The corners of He Ran's mouth curved. She was not as dispensable to Jinyang City as she had shown.
That is Jinyang, the largest city in Jin and the headquarters of King Jin. Only a fool would not want it.
And Zhong Yi's request was just to meet Feng Xueying.
Thinking about those big guys in previous lives who paid exorbitant prices to have lunch with a certain old man, it is not surprising that they would spend a whole city just to meet Feng Xueying.
But He Ran couldn't make the decision for Feng Jieying.
So she said to Zhong Yi: "I can't make a decision for Mr. Feng. How about this. Mr. Zhong will go to Pingyang with me. If Mr. Feng agrees, then you can meet in Pingyang. Mr. Zhong doesn't have to worry about his personal safety. Now Pingyang City It’s heavily guarded and very safe.”
She thought Zhong Yi would hesitate, but she didn't expect Zhong Yi to agree: "Zhong is willing to go."
He Ran suddenly discovered that Zhong Yi was quite interesting and quite to her liking.
He Ran came to Pingyao this time not just to meet Zhongyi, but she also hosted a banquet for businessmen from Pingyao City at the largest restaurant in Pingyao.
Zhou Chi received strong support from merchants at that time. Therefore, he was very friendly to merchants after he ascended the throne, and their status was greatly improved.
Merchants in the previous dynasty could not wear silk, take imperial examinations, or use slaves to serve as maids, but these are not available in this dynasty. The children of merchants can take imperial examinations and serve as officials.
Since Zhou Laoer succeeded to the throne, the court's attitude towards merchants has changed again.
Merchants can donate official posts.
The imperial court clearly marked the price, and any official position below the fifth rank could be obtained by donating money to the imperial court.
As soon as the imperial court opened its doors, local officials from various places discovered ways to make money.
In the imperial court, officials were donated, but in local areas, officials were purchased.
In Pingyao alone, there were more than fifty officials, large and small, and it was these fifty officials that He Ran hosted at the restaurant.
That's right, they are all bought officials, with grades but no actual duties. They are still doing business, but they just wear the title of officials.
He Ran looked at the banquet list and shook his head helplessly.
Sure enough, at the banquet, the biggest concern of these people was whether they could keep their official positions.
A purchased official is also an official, so it cannot be ignored.
Everyone was chattering, and the voices were getting louder and louder. The formation seemed to be trying to eat He Ran.
There was no way, in their eyes, He Ran was just a little girl.
Unlike other places, Pingyao has not experienced the baptism of war. As soon as He Dali's army arrived outside Pingyang City, the prefect of Pingyang opened the city gates and dedicated the city.
Therefore, these officials in Pingyao City believed that the reason why Pingyao changed hands was because the prefect was a soft-legged crab and was useless.
The change of ownership in Pingyao was all blamed on the prefect, but He Ran was just picking up the slack.
They didn't take He Ran or her Ran Jun seriously at all.
He Ran listened to their questions with a smile on her face and said nothing.
These people are like fists hitting cotton, which is very boring, but they are also snickering, look, she is afraid, she is forced to be speechless by us, we have the upper hand!
He Ran took a sip of tea and asked pleasantly, "Do you have anything else to say?"
One of them slapped the table and said loudly: "King Zhao is also a descendant of the Zhou family. At this moment, the world of Zhou is still here. We are officials of the Zhou family's court, and our salaries must be the same as before."
He Ran was taken aback: "Aren't you guys holding a false position? Do you still get a salary for your false position?"
The man snorted coldly: "Can't it be possible?"
He Ran was surprised: "Pingyao City has a smooth transition. Of course, it will remain unchanged as long as it remains unchanged. Since you are all officials of the Great Zhou Dynasty, you must also be treated according to the officials of the Great Zhou Dynasty. By the way, you all had salaries before. Well, I thought there wasn’t one. Since there is, let’s talk about how your salary was determined in the past.”
Everyone looked at each other in shock, and then looked at the person who spoke. What a shitty salary. King Jin would burn high incense without asking for money from them, and only the little girl He Ran would believe it if he returned the salary to them.
No one spoke, and whoever started spoke first, so they were all waiting for that person to speak first.
The man's name was Zhou Fu. He made his fortune by selling soybeans to the Anxia Kingdom in his early years. Later he became a seventh-rank official. However, like everyone here, he only had a fictitious position.
Seeing that everyone was looking at Zhou Fu, He Ran also looked at him and asked with a smile: "Master Zhou's surname is Zhou, does it have anything to do with Pingyang Zhou Family Fort?"
When He Ran mentioned Zhoujiapu, Zhou Fu looked proud: "Zhou's ancestral home is Pingyang Zhoujiapu."
He Ran nodded: "So he comes from a famous family, so which family does Mr. Zhou serve as an official, and how much is his monthly salary?"
Zhou Fu originally thought that if he took the initiative to say this, others would definitely agree. He was rich and really didn't care about his salary. He just looked down on He Ran and wanted to embarrass him.
But he didn't expect that everyone had worked together to force He Ran to the point where he couldn't say a word. They had already gained the upper hand, but now when he spoke, no one agreed with him. He seemed to be performing a one-man show.
Zhou Fu scolded his mother in his heart, but he could only bite the bullet and quote a number.
He Ran looked at Xiaoli beside him: "Do the math, how much salary has Mr. Zhou received in total."
Xiaoli quickly calculated how much silver, how much silk, how much rice, and so on.
He Ran gasped: "So many."
Her eyes suddenly lit up, and she looked at Zhou Fu with burning eyes, as if she were looking at a pile of gold and silver.
"Master Zhou has not been an official for a long time, but he has a lot of money for being greedy."
The word "greedy for ink" is like a big stone falling from the sky, smashing everyone to pieces.
"Corrupt Mo? What are you greedy for? What nonsense are you talking about?" Zhou Fu was furious. He wanted money and a shop. Did he need to be greedy? Besides, he only has a false position, and there is no chance for him to be greedy.
He Ran didn't think so. She shook her head: "Mr. Zhou, why don't you admit your account? You reported the amount of ink you committed each month yourself, and everyone here heard it. Mr. Zhou, since you did Yeah, why don’t you dare to admit it?”
Everyone was shocked, Zhou Fu glared at He Ran fiercely, as if he wanted to eat someone.
"That's my salary!"
He Ran sneered: "You only have one title, where does your salary come from? Isn't this money stolen from corrupt officials or something? Come on, take down this corrupt official who is greedy for corruption!"
He Ran was just a young girl just now, but now she suddenly seemed like a different person. She turned against her faster than turning the page in a book, and the cold air that permeated her body was intimidating to everyone.
"You, you, you, you dare!"
Zhou Fu was furious. He was not afraid of He Ran. He just felt that he had lost face and was so embarrassed. This dead girl made him look like a clown in front of so many people. (End of chapter)
