Chapter 1057 Fishing!

Feeling Cui Shao’s attitude, Liu Zhengyue’s expression was undoubtedly even gloomier. He looked at Cui Shao deeply and saw that Cui Shao was still unmoved. Knowing that Cui Shao was unlikely to change his mind, he stood up and turned away without saying a word.
Looking at Liu Zhengyue's leaving back, Cui Shao sighed helplessly. He had a premonition that this would be the last time he would see his old friend Liu Zhengyue!

As Liu Zhengyue left, Cui Zibo also walked into Cui Shao's study. Seeing his son Cui Shao hesitated to speak, he stood up and walked out the door and said:
"It's a nice day today, come with me to the back garden!"

Following Cui Shao's instructions, Cui Zi Bo followed Cui Shao closely, and the father and son came to a pond.

Cui Shao's house was originally the residence of Zhao Jianan, the eldest son of Zhao Fuqu. It covers an area of ​​more than 50 acres and has three large courtyards including a backyard, twelve small courtyards and more than 70 houses. It is one of the most luxurious houses in Yijing City!

After the Fengwu Army entered the pass, Zhao Jianan's house was naturally confiscated by the Fengwu Army. Ye Mingsheng was grateful for Cui Shao's contribution and rewarded Cui Shao with this mansion.

Because Cui Shao and Cui Zibo, father and son, were busy with official duties on weekdays, they seldom came to play in the back garden of their home, and the ladies and concubines in the mansion seldom had the interest to do so.

Therefore, the servants who were responsible for maintaining the back garden were just doing it for the sake of getting by, and never maintained it very carefully, which resulted in there being only two or three big and small fish in the pond at this time····························

Although the servants beside him were a little nervous, Cui Shao didn't care about it and asked the servants to find two fishing rods and bait.

After a cup of tea, Cui Shao took Cui Zibo, and the father and son started fishing by their own pond. Cui Zibo felt very confused when he saw his father fishing with great interest.

His father Cui Shao had only one hobby in his life, calligraphy. Even if he was busy with official duties, he would always take time to write a few strokes.

Apart from calligraphy, his father Cui Shao had almost no other hobbies. If Cui Zibo remembered correctly, his father had never fished before, and today was the first time in his memory that his father had gone fishing!

While fishing, Cui Shao told his son:
"Zi Bo, I was studying in Luoan when I was your age. At that time, I saw Prime Minister Lin Shize fishing in Luoan Feng River."

"At the time I thought there was no point in just sitting there and fishing, but now I feel like I was too young!"

Cui Zi Bo felt a little strange when he heard this. He didn't know why his father said this today. However, he didn't think much about it. He just wanted to organize his words and continue what he didn't have time to say just now.

At this time, Cui Shao seemed to have seen through his son's thoughts. Without waiting for Cui Zibo to speak, he began to preach;
“You don’t have to guess blindly. I do have some evidence against Liu Zhengyue, otherwise he might not come to me today…”

Cui Zibo was a little shocked after hearing this. In his eyes, his father had always been shrewd and wise, and he did things flawlessly. It was always others who had leverage over his father, and there was almost never anyone who could catch his father's leverage!
Seeing his son's shocked expression, Cui Shao smiled and shook his head and said:

"The Marshal is very self-aware and has always focused on major issues. Although he doesn't trust me very much, he knows my abilities, so he leaves many things to me to implement!"

"But I have limited energy, how can I take care of everything? There will always be times when I am careless and make mistakes!"

"Liu Zhengyue did help me solve some problems, but he is a man who only knows small things but not big things. He has some small cleverness but no great wisdom!"

"He thought that the dirty things he did were not noticed by anyone, but in fact, Huo San saw everything he did, and Huo San just held back!"

"The leverage I have over him is just some trivial matters, otherwise he wouldn't have just left like that, but would have threatened me directly instead of showing his true colors!"

Cui Zibo was relieved after hearing this. Although he was not following up on Liu Zhengyue’s affairs, as the deputy director of the Fengwu Army Legal Affairs Department, he knew some rumors and knew that Liu Zhengyue might be in big trouble this time, so he didn’t want his father to get involved in this matter...
And at this moment, Cui Shao's words once again aroused Cui Zibo's doubts.

