Han Daoxun stood with his hands clasped behind his back, struggling to make a decision.

Han Qian walked out of the public hall, and seeing Fan Xicheng following him out, he stood in the corridor, reached up to pluck a bunch of wild grapes hanging from the eaves, and looked toward Fan Xicheng: “What, are you afraid I’ll immediately lock these people in the Internal Surveillance Court and suppress them?”

Fan Xicheng stared at Han Qian, watching as Tian Cheng and Gao Shao led people to confine Zhang Xiaochuan, Liu Bin, and others in the Internal Surveillance Court in the outer courtyard. He truly suspected the young master might take matters into his own hands—isolating the jailers and other unrelated personnel, then arranging a second prisoner riot. They wouldn’t even need to create any commotion; they could simply send Tian Cheng, Gao Shao, and other scouts from the Left Division into the Internal Surveillance Court to kill these people, then declare it was a second prisoner uprising.

Even if such an arrangement were full of flaws, who would question it? Who could question it?

Fan Xicheng was utterly bewildered—when had the young master become so ruthlessly decisive?

Han Qian lifted his armor skirt and sat down on the steps with a thump, popping a grape into his mouth. It was both sour and astringent. Only after quite a while could he get past the sour taste and chew out some flavor. But to eat this entire bunch of grapes would make his teeth ache so badly he wouldn’t want to eat anything for two days. He casually tossed the bunch of grapes into a corner of the courtyard.

Only then did Han Qian gesture for Fan Xicheng to also sit on the steps.

“Master Fan is compassionate and doesn’t advocate killing people, but Master Fan, why don’t you think of a way to avoid killing?” Han Qian asked in a bland tone, as if discussing an insignificant matter.

Fan Xicheng was about to say that the lord would have his own methods, but when he looked up and saw the sharp light in Han Qian’s eyes, he suddenly realized that the current young master was no longer someone he could casually brush off with empty words.

Fan Xicheng couldn’t help but fall into deep thought.

Here in Qianyang, Xuzhou, they had only a hundred elite troops they could use. If they truly forced the Four Surnames to rebel, they would receive no local support and would absolutely have no possibility of holding Qianyang City. The best outcome would be retreating to Chenzhou to await reinforcements.

If the situation deteriorated further, they might not even be able to maintain a foothold in Chenzhou, because Chenzhou was also controlled by the great mountain Yue surnames, and the Chenzhou Regional Inspector and other officials appointed by Jinling had limited power locally.

Once the situation deteriorated, the court would have only two choices: suppress or appease.

If they sent envoys to appease—even as a temporary measure—they would inevitably use Han Qian and his group as scapegoats to calm the anger of the Four Surnames. If they sent troops to suppress, whether requesting the Tanzhou Military Commissioner to deploy forces, or transferring troops from Jiangzhou or even directly deploying the capital’s Imperial Guards or Imperial Attendant Army from Jinling, it might further intensify the conflict, causing the mountain Yue tribes in southern Hunan provinces like Chen, Xu, Shao, and Heng to all become restless together. Even if they could ultimately quell the rebellion, the imperial army’s distant expedition—the toil of men and horses, the drain of military resources, and the massive casualties caused by protracted warfare—how much resentment would accumulate in the court and be poured upon them?

The key point hidden in Han Qian’s earlier suggestion was that they didn’t have the ability to control the overall situation in Xuzhou. Unless absolutely necessary, they must not force the Four Surnames into open rebellion.

Perhaps the Four Surnames had calculated this point, which was why they were so arrogant and violent?

If they couldn’t force the Four Surnames into open rebellion, they couldn’t expose the truth of the Four Surnames’ conspiracy to incite prisoners to riot and attack the prison. What else could they do then?

Hand over Zhang Xiaochuan, Liu Bin, and the others, pretend nothing had happened, beg the Four Surnames to settle the matter, and then tuck their tails between their legs in Xuzhou, allowing the Four Surnames to continue controlling Xuzhou?

Or kill Zhang Xiaochuan, Liu Bin, and the others, then pretend nothing had happened, and with an even more hardline posture, force the Four Surnames to settle the matter themselves?

