After Zhao Huajun made up his mind, he thought about what kind of benefits he should give so that Master Shao in front of him could turn a blind eye to what he saw and heard in Yujiang County.
industry! He mentioned before that he has property in Yujiang County! Maybe this is where we can start. It seems that after the banquet, it is necessary to retain this gentleman in the house for a detailed discussion.
At the banquet, everyone was changing glasses, but Lao Wu was able to satisfy his craving. He drank all the good wine and food into his stomach, which made Shao Xi roll his eyes at him in anger. I thought to myself, why is this old guy so worthless? Doesn’t this kind of eating and drinking make people laugh? But it’s hard to remind him face to face.
Zhao Huajun didn't take this seriously, and kept thinking about what conditions he should use to bribe Shao Xi after the banquet was over. But what he didn't know was that Shao Xi wanted much more than he imagined. It might surprise him.
Since it is a banquet, it is inevitable that someone will come up to toast. Therefore, Zhao Huajun introduced the officials who came to toast to Shao Xi one by one.
"Master Shao, let me introduce these people to you. They are Chief Secretary Gao Can, Li Mu Zhao Hansi, Du Post Zhao Huafei, Treasurer Zhao Bin, and Tax Supervisor Zhang Xiaoquan. They are all capable people under the lower officials. This Yu Jiang The daily affairs of the county are all managed by his subordinates with the help of several of them."
Shao Xi muttered in his heart, "Among the five people introduced to me, three are named Zhao. I guess they are all direct descendants of the Zhao family. What's interesting is that Zhao Hansi and Zhao Huafei, one of you is a welding wire maker, and the other is a welding wire maker." Are you the one who makes fertilizer? And that Zhang Xiaoquan, are you selling scissors?"
That's the bad thing about traveling with the memories of the modern world. No matter what name you encounter, you will always think of something you knew in the past.
To be honest, the homophonic jokes he encountered over the years almost made Shao Xi vomit. But there is no way. The things you think about don’t exist in this era. It’s just you who think too much.
After greeting the few people who came to toast, Shao Xi asked with some confusion: "Master Zhao, why haven't you seen the county magistrate after being here for a long time? But why are you not here today for some official business?"
Zhao Huajun heard Shao Xi's question and quickly replied: "Except for Sun Jue, the county lieutenant who is responsible for the defense of the county and city, Mo Zhaohui, the patrol inspector, and Pan Sheng, the head of the capital, everyone else is here. Master Shao asked Cui Qi, the county magistrate, is sitting over there. The person next to him is Lu Ju, the judge of the county. These two people usually regard themselves as aloof and do not like such social occasions, so they are left to their own devices every time they are dismissed. I don’t force you to come and offer a toast.”
"oh?"
Shao Xi looked in the direction of Zhao Huajun's finger and saw two people sitting next to the two desks at the door. They didn't talk and laugh with each other like other officials, and they didn't come to toast. They just drank by themselves. Drinking his own wine.
That's okay for the judge. After all, his official rank is low, so it's not surprising that he's sitting at the door. But the county magistrate is second only to the county guard in the county, so why is he sitting at the door?
You must know that the ranking of this seat is based on the rank. Such a second-in-command in the county actually sits in the lowest position. It seems that Zhao Huajun did not arrange it intentionally. This is tantamount to humiliating others. Ordinarily, he is not that stupid. To do something that clearly offends people.
Then there is only one explanation, that is, Cui Qi, the county magistrate, sat there himself. But the question is, why did he sit at the door by himself?
From Zhao Huajun's words just now, Shao Xi more or less judged that Cui Qi should not be in the same pot as the Zhao family. Not to mention they are enemies, at least they are incompatible with each other and do not want to be associated with his Zhao family.
Then there are two possibilities for this incompatibility: one is that the Zhao family has become increasingly powerful in Yujiang County, excluding dissidents and squeezing out officials with foreign surnames, which has caused the power of the county magistrate to be eclipsed, so they are dissatisfied and have conflicts with the Zhao family Disharmony; another possibility is that the county magistrate can't stand what the Zhao family has done, and he doesn't want to join in the Zhao family's evil deeds but is unable to bring them down, so he has no choice but to keep to himself and stay away.
If the first possibility is that they themselves are fighting each other, Shao Xi is happy to watch the fun. But if it is the second possibility, it proves that although the Zhao family controls the sky with one hand in Yujiang City, there is a force that is at odds with it, and this force happens to be on the same side as himself. If this is the case, it can be used to secretly investigate whether the Zhao family supports a private army.
Since I want to leave a profit-seeking and narrow-minded impression on the Zhao family, I might as well use this opportunity to test out what kind of person Cui Qi, the county prime minister, is? In this way, he could kill two birds with one stone. He could not only find a usable internal agent in Yujiang City, but also take the opportunity to confuse Zhao Huajun and others.
Thinking of this, Shao Xi slammed the table in front of him and made a "pop" sound!
Not only the officials present, but also Zhao Huajun were shocked. Everyone looked at Shao Xi in surprise, wondering why this grown-up from Kyoto suddenly lost such a temper and even slammed the table.
