The prince is more stable

Chapter 919 The Boss of Bianjing
People from different social classes have different perspectives and attitudes toward things.

Zhao Xiaoqian's mind was filled with matters of national importance. In a chessboard called "All Under Heaven," he was the one playing the game, using all things as pieces. With each move, the fate of the world was sealed.

But Zhang Xiaoyi is different; he will never leave the small area of ​​Bianjing Zhouqiao in his entire life.

What might be a catastrophe in Zhang Xiaoyi's eyes was nothing more than an eyesore of dust that could be easily brushed away.

What happened before Zhao Xiaoqian's eyes today was not even a speck of dust.

Zhao Xiaoqian could tell at a glance that the burly man lying on the ground howling in agony was probably a vagrant or hooligan who frequented Bianjing City.

Their so-called grudges with Zhang Xiaoyi were mostly related to fighting for territory and collecting protection money.

It's a bit ridiculous, but these idle hooligans in Bianjing probably didn't know what kind of relationship Zhang Xiaoyi had with the Emperor of the Song Dynasty. Otherwise, these idle hooligans would never dare to bully him like this, and they would wet their pants if they passed by his house.

Of course, Zhang Xiaoyi was also very low-key. His relationship with Zhao Xiaoqian was an open secret. He had never publicized it or mentioned it at all. Otherwise, he wouldn't have gotten beaten up today.

Zhang Xiaoyi remained calm in the face of Zhao Xiaoqian's teasing.

"Being an official... I can't do it. With my personality, if I went into officialdom, I'd be brought down in less than a month, and I might even end up in jail."

"I'll protect you. Who in officialdom would dare to mess with you?"

“If one’s virtue does not match their position, disaster will surely follow. Let’s forget about it.” Zhang Xiaoyi shook his head.

Zhao Xiaoqian sighed. Well, this awful behavior, typical of you.

"Old Zheng, go and fetch a doctor to treat Xiao Yi," Zhao Xiaoqian instructed.

Zhang Xiaoyi struggled to his feet: "No need..."

“You must get treatment, otherwise how can I have the nerve to eat fish at your house?” Zhao Xiaoqian insisted.

Zhang Xiaoyi's arm was still bleeding, not much, but it looked quite frightening.

His wife supported him, her eyes filled with tears and her face full of heartache.

The old woman sat on the threshold of the house, looking quite calm. The dangerous scene just now didn't seem to have frightened her at all.

The dozen or so burly men lying on the ground were ignored by everyone, but were surrounded by Chen Shou and his men. Seeing that the situation was very bad, the men didn't dare to scream.

Zhao Xiaoqian gestured with his chin toward the burly men on the ground and asked, "What's going on today? Do you owe someone money?"

Zhang Xiaoyi said with a wry smile, "Although my family is not rich, we are not so poor that we have to borrow money to make ends meet. They... are outsiders who have just arrived in Bianjing and have their eyes on this place, Zhouqiao. They want to compete with my brothers for food, and that's how the feud started."

Without needing further explanation, Zhao Xiaoqian understood.

In the Song Dynasty, "leisurely man" referred not only to social status but also to a profession.

The profession of "idle man" is roughly equivalent to later-day errand runners, food delivery drivers, tour guides, real estate agents, and pimps.

When Zhao Xiaoqian first met Zhang Xiaoyi, it was Zhang Xiaoyi who took the initiative to run errands for him to buy soup dumplings. Zhao Xiaoqian was impressed by Zhang Xiaoyi's skillful and fluent explanation of business and his meticulous work.

However, although Bianjing is a large city, once there are many people in any industry, fierce competition will arise.

The same applies to the profession of idler.

There are only so many markets and customers, and even idlers have a hard time making ends meet. They earn only one or two orders a day, and the meager earnings are not enough to support themselves. Moreover, with the addition of competition from external forces, life is even more difficult.

What happened today was simple: the idlers from outside formed a force that wanted to squeeze out Zhang Xiaoyi, who represented the local force, and seize the idler market within the Zhouqiao area.

Although Zhang Xiaoyi was just a commoner, he still had some influence in the Zhouqiao area. He was also known for his loyalty, and other idlers respectfully called him "Brother Xiaoyi".

It was already difficult enough for Zhang Xiaoyi to make a living with a group of poor brothers, but now outside forces were even trying to take away their livelihoods. Naturally, Zhang Xiaoyi refused to accept this, and so a grudge was formed. Today, someone came to his door to take revenge.

Even after Zhao Xiaoqian understood the whole story, his expression remained calm.

Calling this kind of thing a "grudge between gangsters" is an insult to the word "gangsters"; it's just street thugs fighting over territory.

Just like the "boss of Causeway Bay," it sounds impressive, but in reality, Brother Hao Nan's territory is just a few shops a hundred meters long on Causeway Bay Street. He collects protection money from each shop one by one. The idol filter is shattered.

"What do you think we should do with these guys?" Zhao Xiaoqian asked, pointing to the burly men pretending to be dead on the ground.

Zhang Xiaoyi glanced at them indifferently and said, "Although they are all poor people trying to make a living, their methods are too dirty. They have done a lot of bullying and bullying these days, and my brothers have been bullied quite badly..."

Zhao Xiaoqian nodded: "Killing them isn't necessary, but if we don't punish them, neither of us will feel at ease..."

After thinking for a moment, Zhao Xiaoqian looked up at Chen Shoudao and said, "Take these goods away and send them to Japan to mine. They can work there for three to five years before coming back."

Zhang Xiaoyi stared at him in astonishment. "We can't just kill people randomly now; laborers are precious."

