Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

Chapter 219 Hard Attack

Ding Lisheng's injury had almost healed. With a smile on his face, he glanced at the secret letter in her hand and asked impatiently, "Sir, are you going to take action against the Fan family or the Qi family?"

"Why do you think so?" Chen Shao asked instead of answering.

Ding Lisheng looked at her in confusion.

Chen Shao remained calm: "Now the remaining noble families related to those gardens are the Gu family, the Fan family, the Qi family, the Ren family, the Ding family, the Zhou family, etc. Why do you think that the next one I will deal with is the Fan family or the Qi family?"

Hearing that the Ding family was involved, Ding Lisheng's heart skipped a beat. He secretly glanced at her and saw that she was calm and seemed to be really asking for his advice. After pondering for a while, he tentatively said, "I think that you can still use the Ren and Ding families, but you can put them aside for now. For the remaining few, it would be best to pick one from the Fan and Qi families."

Chen Shao asked, "What's the reason?"

"The Gu family and the Zhu family are in the same group. Now that the Zhu family is gone, the Gu family is nothing to be afraid of. The Fan family and the Qi family are also in the same group. Affected by the Zhu family's confiscation, their relationship must be closer than usual." Ding Lisheng said carefully, "If we ignore them this time and deal with others, it will inevitably make them closer and closer. I'm afraid it won't be so easy to deal with them later."

"As you said, how should we deal with the Fan family or the Qi family?" Chen Shao asked.

Ding Lisheng shook his hand and asked again, "I wonder if you want to deal with the Fan family or the Qi family?"

Chen Shao calmly asked, "Is there any difference?"

"Of course there is a difference." Ding Lisheng bowed slightly and said awkwardly, "The Fan family is ambitious and has always wanted to surpass the Gu family and the Zhu family. The best way to deal with them is to lure them out of the Fan family gate as bait, and then attack them separately. As for the Qi family... the people of the Qi family are relatively simple-minded and most loyal. As long as we hand them the evidence that Mr. Fan informed me about Mr. Qi's grievances and asked someone to stop him on the road, it will be enough to take them down."

Chen Shao questioned: "Your method is good, but didn't you forget that the Gu, Fan and Qi families all placed the robbers they recruited in their homes? The Fan and Qi families are indeed difficult to deal with, but the total number of robbers loyal to them is the same as that of the Gu and Zhu families. The Zhu family has been confiscated, and the robbers loyal to the Gu and Zhu families now only need to be loyal to the Gu family. The robbers loyal to the Fan and Qi families will be divided into two teams, each serving one family. People have the instinct to seek benefits and avoid harm. As long as I send the evidence of Mr. Fan's betrayal to you to the Qi family, I can easily sow discord between the two families. In order to protect themselves, even if they are still close on the surface, they must secretly strive for more robbers to protect themselves.

"On the other hand, the Gu family not only does not have this worry, but after seeing the Fan family, Qi family and others being raided one after another, they know they have no way out. Will they fight back with all their might?"

Ding Lisheng smiled awkwardly: "It is my fault for not thinking it through."

Chen Shao looked at him calmly, "The Gu, Zhu, Fan, and Qi families all surrendered to the robbers, but why didn't the Wen, Ren, and Ding families?"

"The Wen family, Ren family, and Zhou family have also tried to recruit them," Ding Lisheng deliberately avoided the Ding family and answered timidly, "but no matter what conditions they offered, the bandits around Hongyuan County were unwilling to accept them."

Chen Shao was puzzled: "Why?"

Ding Lisheng shook his head: "I don't know either."

Seeing that he didn't seem to be lying, Chen Shao didn't press the issue any further. He pondered for a moment before asking, "I heard that the second and third branches of several of their families have come to see you?"

Ding Lisheng's heart skipped a beat again, and he quickly replied, "I did look for you."

Chen Shao asked casually, "What do I want to see you for?"

