'an's trusted aides were eliminated one by one by Zong Zhengxi, while Fang Lin'an was still standing on the high sky pavilion unaware of anything. If he fell accidentally, he would be torn to pieces.
Everything is ready, only the east wind is missing.
Although this winter is exceptionally cold, mining work in major mines has not stopped. Most of the miners here are criminals brought from prison, and some are ordinary workers.
The former not only do not have enough to eat every day, but also wear the thinnest and tattered clothes. Every night a group of people sleep in a shed, and the work they do is several times harder than that of ordinary workers.
But no one has sympathy for them, who calls them criminals.
After several snowstorms, many criminals did not survive. Some died of illness from working in the cold wind, while others were simply frozen to death.
Although these prisoners were gone, the mines still needed to be mined, so the work that was originally supposed to be done by them fell on other criminals.
As life becomes more difficult, more people die. As more people die, life becomes more difficult for the remaining people. This situation quickly forms a vicious cycle.
Prisoners can be exploited, but ordinary workers cannot. If the work is hard and they are not paid more, they will run away.
In fact, considering the difficulty of mining in winter, the higher-ups allocated money to improve the workers' lives and for processing fees, but all of it was extorted and embezzled by the major managers in the mining area.
But the amount of mineral production that the mining area has to hand over every month is fixed. If the amount is not reached, they will be finished once someone comes to check.
With fewer miners, production will certainly drop, but it's not every day that someone breaks the law and is sentenced, so some people start to come up with evil ideas.
First they framed them, bribed the people in the county government with money, and let them throw dirty water on the helpless ordinary people, saying that they had broken the law, arrested them and sent them here to mine.
Later they found that this method was still inefficient, so they started kidnapping people directly. All of a sudden, all the homeless beggars in the city disappeared, and then it was the turn of ordinary people.
Do you want to file a complaint with the government when your relatives are missing? You can go, but the county magistrate won't pay any attention to you and will order the runners to beat you up and throw you out.
This practice did scare off some people at first, but later on the kidnappers accidentally kidnapped a wealthy businessman and stole his young son.
Most people didn't know that Beijiang was secretly mining and kidnapping people to work as illegal miners. The rich businessman just thought it was an ordinary kidnapping case. He happened to have some connections and knew that the county government would not handle such cases, so he went directly to the provincial capital.
This also became the fuse that detonated the entire Beijiang officialdom, and the collapse of Fang Lin's rebellion plan also began from then on.
"Your Highness, the rich businessman and others have been protected."
In the home of Prefect Zhao, Zong Zhengxi and his wife sat at the top. Order Zhao came in with a solemn look and reported on the progress of the plan.
Zong Zhengxi held the cup of hot tea, but did not drink it. He just held it to warm his hands.
She looked at Zhao Ling and asked, "Have you sent all your families out of the city?"
You are talking about Zhao Ling and the Huo family.
Zhao Ling's expression relaxed a little after hearing this, and he said, "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. The family members left one after another two days ago, and they should all be there by now."
If you want someone to fight for you, you have to ensure their safety at home. Zong Zhengxi is very clear about this.
"That's good. Next, just go ahead and do it." Zong Zhengxi's tone was calm, as if she was saying that the weather today was good, as if she didn't know that once she said this, how many lives would end this winter.
"Yes." Zhao Ling stepped back. From his perspective, he could see that the courtyard outside and the entire Zhao Mansion were heavily guarded by secret guards and soldiers. If they couldn't hold on, Zong Zhengxi and his wife would probably die here today.
"Husband, are you afraid?" Zong Zhengxi looked at the prince consort sitting next to her.
There was no trace of panic in the prince consort's eyes, only Zong Zhengxi's smile.
He held Zong Zhengxi's hand and said softly, "With Madam here, what does a husband have to fear?"
"Impossible!" With this furious shout, an inkstone was smashed in front of the messenger.
In the governor's mansion, Fang Lin'an had a dark face and looked at the soldier who reported the news with murderous eyes: "You mean, Zhou Quan and Wang Si are missing? There is no one left in their family?"
The soldier trembled and said, "I followed the order of the commander-in-chief and went to summon General Zhou and Vice General Wang to discuss matters, but I found that they were not at home. There were only a few gatekeepers left in the mansion. According to them, General Zhou and Vice General Wang left with their families yesterday. No one knew where they went. As for the brothers who were sent to monitor them, their bodies were found in the backyard."
A few days ago, a wealthy businessman approached Magistrate Zhao and presented him with countless gold and silver, hoping that he could put pressure on the magistrate of the county where the businessman lived, so that the magistrate would help find his abducted son.
The wealthy businessman said that more than 20 people disappeared in the county in just half a month, and no matter how the people begged or the rich tempted, the county magistrate refused to look for them. Zhao knew there must be something fishy going on.
He immediately went to report to Zong Zhengxi. When the two of them looked at the evidence they had found before, they found that one of the mines that Fang Lin had secretly mined was in that county. After further investigation, they found out that those missing people had been abducted and forced to work illegally in the mines.
How could Zong Zhengxi let go of such a great opportunity? She immediately sent people to surround the mining area, captured the mine manager, and rescued those poor people.
When they arrived, dozens of innocent people who had been captured and forced to mine had already died.
Immediately afterwards, under the instruction of Zong Zhengxi, the victims, led by wealthy businessmen, filed a complaint in the capital city in a fair and open manner.
Illegal mining, human trafficking, murder... all these crimes added together are enough to chop off the heads of those in charge.
What's even more funny is that, because of the secrecy of his subordinates, Fang Linan only found out at this point that such a thing had happened in the mine he was in charge of.
With Zong Zhengxi's deliberate publicity, the case quickly spread throughout the entire city. Within two days, people from several other counties also came to report the incident, because a large number of people had also disappeared in their counties, and they suspected that they had also been arrested for mining.
At this time, a rumor began to spread in the city that the people behind these mines were all Fang Lin'an. He was mining privately, and if he was discovered by the court, he would be beheaded, so he secretly arrested people to mine.
From then on, a corner of Fang Lin's rebellious cause was finally exposed to the public.
The incident happened too suddenly and Fang Lin was completely unprepared. He sent someone to question Zhao Ling why he accepted the case without his knowledge, but the person he sent never came back.
Now Fang Linan finally understood that Zhao Ling had finally chosen the royal family. Moreover, he found the mining area and captured the people so quickly, which could only mean that he had planned it for a long time.
Zhao Ling dared to do this, there must be someone behind him. It seems that people from the imperial court have already arrived in Beijiang and set up a tight net, just waiting to catch him.
How could Fang Linan give up so easily? Now that he has been discovered, he will not hide anymore. Although he has not made complete preparations, if he gathers all his strength, he may be able to fight to the death with Zong Zhengjia.
But what he didn't expect was that his two most trusted confidants would betray him and leave him at this time.
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