"No, no, absolutely not." Zhao Shouzheng did not expect that Lin Zhongcheng would ask so directly. He was so scared that he shook his head like a rattle and said, "I, the Tongzhi, have only been in office for less than a month. How can I be greedy for more?"

"I'm not asking you to be the prefect. I don't have the power to formally appoint officials." Lin Run waved his hand and said with a smile, "Because the life and death of Prefect Li is still unknown, I can only temporarily appoint you to act as the prefect before we find out his whereabouts."

"This is my humble duty." Zhao Shouzheng breathed a sigh of relief. The Tongzhi was originally the prefect's backup.

"But if he doesn't come back," Lin Run said calmly, "you should also be prepared to act as his agent for a long time."

As he spoke, he leaned back in his chair, his eyes becoming somewhat unfocused, and he said in a tone of sympathy, "Alas, he will probably not be able to come back. When he first took office, he came to pay a visit to our court, full of ambition to do something big. I never expected that he would leave the stage so abruptly without even reaching Chaozhou City..."

Lin Run was wearing a thin, loose-fitting robe. From Zhao Shouzheng's angle, he could just see a shocking red spot on his fair neck. It was the burn from the fire in Shanghai County...

Being an official these days is really dangerous.

"Don't be too sad, Zhongcheng. Your Excellency is blessed by heaven and will surely return safely." Zhao Shouzheng hurriedly comforted him in a pale voice.

"Even if he is lucky enough to come back, he can no longer be qualified for the post of Chaozhou prefect." Lin Run sighed and said, "Just like this court, it is no longer possible to be the governor of Yingtian."

As he said this, he put away his sadness and said to Zhao Shouzheng: "And you have also seen the situation in Chaozhou. We must not allow chaos to happen again. If chaos happens again, the court will make a painful decision, plow the land three feet, and start over again."

"Ah..." Zhao Shouzheng couldn't help but shudder. He didn't expect that Chaozhou had reached such a dangerous edge.

"So I am considering submitting a petition to postpone the appointment of a new Chaozhou prefect, and have you, the popular co-prefect, take on this responsibility temporarily. I will also write a letter to Lord Gao to explain the reasons." Lin Run said calmly, "This decision is not made out of personal friendship, but out of public interest. I believe that anyone who becomes the governor will make such an arrangement as long as they have a clear conscience."

After saying this, he looked deeply at Zhao Shouzheng and said, "And I know very well that only you can clean up the mess in Chaozhou right now. So this burden belongs to you. Since you remember your duty as an official, don't refuse it anymore!"

"This..." The rhythm of the conversation was completely controlled by Lin Run. What else could Zhao Shouzheng say?

"Of course, you can also consider it. If you think this mess is too difficult and you don't want to take it, I will think of other ways." Lin Run has been the governor for so many years, and the art of leadership has been perfected. He knew that if Zhao Shouzheng agreed immediately, he would seem obsessed with power, so it was difficult for him to nod.

He used a tactic similar to provocation to make Zhao Shouzheng more receptive.

"That's not what I meant..." Zhao Shouzheng's ears turned red, and he was completely bullied by Lin Run.

"Hey, don't rush to answer me. I will stay in Chaozhou for a few more days. Think about it carefully and give me an answer before I leave." Lin Run smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Now, let's talk about your views on Chaozhou. Even if you don't want to act as the governor for a long time, you have to have a clear understanding after being in office for one day, right?"

"Yes." Zhao Shouzheng thought to himself. Talking about this, he was not panicked.

Because he has learned this question before.

So Mr. Zhao started with the history of Guangdong, analyzed the basic situation of Chaozhou from a high-level perspective, and then pointed out Chaozhou's five chronic diseases and six major problems one by one, analyzing each one in detail.

This is what they call "one minute on stage, ten years of hard work off stage". Although Mr. Zhao didn't have ten years of hard work, he was still able to fool people after ten days of targeted cramming.

"Before the Ming Dynasty, Guangdong and Guangxi were similar to Yunnan and Guizhou today. Although they were nominally under the rule of the king, the local gentry still had the final say. In fact, even in the Ming Dynasty, for a long time after the founding of the country, most areas of Guangdong and Guangxi, except for the cities, were still controlled by local forces represented by He Zhen."

"It was not until the end of the Zhengtong period that the imperial court began to try to actually control the population of Guangdong, taking advantage of the Huang Xiaoyang Rebellion. But the actual effect was not ideal. The frequent rebellions outside Guangzhou were actually the friction between the government and local forces in the process of trying to control more population and land..."

"Since the founding of the country, there have been rebellions in Chaozhou almost every year, which shows that the government's control over Chaozhou is very weak. According to the geographical environment, there are two main types of rebellions, mountain bandits and sea pirates. Chaozhou is mostly mountainous, so it is naturally difficult for the government to penetrate into it. Originally, this place was not an important transportation line, so it didn't matter if it couldn't control it. But the world has been peaceful for a long time, the population has increased dramatically, and there are more and more Hakka and She people living in the mountainous areas. Naturally, the government has to strengthen its control over the mountainous areas to control this part of the population and wealth. So the contradictions came out..."

