Old Man Bi and Old Man Yao did not bring up the matter of the light bulb again.
Wang Juan also took out the knowledge that she had taught Zhang Xiaobao and taught it to the two old men. Old Man Pi had the foundation of nature, so he could learn relatively quickly. Old Yao was confused when he saw what Wang Juan had written. He could only let Old Man Pi teach him the first part first.
At this time, the military registrar and the others couldn't stay idle. The two mines couldn't be mined yet, so there were people who went to take a look from time to time. These people weren't sent by Zhang Zhong, but they were related to Zhang Zhong. After all, he had asked many people to go there to recite poems.
Other people went there to see if the scenery was as beautiful as what was written in the poems. As a result, there were people going there every day. Some people didn't even care about the poems and just went there to look at the scenery. There were also people who specialized in fishing on top of the copper mines.
The military registrar and the others wanted to secretly seal off the mines, but the Zhang family's people had to take a look every time they passed by, so they couldn't do anything.
On this day, the military registrar called the six people over. At the same time, he asked the county magistrate of Taihu County to find an excuse to come over. The eight of them were ready to discuss.
In fact, the county magistrate of Taihu County didn't want to come at all. He had the least benefits, but he had to bear the most risks. He could imagine that if something happened to the two mines, the first person to be dealt with would be him. After all, he was the county magistrate there.
But he had no other choice. He couldn't find a way to transfer himself away, and it wasn't the first time he had cooperated with other people. Once he boarded the pirate ship, it was harder to get out.
The eight of them gathered together under the reluctance of the county magistrate.
The military registrar spoke first, "You know what happened recently. Besides Bi Gou, there is another person we can't afford to offend. Maybe in a few days, there will be more people coming. If that time comes, we won't have any chance. With high officials like them, what can they not understand?
At the same time, their methods are not ordinary. Now, I want to ask, what are you going to do? Are we going to keep the mines like we are doing now, or are we going to follow the instructions in the letter? "
He spoke casually, as if it had nothing to do with him. Every time he said 'you guys', the seven of them understood. What he meant was that if something went wrong, they would have to bear the responsibility, but if they got something good, they would have to join the army and take the lion's share.
The seven of them were under a lot of pressure. The one with the most pressure was the county magistrate of Taihu County. He opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but in the end, he closed it again. He knew that even if he really came up with a good idea, no one would credit him for it. Why bother? After all, it was not his problem alone.
At this time, he had already decided that if he was really regarded as a scapegoat, he would say whatever he wanted to say. He would not care about others at all, even if they threatened him with his family. He was not ignorant at all. He knew that most of the time, what others said was simply a lie.
They said something like 'protect your family, don't let go, and find a way to get some poison to feed you. Everything will be fine after you eat it. In the end, everything will be fine. In the future, no one will care whether your family lives or dies.'
That was exactly what he thought. He closed his mouth tightly, waiting to see what the others would say.
As he thought, the other six people kept looking at him unconsciously, which meant that he had to take the responsibility. He pretended not to see it.
At this time, the military registrar also echoed, "Well, that's right. It's not easy now. If we have to wait for Zhang Zhong to leave, it will take more than a year. How much less mining will we have to do? Even if we can wait, the people above can't wait. It's all money.
How about this, in Taihu County, we will chase away all the people who want to watch the show. Then we won't have to worry about being discovered by others. What do you think? "
When he said that, the county magistrate of Taihu County really wanted to bite him to death. It was easy to say, but could things really be done that way? If he gave the order, he would be courting death.
This was not only known by the county magistrate of Taihu County, but also by the other people. They did not agree with the military registrar's words. What was the use of saying a way to harm others? If they really did harm to a county magistrate, who could guarantee that the new county magistrate would be obedient?
The military registrar was reasonable. He glared at the military registrar and said, "This method definitely won't work. If that's the case, Zhang Zhong will have an excuse. With one less person, we will have less strength. Think about it again. If there is really no good way, then we will do as what is written in the letter.
When we do it, we have to be discreet and not let anyone find out. Otherwise, not only will we lose our lives, but our families will also be implicated. Who can do anything about it? You don't have to be afraid, just say it and we will discuss it together. "
"Let's use that method, I agree." When the military registrar saw that his superior was looking at him, he could only choose to support him, even if his heart was beating faster and faster.
"Wait, I think we don't have to do this. There are other methods." At this time, the county magistrate of Taihu County could no longer remain silent. He was scared, scared to death. Even if he was not allowed to send people this time, he could not think of running away.
