The Empress's No.1 Lackey
Chapter 684 - 457. When one whale falls, ten thousand things thrive (5k)_2

Chapter 684: 457. When one whale falls, ten thousand things thrive (5k)_2

"...I sensed something was wrong, later I thought of the abduction of your wife and guessed that the enemy might pretend to assassinate me, but actually target you... This way, it could hinder the ’New Policy’ and make me lose support."

Governor Ning fell silent for a moment, a mix of bitterness and disbelief:

"Lord Zhao... is the Shen family really that bold? I’ve considered it, but it’s still hard to believe. You know, in another month, His Majesty’s Dragon Ship should arrive, at this critical moment... Or perhaps, the ones who attempted to assassinate us are not the Shen family?"

As the Shipping Governor, he couldn’t have been naive. Recalling the appearance of Prince Jing’s son during the day, he also had his suspicions.

Under the candlelight, Zhao Douan gazed at this colleague who had similarly risen through association with women, his face flickering in and out of the candle’s glow: "Governor, does it even matter if it’s the Shen family?"

Ning Zechen fell silent!

Indeed, does it matter?

Zhao Douan said gravely: "To the court, the Shen family is one of the toughest bones to chew to implement the New Policy. Whether Prince Jing Mansion intervenes, it only accelerates the unveiling of the conflict between the court and the local aristocratic families. You’ve been stationed in Jianning Prefecture for years, do you still hold any hopes for these clans? Expecting them to suddenly realize and conform to the grand trend?

I know you’ve been constrained, unable to do many things here, so aside from preparing for the Sealing, I’m here to swiftly resolve all confusion."

He paused, staring at this Second Rank official:

"The things you don’t dare say, I will say; the things you don’t dare do, I will do; the people you don’t dare to kill, I will kill!!"

"I only want results, which is to break the backbone of these great families before His Majesty’s Sealing!"

Governor Ning stared dumbfoundedly at the young man full of ambition before him, watching the fire in his eyes, feeling a surge of passion.

Tonight, he nearly lost his life in office, which had a tremendous impact on him.

As a military officer, how could Ning Zechen be the kind who accepts defeat?

"Lord Zhao, what do you plan to do?"

Zhao Douan reached into his pocket and pulled out a scroll of "map", spreading it with the help of candlelight, prominently showing the massive industry of the Shen family.

The tentacles extending to various trades, including vast farmlands and shops.

"The Shen family is the leader among aristocratic families, as long as they are struck down, the other scholarly families will naturally collapse. But since Prince Jing Mansion has intervened, forcibly using the Cao Gang case to arrest their family members is difficult. Moreover, such crude methods can easily induce fear among the aristocratic families... Instead, it’s not good. With the Sealing imminent, our methods should be more refined."

"Therefore, I plan for us to join forces in the next month and, from various aspects, attack the Shen family’s industry comprehensively... We must make the massive Shen family members unable to sustain, forcing Grand Dowager Shen to bow down..."

"Furthermore, the most important point is that every piece we seize should be distributed to other small families in the city... The so-called one whale falls, everything lives; only by letting other scholarly families realize that carving up the Shen family benefits them, and this benefit... might compensate for the losses suffered due to the acceptance of the ’New Policy’..."

"In this way... they won’t form a group, and might even turn around to help us..."

Zhao Douan explained one by one, speaking of the strategy he conceived along the way, named the "Whale Fall Plan".

Ning Zechen listened with bewilderment, seeing Zhao with a different look.

Thinking to himself, is this what you call "refined methods"?

You intend to dig into the roots of the Shen family!

Especially the approach of "carving up the Shen family and compensating each family", it changed the contradiction between the court and the aristocratic group into one with just the Shen family...

Living Yama.

At this moment, Ning Zechen finally understood the weight of the nickname "Yama Zhao".

"Lord Zhao’s plan is indeed brilliant, but with this course, I’m afraid the assassination attempts against us will increase rather than decrease." Ning Zechen sighed and said.

Zhao Douan smiled: "Governor scared?"

Ning Zechen laughed heartily, with a hint of a fierce tiger-like spirit in his eyes:

"Even the Bodhisattva in the temple would have some fire, and with my life and fortune at risk, if I continue to be weak, wouldn’t it be a laughingstock for the world?"

"Come here!"

He shouted loudly.

The bedroom door opened, Master Wen Liang walked in with his head down: "Governor, what are your orders?"

Ning Zechen tossed the official seal and said fiercely: "Mobilize the Cao Soldiers! I need to vent my anger! I’ve endured enough of this humiliation!"

...

...

Next morning, early.

When the sky revealed a fish-maw white in the east, shops all over Jianning Prefecture were gradually opening to welcome guests.

In this era, due to the lack of night life, people woke up early, somewhere inside a silk store belonging to the "Shen family".

The shopkeeper directed the attendants to sweep the street in front of the store, arrange goods, and prepare to welcome guests.

"Shopkeeper, when can we take down those white paper lanterns outside? Since they were hung, the business has been terrible, people look and won’t come in, saying it’s unlucky. The shop across from the Sun family even claimed we’re selling burial clothes..."

A clerk complained while wiping a table.

Soon, the shopkeeper inside the counter knocked his head with a long wooden ruler, and glared:

"If you can’t speak properly, sew your mouth shut! If the owner wants it hung for months, then hang it up, if your words get out, I won’t care if the owner breaks your leg, don’t implicate me!"

The clerk shrank his neck, afraid to speak, knowing the Shen family could really do such things.

To such local aristocratic families, as long as it doesn’t openly involve killing, handling some small figures, no one cares.

The shopkeeper walked to the door, looked across at the Sun family’s silk store, and snorted: