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

Chapter 92: Your compensation has arrived

As I said before, grain itself is not valuable, but the key is that it is transported here from all over the country. The costs of vehicles, ships, losses, labor, storage, etc. are so high that if you buy 10,000 taels of grain, these miscellaneous expenses may be as high as 100,000 taels.

This is really not an exaggeration. This is why food from different places generally does not travel far. The sunk costs involved are too great. But as the saying goes, when food can be bought, it is called food, and when it cannot be bought, it is called life.

Under the overwhelming public opinion, Gao Shilian had to start investigating the grain issue. In fact, there was no need for any investigation. It just depended on how many families sent people to settle the matter and then check it up to find out the truth.

"Confused! Confused!"

Gao Shilian pointed at the ministers of the three ministries and scolded them. He even patted the belly of the Minister of Revenue Fang Jin and said, "The salary from the court can't feed you, and neither can the property of your family? For some thankless food, you do this kind of thing, and you do it under the nose of that old mad dog. You have been officials for decades, but you have become a dog!"

Those ministers, who were also important officials in the court, lowered their heads and dared not speak. In fact, this was not their intention. In fact, it was mainly because this kind of thing had been going on for a long time. It has always been considered lost if you don't pick it up when you go out. No matter how small a mosquito is, it is still meat.

When they encountered the subordinates, they handled it. They were experienced and had rules to follow. But unfortunately it made such a big fuss this time. A few years ago, 10 million kilograms of goods were taken from the Jiangbei warehouse, and it was nothing more than a fire. There was no trace of the matter after it was burned down.

But now...how come I bumped into something as hard as my head?

"You're still blaming others! I've told you not to provoke that old mad dog. He's standing there waiting to chop you down. But you, ha... sent that dog's head to be killed. This matter is not a small matter. Go back and discuss who to push out to die. You're not any better off. You're definitely not going to keep your position as Shangshu. You should be demoted to another place and wait for your appointment."

"Thank you, Prime Minister Gao."

"Thank me? You guys are almost killing me!"

In less than half a month, the results of the investigation came out. This efficiency was unprecedented in the entire Wei Dynasty. The Minister of War Yang Zhiwen was transferred to the Governor of Youzhou and fined three years' salary for failing to discipline his subordinates and dereliction of duty. The Minister of Revenue Fang Jin was transferred to the Governor of Haizhou and fined three years' salary. The Minister of the Supreme Court Chen Jiuqing knew the law but broke it and was dismissed from his post and stationed at the imperial tomb to serve as a warning to others.

This is still the bulk of the cases. As for those who were implicated by them, fifteen people were killed, seventy-three were dismissed from their posts, and the number of people sent to prison, including the merchants who colluded with them, totaled more than a hundred people.

Not to mention that these three are the core of the core in Gao Shilian's camp. This large-scale sweep really cut off Gao Shilian's left and right arms. Only one of the new ministers is close to Prime Minister Gao, and he is not even a die-hard fan. The remaining two are the kind of blockheads who had no reputation before and just worked hard.

It's finally okay now. The knife cut the aorta. The bleeding has stopped but the person is still very weak. In order to quell public grievances, everything here has to be made public.

What's more crucial is that His Majesty ordered them to return the grain. There were no account books, no middlemen, and the only person who knew about the situation committed suicide. The amount of grain was just a number reported by others. Gao Shilian really had to hold his nose and mobilize all the grain merchants in his faction to squeeze out 7 million kilograms of grain without using the government warehouses.

In order to commend Lao Guo for his dedication to the people's livelihood, His Majesty awarded him two million kilograms of grain from the government warehouse in addition to the compensation. In total, they earned nearly nine million kilograms of grain.

Xia Lin hadn't come out yet, but every day someone would come to the county government office in Poyang County and beat drums and curse the officials, saying that they were framing loyal officials and so on, which made Xia Lin unable to sleep.

There were a constant stream of vehicles and ships transporting grain outside. Xia Lin refused to leave the grain outside at this moment. He would only feel at ease if he sent the grain to Fuliang even if it meant losing money.

Old Guo, who had been commended, now had a reputation that had almost reached its peak outside. He walked with a breeze these days, and he liked Xia Lin more and more. When he came over, he called her "good boy" and when he walked over, he called her "big boy". He really didn't treat Xia Lin as an outsider.

"It's almost time. If we push too hard, Gao Shilian might counterattack. We should drop the case here, sir." The jailer Ma Zhou came from outside and said to Xia Lin outside the cage, "The right way is to relax and tighten the belt in moderation. If there is a war, the Wei Dynasty will be torn apart in an instant. You should know that the father and son of the Northwest Li family are not good people."

"Well, it's almost time. I'll tell my father Guo in person when he comes."

"Your father is here!" Old Guo walked in cheerfully and said, "Just now I heard you say wait for me to come over, so here I am."

Xia Lin laughed and leaned on the railing: "Dad Guo, our position is almost over and we have reaped all the benefits. I have to go back to farm. I have become a gigolo after not seeing the sun for so many days."

