Chapter 268: Public dissatisfaction is rampant and it is not our fault!
The moon and stars are sparse.
The bright moonlight filled the earth, covering it with a layer of silver gauze.
Under such a dark night, many people have no sleep.
After Zhou Ziliang and others left the banquet, they did not go home directly. Instead, they went to the government office. There were not many people with them, only Wang Xuanfan and Lin Shijia. The three of them found a place to sit down. , and asked the clerk outside to prepare some tea.
Zhou Ziliang was silent for a long time and suddenly said: "Xia Zhibai's coming is not good!"
Wang Xuanfan and Lin Shijia looked at each other and nodded in unison. Wang Xuanfan said: "I can't see through this person either. According to the information gathered from all parties, he does not seem to be a smooth person, but he is not so stupid that he does not appreciate my kindness at all. "
"He even spoke harshly to me."
"It's really unimaginable that such an unscrupulous person is actually a great scholar of our court."
"Haha."
Wang Xuanfan lowered his head and stretched out his fingers to brush off the dust on his clothes. His eyes were a little cold, a little impatient and uneasy.
They have made a lot of concessions.
The purpose is to allow myself to pick it out and not be disturbed by this salt politics.
They thought they had given Xia Zhibai face and enough respect, and their words were full of humility. Such a gesture would be unmatched by any Chief Secretary in the Ming Dynasty. Could do it, but that's what they did.
However, it was beyond their expectations.
Xia Zhibai didn't seem to notice it at all and ignored it completely. With a few words, he strangled their thoughts to death.
This made everything they had worked so hard to plan come to an end.
Lin Shijia said in a deep voice: "Now that the matter has come to this, there is no point in worrying about Xia Zhibai anymore. He is obviously using chicken feathers as arrows, and is preparing to rely on His Majesty's banner to put pressure on us and force us to do so. We have no choice but to obey his orders and push forward his self-righteous salt policy reform.”
“This kind of person will accept the hard and not the soft!”
“We were indeed calculating before. Wrong.”
"The top priority is to think about how to fool Xia Zhibai."
Zhou Ziliang rolled up his sleeves, put his palms on the armrests of the chair, leaned back slightly, leaned on the back of the chair, and said coldly: " Since Xia Zhibai doesn't want to eat soft food, let him eat hard food. But we can't do it and let the Salt Transportation Department and the local salt factory handle it. I would like to see how the conference he wants to host finally goes. There are only officials and not many merchants, so he can't stand it."
"How dare he call himself your Majesty's imperial envoy again?"
Zhou Ziliang sneered, his eyes filled with tears. Sarcasm and disdain.
The Chief Secretary and others have decided long ago that they will not take the initiative to come forward, let alone provoke Xia Zhibai.
After contacting Xia Zhibai, this idea became even more firm.
Xia Zhibai is a mad dog.
Being targeted by this kind of person is asking for trouble.
How could they stick their heads out, and the Jin Yiwei is at their side? They really don’t have the confidence to do small things under the eyes of the Jin Yiwei. Today, His Majesty may be able to tolerate some petty officials and petty officials, but We will never tolerate such high-ranking border officials making any noise, especially when the imperial envoy is around.
They are very afraid of His Majesty.
Even visceral fear.
Lin Shijia nodded.
He picked up the tea next to him and blew a few sips of it, blowing out a light white air.
After taking a few sips, Lin Shijia said slowly: "As the saying goes, too many words will lead to mistakes, and too many deeds will lead to mistakes. We have been in contact with Xia Zhibai, and we have some understanding of him, or We should continue to implement the original idea and not contact Xia Zhibai directly, but cooperate fully."
"Let Xia Zhibai be responsible for the follow-up matters."
"We are only responsible for passing on the message."
Wang Xuanfan frowned slightly and said in a serious voice: "What I'm worried about now is not that Xia Zhibai will see something, but that Xia Zhibai will really lose his head and put him in trouble. Those salt merchants who didn't come were all suppressed. I felt that he came prepared."
"Other imperial envoys went south, bringing with them mostly capable helpers."
"Taxia. Who are the people Zhibai brings? They are all engineers, which clearly means taking over."
"If Xia Zhibai really does this, what will we do then?"
"And."
Wang Xuanfan paused, put the teacup on the table, and said solemnly: "Very early on, news came back from Yingtian Mansion that Xia Zhibai intends to streamline the salt factories in the south. He is also determined to move a large number of kitchen households from the south to the north. If he insists on forcing it, I am afraid that we will become very passive."
Zhou Ziliang was silent.
A trace of sadness flashed across his brows, and then relaxed.
Zhou Ziliang said coldly: "If he really dares to do this, then just come and try it. Then we will have a reason to take the initiative. As local officials, we should guard the rule. People, this is Xia Zhibai’s unreasonable behavior.”
"And the people behind these salt merchants are not as afraid as we are."
"Their power is very powerful."
"The interests behind the salt factory are even more astonishing."
“It’s not that easy for Xia Zhibai to take over. If he really wants to fight, just go ahead and see what the outcome will be. If he can really defeat those meritorious groups, it will be better. It helps us, at least it removes a lot of constraints for us in governing the place."
