"This is a gift from your disciple to pay respects to your master's wife."
After saying this, the Bai family head respectfully presented a golden crown.
"As for my brothers, I have prepared gifts for them. Please accept them on their behalf, Master. My brothers are all officials in the court and are very busy. I dare not disturb them. I hope you will give them to them later, so that we can fulfill our obligations."
This magistrate was indeed very powerful in the past. With just a word, he could make the hundreds of thousands of people under his jurisdiction tremble with fear.
But today, when facing the Bai family head, he was as respectful as a servant.
The Bai family head glanced at the gifts sent by the prefect and saw that one of them was an excellent ancient inkstone, made by a famous person from a thousand years ago.
There was also a painting that turned out to be a masterpiece by a painting master from eight hundred years ago. In addition, there were many other gifts, all of which were quite substantial.
Upon learning that the gift was of considerable value, the Bai family head's expression softened considerably.
"Your Excellency, the Prefect, are a powerful official in charge of this region. What brings you to my residence today?"
"I wouldn't dare."
"Your disciple is truly humbled and honored. Please just call me Xiao Zhao."
Having said that, the magistrate stood up and bowed again:
"To be honest, the reason I came to your residence today is because I have encountered a difficult problem and I am really at a loss. I have come to ask for your advice, Master."
The old fox that the Bai family head had been around for ten thousand years, how could he not know what the magistrate of Zhao Prefecture wanted? Without even raising his eyelids, he sipped his tea and said calmly:
"Is it because of the grain market strike?"
"Yes, yes, you are a diviner, this is exactly what I came for."
The magistrate then began to pour out his grievances, explaining his difficulties:
"Teacher, as you know, the new prince has established his own fiefdom, and we suddenly have a superior who makes all the decisions. It's no longer like before when the emperor was far away and we could do whatever we wanted."
"well……!"
The magistrate of Zhao Prefecture sighed heavily again at this moment:
"Teacher, you know that although I govern a region for the Emperor, I have never shown the Bai family the slightest disrespect over the years. I have always taken care of the Bai family members and handled their cases. As long as I am in power, the Bai family will be less troubled. I would not say that I am your closest confidant, but I am certainly a good friend of the Bai family. Would you agree?"
Magistrate Zhao's words are indeed correct.
The mountains are high and the emperor is far away, so the prefectural magistrate is the actual person in charge of this area.
Over the years, the Bai family has annexed land, acquired businesses, and engaged in numerous transactions that have resulted in bloodshed and loss of life.
The entire Bai family, along with their in-laws and relatives, has accumulated thousands, if not tens of thousands, of murder cases over the years, causing havoc in the region and resulting in countless families suffering unjust grievances.
It truly proves the saying: "I am not wronged, but I am wronged on behalf of the martial arts examinee!"
Take the youngest grandson of the Bai family for example. He raped several women from the common people and was eventually sued in the government. Instead, he had to pay the Bai family a huge sum of compensation. If they didn't have the money, they would use the family's fertile land to pay it off.
If the grandson of the Bai family rapes your daughter, and you file a complaint, the government will ultimately find you guilty and the grandson of the Bai family innocent. In fact, you will have to pay the grandson of the Bai family a sum of money in compensation. If you can't afford to pay, they will take all the valuables in your house and sell them off, and then drive your whole family to the streets to become beggars. Your raped daughter might even be sold to a brothel. It's that cruel.
The Bai family head was well aware of how much the magistrate of Zhaozhou had covered for the Bai family over the years.
"Oh, teacher!"
"The new prince is quite capable. He quelled a rebellion of 140,000 men with just over 10,000 troops in Dongjun. He's a ruthless character. Now he's come to Liaodong to be the king. His policies of land surveying and water conservancy construction have already been implemented among the people. Now he's come up with something about potatoes and sweet potatoes and wants the people to cultivate them."
“I know he’s targeting you, but I’m in a difficult position. If the grain shops close, the people will go hungry and start to riot. There have already been incidents of people committing violence and looting grain in the prefecture and counties. If this sparks public resentment and they rise up and besiege the government office, I will definitely lose my position as prefect. If I am dismissed and punished, the court will surely send a new prefect to govern this place. But the new prefect is not as familiar to me as I am. If he offends you or is not obedient, the Bai family will have a lot more trouble. Don’t you think that makes sense?”
The head of the Bai family nodded at this moment.
"They say the new is not as good as the old. As long as I am still here, the Bai family will have fewer troubles. This is one of the reasons why I have come to ask you for help. Please, Master, show me a way out. We cannot force the people to rebel. The grain shops have closed. How will they survive? And how can I keep my official position and resolve this matter?"
To put it bluntly, Magistrate Zhao came here this time to beg Patriarch Bai for his life.
After saying all that, it all boils down to one thing.
Your Bai family has done so many despicable things, and it's all thanks to me, this dog, that you've been able to deceive your superiors and avoid being suppressed by the imperial court. Now you want to take away my livelihood. If something happens to me, your Bai family won't fare any better. So hurry up and think of a way to keep my official position, otherwise we'll all be in the same boat, sharing both prosperity and ruin.
However, the magistrate of Zhao Prefecture was afraid of the Bai family's power in the court, so he put it in a more tactful way.
Looking at the head of the Bai family now, he said calmly:
"At this juncture, conflict between the two sides is inevitable. If our four great families truly stand against Liu Fu, which side will the governor take?"
This one sentence directly demanded that the magistrate of Zhao Prefecture choose sides.
The magistrate of Zhao Prefecture was taken aback. At this point, no matter how tactful he was, he had to take a side.
"Your disciple will naturally obey your command, teacher."
"very good."
"Then send the tiger tally for mobilizing troops to the Bai family, and I will take charge of it on your behalf, how about that?"
Upon hearing this, Magistrate Zhao was taken aback!
The tiger tally for mobilizing troops is his livelihood; losing it would be a capital offense punishable by the execution of his entire family. Moreover, the tiger tally can mobilize troops. What does the Bai family head want by asking him for the tiger tally now?
Are they planning a rebellion?
He was already drenched in sweat just thinking about it.
"Teacher, what you're saying... I don't quite understand."
The head of the Bai family sneered:
"The imperial court sent Liu Fu to target our four great families. Is he really only targeting our four great families?"
"Our aristocratic clans have remained stable for thousands of years. But as soon as Liu Laowu became emperor, he said on the day of the founding of the dynasty that he would measure the land and redistribute it to those unruly commoners. If he really does this, he will surely divide up the land of us wealthy families and distribute it to the poor. Every dynasty that has been newly established has always prioritized the interests of us aristocratic clans. Liu Laowu is going against the grain, so naturally this Later Han dynasty is unacceptable."
"Since this court is unacceptable, let's join forces and replace the emperor. What's wrong with replacing Prince Liu Fu as well?"
At this point, the head of the Bai family's wolfish ambitions were already crystal clear:
"Zhao Zhou Magistrate, now it's up to you whether you dare to work with me?"
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