The pitter-patter of raindrops on the workshop roof created a stark contrast to the deathly silence below.

Inside, the workers huddled fearfully at the back, their alarm unconcealed. Their hands, however, instinctively reached for shovels and planks. No one knew what would happen next.

Standing in front, the stewards who had instigated the strike were even more terrified. They stared at the Imperial Envoy sitting calmly on a chair by the workshop entrance. No one paid attention to the dead Supervisor Xiao anymore. No one even dared to glance at the gruesome scene of his severed head by the furnace. Their fearful gazes were fixed on Fan Xian's gentle, beautiful face, their feet retreating unconsciously.

One person retreated, then ten, then everyone. The rustling sound of the stewards' footsteps as they backed away was like a centipede crawling through the desert. But the workshop was only so big, and the back was mostly occupied by the thinly clad workers. Where could these stewards in their blue uniforms retreat to?

Fan Xian watched the scene and shook his head almost unconsciously. He said in a calm voice, "This official is not a cruel and bloodthirsty man. Workers, do not be afraid. The court is investigating the matter of the stewards' embezzlement and withholding of wages, which has nothing to do with you."

The workers at the back exchanged glances, their unease slightly lessened, but they dared not fully trust this young official. Their hands still gripped the handles of their shovels.

"You… you may be a court official, but how can you kill people arbitrarily!" a steward finally cried out in a shrill voice, unable to bear the oppressive silence any longer.

At this moment, Vice Director Ma Kai of the Transportation Division stood foolishly behind Fan Xian. He had never expected that Fan Xian would execute the head of the main workshop without a word! Today's events had blown up, and he had no idea how to resolve them!

He said in a trembling voice, both shocked and angry, "Imperial Envoy, what… what is the meaning of this? Everything can be discussed… It's over, it's all over."

In Ma Kai's mind, the most important thing for the Internal Treasury were these stewards. Only they knew how to keep the Internal Treasury running. Even if Fan Xian killed dozens of people today, forcing these stewards to submit, what about the future? If the stewards did their work with resentment, who knew what the Internal Treasury would become?

What's more, the two main workshop supervisors were also stirring up the strike. If they knew that you had killed Xiao, the Supervisor of Jia Workshop, and aroused popular resentment, the strike would really continue… Heavens! If you really kill everyone, who will do the work? Do you expect those illiterate workers to do it?

Fan Xian ignored the flustered Vice Director beside him, signaled Su Wenmao to come closer, and then said in a clear voice to everyone in the workshop, "Listen to every word I say!"

Everyone paused.

Su Wenmao took out several sheets of paper from his rain-soaked lotus robe, squinted at them, and began to read aloud.

"It is hereby verified that Xiao Jing, Supervisor of Jia Workshop of the Internal Treasury Transportation Division, has committed numerous acts of wickedness and illegality since the first year of Qingli."

Su Wenmao frowned as he glanced at the restless stewards and continued, "In March of the second year of Qingli, Xiao Jing concealed the Copper Mountain mine disaster and embezzled the wages of the dead for five years, totaling thirteen thousand seven hundred taels of silver. On the ninth day of the seventh month of the fourth year of Qingli, Xiao Jing bribed the Suzhou Registrar and purchased seven hundred mu of fertile land at a low price. In January of the sixth year of Qingli, Xiao Jing and the supervisors of the three main workshops, along with a number of stewards, owed workers' wages totaling over ten thousand, causing riots, resulting in the death of fourteen people and injury to more than fifty…"

The list of crimes went on and on, making Su Wenmao's mouth dry. He finally said, "His crimes are unforgivable. According to the Qing Law, he shall be executed."

Then he took out several land deeds from his bosom, the Suzhou Registrar's confession, and related evidence.

"Don't ask me for evidence again," Fan Xian continued. "I have kept the witnesses, and there is plenty of material evidence. Since this official is in charge of the Internal Treasury, I will never keep this kind of scoundrel like Xiao Jing around."

The workers, who had been trembling with fear, heard the Imperial Envoy announce the crimes, heard the list of charges, and immediately recalled how Xiao Jing had always been so domineering and how harsh and vicious he had been to the workers under him. They immediately felt that the Imperial Envoy had done well to kill him! It was a wonderful thing!

