The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, becoming a disciple of Yue Buqun

Page 470

Jiang Ning asked, "Was this person also involved?"

Li Bo nodded.

"I'm not sure if others were involved, but Huang Maocai was definitely involved, because I've noticed that he's been getting very close to the Vice Prefect recently."

Jiang Ning remained silent upon hearing this, and after a moment asked, "You just said that the Assistant Magistrate invited you again, when was that?"

Li Bo quickly replied, "Just a few hours ago, the Assistant Magistrate invited me to Juyu Pavilion tomorrow."

Juyu Pavilion?

Jiang Ning asked, "How many people are attending this gathering?"

Li Bo quickly shook his head: "I don't know, but I guess there must be quite a few people involved."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ning said, "In that case, you should reply to him and say that you have agreed and will go tomorrow as invited."

"what?"

Li Bo was stunned for a moment.

"I'll go with you tomorrow and see who's there."

Jiang Ning said.

Li Bo then realized what was happening and was shocked, but he didn't dare to delay and quickly said, "Yes, I will do it right away."

Li Bo went out of the room and called the steward to reply to the prefect. The steward was taken aback, not understanding why Li Bo had changed his attitude, but he still nodded and did it.

Li Bo then returned to the house, where Jiang Ning was still present.

"Master Jiang, I have replied as you instructed."

"Ah."

Jiang Ning nodded and said, "I'll stay at your residence for the night. Please don't mind, Mr. Li."

Li Bo quickly shook his head: "No, no, it's my honor."

Jiang Ning got up and left, and Li Bo followed behind, bowing and scraping. He had the best room arranged for Jiang Ning, and only after Jiang Ning entered the room did Li Bo feel relieved and let out a long sigh of relief.

……

Day two.

Juyu Pavilion.

“Your Excellency, we have already bought up all the grain on the market and are now stockpiling it at home, just waiting for your instructions. We will do whatever you tell us to do.”

A middle-aged man with a large belly spoke to a thin middle-aged man sitting in the main seat.

There were several other people in the room at that time.

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man smiled slightly and said to the group, "I am extremely grateful that you all have given me, Yan, face."

"What are you saying, Magistrate?"

One of them said, "If it weren't for the magistrate's compassion in giving us a chance to make money, our families would probably have gone bankrupt by now."

"Yeah yeah."

The others echoed this sentiment.

Yan Tongzhi smiled slightly and said, "I know about what happened before. The prefect wanted you to sell grain to the government for one tael of silver per shi (a unit of dry measure). This price is reasonable under normal circumstances, but now it is during a disaster. The transportation of materials and manpower is different from usual. The prefect has only been in office for a short time and does not understand people's livelihood. He encountered such a situation. It is understandable that he is eager to boost his political achievements, but he also needs to consider the people's feelings. Those disaster victims are people, and you are people too."

Chapter 639: I Want to Report This to the Imperial Court

"What you say is true, Magistrate."

Yan Tongzhi's words were met with a chorus of agreement from the crowd.

“If it weren’t for the magistrate’s concern for us, we would probably have lost everything by now. Logically speaking, since Xi’an Prefecture has suffered a disaster, we should make some contributions and donate some grain. However, the prefectural governor disregards the people’s feelings and insists that we empty our savings and sell our grain at a low price. Isn’t this going to kill us?”

one person said.

Another portly man chimed in, "Mr. Zhang is right."

The others were also talking.

As Yan Tongzhi listened to these people's words, a slight smile appeared on his lips, but he did not say anything.

"Speaking of the Assistant Magistrate..."

Boss Zhang asked, "Didn't Li Bo not want to come before? Why did he suddenly change his mind yesterday?"

Before Yan Tongzhi could speak, the others started to speak.

"Li Bo must not understand. He knows that the opportunity will not come again. It is only because the magistrate is kind-hearted that he is willing to give him a chance."

Yan Tongzhi smiled slightly: "In any case, he and I do have some connections, and besides, he has a chamber of commerce under his command, which we do need to join."

"What the Assistant Magistrate says is absolutely right."

Everyone echoed again.

"Everything is ready now, we just need to wait for the right time, the only problem is that person might suddenly come back..."

At this point, someone couldn't help but say something.

The crowd fell silent.

Everyone knew, of course, who he was referring to.

Seeing that everyone still harbored fear of that person, Yan Tongzhi's smile vanished, and he said, "You don't need to worry about this person. He's currently in Lantian County rescuing those disaster victims. There's no need to worry. Besides, even if he comes to Xi'an Prefecture, so what? He's just a江湖人 (jianghu person, a person from the martial arts world) at best. The imperial court will handle the disaster situation. In Xi'an Prefecture, I, Yan Tongzhi, represent the imperial court."

Yan Tongzhi's words temporarily relieved everyone's worries, and one of them laughed and said, "With Tongzhi's guarantee, of course we have no worries."

"Yeah yeah."

"We will wait patiently for the magistrate's notification."

Everyone complimented.

Only then did Magistrate Yan nod.

Then, as everyone toasted and drank, one of them asked, "Sir, you told everyone to hide the grain and wait for the right time to release it. I wonder when that time will be?"