The latter option, even if it only maintained a delicate and fragile balance in Xuzhou temporarily, would at least give them space and room to maneuver going forward.

“Some dirty work, exhausting work—that’s exactly what you people should be doing,” Han Qian said, lightly patting Fan Xicheng’s shoulder. “I can only stay in Xuzhou for one or two months. Master Fan, you don’t expect me to help my father finish all of Xuzhou’s dirty work in just a month or two, do you? Master Fan, you don’t expect that if we hand these people over this time, the Four Surnames won’t do even dirtier, more vicious things in the future, do you?”

Han Qian’s hand patted very lightly, but Fan Xicheng felt each pat carried the weight of a thousand catties, making cold dread shoot up his spine. It wasn’t that he was worried the young master would act on his own authority and kill to silence witnesses—it was that the young master wanted him to personally go kill to silence witnesses.

Han Qian patted his buttocks and stood up, standing in the corridor, staring at Fan Xicheng’s back.

After a long while, Fan Xicheng finally stood up stiffly, instinctively feeling like a venomous snake was staring at him from behind. He didn’t dare turn his head and walked toward the rear courtyard.

Han Qian walked back to the public hall and said to his father: “Fan Xicheng has already gone to make arrangements.”

“…” Han Daoxun sighed softly. He knew that without getting their hands stained with fresh blood, there was no way to control the situation in Xuzhou.

Xue Ruogu, Li Tang, and Qin Wen sat there in silence as well, suddenly discovering that the Regional Inspector’s son was truly not simple—he had immediately thought of such a sinister plan, while they had sat for half the day without thinking of any better alternative.

“After today, I must also ask the three lords to move your residences near Furong Garden,” Han Daoxun said to the three of them. He too was a decisive man. Once his mind was made up, he wouldn’t dwell on the bloody events about to occur in the Internal Surveillance Court.

“We thank you for your consideration, my lord.” Xue Ruogu expressed his gratitude. They too feared that while the Four Surnames wouldn’t dare openly rebel, they might use underhanded methods in the shadows to target their wives, children, and elderly. Living close to Furong Garden, they could enjoy the protection of the Regional Inspector’s household troops, which would put their minds at ease as they worked with the new Regional Inspector.

Han Daoxun redirected his attention back to the prisoner registry, frowning in thought for a moment before saying to Li Tang: “The provincial prison has only fifty-some cells but confines nearly nine hundred prisoners, eighty percent of whom are salt offenders. It’s overcrowded with both locals and outsiders, people’s hearts are restless, and conflicts are complex. At the slightest disturbance, there’s an uproar. Even without malicious instigators, during Lord Wang Yu’s tenure, there were four or five prison riots. Looking at the register, those who violated salt laws by three measures or less could have their crimes pardoned, which would reduce the prisoner count by nearly half. Lord Li, what do you think?”

Li Tang was the Xuzhou Salt and Iron Court Supervisor, independent of the provincial government and subordinate to the Salt and Iron Transport Commissioner. He was a detail of Great Chu’s salt and iron administration extended into Xuzhou.

Great Chu’s salt administration generally implemented a monopoly system of exclusive purchase and sale. However, Xu, Chen, and other provinces were located in remote areas with bandits rampant along the routes, so they implemented merchant sales—meaning salt merchants purchased salt from official salt yards and organized their own transport to designated locations for sale.

This allowed salt merchants to completely control salt prices in places like Xuzhou, reaching absurd prices of six to seven thousand or even ten thousand cash per measure, which led to private salt operations being impossible to completely prohibit in these regions.

At the same time, this created a consequence: while the Salt and Iron Court Supervisor position in various provinces was originally an extremely lucrative appointment, at the Xuzhou Salt and Iron Court, without the authority to transport or sell salt, the main responsibility was to cooperate with and督促 prefectures and counties in catching private salt dealers, turning it into a bitter assignment.

Han Daoxun was considering how to thoroughly resolve the hidden dangers in the provincial prison. As Regional Inspector, he had autonomous authority, but he still needed to consult with Li Tang, who was the Xuzhou Salt and Iron Court Supervisor.

Li Tang deliberated for a moment before saying to Han Daoxun: “I leave it entirely to your lordship’s decision.”

