When Li Qi’an revealed that Vice Minister Zhou was the mastermind behind the tax silver case, Li Pingzhi slammed his palm on the tea table, shattering it. He stood up angrily, eyes wide, wanting to curse but something seemed stuck in his throat.
Li Xinnian glanced at his furious but impotent father, his handsome face extremely serious. “Is the information reliable?”
Li Qi’an nodded: “One of the officials in charge of the tax silver case, Chu Caiwei from the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, told me.”
He repeated what Chu Caiwei had said.
Li Xinnian picked up his teacup, then put it down, pondering: “It seems that what happened today wasn’t a coincidence, but Zhou Li’s deliberate retaliation.”
Not bad, worthy of a scholar who passed the provincial examination. His mind works well.
Li Qi’an was somewhat pleased, knowing this conversation wouldn’t be in vain.
If it were just Second Uncle, he wouldn’t have proposed this secret discussion. It would have been meaningless.
Because when pushed to the brink, Second Uncle would only say: “If you’re my brother, come with me to chop people up.”
There’s no help for it. After all, he’s a crude martial artist. He’s good at chopping people, but blind when it comes to scheming. Different professional fields.
Li Qi’an tested: “What does Second Young Master think?”
Li Xinnian glanced at his cousin, frowning slightly, seemingly displeased with his testing tone. He said irritably:
“What to do? Of course, strike first and gain the upper hand. Those who strike last suffer the consequences.”
Not bad… Li Qi’an was surprised. It was hard to imagine Li Xinnian would say such decisive and ruthless words.
Hearing this, Second Uncle, who considered himself the head of the family and the backbone, felt he couldn’t remain silent anymore. He reprimanded his son:
“Put away your ignorant and arrogant thoughts. Let alone you being just a provincial graduate, even if you were the top scholar, you couldn’t provoke the Vice Minister of Revenue.”
He had just finished speaking when his nephew mercilessly rejected his words: “I think Second Young Master’s idea is correct.”
Li Qi’an continued: “We haven’t offended Zhou Li, but Vice Minister of Revenue Zhou Xianping. Zhou Li might not dare to retaliate further, but what about the Vice Minister?
“We not only ruined his plans but also injured his son. Any person with a hint of temper would never let this go. Moreover, in Vice Minister Zhou’s eyes, is the Li family any different from ants? He has even less reason to let us off.”
Li Pingzhi disagreed: “It’s not appropriate. We can’t fight against Vice Minister Zhou. Xian’an, you’ve made acquaintances with the White Robes of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, and Xinnian is a student of the Cloud Deer Academy. With these two connections, as long as we behave ourselves, no one would dare to provoke us.”
Is that the case?
Li Qi’an reminded: “Second Uncle, you might not know, but the White Robes of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau don’t interfere in court politics.”
Li Cijiu continued: “During the tax silver case, wasn’t I also a student of the Cloud Deer Academy? Today, Big Brother could come back because Zhou Li was in the wrong and his methods were too crude. But if Vice Minister Zhou makes a move, and there’s another tax silver case, legally and reasonably sentencing the entire Li family to execution, could the Imperial Astronomical Bureau and Cloud Deer Academy break us out of prison? Would they oppose the Great Feng laws for our sake?”
Feeling his authority as the head of the family challenged, Li Pingzhi frowned deeply, “But what can we do? How to deal with the Vice Minister of Revenue, a full third-rank official…”
I don’t know either, I’m just a simple transmigrator… Li Qi’an turned his gaze to his handsome little brother:
“What does Second Young Master think?”
Li Xinnian was silent for a long time. Just as Li Pingzhi was about to lose patience, he slowly said: “I’ve been thinking about something.
“The tax silver was robbed, and the Emperor was furious, obviously attaching great importance to the money. He should have severely punished the culprits.”
“Didn’t those two bastards commit suicide out of fear of punishment?” Li Pingzhi said.
Glancing at his father, Li Xinnian ignored him and continued: “I can think of two possibilities. One: The Vice Minister of Revenue has a powerful backer. Two: The Emperor has some concerns, perhaps needing to maintain a delicate balance.
“Big Brother mentioned that the Supervising Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue impeached Vice Minister Zhou for embezzling from the national treasury. Why didn’t he impeach the other Vice Minister or the Minister of Revenue?”
Li Qi’an’s heart stirred: “Vice Minister Zhou’s political enemies are targeting him?”
Li Xinnian nodded: “My teacher once said, from ancient times to now, the core of imperial tactics has always been balance. The Emperor didn’t move against Vice Minister Zhou, which means this matter likely involves factional struggles.”
“Then what should we do?” Second Uncle asked instinctively.
Li Qi’an stroked his chin, pondering: “Imperial tactics might work normally, but with the imminent Imperial Inspection, as long as we can grab hold of Vice Minister Zhou’s weakness, there’s a great chance to take him down. The Imperial Inspection is an ancestral system, even the Emperor can’t act arbitrarily. The core of the Confucian ‘dragon-slaying technique’ lies in the two words ‘ritual system’. So Vice Minister Zhou’s political enemies won’t give up.”
