Lin Run and his 1,000 soldiers took three days to return to Suzhou from Huating by boat.

When the fleet sailed along the Wusong River past Kunshan, he saw that southern Kunshan had regained its vitality. Farmers and roadsides were busy clearing silt, filling pits, and dredging ditches.

Even from a distance he could hear the laughter of the people as they worked.

It seems that Kunshan has changed completely.

Lin Run nodded with deep satisfaction. He firmly believed that within a few years, Kunshan would be able to throw the hat of "beggar county" into the Wusong River and flow into the East China Sea.

He really wanted to have someone call Zhao Shouzheng over to have a good chat with the unfathomable top scholar.

Even if the chat is meaningless, it can help Lin Zhongcheng relieve his depressed mood.

He has been in a bad mood ever since he received the news of the civil unrest in Suzhou.

It wasn’t because of the Xu family’s revenge…Lin Zhongcheng stabbed Yan Shifan with a spear and chopped Yan Maoqing with a knife. He had never been afraid of anyone.

He was worried about the real cause of the Suzhou civil unrest: the operation of the silk weaving industry had major problems. Silk was seriously unsalable, textile factories were shut down, and 200,000 textile workers were unable to work. This was the root cause of the unrest.

The Xu family was just taking advantage of the situation and fanning the flames.

But this is also the trickiest part.

He could do whatever it takes to abolish the Xu family, or even use force to suppress the riots. But if the fundamental problem is not solved, doing so will only arouse greater resentment among the people, and the next time there is a reason, more serious and larger-scale riots will break out.

But he was a governor, not a god. How could he help Suzhou's silk merchants solve their sales problem?

The Dongting merchants had at least one million rolls of silk in stock, right? That was more than three million taels of silver. Who could afford it?

Moreover, even if he could conjure up so much money and buy up the silk stocks in the merchants' hands, it would still only be a temporary solution and not a fundamental solution.

Silk merchants may be forced to resume production due to pressure, but they will definitely cut orders next year.

By then, weavers will certainly reduce production on a large scale, and the unemployed weavers will probably take to the streets again...

A huge feeling of powerlessness enveloped Lin Zhongcheng's heart, and a strange thought suddenly came to his mind: The idiots of the Nine Families gave up smuggling and beat their brains out. As a result, the people were living in misery. They were really stupid.

While the governor was daydreaming, his boat gradually sailed away from Kunshan and entered the Wuxian section of the river.

Lin Run called Tian Boguang, the lone traveler in a thousand miles... Oh no, Tian Boguang, the magistrate of Songjiang, and asked him to go to Xishan immediately to pass on the order, ordering Cai Guoxi to take a boat and wait for him at the mouth of Xujiang River.

Tian Baiguang hurriedly took the order and left, and on the way he met Zhang Jiong, the magistrate of Suzhou who had the same miserable life.

When the Tongpan met the Tongpan, his eyes were filled with tears. You said that we two sixth-rank officials, two levels higher than the county magistrate, how did we become errand boys?

After expressing their feelings, the two of them talked to each other.

Zhang Tongpan was ordered to welcome the governor. He said that Cai Zhifu and others had been waiting at Guanyin Temple Wharf, and asked if Zhongcheng should go to the island to rest first and listen to the report before speaking.

Tian Tongpan told him that the Zhongcheng was in a bad mood, so he should not make trouble. He quickly followed the order and asked the governor Cai to wait at the mouth of Xujiang River.

Judge Zhang had no choice but to turn back, and the two of them went to report.

Meanwhile, Lin Run's boat passed through the Dongshan waterway and headed towards the mouth of the Xujiang River.

Looking at the tall chimneys on Xishan Island from afar, it seemed that there were a few more. Lin Run couldn't help but secretly calculate that the cement production of Jiangnan Company was likely to rise to a higher level.

I heard that Zhao Hao went to Chongming a few days ago. That should be the next target of Jiangnan Company, right?

Lin Run sighed secretly. This Jiangnan Company was really unique. They specifically targeted the poorest counties that needed them the most.

Only because of this, he couldn't start to criticize others. They were working hard to build the poorest place in Jiangnan, but they haven't earned a penny yet. How could he, as the governor, find fault with them? It was really unacceptable.

Besides, now is not the time to worry about Jiangnan Company. Under the current situation, this company, which has only been established for three months, can't be considered as long-term worries or short-term worries, but only hidden worries.

An hour later, the fleet of the Yingtian governor and the ship of the Suzhou prefect met at the mouth of the Xujiang River.

Prefect Cai led a group of his assistants and boarded the ship of the Prime Minister.

I saw Lin Zhongcheng standing at the bow with his hands behind his back, staring in a daze at the column of smoke rising from Suzhou City in the distance.

Cai Guoxi's face was filled with shame, and he quickly led everyone to kneel on the deck to apologize.

Lin Run didn't look back, but continued to look ahead.

Prefect Cai and others had no choice but to kneel there quietly, not daring to breathe.

After a long while, Lin Run sighed, turned to look at Cai Guoxi and said, "Prefect Cai, this most prosperous city in the world cannot be destroyed in our hands."

"Yes..." Cai Guoxi was sweating profusely, took off his black hat and kowtowed hard, saying: "It is all because of my negligence that today's crisis has occurred. I hope the Minister of the Central Chancellery will punish me!"

"There will be a time to hold people accountable in the future. What's yours and what's mine, none of us can escape." Lin Run said expressionlessly, "You stand up and talk first."

"Thank you, Minister." Cai Guoxi finally got up from the ground, but his head was still lowered on his chest, looking like an elementary school student who had made a mistake.

Seeing that Cai Guoxi's attitude was quite decent, Lin Run's expression eased a little, and he asked calmly, "What is the situation in Suzhou City now?"

"Reporting to the Minister, since the riots broke out three days ago, more and more citizens have joined in. Seeing the public's excitement, I am deeply afraid that forcible suppression will backfire, intensify the conflict, and even cause large-scale bloodshed."

Cai Guoxi's mind was full of how to get past Lin Run these days. Every word and every action at this moment was carefully considered by him.

"The Minister of State often said, 'The way to govern is to follow the will of the people.' I remember the Minister's teachings and never forget them. So after weighing the pros and cons, I ordered the officials and the militia to temporarily hold their troops in place, and at the same time, I led all the city officials to temporarily leave the city to avoid the danger..."

"Because the citizens are not rebelling, nor are they going to smash, loot, or rob. They are just dissatisfied because they have lost their livelihoods and cannot support their families. Sending troops to suppress them at this time is too cruel and unfair. But when they are angry, they will not listen to anything you say and will do some extreme behaviors. So let them make a fuss and vent their anger, and then solve the problem after they calm down."

"Oh?" Lin Run couldn't help but laugh. This Governor Cai was really talented. He was obviously scared out of the city, but he actually said it with such good intentions and endured humiliation.

"Have you thought of a way to solve the problem in the past few days?"

"I am stupid and don't have a good way to cure the disease, so I have to prescribe all the prescriptions I can." Cai Guoxi secretly felt lucky that he had a solution this morning, otherwise he would not be able to escape a scolding even if he said it to the sky. He quickly replied in a capable tone:

"I ordered the officials from the prefecture and Wuxian Changzhou to enter the city in plain clothes and contact the gentry and wealthy families in the city, and the headmen of the village and the headmen of the village. I ordered them to prepare for joint defense and self-protection, and to ensure that the riots do not spread to the residential areas."

"Yeah." Lin Run nodded. Confining the riots to the commercial district was also a way of sacrificing the car to save the king.

ps. This is the first of three consecutive updates. Please give me your monthly votes.