Xie Honghou didn't expect Zhao Lin to be so direct. He was speechless for a moment, and after waiting for a while, he said, "We are naturally happy to help you advance. However, even if you have a thousand reasons, you can't just kill Qiu Cheng like this. Otherwise, where is the national law? Where is the face of the court?"
Zhao Lin smiled disapprovingly and said, "National law? Reputation? Do you care? You're just afraid that I'll kill again. Let me be frank. If you can help me complete the Flower and Stone Gang mission and make me famous in front of Lord Li and even the Emperor, everyone will benefit. Otherwise, even if I stop killing people, I will definitely report you to Lord Li when I return."
Zhao Lin sneered at Xie Honghou and said, "With Lord Li's status and position, it would be too easy for him to deal with you. Guess how long it will take for me to convince Lord Li?"
Xie Honghou shook his head repeatedly. "Why is it so? Why is it so? You are the Inspector General, the higher-up, so naturally we have to help you get the job done. As for Qiu Cheng, although your methods were a bit extreme, he certainly deserved to die. But he was still the county magistrate, and you beat him to death like that. You have to give everyone an explanation, otherwise everyone will worry."
Zhao Lin snorted coldly, "I've already given my instructions. Long before you came, I had already sent someone to deliver Qiu Cheng's crimes to Lord Li. I'm sure they've arrived."
Xie Honghou's expression changed, and he said with a smile, "You are joking, my lord. From here to the capital, the round trip is 1,500 miles. Even if you ride a BMW that can travel a thousand miles a day and eight hundred miles a night, you won't arrive until tomorrow."
Zhao Lin killed Qiu Cheng yesterday, and Xie Honghou arrived today, so there is definitely not enough time for the evidence to be sent to the capital.
Zhao Lin disagreed. "So what if we arrive a few days later? Lord Li will definitely know what happened here. Given Lord Li's hatred of evil, what do you think he will do? Will he hold you accountable for not governing your subordinates properly? Of course, it has nothing to do with you. It's mainly your prefect who will be held accountable."
A drop of sweat quietly appeared on Xie Honghou's forehead.
Only now did he realize that it was no fluke that this sixteen-year-old boy was valued by Li Xingye, but that he truly had real talent and skills.
At least before killing Qiu Cheng, he had figured everything out clearly.
Now Li Xingye already knows that Zhao Lin is here. If anything happens to Zhao Lin, the Qingzhou government office will definitely not be able to escape responsibility.
But on the other hand, if he could help Zhao Lin complete the task of the Flower and Stone Gang, given Li Xingye's importance to Zhao Lin, he would definitely say a few words in front of the emperor, which would go straight to the ears of the emperor.
Zhao Lin is fine, so how can those of us who assist him in his work be fine?
Isn't this collusion between the upper and lower levels? Ugh, the upper and lower levels are of the same mind.
Thinking of this, Xie Honghou smiled and said, "Qiu Cheng is just a small county magistrate. Why bother Lord Li? Lord Zhao should have a copy of Qiu Cheng's crimes. I will take it to the prefect and let him make the final decision."
Zhao Lin nodded and asked someone to go to the study to get the prepared charges and hand them over to Xie Honghou.
"Please wait a moment, sir. I will be back soon."
Xie Honghou left with the charges.
Sudi stepped forward and said, "You want to cooperate with them? Qiu Cheng can tell what kind of people they are. Cooperating with them is like trying to get the skin of a tiger. Be careful of backlash."
Zhao Lin smiled and said, "They are not suitable for this. They are being used. They are not qualified to cooperate with me."
Sudi asked, "How are you going to use it?"
Zhao Lin said, "Of course, we should let them do their job well and try to complete the Flower and Stone Gang matter."
Sudi shook his head: "I'm afraid they won't be so obedient."
Zhao Lin said, "You are wrong. They will definitely obey and cooperate to get things done."
"Why?" Sudi was puzzled.
Zhao Lin said, "I'm not asking them to bleed themselves, I'm just plundering the people. All I ask is that they stop causing harm to the people. It won't be a big loss for them. And if they help me get things done, when I become rich in the future, it will be a relationship for them."
Sudi asked, "Do they believe you can become rich?"
Zhao Lin smiled and said, "That's called investing. As for the imperial examination, I'm already a Juren, and I'll take the exam next year. I have a good chance of passing. As for connections, Lord Li values me. As long as Lord Li doesn't fall, even if I don't pass, I still have a future. Why wouldn't they give it a try?"
Sudi nodded and said, "You've thought it through clearly. It's hard to believe you're only sixteen. Did you really read all this in a book?"
Zhao Lin nodded and said, "Everything is in the book. You will understand it naturally if you read it more."
Xie Honghou left quickly and came back quickly.
Not only did he come, he also brought a few people with him.
The leader was a middle-aged man, not very tall but very imposing. He was dressed in official robes and bowed to Zhao Lin. "Your humble servant, Gao Junliang, the prefect of Qingzhou, pays homage to the Inspector General."
Zhao Lin stepped forward and said with a smile, "Master Gao, you are too polite. My title of Inspector is just an empty title. It was given to me by Master Li because of his trust. It is nothing compared to you sitting in charge of an entire state and managing the people's livelihood. Master, just call me Zhao Lin."
Seeing Zhao Lin so polite, Gao Junliang also breathed a sigh of relief. What he feared most was the kind of young man who didn't care about anything. You couldn't beat him, you couldn't scold him, and he would interfere with other people's affairs. He was the most troublesome thing.
Fortunately, Zhao Lin does not have those problems.
"Haha, Lord Zhao is too polite. Then I will be generous and call you Master Zhao."
Gao Junliang laughed and changed his address accordingly.
He was also not used to calling someone younger than his son "adult".
Zhao Lin didn't care about titles; he only cared about practical benefits. After Gao Junliang introduced all the officials he had brought with him, had them sit down, and served tea, Gao Junliang said, "This Flower and Stone Gang has never happened before. We don't know what to do. Fortunately, Master Zhao is here. Just tell us what to do, Master Zhao. We will follow your orders."
Zhao Lin nodded, satisfied, and said, "Since Lord Gao has said so, I will not hesitate. In short, I want all officials in the prefecture to send me pictures of all the rare flowers and plants, and rugged and beautiful rocks that they have found within two weeks. I will examine them one by one. I will discard the unsuitable ones and report the suitable ones to Lord Li. If Lord Li is satisfied, I will prepare to escort them to the capital. Of course, in the meantime, I want everyone below to behave themselves and not to interfere. Otherwise, I will chop off the head of anyone who tries to interfere."
Gao Junliang simply ignored Zhao Lin's subsequent threat and said, "Is it that simple?"
"It's that simple." Zhao Lin's words were very straightforward. "This is for the Emperor's birthday celebration. If you do it well, not only will Lord Li praise you, but the Emperor will also reward you. Lord Gao, you've been in Qingzhou Prefecture for many years. Don't you want to move up?"
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