After all, he is now an imperial envoy, and he is obviously a popular figure in the imperial court of Zhu Di, so he is naturally an enemy of the Jianwen Party.
Huang Yanqing and Zhang Zhongjian are members of the Jianwen Party, but it is currently unclear whether they are core members of the Qingzheng Church.
His sudden appearance at Jingyuan Villa was detrimental to both himself and Huang Yanqing.
However, Xu Qin has been trying to find an appropriate time to have an honest talk with Huang Yanqing and Zhang Zhongjian.
It is best for Jianghu forces not to get involved in court disputes.
"They seem to be busier in the past few years. Spring and summer are the busiest seasons for water transportation. I heard that Captain Huang personally followed the ship to Luoyang a few days ago."
"Zhang Zhongjian seems to be in Huguang. Anyway, they are rarely in Huai'an."
After hearing this, Xu Qin fell into deep thought again.
Zhang Lichen saw this and said distressedly:
"Young Master seems to be worried, but what's going on in Huai'an Mansion right now?"
"That's not the case."
Xu Qin opened the folding fan, pretending to be relaxed and said with a smile:
"This little thing in Huai'an Prefecture is nothing. No one can stop the wheels rolling. Land tax reform is what the people want."
Zhang Lichen simply said, "Young Master, I have always had a doubt."
"But it doesn't matter." Xu Qin raised his eyes and said with a smile.
"Due to special reasons, Huai'an Prefecture was dominated by the Runan family for nearly ten years from the late Hongwu period to the end of the Jianwen Dynasty. Huai'an became a vassal state independent of the imperial court."
"They have always gone their own way. Although the flags on the city have changed now, the entire administrative staff is still the same. When the decrees in the court are like this, it will be difficult to implement them."
"In the opinion of my subordinates, young master, please stop visiting privately incognito. This is very dangerous. We will lead the army to station in an open manner and carry out a cleanup."
Zhang Lichen's words were actually very euphemistic.
Xu Qin knew in his heart that these doubts she had were probably also the doubts of many people in the team such as Yang Shiqi, Su Zecheng, Li Xiaoqi, etc.
"Chenya, do you think I seem hesitant and hesitant about the Huai'an Mansion?"
Zhang Lichen pouted and nodded.
That's what she meant, it's just that she couldn't say it directly to her face.
After all, their relationship is that of master and servant.
Xu Qin thought for a moment, turned to look at her and asked.
"Chenya, you have lived in Huai'an Prefecture for more than ten years. What kind of city is your Huai'an Prefecture? In other words, what is the most important thing about this city?"
It's like a teacher conducting a question-and-answer test in class.
Zhang Lichen glanced back at Xu Qin, and when she saw him looking at her tenderly, her heart trembled and she closed her eyes, leaning her head on his shoulder involuntarily.
I thought about it happily, and the sight of rivers and sailboats coming and going appeared in my eyes.
"Salt administration and water transportation."
"Basically correct."
Xu Qin was not reserved either. He put his left hand around her waist and put his chin gently on her head, saying:
"Huaian Fucheng is located in the overlapping area of the canal and the Yangtze River. Under the premise that maritime transportation was not yet developed, it has developed into its current prosperity over hundreds of thousands of years."
"In other words, Huai'an Fucheng relies on salt and water transport trade. Look at the density of residential buildings on both sides of the canal. These are extremely rare to see in other places."
"This prosperous city is also the nest where the wealthy gentry from all walks of life and the Qingzheng Sect are entrenched."
Xu Qin closed the folding fan with his right hand and waved it heavily, saying in a deep voice:
"Do you remember what I told you when we first met at Fumanlou?"
"Avoid conflicts with the Qingzheng Sect." Zhang Lichen said with a wink.
"Yes, I just want to be polite before fighting, try to reconcile with the other party, and carry out the land tax reform that benefits the country and the people to the end. This is my bottom line."
"Now it seems that conflict is inevitable, but I still want to try to narrow the scope to a controllable level, reduce the scope of attack, and win over the people's hearts and minds first."
"Only by turning this place into a stable rear area, breaking down the hostility of the Qing Orthodox Church, and finally uniting as one, can we go all out to promote the new land tax policy to the world, and ultimately strengthen the country, enrich the people, and open up new territories."
"Otherwise, these country tycoons like the Wu family compound and corrupt officials in the city are nothing to me. Why waste so much energy?"
Zhang Lichen nodded in agreement. She sighed softly, held Xu Qin's arms tightly with her hands, rested her head on her shoulders and said affectionately:
"Young Master, it's late at night so don't talk anymore. Let's go back to Fuman Tower."
After her reminder, Xu Qin became tired and even yawned.
Yes, she will definitely not be able to enter Huai'an Fucheng now, so she will have to live in Fuman Building tonight.
"Okay, let's tell Monk Ziyun and leave immediately."
"Um."
Zhang Lichen was a little shy when she hummed.
She was looking forward to being able to break through the boundaries between men and women with Xu Qin tonight and make clouds and rain.
…
It is said that Zhang Dalang came out of Wu Qingfeng's mansion, rode his horse all the way, and arrived in Qinghe County in more than a quarter of an hour.
He first went to the place he rented, opened the box and took out the crossbow and armor-piercing arrows, and then buried the box and the gold ingots in the haystack.
Seeing that it was still early, he slept on the wooden bed and took a nap.
When he woke up, he looked at the position of the moon in the sky from the window and felt that it was late at night.
He first put on his black night uniform, with only his two eyes exposed, and carried a crossbow and armor-piercing arrows on his back. Then he put on a foot-long dagger and set off under the night.
He didn't ride a horse, fearing there would be too much noise at night.
He knew that there was only one chance of killing him.
Xu Qin's young bodyguard slept in the next room, so there was nothing to worry about.
Mainly Xu Qin himself, a military god with high martial arts skills and extremely alertness.
Therefore, the best time to assassinate Xu Qin is undoubtedly to sneak in from the window and fire a crossbow while he is sleeping in the guest room.
It is easier to carry out targeted sniping at night.
Tonight, there was no one else in the entire Fuman Building except an old man who looked after the door, and Xu Qin's master and servant.
Those people were detained in the county government office, awaiting interrogation the next day.
Arriving at the scene, Zhang Dalang tied a rope next to the window of Xu Qin's room.
After completing the assassination, he can slide down the rope to the ground at any time and escape.
Everything was ready, Zhang Dalang looked at the five-shot steel crossbow in his hand, and under the dim moonlight, he carefully made the final adjustments.
Not everyone can use a military crossbow. In addition to skills, you also need strong arm strength to string the bow.
Zhang Dalang, a former gangster, is very skilled in using crossbows, as naturally as drinking water and peeing.
He has the inner strength and luck to draw a powerful crossbow without any problem.
After a while, all five armor-piercing arrows were loaded on the crossbow.
Just after Zhang Dalang arrived at the scene, a pair of eyes stared at him in the dark night.
While Zhang Dalang was making preparations such as tying the rope, loading the arrows, and adjusting the arrows, in some places where he could not see, several men in black, carrying kerosene barrels, were pouring kerosene along the corridors and stairwells.
Fumanlou, which was usually bustling with activity, was now dark and strange, so strange that no one could be seen.
Only ghosts.
