Chapter 70 Chapter 70 Seeking an audience with the County Master
Liang Nian liquidated all the accomplices of the Lingzhou prefect, and there were only a few people left in the huge government office.
But these people still ran out happily to line up for food.
Liang Nian is now the prefect appointed by Lin Si, and is busy checking all the books and materials in the government office.
Lin Si can't leave for the time being and has to stay.
Her system has just taken over Xihe Road and it will take some time to stabilize.
What she didn't expect was how quickly the Lingzhou soldiers surrendered. Not only did they not use the very deterrent explosives they had prepared, but they didn't even use their swords.
Everything went much more smoothly than Lin Si had imagined.
Apart from the Lingzhou prefect, there are many wealthy businessmen in the entire Lingzhou.
Of course, they all knew about the commotion in the prefectural government yesterday. Now that Lingzhou has changed, what should they do?
A wealthy businessman named Chen Yi immediately gathered all the businessmen together to discuss countermeasures urgently.
The world is not doing well now, and the rich businessmen are not having a good time either. They also went to collect potatoes and sweet potatoes, brought them back and cooked them, and they tasted delicious.
Chen Yi was undecided for a moment. "What do you think? Princess Anping is a royal relative. Will she still side with the court?"
Another person commented, "That's wrong! The Princess of Anping was sent here right after Princess Huayang passed away. I'm afraid she harbors resentment."
Under the suppression of imperial power, the most important thing for wealthy businessmen was news.
Now that various peasant uprisings have broken out outside, only the Liangzhe Road, with its warmer and more fertile climate, is relatively stable.
There is another major reason why this uprising was difficult to suppress.
The prince increased taxes on merchants.
Merchants have been suppressed since ancient times. They finally waited until the day when merchants could also take the imperial examinations, but it was ruined by a man named Zhuo.
The situation for businessmen is even more difficult.
This tax increase has pushed the merchants into a desperate situation. Many merchants have secretly united with the refugee leaders. With the support of the refugees behind them, it is naturally difficult to suppress them.
Refugees from Tongchuan Road, Jinnan Road, Jinbei Road, and Xiguang Road occupied the county towns and prefectures and established themselves as independent states.
Therefore, the wealthy businessmen were not surprised that Lin Si occupied Xihe Road.
What they want to know now is what Lin Si's attitude is. Did she occupy Xihe Road just because she couldn't stand what the prefect did, or did she have other ideas?
Chen Yi ordered his men to burn the charcoal more vigorously. "The magistrate of Min County and several others survived. This shows that the county lady is reasonable."
Another merchant named Ding Heng chimed in, "You haven't seen for yourself the soldiers patrolling the streets—every one of them is tall and strong, wielding swords made of fine iron! So, if there's no imperial court, where does all this fine iron come from?"
"Not only that, there are also some young ladies and gentlemen who work exclusively for the county lady. They look young, but they are very calm and composed, holding charcoal pencils and wooden boards in their hands. If they hadn't been trained for a long time, how could they be so organized?"
"No one is curious about where these potatoes and sweet potatoes come from. Before this, I've traveled extensively, but I've never heard of them. If it's true that the county lady's subordinates claim they can yield 13 dan per mu, why didn't the court promote their cultivation during this cold snap? Based on this, I believe the county lady isn't on the court's side."
Everyone started thinking again.
There were also a few complaints.
"If I had known this, I should have visited Li County."
"Or maybe you could establish a good relationship with County Magistrate Liang."
Outside the window.
Guo Zi was sitting lazily on a tree trunk, holding a piece of dogtail grass in his mouth. In his hands were a charcoal pencil and a wooden board. The wooden board was used as a pad for paper. Guo Zi recorded everything that the few people said in a concise manner.
He was really busy. After working undercover in the prefectural government, he rushed here without stopping to do eavesdropping.
This kid Zhong Diyan really knows how to order people around. It’s winter now, isn’t it cold outside?
The group of people in the room were still chattering and analyzing things in a very logical way. Guo Zi just wanted to laugh when he heard them, so he simply put his hands behind his head and closed his eyes to rest.
After resting his eyes for about a minute, Guo Zi's ears moved slightly and he keenly caught the sound of footsteps.