The resentment in the stewards' eyes, however, grew heavier. Someone shouted in protest, "Even if you want to punish him, you must hold a trial… If you want to condemn someone, you can always find a pretext!"

Vice Director Ma Kai, standing behind Fan Xian, knew that the Imperial Envoy was making excuses when he heard Su Wenmao reading the charges. The officials of the Internal Treasury Transportation Division were all aware of what Xiao Jing had done, but even if you wanted to punish him according to the Qing Law, you couldn't just kill him like that!

After all, Ma Kai wanted to maintain a good relationship with Fan Xian because of his cousin Ren Shaoan, so no matter how much he disagreed with Fan Xian's style, he forcibly kept his mouth shut and didn't question him.

He didn't question, but the confidants left behind by the Eldest Princess in the Transportation Division were not willing to let go of this opportunity. One of them said insidiously, "Your Excellency is decisive, but… it seems that such corrupt and lawless people should be tried in open court so that he can confess in person, which will serve as a warning to the petty officials. Moreover, Your Excellency gave the stewards a deadline of three days, and those three days have not yet passed, so it is inevitable that…"

The stewards trembled, but they were not resigned. Hearing someone from the ranks of the officials speaking for them, they became bolder and started to make a commotion.

Fan Xian didn't turn his head at all. A cold smile appeared on the corner of his lips. "This official is the Director of the Supervisory Council and the Chief of the Internal Treasury Transportation Division. The Supervisory Council is responsible for investigating cases, and the Transportation Division, according to the Qing Law's special provisions, is responsible for judging cases. What's wrong with me trying and executing him? Besides… I'm not executing him for these crimes."

He lowered his head slightly and said with a smile, "He incited workers to cause trouble, went on strike, and resisted His Majesty's decree. Can't this official execute such an unpatriotic and unfilial person?"

The Qing Law was meticulous. It was fine to do things like killing people in secret, but to kill people openly and brazenly like Fan Xian, you needed a very good excuse. If he only used Xiao Jing's illegal activities as a rope to explain the legitimacy of his killing, it would give the officials and stewards an excellent opportunity to refute him – it was unreasonable to execute a criminal without questioning him, no matter which government office it was.

But Fan Xian was a very practical person. He clearly verified Xiao Jing's crimes, but insisted that he was executed because he disrespected His Majesty's decree… Decrees were the most ethereal and intangible things, and as the Imperial Envoy, he naturally had the final say.

The Supervisory Council's investigation of Xiao Jing's crimes was also very necessary. In future court battles in Kyoto, these crimes of forcibly buying good land and causing death to the people would be enough to silence any doubts.

Killing to establish authority now and collecting evidence afterward to silence the world's criticism was a long-term arrangement.

——————————————————————————

In the main workshop of Jia Workshop, one person had already died. The workers had some expectations of the Imperial Envoy, the stewards were timid as mice, and the officials, although they had ghosts in their hearts, could not openly criticize Fan Xian. The situation had stabilized slightly.

After some time, the strikes in Yi and Bing Workshops also subsided, but it took Ye Canjiang and Shan Da more time to handle those two places. These two were not as bold as Fan Xian. They only dared to arrest people, not kill them.

The stewards of the other two workshops were escorted by soldiers into the main workshop. Workers were strictly forbidden from staying in their respective workshops. Even so, the sudden influx of more than two hundred stewards in blue uniforms made the main workshop seem crowded.

But with the cold glint of the army's swords and spears, and the threat of the Supervisory Council's crossbows, even the most crowded crowd dared not move a muscle.

Watching this scene, the officials of the Transportation Division who had come to the workshop with Fan Xian were greatly shocked! Only now did the officials realize that the Imperial Envoy had made arrangements for the situation on the last day of the three-day order, and that he seemed to have anticipated the stewards' overreaction!

For a time, the confidants of the Xinyang faction were all disappointed. It seemed that this mess would not be a big one today. But at the same time, they were also hoping that Fan Xian would be even more ruthless later, preferably offending all the stewards – if the Internal Treasury's production decreased and the quality declined in the future, let's see how you explain it to His Majesty!

After the workshop became a little quieter, Fan Xian stood up from his chair. The few puddles of water that had gathered in his lotus robe flowed to the ground.

