"As expected of a young senior official, his speed is beyond the reach of us older people." An official laughed.
Liao Bilin said, "He's going to the Liu family tomorrow."
Everyone stopped laughing and looked at a short, fat middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man was Liu Rui, the head of the Liu family. Hearing this, he said, "Come on. I want to see how capable this young official, who is deeply favored by His Majesty, is."
"Don't underestimate him." Ge Ruochuan warned: "He was able to kill people all over Jiujiang Province. The Governor of Jiangbei died at his hands. The Xiong family didn't even ask for revenge. He is definitely not an ordinary person."
"Humph, that's all I can see." Liu Rui didn't care and said, "Everyone didn't notice that after Zhao Lin went to Jiujiang Province, some people also went there."
"who?"
Everyone was very curious. Could it be that Liu Rui discovered something that they failed to discover?
Liu Rui said proudly, "Fu Wenqi and Gong Qiubai both brought quite a few people with them. Furthermore, the Jinzhou Su family also sent a lot of people. With these people's help, what does a mere Xiong family matter?"
"You mean, Zhao Lin did all those things with the help of others? But why?" Ge Ruchuan asked puzzledly.
Liu Rui said, "When I learned that Zhao Lin had taken over the three provincial customs offices, I began investigating him. I discovered that everything he did had someone behind the scenes. For example, when he went to Qingzhou to collect the flower and stone tribute, who sent him? Li Xingye!"
"For example, how did he succeed as the prefect of Qingzhou? Li Xingye and Zhu Zhongyan!"
"Also, how did he become the governor of Jiujiang? Li Xingye, Fu Chengwang, and Zhu Zhongyan helped!"
"As for his success in suppressing the rebellion and bandits, it was because he had the Qingzhou Army at his command. If you all had such an army, would suppressing the rebellion and bandits be difficult?"
Everyone nodded.
Whoever controls 30,000 Qingzhou troops can suppress all the rebels in the country.
Liu Rui continued, "As for the murder of Jiangbei Governor Xiong Hui, the Xiong family didn't dare to retaliate because he had a bigger figure backing him."
"A bigger figure?" Everyone was puzzled.
Only Ge Ruochuan was startled: "You mean?"
"Yes! The Xiong family has been rebelling in the northwest for generations. They are one of the powerful families in the northwest and have long become the king of the northwest. Not only that, their family members even serve as officials in the court and have influence in other places. They have become a major concern for the court. Zhao Lin killed Xiong Hui out of anger, and it was not a momentary impulse. He was instructed by someone." Liu Rui said.
Liao Bilin couldn't help but ask, "Who could order him to kill a governor?"
Liu Rui glanced at Liao Bilin with disdain: "Idiot, who do you think it is?"
"yes……"
Suddenly remembering that name, Liao Bilin and Ge Ruochuan were both shocked and didn't dare to say it out loud.
Others also thought of it.
"No wonder Zhao Lin killed a governor, but not only was he not punished, he was promoted instead."
"Everyone says Zhao Lin is good at flattering and giving gifts, so the emperor favors him. I think it's because he is an obedient dog that the emperor trusts him."
"So, Zhao Lin's coming here was also at that person's behest?"
"If that's the case, aren't we in trouble? After all, Zhao Lin is easy to deal with, but that guy is not so easy to fool."
Everyone said.
Many people's faces were filled with worry.
"Humph! A bunch of idiots!"
Liu Rui snorted coldly and said, "Even if he was specially sent by the Emperor, so what? This is our territory. He has to coil up like a dragon and lie down like a tiger. If he cooperates with us honestly, he will definitely benefit from it. Otherwise, he will suffer from the problems of not adapting to the local climate, not just this one."
Liu Rui's voice was full of murderous intent.
He had no respect at all for a first-rank official.
He even showed no respect when talking about the emperor.
Ge Ruochuan nodded slowly. "Liu Rui is right. This maritime trade is our business, and no one else can interfere. Zhao Lin's appetite is too big. Previously, the other two governors and I promised to give him a 10% bonus for each province, which adds up to about 500,000 taels per year. He's not satisfied at all. He's deliberately trying to kill us."
"If he wants our lives, we'll take his life first," another middle-aged man said loudly.
He was also a maritime merchant named Guo Chengjun. The scale of his trade was second only to that of the Liu family, with an annual income of more than one million taels.
"Brother Guo is right. Whoever wants to kill us, we will kill him first."
"If he doesn't obey, I'll get him!"
"No one can mess around with us here!"
Some people shouted loudly.
They are all maritime merchants.
Whether large or small, no one is willing to pay more taxes.
The Liu family's fleet alone has an annual income of more than one million taels of silver, and the tax they need to pay is at least two or three hundred thousand taels of silver.
The total tax revenue from all the maritime trade of the three provinces was only 300,000 to 400,000 taels of silver per year.
You can imagine how big the hole is here.
No wonder they reacted so strongly when Zhao Lin asked for the Maritime Customs.
Seeing these people's reactions, Ge Ruochuan was very happy.
Let them go against Zhao Lin, make Zhao Lin overwhelmed and embarrassed, and then come out to clean up the mess himself. This way, he can give an explanation to his subordinates and deal with Zhao Lin at the same time.
"Everyone, don't worry."
Ge Ruochuan said, "Tomorrow Liu Rui will first meet with Zhao Lin to find out his intentions. I still have the same idea. If it's not excessive, I can agree to it. It will be like finding another supporter for everyone."
"What if it's too much?" Liu Rui asked.
Ge Ruochuan smiled grimly and said, "Autumn is here, the wind is strong and the waves are rough, it's easy for something to go wrong."
Everyone smiled in tacit understanding.
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