When the two came to the side, Xu Chun smiled apologetically and said, "Mr. Zhao, I don't want to expose anyone, nor do I want to identify anyone."
"Then what do you want to do?"
Zhao Ping pretended to be confused and said, "Could it be that Mr. Xu wants to reminisce with me about old times?"
"Today is the first time the two of us have met. There is no old friendship to speak of."
"Mr. Zhao, that's what happened."
For the sake of his own safety, Xu Chun could only say calmly: "As a minister, I am an important minister beside His Majesty."
"It goes without saying much about salary and salary. His Majesty has never treated his subordinates badly."
"And I also give a lot of benefits to my subordinates every year."
"Like houses, fields, slaves, singers, etc., there are many lower officials."
"Are you showing off like an official?"
Zhao Ping's face darkened.
"No no."
Xu Chun said hurriedly: "I just want to tell Mr. Zhao that I am not short of money and food, and I don't even lack anything."
"It's the red people next to His Majesty again. There's no need to follow them around."
"There is no need to rebel."
"So, Mr. Zhao, can you let me go first?"
"this……"
Zhao Ping was in trouble.
"Sir Xu, I believe you are innocent, but others present do not believe it."
"If I let you go, what about them?"
"Will there be any complaints?"
"Mr. Zhao, I have money and food for you," Xu Chun reiterated.
"You mean you want to lose money and avoid disaster?"
Zhao Ping came to his senses and smiled bitterly: "Master Xu, the situation is different."
"Master Liu has done nothing. When the queen instigated the prince to ascend the throne, he was still working conscientiously for the court."
"The same goes for my subordinates."
Xu Chun said hurriedly: "While Your Majesty was away from the capital, I almost stayed in the palace even sleeping. I personally read every memorial. Only when I was really undecided would I send someone to Yuzhou for Your Majesty to make a decision."
"This official has also been working conscientiously for His Majesty's sake."
"So you are also a loyal minister."
Zhao Ping suddenly said: "In that case, I will agree to your idea of losing money and avoiding disaster."
"But since you are the minister, you will be questioned about a lot of things, and you will have to deal with a lot of people. Two hundred thousand taels of silver may not be enough."
"Mr. Zhao, how much do you think is appropriate?"
Xu Chun breathed a sigh of relief and said, "You can just tell me the number. Even if I can't come up with that much money, I will still have to scrape together the money."
"Fifty thousand taels."
Zhao Ping stretched out a slap.
"How many?"
Xu Chun thought he heard wrongly and couldn't believe his ears.
"Fifty thousand taels."
Zhao Ping repeated: "You are Shangshu Ling, a first-rank official of the Dawei Dynasty. Five hundred thousand taels of silver should be nothing to you, right?"
"The official can't take it out."
Xu Chun shook his head.
"Really?"
Zhao Ping sneered and said: "If I remember correctly, a large part of the salt sales rights of the Dawei Dynasty are controlled by your Xu family, right?"
"Not to mention the distance, the salt in Donghai County is controlled by your Xu family."
"That's a hugely profitable deal. You actually said you couldn't come up with five hundred thousand taels of silver. Who would believe it?"
"Even I, a small mountain villager, can give me a million taels of silver. How can your majestic Shangshu Ling be no match for a mountain villager?"
"If you don't manage your money properly, even if your subordinate wants to speak for you, others will be dissatisfied."
"If you poke it out at that time, you will have to spend money twice. Why bother?"
"this……"
Xu Chun hesitated.
He could really afford five hundred thousand taels.
After all, the Xu family controls not only the sales of salt in Donghai County, but also other states and counties.
Moreover, the Xu family is considered a big family, and there are so many members of the family helping him make money.
Not to mention 500,000 taels, he can take out even one million taels.
The question I'm worried about now is whether it's worth it.
What if Zhao Ping doesn't do anything after giving him money?
What's more, His Majesty's life or death is unknown.
Since the queen dared to instigate the prince to ascend the throne and proclaim himself emperor, the Qian family dared to send people to assassinate the emperor and asked the queen to spread the news of his death in the capital.
Then there is a certain degree of certainty.
What if they succeeded in killing themselves?
Isn’t the five hundred thousand taels of silver that I have wasted in vain?
After careful consideration, Xu Chun decided to shake his head and refuse.
Zhao Ping also noticed it and hurriedly added, "Master Xu, there is no need for you to be embarrassed."
"Just give me the silver you carry with me and write an IOU for the rest. It won't be too late for you to replenish me when he rescues you from prison."
"All right."
Xu Chun hesitated slightly before agreeing.
Anyway, most of the money is in his hands. If Zhao Ping doesn't help him clear his grievances, he won't be able to get the remaining money.
This is a good deal.
Zhao Ping untied Xu Chun, who groped around for a while and took out a few banknotes.
Worth fifteen thousand taels of silver.
He still owes 485,000 taels of silver.
Zhao Ping found paper and pen and asked Xu Chun to write down the IOU on the spot. He put it in his arms and tied Xu Chun up again.
Then he said loudly to the people around him: "Master Xu is worthy of being a minister, and a first-class official of our Dawei Dynasty. Your attitude in admitting your mistakes is sincerity."
"Not only did he confess his crimes, he also identified some people."
"This can be regarded as meritorious deeds."
"My subordinate will definitely consider it as appropriate and then report it to His Majesty, asking Your Majesty to reduce his culpability."
Forehead!
Everyone around looked at Zhao Ping with disgust.
Is it a meritorious service?
You are so "open and above board" in accepting benefits from others, and in front of so many people, you turn black into white.
Do you still want to lose face?
What's more, you still hold Shang Fang's sword in your hand, don't you feel guilty in your heart?
Of course, everyone just thought about these words in their hearts, and no one dared to question them.
Some people even followed Xu Chun's example and took the initiative to get close to Zhao Ping, asking if they could use money to alleviate their crimes.
Zhao Ping naturally refused to accept anyone who came.
If anyone wants to ask him to come aside for a detailed discussion, Zhao Ping will always make a fool of himself.
Like the three great bachelors, each of them received five hundred thousand taels of silver.
As for those with slightly smaller official positions, the money they ask for will naturally be less.
One hundred thousand, eighty thousand, fifty thousand, twenty thousand, even a few thousand taels of silver Zhao Ping didn't mind, he just took it into his arms.
I still let you write IOUs when I should, without any mercy.
By the time everyone who was willing to "confess" was found, it was already extremely dark.
If the torches weren't lit, no one would be visible.
The surrounding soldiers were a little impatient, but because His Majesty was present, they did not complain.
As for His Majesty, he always had a smile on his face.
He just looked at Zhao Ping with a smile, not knowing what he was thinking.
The only happy person is Gao Meng.
He watched helplessly as Zhao Ping collected money or banknotes one after another, and his large clothes were stuffed to the brim.
I knew money was so easy to make.
Why are you working so hard as a bodyguard? I have already persuaded my husband to come to the capital.
There is really money everywhere here.
It's like picking up money.
No, you can’t even pick up money that fast.
"It's too late today, so we can't do the next thing."
Zhao Ping ordered: "Come here, take all these treacherous officials and traitors into the sky prison. Let them have a good night's rest tonight. We will try again tomorrow."
"The rest of the people will follow me and return home."
