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 hanged 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.

如同霍家，陪方臨案從籍籍無名到坐上都統位置，甚至和他一起預謀造反，霍家付出了時間、金錢，也賭上了自己的性命。

更何況，霍家和方臨案還有一層姻親關系在呢。

可是看看現在，只是因為霍家鬧得兇了些，方臨案就将其徹底踩到了腳下，霍家連反抗的能力都沒有。

念及此，兩人不禁感到兔死狐悲，誰知道今天是霍家，明天又會不會是他們其中一個？

霍家主停職的五天後，北江迎來了今冬的第一場初雪。

霍夫人和兒子齊齊生了病，霍家主冷着臉在書房坐了一整天，最後于夜深人靜時喬裝打扮離開家，悄悄前往了城中的某個客棧。

在這裏，他見到了宗政惜和驸馬。

早在霍夫人見完趙夫人回家，與丈夫說了當天發生的事後，霍家主就有所察覺了。

畢竟趙令為什麽會被派到北江來當知府，大家夥都心知肚明，雖然現在他被方臨案所桎梏着，但誰也不能保證他是真的老實了。

如果換作以前，哪怕只是有一點點懷疑，霍家主都會前去禀告方臨案，請他徹查趙令。

他們幹的可是要掉腦袋的事，自然得小心謹慎。

可看着只顧平衡幾方勢力，完全忘記了往日恩情的方臨案，霍家主便暫時将這個秘密藏在了心裏。

直到方臨案舍棄霍家，将其置于風雨飄搖中，再看看虛弱的妻子和半生盡毀的兒子，心灰意冷之下，當趙令抛出橄榄枝時，霍家主終究是接下了。

他在客棧裏與宗政惜詳談至半夜，宗政惜向他保證，方臨案垮臺入獄的那一天，就是他霍家報仇雪恨，站上高位之日。

人不為己天誅地滅，更何況還是方臨案先不仁不義的，霍家主沒有猶豫太久，就答應了宗政惜的合作邀請。

表面上，霍家主因為被抛棄抑郁不得志，整日在家中賣醉，像是真的被方臨案擊垮了鬥志。

然而事實是，霍家主私底下聯系了不少同樣被方臨案偏心對待，心裏産生了不滿的中底層北江官員。

其實除非逼不得已，就像前朝一樣暴政苛捐，百姓實在是活不下去了，不然大多數人，即便是軍中将士，也是不樂意在和平時期造反的。

人人都會怕死，心裏再向往封侯拜相，也得有命去享受。

而且造反失敗的話，一個不小心，自己死了就算了，還會連累全族，甚至遺臭萬年。

造反是方臨案這些領頭人的決定，底下的官員只能被迫服從，不然輕則失去官職，重則全家被滅口。

一方面對方臨案有怨言，一方面也的确不想造反，是以霍家主一來拉攏，大部分人都沒怎麽糾結就選擇了加入他的陣營。

方臨案在不知不覺中被架空了部分勢力，這是霍家主的功勞，而宗政惜那邊也沒閑着。

他們的目标是霍家的兩個死對頭，管礦産和漕運那兩位，不過對待他們的方法，不是像霍家一樣收入麾下，而是去培養他們的背叛之心。

方臨案對霍家的态度，動搖了這兩家的忠心，誰也不想成為下一個霍家，他們對方臨案已經失去了信任。

宗政惜也沒做什麽，只是将方臨案在兩家安插了人手的事揭露在兩家面前，加劇了他們心中的不安。

其實站在方臨案的角度考慮，他幹的可是危及九族的大事，礦産和漕運又是撈錢的重中之重，他想多一層保障，在幾個心腹身邊放自己人監視，是再正常不過的操作。

但這兩家人的想法就不一樣了，當初是你說信任我們，才把這麽重要的任務交給我們的，那叫人暗地裏盯着我們又是什麽意思？

要知道，這兩人可沒少從自己負責的部門撈錢，心虛着呢。

如今猛然知道自己的所作所為都在方臨案的眼皮底下，很難不讓人懷疑，方臨案之所以現在還沒殺他們，是不是想先收集證據，等坐上皇位後再動手？

到時候就可以光明正大地處置他們這些功臣，還不用背負過河拆橋的惡名。

真是打得一手好算盤！

兩家表面上沒什麽動作，像是對方臨案的監視毫無所覺，但背地裏其實早起了随時叛主的心思。

方臨案身邊的心腹被宗政惜一個個拔除，而方臨案還毫無所覺地站在高高的空中樓閣上，一個不慎跌落，就是萬粉身碎骨。