He slowly opened his eyes and saw a girl in a goose yellow raccoon sleeve dress. The girl had bright eyes and white teeth. She looked about the same age as him, about thirteen or fourteen years old.
The girl didn't look up and kept looking straight ahead, but Guo Zi heard her speak.
"The gentleman in the tree, please return home quickly after listening to this. It's cold out."
Guo Zi touched his nose awkwardly. He shouldn't have closed his eyes and been lazy just now. He was discovered.
The girl actually walked straight into the meeting hall, and everyone was shocked. "It's Ah Sui? I haven't seen her for a long time. She has grown so big?"
Chen Sui didn't waste any words, but said directly: "My fellow uncles, instead of speculating here, why don't we all gather some food and go see the Princess of Anping."
Chen Yi was puzzled, "Why do we need to collect food?"
Chen Sui: "When Princess Anping seized Lingzhou, the first thing she did was to distribute food to the people. This clearly shows her kindness. Offering her food at this time is exactly what she wants."
Chen Sui had excellent hearing. She heard the rustling of leaves and guessed that the young man must have left.
She looked out the window and saw that the trees were empty.
There was a moment of silence in the hall, and the businessmen looked at each other. This method was indeed feasible, but some people looked hesitant.
Nowadays, food prices have skyrocketed, and even I have to eat stale food.
Chen Sui sighed slowly, "When all the uncles were expressing their opinions just now, did you notice that there was a young man in the tree who was listening the whole time?"
Everyone was surprised, looking at each other.
"This, this, this, could it be that they are the Anping County Lord's people?"
"How did this person get into my inner courtyard without anyone noticing?"
Chen Sui's gaze swept across the confused faces of the crowd. "That young man is holding a charcoal pencil and paper. I'm afraid that what the uncles just said has now been put before the Anping County Lady."
A gasp was heard in the hall.
“This, this, this…”
"The county lord actually has such a talent."
Chen Yi sighed twice, "Let's gather the food. Once we have it, we will all go to see the Princess of Anping to show our loyalty."
Chen Sui returned to her boudoir and squatted beside the charcoal fire to keep warm. She thought thankfully.
Fortunately, I came up with the idea of donating grain, otherwise I would be discovered if I secretly took grain from the warehouse to help the people!
But the young man just now looked about the same age as me. Was that dogtail grass in his mouth?
*
Guo Zi sneezed when he came back to hand in his report.
Lin Si looked up: "The fire bed has just been built, and we haven't lit the fire to test it yet. Go warm up by the charcoal basin."
Lin Si stayed in Lingzhou, so he had to find a place to live.
The prefect Lin Si was unwilling to live there. Someone had just been murdered there yesterday, and the place was filled with the smell of alcohol, so it was stinking.
Liang Nian had already found a house for Lin Si to live in temporarily.
Lin Si, a servant of the prefectural government, also asked Liang Nian to settle down properly. If anyone was willing to sell their body, Lin Si would give them household registration and land. If anyone was unwilling, they could temporarily serve and clean in Lin Si's house.
The woman who was abducted was also sent back home.
Even though it occupies Xihe Road, all these scattered things are alive.
In the previous county government examination, the top three were Lan Niang, Shitou, and Chen Tai. These three, together with Yang Yidong, were appointed as county magistrates of four counties.
The most important thing at the moment is to distribute potatoes and sweet potatoes for planting and to build greenhouses.
All these matters have to be ordered and arranged.
Chunyi was so busy delivering messages and documents that she almost had no time to rest.
Guo Zi sniffed and said, "County Lady, I'm not cold. I'm right here."
Lin Si then lowered her head to read Guo Zi's report. She was calm at the beginning, until she read the part about the girl with goose yellow raccoon sleeves suggesting that merchants donate grain.
Lin Si raised his eyebrows. This light yellow girl was quite interesting.
After a while, Chun Yi came hurriedly and whispered to Lin Si, "County Lady, there are a lot of people outside. They say they are merchants from the city and want to see you."
Lin Si hummed, "Bring the people in and wait. I'll approve these documents first."
The wood and paper materials needed for the greenhouse, the daily food trucks for potatoes and sweet potatoes, Mo Jinglian's workshop documents, and the planning reports written by Shitou, Lan Niang and others.
Piles of documents were piled on Lin Si's desk.
