Shao Xi really wanted to see how Cui Qi would respond to the Zhao family's suppression, even if it was just verbal.
But what disappointed Shao Xi was that after Cui Qi heard Zhao Huajun's words, although his eyes were full of contempt and dissatisfaction, he didn't say anything. He shook his head and turned around and walked away.
What is this? Why was he obviously dissatisfied with Zhao Huajun in his heart, and why did he choose to retreat when faced with Zhao Huajun's rebuke? An official who put the people first in his heart actually retreated in the face of power, which made Shao Xi feel very uncomfortable.
Despite this, Shao Xi finally discovered that the officialdom of Yujiang County was not monolithic, and the Zhao family was not able to bribe everyone. After all, there were still people who cared about the local people and were dissatisfied with what the Zhao family did. , which can indeed be a good entry point.
Seeing Cui Qi leaving, Zhao Huajun snorted with obvious dissatisfaction, turned around and smiled and said to Shao Xi: "Master Shao, don't worry, this person is usually aloof and has a high self-esteem. He feels that he has the world in his heart and others are not as good as him, so he often He accuses us of some minor omissions we have made in government affairs, in order to show his personal diligence and love for the people. Mr. Shao, a person who is just trying to gain fame, should ignore him, and we will continue to drink."
Shao Xi naturally knew who was going on and what was going on, but the persona that had been established in front of the Zhao family could not fall down at this time.
So he pretended to be angry and said: "Such a disrespectful person, it seems necessary for me to pay him a visit in the near future."
Zhao Huajun laughed secretly in his heart when he heard this. It seemed that Master Shao was planning to find trouble with Cui Qi. Cui Qi was so rude today. If Mr. Shao came to visit him personally, wouldn't he be going to slap him in the face? Then he can sit back and watch the show. The "Jingcheng Si" from Kyoto is so impatient that he still looks too young in front of him.
Thinking of this, Zhao Huajun couldn't help but feel proud, so he started drinking more vigorously.
During the banquet, Shao Xi and Zhao Huajun kept testing each other with their own ideas.
What Zhao Huajun wants to know is how big an appetite this young Master Shao has? How much money does it take to feed enough? What Shao Xi wants to know is how powerful the Zhao family is? Have all the officials present been bribed by the Zhao family?
"I just heard that Master Shao actually has an industry in my Yujiang County. I wonder what kind of industry it is? Does he have business in Kyoto? Master Shao is in a high position and does business on his own. Aren't you afraid of being known by the Holy One? Our Jingyuan Dynasty has always It is strictly forbidden for government and businessmen to merge into one!"
Shao Xi knew in his heart that Zhao Huajun wanted to use these words to beat him up. As a court official, he dared to do business openly. If this was known by the Holy Emperor, he would be severely punished.
Now Zhao Huajun seems to be reminding you, but it is actually a verbal threat, which means, "I already know about your business abroad. If you go to the court to impeach you, you will definitely be in trouble. Now I have pinched you." Handle, you'd better be smarter and don't cause me any trouble."
How could Shao Xi fall for him? He replied one after another, "It doesn't matter. My business is authorized by His Majesty. The bigger the business, the better! If the business is too small, His Majesty will blame me, so I am here this time." Yujiang County also wants to see if there is any good business to do, after all, too ordinary business will disgrace the royal name."
Upon hearing Shao Xi's words, Zhao Huajun's eyes almost fell to the ground. The man in front of him, Mr. Shao, came out to do business with the emperor's order, and he was actually selling an imperial brand. What the hell is that to impeach? Doesn't that mean you're sticking your face out to slap the Holy One? Unexpectedly, this adult has such a profound background.
Zhao Huajun was scratching his head when facing Shao Xi. Although this fourth-grade official who looked young seemed to have little experience, it was really difficult to handle the emperor's mandate. It seemed that it was not easy to catch the opponent's pigtails. Can try to please and bribe.
Shao Xi continued: "Currently, I have opened a papermaking workshop, a printing room, a bookstore, and a school myself in Daliang, Kyoto. They are all inscribed by the emperor's royal pen and under the royal name. Although the business is just getting started, I believe it will not be used. It will cover the entire Jingyuan Empire in three or two years. What? Mr. Zhao is interested in getting involved?"
Zhao Huajun was shocked. Are you kidding me? Is he seeking death by getting involved in the royal business? If you want to share the pie with the Holy Spirit, how many heads do you have to grow?
"Master Shao is joking. The official salary is the salary of the imperial court. He only wants to govern Yujiang County well, so how can he dare to do business privately? Unlike Master Shao, who is so deeply trusted by the emperor. This royal business is not to mention the official business. , who among the Chinese, civil and military officials of this court dares to interfere? Mr. Shao must not take the official to make fun of him."
Zhao Huajun was a little bit murmuring in his heart at this time. Shao Xi mentioned the royal brand when he opened his mouth. He also said that he came to Yujiang County this time to see what business is good. If the business that is easy to do in Yujiang County is done by the royal family, they Do the Zhao family dare to steal business?
For the Zhao family, isn't Shao Xi's coming here just to take advantage of them? But there is no way to object openly and want to compete with the current emperor for business, even if he is impatient to live.
Shao Xi was thinking more about Cui Qi at this time. A county magistrate who cared about the people so much was ostracized in Yujiang County.
