The king and the literati share the world, which means that the emperor and the literati govern the world together.
In the Great Qi Dynasty, the emperor's words were not final, and sometimes even his orders could not be passed on, because the emperor was not the only master of the Great Qi Dynasty, the scholars and officials were not either.
Therefore, if Zhao Lin offended the literati, that is, the bureaucratic organization, for the sake of the people, he would inevitably be retaliated by them.
Those people didn't dare to provoke Li Xingye and Bai Shiyuan, so they would definitely target Zhao Lin for revenge.
Even if the Flower and Stone Gang matter was handled well this time, Zhao Lin could not expect to make any progress in his official career.
Zhao Lin smiled slightly: "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
Sudi shook his head. "You think too simply. Those people are wolves who eat meat without spitting out bones. If you don't let them take advantage of such a good opportunity, they will definitely try to kill you first. Daqi... Our dynasty has had fair and strict officials before, but what happened? They all died unexpectedly."
Su Di looked at Zhao Lin deeply and said, "We are still young. Even if we have ambitions and want to do something, there is no need to rush."
Zhao Lin laughed: "Do you think I have ambitions?"
"Isn't it? What you said is obviously to prevent the people from suffering from the harm of corrupt officials. I know you have this idea and want to contribute to it, but definitely not now." Sudi said seriously.
"Hahaha……"
Zhao Lin laughed out loud, and Sudi was stunned by his laughter. He asked angrily, "What are you laughing at? Did I say anything wrong?"
Zhao Lin said, "Of course I'm wrong. I've never been a good person, and I don't intend to do anything to plead for the people."
"But what you said..." Sudi hesitated.
Zhao Lin said calmly, "That was for Lord Li to hear. He likes people like this, so I said that."
Sudi was stunned: "You, you mean, cheating on Master Li?"
"I guess so." Zhao Lin said, "If I do as I'm told, it won't be cheating, right?"
Sudi said, "That brings us back to the beginning, and we're still going to offend those bureaucrats."
Zhao Lin laughed and said, "What do you take me for? I'm just a minor scholar, not even a proper official. I only got this position because of Lord Li's appreciation. And with Bai Shiyuan above me, who would take me seriously?"
Sudi frowned and thought for a long time before saying, "What you said does make sense, but how can you complete the task without offending those people?"
"Of course, we'll kill those without any background." Zhao Lin said calmly, "Kill a group of people without any background, and those with backgrounds will know how to restrain themselves. As long as they don't restrain themselves too much, the task will be accomplished. As for those unfortunate people..."
Zhao Lin's mouth twitched, and he said calmly, "That can't be helped. After all, I'm not the emperor. If I were the emperor, I would definitely make the decision for them, but unfortunately, I'm not."
"Keep your voice down, do you want to die?"
Su Di rushed over and covered Zhao Lin's mouth. He looked around to see if there was anyone around, then angrily said, "Be careful next time and don't talk nonsense."
When Sudi's hand loosened, Zhao Lin licked his lips and suddenly said, "Your hands are very soft, just like a girl's hands."
Sudi blushed and said angrily: "You pervert, you actually have feelings for a man like me, it's disgusting."
After saying this, he turned around and walked away quickly, pretending to be scared.
Zhao Lin was speechless. It was just a joke to liven up the atmosphere. Was there any need to be angry?
With no one around, Zhao Lin sat on a chair and began to think about what to do next.
No matter how well the Hua Shi Gang was done, it would be criticized by people, including the common people and the officials.
The reason was simple: it was normal for the people to curse; they were the victims, after all. It was also normal for the officials to curse; they were jealous; such a good opportunity to reap benefits had been snatched away by Zhao Lin.
There are so many benefits in the Hua Shi Gang. Let’s not talk about Li Xingye and Bai Shiyuan. It’s unforgivable that a helpless little scholar like Zhao Lin was able to get in and become a deputy.
Zhao Lin knew without thinking how many people were waiting to take him down and replace him.
"You're overthinking it. This position is mine, and it can only be mine." Zhao Lin said to himself.
The reason why he was willing to get involved despite offending people above and below him was naturally to gain benefits from it.
Zhao Lin was right, he was never a good person.
Since the Flower and Stone Gang incident was unavoidable and some people were bound to be harmed, why wasn't he the one who benefited?
This was also the main reason why Zhao Lin urged Li Xingye to take the initiative to go to the emperor to take over the management of the Hua Shi Gang.
When faced with two evils, choose the lesser one, and Zhao Lin is the lesser one.
Moreover, as long as Zhao Lin can successfully seize this opportunity to ascend to power, he will naturally be stronger than those officials who only know how to oppress the people, and he will be able to protect more people.
In a word, the efforts of these people now will turn into rewards in the future.
…
The emperor announced at the court meeting that he would build a garden and collect taxes on flowers and stones, which caused an uproar.
Many officials spoke to the emperor and asked him to revoke his decision. On the contrary, some people who should have stood up remained silent and even agreed with the emperor, catching those who opposed him off guard and forcing the emperor to pass the decision.
"What's going on? Why didn't they oppose the Flower and Stone Gang, but instead agreed to it?"
At the Fu Mansion, some people came here after the court session and started talking.
"Could it be that they knew that His Majesty's will could not be violated, so their efforts were not in vain?" someone said.
"Oh, apart from those eunuchs, who else supports it? As long as we oppose it together, Your Majesty will not be able to collect a single stone from this Flower and Stone Gang." Another person sneered.
"But the problem now is that the Flower and Stone Gang has been approved. This is something that endangers the people and we can't just let it go like this." The third official said righteously.
"Your Majesty wants to do it, and the ** agree, what can we do?" said the fourth official helplessly.
Everyone looked at Fu Chengwang, who had been silent the whole time. "Master Fu, you always have a thorough understanding of things. What do you think?"
Fu Chengwang had been lost in thought. When he was called upon to question him, he slowly raised his head and said, "The Flower and Stone Gang is a disaster for the country and its people. No matter what, I must submit another petition to Your Majesty, requesting that he revoke your order."
"Let's go together." Others said.
Fu Chengwang continued, "However, judging by the current situation, the chances of His Majesty revoking his order are slim, so we must be prepared for both scenarios. If His Majesty revokes his order, that would be the best. If not, we will have no choice but to collect the Flower and Stone Tax."
"How to prepare?" those people asked.
Fu Chengwang said, "The person in charge of this matter is Li Xingye. I want to have a good talk with him."
"Not only Li Xingye, but also the top scholar Bai Shiyuan, and the juren Zhao Lin. Hmm? Juren Zhao Lin?"
All the officials were stunned.
There is no need to say much about Li Xingye and Bai Shiyuan. What the hell is this scholar Zhao Lin? How did he sneak in and become Li Xingye's deputy, and tour the world with Bai Shiyuan?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com