The county magistrate Mr. Wu was sitting in the study in the back hall, grabbed an abacus, and started fiddling with it without raising his head.
Wei Du stood aside with his head clasped and his hands behind his back. He had some doubts in his heart, which made him uneasy but he couldn't express it. However, those two pairs of small eyes stared blankly at Mr. Wu's fat and white ones. His hands were flying on the abacus. He didn't know what Mr. Wu was calculating at the moment, let alone what he was calculating in his heart.
Lord Wu thought to himself for a while, and then he raised his head with satisfaction. His look was one that Wei Dutou had never seen before.
"Sir, what happy event can make you so happy?" Wei Dutou asked cautiously.
"What do you think?" Mr. Wu replied meaningfully, and then gave him a meaningful look.
The meaning in this look is very familiar to Wei Dutou, who has been in trouble for a long time. Obviously, this time it is also about money. However, when he thought about it, Wei Dutou didn't understand again and said: "Sir, you let the Chao family go, and the money we got was wasted again. How happy is this?"
The county magistrate heard the slight hint of complaint in Wei Dutou's words, glared at him fiercely, and said: "A man with a short-sighted eye, a sparrow knows the ambition of a swan."
Wei Du bowed his head slightly, put on the look of a pious slave, and said: "Your Excellency is so wise, nothing can be compared with us rough guys. The ambition in your chest is as vast as the Nine Heavens. It’s hard to touch the whole of a small loyal person,”
Mr. Wu knew that Wei Dutou was speaking in official style again, so he came to flatter him. Although Wei Dutou wanted to speak in a formal way, but now he made it nondescript, but Mr. Wu could still understand the meaning. Feeling comfortable, he softened his expression and said to him calmly: "Have you ever heard of the snipe and the clam fighting each other, and the fisherman gets the benefit?"
"I've heard of it..."
"That's right, the Chao and Zang families are the two major power groups in our Yuncheng County. Now the Chao and Zang families are fighting endlessly. Isn't this a good thing?" The county magistrate smiled and looked at Wei Du's head and said: "Let's They are officials. To put it bluntly, they are a group of thugs who are raised by the imperial seal and make a living by stealing land. In this way, they are really no different from those gangsters. However, the two major power groups are different. They have their own rich property, and they have gathered a large number of people in the world as disciples. You must have some sense of the power behind them, but that is just the tip of the iceberg. The reason why they respect us now is not just because we wear Wearing official robes is more because they are useful to us. Think about it before, when we first took office, who from the two aristocratic families came to visit us? to visit people’s homes.”
After Master Wu said this, I remembered that it was true. When I came to Yuncheng County that year, there were only five servants in the yamen, and the salary from the court could not even provide food and clothing for a family of three. The yamen was even more shabby. It was a difficult year for the new year, so they made a plan to ask the people to pay taxes and donations. However, after the notice was posted, no one bought it. Why, it's not that the people here are hard-hearted, but , there is another reason, what is the reason, Mr. Wu didn’t know at first, but later he understood that those powerful families didn’t provide money, and which of the surrounding people would do it? Everyone was a smart person, and at that time, they didn’t do anything. Those who understand the situation would rather offend the government than those two major forces.
Later, Mr. Wu had no choice but to visit the house in person and persuaded the two major forces to donate money. Only then did the people accept it. When Wei Du thought of this, the unsatisfactory scene came to mind again, that is, the money was wasted for nothing. When it was presented to the county government, while everyone was dancing with joy, Mr. Wu had to bite the bullet and set aside more than half of the money. This was the capital and dividends returned to the two major families, while the county government only took 30%. .
Isn't this unfair? Although Mr. Wu was unwilling in his heart, he really had no choice. Who said he was so powerful? He didn't have a solid foundation when he first came. Mr. Wu gave away the money with a smile, but, there For a moment, a seed was planted in Mr. Wu's heart. He told himself this: The money sent out was just temporarily placed in the Chao and Zang families. After all, it is his own and will eventually return to his own. In front of him, at the same time, he also swore fiercely more than once that one day he would overthrow these two major forces, and all of Yuncheng County would fall at his feet, and he would be as good as the wind and the rain.
"Now the two families are fighting, and no one can defeat the other. However, our yamen is now so powerful that no matter which camp we join, we can completely disintegrate the other side. However, we cannot do this. ," Mr. Wu paused and continued: "If you think about it before, and then think about it now, why the Zang family is so fawning to us, it's not because we are useful. If we help him achieve his goal. , we can get a lot of benefits from overthrowing the Chao family, but in the end, in Yuncheng County, the Zang family is the only one, and no one dares to compete with him, so that's okay, he How can they take us seriously? As the saying goes, the rabbit is dead and the dog is cooked, and the bird is hidden behind the bow."