He looked at the pile of stewards in front of him. He saw that there was still unwillingness in their eyes, and that the stewards who had been escorted from Yi and Bing Workshops still had a look of arrogance, as if they didn't know what had happened.

"Everyone's here, that's good," he said with a gentle smile. "It rained heavily last night, and this workshop was extinguished. What about your side? Also, how come the stewards of workshops that are thirty or forty miles away are all near the government office today? Even if the workshops stopped working because of the rain, you should have been watching in your own workshops. It's still early. Could it be that you've already been there and then turned back?"

He was talking to himself, and the stewards finally knew what had happened from the explanations of the stewards who had stayed in the workshop earlier. Their faces gradually turned pale.

Fan Xian shook his head and said, "That's good. You've all been caught red-handed for going on strike. This official can easily kill people now."

After the abrupt and decisive death of Supervisor Xiao, and through the spread of words, the stewards now finally knew that the Imperial Envoy was a ruthless character who didn't blink an eye when he killed people. Hearing this faint sentence, the stewards exploded. Some were begging for their lives, some were still cursing wildly, and some were rolling their eyes, as if they were looking for a dog hole in the workshop to crawl out of. The crowd gradually dispersed, and the situation was slightly chaotic, but the surrounding army and the Supervisory Council were watching closely and forced everyone back.

Two people squeezed out from the stewards. They were none other than the three leaders of this strike, the supervisors of Yi and Bing Workshops.

These two supervisors had been high-spirited in the largest workshop under their jurisdiction, commanding the stewards and workers to strike with eloquence and impressive momentum. Although the workers were looking at the two of them weakly and unintentionally, hundreds of stewards were moved by their words. They thought that with their wisdom, the court would not dare to punish them severely. Of course, these two supervisors also strictly ordered the stewards to be extremely respectful to the Imperial Envoy. What they wanted was just that the silver in their homes would not be taken away by the court, not that they really wanted to rebel.

Unexpectedly, not long after the strike, countless soldiers and secret agents from the Supervisory Council rushed in from outside the workshop. Faced with weapons, the two supervisors' words immediately lost their power, and they obediently surrendered and were escorted here. But along the way, they still had confidence, thinking that they had acted with discretion, and that the Imperial Envoy would not be able to do anything to them.

Unexpectedly, the Imperial Envoy had no sense of discretion. After standing in the crowd for a while, the two supervisors learned that Supervisor Xiao, who had been plotting the strike with them… was actually dead!

The two supervisors stood outside the crowd, looking around the workshop. Finally, they found Xiao Jing's corpse by the furnace. The bloodstains and the head shocked their minds. The two wailed sadly, "Lord Xiao… Lord Xiao!"

There were weapons all around, so they didn't dare to mourn by the furnace, but they still raised their heads and gave Fan Xian a very resentful look, knowing that they probably couldn't escape today.

Fan Xian didn't look at them, but tilted his head slightly and listened to Shan Da's report. When he learned that everything in Bing Workshop was as usual, and that the technicians from the Supervisory Council's Third Bureau had all taken over and no one dared to do anything in the chaos, he was relieved. At this time, a Tiger Guard who was supposed to be stationed in the residence quietly passed the officials and came to Fan Xian's side, whispering in his ear, "The one in the residence wants to go out for a walk."

Bing Workshop was so important because it was responsible for producing critical materials such as military equipment and ships. If the secrets there were leaked, Qing would lose many more young people on the battlefield in the future. Fan Xian didn't dare to take this responsibility. He was relieved to hear Shan Da's report, but his brows furrowed again when he heard the Tiger Guard's report.

Haitang disguised herself as a maid and followed him, which could deceive the officials and many people, but she couldn't deceive Gao Da's eagle eyes. Although Fan Xian realized that he had made this big mistake, he couldn't make up for it. Fortunately, the Qinian Group was secretly watching, and the Tiger Guards hadn't released any information to the outside world, which made him feel a little relieved, and then he began to wonder.

But now was not the time to deal with this matter. The one that the Tiger Guard was referring to… was naturally Haitang. It seemed that the country girl knew that today was lively and wanted to take the opportunity to do something.

Fan Xian said calmly, "Don't let her out. Watch her and use any means to keep her in the residence today."

