The First National Preceptor of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 417

"Alas, I didn't really want to trouble you, Minister, but as you can see, not only did my subordinate offend you, but he was also somewhat careless, unlike the people around you."

Xu Tian's flattery brought a smile to the Minister of Works' face, but the minister did not relent.

So Xu Tian brought up Li Er, saying, "If the Minister won't help me, I'll have to turn to Lord Li Er. After all, my subordinates are incompetent, and if we get robbed again, I won't have the extra money to cover the losses."

Xu Tian was telling the truth. Besides, he didn't have much time to waste with the Minister of Works. The other party was the local bigwig, and he was an outsider. No matter how he schemed, he would be suppressed by the other party. Only by getting the other party to help him could he continue with his plan.

"I understand." The Minister of Works nodded in agreement. "I will send someone to guard it for you."

He was worried that Xu Tian would complain to Li Er, saying that he wouldn't help, so he agreed.

"Thank you very much, Your Excellency. I have other matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave now."

Having achieved his goal, Xu Tian decided not to waste any more time and left directly.

The Minister of Works arrived quickly; his men were there just as Xu Tiangang returned to the construction site.

When the other party explained the plan for rotating the timber, Xu Tian did not react. He said, "Let's put aside the matter of how to supervise the timber for now. This batch of new timber should not be mixed with the old timber for the time being."

"My lord?" The Minister of Works was surprised by Xu Tian's actions and asked in confusion.

“I know what you’re worried about, just do as you say,” Xu Tian said. He then instructed the workers who were moving the timber to move it to the construction site next door.

The Minister of Works' men didn't understand why Xu Tian wanted to move the timber separately. After listening to Qin Xian's explanation of the previously stolen batch of timber, they agreed with Xu Tian's approach and said that it was indeed the right choice.

He made a pledge to Xu Tian, ​​promising to complete the mission.

Xu Tian and Qin Xian smiled without saying a word and looked at each other.

That evening, Xu Tian took some time to deal with the troubles of the students' families at the academy, then discussed the Minister of Works with Qin Xian for a while before going to sleep.

When Qin Xian reported in the morning that the timber had not been stolen, Xu Tian deliberately made all the workers stop what they were doing and announced that the timber had been stolen.

“Our timber was stolen the day before yesterday, and it was stolen again last night. I already used my salary to make up for the last theft, but this time I will not tolerate the thieves.”

As he spoke, Xu Tian brought out the evidence he had collected and announced it directly in front of the workers.

"Here is the evidence we have gathered. The people who stole timber from our construction site on both occasions were carrying it in groups. Now I'm giving you a chance. The people who stole the timber must come to me and admit their mistakes within half an hour. Otherwise, I will personally send the criminals to the authorities."

Xu Tian's threats frightened many workers.

“Sir, we could never have done this,” explained one of the workers closest to Xu Tian. “The colleagues who came with me are all well-known veterans in the industry. We all hope to do business with you for a long time. It’s impossible that we did it.”

“Yes, sir, there must be something more to this. We don’t want our reputation in this industry to be tarnished. We implore you to report this to the authorities as soon as possible,” another worker loudly suggested.

"My lord, I'm reporting that the timber theft the night before last is related to the Minister." Suddenly, a voice from the crowd caught Xu Tian's attention.