Zhao Lin picked up a piece of food with chopsticks and slowly put it into his mouth. He chewed it slowly and swallowed it slowly. Finally, he said slowly: "Isn't it what you want for me to have a conflict with him?"
"Sir Zhao, you are joking. I specially invited Mr. Mi here to show my respect and importance to you. How could I hope that you would have a conflict?" Ge Ruochuan's heart skipped a beat and he quickly explained.
Zhao Lin smiled coldly and turned to look at Yu Zhiyong: "Does Prince Yu have anything to ask?"
Yu Zhiyong said calmly, "I have long since retired from worldly affairs. I came here today because of Lord Ge's invitation, and I am also very curious about Lord Zhao's demeanor, so I came here specifically to observe him. As for Lord Zhao's plan to regulate maritime trade, it has nothing to do with me, and I will not interfere in such matters."
"Prince Yu..." Ge Ruochuan wiped his sweat.
Zhao Lin smiled and said, "I offer a toast to His Majesty. I've often heard my father-in-law and Lord Li speak of His Majesty before, and seeing him today, I can see that his reputation is truly well-deserved."
"Oh? What did they say about me?" Yu Zhiyong asked as he picked up his glass and clinked it with Zhao Lin's.
Zhao Lin drank the wine and put down the glass, saying, "Both gentlemen said that the prince is well-rounded and well-mannered, and his overall view is unmatched."
"Circular on the outside and square on the inside? A sense of the overall situation?"
Yu Zhiyong pondered the two words carefully, then suddenly burst into laughter, shaking his head as he laughed: "These two guys, these are not good words."
Zhao Lin smiled and said, "But in my opinion, this is very suitable for the prince, and it is definitely a good word."
"hehe."
Yu Zhiyong finished laughing and said, "Maritime trade involves millions of people in three provinces, so we must be cautious."
Zhao Lin said solemnly, "I came here not to cut off their livelihood, but to help them live a better life."
Yu Zhiyong asked, "You are already the most powerful official in the country as the Governor of the River. As long as nothing goes wrong, you will definitely have a position in the cabinet in the future. Why do you insist on this Maritime Customs Office?"
Zhao Lin made no secret of it: "Many rivers in the world are silted up, and the canals, dams, etc. all need to be repaired, which requires a lot of money."
Yu Zhiyong was puzzled and said, "Sea trade can only provide a few hundred thousand taels of tax silver each year, which is less than what you can get from raiding a house. Why bother to get involved in this?"
Zhao Lin smiled slightly and did not explain: "Once the matter is settled, Your Majesty will understand."
Yu Zhiyong nodded and said to everyone, "Everyone should do their best to cooperate with Master Zhao."
"Your Majesty is right."
"We will definitely cooperate fully."
Everyone said.
Then both the host and the guests had a great time.
Of course, in Zhao Lin's opinion, both the host and the guests were happy.
Zhao Lin placed his headquarters in the Maritime Customs Office.
Chen Qifeng led his troops to surround the entire Maritime Customs Office so tightly that not even a mosquito could fly in.
There are also Zhao Lin’s own personal troops inside.
Strictly speaking, the troops led by Chen Qifeng are Li Weibai's men. Zhao Lin just uses them conveniently and is the most familiar to outsiders. The people he really wants to trust are his own people.
Zhao Lin originally trained three thousand cavalrymen to be his personal army. Although most of them were taken away by Song Huaian, he still left five hundred cavalrymen.
Fifty of the five hundred cavalrymen followed Zhao Lin, and the remaining four hundred and fifty had arrived earlier and were hiding nearby.
The chief official of the Qingyuan Maritime Customs was named Liao Bilin, a fifth-rank official.
Liao Bilin stood in front of Zhao Lin and tried to speak several times, but Zhao Lin did not speak to him. Instead, he looked through the documents from the Maritime Customs.
Liao Bilin secretly complained, why are you pretending? Can you understand the numbers above?
"The entire Qingyuan Province maritime merchants only paid 170,000 taels of tax last year?"
Finally, Zhao Lin put down the documents in his hand and asked.
Liao Bilin quickly put on a smile and said, "Yes, sir, the total is 173,218 taels and 4 fen. All of it will be turned over to the national treasury. I haven't touched a cent."
Zhao Lin remained silent and continued, "Whose surname is Liu among the merchants who paid the most tax?"
Liao Bilin quickly replied, "Yes, the Liu family is the largest maritime merchant in the area. They are very active in paying taxes and never default on their payments. The head of the family, Liu Rui, is here to greet you today."
Zhao Lin smiled and said, "This is a good citizen who abides by the law."
Liao Bilin didn't know what Zhao Lin meant and just smiled apologetically.
Zhao Lin tapped the table lightly with his fingers.
Thump! Thump! Thump! …
One sound after another, each sound seemed to hit Liao Bilin, making him sweat all over in the hot autumn weather.
"I will ask Liu Rui to come tomorrow," Zhao Lin said.
"I'll arrange it right away." Liao Bilin said.
"Yeah. Go ahead." Zhao Lin nodded.
Liao Bilin felt as if he had been pardoned and quickly withdrew.
After leaving the Maritime Customs, Liao Bilin first returned to his home, then put on servant's clothes, disguised himself, and quietly came to Ge Ruochuan's mansion.
There were many people here at Ge Ruochuan at this time.
If Zhao Lin came, he would find that everyone at the banquet was present except Mi Moli and Yu Zhiyong.
Ge Ruochuan was speaking: "Zhao Lin is a young official with a high position, and he's easily arrogant. This can be seen from the fact that he offended Mr. Mi. Such a person is not worth mentioning!"
Everyone nodded.
They were very satisfied with Zhao Lin's performance today.
Young, impulsive, arrogant and rude.
Easy to handle.
"Sir." Liao Bilin hurried over to salute.
Ge Ruochuan asked, "What did Zhao Lin do?"
Liao Bilin said, "He gathered all the documents from the Maritime Customs Office in one place and examined them one by one."
Ge Ruochuan sneered, "You're just pretending. Does he understand?"
Everyone laughed.
Liao Bilin also laughed and said, "I don't know if he can understand it, but he reads very quickly, forcing us to move much faster."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com