Seven Tiger Guards were assigned to Haitang, which was the standard configuration on the grassland last year. Fan Xian wasn't worried about anything. And once they used force, Haitang would know his determination and naturally quiet down.

After dealing with his own affairs, Fan Xian refocused his attention on the scene and said, "Tie up these two criminals who incited trouble and resisted the court."

Soldiers immediately stepped forward to tie up the two supervisors. Although the stewards looked frightened and hateful, no one dared to help. On the one hand, there was the violent machine in front of them, and on the other hand, these stewards had made enough money over the years and really didn't have the courage to fight. The more money people had, the less courage they had. Fan Xian understood this very well.

"Lord Fan!"

The two supervisors didn't resist and numbly allowed the soldiers to tie their hands, but the Supervisor of Yi Workshop still stared at Fan Xian's face and said faintly, "Kill me if you want! But let's see how you explain it to the court in the future?"

"Are you threatening this official?" Fan Xian smiled. "On the way here, I once said a sentence… If Zhang the Butcher dies, does that mean we have to eat pigs with hair? If we lose you little stewards, does that mean this official can't manage the Internal Treasury?"

The Supervisor of Yi Workshop laughed miserably, "Is that so? We did underestimate your determination, Imperial Envoy, but it seems that you also underestimated these insignificant workshops!"

The last sentence he said was almost shouted out, showing that he was desperate, but he also had a fierce determination to become a ghost and see how Fan Xian would destroy the Internal Treasury.

……

……

Fan Xian looked at Su Wenmao. Su Wenmao took out another file from his lotus robe, his face gloomy, and began to read out a list of names according to what was written on the paper.

"Zhang San, Li Si, Wang Ba, Long Jiu…"

As these names of extras were read out one by one, the faces of a dozen people in the stewards' crowd turned pale. They didn't know if they were about to be separated from their bodies like Xiao Jing of Jia Workshop! Some of the timid ones were shaking their legs, and a large patch of their pants was wet.

Su Wenmao looked at these people with disgust. He didn't understand why Lord Ti Si was doing this. After swallowing a mouthful of saliva, he said with a dark face, "You can come out. The Imperial Envoy pardons you of your crimes and will write to the court tomorrow to vouch for you."

Innocent? And write to the court? These stewards who had been named were immediately dumbfounded. They thought it was hell, but who knew it was heaven with cool springs and seventy-two virgins!

Surrounded by the stewards' puzzled, suspicious, and jealous gazes, these dozen stewards walked out of the crowd in a daze, walked to Fan Xian's face, and knelt down with a "poof" sound, thanking the Imperial Envoy, but not understanding why this was happening.

Fan Xian had a warm smile on his face, and he helped these stewards up with both hands. He pretended and said in a gentle voice, "I can seize the real crimes of the three supervisors, and I can know that there are so many illegal things among the stewards, all thanks to your righteousness and loyalty to the court. Otherwise, this official would really know that the Internal Treasury is so chaotic, and I didn't know that someone dared to instigate a strike today… You have made contributions to the country, and this official will naturally not treat you badly."

There was an uproar in the workshop. It turned out that these dozen stewards were spies! Even the officials behind Fan Xian were dumbfounded, thinking that the Imperial Envoy had only been in the Internal Treasury for three days, how could he have developed so many informants? The name of the Supervisory Council's secret agents was really not fake.

The stewards knew that the dozen colleagues who had been invited out by Fan Xian had secretly betrayed them, and they couldn't help but be furious. Although they didn't dare to step forward and beat them, they cursed fiercely, and dirty words flew all over the sky and entered the ears of those traitors.

What about those traitor stewards? They originally loved Lord Fan very much, but now they hated Lord Fan very much. That's right, they had secretly returned the treasury silver, and they had secretly said a few things they had heard, but… how could it be as serious as Lord Fan said? They only knew about the strike last night, where did they have time to report it? As for Xiao, the Supervisor, and the other two supervisors… God, they just wanted to be beautiful weather vanes, how dare they offend the leaders of the stewards!

These stewards who were pointed out by thousands of people looked at each other, wanting to cry without tears. Even if Fan Xian let them go today, how could they face more than two hundred colleagues in the future when he pointed out their betrayal and shameless behavior in front of everyone today? How could they be human?

