Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 201 The lion opens its mouth

At noon, Zhao Yuming warmly invited Lu Zheng to stay as a guest and set up a sumptuous banquet.

During the meal, Zhao Yuming no longer mentioned the government decrees.

He knew Lu Zheng's character, and the advice he gave would definitely be fighting and killing.

Then he turned to telling some interesting stories to ease the atmosphere.

Among them, there are many things he encountered in Tai'an City when he was young.

Lu Zheng found this interesting and asked curiously, "County Magistrate Zhao is so familiar with Tai'an, does he know a Taoist named Xu Shou?"

"Xu Shou?" Zhao Yuming was stunned when he heard this. "Daoist, it seems like he didn't hear... Hey, wait!"

Zhao Yuming couldn't help but ask, "Which two words are they?"

Lu Zheng raised his finger and drew two words.

Zhao Yuming glared and said, "Are you talking about Grandmaster Xu? He's the most famous among those with the same name in Tai'an City."

"Grandmaster Xu?" Lu Zhengdao said.

Zhao Yuming whispered, "This is a great figure from the Imperial Observatory. It is said that he has practiced Taoism for a thousand years and was once the emperor's teacher. He is so skilled in divination that he can even predict the future of heaven and earth..."

Lu Zheng blinked and thought to himself, could this be the Taoist he met in the wild before?

Zhao Yuming sounded so impressive, but the Taoist didn't seem to be able to figure out who he was.

Zhao Yuming asked, "Why did Master Lu ask about him?"

"I've heard something about it and I'm curious." Lu Zheng replied.

Zhao Yuming smiled and said, "This man is so elusive that even the powerful people in Tai'an City find it difficult to see Grandmaster Xu. Speaking of which, Tai'an City is full of hidden talents, and powerful figures are as numerous as crucian carp swimming across the river..."

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "After all, it is the capital of a country."

"I've been working away from home for so many years, and it's rare for me to go back for a few days..." Zhao Yuming said, "If I could be transferred back to Tai'an, when Mr. Lu comes to Tai'an, I'll take you on a good tour and let you experience the prosperity of the capital!"

"Okay." Lu Zheng nodded.

Zhao Yuming greeted them cheerfully, "Come on, come on, eat your food, eat your food, don't put down your chopsticks..."

After a satisfying meal and drink, Lu Zheng left the Zhao Mansion without staying any longer.

Zhao Yuming knew that Lu Zheng had something else to do in Hongzhou City, so he didn't want to force him to stay and sent Lu Zheng out.

After Lu Zheng left, Zhao Yuming slowly went back.

He looked at Zhao Ru, who was following him, and said, "This boy has a righteous spirit and is truly a talent. Unfortunately, the officialdom is not an academy, and he is still too young and does not understand the ways of the world..."

"Mr. Lu has done a lot for the people..." Zhao Ru couldn't help but say.

Zhao Yuming said quietly, "Young people are fearless. They've just started out, and they've done some things, but they haven't had time to attract attention yet... If this continues for a long time, it will be a disaster rather than a blessing."

Zhao Ru hesitated to speak, but was unable to refute.

Zhao Yuming shook his head and said, "Oh, right, you just said he gave me a treasure. I just have some free time, so I'll take it out and have a look."

Zhao Ru said, "I had someone put the things in my father's study."

The father and daughter went to the study together.

Zhao Yuming saw a wooden box on the table, reached out to open it, and found a roll of paper inside.

He couldn't help but reach out to unfold the treasure, but as soon as he touched it, he could clearly feel the sadness contained in it.

"Ok?"

Zhao Yuming subconsciously retracted his hand.

"what happened?"

Zhao Ru, who was standing next to her, noticed her father's strange behavior and asked in a low voice.

Zhao Yuming took a deep breath, covered his hands with a layer of literary energy, and then went to take the literary treasure.

When you unfold it, a poem comes into view.

I entered the city yesterday and came back with tears streaming down my face.

Whoever is covered in Luo Qi is not a silkworm breeder.

When Zhao Yuming saw this poem, his eyes felt a little stinging and his lips trembled uncontrollably.

Zhao Ru just took a look and her eyes suddenly widened, and sadness rose in her heart.

Zhao Yuming seemed to have got a hot potato. He quickly rolled up the treasure and put it into the wooden box, closing it tightly.

Zhao Yuming was shocked and his expression was extremely complicated. It took him a while to calm down.

"This son..."

Zhao Yuming opened his mouth, but in the end, nothing came out.

……

In Kaiyang County Government Office, Li Yuan sat in his room reviewing official documents.

"Those monkeys are actually quite practical and willing to work hard..."

Just then, an official came from outside.

"Sir, one of the Tong County Magistrate's staff members has come to see you. They said they have letters from Master Lu and Magistrate Zhao and have something to discuss with you."

"Hmm? Bring people over!" Li Yuan said hurriedly.

Li Yuan became excited when he heard about Lu Zheng's letter.

Soon, the staff came into the room, explained their purpose, and presented two letters to Li Yuan. Li Yuan unfolded the letters, examined them carefully, and then said, "You go down and rest for a while. I'll call someone to discuss things and give you a reply later."

"Okay." The visitor responded quickly.

Then the staff was taken elsewhere to rest.

Li Yuan's eyes flashed, and he asked people to call the county lieutenant and the county magistrate, as well as a confidant at home.

Li Yuan spread out the two letters and talked about what had just happened.

Zhao Yuming's letter was very long, explaining some of the conditions and difficulties in Tong County, and hoped that Li Yuan, as a colleague, could help each other.

