Li Tianyao and Xiao Feng stood face to face, as if time had stopped. After an unknown amount of time, Li Tianyao spoke in shock.
"This...can't be true? Can gold be dug out of coal mines? How could this be possible? I have never heard of it!"
Xiao Feng smiled faintly: "Not only the Shantun coal mine, but also two coal mines in Zaozhuang. It is said that the mine veins were exhausted and closed, so I also asked people to see them.
Among the small mines secretly dug inside, one is a gold mine and the other is an agate mine. I guess Brother Li doesn't know about it either?"
Li Tianyao said innocently: "Yes, I really don't know. The reason why those mines are closed is because the report below said that the mine veins have been dug out!"
Xiao Feng looked at him approvingly: "Talent, I discovered along the way that talent lies among the people.
Those big guys in the court may not actually be the best people in the Ming Dynasty. They are just lucky and have the upper hand.
If I organize a talent show for Ming Dynasty's good talents, talents like you and Lin Xi will definitely get good rankings.
Apart from anything else, those detectives you raised are really loyal and loyal. If I hadn't borrowed a prison officer from the imperial prison before setting off, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to find out."
At this time, Pearl also put on her clothes and ran out of the house in a hurry. Her face was still flushed, and she looked at Xiao Feng and his entourage who were leaving and returning in confusion and panic.
Xiao Feng waved his hand, and Princess Chang'an and Ru Hua stepped forward, held Pearl on the left and right, and pulled her to the side.
"Sister Pearl, don't come close. Let the men deal with men's matters themselves. You can't do what he can do..."
On the surface, Captain Zhang and the police officers on duty were all taken to the lobby, but they seemed to be fine.
Judging from the panic and despair on his face, the methods of imprisonment are well-deserved.
Li Tianyao's face turned pale, but he still looked at Xiao Feng in surprise: "Brother Xiao, I don't understand what you mean by this."
Xiao Feng sighed: "They have all been recruited. If you still don't give up, I can tell you that all your agents in the mines should have been arrested by now.
You say it's hard to find your agents, but it's not because of the hard work, it's because you only keep those who listen to you, and you drive away the rest.
There are no prisoners in your cell because in Zaozhuang County, no matter what crime they have committed, you have sentenced them to hard labor, and the place of hard labor is the coal mines everywhere.
You control the coal mines, squeeze the miners, and make them work hard to dig coal. In addition to the coal sold through the government, there is also a large amount of surplus coal, which you have secretly sold and enriched your own pockets.
Originally, this was already a considerable amount of wealth, but you suddenly realized that there are often many associated mineral deposits in coal mines, so you asked experienced miners to help you dig holes and explore for minerals.
Once you discover gold, silver, agate and other mineral deposits, immediately find an excuse to close the mining area, leaving only the most controllable part of the miners to work for you!
Boss Han, just because he discovered the gold mine, Capt. Zhang knew that this man would not be obedient, so he beat him to death and created the illusion of a landslide to conceal the truth!"
Li Tianyao's face turned paler, but he still argued: "It was clearly Boss Han who was beaten to death by Bai Er. Boss Han's wife also admitted that Bai Er had molested her..."
Xiao Feng smiled and said: "That's why I said you are a talented person. You already knew about Bai Er's lust, so when you were interrogating the case in front of me, you directly hinted
Zhang Captou put the blame on Bai Er.
In order not to give Bai Er a chance to redress his grievances, Zhang and the other two men directly killed Bai Er, leaving him dead without evidence. Unfortunately, it was your smart move that made me suspicious."
Li Tianyao looked at Xiao Feng in confusion, and Xiao Feng smiled and said: "Boss Han's wife is mediocre in appearance, and she doesn't have any unusual charm. I believe Bai Er is teasing and molesting her, but Bai Er will kill Boss Han for this woman."
, but I don’t believe it.
It's not like there are no brothels in Zaozhuang City, or there are half-open doors near the mining area, fake widows, none of them are any worse in beauty than Boss Han's wife.
Bai Er is a supervisor, and it's not like he doesn't have that much money, so what's the difficulty in finding a lover, and why should he kill someone for that?"
