Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 830 You're an Emperor!
"Daosheng! Daosheng!"

Xia Lin was handling official business when he heard the sound of someone calling for a lost soul growing louder as it approached. He looked up and saw Emperor Jingtai standing before him, looking quite pleased with himself, like someone who had been constipated for three years and had suddenly been relieved.

"What's wrong? You seem so happy."

Emperor Jingtai sat beside him and laughed heartily: "I've been keeping an eye on that Lu Dunxin these past few days. Do you know what he's been up to?"

"what?"

Although Xia Lin was not very interested, he still asked the question. He took off his glasses, took a sip of tea, rubbed his eyes, and yawned.

"He actually started selling off his assets after only a few days of playing around in our territory. How could there be such a person? I despise him."

Xia Lin laughed: "You're still thinking about him?"

"How could I not be thinking about it? I lost so badly." Emperor Jingtai's face suddenly turned ferocious. "I even want to see his family destroyed."

"Your mind..." Xia Lin was halfway through his sentence when he suddenly remembered that the person in front of him was Emperor Jingtai, Tuoba Jing. He had never been cunning in his life, so saying this now was a bit redundant.

How much of his estate did he sell?

"I don't know. Douya sent someone to negotiate, saying that he would buy it directly as a villa. It probably won't be cheap, after all, he has some wealth."

Xia Lin hummed in agreement and nodded slightly: "So what is he planning to do now?"

"What to do? I don't know, I'll go find someone to inquire."

Emperor Jingtai left in a hurry, and about two hours later, around lunchtime, he returned. He was in a rush, but the cheerful mood from the morning was gone: "Daosheng, Daosheng!"

"Hmm?" Xia Lin, who was holding a bowl and reading intelligence from the Western Regions, looked up: "Have you eaten yet?"

"I've eaten." Emperor Jingtai sat down in front of the hall and sighed, "You were right, he actually had a backup plan! And this one is really hard to counter."

"Has he started doing related business?"

"Yeah! How did you know? He set up three pawnshops and several loan shops around our place. He's pretty clever. He looks like he's living a life of debauchery, but he's actually been doing so much behind the scenes."

While shoveling rice into his mouth, Xia Lin said, "A person who could escape his family and avoid risks before the Great Purge, and still gain a foothold in this area with a small amount of money, must have his own way of surviving. Unless you directly use your imperial power, it will be quite difficult to get rid of him."

"That won't do. This is a crucial time to attract merchants. We can't do anything that would damage our reputation. Wouldn't that just cause you trouble?"

"That won't have too much of an impact. There are countless profit-seekers, dealing with one or two isn't a big problem. It's just that I think you shouldn't focus too much on someone like him." Xia Lin spread his hands and said helplessly, "Douyazi is actually after his diversified business model. She's currently in a phase where spending money can't keep up with earning it, so she has to spend the money as soon as possible. What are you after?"

"To settle scores and seek revenge."

Xia Lin pursed his lips and then laughed out loud: "Since you're so free, why don't you come with me to Lingnan Road tomorrow? I need to sort out the affairs of Lingnan Road before we go to the Western Regions."

Emperor Jingtai was filled with questions: "When will you be back?"

"He'll probably be back in about a month, around the time your sister is about to give birth." Xia Lin closed the book, looked up at Emperor Jingtai, and said, "If you insist on messing with that Lu Dunxin, I can recommend someone to you."

"Can't bean sprouts be used?"

“Bean Sprout doesn’t have the time or energy to target any one person.” Xia Lin raised his hand: “Xiao Wang, go and call General Ye for me.”

After a while, Xiao Chenzi limped in. When he saw that Emperor Jingtai was still in the room, he quickly cupped his hands and bowed, saying, "Your subject Ye Ji greets Your Majesty."

"Oh! Little Chenzi." Emperor Jingtai pointed to the empty seat next to him and said, "Sit down, sit down quickly."

Xiao Chenzi sat down, then looked at Xia Lin with some surprise: "Why did you call me here?"

"You've been too idle these days. I don't think it's right for you, the King of Northeast, to just loaf around like this."

Upon hearing the words "King of the Northeast," Xiao Chenzi immediately glanced nervously at Emperor Jingtai, who was currently studying the small sandalwood tea canister on the table and didn't take it seriously at all.

"Speaking of which, shouldn't we bestow a marquisate upon Xiao Chenzi?" Emperor Jingtai suddenly raised his head and asked, "He has rendered meritorious service in commanding the north, and it is indeed a great and extraordinary achievement. He should be granted a marquisate."

"That's something you should study yourself." Xia Lin didn't respond to his words, but continued to say to Xiao Chenzi, "Since you have nothing to do, I'll write to the court to get you a title in the Ministry of Revenue. How about you manage commerce here with me?" Managing commerce in Fuliang, what does that mean? Basically, it means three years as a vice minister, five years as a minister, and if you're lucky, you can become prime minister in five years.