Zhao Xiaoqian turned to him and explained earnestly, “I recently occupied a piece of land in Japan with several mines, and we are short of miners. By the way, I also want to build a port and shipping company so that these goods can contribute to the construction of the Great Song Dynasty. That would be excellent.”

Zhang Xiaoyi twitched the corner of his mouth and said, "Whatever makes you happy."

As they were talking, the doctor Zheng Chunhe had invited arrived. The doctor examined Zhang Xiaoyi's injuries, applied medicine and bandaged him without saying a word, and then took his pulse for a while to see if he had any internal injuries.

After finishing, the doctor took his leave. Zhang Xiaoyi went back to his room, changed into clean clothes, and gently comforted his mother and wife.

Just then, hurried footsteps sounded outside the door. An official dressed in official robes and wearing a double-winged hat rushed in. Upon seeing Zhao Xiaoqian, the official trembled and his face turned pale. He was about to greet him when Zhao Xiaoqian waved him off.

Zhao Xiaoqian was naturally familiar with the official who entered; he was Lu Changheng, the newly appointed prefect of Kaifeng.

After the new emperor of the Song Dynasty ascended the throne, the court underwent a series of personnel adjustments. These adjustments were not purges, but rather changes in many official positions, with some officials being transferred to local posts or to other departments.

This Lu Changheng was appointed as the prefect of Kaifeng just two months ago. In fact, it can be considered a kind of exchange of interests between Zhao Xiaoqian and Zhang Dun.

When Zhao Xiaoqian established the Censorate, he embarrassed the prime ministers of the Council of State Affairs. The emperor could not always embarrass his ministers, so Zhao Xiaoqian transferred Lu Changheng, who had close ties with Zhang Dun, to be the prefect of Kaifeng.

At this moment, Lu Changheng was covered in sweat. Just now, someone from the palace came and said that the Emperor was being besieged near Zhouqiao. Lu Changheng was so frightened that he almost lost his mind. He hurriedly gathered the constables of Kaifeng Prefecture and ran to the scene of the incident almost scrambling.

Unexpectedly, when they met the emperor, they found him unharmed, with the courtyard filled with imperial guards and more than ten idle men pretending to be dead on the ground.

Lu Changheng finally breathed a sigh of relief, and his complexion returned to normal.

However, Zhao Xiaoqian's tone was not so pleasant. He glanced at Lu Changheng indifferently and said, "Kaifeng Prefecture, this is your jurisdiction. Look at what you've done to it."

Lu Changheng said with a look of fear, "Your subject, Your subject knows his crime."

Zhao Xiaoqian glanced at him again and said, "Never mind, you've only been in office for two months, I won't blame you."

Then he pointed to the idle men pretending to be dead on the ground and said, "Take down these guys, interrogate them, and send them to Japan to mine. Hmm... eradicate their entire force. They're so idle and like to cause trouble for others, why don't they go mine and do something positive?"

"Yes, I obey your order."

Zhao Xiaoqian then pulled Zhang Xiaoyi over and said, "Let's get acquainted. Zhang Xiaoyi is my friend. Kaifeng Prefecture should take good care of him. Have the patrol officers loiter around his house a few times every now and then, so that this family can have a few days of peace."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I understand. I will take care of it immediately."

As Lu Changheng spoke, his gaze toward Zhang Xiaoyi held a mixture of awe and confusion.

Why do the officials' friends look like ordinary people, living in such a dilapidated place?

You're a friend of the current emperor, do you know the true value of this?

If you just say a word to the officials, you can become an official anywhere in the world, while you remain just a commoner...

You really enjoyed your act, but you almost got me killed!

Turning his head to glance at the idle men pretending to be dead on the ground, Lu Changheng immediately found a place to vent his anger.

He waved his hand, ordering the Kaifeng Prefecture constables to take all the idlers away, while Lu Changheng remained bowed before Zhao Xiaoqian.

Zhao Xiaoqian said slowly, "Bianjing is the capital of our Great Song Dynasty. The security of the capital cannot be chaotic. If even the capital is in a state of chaos, I don't know what the other cities of the Great Song Dynasty will be like."

"Your Majesty's lesson is correct. I will begin to rectify the security situation in Bianjing tomorrow."

Zhao Xiaoqian shook his head and said, "There's no need to go to extremes in correcting a wrong. Let Xiao Yi handle it."

Looking at Zhang Xiaoyi, Zhao Xiaoqian said, "I know you like to live a peaceful life, but that's just how infuriating things are. You don't seek out trouble, but trouble comes looking for you, and it almost harmed your mother and wife. Do you understand now?"

Zhang Xiaoyi said with a wry smile, "I've learned a little from this experience."

Zhao Xiaoqian hummed in agreement and said, "Xiao Yi, there are many idlers in Bianjing City making a living, but there are many problems. The government cannot let them get away with it. Sometimes, being a 'city fox' or 'village rat' can be very useful to me."

"Therefore, Kaifeng Prefecture and the Imperial City Guard can assist you. You help me organize all the idlers in Bianjing, establish unified management, set rules, divide the territory in advance, and take into account the interests of all parties. If anyone is dissatisfied, Kaifeng Prefecture and the Imperial City Guard will help you deal with him."

"In short, from now on you'll be the top dog in Bianjing City," Zhao Xiaoqian said with a smile.

Zhang Xiaoyi roughly understood Zhao Xiaoqian's meaning. After a moment of silence, he nodded and said, "Okay, I'll do it."

Zhao Xiaoqian raised an eyebrow: "From now on, your life will be anything but peaceful. Be prepared."

Zhang Xiaoyi shook his head and said, "I will help you anytime you need me."

(End of this chapter)