Our family has been rebelling for generations, and you've become the top scholar in the imperia

Annual gift?

What opinion could Qin Feng possibly have? If this thing is given for one year, it will need to be given for countless years to come, and the amount will increase year by year.

This is inevitable.

If you don't give them money, or give them too little, even if they don't want to hunt wild boars, they'll still try to hunt them on a small scale for the sake of money.

"We've been giving it to the Great Zhou for so many years, what other choice do we have? The entire court wouldn't agree to it, so this silver must be given."

Qin Feng spread his hands, indicating that he had no choice.

Not to mention him, even Zhou Zhengde couldn't possibly stand against the entire civil official group. When it came to the matter of the annual tribute, he wasn't just facing the Nanlin Party, but the entire civil official group in the court.

These people would rather the imperial court lose money to appease the wild boars than have military generals take power.

"Our family... is going back like this? Lord Qin, you can't say that, Your Majesty..."

Grandpa Miao's lips twitched; he really didn't know how to respond to Qin Feng's answer.

Just say you'll give me money?

The emperor would be furious. What difference would there be between him and those civil officials in the court?

The current situation is that the civil officials collectively have to give money to appease the wild boar.

As for the military officers, they were not given any money, and if Wild Boar Skin dared to cause trouble, troops would be dispatched directly.

"Of course you can't say that, Eunuch Miao. You can't just say that casually to your own people, can you?"

Qin Feng grinned.

He simply put his arm around the old eunuch and got into the carriage.

"Please go back and tell the Emperor that the silver will still be given, 100,000 taels it is!"

"this……"

"Don't worry, sir. I'll find a way to get the silver back. That way, the court will give the silver, but the grasslands won't receive it, so it won't be our problem."

Grandpa Miao stared at Qin Feng with his mouth slightly agape, unable to believe his eyes.

"Are you confident?"

"have!"

Qin Feng nodded.

He was not only confident, but according to his understanding, after receiving the annual gift, the wild boar skin would still stay in the capital for a few days, and only after he had had enough fun would he set off back to the grassland.

There's simply not enough time to start setting up the scheme now and then take the money away.

Moreover, none of the wild boars were literate, and their reckless nature made them easy prey.

"Then we'll go back and report to the Emperor. That's good. It will both shut up the civil officials and prevent the grasslands from receiving their annual stipends."

Grandpa Miao patted Qin Feng on the shoulder heavily.

He said earnestly:

"However, you still need to be careful of the civil officials tomorrow, as many people will surely use today's incident to impeach you."

"clear."

Qin Feng nodded.

It's normal to criticize him; the real worry is that the other party won't criticize him back.

It's just exposing dirt on someone, right?

He has a lot of dirt on him now. If the other party dares to expose it, he dares to expose it too. Besides, what's the big deal about beating up a wild boar?

"Then we can rest assured!"

Seeing Qin Feng's determination, Eunuch Miao breathed a slight sigh of relief.

That afternoon.

Inside the courtyard of Xifang.

Qiu Tuizi and his group sat in the courtyard, listening to Qin Feng's instructions.

"How are you doing at the inn?"

"Reporting to you, sir, the doctor examined the patient and found nothing wrong. However, quite a few things were smashed, and now they've ordered a lot of food and are drinking."

Cao Liang sat up straight and replied.

"Then it's nothing serious. They're probably thinking of letting the Emperor decide during court. You don't need to worry about this matter, but..."

Speaking of it.

Qin Fengcun's enemy beckoned with his finger.

"These next few days, have someone set up a gambling den in the West Ward. Find a way to lure wild boar hide into the gambling den and make them lose hundreds of taels of silver to you every day, and keep losing."

The others were taken aback, their expressions turning strange.

A setup?

They were all people who frequented the market year-round, especially Qiu Tuizi, who naturally knew very well what Lord Qin wanted to do.

"I will tell you when to close the net. Remember... don't give anything away. Make them think it's just good luck, that they keep winning money, a cycle of wins and losses... do you understand what I mean?"

"Don't worry, sir!"

Qiu Tuizi nodded hurriedly.

"The Black Tiger Gang used to run gambling dens. I know the ins and outs of this place very well. I'll make sure they don't notice anything amiss, and I'll get those shrews used to rolling over their money all at once."

"That's fine!"

After thinking it over for a long time, Qin Feng felt that the gambling den was the most reliable method. If he used prostitutes, the chances of being exposed would be very high, and besides, the girls would have to serve these wild boar hides.

Women have a very low social status on the grasslands.

It was even so low that it was incomprehensible.

They don't even buy ordinary goods. It's common for a son to inherit his father's woman after his father dies, let alone his brother's woman.

Qin Feng had also heard from some merchants that when the border trade opened, groups of women from the grasslands would set up tents near the trade market and let people in for free...

It's absolutely astonishing.

"Have you prepared all the dirt on me? Where's the notebook? Give it to me in a bit."

"My lord, they are all here. Most of the officials in the court are here."

Cao Liang stood up, took out a booklet he had copied from the garrison, and handed it over.

The garrison supervised all officials, including their families and relatives. With so many people, how could there not be some problems?

However, these were all minor mistakes and not very useful to the health station; they could only be registered.

"Good, it's written very clearly!"

Qin Feng flipped through the pages and smiled with satisfaction.

Shouldn't we impeach him at court tomorrow?

come!

They're hurting each other!

He only beat up the wild boar skin; he didn't do anything else. The family members of these officials and the servants in the mansion have a lot of evidence against them.

"You garrison officers, keep a close eye on the Xishan coal mine lately, especially on transportation issues. Arrange for craftsmen to start laying the wooden rails as soon as possible. If you don't have enough silver, come to me for more. You must be fair in dealing with any issues the workers have."

"Understood, sir!"

Cao Liang bowed and accepted the order.

"Get to work on the wild boar skin here as soon as possible, the sooner the better. Make them happy. If this is done well, the Ministry of Works will hire some managers in the future, and we'll give you a few positions, Chou Tuizi."

Upon hearing this...

Qiu Tuizi hurriedly knelt on the ground, his eyes welling up with tears.

Although the person in charge of the Ministry of Works was not an official, they still worked for the imperial court. In a flash, they became someone who served the imperial court.

He used to be a scoundrel, someone who had to bow and scrape before even the head constables of the yamen.

did not expect.

Will I have the opportunity to become a member of the imperial court in the future?

Should people also respectfully address him as Manager Qiu?

"Master Xie, rest assured, I will make the arrangements tonight. There will be absolutely no mistakes. The people running the gambling den are all new faces, so I guarantee there will be no problems."

"Well, all of you do your jobs well. The higher my rank becomes in the future, the more positions I will naturally arrange for you. If I become the Prefect of Jingzhao Prefecture, you will all be able to enter the yamen to perform your duties."

Qin Feng waved his hand, offering a pie in the sky for everyone.

The people from Daliu Village haven't arrived yet, but these men under my command are the original core group. A good man needs three helpers, so they should get the benefits they deserve.

Only in this way can it last.

……

That evening.

Inside the Xifang Inn.

Just as the wild boar skins were about to go to sleep, the waiter knocked on the door and came in, placing some snacks and drinks on the table.

"What is this?"

"Gentlemen, these are gambling vouchers from the gambling den in the alley, as are the food. They're given out to attract customers. You can use these vouchers to play without paying any money; they're equivalent to real money."

Upon hearing this...

The sight of numerous wild boar hides in the room caught my eye.