After breakfast, the prefect asked to take a walk alone with Mr. Zhao to help digest the food.

Zhao Hao invited him to visit the temple and receive the spiritual baptism of the ancient temple's clear springs, ginkgo trees and red maples.

"I never thought there is such a wonderful place in Xishan." Governor Cai couldn't help but be intoxicated as he stepped on the golden ginkgo leaves all over the ground.

"Dongting West Mountain has always been a blessed place." Zhao Hao nodded and smiled, "If it weren't so far away from the land, it would have become a prosperous place long ago. Of course, it wouldn't be the turn of Jiangnan Company to get involved."

"Hahaha, your company can operate here with peace of mind. As long as Cai is in Suzhou, no one will have any intention of taking over your Dongting West Mountain."

It was rare for the magistrate Cai, who had never been involved in any affairs, to take on such a big responsibility. However, it was inevitable that people would doubt his sincerity when he said it at this time.

"I've been waiting for my husband to say this." Zhao Hao didn't despise him and thanked him happily.

"In the hands of others, Xishan Island is just a deserted island. It becomes valuable when it falls into the hands of Master Zhao." Prefect Cai only picked out words to greet the New Year, which made Zhao Hao want to laugh secretly.

It seems that Magistrate Cai, who has always thought highly of himself, has really been pushed to the limit.

Fortunately, Cai Guoxi was also very anxious, and after a few more compliments, he finally got back to the main topic.

"It's a pity...Now that the civil unrest has gotten so serious, I can't even go back to the city." Cai Guoxi sighed, "If I don't do something quickly, I'm afraid my tenure as prefect will be over."

What I meant was that the new governor of Suzhou might not be like me, not only not coveting your cement yard, but also protecting it.

"My dear, you are too serious." Young Master Zhao tried to comfort him: "It's just some troubles. If we handle it properly, it will be settled soon."

"Yes, this government is indeed going to take action." Cai Guoxi nodded solemnly, then his face fell and he said: "But the gunner camps in Suzhou Prefecture and the two counties attached to it cannot be relied upon. We can only think of another way."

"Why?" Zhao Hao looked puzzled.

"The gunners are all local warriors who are here to defend their homeland. It's good enough that they don't join the rioters in causing trouble. Asking them to quell the rebellion is like adding fuel to the fire!" Prefect Cai sighed depressedly and looked at Zhao Hao and said, "Mr. Zhao, you are the only one who can help me right now."

"Your Excellency, please make it clear. I will definitely do what I can." Young Master Zhao nodded and said something nonsense.

"Okay." Prefect Cai didn't care about that anymore. He took a deep breath and said, "Please lend me some people to help me quell the rebellion!"

"My dear husband, are you kidding me? Jiangnan Company is just a small and insignificant business, with only 300 security guards on this island." Young Master Zhao smiled bitterly and said, "They are security guards, not urban management officers. They don't have such strong fighting power."

"Ah, Urban Management?" Prefect Cai was stunned at first, and wanted to ask what kind of military force the Urban Management was that could receive such praise from Master Zhao?

But thinking of the important things, he suppressed his curiosity and said:

"Although three hundred security guards are a little few, there are still tens of thousands of strong miners on the island. If they are armed, it will be quite spectacular!" Cai Guoxi's gaze drifted to the back of the mountain, where the rumbling sound of mountain opening could be heard from time to time.

"Your Excellency, are you kidding?" Young Master Zhao said in astonishment, "They are all farmers from Kunshan County. They are strong, but they can only smash stones and not fight."

"No need to fight, just pretend." Prefect Cai stopped and said to him in a low voice: "It's one thing to scare those rioters, but more importantly, Lin Zhongcheng will be back tomorrow morning."

"Oh." Zhao Hao then remembered that Lin Run went to Songjiang to survey the land. He probably had just started and had to return to Suzhou. He must be very angry.

"Minister Lin is known as the 'Jade-faced Yama' and is very strict with his subordinates." Governor Cai said with a bitter face, "If he saw me hiding in the West Hills doing nothing, I'm afraid he would get mad."

"So I'm just borrowing your men for show." Prefect Cai told the truth: "When the chancellor arrives, he will deploy troops according to the situation and will definitely ask you to withdraw your men."

"I see." Zhao Hao suddenly realized and gave a thumbs up, saying, "This 'bluffing' move is really good."

"Alas, I was forced to do this." Prefect Cai couldn't help but smile bitterly, "The unruly people in Suzhou are fierce, and Lin Zhongcheng is even more fierce. This prefecture is really in a difficult situation."

"Yes, it is indeed difficult to deal with." Zhao Hao nodded and said carefully: "When I was studying, I saw that since ancient times, people have used both suppression and appeasement to deal with civil unrest. Can't you make preparations for both situations? This way, it will be easier to explain when the Minister comes back."

"Hey, I talked to them, but you saw the result..." Governor Cai spread his hands and said, "We talked about Xishan Island, and my office was burned down by them."

"This is the result of a long-term lack of mutual trust between the people and the government." Zhao Hao said seriously, "So we need to find a middleman to mediate."

"What do you mean?" Magistrate Cai understood a little.

"That's right." Zhao Hao nodded and looked up. More than ten miles away across the river was the East Mountain of Taihu Lake.

"It is the Dongting Merchants."

"Oh, how could I have forgotten about them!" Prefect Cai suddenly slapped his head. "Suzhou people's food, clothing, housing and transportation all rely on those Dongting merchants. It's most appropriate to let them come forward at this time!"

"Pan Zhang!" Prefect Cai shouted loudly, and Pan Zhang, who was following far behind, hurried over.

"What do you want, Lord?"

"Aren't you familiar with the people from Dongting Chamber of Commerce?"

"Well, we're not that familiar with each other, we just know each other." Zhang Jiong hurriedly evaded.

"Whether you know him or are familiar with him, take a boat to Dongshan and invite President Weng and the two vice presidents of the Dongting Chamber of Commerce to come with me."

Prefect Cai did not allow any explanation and gave them a task, saying, "Hurry up, I have a dinner ready for them!"

"Oh, yes..." Zhang Jiong got anxious when he heard it. The round trip by water and land is almost eighty miles, and he had to invite three people. This was really asking too much!

Time waits for no one, so he quickly ran down the mountain.

Then Governor Cai smiled at Zhao Hao embarrassedly and said, "Please ask your company to help me arrange a decent dinner for this government."

"No problem." Zhao Hao nodded with a smile.

~~

Judge Zhang hurried and begged for help, and finally brought President Weng and Vice Presidents Xu and Liu back to Guanyin Temple before dark.

The dinner was held in the incense room in front of the temple, and the chef from Huafu was in charge of the meal, but Governor Cai couldn't eat a single bite.

Lin Zhongcheng will be back tomorrow. If we can't come to an agreement tonight, the guys who are having dinner tomorrow will be kicked around like a ball.

After barely holding out for three rounds of drinks, he got straight to the point and said to Chairman Weng, "Mr. Weng, please do me a favor. Send someone into the city tomorrow to talk to the people who are causing the trouble and see what they think. They can raise any ideas. If the trouble continues, it will ruin Suzhou, and it will be bad for everyone."

ps. It’s gone tonight, I’ll make it up tomorrow.