Wang Xuanfan and Lin Shijia both smiled.
They are indeed local officials, but they cannot be said to be the same in the local area, because there are too many meritorious nobles in the south. These people are arrogant and domineering and have done a lot of evil things. Relying on their achievements in founding the country and serving the dragon, they are very The Major General took the Chief Secretary officials seriously.
They have also been dissatisfied for a long time.
More importantly.
These people have great appetites, even greedy. There are many illegal things. Sometimes, by being close to His Majesty, they put pressure on them and force them to open the door of convenience. Although they also have their own interests involved, it can only be regarded as a kind of compromise and being forced to do so. Coerced.
Zhou Ziliang's smile faded and he said in a deep voice: "Don't take it lightly."
"I always feel it's not that simple."
"Be more cautious in daily life."
"Mo You have to catch the pain for Jin Yiwei and have less contact with local officials. Before Xia Zhibai leaves, try to keep a low profile and leave everything to the people below. At the same time, remember to keep yourself busy so that you have no intention of doing it.' Ask about the affairs of Yanzheng.”
“We must show our attitude!”
Wang Xuanfan and Lin Shijia nodded repeatedly.
How can they be careless when it comes to their own wealth and life?
Zhou Ziliang stood up, with his hands behind his back. He didn’t know what he was thinking in his mind. After a long time, he said in a concentrated voice: "Now that the imperial envoy has arrived, he will take over these things starting from tomorrow. You must always remember One thing, this matter has nothing to do with me. We have no right or responsibility to get involved."
"If there is a problem, it can only be the problem of the Salt Transportation Department."
" Or it’s about those salt merchants!”
"Show your stance proactively and do things perfunctorily." Zhou Ziliang reminded him again.
Finished.
Zhou Ziliang glanced at the sky and left in a hurry.
Wang Xuanfan and Lin Shijia looked at each other, sighed, and said, "I originally thought that Xia Zhibai would be fooled, but in the end, I don't know whether this person is stupid or just stupid, so he jumped out directly. This makes us A little passive."
"Do you think he will hand over what we said at that time?" Lin Shijia said.
Wang Xuanfan sneered and said disdainfully: "What's wrong with what we said at the banquet? It's just that we have different positions. He is from the perspective of the court, while we are more from the perspective of local stability. Although we have a certain tendency, we can't always Convicted because of words?”
“I don’t believe he dares to do this.”
“Besides, the court sent him to solve the problem, not to blame it on the superiors.”
“Otherwise, why would you want him here?”
“I don’t believe that Xia Zhibai is really that stupid. He can’t even see this point clearly? He won’t record the so-called ‘documentary’ 'Hand it in. ”
Wang Xuanfan is sure.
He has been an official for so long and has never heard of such a thing.
Lin Shijia nodded, feeling relieved in his heart. He was really afraid that Xia Zhibai would hand it over, which would make them even more uncomfortable, because his every word and deed would most likely be reported to them. Isn’t this right? Being indirectly monitored by the imperial court?
As a local official, I don’t want to be so controlled.
Wang Xuanfan hesitated for a moment and then ordered: "Tomorrow, go sort out the situation of Zaohu households, give the Zhejiang Chief Secretary's past Zaohu household information to Xia Zhibai, and also focus on describing what we are trying to do to calm down Efforts made by public complaints.”
"It is not our fault that public dissatisfaction has spread."
"The fault lies with the people below!"
Lin Shijia nodded with a smile, her eyes a little sly, and said: "Don't worry, I know what to do. I know how to do it."
Wang Xuanfan nodded.
He did not doubt what Lin Shijia said.
With experience as Chief Secretary, Lin Shijia is very skilled in handling these matters.
The only thing that is a bit troublesome is Lin Shijia’s family members, who have contacts with many nobles in the city.
But the fire was burning to his eyebrows. He believed that Lin Shijia knew the importance and would not drag himself into the water.
The two said a few more words and then left.
The other side.
Xia Zhibai returned to the arranged residence.
This is a small and quiet courtyard. The courtyard is very quiet and there is a pool in the courtyard.
Under the moonlight, it gave off a faint glow, peaceful and quiet. Xia Zhibai stood alone by the pool, thinking about something. After a long time, he came back to his senses. He turned around and looked up. He glanced at the moonlight and quickly looked back.
“Lü Cang has been here for a while, and I don’t know how well he has collected the information he was asked to collect.”
“Let’s call him back sometime.”
"It's just not possible right now."
said.
A faint smile appeared at the corner of Xia Zhibai's mouth, with a bit of teasing and ridicule, and said: "I'm afraid that the thoughts of the officials in Zhejiang are all focused on me, thinking about how to fool the matter. , but how do you know that I originally intended to skip the local government and contact the people directly?"
"Your plan is destined to fail."
"It's just."
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"Is the information provided by Yuan Gong really true?"
Xia Zhibai frowned, thought for a while, but chose to believe it, then turned and returned to the wing.
It’s late at night.
After days of traveling and traveling, he was really tired.
As soon as I touched the quilt, I fell asleep quickly.
(End of this chapter)