"Zi Bo, do you know why Liu Zhengyue is here?"

Cui Zibo was stunned for a moment when he heard this and said:
"Isn't it because he wants to get you to fight back together?"

Cui Shao shook his head and said with some regret:

"This is not just the appearance of things!"

After saying this, Cui Shao was silent for a while and then continued:
"Zi Bo, Liu Zhengyue is just the bait thrown by the Marshal. If I am not mistaken, Huo San handed over all the documents he collected to the Marshal before he died. The Marshal has already obtained the evidence of Liu Zhengyue's crimes!"

Cui Zi Bo was not a stupid man. When he heard his father say that, he immediately realized something and looked at the fishing rod in his hand.

Seeing Cui Zibo's reaction, Cui Shao gave him a teachable look, and then continued calmly:

"It wouldn't be too much if Liu Zhengyue died ten times for what he did. The Marshal could have just arrested him directly, but he had to boil the frog in warm water like he is doing now!"

“It’s obvious that the Marshal’s target is not just Liu Zhengyue…”

Hearing this, Cui Zibo began to speak bitterly:
"Liu Zhengyue is just a bait. The fish the Marshal wants to catch is you!"

Cui Shao smiled and nodded and said:

"Since ancient times, when the cunning rabbit dies, the running dog is cooked, and when the birds are gone, the good bows are hidden. There is nothing to say!"

"The Marshal has always been on guard against me. Don't underestimate me as the Central Envoy of the Central Court. I am second to none, but this is like a loft in the sky. The Marshal can take me down with just one word!"

"Our commander is kindhearted. If it were someone else, they would have just fabricated some charges instead of trying to fish for him like they are doing now!"

Hearing this, Cui Zibo seriously suggested to his father:

"Dad, it's only a matter of time before Jiangnan and Sichuan surrender. Why don't you just retire to the countryside?"

Cui Shao smiled and said, "It hasn't come to that point yet, and even if I submit my resignation now, the Marshal won't approve it!"

"He doesn't want others to say that he is a traitor. Besides, peace will not be completely restored after the founding of the new dynasty. The General Coordination Office and the Internal Guards are already making plans for the Marshal's external expansion. It is inevitable!"

"Gu Sansi and his men are still a little immature, and they don't trust the Murong family as much as I do, so if things go as expected, I will be the last one to stand guard!"

After hearing his father's words, Cui Zibo seemed to realize something, and said with bright eyes:

“Dad, you mean the Murong family…”

Cui Shao nodded with a smile and said:

"All crows are black. Even though the Murong family seems to be noble, how clean can they be?"

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Ye Mansion, in the study
"General, the Jiangnan Provincial Surveillance Commissioner Zhu Chen is here!"

Ye Mingsheng, who was leaning back in a chair with his eyes closed, feeling a little tired, slowly opened his eyes when he heard Ye Cheng's words and looked at the strange man in front of him.

Zhu Chen felt Ye Mingsheng's gaze on him, and he knelt down without any hesitation and said:
"I am Zhu Chen, your humble servant, here to see Marshal Ye!"

After saying that, Zhu Chen kowtowed to Ye Mingsheng three times in a row. Each of the three kowtows was very serious and full of sincerity!
Seeing this, Ye Mingsheng nodded slightly and said with a smile:

"Envoy Zhu, please stand up!"

"Yes! I humbly obey my orders!"

After getting Ye Mingsheng's permission, Zhu Chen slowly stood up. He appeared very respectful when he stood up. Ye Mingsheng was very satisfied to see him like this!
Jiangnan is different from the enemies such as Youyan, Jiyu, Qilu, etc. The areas previously controlled by the Fengwu Army were mostly underdeveloped areas that had suffered from war, so Ye Mingsheng had no scruples and started his reforms directly!

But Jiangnan is completely different. Jiangnan is a wealthy region that has basically not been affected by war, and its foreign trade is very developed!

