Rebirth of the Demon Queen

Chapter 279 Catastrophe
Bi Suinan took the memorial and unfolded it to read, his brows became more and more wrinkled.

He and Yao Chengyu's subordinates are in private contact, and every time they meet, they are very secretive.
Lin Yuanzhi observed Bi Suinan's complexion, and asked aloud, "I read the above remarks, and it seems that they are all aimed at you deliberately. Father-in-law, did you offend someone in Jiangnan?"

Bi Suinan shook his head and said, "I have offended many people in the south of the Yangtze River, but there are very few people who make trouble at this juncture and still reach heaven."

Weng and son-in-law sat down and thought about it carefully, but they still had no clue.

Lin Zisu sat aside, listening to her grandfather and father talking about the trivial matters of Qingyang Mansion, feeling bored, so she went to make a cup of hot tea.

When she had finished making tea and was about to serve it to the two elders, she heard her grandfather say, "Son-in-law, the ban on opening the sea is beneficial but harmless. If Your Majesty is willing to listen to my advice, the tax revenue from the national treasury every year can at least be enough." Collect more than million taels, and with this silver, many problems of the imperial court can be easily solved."

Lin Yuanzhi knew that his father-in-law had some insights in governing the country, but he had always been an official in the local area, so he didn't know much about the situation in the court.

Since Liu Qingyuan became an official, several factions that originally united against Liu Qingyuan gradually split up.

With the emperor's acquiescence, Qian Minzhong gradually gained power in the cabinet, and the chief inspector of ceremonies also had a faint tendency to take the lead.

At present, the court is faintly divided into three factions, the Shannan Party headed by Qian Minzhong, the Northern Party headed by Lu Zhiyuan, and a large number of officials who follow behind the Supervisor of Rites.

The officials of the three factions get along fairly well on weekdays, but when it comes to the distribution of interests, many undercurrents will arise.

Such a major event as the opening of the sea ban, the income of tens of millions of taels, anyone wants to get a share of it, and no faction can tolerate it.

What's more, those merchants who secretly sell goods by sea have officials behind them.

For example, the Qin family, the richest man in Shannan, was originally just an unknown merchant. A few decades ago, it suddenly seemed like a windfall, buying land and shops everywhere, and controlling the porcelain and raw silk business in the four neighboring Shannan provinces.

There are rumors that the Qin family has made a lot of money by doing overseas business with the support of the Qian family.

On the matter of opening the sea ban, the officials of several factions reached a tacit agreement, and they were unwilling to mention this matter in front of the emperor.

A person popped up suddenly, brought up the matter with the emperor, and talked about the future with a vow, which would naturally arouse the dissatisfaction of that group of people.

Lin Yuanzhi believed that his father-in-law had committed public outrage this time, and he inevitably became worried for him.

"Father-in-law, opening the sea ban is a major event, and there is no rush at this moment. Why don't you make a memorial first and admit your mistake to His Majesty."

Bi Suinan glared at Lin Yuanzhi, and said, "Don't think I don't know. The national treasury has been empty for years, and Jiangnan is known as the land of fish and rice. In this flood, we can't even distribute the relief food. If things go on like this, my country will perish!"

Lin Yuanzhi hurriedly got up and said, "My lord father-in-law, let's discuss the facts, don't talk about subjugation!"

Bi Suinan was very dissatisfied with Lin Yuanzhi's words, hummed, and said, "It's a pity that you still entered the Ministry of Punishment, and you are so timid!"

Weng and son-in-law looked at each other speechlessly, and the atmosphere was a little awkward. Lin Zisu hurriedly smoothed things over and said, "Grandpa, father is also concerned, so don't worry about it. Can you let me have a look at the memorial in your hand? "

Getting along these few days, Bi Suinan only knew that this granddaughter had a cute personality.Seeing that she was interested in the memorial, he hesitated for a moment, and handed the memorial to Lin Zisu.

Lin Zisu took the memorial, flipped through it casually, and discovered the problem.

"Grandpa, you came to the capital from the south of the Yangtze River. You must have traveled all the way so fast. I don't know how many days it took?"

Bi Suinan didn't know what Lin Zisu meant, and said: "Usually, it would take at least a month. This time, with the emperor's order, I dare not delay. It only took ten days to arrive in the capital."

"That's it. This memorial keeps saying that you are in collusion with pirates, which is why the court is encouraged to open the sea ban. What is said in the article seems to be reasonable and well-founded, but it is full of loopholes. You see, it says that you secretly colluded with pirates to make huge profits. He also said that five days ago, the merchants under your rule were caught by the garrison in the south of the Yangtze River because of their illicit dealings abroad."

Bi Suinan couldn't stop smiling wryly when he heard that, he told the emperor about Yao Chengyu, he just wanted to increase his efforts to persuade the emperor, but unexpectedly, he gave someone a excuse and was used as an excuse instead.

"Today is August 29, and the arrest of the merchant written in the memorial is August 24. It will take ten days before you rush to the capital. What happened in Jiangnan five days ago spread to the capital so quickly, unless..."

After what Lin Zisu said, both Bi Suinan and Lin Yuanzhi realized the problem, and they all looked at Lin Zisu.

They are not careless people on weekdays, but they only think about how to get rid of crimes, but they ignore these details.

"Unless someone has already planned to wait for you to go against you after you arrive in the capital, weaving some evidence. Just in time, you and His Majesty brought up the opening of the sea ban, so take advantage of this."

From Lin Zisu's point of view, there were many reasons for wanting to play Bi Suinan. A charge of ineffective disaster relief was enough to overwhelm him.

The crimes of colluding with pirates seem serious, and once found out, at least they are crimes of family extermination.

But because of the serious consequences, it is extremely cautious when convicting.

In addition, today he has always been lenient, and in the Zhengxing dynasty, he was convicted of such crimes two or three times.

Not to mention, Bi Suinan is an incumbent official, and for the sake of the court's dignity, it is even more impossible for the emperor to agree to the participation of the censors.

Lin Zisu put the memorial back to Bi Suinan's hand, saw her grandfather looking at her approvingly, and said with a smile: "Grandpa, you are in it, so you are a fan of the authorities. In fact, you can see the flaws here with a little attention , but those who play you don’t care about it, it’s really puzzling.”

Lin Yuanzhi nodded again and again, and said: "The big hats here sound alarmist, but they are actually commonplace. Your majesty's next generation of Mingjun will never listen to such nonsense. What the censors do is like suppressing people. s method."

Bi Suinan's heart moved, and he immediately remembered the emperor and him mentioning taking office in Nankang City.

He hasn't figured out whether the emperor said it casually or really meant it, so he didn't mention it to others.

However, at such a critical time, he didn't care too much, and immediately stated the promise made by the emperor to himself.

After Lin Yuanzhi heard this, he was even more worried: "Father-in-law, you should resign as soon as possible with Your Majesty as the prefect of Nankang, otherwise, there will be a real disaster."

(End of this chapter)