"I understand what you mean, sir. If we don't help the Zang family, then are we going to help the Chao family?"
When Mr. Wu heard this answer, he was so angry that he almost lost his temper. He couldn't help but cursed angrily: "Are you really stupid or are you pretending to be stupid? I won't tell you anymore. As long as you do what I say." Yes, one day we will bring down these two tycoons, and all their money will be ours."
Wei Dutou scratched his head stupidly. After listening to Mr. Wu's words, he seemed to see white money rushing straight in front of him like a river. Wei Dutou couldn't help but be a little stunned and kept agreeing. Nodding deeply.
Wei Dutou agreed with Lord Wu and asked: "Sir, we don't cooperate with the Zang family, but... didn't we agree to their promise before? What will we do once they pursue the case?"
"Hey, the Zang family is powerful, but the Chao family is also powerful. I didn't follow the Zang family's wishes. Now Zang Hanzhong can't break up with us. He is afraid that we will abandon him and end up with Chao. Therefore, by seizing this point, we can make a fuss about it." At this point, Mr. Wu changed his face to a serious face and said in a low voice: "Tokyo's intention is down, let's share it. , We in Yuncheng County have to pay more than 30,000 taels of silver. You tell us, we are still very poor, how can we raise so much money?"
When Wei Dutou heard this number, he couldn't help being frightened. Normally, it would have been unimaginable for him to exploit hundreds of taels of silver, but now, with such a heavy birthday share, This was simply shocking. Wei Du frowned with his thick eyebrows and said nothing. After all, Mr. Wu had to make the decision for such a big matter.
Mr. Wu looked at Wei Dutou's gloomy and bitter look, but he smiled happily and said lightly: "I was also worried before, but now, I am not worried anymore. Let alone more than 30,000 taels, it will be doubled again. We can do it too,"
The meaning of these words made Wei Dutou's eyes light up. This is not only something that can be done, but also has great benefits. Wei Dutou chuckled and said: "What to do, just follow your orders, little Wan "I won't give up until I die."
Wansi, I think I scared you, so you peed, but you still refused to give up. Boy, do you think I don’t understand you? Mr. Wu smiled and looked at Wei Dutou and thought in his heart, but there was something else in his mouth. He made an excuse and patted Wei Du on the shoulder and said: "You have followed me for so many years, and you have never refused. You have taken all the credit for your hard work. This time, I will not let you do it in vain."
"Thank you, sir," Wei Dutou quickly bowed down gratefully.
Seeing him kneeling down, Mr. Wu stood up slowly, held the head of Wei Du who was prostrating, and said: "Get up, you and I are masters and servants in public, but in private, you and I are better than brothers and sisters, don't So many gifts,”
"Thank you, sir, thank you, sir," Wei Dutou looked flattered at this moment. It was obvious that he had never expected such a result. His lips were trembling, and he could not say anything.
Mr. Wu pretended to be sensational. At this moment, he sat up straightly and said seriously: "The Chao family will go back soon. If the Zang family sees them, they will definitely come. Rather than letting them come, it is better for us to go, come, You tell them like this..." Mr. Wu called Wei Dutou to his side and whispered in his ear.
At this moment, Shi Qianguang, who was lying on the eaves, could see the two grown men sticking together, but he really didn't hear a word. After a while, Mr. Wu let go of Wei Du's head, and both of them seemed to be confused. After understanding it, they looked at each other and laughed proudly. Wei Du kept praising it for being so wonderful.
Shi Qian saw that Wei Dutou was about to leave after finishing a series. At that moment, he did not dare to mess around without permission, and he lay obediently on the roof. Looking at Mr. Wu lying on his back on the Taishi chair with his eyes closed and concentrating, he would never look like him again. What valuable information there was, so Shi Qian found an opportunity when no one was around and escaped from the county government office.
Shi Qian hurried all the way to the teahouse, thinking carefully about the county magistrate's words all the way. Although Shi Qian himself did not hear how Mr. Wu would deal with the Zang family in the end, just the previous words alone made Shi Qian I feel that here, not only can Magistrate Nagou make a big fuss, but it can also be an opportunity for Chao Gai to take advantage of. If you work hard enough, you can not only control the government, but more importantly, you can use the government to do it. Contain the Zang family.
The more Shi Qian thought along this line of thought, the more excited he became. When he was so excited, he couldn't help but use the steps of Qing Gong, and his walking became faster. However, just as he stepped into the teahouse with his front feet, At that time, I bumped into someone...