"What else?" Lin Run asked.

"At the same time, I asked them to persuade the young people in their own village not to join the riots and to go home quickly. In order to make them pay attention, I asked my subordinates to announce that the law of collective responsibility will be used to deal with the lawbreakers who took the opportunity to smash, loot and rob."

"Well. It can be considered as removing the fire from the root, using both soft and hard methods." Lin Run nodded again. These methods are not wrong, but they are not enough to solve the problem.

"In addition, I have recruited another 10,000 militiamen to train them on Xishan Island, so that we can enter the city and quell the rebellion if the situation gets out of control."

When Prefect Cai said this, his face was full of the decisiveness of a fourth-rank official. This was to let Lin Zhongcheng see his brilliance.

"Oh?" Lin Run was surprised, and then he thought of the more than 10,000 workers on the island, and couldn't help cursing this guy for being so shameless. They were obviously Kunshan people hired by Jiangnan Company to work, so how could they become the militiamen recruited by the prefect?

"But until the last moment, we should not use force against citizens, even militiamen should not be mobilized." Magistrate Cai at this moment is completely different from yesterday. He is a good magistrate of the Ming Dynasty with means, principles and bottom line.

He just changed the subject and played his trump card:

"During my investigation of the riot, I discovered that the root cause was a dramatic change in the market environment. Silk, which was once in high demand, suddenly became unsalable. Silk merchants' warehouses were filled with unsaleable silk, so they were naturally unable to place orders with weavers."

"The weavers had no choice but to stop working and let the long-term weavers go home..." Cai had asked the reason in detail last night, and he recounted it as if he had seen it himself. He was not like those incompetent officials who knew nothing and just wanted to eat meat.

In his low and compassionate voice, he described the rioting citizens as unemployed weavers with no food or clothing, and described the miserable situation of their families starving for food vividly and tearfully.

Then Prefect Cai sighed and said, "These weavers have no permanent property, and their families depend on their work to support themselves. If they lose their jobs, their families will starve to death. I, as a prefect, have failed to pay attention to their difficulties."

"I've said it before, now is not the time to hold people accountable." Lin Run waved his hand and asked in a deep voice, "Now that you understand the crux of the problem, do you have any way to help the weavers?"

"It's very simple, just get the looms running again." Cai Guoxi raised his head, eyes sparkling as he said, "The weavers who are looking forward to resuming work day and night will naturally hurry back to the workshop. The rest who are still making trouble on the streets are the lawless criminals who are deliberately causing trouble. We will show no mercy to them!"

"Well said." Lin Run praised, but thought to himself it was still nonsense.

"So how do we make the loom work? Does Magistrate Cai have any ideas?" This is the key.

"Reporting to the Prime Minister. I am acting as a matchmaker between the Dongting Chamber of Commerce and the Jiangnan Company, hoping that the latter will purchase the silk from the former." Cai Guoxi answered shamelessly.

Yang Chenglin and Zhang Defu behind him were stunned. They didn't expect such a big change to happen overnight.

Jiangnan Company actually took action to support Suzhou's silk industry!

Lin Run was also surprised.

He actually thought about asking Jiangnan Company if it could help.

However, Lin Zhongcheng's moral bottom line is much higher than that of ordinary officials. He cannot doubt Jiangnan Company while asking others for help in its financial difficulties.

What's more, Jiangnan Company is engaged in cement production and infrastructure construction, which has nothing to do with the silk business.

He stared at Cai Guoxi and asked, "What did Jiangnan Company say?"

Cai Guoxi's forehead was covered with sweat as he was stared at by Lin Run's sharp eyes. He wiped the sweat from his palms on his official robe, took out a note from his sleeve, and presented it with both hands, saying:

"I have held several rounds of consultations with Jiangnan Company and came up with a preliminary plan this morning. I hope the Prime Minister will make the final decision."

Of course he would not tell Lin Run that the negotiations had only started this morning.

Prefect Cai, who had grabbed a life-saving straw, immediately agreed to the conditions proposed by the Jiangnan Company.

But it’s useless if he just agrees. It will be useless if Lin Run doesn’t nod.

~~

Lin Run read the short agreement word by word, and then fell into a long period of thought.

The west wind blew across the surface of Taihu Lake. Since the beginning of autumn, the water level has dropped significantly, and a large area of ​​mudflats has been exposed at the mouth of the Xujiang River.

There were large flocks of water birds that had gone south for the winter, chirping and foraging on the riverbank. At the slightest sign of trouble, they would fly up in groups.

Cai Guoxi is most afraid of the air suddenly becoming quiet.

He admitted that Jiangnan Company's demands were a little excessive.

But compared to what they promised to do, that request was nothing!

But Lin Zhongcheng has a strong character and never compromises. I wonder if he can turn this corner.

Prefect Cai could only wait silently, not daring to breathe.

After a long while, Lin Run finally raised his head and asked Cai Guoxi, "Where is Zhao Hao?"

Before he could finish his words, a beautiful white sailboat came into his sight.

On the deck, Mr. Zhao, wearing his signature sunglasses, sat comfortably beside a dining table covered with a blue checkered tablecloth.

On the other side of the dining table sat a snow-white girl wearing a light green sweetheart-collar jacket and a white silk undershirt with a bamboo-leaf stand-up collar.

It was Jiang Xueying who had just returned from Chongming.

"Lord Zhongcheng, come and have some tea." Young Master Zhao, who was sitting on the armchair, stood up and greeted Lin Run with a smile.

~~

On the Science, Secretary Ma, wearing a beige round-necked robe embroidered with orchids and a white embroidered horse-faced skirt, served tea to Lin Zhongcheng who came to visit.

Lin Run took the celadon-glazed teacup and took a sip, then looked at the complete set of Southern Song Dynasty official kiln tea sets and the three-tiered sterling silver dessert stand on the round table.

He couldn't help but tease Zhao Hao and said, "Last time in Kunshan, I remember you were quite simple."

"My father is the governor of Kunshan, so I must be more restrained." Master Zhao held the folding fan with an ivory handle and said in an unrestrained manner, "After leaving Kunshan, there is no need to be hard on myself."

"Hahaha, that's right." Lin Run couldn't help but laugh. "Other people rely on me to extort money from the people, but you spend money on Kunshan instead. If you were any more extravagant, I would suspect you of ulterior motives."

"Hahaha! Zhongcheng, don't worry. I will become a pauper soon." Zhao Hao was so smart, how could he not hear the warning in these words?

He quickly unfolded the folding fan in his hand, and on the gold-sprinkled fan were written seven large characters: 'Helping others is the basis of happiness'.

It’s the same one I used in Chongming.

Lin Run's pupils shrank. He blew away the foam in the teacup, smiled bitterly and shook his head.

Lin Zhongcheng knew that Zhao Hao was reminding him how much sacrifice he would make for Suzhou.

When masters fight, their faces never turn red. In between, they have already conveyed their meanings to each other.

ps. Second update, please give me your monthly vote!