Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

"Boy, open the door quickly, I have something important to report."

The next morning, inside the inn, Shen Lang had just gotten out of bed when he heard a loud knocking on the door.

Accompanying this was Mu Qingqiu's urgent call.

Shen Lang calmly put on his shoes and socks, got up, opened the door, and asked, "What is it?"

Mu Qingqiu immediately went into the room and took out a secret letter from her bosom.

"This is a secret report intercepted by the Jingwei Division outside Suzhou this morning. It was written by Zheng Bisheng to the Governor's Office of Mingzhou and Ningzhou."

Shen Lang frowned, took the letter, carefully opened it, glanced at it, and then sneered.

"What about those two?"

"They were shot dead by the ambushing gunmen, and the bodies have been disposed of."

Shen Lang put away the secret letter, repackaged it, and handed it back to Mu Qingqiu.

Mu Qingqiu asked, puzzled, "What does this mean?"

Shen Lang: "I'll have to trouble you to deliver these two letters to Ma Zhiyuan and Yang Maocai."

"Ok?"

Mu Qingqiu was even more puzzled.

Shen Lang explained, "If something happens to Zheng Bisheng, Ma and Yang will inevitably take extreme measures. Once the salt embezzlement case comes to light,

Their only option was to send troops from the Mingzhou camp to exert pressure, which is exactly what I wanted.

Mu Qingqiu looked bewildered, still not understanding what Shen Lang meant.

"Alright, I can't explain it to you in a short time. You're not my wife; you won't understand what I'm going to do with just a little guidance."

Just do as I say. Your only task is to keep a close eye on the movements of the Mingzhou camp, and report back to me once they've made their move.

"Okay, then I'll go."

Without further ado, Mu Qingqiu put away the letter and headed directly to Mingzhou.

After she left, Shen Lang carefully put on his official robes, washed up, and immediately went out to the governor's mansion.

Today is destined to be a high-stakes gamble.

At the same time, inside the Chen residence, Chen Anning, who had just returned from the Suzhou camp, felt increasingly cold.

His investigation of the Suzhou camp yielded results that far exceeded his expectations.

The Suzhou military camp, which he could normally come and go as he pleased, was now under strict control; anyone who approached within ten steps would be ruthlessly driven away by the guards.

This made him keenly aware of an extremely dangerous aura.

The Suzhou camp has likely already changed hands.

And it can be concluded that this matter is absolutely related to Shen Lang.

One must nip any crisis in the bud before things get out of control and worsen.

"The powerful families in Suzhou's officialdom are now like meat on a chopping block, at Shen Lang's mercy. The Empress is determined to take away local military power!"

He took a deep breath, his eyes becoming incredibly resolute.

"Shen Lang, you absolutely cannot leave Suzhou Prefecture alive, otherwise your official career in Jiangnan will be doomed."

……

Inside the Governor's Mansion, Shen Lang and Zheng Bisheng took their seats in a side hall, one in the main seat and the other in the secondary seat.

"Duke Zhenguo has come to my residence so early in the morning. Is there anything you need me to instruct you on?"

"There is something I need to ask Minister Zheng."

Shen Lang remained composed and dignified, and pulled a thick ledger from his pocket.

Zheng Bisheng frowned: "Duke Zhenguo, what is this?"

Shen Lang said slowly and deliberately, "It's like this, last night I went to the salt warehouse, and when Huang Daorong wasn't paying attention, I took this account book from his room."

After looking at it carefully, I decided to share it with Minister Zheng. Would Minister Zheng like to open it and take a look?

As he spoke, he slammed the ledger onto the table.

Zheng Bisheng looked puzzled: "Duke Zhenguo, please speak frankly if you have something to say. Why beat around the bush like this?"

"Very well, I won't hide it from Minister Zheng anymore. This ledger records the accounts of salt permits embezzled by Suzhou officials over the past few decades."

Every stroke and line was written clearly. Starting from the eighth year of the lunar calendar, the salt tax collected by the imperial court from various parts of Jiangnan decreased year by year.

These salt taxes all passed through the hands of the salt transport commissioner and were sold privately to salt merchants, or to the Yan state in the north. Minister Zheng, embezzling salt taxes is a capital offense.

"And you've colluded with foreign invaders to betray the country! That's a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of your family! How dare you be so audacious? Do you really think you can cover up everything?"

Shen Lang's tone gradually turned cold.

Upon hearing this, Zheng Bisheng immediately stood up: "Duke Zhenguo, I have already made my point very clear in my previous memorial to the court."