"I came to Yujiang County for inspection and inspection. The county governor Zhao hosted a banquet for me. I was very happy. However, all the officials in the county came to toast me, but why was the county magistrate the only one? Why don’t you come here to propose a toast? But you feel that my rank is low and you are not qualified to receive his toast?”
After hearing what Shao Xi said, all the officials present unanimously looked at Cui Qi, the county magistrate who was sitting at the door. I said in my heart that it’s okay for you to think of yourself as a noble person on weekdays. Today, when such an important guest comes, you still don’t hum and ignore me. Isn’t it clear that you don’t want to give others face? Let's see! Are they going to cause trouble for you now?
Seeing this scene, Zhao Huajun was afraid that Shao Xi would get angry, so he quickly shouted to Cui Qi at the door: "Master Cui, everyone has toasted to Master Shao. Shouldn't you, Master Cui, come over to toast Master Shao too?" Sir, how about a drink? After all, Mr. Shao is from Kyoto. As local officials, we should fulfill our duties as landlords! How can we lose etiquette by just drinking on our own?"
These words are full of provocation and sowing discord. It seems that Cui Qi, the county magistrate, is indeed at odds with the Zhao family. Next, we just need to see how he behaves to determine the specific reasons for the disagreement.
Cui Qi didn't panic, picked up the wine glass in his hand, and came to Shao Xi reluctantly. He bowed slightly to Shao Xi and made a gesture of invitation. Before Shao Xi could say anything, he drank the wine in one gulp. He turned around and was about to leave but was called back by Shao Xi.
"Master Cui, when I first arrived in Yujiang City, I seemed to have nothing to do with Master Cui. I wonder why Master Cui is so cold to me? But do you think I am not worthy of your toast? I have a special mind. Xiao, if Mr. Cui can't give me a perfect explanation today, I'm afraid I won't even be able to sleep well after I go back."
Cui Qi stopped, turned around, bowed to Shao Xi again, and said, "Master Shao Haihan, Xiaguan and Master Shao don't know each other, let alone a festival. Xiaguan just doesn't like this kind of occasion, but for the sake of Out of respect for your Excellency, I am still here for this banquet. Please forgive me if I am negligent. Now that I have paid my respects to you, I will not disturb you two adults."
Shao Xi saw that this person had quite a personality! Compared to other officials who were all silent, Shao Xi felt that this person was still a little different. He didn't know whether it was because the jar had been broken or because he really had no fear in his heart.
"So you came to the banquet today to give me face? Mr. Jun Cheng, you are so arrogant! Do you not like this occasion, or do you not like me? As a Jun Cheng, you are at the banquet. Sitting in the bottom class seat, do you feel that your status is not enough, or do you want to stay away from me?"
Zhao Huajun looked from the side and saw that Shao Xi was going to pursue and fight fiercely. I thought to myself that he is indeed a person who will retaliate for his anger. This kind of person is actually quite easy to deal with. As long as he is coaxed and given enough benefits and satisfied, everything will be easy. If he offends this kind of person, I am afraid that the following days will not be the same. Better.
After confirming Shao Xi's character in his heart, Zhao Huajun made up his mind to ask Shao Xi to stay after the banquet. If you can bribe an official from the "Jingcheng Division", you will be more reliable for anything in the future. Being able to build a good relationship with the people around the emperor is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
At this time, Cui Qi seemed to be a little angry after being asked by Shao Xi. He replied to Shao Xi with a stern face: "Master Shao, I am not dissatisfied with you. It's just that I feel that a banquet is not enough." There is no need to be so extravagant. While we are enjoying fine wine and delicious food here, do you know how many people in Yujiang County still have insufficient food to eat? How many craftsmen and businessmen in this county cannot make money? Just In the past year, Yujiang County has lost nearly 10,000 people. These are all local people who have fled to other places because they cannot make a living! As a parent, I have seen the people in the area under my jurisdiction displaced and unable to eat. How can you enjoy these drinks and food with peace of mind at this extravagant banquet? Since you are here to inspect and inspect Yujiang County, you should go among the people to understand the people's livelihood, instead of sitting in this high hall with fine wines and delicious food, listening to flattery Say. We have all received the emperor's favor and we should share the saint's worries. How can we enjoy ourselves here?"
Before Shao Xi could speak, Zhao Huajun jumped out and yelled at Cui Qi loudly: "Master Cui! How can you be so rude to Master Shao from Kyoto? You usually think of yourself as noble and always contradict me. Forget it, today the distinguished guests should be treated with courtesy and a smile when they come to the door, but you are so disrespectful to Mr. Shao with such arrogant words. It is really arrogant! Everyone present can see how this Yujiang County is. On weekdays, it is all government affairs How can you sum up the complexity in one word? Our land in the south of the Yangtze River is rich in products and has been prosperous since ancient times. What does it matter if the food and wine at this banquet are better? Do you want us to use the sweet potatoes and radishes from the fields to entertain Shao Sir? You are so disrespectful, I won’t keep you here anymore. Leave quickly and go home to rest! Don’t talk nonsense here. Before you leave, you must bow to Master Shao and apologize, otherwise I will not spare you. you."
Shao Xi did not speak, but looked at the two people in front of him coldly. He wanted to know what Cui Qi would do next.
