Chapter 163: Thank you for comforting me, my heart feels even colder now!
“I really lack judgment! Just the thought of me blindly doing so many things for him, causing someone’s death because of me, makes me feel my hands are full of blood and dirt!”
Guo Shaoshuai sighed to the sky, “I’m not even 20 years old yet, why do I have to bear all of this?”
“Shaoshuai, don’t think too much. Thinking too much will only bring you unnecessary troubles!” Lin Beifan called gently.
“Are you comforting me, sir?” Guo Shaoshuai felt touched.
Lin Beifan shook his head, “Don’t misunderstand, I have no such intention at all.”
Guo Shaoshuai: “…”
Lin Beifan pointed to a distant river, “Do you see that river?”
“I see it, what’s wrong?” Guo Shaoshuai was confused.
“That’s the Jinjiang River, the current is turbulent, and it’s at least three zhang deep!” Lin Beifan sincerely said, “If you really can’t take it anymore, just jump in there, that way you won’t have any troubles, and you can also redeem yourself!”
Guo y: “Huff!”
What the heck…
I came to ask for comport, but you’re encouraging me to jump into the river!
Is there no humanity left?
Lin Beifan patted Guo Shaoshuai’s shoulder forcefully, “Jump without worry, I definitely won’t hold you back, nor will I give anyone a chance to save you. Go and die peacefully!”
Guo Shaoshuai: “Huff!”
“I think people should still live well!”
Guo Shaoshuai, full of survival instinct, said, “But I don’t know what to do now. Mr. Lin, you are knowledgeable and capable, can you teach me?”
“Just now, didn’t I already teach you?” Lin Beifan blinked and said.
“Did you teach me? No, you didn’t?” Guo became even more confused.
“I did, I already taught you two methods!” Lin Beifan raised two fingers, “First, you can hang yourself to death! Second, you can jump into the river and commit suicide! These are the two most painless methods! If you still don’t like them, you can take your sword and cut your throat, simple and straightforward! It’s up to you to choose.”
Guo Shaoshuai: “What the f*ck!”
After all that talk, it’s still telling me to die!
What grudges do we have, for you to treat me like this?
Guo Shaoshuai felt desperate, realizing that he had found the wrong person!
“Now, after my consolation, how do you feel?” Lin Beifan asked with a smile.
“Thank you for your comfort, my heart feels even colder!” Guo Shaoshuai said, touching his chilling chest.
“It’s hot, good to feel cool! Since your heart is cool now, go back and rest. I wish you have a nightmare tonight!” Lin Beifan waved his hand.
Guo Shaoshuai’s mouth twitched. “Thank you, sir, I will go back first!”
Finally, under Lin Beifan’s consolation, both Mo Rushuang and Guo Shaoshuai decided to switch sides and join Lin Beifan, continuing to act as a liaison for both parties.
Lin Beifan was pleased. Although these two were a bit foolish, they were very useful!
It’s so easy to deceive them!
Especially Mo Rushuang, this silly woman, Lin Beifan felt like he didn’t even need to deceive her anymore!
Just with this face, he could make her person do anything!
“Fortunately, you met me. Otherwise, you would have been sold out and counting money for others. It’s better to count money for me! At least, I care about you as a person, I don’t care about anything else.”
After a day passed like this, Lin Beifan finally returned to the capital.
After a long drought, they encountered a sweet rain. He had an intimate night with Li Shi Shi, needless to say about the pleasures of that night.
The next day, he attended the morning court again.
The empress looked at Lin Beifan admiringly. “Sir Lin, you really haven’t disappointed us! After arriving in Tangzhou at night, you resolved the rebellion without using a single soldier or horse the next day! The country is fortunate to have you!”
“It’s all thanks to Your Majesty’s achievements. I dare not take credit!” Lin Beifan bowed.
“Sir Lin, step forward and receive your title!” the empress shouted.
“I’m here!” Lin Beifan took a step forward.
The empress loudly said, “During the battle of the grandmasters, Sir Lin led the soldiers and persuaded two grandmasters to leave the capital, which avoided frequent destruction and reduced numerous casualties, maintaining the dignity of our dynasty!”
“During the military exercises on water, you promptly discovered various experts attempting to sabotage the drills, steal our country’s airbags, and you reported it to the court, recovering significant losses and once again maintaining our dynasty’s dignity!”
“Now, you have also solved the rebellion in Tangzhou, which is a tremendous achievement!”
“Therefore, We grant Sir Lin a promotion to the next official rank, becoming a fourth-rank official and continuing to serve as the principal in the Imperial Academy!”
“A reward of a hundred mu of fertile land, ten thousand taels of silver, and ten precious pearls…”
After that, there was a series of luxurious rewards.
Lin Beifan had already grown accustomed to it!
The officials had also grown accustomed to it!
However, even though they were used to it, the officials were still jealous!
And they were driven crazy by it!
This damn bastard gets promoted and rich again!
And it’s all right in front of their eyes!
But when they thought of the achievements he had made during this period, everything was justifiable, and they had no right to oppose!
I can only say that this little fox is becoming harder to deal with!
After the Empress finished reading the reward, Lin Beifan loudly said, “Thank you, Your Majesty!”
The Empress smiled and said, “Sir Lin, you are the pillar of the country. I have great expectations for you! I hope you continue to stay true to your original aspiration, forge ahead, and serve the country and the people!”
“Yes, Your Majesty! I have a report to make right now!”
