Chapter Ten Passing Salt, Burning and Slandering (1)
After Wu Renyun's death, there was not much movement among the people of Xihua. They were still doing their own work and living a normal life without any sign of sadness. However, Yuan Lun was disturbed to the point where he could not eat, while Lu Deguang was probably very happy.
The celebration banquet was about to be held. Yuan Lun was very angry, but Lu Deguang had done this matter in a secretive manner, and the crime of rebellion could not be refuted. Of course, the county magistrate had to be re-appointed, and the person named Zhao was undisputedly chosen.
The county magistrate—is the prefect’s cousin, Professor Zhao. In short, Wu Renyun’s death reversed the situation of overt and covert fighting in Chenzhou, and prefect Lu finally had a place here that was strong enough to stand up to others.
And Ye Yongjia was reborn as a result. He lost his hesitation and became more determined and sharp. Like a tall lion, people were intimidated and people couldn't help but admire him as "He is indeed a good minion of Lu Deguang."
The so-called three things a new official should do when he takes office, but Professor Zhao's fire is not burning brightly in the daytime, but a faint flame lit in the dark.
It turned out that not long after he came to power, he either colluded with businessmen to drive up prices and made huge profits; or he levied excessive taxes, but the prefect did not take care of them, so he accumulated thousands of dollars and lived happily all day long.
He wanted to buy some rare things. A businessman selling famous goods happened to be walking here. Hearing that the magistrate always wanted to buy valuable things, he happily brought jade and other things to Professor Zhao's residence.
The servant at the gate hurriedly reported back to Professor Zhao.
"Since there is such a person, invite him as soon as possible!" Professor Zhao urged.
When the merchant came in, he knelt down to the magistrate first, and the magistrate also bowed. He got up and smiled flatteringly: "I usually heard that the magistrate likes to play with jade. When I saw him today, he turned out to be a gentleman, so I felt relieved.
"
Professor Zhao was embarrassed and quickly said: "Where...where..."
"I won't mention it anymore, please let me take a look at the goods first!" He untied the bag behind him with one hand, which contained jade items in small boxes. He opened it gently, and the luster of the jade shone in the eyes of the magistrate. The magistrates took them one by one to look at them.
The merchants looked at him carefully and sometimes asked him how the jade was, but the county magistrate simply said "good" and had no idea.
Seeing that he knew nothing about jade, the businessman wanted to make a fortune, so he picked out a piece of jade of inferior quality and teased him: "This piece is the best jade produced in Yarkand. Let's take a look."
Zhao taught it to taste it seriously, and the luster seemed to be a bit bright. Seeing that he was moved, the businessman hurriedly added fuel to the fire: "I have never seen such beautiful jade in my life. This jade can be said to be like gelatin, with a pure essence.
The texture is pure, thick and warm, the veins are firm, and the voice is loud. Wearing it is good for the human spirit and can ward off evil spirits."
Professor Zhao smiled and nodded. Looking at the jade again, it became crystal clear. "How much is it?"
"Eighty taels of silver."
"Eighty taels!?" Professor Zhao shouted.
He rubbed the jade again and hesitated.
"If the county magistrate is unwilling to pay, I'm afraid this piece of jade will be sold in a few days." The businessman seemed to feel regretful about this and sighed deeply.
Zhao Zhixian hesitated for a moment, then finally made up his mind and gritted his teeth: "Take the money!"
The servants beside him hurriedly ran to the back room.
"How did you get the jade produced in Yarkand?" He couldn't help but still have doubts.
"Uh..." the businessman thought. "When I was purchasing goods in the capital, I saw merchants from the Western Regions selling jade in the market. When I saw such a good product, I simply bought it."
"Then it should have been sold long ago."
"At that time, the villain was reluctant to tell anyone about it. Today, because he wanted to buy some land, he went around looking for someone to sell it to. Didn't he happen to come to your house?..." As he spoke, he secretly glanced at Professor Zhao.
, I feel unsure, and I’m afraid he won’t buy it again.
Although Professor Zhao was wary, he still thought he could not miss the opportunity. Hearing what the merchant said was reasonable, he took a bag of silver brought by his servant and weighed it, and found that it was eighty taels.
The merchant accepted the money with a smile and thanked the magistrate Zhao. Zhao magistrate sent him out and walked around the house admiring the beautiful jade.
After all, he was still a little worried. It happened that several friends came from other places. He hosted a banquet to entertain them. They ate and drank at the banquet. While chatting, Professor Zhao took out a jade and gave it to a man who knew jade.
When the friend saw it, the man said: "This is a poor-quality imitation. It costs about three or four taels of silver. How can I need eighty taels? My dear brother was deceived by him."
After hearing this, Professor Zhao's head was buzzing and he was so angry that he cursed the businessman and smashed the jade in front of everyone. Not enough to vent his anger, he complained a few more words to everyone,
That’s all.
But the eighty taels of silver could not be recovered for a while. He originally thought that it would be okay to save money on food and drinks for this jade, but now that he was cheated, he became furious and wanted to earn back the money no matter what.
He immediately thought of a clever way to bribe the salt merchants who secretly sold private salt in Chenzhou, so that they could not be banned by the government in Xihua, allowing them to sell inferior salt, and make huge profits for himself. But Xihua also
It's not a wealthy place. I estimate that in one month, it will only cost thirty taels of silver, which is really too little.
A bookkeeper helped to make suggestions and said: "Since you think Xihua is poor, why don't you give the prefect of Yanglu a certificate to sell the illicit salt in Huaining?"
"No," Professor Zhao said, "If such a scandal were to be decided by the magistrate, if it were leaked in the future, I'm afraid his reputation would be completely lost; someone who values his reputation so much would not dare to make the decision himself."
The chief clerk smiled and said, "It seems that you don't know Chenzhou's rules."
"What rules?"
"Anything that cannot be done openly, we only need to discuss with Ye Tongzhi. If Ye Tongzhi agrees, it means that the prefect has also nodded."
"Is that really true?" After being deceived by the businessman, Professor Zhao became very suspicious.
"Absolutely true."
"Okay. I will send my subordinates immediately. If you tell any lies, I will hold you accountable!"
Professor Zhao returned home from the Yamen, called a servant, and ordered him to carry a letter of his own handwriting, with a fifty-tael silver note sandwiched between the letters, and set off for Huaining.
Ye Yongjia was doing business in the second hall. The light there was dark, and only the west window was open, letting in a faint light. The door suddenly creaked, and the sun shone directly in, hitting Ye Yongjia's face. The pair of eyes were deep.
And turbid, cold and ferocious, like a vulture on an isolated cliff, looking down at everything calmly.
His eyes were completely different from before, instead they looked more like the claws of a hawk and a dog driven by someone.
Professor Zhao's servant stepped forward and handed over the letter in his hand, "Master Zhao wants to sell private salt in Huaining."
Ye Yongjia pursed his lips deeply and said nothing. He slowly opened the letter and the banknotes inside fell on the table. The slave smiled slyly.
Ye Tongzhi first put the note aside, tore off a small piece of waste paper, and wrote vigorously on the piece of paper while smiling at the slave. It was unnatural, even ferocious,
Their faces rubbed together in a smile.
After he finished writing, he put down the pen, stamped the paper again, stood up and handed it to the slave. The evil smile never stopped, as if it might tear his face apart at the next moment.
Only to close the door again. There was no gap left.