Chapter 459: The Fox Using the Tiger's Power to Bully People
"Oh, you even brought them some souvenirs?" Prince Gong asked in surprise.
Lu Desheng said modestly, "It's never a bad idea to show off your gifts. After all, I'll have to trouble them later." Last time, he asked for permission to pass through their road. This time, he had to bring some gifts.
Upon hearing that Prince Gong and Pingzhou Governor Lu Desheng had arrived, Youzhou Governor Deng Fangyi received the two with a puzzled look on his face, accompanied by his chief clerk Duan Chen.
After the two sides exchanged pleasantries, Lu Desheng signaled Prince Gong to come forward. "Prince Gong, didn't you say you had something to say to Lord Deng?"
Prince Gong, who was forced to do something, glared at Lu Desheng.
"What's the matter? Prince Gong, please speak frankly." Deng Fangyi was quite curious.
Duan Xing was on guard, thinking that no one would come to his house for no reason. He was afraid that the two of them coming to his house was not a good thing.
Prince Gong cleared his throat and said, "It's like this..."
Borrowing iron ore? How could these two come up with such an outrageous idea? Deng Fangyi looked as if he suspected he had misheard.
Duan Xing was also very surprised. The court asked Lu Desheng to pay more grain taxes, but he actually agreed?
"Sir Deng, we in Pingzhou are helpless. We have a good harvest, but we don't have enough farm tools. We can't afford to delay the Emperor's business, right? Please be flexible."
As a neighbor, Deng Fangyi had heard about Pingzhou's bumper harvest. But, "This is against the rules."
Prince Gong also looked embarrassed.
Lü Desheng, standing by, took over the conversation. "Hey, Lord Deng, that's wrong. Legal principles are nothing more than human feelings. Rules aren't set in stone; they can be flexible."
"This iron ore is not used by you, so it will just sit there gathering dust. We in Pingzhou are only borrowing it, not forfeiting it. As soon as Prince Gong returns to Chang'an and consults with the Emperor, we will return it to you."
"Master Deng, please be flexible. Otherwise, our autumn harvest in Pingzhou will likely be delayed."
Deng Fangyi was puzzled. You can just delay your own business. What does it have to do with me?
Prince Gong: "The Emperor is very concerned about the autumn harvest in Pingzhou. If it is convenient, please allow Lord Deng to make some arrangements."
Lü Desheng finally agreed to the tax increase, but Prince Gong was worried that if he couldn't borrow the iron ore, he would simply quit. Given Lü Desheng's willfulness, that was a real possibility.
Deng Fangyi hesitated for a moment. He could ignore Lü Desheng, but he had to consider Prince Gong's words. If, because of his refusal, Prince Gong went to the Emperor's side after returning to Chang'an, that would be troublesome. He already had some idea of the reasons for Shi Tao's downfall.
"Okay, we can't delay Pingzhou's autumn harvest." Deng Fangyi said.
"Master Deng, you are so kind. Thank you very much for your support for Pingzhou."
"No problem."
"Master Duan, go to the warehouse and hand over the two thousand kilograms of iron ore to Lord Lu."
Lu Desheng immediately looked at Duan Chen, the chief clerk of Youzhou, who was standing beside him.
Before Deng Fangyi could finish his words, he was interrupted by Duan Chen, "Sir, you are planning to hand over the 1,000 kilograms of iron ore in the warehouse to Lord Lu, right? I understand."
As he spoke, Duan Chen gave his master a subtle look.
"Oh, yes, that's what I meant."
Lu Desheng narrowed his eyes. He was skeptical of the figure, but since they wouldn't tell the truth, there was nothing he could do. Never mind, any bit of money he could get was worth it. He couldn't be bothered.
Prince Gong thought that after Deng Fangyi agreed to lend the iron ore, he would have nothing to do and could set off immediately.
Unexpectedly, Lu Desheng pulled him aside and started talking about all sorts of things, such as asking how the ministers in Chang'an were doing since he was exiled and whether they missed him.
In short, he was not allowed to leave. Lu Desheng was determined to continue to use his power to bully others.
