lcionline Chapter 233 Cao Yan
Chapter 233 Cao Yan
"Father, Cao Yan cannot be allowed to live!" This was the only thought in Zheng Luoqi's mind after reading the letter.
Zheng Yuxiang nodded, indicating that they were on the same page: "That's right, Cao Yan can't be allowed to live after all!"
Cao Yan, the prefect of Yangzhou, was a member of the prime minister's faction. At the time, the Yangzhou uprising was making a great fuss. During Zheng Luoqi's time in Yangzhou dealing with the uprising, iron and gold mines were discovered.
Afterwards, Zheng Luoqi entrusted Cao Yan with full responsibility for the mining of gold and iron ore, handling the matter on behalf of Zheng Yuxiang.
As for the labor needed to help mine gold and iron ore, Zheng Luoqi initially planned to use prisoners as laborers, making the best use of them.
However, due to the limited number of criminals in Yangzhou, which could not meet the manpower needs for mining, Zheng Luoqi and Zheng Yuxiang decided to transfer criminals from other states to serve their sentences.
Of course, the prerequisite was that these prefectures had to belong to the prime minister's faction in order to mobilize these prisoners. The prefectures did not know exactly what these prisoners were used for.
Although a plan had been made, Zheng Yuxiang still had concerns and did not want too many people to know about it.
To ensure everything went smoothly, a small number of criminals would be transferred from various prefectures every so often. In fact, during the journey to Yangzhou, the escorting personnel were changed three times, and the handover took place at different locations. After many twists and turns, the criminals were finally safely delivered to Yangzhou.
The people who made the handover did not know where the criminals originally came from. They only knew that someone had arranged for the criminals to be sent here. Their job was to wait here for the criminals to be delivered, and then they would send the criminals to the next location.
Cao Yan was the last link in the chain. When the others delivered the criminals to the handover point in Yangzhou, Cao Yan was responsible for sending them to the gold and iron mines.
At first, Cao Yan did indeed do his best, but later, money corrupted his heart...
Cao Yan ultimately couldn't resist the temptation. After all, the Prime Minister was far away in the capital, and even if the matter came to light, they couldn't do anything to him right away. It would be difficult to find out if he took a kickback.
Originally, Zheng Yuxiang didn't intend to touch Cao Yan, who was taking a small kickback. As long as it didn't affect the fundamental interests of the Prime Minister's Mansion, he would turn a blind eye. However, Cao Yan made a grave mistake by arbitrarily conscripting commoners in order to quickly develop gold and iron mines.
If this matter is exposed, the consequences will be unimaginable. If the news leaks out, they will definitely kill people to silence them.
No one investigates when a prisoner dies, but what about when a commoner dies? How do you explain that? How do you explain it to the families of these commoners?
Therefore, Cao Yan absolutely cannot be allowed to live, otherwise he will surely become a major threat to the Prime Minister in the future!
Thinking of this, Zheng Yuxiang's eyes suddenly turned cold, and a hint of malice flashed in his eyes and brows.
"You must hurry to Yangzhou and find a reason to execute Cao Yan. As for who will replace him, I already have someone in mind. The reason will be embezzlement. Execute him first and report later. Cao Yan must be dealt with as soon as possible before anyone discovers it. Do not let anyone find out that there are iron and gold mines in Yangzhou!" Zheng Yuxiang ordered in a deep voice.
"As for Consort Jiang, a suitable pregnant woman has been found, and Boyu and the other two are on their way back!"
“The Empress’s birthday is in a month. You need to come back before the Empress’s birthday. If you are away for too long, you may attract the attention of the Chen family. That old man Chen Tongyu has not made any big moves recently. I guess he is plotting something!” Zheng Yuxiang said in a deep voice.
"Yes, Father!" Zheng Luoqi replied respectfully, then quickly turned and left to gather men and select fine horses. Once everything was ready, night had quietly fallen, and Zheng Luoqi led a group of men on their way to Yangzhou under the moonlight.
Three days later, Yangzhou.
"Master, master, something terrible has happened!" The steward of the Cao family came running, staggering and shouting at the top of his lungs. He looked panicked, as if a demon was chasing him.
Cao Yan, who was quietly reading in his study, felt a sudden tightness in his heart upon hearing the steward's panicked shouts. He immediately put down his book and stood up abruptly. His brows furrowed, and his tone unconsciously carried a hint of doubt and unease as he anxiously asked, "What happened? Why are you so flustered?"
"Yes... it's Lord Zheng!" The steward, panting heavily, barely managed to steady himself before answering haltingly.
Upon hearing this, Cao Yan's already tense nerves tightened even more. His eyes widened in astonishment, and he instinctively asked, "What? What Lord Zheng!"
"That's Lord Zheng, the one who came to Yangzhou to deal with the rebel army!" The steward tried to calm his breathing and quickly explained.
Upon hearing this, Cao Yan inwardly groaned. How could Zheng Luoqi suddenly appear in Yangzhou? Shouldn't he be staying in the capital?
Now that this great deity has suddenly appeared uninvited, and even personally visited, Cao Yan could guess with his toes that it couldn't be anything good.
Could it be that he has already discovered the shady things he has been doing in secret? Thinking of this, Cao Yan felt a chill run down his spine, and fine beads of sweat began to appear on his forehead.
When soldiers come, generals will block them; when water comes, earth will dam it. Cao Yan first had someone invite Zheng Luoqi in.
When Cao Yan saw Zheng Luoqi, Zheng Luoqi had already been waiting in the main hall of the Cao residence for a long time.
At this moment, Zheng Luoqi was sitting dignifiedly in the hall, his fingers rhythmically tapping the table. But strangely, he seemed to have no intention of tasting the cup of fragrant tea placed beside him.
Zheng Luoqi's lips curled slightly upward, a faint smile playing on her lips. It should have been a charming smile, but for some reason, it now appeared somewhat eerie and sinister, sending chills down one's spine.
Cao Yan tried to calm his nervousness and carefully stepped forward, tentatively asking, "I wonder what brings Lord Zheng here today? Does the Prime Minister have any important instructions?" After saying this, he stared intently at Zheng Luoqi, waiting for his answer.
However, Zheng Luoqi did not immediately respond to Cao Yan's question. She still smiled, her deep eyes fixed on Cao Yan, as if she could see through his innermost thoughts.
Under such gazes, Cao Yan felt extremely uncomfortable, and a fine layer of sweat gradually appeared on his forehead. As time went by, Cao Yan found it increasingly difficult to bear the pressure, and he felt that he was about to break down.
Just then, Zheng Luoqi finally spoke slowly, "I just have some private matters to attend to and happen to be passing by. So I thought I'd trouble you for a few days and ask to stay here for the night. I wonder if Lord Cao would mind?" Although his tone was gentle, the meaning behind it was something Cao Yan couldn't quite grasp.