Li Xinnian was shocked, not expecting such words as “dragon-slaying technique” to come from his crude cousin’s mouth. Was this still the same quick-witted cousin?
…I’ve just watched a lot of historical dramas! Li Qi’an thought to himself.
Of course, part of the reason was that he had studied a lot of history.
Historical books are the essence of human culture. By studying history intensively, you can learn many things.
Historical books are also the most useless things because the only lesson humans learn from history is that humans cannot learn any lessons from history.
Li Qi’an, who liked to read history, originally scoffed at this saying but later found some truth in it.
The reason was that when he was studying, his parents and teachers always earnestly said: “You must study hard, study desperately, otherwise you’ll regret it in the future.”
No one took it seriously.
Until they experienced setbacks and were beaten by society, did they suddenly realize?
Li Qi’an’s cousin, who didn’t like studying, failed in business. Once, he blurted out: “You must study hard, otherwise you’ll regret it in the future.”
After saying it, he suddenly froze.
Li Xinnian raised his chin, using a testing tone: “Then what does Big Brother think we should do?”
You refuse to admit defeat… If you were a female lead, this tsundere personality wouldn’t be very likable… I prefer 36D coquettish and cute older sisters… Li Qi’an inwardly complained, but his expression remained calm as he said:
“Why did Vice Minister Zhou create the tax silver case? Certainly not for embezzlement, because he could embezzle anytime, why risk it right before the Imperial Inspection?
“Unless he urgently needs a sum of silver, needs this money to fill a hole, and the reason for filling the hole is precisely to deal with the Imperial Inspection.” Li Qi’an fully exercised his logical reasoning abilities.
“So?” Li Xinnian’s mouth curled up at the corner.
So we need to find out the real reason for Vice Minister Zhou’s embezzlement of tax silver, we need to solve the case so that Vice Minister Zhou has nowhere to hide and confess to his crimes… Li Qi’an was about to say this when he suddenly saw Second Young Master’s half-smiling eyes and didn’t voice it.
“I understand!” Second Uncle slapped his thigh, excitedly spitting as he spoke: “So we need to expose this matter, make Zhou have nowhere to hide.”
He was overjoyed, feeling that his mind had finally shone for once.
I’m not stupid either… Second Uncle thought proudly.
Li Xinnian snorted: “Father, do you think that with your position as a Hundred-Household Commander of the Imperial Guards, you can openly investigate the Vice Minister of Revenue and access the Ministry’s files?”
Li Pingzhi’s face instantly stiffened.
First Young Master Li snorted: “Of course not.”
Thanks to Second Uncle for testing the waters.
Li Xinnian, unable to intellectually suppress his cousin, was somewhat dissatisfied and pressed: “Then what does Big Brother think we should do?”
Li Qi’an lightly tapped his fingers on the table, “Use the tiger to devour the wolf. We’re not the main force against Vice Minister Zhou. What we need to do is be the last straw that breaks the camel’s back.”
As for how to do it, he hadn’t figured that out yet.
Not bad… Li Xinnian nodded approvingly and continued: “Taking a step back, we don’t need to deal with Vice Minister Zhou directly. A third-rank official has both cunning and skill, not something we can handle now. But people have weaknesses.”
Li Qi’an’s eyes lit up, excitedly clapping his hands: “Zhou Li!”
“Right, compared to Vice Minister Zhou, Zhou Li the Playboy is easier to deal with. If the impeachment charges aren’t sufficient, then we create charges. Give Vice Minister Zhou’s political enemies a knife, let them help us kill Zhou Xianping.” A cruel light flashed in Li Xinnian’s starry eyes:
“With the Imperial Inspection approaching, if the Vice Minister’s son does something that enrages heaven and men, as a father, Zhou Xianping can’t escape blame. The Emperor might be willing to protect him once, but not necessarily a second time.”
Saying this, Li Xinnian frowned: “This entry point is not bad, but they’re not fools either. Framing tactics might not work.”
Second Uncle, listening to his son and nephew’s back-and-forth, suddenly realized that he, as the head of the family, had been pushed to the margins of this secret discussion, unable to interject at all.
But as his son’s analysis deepened layer by layer, Second Uncle’s thoughts became clearer, and he found it increasingly plausible. He couldn’t help but excitedly slap the table:
“My son Cijiu has the potential to be a Prime Minister.”
Does your nephew not have the potential to be a Prime Minister? Li Qi’an glanced sideways at Second Uncle, taking the opportunity to diss Second Young Master:
“Second Young Master, this is why they say scholars’ empty talk ruins the country. You haven’t escaped this trap either.”
Second Young Master’s mouth twitched, sarcastically replying: “Please, Big Brother, enlighten us.”
Li Qi’an wasn’t flustered at all, “I can’t give a ready-made solution, but I can provide a line of thought.”
Second Uncle urged: “Speak quickly.”