Li Tianyao stared at Xiao Feng dumbfounded. Damn it, it turned out that this kid spent the whole night wandering around the brothel's secret door just for this! Is this way of thinking really normal?
"You doubt me because of such a small thing? And then you made such a big move, digging holes in various mining areas to see the veins?"
"Of course not, I just asked An Qingyue to stay secretly and hide on the roof of the cell. I know that if my suspicion is correct, then you will definitely discuss something with Capt. Zhang.
Sure enough, after An Qingyue caught up with us, I knew that I had guessed correctly, and then, as you said, I went to dig holes in the mine to see the veins. By the way, I caught all your spies."
Li Tianyao stopped talking, and Xiao Feng stopped talking. The two faced each other in silence. In the silence, they could only hear the crackling sound of sparks from the pine torch.
After a long time, Li Tianyao finally spoke: "Under the great reputation, no one can
Xu Shi, I knew you were powerful, but I didn’t expect you to be so powerful.
Didn't you really calculate it using Taoism? If that's the case, I can still accept it."
Xiao Feng shook his head: "My calligraphy test is all used to protect the safety of Princess Chang'an. How can I have any spare time to test you? What's more, do I still need to test my calligraphy for such a small thing?"
This was a bit too much, but the fact was that Li Tianyao had nothing to say. Xiao Feng looked at Li Tianyao's handsome and elegant face and sighed.
"Since you have given up your status as a guest of honor and your salary as a county prince to become an official, you must be a person with great ambitions.
With the strict family background investigation when selecting guests, you must not be a member of the White Lotus Sect. If so, why are you so greedy and insatiable?"
Li Tianyao looked at Xiao Feng with a sad expression, but raised his head: "How can a sparrow know the ambition of a swan?"
Xiao Feng looked at Li Tianyao quietly: "Your ambition is not to rebel, right? Although you have made a lot of money, you are not armed. Do you want to follow the path of the court?"
Li Tianyao looked at Xiao Feng in surprise: "Yes, a real man in this world can learn from the straight and seek from the music, so why bother with the sticks and the harp?"
The reason why the Yan Party is so arrogant is because it can help Wanzai cultivate Taoism. Why it can help Wanzai cultivate Taoism is because it has two paths: being a poet and making money.
Let’s just say, Mr. Xiao, that your rapid rise to success overnight didn’t come from these two points?
You don't have to be surprised. With my status as Pearl and my financial resources, it is not difficult to get some news about the capital and the court."
Xiao Feng nodded: "So you have worked hard to accumulate wealth, just to use money to open the way, rise all the way to the court, and become a
A powerful official who is subordinate to one person and superior to ten thousand people.
If you are a guest of honor, you are just a royal son-in-law. In comparison, your ambition is really high.
But I want to know, does Lord Pearl know what you are doing? Is it because she gave up the title of Lord for you because of your ambition?"
Li Tianyao turned his face and looked at Pearl, whose face was already full of tears. For the first time, there was a trace of regret on his face, and his head was no longer held high.
"Zhenzhu doesn't know anything. She only knows that I have been excellent in exams for three consecutive years and have the opportunity to be promoted to an official in the government.
She was born into a noble family, but she actually didn't care whether she was the wife of a county magistrate, the wife of a magistrate, or even the wife of a chief minister.
But I can't do it. I, Li Tianyao, a tall and dignified man, how can I live a life of soft rice? If I hadn't loved pearls so much, I wouldn't have been the guest of honor in the first place.
But what kind of life did Yibin live? It was a pig! I was raised like a pig in Yibin’s mansion every day!
My father-in-law, including Prince Degong who is currently in Prince De’s Mansion in Jinan, we are all pigs! We are just pigs of different sizes!
I have the ambition to help the world and the ability to control the world, but the court treats me like a pig! Yan Song and Yan Shifan are just young people, but they can live in temples and control the world!
It would be fine if they could manage the world well, but what has become of the world in their hands?
It is hard for the people to have enough food and clothing, and there are wars all over the border. Why is the White Lotus Sect resurrected? Isn’t it a good thing they did?"
