Young Master Gao? Call me Little Grand Secretary!

This has blown up!

For Gao Zhao, beating and killing people were not big deals.

It's simply that the methods were too extreme, the young people were not mature enough, and they were not calm enough when doing things. Their approach is questionable.

But if they find out this much money, then it's a different story!

After a thorough inventory, it amounted to a staggering 500,000 strings of cash!

This isn't printed on paper; it's genuine, cast in bronze!

This is a huge sum of money for anyone!

After Yang Zhi finished tallying up the amount, Gao Zhao's first reaction was that the matter was too big and he couldn't handle it!

He ordered the money to be sealed away overnight and the imperial guards to keep a close watch on it. He worked all night and, without taking a break, rushed to the palace at daybreak.

His position as a palace gatekeeper allowed him unimpeded access to the palace. Upon seeing Zhao Ji, he exclaimed, "Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! Last night, 400,000 strings of counterfeit money were discovered!"

"Clang!"

When Emperor Huizong of Tang heard the number, his hand trembled slightly, and the bowls and plates made a crisp clinking sound.

"How much? Four hundred thousand strings of cash? Is there any stolen goods?"

Gao Zhao hurriedly stepped forward and handed the confiscated copper coins to a nearby eunuch, who then presented them to the emperor.

Zhao Ji took the copper coin and examined it carefully, his expression somewhat suspicious. He then beckoned to a nearby eunuch to bring over a few more copper coins for comparison. After examining them, he looked at Gao Zhao with surprise: "Aren't these the same?"

Gao Zhao hurriedly said, "This is precisely what makes these treacherous villains so despicable! They've managed to pass off a fake as the real thing, Your Majesty!"

Zhao Ji glanced at him, then looked down at the copper coins in his hand. After a moment's hesitation, he handed the coins to the eunuch beside him and instructed, "Take this to the Imperial Household Department and let them take a look!"

The eunuch took the copper coin, acknowledged it, and left.

Emperor Huizong then turned to Gao Zhao, nodded slightly, and said, "Tell me how you did it?"

Upon hearing this, Gao Zhao immediately perked up!

"Your Majesty, this is due to Your Majesty's divine protection, the effective command of the Privy Council and the Palace Guard, and the valiant fighting of the soldiers..."

"Alright, alright, enough with the platitudes!" Zhao Ji waved his hand impatiently, interrupting him, and frowned, saying, "Just tell me how you did it!"

Gao Zhao immediately shut up, his face full of admiration for Zhao Ji's criticism. "Your Majesty is indeed wise and powerful. You actually know that those people are all useless. The one who really played the key role was me!"

"Your Majesty is wise. After receiving Your Majesty's decree, I first summoned all the generals to carry out the spirit of Your Majesty's decree..."

"Get to the point!" Zhao Ji raised his voice and slammed his finger on the table, making a loud bang!

Gao Zhao was immediately displeased. The tyrannical emperor had repeatedly interrupted him, which was extremely disrespectful!

Haven't you read Mencius?

When a ruler treats his subjects like his own hands and feet, the subjects will treat the ruler like their own heart and soul; when a ruler treats his subjects like dogs and horses, the subjects will treat the ruler like a fellow countryman; when a ruler treats his subjects like dirt and weeds, the subjects will treat the ruler like an enemy!

Although Emperor Huizong was impatient, Gao Zhao was not one to fawn over others!

"I humbly believe that Your Majesty's words are biased!" Gao Zhao retorted solemnly and righteously, "Without Your Majesty's determination to suppress the bandits, I, being young and lacking in virtue, would not have been able to command the Imperial Guards. Without the Imperial Guards, even if I possessed extraordinary abilities, how could I have uncovered such a huge amount of counterfeit money!"

"Therefore, the Emperor's decree is the key to this trip; if we're talking about priorities, the Emperor is the most important!"

Emperor Huizong put his hand to his forehead, looking helplessly at Gao Zhao's impassioned speech, and remained silent for a long time.

"Do you know that I am not the kind of foolish ruler who delights in flattery!"

Gao Zhao stiffened his neck and argued forcefully: "I am not that kind of sycophantic and treacherous minister!"