Lin Run had been listening quietly. Hearing this, he couldn't help but laugh and said, "We can talk about this in private. If you analyze it this way, the government's actions to protect the country and the people will become harassment of the people."

"That's about it." Zhao Shouzheng believed in the knowledge his son had instilled in him. He said seriously, "The people in the mountains had lived a good life for hundreds of years without serving in the army or paying taxes. Suddenly, a group of officials came to collect taxes from them and forced them to serve in the army. If they didn't obey, they would be considered traitors and must die! Who would obey? Then we'll fight. If we fight, won't we become bandits?"

"..." Lin Run nodded silently and said no more.

In fact, why were Lan Yiqing and Lai Yuanjue able to make such a big scene? It was because after they joined their village to protect each other, the government dared not harass them, so they expanded to an area of ​​800 miles.

Of course there are some heinous thieves here, but most of them are just mountain people who don't want to pay taxes...

Therefore, his attitude towards these people was not as fierce as Yin Zhengmao's. But the other party had already raised the banner of rebellion, so it was impossible not to fight. But there was a huge difference between killing a chicken to scare the monkey and sweeping the house.

~~

After a while, he suddenly realized that he had been distracted. He smiled apologetically at Zhao Shouzheng and said, "You continue."

"Yes, the situation with pirates is similar..." Zhao Shouzheng continued to report. He talked about the basic situation and problems of Chaozhou for nearly an hour.

Lin Run listened attentively. Although most of the information was already known to him, he still felt that he benefited a lot. Through Zhao Shouzheng's narration, he clearly felt that he had a clearer and deeper understanding of Chaozhou and even the problems of Guangdong as a whole.

The most valuable thing is that Zhao Shouzheng helped him break away from the limitations of a Ming Dynasty official and look at things from a historical and global perspective.

His vision and ideas.

The most difficult thing for people to correctly evaluate is the era they live in, the most difficult thing to see clearly is the problems of the era they live in, and the most difficult thing to make a correct judgment is their current decision.

Because you are part of this era, and you are in the torrent of this era. It is difficult to jump out of your class background, educational background and personal emotions and look at things objectively and comprehensively...

When viewed from the side, the mountain looks like a ridge, and when viewed from the front, it looks like a peak; it looks different from different distances and heights.

I cannot recognize the true appearance of Mount Lu because I am already in it.

Therefore, these conclusions, which seem very simple in the eyes of later generations, are enough to enlighten the best minds of this era.

After pondering for a long time, Lin Run stood up, bowed deeply to Zhao Shouzheng, and said solemnly: "Today I finally understand where your extraordinary qualities come from. With your wisdom, you are qualified to be a teacher to all officials. Please accept my greetings."

Lin Run talked less with Zhao Hao after all. Before he was seriously injured, they had almost no personal relationship. After he recovered, their relationship warmed up. Zhao Hao couldn't catch a rehab patient to chat, so Lin Run was so shocked.

If it was Hai Rui who had read the contents of Selected Works of Mao Zedong, he would not have made such a fuss. Instead, he would have thought that Mr. Zhao was too subtle...

"I dare not, I dare not." Zhao Shouzheng was startled and quickly dodged to the side, waving his hands and saying, "I heard this from others, it's just wild fox Zen, don't take it seriously."

"Mr. Zhao is too modest. Please take a seat." Lin Run shook his head and gave his seat to Zhao Shouzheng.

How could Zhao Shouzheng dare to sit down? He hurriedly said he didn't dare.

But Lin Runduo didn't agree, so he moved to the chair below Zhao Shouzheng and sat down, making Zhao unable to stand or sit.

Finally, under Lin Run's insistence, Zhao Shouzheng sat back nervously, feeling extremely uncomfortable.

"Mr. Zhao has just analyzed the five major chronic diseases of Chaozhou - mountain bandits, sea pirates, conflicts between natives and immigrants, clan power, the gap between the rich and the poor, and the population outflow caused by them. Mr. Zhao, how should these six major problems be solved, and in what order?"

"Someone once said, 'Stupid, the problem is the economy.'" Zhao Shouzheng then said in a deep voice, "I also think that Chaozhou's five chronic diseases or six major problems are ultimately economic problems. In other words, it is the competition among various parties for production resources such as land, population, and water, as well as the fruits of labor. All problems are caused by this."

"Hmm." Lin Run carefully wrote down every word Zhao Shouzheng said. If he wasn't so well-informed and had a strong memory, he would have taken out his notebook.

The terrifying thing is that, apart from his memories, he still has the ability to think: "It seems that the way out of the situation lies in the economy."

"Yes, the economy is the best glue that can quickly make the scattered Chaozhou become one. Trade can force the two parties with deep prejudices to exercise restraint... With economic development, the dependence of all parties on trade is increasing, and the cost of falling out is getting higher and higher. In the end, they can only communicate patiently, and eventually reconciliation may be achieved." Zhao Shouzheng continued:

"Of course, this is just an ideal description. Things can't be so smooth. There will definitely be twists and turns and setbacks, but as long as we guide all parties on the right path, they will definitely follow the right path. Because the dream of all trendsetters is to get rich."

ps. I'm gone again today. Have a nice weekend everyone.