Zhang San looked at Li Si, and Wang Ba looked at Long Jiu, asking sadly with their eyes: "Are you also a spy?"

"Yes, I'm also a spy."

Fan Xian's next words shocked the workshop again.

"Well, these thirteen stewards are brave enough to expose malpractices and have made contributions to the country. This official has decided that from today onwards, they will be the vice-supervisors of the three main workshops." Fan Xian asked the vice-director beside him with a warm smile, "Lord Ma, what do you think of this proposal?"

Vice Director Ma Kai was still worried about how the Internal Treasury could resume normal production, and he was very depressed, but hearing these words, he still nodded repeatedly in agreement. Deep down, he greatly admired Fan Xian – this trick was really beautiful. By revealing the treacherous and shameless faces of these stewards, he could use them as pawns to govern the treasury in the future, and he wouldn't have to worry about them disobeying. This was artificially creating a gap among the stewards. If this matter could be concluded satisfactorily today, the stewards would no longer be able to regroup and become a class that could confront the officials.

Suddenly someone sneered.

Everyone fixed their eyes and saw that it was the Yi Workshop steward who was kneeling on the ground and tied up. He sneered sadly and said, "What a bunch of shameless villains… Lord Fan, do you really think that you can rely on these guys to make the Internal Treasury run as before? I'm not threatening the court, but without what we have in our minds, the Internal Treasury… I'm afraid it won't last a few days!"

As soon as these words came out, the atmosphere in the venue became strange again. Vice Director Ma Kai wanted to approach Fan Xian and beg for mercy, but he didn't know how to open his mouth. And the Xinyang confidants among the Transportation Division officials also began to consider the court openly and cheer for the supervisors secretly, and they all suggested to Fan Xian that the Internal Treasury's production should be the most important thing, and that killing Supervisor Xiao had already given the other party enough lessons.

Fan Xian wouldn't listen to these words. He just stared at the Supervisor of Yi Workshop and didn't speak for a long time.

Those sharp and clear eyes stared at the Supervisor of Yi Workshop so hard that he couldn't bear it anymore and slowly lowered his head.

At this time, Fan Xian said angrily, "You dare to threaten the court when you're about to die… Stewards? Tear up your underwear and put it on your face and see if what's growing on your neck is your head or your ass!"

The Imperial Envoy was furious, and the workshop was silent.

Fan Xian glanced at the stewards, his disdain mixed with pity and anger, and said, "Do you really think you're promising? Do you really think that this Internal Treasury is still the Ye family's? Don't look at your little skills, you call others shameless villains, what about you? What else can you do besides embezzling silver, stealing materials and selling them, deducting the wages of those poor workers, and seizing other people's wives? Shameless? If you had any shame, you wouldn't have today's incident!"

He turned around and said angrily to the Yi Workshop steward, "You're very tough, the Internal Treasury can't do without you? Then tell me, why is the glass getting more and more turbid these years? Why is the wine getting so weak that it's almost turning into a bird! Perfume has been out of production for ten years, have you found a way to make it again?"

"You were also a clerk of the Ye family, an old man," Fan Xian said with grief and indignation, scolding the supervisor: "How did you degenerate into this? I'm so damn angry!"

Everyone in the workshop was shocked. The slow-witted people finally remembered that there seemed to be a rumor – that the angry Imperial Envoy in front of them was a descendant of the Ye family? His mother, I'm so damn angry? Whose mother would be angry?

(I have something to explain. I felt very comfortable after writing yesterday's chapter, and I thought that no one would say that the plot stopped halfway, but there were still brothers and sisters who criticized seriously, and I was very upset. I thought I should end the chapter at the point where the vice-director shouted about the Internal Treasury strike, and I was very sleepy, but I thought that it would be uncomfortable for everyone to read if I stopped there, so I wrote another thousand words. I didn't expect it, haha. The plot develops naturally, but there is a limit to how many words can be written every day, and it is not deliberately left anywhere, please understand bravo… On second thought, it shows that the current plot is still very attractive, haha, comforting myself. Of course, this paragraph does not count towards the word count. By the way, I'm a bit mentally tired, so I'll report it first.)