The sky is clear and the midday sun is shining brightly.
Several government officials and two carriages stopped on the official road leading to Rongcheng. Liu Mo and his party rested at a tea stall next to a village along the way.
Next to him, He Ruda, the magistrate of Linyang, was sipping tea.
To be precise, he should be called the former magistrate of Linyang City.
It turned out that just a few days ago, Huang Shouren sent a letter. The letter mentioned that Liu Mo was asked to leave for Rongcheng, and the new salt he made would be sold in Rongcheng first.
Although the reason was not mentioned in the letter, Liu Mo could make a guess.
Although Rongcheng is small, its geographical location is special. It is the city closest to the border garrison on the border of the Great Xia Dynasty.
Border cities are most severely affected during wartime, but business in peacetime is excellent, especially in the special period that has just ended.
The cross-border trade between the Great Xia Dynasty and its neighboring countries can be said to be full of waste and developing extremely fast.
It is precisely this that will arouse the great interest of several princes, who all regard this as a must-win area.
Taking over Rongcheng's salt channel is equivalent to seizing Jianglin's economic lifeline. When I heard that Liu Mo had developed a new salt.
The princes of the Great Xia Dynasty immediately began to take action.
The first major event was to take off Chen Zhiyuan's crown and never hire him again.
It doesn't matter whether the prince supported by Huang Shouren made a small move to defeat his official position, or whether Chen Zhiyuan's backer thought he was incompetent.
In short, the new salt project has invisibly avenged Liu Mo.
Although I couldn't take revenge myself, I had no choice but to give up!
The second thing is that the intention is obvious.
With a transfer order from the Ministry of Officials, He Ruda, the magistrate of Linyangcheng County, was appointed as the magistrate of Rongcheng County and took up his post immediately.
Liu Mo and He Ruda had a good relationship, and they cooperated with each other to rectify Lin Yuan and rectify Zhou Zhushan.
This is just a piece of paper to give Liu Mo a big backer.
For He Ruda, Rongcheng was much smaller than Linyang City. It looked like a demotion, but it was actually an inspection.
As long as he cooperates well with Liu Mo, he can raise the salt tax, rectify the salt gang, and get a promotion and salary increase in minutes!
Both of them were smart people and could understand the meaning above, so they went together to Rongcheng.
He Ruda had never been to Rongcheng, so Liu Mo patiently explained the information about Rongcheng to him along the way.
What are the personalities of the leaders of the third class and the sixth class, what businesses are there, etc.
While they were talking, they suddenly saw several fast horses galloping towards them, raising large amounts of dust along the way.
"Master He!" The visitor got off his horse, saluted He Ruda in the tea stall, and walked in quickly.
"Drink some tea and take a breath before talking!" He Ruda looked at the dusty men. Although he was a little anxious, he still calmed himself down and waited for the other party to take a breath.
The visitor drank a few gulps of tea, wiped the corners of his mouth with his sleeve, took a few more breaths, and then said calmly:
"Sir, as you expected, after receiving the news, the merchants and officials in Rongcheng gathered at the gate of the city and planned to catch the wind for you!"
He Ruda stroked his beard and smiled, "It's not what I expected," he said, "Mr. Liu, it's not easy for us to handle this errand! After arriving in Rongcheng, I'm afraid someone will investigate me even if I go to the toilet several times a day. It’s clear!”
"As expected!" Liu Mo said, "Master He, I wonder what your daily hobbies are?"
"Hobby?" He Ruda was puzzled, "Writing poetry, drinking tea, and painting!"
"Is there anything else?" Liu Mo asked, "For example, women's sex? Collecting antiques? And so on!"
He Ruda frowned and quickly understood what Liu Mo meant.
The enemy's sugar-coated shells in Rongcheng will definitely be several times more powerful than those in Linyang City.
Moreover, in Linyang City. Merchants offered bribes and seduced women, all for the purpose of currying favor with He Ruda. I hope it can open a backdoor in some things for convenience.
This trip to Rongcheng is different. The enemy is not here to curry favor with you. Once you show even the slightest sign of corruption, the higher-ups will immediately send someone to deal with you.
It can be said that everything is on thin ice.
"So, He needs to ban women, haha." He Ruda said with a smile.
Men who are lustful are like cats who love to eat fish and cannot stop eating them.
"It doesn't matter. If Master He doesn't mind, let me arrange it for you!"
