"Rest assured, sir. I understand. We and Lord Han were in the same boat, and he's been wronged this time. Everyone knows it, but we are of low status and in public service. We have to do things under duress…"
"Farewell!"
After cupping his hands to the jailer again, Han Xiao turned and strode out.
"Han Rui, oh Han Rui, I never thought your Han family would send such a hothead!"
After dismissing all the jailers, Huang Qianshan turned and looked at Han Rui with a cold smile.
"Lord Huang, does it matter who our Han family sends in this matter? As for what this is all about, I believe Your Lordship knows better than I do. You hold a high position now and can command the wind and rain. But Your Lordship, don't forget, fortunes turn!"
It was clear that Huang Qianshan was targeting him. Han Rui certainly had no reason to be polite to him.
After all, he himself was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the imperial examinations). At worst, he would only be dismissed from office. He could be weak in front of Han Xiao, but he had no intention of yielding to Huang Qianshan.
"Very well, then I shall see just how capable your son is!"
"Guards, from today onwards, have someone watch this place. Since this Lord Han is so sharp-tongued, I think there's no need to prepare any food for him!"
With a cold snort, Huang Qianshan flicked his sleeve and left again.
"Yes!"
After leaving a few harsh words, Huang Qianshan led his men away.
"Brother Han, why are you putting yourself through this!"
Seeing Huang Qianshan leave, the jailer, who had just accepted twenty taels of gold from Han Xiao, let out a wry smile.
"Brother Liu, I have implicated you in this matter. I am truly sorry!"
"We are brothers. What are you talking about? Here are a few more flatbreads. Hide them first, they should last a few days…"
Since Huang Qianshan had already said that no food was to be prepared for him in the coming days, the jailer could only hide some provisions for him beforehand.
"My Lord, with Lord Han's unyielding attitude, their countermeasures will likely arrive soon!"
Not long after walking out of the prison gate, a scholar in green who had been following Huang Qianshan quickly lowered his voice and said.
"Isn't that exactly what we want? As long as Han Mo gets involved, we will be able to benefit from it!"
Hearing this, a cold smile appeared on Huang Qianshan's lips.
"That's true, but for some reason, I feel a chill down my spine these past two days…"
The scholar spoke while instinctively glancing around.
"Brother Mingde, aren't you being a bit too sensitive? Isn't our plan going smoothly? As long as we draw his son into the game, we can naturally use that opportunity to bring up the Cai family's affairs. By then, if the Chancellor submits a memorial, won't the Prince's major task be half accomplished?"
As Huang Qianshan spoke, a sly smile appeared on his face.
"Perhaps I am indeed too sensitive. However, if the Han family's reaction is too fierce, I fear Your Lordship's position as prefect might be lost in an instant…"
Xu Zhenghuan said with a self-mocking smile.
"Alright, everything that needs to be done has been done. As long as the Chancellor can make a comeback, everything else is worth it! What's so great about being a mere prefect? When we get back, have someone send a carrier pigeon to the Chancellor to report on the situation here in detail!"
"Yes!"
After Huang Qianshan finished, he got into the carriage with Xu Zhenghuan and headed towards the Prefect's Yamen…
The Emperor Zhao Ji looked at the memorial from the Ministry of Revenue with a constipated expression.
"Money, money, money! The millions of strings of copper coins that Han Mo's son just sent into Bianliang City are all gone?"
"Your Majesty, the year-end is approaching. The soldiers on the front lines need to be rewarded, and there are the annual grants for officials, nobles, and the Imperial Guards, as well as military pay and provisions for the front lines…"
Fan Zhengguo's words stopped halfway, as the rest would involve the Emperor's expenses.
Although he knew that the Emperor had recently made a small fortune, that money had gone directly into the palace, and the Emperor's expenses did not use that money…
"How much copper coin are we still short?"
Just hearing the list of accounts presented by Fan Zhengguo made Zhao Ji's head ache.
Everything was piled up here, and with the year-end approaching, none of these items could really be postponed.
"Replying to Your Majesty, I have listed the specific figures. Please look further…"
"How can it be so much?"
Upon seeing the numbers, Zhao Ji's eyes widened.
He had originally thought that once Han Mo's money for the following year was collected, his finances would finally be somewhat eased.
But he never expected that before the money even entered the account, it had already been spent by Fan Zhengguo.
"Your Majesty, with the two fronts currently engaged in war, although the military pay for the six southeastern circuits does not need to be raised by the court, it's not as if we can ask Prince Xin to raise the rewards himself…"
Hearing Fan Zhengguo's words, even Emperor Zhao Ji fell silent.
He was willing to do so, but the key was that the words were too difficult to utter.
Seeing the Emperor's silence, Liang Shicheng simply shrunk his neck, narrowed his eyes, lowered his head, and pretended not to see anything.
This mouth was not easy to open!
Although the Emperor himself treated Prince Xin with great importance, he had to admit that Prince Xin's influence was at its peak at this time.
With hundreds of thousands of troops under his command, and after the Fang La rebellion was quelled, his prestige and the strength of his forces would undoubtedly increase again. Offending Prince Xin at this time would be inviting trouble for himself in the future. He was already at this age and didn't want to risk the rest of his life.
Seeing that even Liang Shicheng had backed down, the other officials standing nearby naturally followed suit, each focusing their gaze on their own noses and their noses on their hearts.
After all, having them raise military pay themselves was already excessive. If they were asked to raise rewards themselves, such a thing, if it were to get out, would it not be drowned by the world's criticism!