There is absolutely no suspicion whatsoever that any official in Suzhou has embezzled salt taxes.

I have no idea where you got this ledger, but whatever is recorded inside...

I would never confess! This is all a frame-up by villains!

At the same time, he thought to himself: This Huang Daorong, he really did have a hidden trick up his sleeve and colluded with Shen Lang. But did he think he could harm me like this? How naive.

Shen Lang laughed: "Minister Zheng, I advise you to calm down and talk this over. Once this ledger falls into His Majesty's hands..."

Do you really think that person in the court or the palace can protect you? Don't be delusional!

Let's sit down and talk this over properly. If I really wanted to harm you, I wouldn't be confronting you today!

Of course, if Lord Zheng remains obstinate, then I can only act impartially and submit this account book to His Majesty for a decision.

Zheng Bisheng narrowed his eyes: "Duke Zhenguo, what exactly do you mean?"

"What do you mean? Hmph."

Shen Lang pointed his finger at the ledger: "As long as this ledger is destroyed, you will still be the Minister of Suzhou Prefecture, and those in the palace and the court will also be safe and sound."

"How to proceed depends on your sincerity, Minister Zheng. I, Shen, never engage in unprofitable deals."

Zheng Bisheng narrowed his eyes: "Duke Zhenguo might as well be frank. There's no need to be so secretive."

Shen Lang sneered, "It seems that Minister Zheng intends to resist to the very end?"

After saying that, the smile on his face vanished.

"Let me give you a piece of advice, Minister Zheng: don't count on the Suzhou camp. Chang Benchu ​​is preoccupied with his young son's illness and is simply incapable of commanding the army into the city."

The Mingzhou camp is a long way off; even if the army sets off now, it will take at least half a month to reach Suzhou.

"These past two weeks have been enough for me to get a lot done, and you certainly don't want to see bloodshed in Suzhou Prefecture."

After hearing Shen Lang's threatening words, Zheng Bisheng immediately fell into deep thought.

"Could the Suzhou camp also be under control? That's impossible. If so, why haven't I received any news about it?"

"What's recorded in those ledgers must be very detrimental to the Zheng family."

Wang Daorong has been managing the salt warehouse for years; I should have known he'd have a backup plan.

"Damn it, I miscalculated. Do we really have to fight to the death?"

"However, judging from Shen Lang's attitude, it seems that there is still room for maneuver. I wonder what his conditions are."

After thinking it through, Zheng Bisheng cupped his hands and replied, "This humble official is dull-witted, and I humbly request the Duke of Zhenguo to enlighten me."

Shen Lang chuckled lightly: "Then I'll make a condition. First, release Liu Wu. He's someone His Majesty has personally designated to protect, so you can't touch him."

Zheng Bisheng frowned.

"Secondly, such a big incident must be taken responsibility; this matter cannot be resolved without some bloodshed."

Zheng Bisheng frowned even more deeply.

"Finally, I need to take half of the salt permits from the ledger to complete my task."

"If you agree to these conditions, I will personally deliver this ledger to Minister Zheng."

Zheng Bisheng was completely stunned by these three conditions...

"Duke Zhenguo, I can release Liu Wu, but can you guarantee he won't implicate us?"

"Now that Liu Wu has been dismissed from all his posts, I am the Inspector General. All the rights and wrongs will naturally be decided by me. Minister Zheng, there is no need to worry too much."

"Okay, I can release Liu Wu, but who will be the scapegoat..."

"We must take action against a few influential figures. If the likes of Huang Daorong are reported, let alone His Majesty..."

None of the court officials would believe it. In short, if His Majesty wanted to settle things peacefully, it was best not to cause her any trouble.

Otherwise, if the emperor were to become enraged and cause a scene, it would not be a wise choice for anyone.

Zheng Bisheng closed his eyes and pondered for a moment, then seemed to have made up his mind.

"Very well, I will arrange it as soon as possible. However, half of the tax revenue is really too much."

Shen Lang laughed: "You took so much, is it too much to ask you to vomit half of it?"

If Her Majesty knew that the national treasury had collected a full 120 million taels of tax revenue less over the years, do you think she would let it go?

"That's all I have to say. I'll wait for Minister Zheng's reply tomorrow. Please don't see me off."

After giving his instructions, Shen Lang grabbed the account book and swaggered out of the governor's mansion.

No matter how hard Zheng Bisheng racked his brains, he couldn't figure out what Shen Lang was planning.