Chapter 81 Master Qin: This time I've really met my match...
The change in his mindset was reflected in Qi Chengming's unceremonious refusal of the toast, his face radiating an air of "willfulness" and "fearlessness."
The young prince lifted the hem of his robe and slightly raised his chin: "You drink yours, I don't like drinking."
"Alright, alright." The man was very good at turning a blind eye to insults. His fat-faced smile didn't faze him at all. He deftly tossed back his drink, beaming as if he had received an honor. He then offered a long string of compliments before sitting back down to exchange pleasantries.
The presence of this new prefect made the entire place lively and bustling, never letting it get dull. He even smiled at the county magistrates, who were far less capable than him, a smile that carried a hint of cunning malice and smugness, yet he was not reluctant to speak to them.
"..." Qi Chengming appeared to be eating his food without paying attention, but in reality, he kept glancing at the scene out of the corner of his eye.
He became fully alert.
This doesn't look good... The new prefect, unlike those two fools corrupted by money, seems to have a deep-seated cunning. His appearance alone makes him look like a "treacherous villain."
Sometimes people's appearance reflects their inner state. Qi Chengming felt uncomfortable after being looked at by the new prefect a few times, and he began to have doubts.
"Your Highness, something's not right." The magistrate of Xinliujiang County, sitting beside him, gritted his teeth and said in a low voice, his face expressionless. He was a scholar recommended by Qi Chengming's men, and had been busy with the aftermath of the hurricane incident. He was from a wealthy local family and was very familiar with the situation.
At this moment, the magistrate of Liujiang County quickly said while bowing his head to drink sweet soup: "Someone from my family just came and found out that this prefect is from the Jiangnan faction... not famous, but definitely from that faction."
Qi Chengming pursed his lips, somewhat wanting to ask Wen Er.
The basic list of court officials that Li Banhui wrote for him when he left not only summarized the titles, duties, personalities and habits of the officials he remembered, but also included their respective positions, factions and family traditions... Although the authenticity of this list was questionable, Qi Chengming could not directly believe Li Banhui's impressions.
...It's still not very reliable to be a playboy; it makes me a little uneasy.
Before Doctor Bian left, Qi Chengming made a copy for him to take with him, so that they could compare it when they got to the capital.
He had also inquired and verified some information through other channels, and now, upon hearing the words of the magistrate of Liujiang County, his memory returned:
Among the civil officials in the imperial court, there are currently two factions that are based on regional cliques and are worth noting.
First, the Hedong faction:
Their civil officials are ubiquitous in the court, and there are frequent transitions between civil and military roles, with some becoming military officers and fighting on the battlefield. Leading them is the Minister of Rites, a first-rank official, and the maternal grandfather of the current Third Prince. The people of Hedong are highly skilled in factional struggles and possess strong internal unity, making them virtually unchallenged and overwhelming to others. Shen Shuzhi, who came to manage the floods last time, also belonged to this faction.
Second, the Jiangnan faction:
The Jiangnan faction has only risen to prominence in the last decade or so. Their official positions are generally not very high, but they have a presence in various places, adept at making or embezzling money, and their reputation is mixed. Even a spoiled brat like Li Banhui could see that His Majesty was protecting them... their money bags.
Qi Chengming's vigilance is now at its highest level.
Officials from the Jiangnan faction suddenly came to Liuzhou to make appointments... What does that mean?
Liuzhou may appear prosperous and thriving now, but this is merely an illusion created during its early stages of rapid development. The local people are still struggling to earn money and escape poverty.
Even Qi Chengming, who now owns dozens of new factories and shops, seems incredibly wealthy. In reality, he's almost out of money for infrastructure projects. He's only able to recover by receiving money from the Bai family and merchant caravans, who are subsidizing him while he slowly distributes finished products from Liuzhou City to other areas for sale, creating a circular economy.
Everything was just getting on track, a virtuous cycle was beginning, and it wasn't even solid yet... and this already attracted bloodsucking, greedy insects?
Qi Chengming gripped the wine glass tightly, his fingertips tracing the undulating patterns on it.
If anyone thinks that there are opportunities to exploit Liuzhou now, that they can be ruthlessly exploited, and that they can act recklessly with no one to stop them because of their official position and the tacit approval of Emperor Hongren... he will show this new prefect what it means for a prince to do things!
"Your Highness, what should we do?" the magistrate of Liujiang asked, his lips barely moving.
He stood up with a smile and clinked glasses with another county magistrate. They mingled, seemingly busy and focused on the banquet, but in reality, the two magistrates exchanged a meaningful glance. Rong County Magistrate Huang Yun cast a questioning look at the young prince, while Liujiang County Magistrate reassured him with a look before sitting down, leaning slightly forward, awaiting instructions.
This was a posture of preparing to charge into battle, and it was also the consensus among the county magistrates.
After the hurricane, most of the county government officials were replaced by local scholars or sons of prominent families who pledged allegiance to Qi Chengming. The remaining county magistrates who were not transferred also gained a deep and clear understanding of the troublesome actions of the prefect and the prince, and tacitly moved closer to his behavior.
