Joy of Life: Starting from Teacher Fan Xian

On the afternoon when the imperial envoy went to the south of the Yangtze River, the teahouses in Suzhou City were full of people. The wealthy businessmen and common people in the south of the Yangtze River liked to gather in the teahouses when they had nothing to do, to chat and talk about the world.

Once the news of the Jiangnan Road Crossing incident spread, it soon reached the ears of the common people and caused people to talk about it.

"Have you heard? My brother does business at the roadside. According to him, those officials' faces turned green with fright and they dared not even breathe." A businessman laughed and talked about today's events with a sense of gloating.

They have been exploited by these officials in doing business, and now someone has slapped them in the face in public, so the business community is naturally happy.

They have money and are willing to give these corrupt officials money to ensure business access, but this does not mean that they respect these officials in their hearts.

"I've been to Kyoto to do business before, and I've heard that Lord Lin is a rare and kind man in the world. But I didn't believe it then, and thought that the people of Kyoto were fooling an outsider like me. Now it's happening right next to me..." Another businessman hesitated to speak, as if he didn't believe it, and his words were filled with endless emotion.

Seeing this, a commoner shook his head and said, "It's just to scare them. Lord Lin didn't use real weapons. Losing face is nothing. We lost money. If Lord Lin can arrest these people, it will be a great thing."

A scholar passed by and could not help cursing: "What nonsense are you talking about? If Lord Lin wants to arrest someone, then he can do so. There are no corrupt officials in the world. Don't forget that Lord Lin is only an imperial envoy sent to solve the deficit in the inner treasury. He has no right to interfere in the political affairs of Jiangnan."

"Lord Lin has done his best to achieve this without risking offending all the officials. How can we blame him?"

After these words were spoken, the people who had been talking nonsense felt ashamed and lowered their heads.

Finally, the merchant who caused the topic earlier came out to smooth things over: "With Lord Lin, I believe that in the past few months, those officials will no longer dare to exploit us recklessly. This is a good thing, and everyone should be happy."

There was still laughter and chatter in the teahouse. In an inconspicuous corner, someone was drinking tea and whispering, "I thought Fan Xian was the most noisy person in the world, but now it seems that your master is not much behind. It turns out that you are from the same school."

Haitang Duoduo always likes to say these kind of sarcastic words. Perhaps the words she said before entering the door that day were too hurtful and she always felt guilty about it.

Fan Ruoruo knew he was joking, so she covered her mouth and smiled: "Fortunately, everything the gentleman does is justified. He is not a high-ranking official in Jiangnan, so there is really no need to give these people any face."

"We may not see them when we look up, but we will see them when we look down. It is impossible for the affairs of Jiangnan to completely ignore these people. Isn't this cutting off our own retreat?" Haitang Duoduo asked.

Fan Ruoruo answered confidently, "Miss Duoduo, what you said makes it seem as if these people will definitely lend a hand if you don't provoke them. You can't help but overestimate them a bit."

"Future events will always affect their interests. This is a way to clarify their position and give them a warning so that they can be more cautious when choosing their side in the future."

Haitang Duoduo was speechless for a moment, then she acted as if nothing happened and said, "You are such a sharp-tongued girl. Well, I just mentioned it casually. Anyway, I can't control what your husband does."

Haitang is an open-minded person. She will answer questions if she has any on her mind, and will not pursue them once she understands them. It has never been her style to hide things.

……

In the study of the Jiangnan Governor's Mansion, Xue Qing sat on the imperial chair. The master beside him shook his head and sighed, "This imperial envoy is indeed a bold man."

"Sir, I'm afraid that Jiangnan will be in big trouble because of him in the future."

"What do you know?" Xue Qing smiled and pondered, "Tell me, would His Majesty the Emperor in the capital be happy to see the imperial envoy and the officials from Jiangnan get along well, or would it be better to see them go against each other everywhere?"

The master was slightly startled, and after thinking for a while, he raised his head, but did not dare to say it too obviously: "What do you mean by this, sir?"

"He is a smart man, a smart man with background and courage. Don't go against him in the future." Xue Qingqing finally figured it out. This imperial envoy is a big shot, and he is not someone he can mess with. In the final analysis, the focus of the struggle in Jiangnan is not in Jiangnan, but in Xinyang. As the governor of Jiangnan, he should act according to the law and there is no need for him to get involved.

"Has the Ming family's bill been delivered?" Xue Qing asked.

"The Ming family sent it over early in the morning, and the imperial envoy must have reviewed it." The lawyer replied.

"That's good." Xue Qing was relieved. "Send a message to the three major workshops in the inner treasury. The imperial envoy will come to inspect soon. Do everything that needs to be done. Don't make a fool of yourself within the scope of my duties."

The master understood: "Don't worry, sir, I will convey your message completely. As for how the inner treasury will view it, it is not up to us to decide."

Although the Neiku is in the south of the Yangtze River, everyone knows that the one in Xinyang is the owner of the Neiku.

……

In the study of West Lake Manor, Lin Ruo was looking through the bills sent by the Ming family. Most of the deficits were attributed to the rampant piracy. The cunning Ming family had even made out more than a dozen lists for this purpose.

It seems that these pirates have been discarded by the Ming family.

In addition, some responsibility was also pushed onto the expenses of the three major districts. The expansion of industry led to an increase in the number of officials and a corresponding increase in expenditures.

The Ming family did not push all the blame to others, and also acknowledged some losses in their internal operations.

Lin Ruo continued reading, and unexpectedly, the reason was related to himself.

Over the years, the expenses of the Kyoto Palace and the Supervisory Council have all been borne by the Internal Treasury.

The expenses in the palace have not increased much, but the expenses in the courtyard have shown an upward trend. It is clearly recorded in the bill, so there is no need to accuse anyone.

Lin Ruo made a summary and concluded that the majority of the losses were still due to the rampant piracy, which accounted for nearly half of the total losses.

The Ming family's approach to shifting the blame is quite reasonable.

After putting down the bill and walking out of the study, the guards carried boxes of various sizes and delivered them to the warehouse one by one.

Lin Ruo walked over and patted Wang Shisanlang, saying, "How much silver did you exchange?"

Wang Shisanlang had just returned and took a look at the list: "Not more, not less, exactly 200,000 taels of silver."

Zong Zhui came out of the storeroom and said, "Counting the 150,000 taels of silver that you brought from Beijing, the total is 350,000 taels. I don't know the situation with Xia Qifei yet, but 500,000 taels is more than enough."

"Well, at least we have the capital to argue with the Ming family." Lin Ruo went back to the study to put away all the bills and ordered, "Prepare the car, we have to go to the banquet, and Shisan Wang will go with me."

(End of this chapter)