As soon as this person spoke, the others also quieted down.

They also wanted to know that, having been coerced by the prefects of Jiangning and Xi'an, they had lost a lot of money selling grain for one tael of silver per shi (a unit of dry measure), and now they just wanted to make back their losses as soon as possible and make a huge profit.

Perhaps due to the effects of the alcohol, the slightly tipsy Magistrate Yan said, "The grain supplies in the affected counties are almost insufficient, and we are afraid that they will run out of food in a while. Magistrate Zhao is already trying to raise grain everywhere, but now is not the time. If he can't raise enough grain, the disaster will worsen and more people will die. If the court blames you, then you can release the grain."

Making money from this disaster was not Yan Tongzhi's main goal; his aim was to get rid of the newly arrived Xi'an prefect.

One man raised his cup and laughed, “When the time comes, the court will blame Prefect Zhao, and he will be held responsible. We were arranged by the Assistant Prefect to go to various places to purchase grain and finally returned to alleviate the disaster. The Assistant Prefect will have made great contributions in this disaster. When the Assistant Prefect is appointed as the Prefect of Xi’an again, we will congratulate him.”

"Yes, we congratulate you in advance, sir."

The others also laughed.

Yan Tongzhi smiled slightly.

After a while, someone asked in confusion, "Wasn't Li Bo supposed to be here today? Why hasn't he arrived yet?"

After this person mentioned it, the others also realized it and became puzzled.

"Yes, could it be that something has held him up?"

The portly man said to Yan Tongzhi, "Your Excellency, this Li Bo is ungrateful. Your Excellency has invited him several times, but he has refused each time. Not only did he refuse, but he also broke his promise yesterday. He clearly doesn't respect Your Excellency."

This person is Huang Maocai, the one who is at odds with Li Bo.

At this moment, Prefect Yan frowned. After hearing Huang Maocai's words, he did not reply, but said, "I will send someone to his house to take a look."

"Someone is coming."

Yan Tongzhi called out to the outside, but there was no response from outside the room.

Magistrate Yan frowned and shouted again, "Someone come here!"

There was still no sound.

"Ok?"

The others were also puzzled. One of them asked Huang Maocai, "Boss Huang, what's going on?"

Juyu Pavilion was Huang Maocai's place, and everyone was watching him.

Huang Maocai was also puzzled, and stood up, saying, "Don't worry, Magistrate, I'll go out and take a look."

Huang Maocai walked to the door and opened it. He saw that the waiter outside was lying motionless on the ground, and a man was leaning against a pillar with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

Huang Maocai was shocked when he saw this.

"Who are you? Who are you?"

The commotion attracted the attention of the others inside the house, who all got up and looked in their direction.

Jiang Ning didn't say anything. After Huang Maocai opened the door, he walked straight inside and looked at the other people in the room.

Everyone looked at this uninvited guest with great curiosity.

"When I arrived, I intended to come in, but I happened to hear you talking, so I listened outside for a while."

Before anyone could ask a question, Jiang Ning spoke up.

"I heard everything you said, so I'm too lazy to ask any more questions."

Jiang Ning's words caused everyone's expression to change, and one of them even questioned, "Who exactly are you?"

Jiang Ning did not answer, but glanced at everyone and said, "I had Li Bo warn you last time, but you don't seem to have taken it to heart."

Jiang Ning's words caused everyone's expressions to change even more, and they all looked at Jiang Ning with surprise in their eyes.

"You are... you are..."

One of them looked at Jiang Ning in horror, his lips trembling, unable to utter a word.

Jiang Ning looked at their expressions and said, "It seems you know who I am. Judging from your expressions, you are also afraid of me, but you still want to do this. Why?"

Jiang Ning's voice was calm, but none of them could speak.

Jiang Ning didn't expect to get an answer from them, and looked at one person, namely Yan Tongzhi.

When Yan Tongzhi saw Jiang Ning looking at him, his heart skipped a beat.

"you……"

Before he could finish speaking, Jiang Ning walked towards him.

Yan Tongzhi was startled.

"What are you trying to do? I am a member of the imperial court, you..."

Jiang Ning stood before him, looking down at him.

“You are the Assistant Magistrate of Xi’an Prefecture, and also the people’s benefactor. You should bring benefits to the region, but instead you want to use the disaster to eliminate your political enemies, disregarding the lives of the people. You deserve to die.”

Snapped!

Jiang Ning raised his hand and slapped Yan Tongzhi hard across the face, the force of which was not great, but it still knocked Yan Tongzhi to the ground.

puff!

Yan Tongzhi spat out a few teeth, and his face quickly swelled up.

"you!"

Yan Tongzhi looked at Jiang Ning with a mixture of shock and anger.

"I am a government official, how dare you lay a hand on me?"

Just then, a commotion came from outside, and hurried footsteps sounded as the Prefect of Xi'an entered.

"How is this going?"

The prefect of Xi'an was shocked to see this scene, with Li Bo following behind him.

No one answered him from inside the house.

Jiang Ning looked at the people who had been inside the room and said, "Repeat everything you said before. If you miss a single word, I'll make you wish you were dead."

"Yes Yes."