Not to mention the wiretap intelligence that Guo Zi just sent over.
Liang Nian was too busy to handle the documents in the government office by himself, so Lin Si had to read and approve them by himself.
Fortunately, she had the foresight to carve a personal seal with the simplified Chinese characters "Lin Si" on top and a small thumbs-up icon on the bottom.
Otherwise, her hands would be sore just from signing.
Chunyi led people in according to Lin Si's instructions. The fire bed had been lit and warmth gradually rose in the room.
Several merchants were curious, "I wonder what kind of charcoal is burning in this mansion? Why is it so warm?"
After waiting for an unknown amount of time, Lin Si finally got tired of reading the documents and planned to take a break, which was a good opportunity to meet these people.
Spring brings people in.
Several people were very conscious and knelt down to pay their respects when they met.
"Commoner, I pay my respects to the county lady."
Lin Si took a sip of hot tea and said calmly, "Everyone, get up."
Only then did everyone dare to stand up.
Lin Si put down his teacup and asked, "I wonder why these officials would like to see this county lady?"
As if they had discussed it beforehand, the few of them first praised Lin Si, then talked about how the prefect was so disregarding of human lives, and how the prefect collected protection fees indiscriminately, unlike Lin Si, whose first thing when he came in was to distribute food to the people.
So they gathered together some food and presented it to Lin Si, hoping to share his worries.
It can also be regarded as their token of allegiance.
Lin Si's strength is too strong. He has spies who can enter and leave the inner courtyard at will, and he has soldiers made of fine steel. But with these two things, Lin Si has no limit on Xihe Road to where he wants to go.
Moreover, Lin Si has both an iron-blooded hand and sympathy for the people.
They have to do something.
Lin Si stroked the teacup with his fingertips and chuckled, "I will let the people know about the good deeds of all the officials. I just don't know why you didn't bring the young lady from the Chen family who came up with this idea to see me."
Compared with these mediocre ones, Lin Si still likes the young lady with goose yellow hair more.
Several officials were suddenly embarrassed.
They didn't expect that the county lady would directly point out the matter of monitoring.
Several people waited for a long time, and were sent away after just a few words, but fortunately they still got some good news.
The Lord of Anping County has someone under him who is specifically responsible for business, and that person will come to hold a meeting with them in a few days.
Several officials were almost overjoyed!
The Princess of Anping does not reject businessmen, she even has subordinates who specialize in business!
Chen Yi was in a good mood. He did not stop for a moment after returning home and immediately pulled Chen Sui up from his meal. "A Sui, the Anping County Magistrate wants to see you."
Chen Sui: Ah? Me?
*
Nie Congran helped the troops for a day. He was first surprised to find that the county lord's soldiers could read. Not only could they read, but they could also read a kind of crooked tadpole symbol.
Moreover, they train every day, and the content of the training is varied. He has never seen it, let alone heard of it.
They have a dedicated person to cook for them every day, their training is timed, and there are rewards for the first place winner.
The most important thing is that there is monthly allowance every month, although it’s not much!
The palace soldiers looked at this with envy. In their opinion, even if they were not paid every month, having food to eat every day was already an excellent treatment.
Nan Shuang and Nan Qiao came here together yesterday.
Lin Si meant that these palace soldiers could be selected and retained and transformed into subordinates.
Not only the soldiers from Lingzhou, but also the soldiers from Enzhou and Shizhou surrendered even faster. When they heard the news, they opened the city gates to welcome them.
Please, if you have food to eat and don’t surrender, you are a fool!
Nie Congran wanted to stay in the troops.
He heard the soldiers of the troops say that they became the county lord's soldiers initially just to protect their families.
"The world is in such chaos right now. Look at what's happening outside. How can ordinary people survive? For the sake of my parents, I have to be at the forefront."
"Initially, there were refugees causing trouble, so the county lady organized us, and then slowly it became what it is now. If you ask why, it was naturally to protect my family."
Nie Congran thought of his two younger sisters and how hungry the family had been before.
He also wants to protect his family and ensure that his sisters have enough food to eat every day.
So Nie Congran decided to secretly run 50 laps in the house this afternoon and surprise everyone tomorrow!
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Author's words: Guo Zi/Lin Sui: Oops, it's a heart-pounding feeling
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