Chapter Sixteen: A Detailed Discussion of Advantages and Disadvantages

  After much persuasion...

  "So you're not from the Killer's Gate? And Cao County Magistrate wouldn't use you to write an article?" Cao County Magistrate stared at Xiao Fan, his eyes still filled with murderous intent.

  Suicide?

  What is going on in the minds of officials in this era?

  Xiao Fan let out a long sigh: "Sir is indeed sharp-sighted... things are actually not that complicated."

  "What's the meaning of you and Laozi having only one bowl of wine and then falling down? Are you trying to trick Laozi?"

  Xiao Fan only felt a surge of sadness and indignation spreading in his chest: "Sir, having a small capacity for liquor is innate... it's not a crime punishable by death!"

  Cao County Magistrate slowly withdrew the sharp knife that had almost reached Xiao Fan's chest.

  Xiao Fang let out a sigh of relief.

  "What is your relationship with the Chen family?" Cao Xiancheng finally thought of this very important question.

  Xiao Fan regained his usual warm smile, but his face still had a hint of lingering fear: "The humble commoner will introduce himself again. I am Xiao Fan, the future son-in-law of Chen Si Liu."

  "What? You're the son-in-law of the Chen family?" Cao County Magistrate exclaimed in surprise.

  Xiao Fan bitterly smiled, even County Magistrate Liang who had just arrived in Jiangpu for less than two days knew him, it seemed his reputation was indeed not small.

  Let's just call him "gū yé" (maternal uncle), but no, he has to add the two words "wō nāng" (foolish) in front of it. He is already an eighth-rank official, doesn't he know how to cultivate some moral integrity?

  "Adults are indeed... straightforward and down-to-earth."

  Magistrate Cao burst out laughing: "This official used to be a soldier and doesn't know how to put on an official air, nor does he have any reserve in his speech. Unlike you southerners who beat around the bush for half a day when speaking, alright, let's just say this official wronged you earlier. What business do you have with this official today?"

  Xiao Fan smiled and suddenly looked up at Cao Xiancheng, saying: "I, a humble commoner, dare to ask the honorable sir to spare the Chen family."

  Cao County Magistrate nodded slightly, gradually collecting his smile, and a hint of cleverness flashed across his seemingly rough and heroic face.

  "Why should I let the Chen family off? Just because you had a drink with me?"

  Xiao Fan hesitated for a moment before saying: "Please forgive me, sir, for I am but a humble commoner who dares to utter a presumptuous and disrespectful remark..."

  "You said."

  "Is it merely to vent his anger that Mr. Chen has come to Jiangpu for the first time and started a fight?"

  Cao County's deputy heard this and his eyebrows jumped slightly, then he calmly said: "If it's not to vent anger, what is it?"

  Xiao Fan smiled and said: "If it's not just for venting anger, then it must be for showing off."

  Cao County's deputy was startled, his eyebrows jumped again, and he quickly returned to normal, but a pair of eyes gradually narrowed.

  Cao County Magistrate sneered, "This Jiangpu County is indeed strange. The son of a merchant dares to beat an official appointed by the imperial court, while Chen's family's son-in-law is a real person who doesn't show his face, a high-ranking official. As the eighth-rank county magistrate, I am the greatest in all of Jiangpu County, next only to Magistrate Huang. Tell me, whom else do I need to intimidate?"

  Xiao Fan sighed and said: "If the second master wants to establish his authority, of course, it is for the big master to see. Although I, a humble commoner, haven't read many books, I still know the principle of 'one mountain cannot accommodate two tigers'. When I first saw you, sir, I thought you were a person with great ambition..."

  Cao County's face gradually darkened, his gaze towards Xiao Fan grew increasingly severe.

  "What does it have to do with the Chen family even if I want to assert my authority?"

  "Of course, it's related. The Chen family is a wealthy household in Jiangpu, but they're also lowly merchants with money but no power. For someone like you, taking the Chen family down would be the most suitable choice. You want to get rid of Chen Si Liu? It's as easy as squishing an ant..."

  Cao County Magistrate was taken aback and sighed: "...... This is the first time I've heard someone describe their father-in-law like that, how ruthless!"

  Xiao Fan's face was slightly red, he didn't have much good feelings towards the Chen family, so his words were not respectful at all.

  But don't like is still don't like, begging for mercy is still asking for it.

  "...When he first took office as the county lieutenant of Jiangpu, he had no connections and no foundation. If it were someone else, they would naturally be honest and do their job under the county magistrate's supervision. But this gentleman is different from others..."

  "What's different?"