"Okay, I'll listen to you." Lao Guo suddenly lowered his voice: "That old bastard Si Nan hasn't come back from the capital yet. When you get out, find a chance to meet his daughter. When the little thing heard that you were locked up, she cried so hard, but the old bastard is so cruel. He really doesn't let the child come to see you."

"It's right not to let them." Xia Lin nodded and said, "It won't be a good thing if someone with ulterior motives sees it."

"Okay, you young people can handle your own affairs. I have to go back to the provincial capital. I will go to Fuliang again in half a year. I want to see what fruits and vegetables you little bastard can grow."

Xia Lin bowed deeply.

After leaving, Xia Lin went to see the little princess who had returned to Donglin Temple. It would have been fine if they hadn't met, but once they met, the little princess was extremely clingy. Although Xia Lin wasn't really a lolita control, every time he saw the little princess's eyes, he couldn't say anything harsh. "Okay, okay. I should go back. You stay here and rest assured. If I'm free in the next few days, I'll come to play with you in person. If I'm not free, I'll ask someone to bring you some good food and fun things."

"You always lie to me." The little princess hugged Xia Lin's waist with both hands: "Is it because I am not as pretty as the young lady from the Tang family that you like her more? I just knew..."

"Oh... why are you saying these weird things, kid? I have to leave now. The train waits for no one, and I have soup stewing on the stove."

"Ah?" The little princess raised her head and looked at Xia Lin: "What are you talking about?"

"That's just...nonsense." Xia Lin smiled dryly: "Okay, okay, there are people waiting for me outside."

The little princess looked back and saw Ma Zhou, who was wearing a yamen runner's uniform, looking at her. She quickly loosened her hands, smiled at Ma Zhou with a blushing face, and Ma Zhou also quickly bowed.

"Then go ahead. Remember to find time to come and see me. I will miss you. If I can't see you, I will miss you all the time. If I miss you too much, my heart will break. If my heart breaks, I will die."

"Okay, I know, I won't let you die."

"That's good." The little princess glanced at Ma Zhou and whispered to Xia Lin, "When I turn sixteen, I will secretly come to find you, and then we..."

"Okay, stop talking. Don't learn those weird things from Qiu He at such a young age." Xia Lin pinched the little princess' mouth: "If your second brother hears, he will cook me to medium rare tonight."

The little princess just giggled and said softly, "It's a deal."

Xia Lin ran away quickly. He paid little attention to the little princess, and he didn't know how she had changed from being ignorant to having her mind full of "I want to tell you something" in the past two years. Oh...it would be disastrous if this continued in the future.

Sitting in the cabin, Xia Lin finally had the opportunity to have a good chat with Ma Zhou. Xia Lin said, "Come to think of it, you are quite perceptive about the world situation."

"I'm just applying what I've learned. How can I compare to you, sir? Your talent is so great that I can't learn it all in my lifetime."

Xia Lin waved his hands quickly: "No, no, don't try to flatter me."

"I'm not flattering you. I've seen you making plans in the cage these days. I just realized what it means to make plans and win a battle thousands of miles away. You're a seventh-rank official who can get along with everyone and make the prime minister retreat without making a sound. Isn't that a skill?"

"What kind of ability is this? People are afraid of you because you are a prince. What am I?"

"But if it weren't for you, sir, what would happen to Lord Guo or the prince? Gao Shilian is not a mediocre person, but I don't think he can even muster the heart to resist this time."

"The public opinion and the surging young people can overturn the mountain. They want to give an explanation. If they can't give an explanation, they can just give up these old dogs. Besides, His Majesty is actually on our side."

"You see, this is your lord's conspiracy. You can bring these unrelated people together to come up with a conspiracy that Gao Shilian and even the entire court cannot resist."

"Hey... stop praising me, stop praising me." Xia Lin waved his hands in embarrassment, his face flushed. "Oh... I'm so sorry."

But Xia Lin did a really great job this time, and of course there is one person who deserves special praise.

This idiot Lao Zhang... Oh, even though he is not around, he still has the accurate grasp of timing like his brothers. Every point hits the weak spot of the gentry, making them unable to exert any strength. He grasps the balance between carelessness and political correctness just right. The key is that he himself has earned the reputation of a clean and brave warrior.

Lao Zhang, Lao Zhang, he is worthy of being the number one talent in Luoyang back then. Although he looks like a scabby boy with a foul mouth, he never disappoints people at critical moments. It's a pity that he is not in the officialdom, otherwise, BYD Lao Zhang might be promoted faster than Xia Lin.

Because the imperial court gave a satisfactory answer to this matter, everyone quickly dispersed, but the book "A Single Spark Can Start a Prairie Fire" had already spread on the market. At this time, the major families truly realized how terrifying this thing was, and a war of ideas was about to begin.

But Xia Lin didn't care about thoughts. He knew that after this, his ink accessories and other things would make a fortune...

(End of this chapter)