The remarks just made showed that he was very sad about the current situation of Yujiang County, but he was alone and had no way to do anything about it. It seemed that this person knew Yujiang County very well, and about the Zhao family. Maybe you can get some inside information from him.
"Master Zhao, if Cui Qi is so unsociable, how can Master Zhao and other officials in the county tolerate him? If he can be so disrespectful to me, wouldn't he be even more arrogant on weekdays? If such officials who do not respect their superiors would If there are a few more, wouldn't it be even more difficult for you as a county guard?"
Zhao Huajun couldn't help but feel happy when he heard that Shao Xi was still worried about Cui Qi's performance just now.
It seems that this person is not an upright official, but now he has the same position as himself, so why not take the opportunity to organize several officials in the county who cannot get along with himself and the Zhao family.
Even if I can't give them small shoes now, this master will not say anything good about them when he returns to Kyoto in the future. Wouldn't it be better to take this opportunity to cut off their path to promotion? It also avoids some future troubles.
"Master Shao doesn't know. There are indeed some officials in this county who are at odds with the lower officials. The lower officials have always been loyal to the imperial court and pay more taxes to the imperial court every year to fund the national treasury. Master Shao also knows that over the years, our country, Jingyuan Kingdom, has had conflicts with foreign countries. There are often wars in the country, and the money and food needed are huge. Xianguan is located in the south of the Yangtze River, the hometown of Yunsha. Naturally, he wants to collect more taxes and money to help our Jingyuan Empire expand its territory and stabilize the world. But there are always There are some people who talk about the common people every day, but in fact they are unwilling to make progress and want to drag down the officials. I really don’t know what they think.”
"Oh? What Mr. Zhao said is that there are some people, that is to say, he is not just Cui Qi. I wonder who they are? Mr. Zhao, you might as well tell me, and I will be aware of it, etc. It's better to go back to Kyoto and explain to the Holy One. When the time comes, who will serve the country and who will live in peace, the Holy One will make his own decision, and the rewards and punishments will be clear."
Upon hearing Shao Xi's words, Zhao Huajun suddenly felt happy. That's right! That's it! As long as the position can be brought to the same side, it seems that this person can still be exploited.
It would be better to use this opportunity to kill someone with a borrowed knife, and use Master Shao to help him eliminate all dissidents. Without those people standing in his way, Yujiang County will become the real private property of his Zhao family in the future, and he can take whatever he wants.
Of course, there is a price to pay for taking advantage of others, but I don’t know how high the price is for the adult in front of me?
"To be honest with Mr. Shao, there are indeed a few people in this county who are often against the lower officials. They use their power to disobey the lower officials' orders and often criticize the court's laws. Among them is Cui Qi, the county prime minister. , the county magistrate Lu Ju also often followed him to make suggestions, and often neglected the orders issued by his subordinates. What's more, Cui Qi colluded with the county's lieutenant Sun Jue, the inspector Mo Zhaohui, and the governor. The leader, Pan Sheng, formed a faction of his own, disobeyed the authority of his subordinates, and often did things that disobeyed orders and the laws of the court."
Shao Xi pretended to be surprised and said: "Is there such a thing? No wonder those people didn't come to the banquet today. They turned out to be as dissatisfied as Cui Qi. Master Zhao, can you leave me the auspicious records of these people? Let's see I will do a thorough investigation when I get up. In the next few days, I will conduct a detailed investigation on the officials of Yujiang County so that I know what I know. If there is someone with evil intentions and self-respect, I will report it to the Holy Majesty. Severe punishment will not be tolerated."
Hearing these words, Zhao Huajun's face looked a little unnatural, but it passed quickly.
"Since Mr. Shao has given instructions, I should obey him. When I turn around, I will order someone to present the detailed records of these people to Mr. Shao. In addition, after the banquet, I would like to ask Mr. Shao to leave a description. I wonder if Mr. Shao is willing to do so. Do you want to reward me for this honor?"
Shao Xi said in his heart: "Isn't this coming? Sure enough, he still couldn't bear it and wanted to bribe me. Now that he saw that I was dissatisfied with those who were against him, he wanted to use me to eliminate dissidents. It happened that Yujiang County in front of him was first Once the yarn tax issue is resolved, we will slowly investigate your support of a private army later."
"If Mr. Zhao wants to stay, I will naturally give Mr. Zhao some face. Mr. Zhao entertains you so warmly today, I can't just lift my legs and leave after eating, right?"
"Master Shao is joking. I really want to discuss something with Master Shao. Since Master Shao is so flattering, I naturally know how to reciprocate favors and will never let Master Shao return empty-handed."
"Well! Mr. Zhao's words are very pleasant. It's easy to talk to smart people. Now I'm almost drunk. Is this the end of the banquet?"
When Zhao Huajun saw Shao Xi finishing the banquet, he thought it was time to talk to him about business! The exchange of interests always requires negotiation of conditions, so these conditions cannot be discussed in public, right? End the banquet early so that you can get down to business early.
"As Mr. Shao wishes, I will inform all the officials to go back and rest. I have ordered someone to brew a pot of good Biluochun in the tea room for you to taste. We will drink tea and talk slowly."
"Then what are you waiting for? Hurry up!"
Seeing that Shao Xi couldn't wait any longer, Zhao Huajun immediately announced the end of the banquet and dismissed everyone.
