Hong Taoping was stunned by Tang Xiaobei's question, and then fell silent.
Should Hong Er be beaten?
Hong Taoping asked himself in his mind, and the answer he got was yes.
But thinking about Hong Er's persistence when the Hong family was in decline, Hong Taoping argued: "Sir, we must act in accordance with the law. Even if the second uncle is at fault, he should be handed over to the government for trial, not Mrs. Xiaobei who takes advantage of it without permission."
Lynching!”
When Tang Xiaobei heard this, he couldn't help but frown and glance at Hong Taoping.
Qing Mulan's eyes were also full of surprise.
Even Hong Er himself looked at Hong Taoping with anxious eyes.
He was slapped by Amei, and his left ear was completely deaf at this time. Although his right ear was fine, his whole head was buzzing. He didn't hear clearly just now. He just heard a rough idea and knew that Hong Taoping said something wrong.
Already.
But Hong Taoping has already said what he said, and it is not easy for him to refute his backer in front of outsiders.
In fact, when Hong Taoping rushed out to protect Hong Er, even Qing Mulan, a straight-faced person, suddenly saw that Hong Taoping didn't have much power.
If a veteran official like Zheng Chiyuan encountered this situation, the first thing he would do would be to give Hong Er a good beating to calm down Tang Xiaobei's anger.
But instead of beating Hong Er, Hong Taoping protected him.
He stopped talking about protecting Hong Er, and now he actually used Jin Feng's words to suppress Tang Xiaobei.
Tang Xiaobei laughed angrily at him.
"Okay, since Mr. Hong said that he would hand it over to the government for trial, then just listen to Mr. Hong."
Tang Xiaobei said: "Come here, hand over Hong Er to the government, and tell me, Tang Xiaobei, to report that Hong Er incited the people to fight against His Majesty the Imperial Preceptor and the imperial court, and let them investigate!"
When Hong Taoping heard this, his expression couldn't help but change.
If the crime mentioned by Tang Xiaobei is proven true, the consequences will be serious.
"Mrs. Xiaobei, it is true that the second uncle did something unethical, but he was just confused for a moment. Do you think it is too much to say that he went against His Majesty and the imperial court?"
"Is it too much?"
Tang Xiaobei said coldly: "I have said it lightly, but if we really want to pursue it, what he is doing is evading Your Majesty and the Imperial Master. It's okay to say that he intends to rebel. I didn't kill him directly. I have already
It's a mercy, I've given you Hong Tao a fair face, but you still say that I'm going too far!"
At this time, Hong Er's hearing in his right ear had basically recovered. When he heard Tang Xiaobei say this, he was so frightened that his legs shook involuntarily.
Hong Taoping's face suddenly turned pale.
No matter what time it is, rebellion is the most serious crime. Confiscating homes and exterminating families is a minor crime. If not done well, the nine tribes will be implicated!
Anyone who has anything to do with rebellion is a big deal.
Hong Er was just a housekeeper, and he wanted to do some dirty things secretly behind his back. In fact, he didn't have much ability or courage, otherwise he wouldn't have watched the Hong family collapse in the first place.
When he heard that Tang Xiaobei was blaming him on the rebellion, he couldn't bear it anymore.
Kneeling on the ground with a bang: "Mrs. Xiaobei, I didn't want to rebel. I was just confused for a moment. I wanted to accumulate some reputation for the Hong family and make some money for use!"
"You still say you don't want to rebel?" Tang Xiaobei sneered: "If you don't want to rebel, why are you accumulating reputation?".??m
Reputation is one of the necessary conditions for rebellion. Many heroes will win over people's hearts before taking action.
Including Jin Feng himself did the same.
If he hadn't built a factory in Jinchuan, supported so many people, and paid such high wages to the bodyguards and workers, how could the bodyguards be willing to follow him through life and death?
If he hadn't been vigorously suppressing bandits in Sichuan and Shu and accumulated a lot of reputation, how could the Sichuan and Shu regime be so stable?
Fortunately, Sichuan and Shu were relatively far away from the capital, and the Duke of Qing was circulating in the court. By the time the dignitaries in the capital knew about this, Jin Feng had already grown up.
Later, Jin Feng rescued Chen Ji and gained Chen Ji's absolute trust. The Ninth Princess took control of the court, and the dignitaries did not say anything.
In fact, it has always been a taboo thing for local wealthy families to accumulate prestige.
Hong Er was also stunned by Amei's slap. Saying this was equivalent to handing the knife to Tang Xiaobei.
Hong Taoping finally came to his senses at this time, realized the seriousness of the matter, and understood that he should not confront Tang Xiaobei now.
"Mrs. Xiaobei, my second uncle said something wrong without hesitation. Your Excellency has a lot of knowledge. Don't be as knowledgeable as him!"
Hong Taoping saluted Tang Xiaobei and lowered his posture: "We have realized our mistake. When we go back, I will definitely teach my second uncle a lesson!"
"Mr. Hong, do you think that such a big matter can be solved with such a light sentence of "taking it home and teaching you a lesson?"
"How do you want Mrs. Xiaobei to deal with it?" Hong Taoping bowed and asked.
"First, I don't want to see him in the dock again, and I don't allow him to have any contact with anything in the dock!"
Tang Xiaobei raised a finger.
When Hong Er heard this, he couldn't help but grit his teeth, but didn't dare to say anything.
It is better to lose power than to lose life.
But Hong Taoping was not happy: "Mrs. Xiaobei, my second uncle has always been helping to take care of the dock. If you drive him away, who will help me take care of the dock?"
"That's my second point."
Tang Xiaobei raised another finger: "Mr. Hong, given your past performance, I think you are not suitable for the position of director of the shipyard, so from now on you will only be responsible for technical matters. As for other chores, I will
Someone else will be arranged to take over!”
"No!" Hong Er was anxious at that time: "The dock belongs to the Hong family!"
Tang Xiaobei put it nicely, he was looking for someone to help Hong Taoping handle chores, but in reality he was seizing power.
If we really do this, I'm afraid it won't be long before the dockyard has nothing to do with the Hong family.
With Tang Xiaobei's current status, it would be too cheap to argue with a small butler.
Qing Mulan stood up at the right time and scolded: "Shut up, you have no right to speak here. If you dare to make any noise again, I will pull out your tongue!"
Hong Taoping had no interest in management to begin with. Although he felt a little unhappy, seeing Tang Xiaobei's firm attitude, he still nodded: "Yes, I agree!"
"Okay, then I'll continue with the third point!"
Tang Xiaobei stretched out another finger: "The shipyard is also a military unit. Hong Er's behavior is extremely bad in nature. According to military regulations, he will be punished with twenty rods!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Hong Taoping objected: "No!"
The bodyguard's military stick is very heavy. If it misses and hits the leg, a single blow of the stick can break a person's leg bone.
Even if there is no miss, a few blows with the military stick will leave a person's buttocks to pieces.
With Hong Er's body, if he were hit with twenty military sticks, even if he wasn't killed, half of his life would still be lost!
"Mr. Hong, this is not a vegetable market, and I am not bargaining with you, but I am informing you of my decision!"
Tang Xiaobei said coldly: "If you are not convinced, you can write a memorial and ask for His Majesty's approval!"