I am the Holy Poisoner, the Empress advised me to calm down

The first thing he had to do was to find out the current trade situation in Daqian and then make a detailed plan.

Late at night, Zhou Qing was looking through some documents in his study when he suddenly heard some noise outside.

He quietly walked to the window and saw several men in black sneaking around in the yard.

"Is there an assassin?" Zhou Qing was shocked, but quickly calmed down.

Ever since he took the pills given by the system, his physical fitness has greatly improved, and dealing with a few ordinary assassins should not be a problem.

He quietly opened the door and rushed out while the man in black was not paying attention.

"Who is it?" A man in black was about to shout when he was knocked unconscious by Zhou Qing's punch.

Seeing this, the other men in black drew their swords.

"kill!"

Zhou Qing was agile and maneuverable as he fought the men in black in the yard. With his strengthened body, he quickly gained the upper hand.

In less than a quarter of an hour, several men in black were knocked down by him.

"Tell me, who sent you here?" Zhou Qing grabbed a man in black who was still breathing and asked sternly.

"I...I can't say..." the man in black gritted his teeth.

"You're not going to tell me, are you?" Zhou Qing sneered, "Then don't blame me for being rude."

He raised his hand and tapped the man in black a few times, and the man in black immediately wailed in pain.

"Say or not?"

"I say... I say..." The man in black finally couldn't hold it anymore, "It was... it was Lord Li who asked us to come..."

"Li Wenbing?" Zhou Qing's eyes flashed with murderous intent. "What did he ask you to do?"

"He...he asked us to kill you...saying that you were hindering his future..."

Zhou Qing nodded, then slapped the man in black on the neck, killing him.

He never shows mercy to those who want to kill him.

After dealing with the body, Zhou Qing returned to the study and continued to check the information.

But he already had a plan in mind. Since someone wanted to deal with him, he had to strike first.

Li Wenbing, since you dare to take action, don't blame me for being rude.

The next morning, the situation in the court suddenly changed.

"Your Majesty, I have something important to report." Zhou Qing stepped out with a serious expression, holding a stack of documents.

"What's the matter?" Xu Feihong looked at the document in Zhou Qing's hand, feeling a little confused.

"I was attacked by an assassin last night. After interrogation, I discovered that this incident was related to certain ministers in the court." Zhou Qing said loudly, "I request that Your Majesty thoroughly investigate this matter."

There was an uproar in the court, and Li Wenbing's face turned pale in an instant.

"How could this happen?" Xu Feihong was furious. "Who dares to assassinate an imperial official right under my nose?"

"Your Majesty, according to the assassin's confession, it was Li Wenbing, the Minister of Revenue, who ordered this." Zhou Qing handed over the confession in his hand. "This is the assassin's handwritten confession."

"Nonsense!" Li Wenbing jumped out hastily, "Your Majesty, I am innocent! He is clearly framing me!"

"False accusation?" Zhou Qing sneered, "Master Li, your steward personally delivered the money to the assassin last night. Quite a few people witnessed it."

Li Wenbing's face became even uglier. He didn't expect that Zhou Qing could find out all these details clearly.

"Your Majesty, I am truly wronged!" Li Wenbing knelt on the ground and kowtowed desperately. "I am loyal to the court. How could I possibly do such a treasonous thing?"

"Master Li, you're still trying to make excuses?" Zhou Qing pulled out another document. "This is the accountant's record at your residence. It clearly records the cost of hiring the assassin."

Xu Feihong took the document, looked at it carefully, and his expression became increasingly ugly.

"Li Wenbing, you are so bold!" the empress shouted angrily, "How dare you lie to me!"

"Your Majesty, please spare my life! Your Majesty, please spare my life!" Li Wenbing was completely panicked. "Your Majesty, please spare my life for the sake of my years of loyalty!"

"Loyal?" Xu Feihong sneered, "A person like you is worthy of being called loyal?"

"Come here, take Li Wenbing to the prison and await his punishment!"

Several guards immediately stepped forward and dragged Li Wenbing away.

The other ministers in the court were dumbfounded. No one had expected that this newly appointed envoy would have such means to bring down Li Wenbing overnight.

"My dear ministers, is there anything else?" Xu Feihong glanced around, with an obvious threat in his tone.

The ministers all shook their heads and no one dared to say anything more.

After the court was dismissed, Zhou Qing was left in the imperial study.

"My dear Zhou, why didn't you tell me what happened last night earlier?" Xu Feihong asked worriedly.

"Your Majesty, I want to give them a chance to see what tricks they have up their sleeves," Zhou Qing explained. "Also, I want to take this opportunity to show those who are ready to make a move the consequences of messing with me."

"You're quite brave." Xu Feihong shook her head and smiled bitterly, "What if something unexpected happens?"

"Your Majesty, rest assured. I know my limits," Zhou Qing said confidently. "Those petty thieves can't hurt me."

Xu Feihong nodded. She also knew that Zhou Qing was an extraordinary person, otherwise he would not be so calm.

"By the way, is there any news about the South Vietnam incident?" Zhou Qing asked.

"The envoy is still on the way, but our spies have reported that Nanyue is indeed secretly colluding with Xiqin." Xu Feihong's face was solemn. "It seems your judgment is correct."

"Then we must prepare early." Zhou Qing thought for a moment, "I suggest we start from within and rectify the trade order."

"How to rectify it?"

"It's simple. Establish unified trade standards, regulate merchant behavior, and strengthen supervision of border trade," Zhou Qing said. "This will not only improve our trade efficiency, but also prevent the infiltration of foreign forces."

"Good idea!" Xu Feihong's eyes lit up. "I'll leave this matter to you with full responsibility."

"I obey your order!" Zhou Qing bowed and accepted the order.

After coming out of the imperial study, Zhou Qing went directly to the Ministry of Revenue.

"Sir Zhou, why are you here?" Zheng Jiang, the Minister of Revenue, quickly stood up to greet him.

"Minister Zheng, I'm here to learn about the trade situation in Daqian." Zhou Qing said straight to the point.

"Very well, very well. Please take a seat." Zheng Jiang personally poured tea for Zhou Qing. "What do you want to know?"

"Every aspect," Zhou Qing said with a smile. "From import and export trade to border management, from merchant registration to tax collection, I want to understand it in detail."

Zheng Jiang smiled bitterly in his heart. This young man was really rude.

"Master Zhou, this is quite a lot of information. I'm afraid I can't finish it in a short time."

"It's okay, I have time." Zhou Qing picked up the teacup, "Minister Zheng, let's talk slowly."

For the next three days, Zhou Qing stayed in the Ministry of Revenue to learn more about Daqian's trade situation.

He discovered that although Daqian's trade was large in scale, its management was quite chaotic and full of loopholes, which gave foreign forces opportunities to exploit.