Who were the people who managed trade here back then? Ma Zhou, known as the most virtuous prime minister of the Great Wei. Cen Wenben, in charge of military and political affairs in Lingnan Circuit. Xu Jingzong, known as the most treacherous person in the Great Wei, though he was treacherous in the sense of being cunning, and now holds the position of Grand Secretary.

It can be said that those who manage commerce and finance here will basically crush their peers when they go back. However, since Xu Jingzong, no one here has been able to monopolize this power. Most of the time, it is self-governed by merchants, relying on that so-called Merchants' Association.

It seems that Xia Lin is now paving the way for Xiao Chenzi. He has been suffering from frostbite for many years and will probably never be able to serve in the military again. His achievements in the north are also obvious to all, so it is only natural to give him a stepping stone now.

"What's the point of going through three provinces?" Emperor Jingtai lifted his robe and took a small brocade pouch from his waistband: "Take this and seal it yourself."

Xia Lin didn't notice him at first, but the brocade pouch was already almost in his face. After hurriedly taking it, he cursed with lingering fear, "Damn it, do you even know what this is?!"

"What you love is what you are."

Xia Lin took out the jade seal, and Xiao Chenzi stared in disbelief. The gold-inlaid jade corner was so eye-catching that there were probably only two people in the world who didn't care about it, and coincidentally, those two people were right in front of him at that moment...

"Then I'll just write 'appointment' directly."

"Actually, you can appoint people even without the imperial seal, and who would refuse? The three provinces are all your people, and more than half of the six ministries are your people. People say that you form cliques for personal gain, but you've managed to empty my coffers."

If anyone else had heard Emperor Jingtai say that, they would have cried out that they were wronged, but Xia Lin didn't even raise his eyelids and said, "What do you mean by 'your people' and 'my people'? If I really wanted your crappy position, would you still be alive today?"

"Hey, you son of a bitch..." Emperor Jingtai cursed without hesitation, "Can't you give me any face, you son of a bitch?"

The most awkward person here is Xiao Chenzi. He's caught between a rock and a hard place, so he can only sit there and chuckle awkwardly.

The appointment was made in duplicate and required three seals. In addition to the two official documents, each half of the appointment had to be stamped again for anti-counterfeiting purposes. Xia Lin was probably more familiar with this process than Emperor Jingtai. After all, as Emperor Jingtai said, how were those appointments issued when he was not around? Wasn't it because these scoundrels had already made forging imperial seals a closely guarded secret?

Currently, there's a fake system in the three provinces and another fake system in Xia Lin's area. However, because Xia Lin's three-tiered oversight mechanism is quite effective, the empire's carriage is running smoothly without any major problems.

"Do you think there's anyone in the court selling official positions?" Emperor Jingtai asked after taking back the imperial seal. "I've always been quite worried about that."

"Don't worry, they all fail the annual review."

Xia Lin tossed one of the appointment documents to Xiao Chenzi: "From today onwards, you are the Grain Supervisor of Fuliang County, a fifth-rank official."

"Only a fifth-rank official..." Xiao Chenzi was clearly disappointed: "I was already a fourth-rank official when I was stationed in the Northeast, how come I'm going downhill from there?"

"I'm only a fifth-rank official!" Xia Lin slammed his fist on the table and shouted, "If you're so much higher than me, does that mean we can't even start a meeting if you don't show up?"

Emperor Jingtai slapped his thigh and laughed, saying, "The Great Wei is truly in chaos. Where in the world have you ever heard of a fifth-rank official being appointed as a fifth-rank official by a fourth-rank official? This is so interesting! Why don't you appoint me as a county magistrate as well?"

Xia Lin ignored him, and after explaining some things to Xiao Chenzi, told him to go back and rest.

After that, preparations naturally began for the trip to Guizhou in Lingnan Province. His second brother-in-law had been there for many years, and although he received letters and messages from Xu Shiji every year, he was still somewhat worried.

Who knows how long this trip to the Western Regions will take? Zuo Zongtang set out in 1880 and almost completed the unification by 1884. Xia Lin's situation is slightly easier, given the presence of the Northwest Army, but those nearly two million square kilometers of land will definitely take at least two years to conquer.

Moreover, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the Northern Han will definitely try to sabotage things, so Xia Lin will most likely face a two-front war or even a multi-front war.

"By the way, after I get back from Guizhou, I'm going to Beijing. Do you want to come with me?"

"No, no, I'm not going. If I go, Old Zhang will scold me. I only managed to escape by selling him out."

"Then you deserve it. If you don't like it, then step down."

Emperor Jingtai was silent for a moment, then pointed to the door and said, "Then go and call my son here."

Xia Lin thought for a moment and then waved his hand: "I can't handle it. It's one thing for the old emperor to waste his days here, but what kind of mess would it be if the new emperor came here too?"

"Let's move the capital, okay? Let's move the capital," Emperor Jingtai said, his mind racing. "Then you can rightfully become emperor."

"Whether or not one is emperor is not important; what is important is that there is no emperor."

(End of this chapter)