Immediately, cold sweat broke out on Liu Xishan's forehead.
Subconsciously, he stretched out his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, but he was afraid that Prince Yun would notice that he was nervous, so he had to suppress the throbbing in his heart and replied:
"Back...back to your lord, the official's daily job is to contact the leaders of various tribes, so...so we are quite familiar with them."
It was just the most ordinary reply, but to Liu Xishan who answered it, it felt as if a whole year had passed. He had experienced spring, summer, autumn and winter in this short period of time, and his words were filled with vibrato.
"Oh, that's true. It seems that Liu Juncheng has done a good job."
Zhao Jun pretended not to notice Liu Xishan's strange behavior, nodded calmly and praised him.
Liu Xishan hurriedly said: "The prince is very complimentary, but this is just the official's own job and does not deserve the prince's praise."
"Well, it's not easy to be able to do your job well and do your job well."
Zhao Jun said calmly.
Liu Xishan was silent, not knowing how to answer.
But then I heard Zhao Jun continue:
"Well, since Liu Juncheng is relatively familiar with the leaders of those tribes, let's make a date after the New Year's Eve, Liu Juncheng, for me to meet with the tribal leaders in Yunzhou County and get to know me, Yunzhou. What do you think of the real situation in the state and county?”
"Ah, this..."
Liu Xishan hesitated for a moment.
"What? Is there something wrong?"
Seeing his hesitation, Zhao Jun immediately asked in a more serious tone.
Immediately, Liu Xishan did not dare to hesitate any longer, and immediately nodded and agreed: "Don't worry, Your Majesty, I will make arrangements for you, and the matter will be done within five days after New Year's Eve at the latest!"
"Well, that's very good."
Zhao Jun turned around and looked at Li Yi, but suddenly looked back at Cheng Cheng and Liu Xishan, and slowly picked up his tea cup.
"Your Majesty, if there is nothing else important to say, I will take my leave now!"
They are all people who have been in the officialdom for most of their lives, and they still don’t understand what it means.
Li Yi and the other three immediately stood up and left.
A smile appeared on Zhao Jun's lips, but he put down the tea cup in his hand, nodded with a smile and said:
"Well, I think there will be things going on at home today. If you are busy, go back quickly. I won't keep you here."
With that said, Zhao Jun waved his hand.
The three of them were about to leave, but Zhao Jun suddenly remembered something and said:
"Oh, by the way, Governor Li, I still have some things to discuss with you, please stay here for a while."
Li Yi immediately nodded in agreement.
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Then he sat back down again.
Liu Xishan and Cheng Cheng looked at each other, but then slowly backed away very wisely.
After leaving the palace, get on the sedan chair.
Liu Xishan suddenly stopped and looked at Cheng Cheng who was also standing there as if he had a tacit understanding and suddenly asked: "What do you think the prince is doing when he suddenly wants to inspect the military camp and summon the leaders of the tribes in Yunzhou County?"
Cheng Cheng pondered for a long time and then said:
"What do you want to do? Isn't it obvious?
If he really wants to speak out in Yunzhou County, he can only get the support of my Yunzhou Army and the tribal leaders.
During this inspection of the military camp, King Yun must have wanted to find my faults so that he could gain control of the Yunzhou Army from me.
As for you? "
Cheng Cheng glanced sideways at Liu Xishan, and then said with a hint of ridicule: "You are just a messenger. In terms of being familiar with the tribal leaders, which of the four major families in the city is not familiar with you, don't take yourself too seriously. .”
"Hey, you!"
Liu Xishan was so angry that Cheng Cheng was speechless and stared at him angrily!
What Cheng Cheng said was true. Liu Xishan, the county magistrate, seemed to be very impressive. Apart from Li Yi, he had the highest administrative level in Yunzhou County.
Moreover, Li Yi was almost ignored by him. It seemed as if he had already dominated Yunzhou County with one hand.
But in fact, he knew that he was just a puppet introduced by the four major families to fight against Li Yi.
If the four major families want to monopolize important trade channels in Yunzhou County, they must open them up officially.
The county guards are usually directly appointed by the court, and their roots are not in the local area. Even if they can be corrupted with money for a while, there is no guarantee that they will not meet a greedy guy.
Instead of doing this, it is better to support the second in command of Yunzhou County, whose family is based in Yunzhou County, to come out to compete with Li Yi. With the strength of the four of them, and with their support, this second in command can completely take Li Yi out.
Then wouldn't they be able to run rampant in Yunzhou County?
And compared to the county governor who came by air, the county chief whose family is based in the local area is obviously much easier to handle and much more stable.
It can even be their protective umbrella for a long time. All they need to pay is a little bit of their annual profits. This business is simply a huge profit!
Thus, Liu Xishan appeared, and this led to the current situation where Li Yi, the governor of Yunzhou County, was ousted, and the four major families were running rampant in Yunzhou County.
But to put it bluntly, Liu Xishan is just a puppet, so Cheng Cheng has always looked down on this guy. Now he is in the same boat because of his position, so he needs to cooperate, but it is inevitable to mock him occasionally.
"Hmph! General Cheng, you should take care of yourself. I hope nothing happens on the day when the prince visits the camp. It will not end well for General Cheng by then!"
Liu Xishan immediately retorted angrily.
"Hey, I don't need to worry about it, Liu Juncheng. Our Yunzhou County army is well-organized. Everyone in the army is brave and brave. They are all good men. They have done nothing wrong, so how could they cause any trouble? .”
Cheng Cheng boasted proudly, with a confident expression on his face that made Liu Xishan's teeth itch.
Suddenly, as if he remembered something, he immediately showed a meaningful smile, and suddenly said as if unintentionally:
"Hey, Japanese officials seem to have heard a rumor circulating in the market recently, saying that there are such a group of green-skinned hooligans. Every year when the court sends them to check the number of Yunzhou Army soldiers, someone will always pay them money. If you go to perform in a play, you can get a high price of one tael of silver in three days.
I don’t know if it’s true? "
After saying that, without waiting for Cheng Cheng to react, Liu Xishan got into his sedan chair with a wheel. With the sound of his entourage getting up, Liu Xishan's sedan quickly left the palace.
Cheng Cheng's face immediately darkened when he heard this. His whole face was gloomy and gloomy, as if it could drip water as he looked at Liu Xishan's sedan chair as he walked away. His fists clenched tightly in an instant, making a squeaking sound!
But the sedan chair had already gone away. In the end, Cheng Cheng could only snort coldly, get on his horse with a sullen face, and shout loudly!
Then he hit his horse and galloped away from the city.
The war horses galloped unscrupulously through the simple streets of Yunzhou City. The vendors setting up stalls on the street hurriedly gathered their belongings and hid on both sides of the road. The pedestrians also dispersed to both sides like herds of sheep, fearing that Block this man's way.
After all, the grass on the grave of the person who blocked this man's path last time was three feet tall...
In Prince Yun's Mansion, the reception hall.
As soon as Liu Xishan and Cheng Cheng left, Zhao Jun asked Li Yi straight to the point:
"Are you... aware of the fact that the four families of Chen, Wang, Sun and Li sell our Song Dynasty's prohibited materials and military supplies to the tribes on the grasslands every year?"
"Your Majesty, this..."
Li Yi's pupils suddenly widened, and he couldn't say a complete sentence for a long time.
"Do you know or don't you know?"
Zhao Jun emphasized his tone again, staring at Li Yi with compelling pressure, asking him to give the answer!
Li Yi lowered his head and remained silent for a while, then slumped down on his chair and whispered back:
"I know..."
