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Seeing Xu Qingyan's excited look, Zhao Junchen knew that this gift was not light, and he couldn't help but feel a little helpless.
Li Xun is about to collapse. At that time, he will be deeply involved. This is the time when everyone is afraid to avoid him. Can such a person be seen? Can money be collected from such a person?
Li Xun left the jurisdiction without permission and rushed to Huamachi Camp to meet Zhao Junchen privately. Once this incident was spread, it would inevitably arouse a lot of speculation and criticism, and considering that the blame placed on Li Xun was too big The darkness is too heavy, and this situation will also affect Zhao Junchen's gradually changing reputation between the government and the public.
As for Li Xun's money, it cannot be collected. After Li Xun's downfall, his family property will be confiscated. Once the officials responsible for the inspection find that part of Li Xun's family property is missing, they will definitely question Li Xun about these properties. If Li Xun confesses and gives leniency to Zhao Junchen, Zhao Junchen will also be embarrassed.
Thinking of this, Zhao Junchen secretly shook his head and felt that although Xu Qingyan had improved his knowledge during this period, he could not change his greedy temper no matter what.
Then, Zhao Junchen coughed lightly and planned to take this opportunity to teach Xu Qingyan.
But at this moment, Zhao Junchen subconsciously glanced at the gift list that Xu Qingyan handed to him.
The content of the gift list was very simple, so Zhao Junchen read the entire content of the gift list at a glance.
On this gift list, there is only a simple line - "One hundred banknotes, five thousand taels each, totaling five hundred thousand taels."
Then, Zhao Junchen was silent for a moment.
Zhao Junchen suddenly felt that it was not completely unacceptable to get half a million taels of silver just for meeting Li Xun. If there were any criticisms in the future, he would just refuse to admit it.
With Zhao Junchen's current reputation and status, as long as there is no concrete evidence and he firmly refuses to admit it, there won't be much trouble.
This is not because Zhao Junchen is greedy for money. With Zhao Junchen's current net worth, money is just an insignificant string of numbers to him.
But silver is indeed a very important thing, because many of Zhao Junchen's plans require the investment of huge amounts of silver. As Xu Qingyan said, these plans of Zhao Junchen are all gold-swallowing beasts, and the Zhao Mansion has been unable to enter for a long time. Expenditures are all supported by some external funds.
During this period of time, governors and generals from all over the country came to see Zhao Junchen one after another, and they all sent congratulatory gifts, but the total amount was only seven or eight hundred thousand taels of silver. And now Li Xun just wanted to meet Zhao Junchen. He threw out five hundred thousand taels of silver in one breath!
Five hundred thousand taels of silver was enough for Zhao Junchen to expand the scope of activities of Jubao Trading Company to Liaodong.
Zhao Junchen thought that his worth was not that high. If he just met once, five hundred thousand taels of silver would be enough. Although there are some hidden dangers, the price of five hundred thousand taels of silver is worth Zhao Junchen's risk.
Of course, that's all. Five hundred thousand taels of silver is a lot less than a lot. Zhao Junchen will not bear the pressure from all aspects to rescue Li Xun just because of this money. At most, he will have to fight with Li Xun. When Li Xun met, he said a few nice words, so that Li Xun could feel relieved before he was accused by the court.
In the end, Zhao Junchen changed his mind. As soon as all the words he originally planned to teach Xu Qingyan came to his throat, he swallowed them all back. He just nodded and said: "Since Li Xun's sincerity is so great, I will not hesitate when I see him." What can you do? You can bring him here to see me...be careful and don't let others discover Li Xun's identity."
"Great, this is a total of five hundred thousand taels of silver. I was worried that you would throw it away in vain... I will bring Li Xun over right now!"
Seeing that Zhao Junchen agreed, Xu Qingyan nodded excitedly, handed the gift list to Zhao Junchen, and left in a hurry.
Although Xu Qingyan is extremely greedy for money, and has the kind of miserly temperament that can only see money coming in but not seeing money coming out, he also has two advantages. First, when he takes money from others, he always asks Zhao Junchen's opinion in advance; If Zhao Junchen disagrees, he will not be able to eat, sleep, and be depressed for a month or two, but he will never disobey Zhao Junchen's will; secondly, there is no distinction between him and Zhao Junchen inside and outside, and his expenses All the expenses were drawn from Zhao Junchen. He never kept too much money, so his money-loving temperament was devoted to collecting money for Zhao Junchen. As long as the number on Zhao's account book increased, he would get a sum more than himself. Even if you have a huge amount of money, you will be even happier.