“Sir Lin, speak freely about anything you have!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
Lin Beifan raised his head, wiped away his tears, and said, “I was originally prepared to send troops to suppress the rebels when I was ordered to go to Tangzhou to persuade them to surrender. However, the actions of this group of rebels have deeply moved me!”
“Although they have killed the general and the officers, their hearts still long for the Great Wu Dynasty, still considering themselves as soldiers of Great Wu, unwilling to leave! Because they know that once they leave, they will truly become rebels!”
“Finally, they would rather endure 10 military lashes from me than remain rebels! They are such loyal and patriotic warriors, what lovely people they are!”
The Empress nodded in deep agreement.
“However, there are people who, for their own selfish interests, embezzle the soldiers’ wages, treat them as less than human, and resort to violence. Their crimes are unforgivable!”
“And how many of these people are there?”
“Your Majesty!” Lin Beifan bowed and earnestly said, “You must know that the people are the foundation of the country, and the soldiers are the backbone of the country! If we do not protect the interests of our officers and soldiers, the army will inevitably become unstable, losing all its fighting power. How can we then defend our Great Wu territory and protect our Great Wu people? Our Great Wu would be destroyed!”
“What you say is absolutely correct!” The Empress nodded, “So, Sir Lin, what is your suggestion?”
“We must thoroughly investigate and examine all the generals! Once they are found guilty, there should be no leniency!” Lin Beifan said with determination, “As the saying goes, if the top beam is crooked, the bottom beams will be askew! I believe we can start with the Ministry of War and gradually extend the investigation to the entire army!”
The Empress smiled and said, “Sir Lin, your words are reasonable! Since you brought up this matter, you will be responsible for it. I believe you will successfully complete this task and not disappoint me!”
Lin Beifan was somewhat confused. He hadn’t even mentioned it yet, and the Empress had already assigned him the task!
She truly understands him!
Lin Beifan exclaimed joyfully, “Thank you, Your Majesty. I will do my best and give my all!”
The Minister of War and the officials of the Ministry of War were panicked!
If this bastard was put in charge, he would definitely take the opportunity to raid their homes and leave nothing untouched!
The Ministry of Industry is a lesson to be learned!
Being raided twice, even a thief would run out in tears!
Li Kaiguang, the Minister of War, anxiously said, “Your Majesty, this should never happen!”
“Why not? Shouldn’t we investigate?” the Empress ordered.
“We should investigate, but it should not be entrusted to Lin Beifan!”
“I think it’s good to assign this task to Lin,” the Empress said with a smile. “In the previous investigations, Sir Lin has done an excellent job, very outstanding! It’s better to let Lin handle it since he has already proven himself.”
Lin Beifan smiled and said, “Your Majesty, your wisdom is unmatched!”
Li Kaiguang was extremely anxious. “Your Majesty, this really won’t do…”
“Li Kaiguang, shut up!” the Empress shouted. “I haven’t held you accountable for the rebel situation yet! Your repeated attempts to stop this, is there something wrong with you as well?”
“Your Majesty, you misunderstand me. I am completely loyal…” Li Kaiguang tried to explain.
“Shut up! You have no right to speak now!” the Empress yelled again.
Li Kaiguang closed his mouth feeling stifled.
The officials were shocked.
The Empress displayed her authority!
Since Lin Beifan entered the court as an official, she had become more powerful! Because Lin Beifan was extremely capable and seemed to be able to solve any difficult problems, she no longer relied on the corrupt officials as much!
Not relying on them naturally made her more authoritative!
“Therefore, this matter will be entrusted to Sir Lin. Anyone daring to obstruct it, refusing to comply with the arrangement, will be at odds with me, and I will show no mercy!” the Empress declared.
“Yes, Your Majesty!” the officials reluctantly responded.
After obtaining the power to confiscate properties, Lin Beifan sharpened his knives and headed to the Ministry of War.
As a sign of respect to the Minister of War, Lin Beifan decided to start with his house.
After this round, he confiscated jewelry worth 3.5 million taels.
“Lord Li, do you know what to do now? I don’t think I need to teach you, right?” Lin Beifan stood in front of the pile of jewelry, smiling.
“Lin Beifan, are you really going so far?” Li Kaiguang exclaimed in anger.
“Sir Li, look at the way you’re talking… I have been lenient! I’ve only confiscated your belongings, but you still have your official position and your head intact. Yet, you still say I’ve gone too far?” Lin Beifan said helplessly.
“Even if I go too far, it’s nothing compared to you!” Li Kaiguang fumed. “I only embezzled 3 million taels, but you have embezzled tens of millions. What qualification do you have to lecture me?”
“Sir Li, I understand your current mood! But if you don’t cooperate, I will have to report to the Emperor and have you punished!”
“Punish me?” Li Kaiguang sneered. “Who dares to bring me down? You should know that if it weren’t for me leading the Ministry of War, it would have fallen into chaos, and the Great Wu Army would have fallen into chaos too! So, the Empress will never touch me!”
“Sir Li, you’ve been an official for half your life. How can you be so naive now? No one touched you before because no one could replace you! Once someone can replace you, you will become dispensable and eventually become nothing!” Lin Beifan said.
“Who can replace me?” Li Kaiguang arrogantly asked.
Lin Beifan pointed at himself and said, “Me!”
Li Kaiguang replied, “You?”
Lin Beifan nodded, “Yes, me!”
Li Kaiguang scoffed, “What qualifications and abilities do you have?”
Lin Beifan smiled and spread his hands, saying, “Sir Li, that question of yours is too ignorant! You tell me, based on my capabilities and contributions to the court, why shouldn’t I sit in this position?”