萬事俱備，只欠東風。

今年的冬天格外寒冷，各大礦山的開采工作卻沒有因此停下，這裏的采礦工人大多都是牢裏拉來的罪犯，還有一部分是普通的工人。

前者不僅每天吃不飽，穿着最薄最爛的衣服，每晚都一堆人擠在一個窩棚裏睡覺，幹的活也比普通工人要勞累數倍。

不過沒人可憐他們，誰讓他們是罪犯。

幾次風雪過後，好些罪犯都沒挺過去，要麽因為頂着寒風幹活生病而死，要麽直接活生生被凍死。

這批犯人沒了，但礦還需要繼續開采，于是原本該他們幹的活，都落到了其他罪犯身上。

活一加重，人死得就越多，死的人越多，剩下的人活就更重，于是這種情況很快就形成了惡性循環。

犯人這邊可以壓榨，普通工人就不行了，活重還不加錢，人家就要跑了。

其實考慮到冬天采礦困難，上頭是撥了錢下來用作改善工人生活和加工錢的，不過都被礦區的各大管事一層層剝削貪墨了。

但礦區每月要上交的礦産量都是固定的，要是數量沒達到，人家一來查，他們可就完蛋了。

采礦人員減少，産量必定會降低，但又不是天天都有人犯法，被判刑送過來，于是就有人打起了歪主意。

先是栽贓陷害，給縣衙那邊的人塞銀子，讓他們向那種無依無靠的普通百姓潑髒水，硬說人家犯了法，把人抓了送過來挖礦。

後來發現這種辦法效率還是低，他們就直接去拐人了，一時間城裏的流民乞丐全都消失了，再然後，就輪到了普通百姓。

親人不見了要去告官？去呗，去了縣老爺也不理，還叫衙差把你打一頓再丢出來。

這種做法最初确實吓退了一部分人，可後來那些拐子不小心拐到了一位富商身上，把人家小兒子給偷走了。

大多百姓都不知道北江在秘密開礦，還會拐人去當黑礦工，富商只以為是普通的拐賣案，恰好他又有點門路，知道縣衙門不受理這種案子，就直接找到了府城裏去。

而這也成了引爆整個北江官場的導火索，方臨案造反計謀的崩塌，也是從此開始。

“殿下，富商等人都已經被保護了起來。”

趙知府家中，宗政惜和驸馬坐于上首，趙令神色肅然地走進來，報告計劃進展。

宗政惜端着杯熱茶，也不喝，只握着暖手。

她看向趙令：“你們的家眷都送出城了？”

你們，說的是趙令以及霍家那幫人。

趙令聞言神色松和了些，道：“謝殿下關心，家眷們兩天前就已經陸陸續續離開，這會兒應該都到地方了。”

想要人家為你拼命，總得确保人家後方的安全，這點宗政惜很清楚。

“那便好，接下來，盡管放手去做吧。”宗政惜語氣淡定得仿佛在說今天的天氣不錯，像是不知道她這句話一出，多少人的性命将終極在這個冬季。

“是。”趙令退下，跟随他的視角，可以看見外面院子裏和整個趙府都被暗衛與士兵重重把守了起來，如果他們守不住，宗政惜和驸馬今天估計就得交代在這裏了。

“夫君，你可害怕？”宗政惜看向坐在她身旁的驸馬。

驸馬眼中不見一絲恐慌，有的只是宗政惜的笑顏。

他握住宗政惜的手，柔聲道：“有夫人在，為夫又有何懼。”

“不可能！”随着這聲怒極的大聲暴呵，一方硯臺被砸在了報信人面前。

都統府中，方臨案黑着一張臉，滿含殺意的眼看向報信的小兵：“你是說，周全和王司都不見了？他們家裏一個人都沒有了？”

小兵顫顫巍巍道：“屬下聽都統命令，前去宣周将軍和王副将前來議事，卻發現他們并不在家，府中只剩幾個看門的下人，據他們所說，周将軍和王副将昨天就帶着家人離開了，不知去了哪裏，至于派去監視他們的弟兄，屍體是在後院找到的。”

幾日前，一個富商找上趙知府，送上金銀無數，希望他能對富商所在縣的縣令施壓，讓縣令幫忙找他被拐走的兒子。

聽富商說，那個縣短短半個月就有二十多人消失，并且無論是百姓哀求還是富人利誘，縣令都不答應找人，趙令一想就知道其中定有玄機。

他當即就去禀告了宗政惜，兩人一看之前找到的證據，方臨案私自開采的其中一個礦就在那個縣，再一查才知道，那些消失的人都是被拐去當黑工挖礦了。

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.