He waited until the people he brought with him successfully obtained the iron ore before he waved goodbye to Prince Gong, "Prince Gong, it's getting late. Isn't it time for you to set off?"
Prince Gong, who was only halfway through his words, said: ...
Before getting on the car, Prince Gong shouted to Lu Desheng, "Don't forget what you promised!"
"Don't worry, I won't forget." Lu Desheng promised that he would arrange people to transport grain to Chang'an as soon as possible after the autumn harvest.
Prince Gong left with peace of mind.
Deng Fangyi and Duan Chen were the only two people left in the governor's mansion.
"I still hold the same view as before. Lu Desheng has great ambitions, and you should be on guard against him," Duan Chen said in a gloomy tone.
Deng Fangyi was helpless. He understood Duan Chen's meaning and listened to it, but this time it was the imperial envoy Prince Gong who endorsed it. Could he refuse it firmly?
"Old Duan, is it possible that we're overthinking this? If Lü Desheng really had that in mind, why would he let the court take it as it pleased?"
Duan Chen frowned. This was also something he couldn't understand.
Pingzhou
Although he successfully brought back a thousand kilograms of iron ore, Lu Desheng was not very happy.
When he returned, it was time to get off duty, and Lu Songli and Qin Sheng were both there.
Seeing that he looked unhappy, Lu Songli couldn't help but feel concerned.
Lu Desheng explained the situation and said, "I suspect that the Youzhou Governor's Mansion has more than a thousand kilograms of iron ore." He felt very sorry for not being able to do his best, and naturally disliked Duan Chen for ruining his plans.
Hearing the name of Youzhou Chief Clerk Duan Chen, Lu Songli and Qin Sheng looked at each other.
Lu Desheng noticed something was wrong, "What's wrong? Is there something wrong here?"
Qin Sheng: "Haha, father-in-law, it's actually nothing."
Lu Songli: "It's just that when we were exiled, we made some money by reselling medicinal herbs on the road. Then when we passed through Youzhou, his nephew Duan Kaishen tried to rob us, and we robbed him."
Lü Desheng: ...
Yang's Iron Shop
Bang, bang, bang—
There was a deafening knock on the door of Little Yang's room. Old Yang, the blacksmith, shouted from outside, "What time is it, you little brat? Why aren't you getting up and working?"
“The iron ore is gone!”
Blacksmith Xiao Yang pulled the thin quilt over his head and refused to get up.
It’s autumn now, and the mornings are cool, which is perfect for sleeping.
At the same time, he kept muttering to himself, his father is really something, he finally got two days of rest, but he kept yelling and wouldn't let him have a moment of leisure.
"The government just sent us three hundred kilograms of iron ore. Hurry up!"
Hearing this, Blacksmith Xiao Yang did a somersault, and then when he thought about it again, he felt a black screen before his eyes. Three hundred pounds! This is going to be a fight, his arms are going to be swollen!
"Get up now!"
Blacksmith Xiao Yang got up to wash and his father complained that he was too slow.
"You just want to be lazy. Don't you know the Xianbei are coming? Do you want your father to die?"
Blacksmith Xiao Yang replied, "Dad, you're too kind. If we can't win, the worst that can happen is we can just run away." It's not like he hasn't run away before.
Old blacksmith Yang rolled his eyes at him and said, "If you work harder, we won't have to run away." People feel inferior when they leave their hometown. Who would be willing to leave their hometown unless it is absolutely necessary?
"If the time comes for you to run away, your future wife will be gone." Old blacksmith Yang arranged a marriage for him at the beginning of the year and was waiting to marry her off at the end of the year.
Blacksmith Xiao Yang said nothing and went to look at the iron ore. "Why are there so many again?"
"I heard that Lord Lu brought back a total of 1,000 kilograms of iron ore, and the remaining 700 kilograms were distributed to the other three counties in Pingzhou." Old Blacksmith Yang said quietly.
Blacksmith Xiao Yang fell silent. He quickly called his apprentices to work together. He was grateful that Lord Lu had been promoted. Otherwise, if he had been given all the 1,000 kilograms of iron ore, it would have been fatal.
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