  "The common people heard that the lord was once a hundred-household general under the command of the King of Yan, and the King of Yan highly appreciated him, so he accumulated military achievements and transferred to a civil official. The lord has such a high-ranking person as the King of Yan standing behind him, how can he be willing to lower his head and obey orders as a county magistrate under the command of Huang Zhi County? Therefore, when the lord first came to Jiangpu, he wanted to take action against the Chen family, naturally there was a reason for it. It is said that killing a chicken to scare monkeys, the Chen family has money, but it is just a lowly merchant family, eliminating them will not cause others to gossip, while demonstrating power to Huang Zhi County, making the officials and servants in Jiangpu County government fear the lord, and the lord can govern as he pleases in the future, with fewer obstacles. Even his own faction can be established in Jiangpu County, opposing Huang Zhi County..."

  There were also some speculations that Xiao Fan did not dare to say out loud. Familiar with the history of the Ming Dynasty, he knew that at this time, the King of Yan was eyeing the throne and was eager to take action. Once Zhu Yuanzhang died, he might use the banner of "Jingnan" to usurp the throne. At this time, Cao Yi was arranged to be a small county magistrate in Jiangpu County, which is dozens of miles away from the capital city of Nanjing. The purpose may have been to use Cao Yi as a nail and pin him firmly in the rear of the capital city, waiting for future use. As soon as Cao Yi arrived in Jiangpu, he was busy establishing his authority and seizing power, presumably also preparing for the King of Yan's future uprising.

  But this is something that cannot be said even if one's life depended on it. If the truth were to come out, Cao Yi would definitely kill anyone who knew about it without hesitation. This concerns the struggle for the throne, and no one would allow a commoner to know such an earth-shattering secret.

  Even so, Cao Xian was still shocked by Xiao Fan's words.

  Xiao Fan is right, Cao Yi indeed has the idea of borrowing Chen's family to show off his power to Huang Zhixian. He wants to use Chen's family as an example to tell Huang Zhixian how powerful he is, and if he knows what's good for him, he won't provoke himself.

  This was naturally not hidden from Huang Zhixian, but Cao Yi didn't care. Before taking office in Jiangpu, he had already investigated that the backing behind Huang Zhixian was originally Zhang Chengxuan, the governor of Ying Tianfu. However, during Zhu Yuanzhang's reign, the lives of Ming officials were precarious, especially after Hu Weiyong and Lan Yu's rebellion case was exposed. Zhu Yuanzhang thoroughly cleaned up the imperial court, and nearly half of the officials in the country were implicated. Unfortunately, Zhang Chengxuan, whom Huang Zhixian had always relied on, was also implicated and thrown into prison, which means that Huang Zhixian's backing had already fallen.

  Losing a powerful backer in official circles is really a matter of life and death.

  So Cao Yi, who was originally a subordinate of the county magistrate and an eighth-grade county lieutenant, dared to have ideas about being the county magistrate. He used Chen's family to show off his power to Magistrate Huang, but he wasn't afraid that Magistrate Huang would find out. The reason is naturally very clear: behind him stood the fourth son of the current emperor, Yan King Zhu Di. With such an awesome figure as his backer, even if he acted recklessly, others wouldn't dare say anything.

  It's not surprising that others saw through Cao Yi's intentions, what's surprising is that a commoner like Xiao Fan could see through it too, making Cao Yi feel somewhat defeated.

  "Is it that this official's depth is so shallow, and everything he does has already reached the point where everyone on the street knows about it?" Cao Yi sighed bitterly, as if also mocking himself.

  Xiao Fan slightly lowered his eyelids and said in a soft voice: "Your Excellency is being too polite, this humble commoner was just making an absurd guess, whether it's right or not depends on Your Excellency's thoughts, if you say it's not then it's not."

  "Since you said I plan to make a name for myself, why would I let the Chen family off?"

  "Sir, although the Chen family is a humble merchant household, their existence still holds great significance for the entire Jiangpu County. The Chen family has been operating in Jiangpu County for many years and has numerous shops, exerting considerable influence on both the county government and the common people. In today's era where the Emperor promotes agriculture while despising commerce, merchants live in constant fear. If the Chen family were to fall, all the small and large merchants in Jiangpu County would be intimidated, and when the time comes for the city's shops to close due to fear of the imperial court's suppression of commerce, grain stores wouldn't dare sell grain, cloth shops wouldn't dare sell cloth, and the city's common people would become panicked. If this situation continues to develop, the common people may express great dissatisfaction with Sir's actions in removing the Chen family. As Sir has just arrived in Jiangpu, it is a time for you to showcase your abilities, how can you allow yourself to be tainted by the mud of the Chen family? This humble subject dares to speak out because I am concerned about Sir's official reputation and future prospects."