Li Tianyao knew that his reputation had been ruined, so he spoke without any scruples, bursting out with all his anger, which made Princess Chang An frowning next to her.
Pearl was also anxious: "Li Lang, shut up! Xiao Da
Man, Li Lang is really eager for quick success. He really wants to succeed as soon as possible, so please ask Mr. Xiao to be accommodating!"
Xiao Feng looked at the excited Li Tianyao calmly: "With your ability, you can be promoted even if you don't do these harmful things. Why do you have to take this path?"
Li Tianyao laughed loudly: "Promotion? Don't you know that they wanted me to be a fellow intellectual in Fucheng from the beginning? Is that an official position? It is a new pig-raising position.
Other colleagues may be able to be promoted step by step, but I know that I can't be promoted. Although Pearl sacrificed his title to help me, those idiots in the staff department can only figure out the emperor's thoughts!
They would think that it would be enough for Li Tianyao to be an official in Fucheng. After all, he is a relative of the emperor. Who dares to let him enter the capital, who dares to let him enter the court?
If I follow the rules and follow the steps step by step, I will only be a decoration and a waste in name only for the rest of my life! I can only rely on myself!
Why did I choose Zaozhuang? I knew there were coal mines here and I wanted to make money. I wanted to make the most money in the world. I spread all the money to buy official status, buy access, and buy a way from general to prime minister!
Then, I will use my rights to benefit the people of the world, become a famous figure, write history, and be famous throughout the ages!"
Xiao Feng looked at Li Tianyao quietly, his eyes full of complicated expressions. No one knew how many times he had thought of Li Tianyao like this.
He has also thought about obtaining power by any means necessary, and then using the obtained power to do good things for the world. But he knows what such people in history will become in the end.
But Xiao Feng also knew that Yan Song was once a young man with great ambitions.
, He Shen was also a young man who was honest and determined. Even Xu Jie, who is still serving as Xu seconder, will definitely not believe that he will become like that in the future when he is old.
There is no other reason, just because they chose Li Tianyao's path in the process of obtaining rights.
They may have sincerely believed that after gaining power, they could still stick to their original aspirations, but they didn't know that when they used dirty means to gain power, they had already killed the young man they once were.
It is much easier and more satisfying to fight crime by any means necessary than to painstakingly collect evidence and make painstaking inferences.
I don't need evidence to kill you. As long as I know you are a bad person, I can kill you. Such pleasure will make countless people fall for such reasons in the future.
Unnecessary, unreasonable, unreasonable, these three words actually translate to, I know you are a bad person, so I don't need evidence.
Li Tianyao understood Xiao Feng's eyes, and his passionate and arrogant tone gradually dimmed, and finally turned into a wry smile.
"Master Xiao, I still admire you. I have spent money to inquire about a lot of information about your affairs. I hope to hear some unscrupulous methods, so that I will feel that I am not alone.
But all the news fed back to me has disappointed me. You may be eloquent and scheming, but you have never used the methods I hope you will use.
How wonderful it would be if we were on the same journey. We could join hands to fight against this filthy world and save this crumbling Ming Dynasty, which is golden on the outside but ruined on the inside.
Mr. Xiao, tell the truth, do you really dare to
Are you saying you won’t take this path in the future? If you dare, you are qualified to judge me today!”
Xiao Feng shook his head: "I dare not say it. I don't know what kind of desperate situation I will be forced into by the enemy in the future, so I will never dare to say this.
But I will grit my teeth and persist day by day. Maybe there will be a day when I can’t hold on, but as long as that day hasn’t come yet, I am qualified to judge you!”
With the last words, Xiao Feng slapped the gavel tree with a "snap", and Yu Dayou led his soldiers and escorted a dozen policemen in from the outside, as well as dozens of miners who helped the tyrants to kill and injure people.
"Li Tianyao, as a county magistrate, you are greedy for money and merit, bribe the court, impose severe punishments, and work hard for the people!
Use the catcher as a hawk and the scoundrels as his minions to control the mine, hide the gold mine secretly, kill people and silence them, and become crazy!
Today, as the governor of Jiangnan and Zuo Shaoqing of Dali Temple, I sentence you to be escorted to the Ministry of Punishment and executed in the autumn!