Lu Zheng's letter was very brief, simply telling Li Yuan that if he had the spare time, he could help County Magistrate Zhao and, if necessary, he could take some of the benefits.

Li Yuan lowered his voice and said, "Tong County is a wealthy county. If we help suppress those wealthy gentry, we can get a piece of the pie. That's great. What do you think?"

The county magistrate next to him said, "Our Kaiyang County needs to be built, which will cost a lot of money. It is indeed possible...but we are short of manpower, and it is easy to offend many people."

Li Yuan glared and said, "Offending someone? I'll hold up the sky even if it falls! Just think of a way to do it, and as for manpower, go find it! It doesn't matter if it's a human or a ghost, as long as it's useful! At worst, I can go to the state capital to call some people..."

Lu Zheng can even have a say with the eldest princess, so why is he afraid of these things?
The county magistrate couldn't help but ask, "How should the money be divided?"

Li Yuan said leisurely, "It should be at least 20/80, otherwise it would be a waste of effort."

County Magistrate Zhou couldn't help but say, "Sir, isn't 20% a bit too little? This kind of thing is not easy to handle... 20% of the silver, isn't that like begging on your knees?"

Li Yuan glanced at County Lieutenant Zhou and said calmly, "Who said we are only 20%?"

"Ah this..."

Everyone had strange expressions on their faces for a moment. They suddenly felt that their county magistrate was a little unfamiliar, or did they simply not know Li Yuan before?
"Ahem..." The county magistrate touched his nose and whispered, "Sir, isn't 80% a bit exaggerated? Will they agree?"

What do you mean by sharing a piece of the pie? This is simply taking away someone else's pot and leaving only a bowl of soup for them.

Li Yuan said slowly, "I've seen County Magistrate Zhao before. He's a cowardly person... I'm not afraid of that. We're taking such a big risk, shouldn't we get more?"

"Your Excellency is right!"

Everyone agreed, there was no reason to object.

After all, if they really take 80% of the silver, they can at least make some money, right?
Li Yuan said, "You three go and discuss how to allocate some manpower to do the work first... I'll go talk to him."

After saying that, Li Yuan left gracefully to meet Zhao Yuming's staff.

When the staff saw Li Yuan coming in person, they quickly stood up and asked, "Sir, have you reached an agreement?"

Li Yuan was full of confidence and gestured with his hand, saying, "Eighty percent! Apart from the money that will be handed over to the national treasury, I will take eighty percent of the rest. If anything goes wrong, I will be responsible for it!"

"what?"

The visitor didn't expect that Li Yuan would ask for such a huge profit, wanting 80% of the profits.

He said with a grim expression, "I can't make the decision on this matter, and the county magistrate certainly won't agree."

Li Yuan chuckled, "Go back and tell your county magistrate that I have someone above me who can kill those wealthy local gentry and guarantee there won't be any trouble, but I'll pay you a lot... Oh, and by the way, there's a time limit for this, because some of my cases need to be closed and reported. After this period, even if you give me 90% of the silver, I won't be willing to do it. The risk is too great."

Upon hearing this, the visitor couldn't help but ask curiously, "What case is the master handling?"

He did hear that Kaiyang County had recently captured a lot of demons and raided many houses, but outsiders did not know the specific details of the cases.

Li Yuan smiled and said, "The demon case is of great concern to the governors above. Speaking of which, someone from your Tong County might be implicated, but you don't seem to have any clues, so it's difficult to investigate."

The visitor was moved and asked, "Does the lord have any other reply?"

Li Yuan said calmly, "No, I'm still busy building Kaiyang County. If it weren't for Lu Zheng's letter, I wouldn't bother to care about your affairs. Go back and give me a reply within three days."

The visitor thought for a moment, nodded and said, "I'll go back and talk to you, and try to give you an answer as soon as possible."

"Go, go!" Li Yuan waved his hand, looking indifferent.

The visitor left in a hurry and quickly returned to Tong County.

……

"Eighty percent! Why didn't he bring people to rob him?"

When Zhao Yuming heard the reply, he sat up in shock.

I thought Li Yuan would be kindhearted, but he's so evil...

The staff member lowered his head and said, "There's nothing left to rob in our county government office."

"Uh……"

Zhao Yuming's expression froze for a moment, then he slumped down again, frowning. "Eighty percent, no room for negotiation? 50-50 is fine too!"

The staff member said, "Judging from Magistrate Li's expression, I'm afraid he won't agree."

"Forget it, prepare the horses, I will go there myself." Zhao Yuming felt a headache.

The staff member couldn't help but say: "It will be dark if we go there now. Your Excellency should go in the morning."

Zhao Yuming said, "Doesn't this seem sincere?"

"This shows that the adults are very anxious, and the other party will definitely not make concessions." said the staff.

Zhao Yuming's face turned grim. "I'm going there myself tomorrow morning. Doesn't that seem like I'm anxious? Do you think you can get him to make concessions?"

"Well..." the staff member asked quietly, "What percentage do you think is appropriate?"

Zhao Yuming hesitated for a moment, "Twenty percent is too little. Is it enough for our county government expenses? At least forty percent, right? If that doesn't work, thirty-and-a-half percent. No less!"

The staff member said, "If County Magistrate Li can really eliminate those wealthy families, 20% is actually quite a lot..."

Zhao Yuming raised his eyebrows. "Really? Let's talk about it tomorrow. Have a good talk! Strive for at least 35%, understand?"

(End of this chapter)