As soon as the Chaozhou defense battle was won, Zhao Shouzheng wished he could bring this guy in front of him and say this loudly.

Cool!

After all, Mr. Zhao was not the kind of vengeful, smiling, dagger-in-the-face guy his son was. After pretending to be Boyi, his resentment towards Liu Rugao disappeared. He laughed loudly, handed him a cup of tea and said:

"I don't blame you for not sending troops. I'm angry at what you said. What do you mean by - 'When it comes to the matter, you are actually nothing?'"

"I wasn't talking about your brother, I was talking about myself. I am nothing!" Liu Rugao explained hurriedly.

"I know." Mr. Zhao rolled his eyes at him and said, "Look at how ugly you are. No wonder you are being bullied by the gentry in the county. Who is in charge of Raoping County? If I have any problems in the future, is it better for me to go to them directly?"

"No, no, I have my brother's support in the future, so I will definitely be the boss..." Liu Rugao blushed and said, "I have fought with them over the years, but the county clerks are in cahoots with them, and I always end up in the worst situation."

"I'm telling you, these guys just can't be spoiled..." Zhao Shouzheng blew his beard and glared, imparting advanced experience: "You have to treat them as sons. What is a son? If you don't punish him for three days, he will tear down the roof!"

"Ahem." Wu Cheng'en, who was sitting with him, started to cough, reminding him not to talk nonsense. Whether in Kunming or in the capital, Mr. Zhao had never disciplined his son, let alone beaten his son... Didn't he know what was wrong with him? It would be a big crime to lead County Magistrate Liu into a ditch.

Zhao Shouzheng then remembered that there was someone who knew the truth nearby, so he coughed without blushing and got back to the point, "So your next task is to establish your authority."

Then he took a booklet with the words 'Raoping County Performance Book' from Mr. Wu and handed it to him, saying, "It clearly states what to do. Next month I will send someone to the county to conduct an audit. Three months later, when you come to the prefecture, I will personally conduct an assessment based on the audit booklet."

As he said this, he slammed the table and said, "I just don't believe it! The county magistrate holds the power of life and death. If he really wants to be ruthless, he won't be able to stand firm!"

"Yes, brother!" Liu Rugao took the performance book with both hands and nodded heavily.

"Brother, let me be frank. Once the rules are set, we can't talk about personal feelings, otherwise there will be no rules." Zhao Shouzheng was not in a hurry to let go. He pinched a corner of the account book and said, "According to the 'Performance Audit Law', if you fail the evaluation twice, I will send someone to help you meet the standards. Don't blame me for taking away your power when the time comes!"

"Don't worry, brother. I swear I won't let you down again!" Liu Rugao's eyes immediately turned red and his whole body was full of energy. He couldn't afford to lose face like that.

"Okay, I believe you this time." Zhao Shouzheng nodded with satisfaction, and smiled kindly, "Try it quickly. This is Wuyi rock tea sent by General Yu's family. It tastes very good."

Mr. Zhao is really Versailles... Just a few days ago, the news that Yu Dayou was appointed as the commander-in-chief of Fujian was published in the Tangbao.

But Liu Rugao just fell for it. Raoping was adjacent to Fujian, and sometimes soldiers from Fujian would cross the border to Raoping to kill and plunder under the pretext of chasing bandits. The people suffered terribly, and the gentry had nowhere to turn to. This had always been a major concern for the county.

If he could solve this problem, he would definitely gain a lot of points in the county.

When he excitedly proposed his idea to Master Zhao and tentatively asked if he could ask General Yu for help, Master Zhao smiled but said nothing, only motioning him to open the record book in his hand.

Liu Rugao flipped through the pages blankly, and just as he turned to the second page, he saw a to-do item - to quell the war at the provincial border!

"Ah, brother is amazing, you thought of it long ago!" Liu Rugao was completely convinced. If he was not familiar with Raoping to a certain extent, he would definitely not know about this.

Now he was full of confidence that he could re-establish his authority by following this performance book.

~~

After Liu Rugao thanked him profusely and took his leave, the next person to come in was Chaoyang County Magistrate Huang Yilong.

County Magistrate Huang had never offended Gui Tongnian, so of course he didn't need to cry or kowtow.

After the two of them drank tea and reminisced about the past, County Magistrate Huang expressed his concerns - what to do if Lin Daoquan, who is at the bottom of the group, becomes too powerful to be controlled?

Mr. Zhao had never thought about this question, but it didn't matter. He picked up the teacup and took a sip, then said calmly, "Mr. Wu, please explain this question to Brother Huang for me. Mr. Wu is both my teacher and friend, and his words can represent my words."

It sounds like they were afraid of ignoring Wu Cheng'en and wanted him to show off.

"As you command." Wu Cheng'en clasped his fists in agreement, looking like a cautious staff member, as if what Mr. Zhao said was all an exaggeration. Then he slowly said, "Mr. Huang, don't worry. The Lord of the Mansion attaches great importance to Lin Daoqian in Xiawei. As soon as he learned that he would be appointed as the co-governor of Chaozhou's coastal defense, he started to do a lot of work."

"So early?" Huang Yilong was surprised.

"Yes." Zhao Shouzheng nodded and said calmly, "Everything is prepared, otherwise it will fail."

"Opportunities are indeed for those who are prepared." County Magistrate Huang could not help but admire him. Mr. Zhao had a higher education than him and worked harder than him. He deserved his success.

"Although there are some details that are inconvenient to disclose to you," Wu Chengen continued, "but I can tell you responsibly that Lin Daoqian will leave Xiawei soon."

"Really?! How fast?" Magistrate Huang's voice suddenly rose eight pitches in surprise. He had only hoped that the government could restrain Lin Daoqian, but he didn't expect his brother to let him go!