He knew that given the circumstances, decisive action was necessary, but being of low position and rank, he still hoped Han Daoxun would shoulder the greater responsibility.

“Good!” Han Daoxun only needed Li Tang not to oppose. He immediately signed orders to prepare to release prisoners, planning to submit a memorial petition later. If he didn’t make a prompt decision now and waited until after submitting a petition and receiving approval before releasing them, it would drag on for at least three or four months.

Were they supposed to sit on this powder keg for the next three or four months?

At this moment, screams and wails could faintly be heard from inside. The corners of Xue Ruogu, Li Tang, and Qin Wen’s eyes all twitched slightly.

After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Fan Xicheng walked in, his armor half-soaked with blood, and reported: “The prisoners rioted again, resulting in the deaths of Prison Administrator Zhang Xiaochuan, Granary Officer Liu Bin, and several jailers. The riot has been suppressed, and seventeen rioters were killed.”

“Very well. Xue Ruogu, find several experienced old clerks to report this matter to the Chief Clerk, Adjutant, Recording Officer, and various department heads,” Han Daoxun said. “After I pardon the prisoners with lesser crimes, we’ll draft a memorial to report to the court. Also, the Prison Administrator unfortunately died in service, leaving the provincial prison without management. Temporarily, my escort Zhao Kuo will reorganize the jailers. I request that Lord Xue and Lord Qin jointly supervise prison affairs…”

With over four hundred prisoners with light sentences to be pardoned and released, Han Daoxun and his group were destined to be unable to return home for a good night’s sleep. Han Qian yawned and said to his father: “Your son shouldn’t interfere in provincial government affairs. I’ll take the men back to Furong Garden first.”

Han Daoxun nodded. The Left Division scouts needed to maintain vigorous combat readiness in case of emergencies and couldn’t be exhausted here all night. They should return to Furong Garden to rest and reorganize promptly.

Fan Xicheng and Zhao Kuo would remain with the household troops and over a dozen sons of household soldiers. In addition, over forty jailers didn’t dare act rashly. There was no problem controlling the prison situation. Tomorrow, once the prisoners with light sentences were pardoned and released, the situation would further stabilize.

As for the provincial garrison, there had been no movement from beginning to end. Han Qian believed that unless pushed to the absolute limit, the Four Surnames wouldn’t dare openly rebel, would they?

Although Xuzhou was remote with treacherous terrain difficult to attack, the Four Surnames together only controlled five thousand households of tribal people. If they rebelled, their strength would still be too weak.

Aside from over a dozen scouts still lurking in the shadows, continuing to watch the movements inside and outside Qianyang City, Han Qian, along with Zhao Wuji, Gao Shao, Tian Cheng, and Yang Qin, led over sixty armored soldiers back into Furong Garden.

When the Left Division scouts and Yang Qin’s unit entered the provincial prison from Furong Garden to suppress the riot, only half the total number wore armor. On one hand, armor was expensive to manufacture, and Han Qian initially hadn’t been able to obtain many sets from the garrison military headquarters. On the other hand, the vast majority of Left Division scouts were dispersed heading west, and carrying armor was inconvenient.

However, leaving the provincial prison, Han Qian unceremoniously treated the batch of weapons and armor that the Four Surnames had prepared in advance for the prison raiders as windfall gains and moved it all back—everything except two hundred crudely made iron spears.

Zhou Yourui and the other musicians and performers from the music camp were still staying in the west Court. Seeing many people behind Han Qian with blood-stained clothing and armor, they didn’t press for too many questions but simply came forward and asked: “If your lordship has no further need, may we servants depart?”

“Thank you for your service this evening, Miss Zhou.” Han Qian waved his hand dismissively.

“Was Lord Wang’s death truly the result of someone’s manipulation?” Zhou Yourui couldn’t help but ask.

“Whether true or false, it no longer matters at this point,” Han Qian was unwilling to explain further. “Miss Zhou, these next few days, try to go out as little as possible when you have nothing pressing. The city hasn’t completely settled down yet.”

Zhou Yourui bowed respectfully, then left Furong Garden with the other musicians and performers who were both alarmed and anxious.