"This Xu Qingyan..."
Seeing Xu Qingyan's leaving figure, Zhao Junchen shook his head slightly.
*
Soon, under the leadership of Xu Qingyan, Li Xun came to Zhao Junchen's room.
Compared with the last time we met, Li Xun looked older. His whole person exuded a sense of despair and anxiety. It was obvious that he had suffered a lot during this time.
After seeing Zhao Junchen, Li Xun ignored his old arms and legs and knelt down in front of Zhao Junchen with a plop, crying: "Your Majesty, I have been following your instructions for this period of time. , do your best to help refugees from all over the country, and do your best to supervise the border troops to fight, and don’t dare to neglect at all! You can’t go back on your word, and you have to step down from your position no matter what!"
Before meeting Zhao Junchen, Li Xun still had a trace of luck in his heart. He thought that although his performance during this period was not as dazzling as that of several governors in Shaanxi and Gansu, it was still worthy of praise. At least he had performed meritorious service, not to mention the original performance. There were so many governors and generals involved in the appeasement, so it was unlikely that he would be blamed. He asked to see Zhao Junchen this time just to reduce the risk as much as possible.
But after learning that Zhao Junchen was unwilling to meet him, Li Xun, who was familiar with the rules of officialdom, immediately understood what this situation meant.
As a result, Li Xun suddenly panicked. The five hundred thousand taels of silver that he originally planned to use to bribe Zhao Junchen to protect him turned into a stepping stone just to meet Zhao Junchen.
After finally meeting Zhao Junchen, Li Xun didn't care about his face as a governor, and immediately knelt down in front of Zhao Junchen and cried and howled.
"Governor Li, you are also a high-ranking official in the border area. You don't need to be so courteous to yourself." Seeing Li Xun's behavior, Zhao Junchen looked helpless and ordered to Xu Qingyan: "Hurry up and help Governor Li up." sit down."
However, before Xu Qingyan could make any move, Li Xun cried out: "If Mr. Zhao does not agree to rescue Xianguan, he will die sooner or later. It is better to kneel and die in front of Mr. Zhao!"
Zhao Junchen's expression darkened, he snorted softly, and then said slowly: "Oh? So, Governor Li is threatening me? Never mind!...Xu Qingyan, go and invite Mr. Liang Ge here and ask him to help me. To bear witness, Governor Li's kneeling to death here today was all of his own free will and had nothing to do with me, to prevent anyone from saying in the future that I forced a border official to death!"
After hearing Zhao Junchen's instructions, Xu Qingyan couldn't help but sneer on his face, agreed and left again.
Zhao Junchen is not the kind of tough guy who would rather die than be threatened. Emperor Deqing can threaten him, Zhou Shangjing can also threaten him, and even Liang Fuchen can have this qualification if he finds the right opportunity. Zhao Junchen will also do it when he encounters this situation. Know how to compromise.
But Li Xun is not qualified, and his clumsy threats will only make Zhao Junchen feel disgusted.
On the other side, after hearing Zhao Junchen's expression, Li Xun's expression suddenly changed. Once Liang Fuchen came here, Li Xun would never have the chance to change his life and avoid guilt.
Therefore, Li Xun immediately stopped crying, stood up, and said quickly: "I will never threaten Mr. Zhao, but I can't help myself..."
Zhao Junchen sighed softly, pointed to the seat in front of him, and said, "Governor Li, it's better to sit down and talk."
After hearing Zhao Junchen's instructions, Li Xun carefully sat on the chair with half of his buttocks.
After Zhao Junchen glanced at Li Xun again, he sighed: "Governor Li, I won't hide it from you anymore. The governors in the northwest want to beg for peace and appeasement from the Mongols with relief grain and grass and people fleeing the famine without telling the court. This matter is really too serious, and someone must take the blame. Originally, you were not the chief culprit, and you have done meritorious service, so this blame cannot fall on your head anyway... But now, Shaanxi-Gansu The three sides completely annihilated the Mongolian coalition, and their military and political achievements can be said to be shared by everyone who has seen them. Therefore, the meritorious service of the governors of Shaanxi and Gansu is far better than yours. In addition, the court will soon make big moves, and Taking advantage of these places as governors of Shaanxi and Gansu, so... judging from the current situation, the blame will most likely be placed on you."
After hearing Zhao Junchen's explanation, Li Xun quickly said: "Master Zhao, please be clear. Xiaguan was only bewitched by Wang Zheng, the governor of the three sides. If it weren't for Wang Zheng's misdirection and persecution, Xiaguan would not have done anything. He would do such a thing!"