Seeing his righteous and awe-inspiring demeanor, Emperor Huizong was both amused and exasperated, and could only wave his hand, saying, "Continue!"

Seeing that the foolish emperor had been impressed by his upright and outspoken remonstrance, Gao Zhao stopped arguing with him and continued, "After studying the spirit of Your Majesty's instructions, everyone is greatly encouraged and expresses that Your Majesty is supremely wise and powerful, and that we should respond to Your Majesty's call to eradicate this malignant tumor of Wuyou Cave, restoring peace to the world and tranquility to the people!"

Emperor Huizong was too lazy to interrupt him, so he just watched his performance quietly.

"Originally, my plan was to send troops directly into Wuyou Cave, slaughter them until heads rolled and blood flowed like rivers, and eliminate the threat forever!"

As Gao Zhao spoke, he observed Zhao Ji's reaction. Seeing that Zhao Ji shook his head slightly, he quickly added:

"However, at this crucial moment, I remembered that His Majesty had also requested the assistance of Kaifeng Prefecture. Although I do not know why His Majesty did this, I believe there must be a reason. Therefore, I invited the people from Kaifeng Prefecture over..."

At this point, Gao Zhao's expression turned solemn, and he said in a deep voice, "It was only because of the intervention of Kaifeng Prefecture that I realized that Wuyou Cave was not as simple as I had imagined. Not only do they bully others and commit crimes on a daily basis, but they also have all sorts of shady dealings, such as selling stolen goods for criminals, trafficking people, and hoarding counterfeit money!"

When Zhao Ji saw that he had finally gotten to the point, he sat up straight and listened attentively.

"After careful consideration, my first move was to test the waters by sending troops to attack their open businesses to gauge their reaction. But Your Majesty, do you know what the result was?"

Gao Zhao's words piqued Zhao Ji's interest, but instead of keeping him in suspense, he said directly, "As a result, our men came up empty-handed; the enemy was prepared and had moved out beforehand!"

Zhao Ji frowned and said, "Oh, so the news leaked?"

Gao Zhao affirmed, "Your Majesty is wise! Indeed, someone tipped us off."

Emperor Huizong's face darkened. His own people were colluding with lawless elements and defying his orders—this was intolerable! He asked in a deep voice, "And how did you deal with it?"

"I will turn the tables on them. I will continue to send men to burn down the properties of Wuyou Cave to distract them. Then I will lead a surprise attack on Rainbow Bridge Wharf to force them to reveal information about Wuyou Cave!"

Gao Zhao, gesturing with a feather fan and a silk turban, began to explain: "The Wuyou Cave's human trafficking operations inevitably involve the Rainbow Bridge Wharf; their people couldn't possibly be unaware of this!"

"So that's how you found out about this counterfeit money?"

"This is an unexpected windfall. However, due to the sheer size of the sum, I dare not keep it to myself and have come to report to Your Majesty. As for the next steps, that is up to Your Majesty to decide!"

Zhao Ji nodded slightly, about to speak, when the eunuch rushed back, presenting the money and saying, "The Imperial Household Department has checked; the money sent from the Gaoge Gate is indeed counterfeit!"

"Oh?" Zhao Ji's face darkened. He took the bag and examined it closely, asking in confusion, "How did you figure that out? What's the difference?"

The eunuch stammered, "The Minister of the Imperial Household said... the fake patterns... are more refined..."

Zhao Ji: "..."

Upon hearing this, Gao Zhao exclaimed in shock, "The imperial court's anti-counterfeiting measures are truly remarkable! It's easy to make exquisite money, but difficult to make shoddy..."

"Shut up!" Zhao Ji snapped irritably. I need your praise!

He took the money and looked at it again, then waved the eunuch away. He beckoned Gao Zhao to his side and asked in a low voice, "What do you think should be done with these 400,000 strings of cash?"

Upon hearing the implied meaning in the music, Gao Zhao immediately feigned alarm and said, "With so much money, how could I possibly know what to do! It is precisely because I feel I have gotten myself into serious trouble and am filled with anxiety that I have come to Your Majesty for help!"

Emperor Huizong patted Gao Zhao on the shoulder with a look of relief and said, "It's alright, just bring me the money, and I'll take this hot potato for you!"