All the criminals below Li Tianyao, whose lives are at stake and the evidence is conclusive, will be beheaded in public with Shang Fang's sword awarded by the Governor of Jiangnan!"
Everyone did not dare to make a sound. They were weighed down by Xiao Feng's murderous aura like dry grass in winter, trembling slightly in the cold wind. Even Zhang Wuxin, who killed without blinking an eye, and Yu Dayou, who spattered the battlefield with blood, lowered their heads slightly.
.
An Qingyue stared at Xiao Feng dumbfounded, and suddenly the words her father had said to her flashed through her heart like lightning.
"Never go against someone like Xiao Feng. He is already so scary when he uses good people's methods. Once he loses his bottom line and uses bad people's methods, he will be such a terrible person..."
Under the huge pressure, only one person shouted. Pearl broke free.
An Qingyue's hand, which was momentarily distracted, almost knocked the frail Chang An over. He rushed madly to Xiao Feng's case and fell to his knees directly on the ground.
"Master Xiao, I beg you, I beg you, don't kill him, don't sentence him to beheading.
We are no longer officials. I beg my father to write a letter to restore my status as a county prince and restore Li Lang's status as a guest. Mr. Xiao, I beg you!"
Xiao Feng did not speak, but a trace of unbearability flashed in his eyes as he looked at Pearl. Li Tianyao walked over, helped his wife up, and held her in his arms.
"Zhenzhu, there's no need to beg him. What I do is a path of failure or success. Now that I meet him, I accept it.
He is not a murderous person, but the world today is full of chaos, strife, corruption and filth. Without thunder, the darkness cannot be broken; without blood covering the ground, the people's hearts cannot be purified.
He has his own way, and I hope that his path will work. I was forced to take this path because I couldn't."
Xiao Feng said calmly: "If the Junjun insists on doing this, I can't stop it. If the Junjun and Yibin regain their status, the clan government will handle the matter, and the Fasi Yamen will no longer have the power to deal with it.
But Li Tianyao, I want to ask, are you really willing to go back to Yibin Mansion within the high wall, eat and sleep, and live out your life with food and sleep?"
Li Tianyao smiled miserably and said: "Master Xiao, you are the governor of Jiangnan, and you carry with you the Shang Fang Sword given by Long Live. I will never have the opportunity to carry Shang Fang Sword in my life. Can you allow me to take a look?"
Xiao Feng nodded, reached out and took Shang Fang's sword from Zhang Wuxin's hand, placed it on the bank, and pushed it to Li Tianyao.
Li Tianyao picked up Shang Fang's sword and looked at it
Look again, just like a child looking at his most beloved toy that he will never get.
Then he drew out his sword, placed it across his neck, and smiled at Xiao Feng: "Today I will use Li's blood to open up your Shangfang sword. May you have a smooth journey and kill ghosts when you encounter them!"
Pearl screamed and rushed forward, but An Qingyue, who had already turned around, kept her tight. Li Tianyao looked at Pearl and returned to that warm spring day in a trance.
"May I have your name?"
"I'm Li Tianyao, do you know your little brother's name?"
"I...my name is Pearl..."
"Pearl? How does this name sound like a woman's name?"
"Because, because I am a woman..."
"Li Lang, you can eat something. I'll ask someone to buy whatever you want."
"Li Lang, I know that you have ambitions, want to be an official, and want to leave a name in history. I, I have asked my father to write a letter for me..."
"Li Lang, look at the four pieces of coal. I asked someone to carve them. This pair belongs to the two of us. This pair is what I want to give to Chang An.
I heard that she will definitely marry Mr. Xiao. Huh? What’s wrong? Isn’t Mr. Xiao a Taoist priest? "
Li Tianyao smiled with tears in his eyes: "Zhenzhu, I'm sorry, I really don't want to go back to Yibin Mansion. You don't want to be a county king in your next life. Let's meet by the lake, okay?"
The young man had a three-foot sword hidden in his chest, and he vowed to kill the poisonous dragon. He faced the green sun with blood splashing, only to realize that he had been in a big dream.