Li Xun's implication was very clear. Compared with himself, Wang Zheng, the governor of the three sides, was the best candidate to take the blame.
Zhao Junchen shook his head slightly and said: "I understand what you mean. Although Wang Zheng is the chief culprit and has not shown any meritorious service, he will eventually be severely punished by the court, and his end will be even more miserable than yours... However, He is a member of the "Imperial Party" and a confidant of His Majesty, so even if he is imprisoned for questioning, the crime will never be that of colluding with the governor of the northwest and begging for peace with the Mongols without telling the court. Your Majesty, he cannot afford to lose face like this, nor can he. We will never let the 'Imperial Party' suffer such a blow, do you understand?"
Li Xun's expression became more desperate, and he couldn't help but say: "But Mr. Zhao, you promised me that as long as the official follows your instructions, you will try your best to help the official pardon his crime..."
Before Li Xun could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Zhao Junchen with a wave of his hand: "I just said that I would try my best, but I didn't say that it would definitely be possible! What's more, I didn't expect that the situation would develop to this point! At this point, even if I tried my best to rescue you, but I'm afraid I can't save you... You have to understand that you came out to take the blame this time in order to maintain the face of the court and your majesty, and no matter how great my face is, it is not as big as the court and your majesty. face!"
Li Xun looked miserable, as if he was innocently implicated, and murmured: "Do I really think that I am going to die? At my age, death is inevitable, but this crime is really too big. All nine tribes must be implicated, what should we do..."
Zhao Junchen showed a look of reluctance and said: "It's also time and luck... Speaking of which, Governor Li, don't you have any other options? If there are more important officials in the imperial court to intercede for you with me, this will There may be some turning points in this matter.”
Zhao Junchen just mentioned these words casually, saying that he had tried his best.
According to Zhao Junchen's guess, Li Xun must have no backer in the court, otherwise he would not put all his hopes on himself.
After hearing Zhao Junchen's inquiry, Li Xun looked at Zhao Junchen with a strange expression, and there seemed to be some resentment in his eyes.
Then, Li Xun replied solemnly: "Xiaguan originally got to where he is today through the connections of the old man Wen Guanliang in the front cabinet..."
Wen Guanliang, the former cabinet minister, has now been overthrown by Zhao Junchen.
Li Xun continued: "After the downfall of Mr. Wen Ge, the lower official finally got into the relationship of the former Mr. Huang Yourong..."
Huang Yourong, also the former Pavilion Elder, was also overthrown by Zhao Junchen, but he also had some luck. By chance, he and Zhao Junchen turned enemies into friends and reached cooperation. Now he holds the position of governor of Southern Zhili. Although this position is a good job, the influence of the temple is very different, so naturally it cannot help Li Xun.
Speaking of this, the resentment in Li Xun's eyes became heavier, and he said: "Who would have thought that not long after Xiaguan got into Huang Ge's way, Huang Ge also collapsed... so Xiaguan hadn't had time to look for it. A new door, this way, no one in the center of the capital can intercede for me!"
After listening to Li Xun's explanation, Zhao Junchen's expression was a little strange, and he suddenly felt that he was Li Xun's nemesis.
Not only did Li Xun's two consecutive backers collapse because of Zhao Junchen, but also if it weren't for Zhao Junchen's illustrious military exploits in annihilating the Mongolian coalition and Zhao Junchen's single-handed promotion of the imperial court's plan to send troops to regain the Hetao, Several governors of Shaanxi and Gansu have all received a gold medal of immunity, and Li Xun will not be the only candidate to take the blame.
Just when Zhao Junchen was in a strange mood, Li Xun continued with a wry smile: "Xiaguan is from Fujian. Mr. Zhao, you also know the situation in Fujian. The literary style there is not strong, and it has always been a barren place for imperial examinations. The people of Fujian Most of them rely on maritime affairs as a means of livelihood, and in so many years, they have only had such a lowly position as a high-ranking official in the court, so they don’t have any colleagues or fellow villagers to count on... There is some relationship with Nan'an Bo Zheng Zhilong, but Mr. Zhao, you also know that the court has Nan Amber's attitude has always been that prevention is better than usefulness, and words may not be effective, not to mention that Nan Amber is thousands of miles away and there is no time to rescue the humble position..."
Zhao Junchen originally looked like he was listening carefully, but in fact he was absent-minded and just trying to deal with it.
But then, after hearing a name mentioned by Li Xun, Zhao Junchen seemed to be unable to help raising his voice and asked: "Wait! Who did you just say?"
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22.5/30
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