Even after Prefect Mu took office, his good reputation and conduct subtly established a positive superior-subordinate relationship with the county magistrates, who listened to both and tacitly accepted that their superiors were the prince and Prefect Mu. But… but the new prefect's demeanor made them all uneasy. How should they treat him in the future? Should they be xenophobic? Feign compliance? Mutual deception? Or remain inactive?
The atmosphere at the welcoming banquet was still lively and noisy, but subtle glances were flying around the room. The county magistrates couldn't get any response from Prefect Mu, who was being pestered to drink, so they all focused their attention on the prince.
"Don't rush, take another look." Qi Chengming held a piece of fried fish to his lips and pondered for a moment before speaking calmly.
Although his initial impression of the new prefect was extremely negative, the new prefect hadn't done anything yet. The Wen family had always been civil officials in Jiangnan; did they also belong to the Jiangnan faction? He couldn't condemn the entire faction outright; it was a tightly knit group with vested interests. He needed to observe further to determine the new prefect's specific purpose.
"Understood." Magistrate Liujiang stood up, laughing loudly, "Come on! We rarely see each other, let's drink until we drop!"
A group of county magistrates naturally went to the side, amidst the smell of alcohol and loud laughter, and whispered amongst themselves.
Qi Chengming casually glanced at Steward Song, who was not far away. He wasn't very good at social maneuvering, and his smile was stiff. He felt relieved when he received the glance, and quickly came over to sit down, letting out a long breath: "...Your Highness?"
"Try to get some information out of me. I'm going to Wen Er's place first," Qi Chengming instructed, before leaving.
After listening for a while, it seemed the new prefect was focused on building relationships with everyone, offering little of substance. This new prefect was far more shrewd than the previous one; even if he had some intentions, he wasn't planning to reveal them upon his arrival. Qi Chengming was eager to find Wen Er to gather more information, or perhaps seek out Mr. Huang.
The intelligence gathered by the local county magistrates was still far too little.
"..." Qin Liusong, who was in his element on the field, seemed to sense something and turned his head. His eager and burning gaze followed the young prince's figure until he disappeared at the door. He moved his lips, his expression somewhat annoyed and regretful.
Is His Highness gathering intelligence everywhere? He knows a thing or two about the background of this new prefect! In his past life, he had dealt with people from the Jiangnan faction a few times. But Qin Liusong's greatest frustration was that he couldn't express it. In this life, he had absolutely no connection with those people or those events, and there was no way for him to learn about them.
The feeling of having to watch helplessly as the new king goes to ask others for advice is awful.
Qin Liusong felt uneasy.
The thought of his scheme failing made him itchy all over and gave him no energy.
The gaunt clerk's eyes darted around, noticing the new prefect forcing a friendly expression as he spoke with several county officials, his demeanor completely unpretentious and unassuming. Qin Liusong immediately perked up, grabbing his wine cup and joining them. He unleashed a flurry of polite flattery, flattery, admiration, and manipulation, rapidly closing the distance between them.
After this exchange.
New Prefect: "..."
He had a smile on his face, but his eyes were scrutinizing.
Qin Liusong: "..."
The smile on his lips faded slightly, and his gaze politely avoided the prefect, lingering instead on the ornaments on the wall beside him.
'This time we've met our match.'
The new prefect and Qin Liusong both thought to themselves that this was a wake-up call.
This person's skill in flattery and sycophancy is no less than mine!
A moment of silence froze amidst the lively atmosphere around them, but upon closer inspection, it seemed as if nothing had happened. The new prefect and Master Qin resumed their laughter and greetings...
Song Gu stared at the other side, his lips twitching and his face stiff.
'horrible……'
For some reason, he didn't want to get involved in that corrupt environment; he felt a bit disgusted.
This time, however, Song Gu was representing the will of the Prince's residence after His Highness's departure. He took a deep breath, forced a polite smile, and followed suit...
"Good, good, good, I'm new here and I'll have to rely on you all!" The new prefect got quite drunk, his face was flushed, and he was spitting as he was surrounded by his retainers and officials from several counties who flattered him. He seemed to have completely lost his head.
Even so, his words remained perfectly sealed, leaving even the skilled clerk Qin sweating profusely. He gasped for breath, glaring at the man as if incredulous:
"...This is weird!"
What exactly is going on with this new prefect?
He's quick and accurate at gathering information, but when it comes to other people's questions, he becomes like a clam, isn't he? Slipperier than that oil-soaked iron pot in His Highness's mansion!
...
With a smile, Prefect Lu skillfully weathered the open and covert attacks, subtly gathering a thorough understanding of the basic situation in Liuzhou, and was extremely excited.
He didn't choose to have this terrible, fat-prone appearance, but the happiness he exudes is genuine.
Ha! Those people from Hedong even wanted to plant someone in Liuzhou. If it weren't for the military officers keeping a close eye on Shen Shuzhi and trying to cause trouble and compete for the position, this cushy job wouldn't have fallen into Lu Yu's lap.
When the Jiangnan faction heard about it, they were overjoyed. A high-ranking official he had only ever met during court audiences was now speaking to him privately in a friendly manner. Heaven knows, he was most familiar with the official's shapely back and buttocks in previous years, and now that he was suddenly seeing his face, he was still not quite used to it.
Now... the heavy responsibility of sending news of the new emperor to the capital falls on his shoulders!
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Author's note: This is the first update of the day.
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