This is like a long-awaited rain, or an old nun meeting a gangster!

"Very soon, at most half a year." Wu Cheng'en was a down-to-earth man who always said what he meant. He and his wife were exactly the opposite of each other.

"Oh my God!" Magistrate Huang was so happy that he almost exploded. He excitedly shook Old Wu's hand and said, "Thank you so much, sir!"

"Don't thank me." Wu Cheng'en pulled his hand away and said unappreciatively, "I didn't do anything."

County Magistrate Huang had no choice but to turn around and thank his brother. Mr. Zhao thought, "I didn't do anything either." But he was not as frank as Wu Cheng'en, so he pretended to be profound and smiled without saying anything. It seemed that this matter was insignificant and just a piece of cake.

Then, taking advantage of this joy, he handed the "Chaoyang County Performance Book" to Huang Yilong and told him: "In addition to completing daily affairs, you have to start preparing for several major projects - the most important of which is the Miancheng Canal Project. But first, according to Pan Butang's plan, we must first build a dike in the north of the city."

As he said this, he stood up and took Huang Yilong to the Chaozhou water conservancy map hanging on the wall, pointed to the dike in Chaoyang County and said, "This is a huge barrier. Not only can it resist the salt tide from typhoons, but the brine-repellent area can also be turned into fertile fields of nearly 100,000 acres."

"This..." Looking at the twenty-kilometer-long embankment, Huang Yilong sucked in a breath of cold air and said with some embarrassment: "Brother, Chaozhou is not like Jiangnan, and Chaoyang is even poorer. Although there are many registered people, the court settled Zeng Yiben in Chaoyang when he was recruited last time. When he rebelled and fled, he looted the county. Before it could recover, the court sent Lin Daoqian, a vampire, to the bottom. He sucked away most of the manpower and material resources of the county. It is already weak, and I am afraid it will be difficult to support such a large project."

After a pause, he quickly said, "Of course, if you want to do it, I will bite the bullet and do it, but I'm afraid it will be difficult to continue and I will give up halfway, which will cause big trouble for you..."

"Hahaha!" Zhao Shouzheng laughed loudly upon hearing this, his laughter full of confidence. He might not understand other things, but building dikes was the career that made Mr. Zhao famous!

"What's a forty-mile dike? I built sixty to seventy miles in Kunshan in just one month!"

"Ah..." Huang Yilong had certainly heard of this rumor, but because it was so unbelievable, he just regarded it as a rumor. "Really?"

"Of course, and it's a stone embankment." Mr. Zhao said proudly.

"Ah!" Huang Yilong almost dropped his jaw in shock.

"The county hasn't spent a penny yet." Zhao Shouzheng continued.

"Oh my god!" Huang Yilong's jaw dropped to the ground and shattered. "How did you do that, brother?"

"Land finance, spending future money to do current things." Mr. Zhao then spit out a string of words that he couldn't understand at all.

Seeing that his face was full of question marks, but his mouth was like a period, Zhao Shouzheng smiled and said, "You can go ask Mr. Liu Zixing. He is participating in the establishment of Chaozhou Development Corporation and is very clear about these things. If you are interested, go back and discuss with the big dog owners to see if there is anyone willing to invest."

"It doesn't matter if they don't want to participate." He gave a second option: "I can contact Jiangnan Bank and lend you money to repair the dike. I can use the 100,000 mu of saline-alkali land as collateral. There will definitely be no problem."

"Thank you, brother." Huang Yilong nodded heavily. At least he knew what he had to do.

~~

After Huang Yilong went out, the next person to come in was Jieyang County Magistrate Shi Wendi.

This surprised Mr. Zhao, because according to the strict rules of the officialdom, officials with Jinshi degree could not cut in line before the officials with Juren degree had finished talking.

Magistrate Shi obviously understood the confusion of the prefect, and hurriedly explained with a wry smile: "Zhixian Qin said that if he couldn't get the first place, he would be the last, so he let this humble official go first."

"It doesn't matter who comes first or last, right?" Zhao Shouzheng scolded with a smile, and said to him, "But don't worry, brother Shi. I never look at my colleagues' backgrounds. No one's background is higher than mine anyway."

"Puff..." Wu Cheng'en almost spit out a mouthful of tea. When he was the county magistrate, Mr. Zhao still kept his personality in check. Now that he has become the head of a prefecture, he has begun to let himself go.

"Yes, what the Lord Governor said is right." County Magistrate Shi was not amused. He still looked sad as he took out a petition book from his sleeve and handed it to Zhao Shouzheng with both hands.

"What is this?" Zhao Shouzheng took it.

"This is my resignation." Shi Wending smiled sadly and said, "I should have submitted it a long time ago, but there has been no one in the palace, so I have delayed it until today."

He sighed apologetically and said, "Alas, today is the Lord's important day, and I should have delivered it another day. But I didn't expect that the Lord would discuss important matters with us today. In order to prevent the Lord from wasting his energy, I have no choice but to trouble him."

After saying this, he bowed deeply.

"Take it back, I won't accept it." But Zhao Shouzheng said decisively: "You know today is my big day, but you still make things difficult for me."

"Yes, I will come again another day." Shi Wending said hurriedly.

"I won't pick you up no matter what day you come, unless it's the 31st of a month." Zhao Shouzheng said dishonestly.

Wu Cheng'en hesitated when he heard this, for he remembered that the young master seemed to have made a new calendar for Bei Peijia, in which there were thirty-one days in a month.

Fortunately, he was not completely stubborn and realized in time that Mr. Zhao was just like that and there was no need for him to take it so seriously.