In Ye Mingsheng’s expectation, Jiangnan is also a very important part of his overseas strategy. He needs Jiangnan to support his strategy························

As an important foreign trade region, any slight disturbance may have a significant impact on foreign trade!
Foreign trade is an important driving force for the development of Jiangnan. Hundreds of thousands of people rely on foreign trade for their livelihood. Therefore, considering all aspects, Ye Mingsheng does not intend to launch drastic reforms in Jiangnan right away. Instead, he plans to proceed step by step, and try his best to reform without affecting the prosperity of Jiangnan, so as to ensure the stability of development!
Therefore, how to choose the new governor of Jiangnan is a very important link. Even though Su Yi highly recommends Zhu Chen, Ye Mingsheng still feels that he needs to personally check it before he can feel at ease letting Zhu Chen govern Jiangnan!
Because time was very precious and a small meeting would be held in the Loyalty and Bravery Hall later, and Zhu Chen would explain the situation in front of all the important officials, so Ye Mingsheng did not beat around the bush and directly asked several key questions in a row!
It seemed that Zhu Chen did not expect that Ye Mingsheng would get straight to the point right away, so he seemed unprepared at first. However, as the questions became more detailed, Zhu Chen gradually got into the groove and answered several questions very insightfully, which made Ye Mingsheng quite satisfied. Ye Mingsheng then raised more sensitive questions.

"Zhu Anchashi, how many honest officials do you think there are in Jiangnan?"

As soon as Ye Mingsheng asked this question, Zhu Chen's heart suddenly tightened. Thinking of the clean-up campaign that Yi Jing had been carrying out in the past few days, he didn't know how to answer Ye Mingsheng's question...
Looking at the nervous Zhu Chen, Ye Mingsheng said with a smile:

"I am very satisfied with your previous answers, Envoy Zhu. No matter what you say to me next, I only want to hear the truth!"

Hearing Ye Mingsheng say this, Zhu Chen felt even more pressured. He instinctively wanted to speak some official jargon and make the issue as vague as possible to fool Ye Mingsheng.

But feeling Ye Mingsheng's playful eyes, Zhu Chen knew that such an answer would not satisfy Ye Mingsheng, and if so, there would undoubtedly be complications for him to become the Governor of Jiangnan!
Watching Zhu Chen's constantly changing expression, Ye Mingsheng knew that he was constantly weighing the pros and cons in his mind. Ye Mingsheng did not urge him to give him an answer, but waited patiently, giving Zhu Chen enough time to weigh the pros and cons. Ye Mingsheng wanted to know whether Zhu Chen was honest when facing him!
After pondering for half a cup of tea, Zhu Chen finally made up his mind and whispered to Ye Mingsheng:

"Only one out of ten survives!"

Hearing this answer, Ye Mingsheng immediately smiled and said:

"One out of ten survives!"

"Since you said that only one out of ten survives, then I guess you, Zhu Anchashi, are not that one?"

Faced with Ye Mingsheng's question, Zhu Chen lowered his head in shame, not knowing how to answer Ye Mingsheng's question.

As the Censor of Jiangnan, he did use his power to seek some personal gains for himself and his family over the years.

Looking at Zhu Chen who was keeping his head down and not talking, Ye Mingsheng took out a stack of documents from the cabinet on the desk and threw them to Zhu Chen, saying with a smile:

"Zhu Anchashi, you are an honest man! I am very satisfied with you!"

After listening to Ye Mingsheng's words and looking at the documents Ye Mingsheng threw to him, Zhu Chen's head suddenly buzzed. He saw that these documents clearly listed his records of corruption and bribery.

Just when Zhu Chen was at a loss, Ye Mingsheng stopped smiling and looked at him with a serious face as he spoke:

"Zhu Chen, I know that Jiangnan is very prosperous and wealthy. You will face many temptations in your position as an inspector. You did not stick to the bottom line. I don't blame you after all, that was the prevailing trend in Jiangnan before!"

"I will let bygones be bygones for what you did before, but I hope you can understand that working under me is completely different from what you did before. If you do a good job, I will reward you generously, so that you can live a decent and comfortable life for the rest of your life!"

"But if you dare to continue to make money, I will make sure you get the punishment you deserve!"

“Money is a good thing that everyone wants. However, no matter how good the money is, Zhu Chen, you have to live long enough to spend it, right?”

(End of this chapter)