"You kid!" He Ru laughed loudly. "Back to the topic, how about you and I find a village to rest for the night before heading into the city?"
hide? Give in?
"No, that's not necessary!" Liu Mo said, "Wouldn't this make the other party more ambitious? It would destroy his own prestige!"
He Ruda frowned, "If this is the case, then we will inevitably have to attend a banquet tonight!"
Of course Liu Mo could guess this. When a new official takes office, local merchants and petty officials will naturally set up a reception banquet.
And this time is so special, the banquet is probably full of crises!
In order to relieve He Ruda's worries, he stepped forward and explained his "methods to solve" one by one.
He Ruda smiled after hearing this, "That's very good! As expected of you, Liu Xiandi, drink this cup of tea and set off immediately."
~~~
Although he was mentally prepared, Liu Mo was really surprised by the encounter.
The blazing sun hanging in the sky is still radiating heat mercilessly. In order to welcome He Ruda and others. At the city gate, nearly a hundred government officials in official uniforms surrounded the city gate.
Behind these government officials who maintained order, thousands of people seemed ready to swamp them at any moment.
Before anyone could get closer, he heard the loud sound of gongs and drums, which made Liu Mo feel dizzy.
"Good fellow, is this the etiquette for receiving a prince?"
He Ruda was obviously shocked. The more high-profile the reception, the greater the difficulties he would face.
But the matter has come to this, and it is impossible to back down!
Approaching the city gate, the onlookers enthusiastically watched the flowers prepared by the people, cheered and applauded.
Before Liu Mo and others could respond, the leader of Rongcheng County, the Prime Minister, stepped forward and extended a welcome message on behalf of the people of Rongcheng City.
However, the cheering people were so noisy, their cheers were like huge waves in a tsunami, that Liu Mo couldn't hear a complete sentence!
Liu Mo's previous worries were verified at this moment. As soon as He Ruda arrived in Rongcheng County, sugar-coated bullets came violently.
The merchants had prepared a banquet for them, and the carefully arranged carriage was also ready, waiting for He Ruda and Liu Mo to attend the banquet.
There was absolutely no possibility of rejection. Surrounded by the crowd, Liu Mo and others were "tied" into the carriage.
On the carriage, several beauties with thin gauze wings have been waiting on the carriage for a long time.
It is no exaggeration to say that according to the arrangements of these people, the beauties are ready to give their virginity on the carriage!
This wave of bombing caught Liu Mo off guard.
After getting off the carriage, He Ruda and Liu Mo were "tied" to "Jun Mo Ting" in Rongcheng East City again.
Jie Feng Yan couldn't help but look at it, and he was shocked when he saw it.
Bear's paw, abalone, shark's fin, bird's nest.
Cold dishes, hot dishes, soups and porridge.
There are fifty or dozens of dishes, which are comparable to the imperial meals.
After being shocked, Liu Mo smiled coldly. "Once you eat this meal, half of it is lost! But I've already considered this, Xiao Jiujiu. Brother He, it's up to you now!"
So he didn't say anything, just watched quietly. He Ruda would be his teammate in the future, and he would also take this opportunity to investigate.
After all, the other party is a parent official, and I am just an ordinary citizen. Will he be able to implement the methods I teach...
Or, could he also be a corrupt official!!!
Fortunately, He Ruda did not disappoint him.
When everyone invited them to sit down, He Ruda's expression changed and he asked in a low voice, "What kind of dishes are these? How much money will they cost?"
"Honey bear's paw, canary bird, anchovy fin... silver, about one hundred taels!" One of them replied, "Sir, are you not satisfied?"
"Satisfied, extremely satisfied! Let alone eating these things, I, He Ru, have never heard of them." He Ru said, "But I'm worried that once I eat them, I won't forget them.
How can a seventh-grade county magistrate with a meager salary afford such delicacies worth a hundred taels? "
These words stunned everyone present.
Next, He Ru laughed and asked, "Is the tax department here?"
"Master Wu is not here."
"Oh? I heard that Mr. Liu and Mr. Wu know each other and will run an errand for this county later." He Ru said on the road, "If all the merchants can afford a banquet for a hundred taels, they must be doing good business.
Let Master Wu check their taxes tomorrow! "
As soon as these words came out, everyone's faces turned pale.
Liu Mo chuckled and said, "Yes!"
In the first round, our side won a great victory!
