Chapter 2965: Fooling and Fooling
When Bai Shan and Zhou Manxiang arrived at the governor's mansion, Governor Guo's face had turned dark again.
But seeing that the two men were dressed neatly, their faces were fair and clean, and they looked refreshed and smiling, even the restless Governor Guo felt a little more comfortable.
Bai Shan was wearing a green official uniform, while Zhou Man was wearing a crimson one. As soon as they entered the study, they hurried forward to salute Governor Guo.
Governor Guo glanced at Bai Shan and waved at him. He stood up and returned the greeting to Zhou Man, then asked Zhou Man to sit down. Then he asked Bai Shan, who was standing, "Why did you come so late?"
Bai Shan said with a guilty look on his face, "Sir, a few days ago someone sneaked through the checkpoint and entered Dajiawa to investigate the new salt fields. As you know, Beihai County recently suffered a bandit attack, and I'm always worried that similar incidents are happening in the area. However, I am in a high position and don't know the viciousness of the people below. So, in order to prevent the people from being threatened by violence again, I took my men to the countryside to conduct a secret investigation."
Bai Shan listed the villages he had visited and some basic information about them. Some of the small villages had only appeared in recent years. Not only did Governor Guo, but even Bai Shan only learned about the existence of such villages after he arrived at the location and asked the villagers. So Governor Guo was completely clueless and quickly interrupted him, "Alright, I know. So, have you been back to the county government office?"
Bai Shan said "No" with a look of shame on his face. He continued, "Yesterday, on my way back to the county government office, I met a yamen runner who was coming to report the news. I hurried as fast as I could and finally arrived outside Beihai County before dark. Lord Zhou was afraid that I would delay your business, so he packed his luggage early and waited outside the city. As soon as we met up, we immediately headed for Qingzhou City. We traveled for half the night and finally arrived before dawn. We entered the city gate as soon as it opened."
He seemed to be completely unaware that Governor Guo was trying to use the backdoor to release Song Min.
Governor Guo said nothing. He glanced at the staff standing beside him and then lowered his head to drink tea.
The staff retreated quietly.
The room suddenly became quiet. Bai Shan stood there as steady as a pine tree. Although the atmosphere was a bit weird, he didn't seem to be affected.
Zhou Man looked at this and that, and simply said nothing. She smiled slightly and picked up the cup to drink tea. She wanted to spit it out after just one sip.
She swallowed it with difficulty, and when she looked down she realized it was a cup of strong tea.
She immediately put down the teacup, and when she felt the bitter taste in her mouth fade a little, she looked at Governor Guo. After sizing him up, she asked, "Master Guo, you didn't sleep all night, did you?"
Governor Guo sighed, "I can't sleep~~"
The staff came in and nodded slightly to Governor Guo across the crowd. Governor Guo sighed again and pointed to a seat next to him and said to Bai Shan, "Sit down and talk."
Then he turned around and said to Zhou Man, "There's nothing I can do. Do you know who came to our Qingzhou City yesterday?"
Without waiting for Zhou Man's answer, he said, "Your Highness!"
"A prince, a princess, and a consort, along with all the civil and military officials in the court, have arrived in Qingzhou. Lord Zhou, do you think I can sleep with them?"
Zhou Man was stunned and stared, "Princess and Prince Consort? Is it Bai Er? Ahem, I mean, is it Princess Mingda and Prince Consort Bai?"
Bai Shan was also shocked and looked up at Governor Guo in a daze.
When Governor Guo heard Zhou Man's address, he breathed a sigh of relief. A smile spread across his face as he nodded and said, "It is Princess Mingda and her husband, Prince Consort Bai."
Zhou Man couldn't help but look at Bai Shan, and Bai Shan also looked at her. The two looked at each other silently, suppressed the excitement in their hearts, and tried to put on a serious face and pretend to listen.
Governor Guo seemed to notice their excitement. He coughed lightly, attracting their attention, and then looked worried. "I wonder why Your Highness came straight to our Qingzhou?"
He suspected that the person was recruited by Bai Shan and Zhou Man. After all, not to mention Zhou Man, she was an editor of Chongwenguan and had the channels and power to submit memorials. Even Bai Shan, who came from the Secretariat, must have channels to contact the capital.
In fact, it was Bai Shan who indeed recruited these people.
Bai Shan and Zhou Man exchanged a glance, and Bai Shan lowered his head and said, "Sir, perhaps you are here for the salt fields."
Governor Guo's brows twitched. He asked, "Your Beihai County salt fields have been around for decades. Why is Your Highness suddenly interested in them?"
Bai Shan: "Perhaps it's not that you've suddenly become interested in the Beihai County salt fields, but you've come to see them simply because you need to learn more about official salt?"
Governor Guo's heart beat faster. Does this mean that the court is going to take action against the salt administration?
Nowadays, most of the salt in the Jin Dynasty comes from Jiangnan. Although there are also a lot of well salt and sea salt in various places, it is Jiangnan that can provide large quantities of salt to various places and pay a large amount of salt tax.
The salt tax and salt administration in Jiangnan...
Even if Governor Guo had never been to Jiangnan, just thinking about it would make his scalp tingle. I wonder how much money that would cost, and how many people's interests would be involved...
He swallowed hard and wisely didn't ask any more questions. Instead, he said, "It's getting late. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the others should have gotten up by now. You were once his tutor, so you must be more familiar with his habits. Why don't you two go and ask him if he's comfortable living here and if there's anything else he needs to buy? Let me know so I can have someone prepare it."
Bai Shan stood up and agreed, looking at Zhou Man.
Zhou Man also stood up, bowed with him, and then retreated.
As soon as the others left, the two aides in the room asked, "Sir, is the court going to take action against the salt tax in Jiangnan?"
Governor Guo: "You ask me, who should I ask?"
He reached out and rubbed his forehead. "Our Majesty is a man of deep thoughts and resilience. Who can possibly know what he's thinking right now?"
But no matter what he thought, he knew that Bai Shan came to Beihai County not just to be a small county magistrate.
He said, even if he was sent out, he wouldn't be sent from a secretary to a county magistrate, right?
It turns out that the drunkard's real intention is not to drink.
Governor Guo thought about it, and finally sighed, saying with some heartache: "Return the coral tree and silver money that the Song family sent."
"grown ups……"
"Since Bai Shan has never returned to the county government, then this matter should be considered as never happening. Send someone to Beihai County Government again. Since Bai Shan has been sentenced, then deal with him according to the law."
The prince is here, so it is better to stay still than to move.
The staff member thought so and could only agree, but he was still a little skeptical, "Sir, County Magistrate Bai really didn't receive the news. Does he know nothing about what's going on in the county government office?"
Governor Guo snorted twice and said, "I don't care whether he truly doesn't know or is pretending to know. Since he has found a good excuse and is so anxious to come see me, I will assume that he has not neglected me and that he truly doesn't know."
Moreover, Bai Shan also gave him the information he wanted to know. He was no longer just his subordinate, but they were more of a cooperative relationship. In this case, he could no longer be viewed as an ordinary subordinate.
See you at 6pm
(End of this chapter)
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