Ding Lisheng said quickly, "The second and third branches of the Gu family asked me about the whereabouts of the young master. However, I evaded them by saying that I was not feeling well and that the young master had not entrusted me with any important matters recently. In addition, they also wanted me to send gifts to the young master, but I also refused on the grounds that I was not feeling well."

Chen Shao said thoughtfully: "What are they going back to the county town for?"

Ding Lisheng replied, "It seems that they came back to seek refuge from the first branch, but they didn't recruit many robbers at the beginning. The Gu family was fine, but the Fan and Qi families only had more than 100 robbers each, and the young master brought 100 Yulin guards with him, so they naturally didn't want to send people to protect the second and third branches."

Seeking to avoid taboos, but being rejected. Chen Shao silently repeated these words in his mind, and then asked: "How is the investigation in Hanyuan County going?"

"We have investigated almost everything, but..." Ding Lisheng hesitated, "Miss Quan's grandfather seems to have done a lot of bad things. Her father, uncle, and elder brother also seem to have done a lot of bullying by relying on their status."

This was expected. Chen Shao asked, "Do you have any evidence?"

Ding Lisheng nodded repeatedly: "Ms. Quan is so valued by the Master, the people who went to investigate dare not be perfunctory, and the things they investigated are all real and the evidence is solid."

Chen Shao said: "Where is the evidence?"

"There are still a few things that have not been clarified," Ding Lisheng replied, "and once they are clarified, they will be brought back together."

"I see." Chen Shao thought for a moment, and after making sure there was nothing to ask, he gestured, "Go back and wait for arrangements."

Ding Lisheng agreed and turned to walk to the door. Chen Shao called him again: "When you have time, draw the secret passages in the prefectural government for me."

Ding Lisheng replied stiffly, "Yes."

After he left, Chen Shao tapped the desk for a long while, then stood up and walked around the room a few times before telling Fu Jiu to invite Li Tianliu over. After Li Tianliu entered the room, Chen Shao stopped in front of the window and told him, "Get ready. We'll start the day after tomorrow in the evening."

"It's so stupid. Why are you doing this?" Li Tianliu leaned in his chair and said unhappily.

Chen Shao said seriously: "Prepare to deal with the Gu family."

Li Tianliu raised an eyebrow: "Deal with the Gu family?"

Chen Shao said without question, "Yes, after the Zhu family was raided, I have been waiting for the Gu family to come and apologize. But after waiting for so many days, the Gu family has not even shown up, let alone apologize. Since they intend to fight to the end, there is no reason for me not to help them."

Li Tianliu didn't take it too seriously and asked, "How are you going to deal with it?"

Chen Shao said calmly: "Hard attack."

Li Tianliu thought he had heard it wrong and repeated it instinctively: "Hard attack?"

Chen Shao asked him: "Is there a problem?"

Li Tianliu knocked on the table: "Tell me, how do you plan to attack?"

Chen Shao repeated what he had asked Ding Lisheng. Seeing that he still didn't understand, he couldn't help but say, "Master Luo said that the docks of the Gu, Fan, and Qi families have not been transporting goods recently, and the second and third branches of several families came to the county city to seek refuge, but were also rejected. What does this mean? It means that they have sought support from their Jiangnan family but have not received a response."

Li Tianliu asked: "What does this have to do with your attack on the Gu family?"

"First, you will arrange a few people to go to the second and third branches of the Gu family to recruit them," Chen Shao said simply, seeing that he still didn't understand, "Judging from the location of the Qingyu and the hereditary edict, even if the second and third branches know, they should not know much. As long as the second and third branches are willing to surrender and cooperate with us to deal with the first branch, I will forgive them for everything that happened in the past. Second, before the Yulin Guards surround the Gu family and officially start, you will find a way to stand on a high ground and shout to the robbers who are recruited by the Gu family. As long as they are willing to surrender, I will forgive them for their past and let them join the Chen family army. Third..."

"You're crazy!" Li Tianliu interrupted her harshly.