Gao Junliang hesitated and said, "But Lord Zhao killed Qiu Cheng on the spot..."
Zhao Chenhan said impatiently, "He was just a small county magistrate. No one would take him seriously if he was beaten to death. But you are the prefect. Would he dare to touch you? If you don't listen to me, when I return to the capital and tell my brother-in-law, will you still be able to continue as prefect?"
Gao Junliang asked, "What on earth does the young marquis want me to do?"
Zhao Chenhan finally smiled. "Everything is ready, but there was an accident during transportation. Zhao Lin can't solve it, so I have to take action. Do you understand?"
Gao Junliang said, "I can do this, but it seems that Governor Feng has reached a cooperation with him. If he interferes, I won't be able to stop him."
Zhao Chenhan waved his hand and said, "Don't worry about this. I will handle it myself. Just do as I say."
"Yes, young marquis." Gao Junliang said respectfully.
Zhao Chenhan was particularly satisfied and promised, "If Feng Siyuan is obedient, that's fine. But if he isn't, when I return to the capital, I will complain to my eldest brother-in-law, Prince Yu, and have him arrested in exchange for you."
Gao Junliang burst into tears of gratitude and said, "I am willing to die for the young marquis."
"Ha ha……"
Zhao Chenhan laughed triumphantly.
After Zhao Chenhan left, Gao Junliang's expression immediately changed and he spat.
"What kind of person is this? How dare you try to win me over? You're not from the Zhenbei Marquisate, even if you grew up there."
Gao Junliang was very contemptuous.
Zhao Lin even knew to pay him first before doing something, so what was the point of Zhao Chenhan just making empty promises?
Gao Junliang is somewhat incompetent, but not stupid. Although Zhao Chenhan's background is many times greater than Zhao Lin's, and he is also known as the so-called Seven Young Masters of the Capital, but comparing people is not a problem, it is more about comparing people. Compared with Zhao Lin, Zhao Chenhan is far behind.
Zhao Lin, a beggar, actually dared to beat Qiu Cheng to death in court and confront the governor. What kind of courage did he have?
Compared with Zhao Chenhan, he looks more like the prince of a marquisate and the future marquis.
Isn't it because of these that Gao Junliang risked everything to befriend Zhao Lin?
Do you really think Gao Junliang is a fool?
When they met the next day, Gao Junliang told him that Zhao Chenhan came to see him in the middle of the night.
Zhao Lin smiled slightly and said, "You agreed rashly."
Gao Junliang was surprised and asked, "Why do you say that?"
Zhao Lin said, "Qingzhou is vast and sparsely populated, with rugged mountains and forests, so it must be rich in beautiful stones. Transporting these stones to the capital would undoubtedly cost a fortune. Qingzhou is not wealthy to begin with, and last year's floods were devastating. How could they possibly afford the money and grain for transportation? Are we going to force people to work on an empty stomach?"
Gao Junliang suddenly had an idea and said, "Your Excellency means to ask Deputy Envoy Zhao for it?"
Zhao Lin said, "When you meet someone, you should address them as Young Marquis."
"Haha..." Gao Junliang laughed.
Zhao Lin advised, "Zhao Jingzhou is stationed in the north and controls the Zhenbei Pass, the only important trade route with the Northern Di. How much money can he make? Don't be afraid that he won't agree. Just ask directly. Well, ask for 100,000 taels of silver first, and then ask for more later if it's not enough."
On the surface, the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion is not very rich, with an annual income of only tens of thousands of taels of silver, but no one knows how much it earns secretly.
My predecessor once overheard the conversation between Zhao Jingzhou and Han Yuehua. That year's income was more than 500,000 taels less than the previous year. One can imagine how much wealth Zhao Jingzhou had secretly accumulated.
In fact, it is not surprising. Zhenbei Pass is the only checkpoint for communication between Daqi and Beidi. Anyone who wants to pass through this checkpoint must pay high taxes. The customs clearance fee for one person alone is ten taels of silver, and the customs clearance fee for goods will be even more.
For so many years, the only ruler of Zhenbei Pass was Zhao Jingzhou, so all the income was in his hands.
One hundred thousand taels of silver is probably less than the income of Zhenbei Pass for three or two days.
Otherwise, Han Yuehua would not have directly taken out 50,000 taels of silver and given it to Zhao Chenhan as a gift.
"Isn't one hundred thousand taels too much?" Gao Junliang was worried that Zhao Chenhan would not give it.
Zhao Lin said, "If we do a good job on the Flower and Stone Gang, we can directly present it to His Majesty. What is a hundred thousand taels?"
"Okay, then I will take this opportunity to fight for the people of Qingzhou." Gao Junliang said.
"As long as he agrees, make sure he pays you immediately," Zhao Lin instructed. "The weather is cold, and the people of Qingzhou are already short of food and clothing, making it even harder for them to survive this winter. Use all the money to buy food, or have Zhao Chenhan use the food as payment, and then use work-for-relief, having the people work in exchange for food. This way, you can get the job done while also giving the local people a way to survive. As long as you do this well, you don't have to worry about the Flower and Stone Gang. Lord Li will definitely not miss out on your benefits."
Gao Junliang stood up in awe and said, "Just now I was thinking about how much silver I should give you as a profit, but I didn't expect you to think of me and only care about the local people. This plan will surely save hundreds of thousands of people, all thanks to your kindness. I have no way to repay you, so I thank you on behalf of the local people."
After saying this, he bowed respectfully to Zhao Lin with a solemn expression, without any trace of his previous cowardice.
…
The Marquis of Zhenbei really loved Zhao Chenhan, or rather, Han Yuehua loved him, so much that they actually took out 100,000 taels of silver.
Gao Junliang was grateful but angry at the same time.
When Qingzhou suffered a disaster last year, everyone said they had no money. Five hundred thousand taels of silver were finally allocated from the national treasury, but it was embezzled before it even reached the victims. The remaining relief money was not even a drop in the bucket.
In order to grab the credit, Zhao Chenhan actually took out 100,000 taels of silver.
Comparing the two, anyone with a conscience would be angry.
"These corrupt officials deserve to die!"
Holding the 100,000 taels of silver, Gao Junliang gritted his teeth and said to Zhao Lin.
Zhao Lin sighed and said, "That's why we have to work hard to climb up. Only by becoming a high-ranking official can we save more people."
"Your Excellency is right." Gao Junliang said.
The reason why Zhao Lin tried to win over Gao Junliang was that, on the one hand, he was the prefect of Qingzhou, and on the other hand, although Gao Junliang had some minor flaws common among bureaucrats, he did not touch upon any issues of principle.
So Zhao Lin is willing to cooperate with such people.
"My plan is to deepen and expand the existing river channel, so that the flowers and stones can be sent directly to the Dachang River, saving a lot of trouble." Gao Junliang said.
The Dachang River is a large river that runs across Daqi from north to south. It is known as the mother river of Daqi and is also the most prosperous river in the world at that time, with countless ships traveling back and forth every day.
The Jinshui River outside the capital is a branch of the Dachang River.
"No need to do that." Zhao Lin said, "Take advantage of this opportunity to renovate all the rivers in the prefecture. Deepen those that need digging, widen those that need widening, and repair the riverbanks. Don't be afraid to spend money. If you don't have enough money, just ask Zhao Chenhan for more. After spending 100,000 taels, is he unwilling to give more? If you don't continue to pay, these 100,000 taels will be wasted. This is a sunk cost."
Su Di and Gao Junliang both stared at Zhao Lin blankly.
Although they didn't know what sunk cost meant, they were obviously very unfriendly to Zhao Chenhan, especially unfriendly.
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