If that was the case, it was better to use his own two methods.
The other seven people immediately looked at him, hoping that he could come up with a better idea.
After taking two deep breaths, the county magistrate of Taihu County said, "One is to seal off those two places and prevent others from going there. Then, we can secretly mine."
"I already said this just now, but you didn't say anything," the military registrar said unhappily.
The county magistrate of Taihu County could not refute, so he could only bear with it and explain, "My method is not to force people to go there. That will definitely cause trouble. However, we can act mysterious and scare people so that they won't dare to go there.
As long as you give me ten days, I have a way to come up with the second method, which is to lure Zhang Zhong to investigate us. If he doesn't investigate us, then it's fine. As long as he does, then we have an excuse to impeach him. At the same time, we can also get help from the higher-ups. "
"Oh? Is it really feasible? Tell me in detail. " The military registrar was interested. Just like what the county magistrate of Taihu County thought, if there was a mistake, he could push the blame to others. If there was a merit, then he would take the biggest share.
It would be a waste not to take advantage of such benefits.
The county magistrate of Taihu County felt very wronged, but he had no choice but to say the entire method to get everyone to agree. He really did not dare to do as the letter said. That was a disaster that could destroy his entire family. If he harmed others, he would not be able to get away with it. However, the higher-ups would be fine.
After the county magistrate of Taihu County explained his method, the military registrar was the first to praise, "Good, not bad. We have discussed a good method today. Now, we will let the county magistrate of Taihu County carry it out. Does anyone have any other ideas?"
"Sir, you are indeed amazing. You have so many ideas. I admire you. I have no other opinions," the military registrar immediately said.
The other five judges also kept on praising the military registrar.
The county magistrate of Taihu County did not have any angry expression, even though the method he just said was thought of by the military registrar in less than ten breaths.
"You must do this well. Don't waste the method we thought of. There is no other method like this. You must cherish it," the military registrar said to the county magistrate of Taihu County with a kind face.
"Sir, please rest assured. I will definitely do this well. Thank you for your advice." What else could Taihu County's County Magistrate say? He had seen shameless people before. However, he could only bear with it since he had turned into a shameless and two-faced person.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were not here, so they did not know the content of the conversation. Otherwise, they would realize that these officials were no different from the officials of their time.
It meant that if the people below wanted to achieve good results, they had to first pass the method to the higher-ups. Then, it would become the higher-ups' idea. This way, the results would belong to the higher-ups. If the results were wrong, the people below would bear the responsibility. If the results were right, they would be promoted and become rich.
If the officials below dared to do a good job without the higher-ups knowing, the first thing they would do was to suppress them with public opinion. When they realized that the public opinion could not suppress them, they would transfer them to the retirement section. It would be useless even if the people jointly wanted to protect the good officials.
In addition to this kind of official circle, there was also the academic circle. As long as the disciple researched something, it would belong to the teacher. All the results, including the thesis, would belong to the teacher. Otherwise, it would be disrespectful to the teacher. This was also the reason why so many talents stayed abroad and did not come back.
At this time, the eight officials were performing such a scene. It was a blatant robbery. They had to smile and flatter when they were being robbed.
Just like what Zhang Xiaobao once said to Wang Juan, the real actors were not in the film industry, but in the official circle. Therefore, if they wanted to cheat, it was better to cheat the officials than to cheat the actors.
The eight-party meeting ended. The county magistrate of Taihu County left with the military registrar's good idea. He did not need to ask too much about the details because he knew better than anyone.
*****
After adding one more old man, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan had to take some time to accompany the three old men every day. For example, they would electrocute the fish and paint the light bulbs in various colors. Anyway, they could always find something fun to do.
Ever since they had the generator, the three old men had stopped fishing. They felt that this thing was more interesting. In the spirit of research, they would go to the generator once or twice a day. In the past five days, they had even been electrocuted themselves.
Fortunately, the electrocution could be stopped at any time. The three old men were not in life-threatening danger. According to Wang Juan's words, one would know the strength of the wine after getting drunk. One would know the strength of the wine after getting electrocuted.
After the three old men and the two children came to the river, the old men decided to give the electrocution to Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan, even if the two of them had no interest in it.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan had already prepared. The two of them took out a pair of large leather boots, the kind that was made of two layers of leather. They put gum in the middle and stepped into the water. After feeling it for a while, they put the wires in their hands into the water. They also wore gloves on their hands.
The two of them were not as stupid as the three old men. They did not know the insulation and directly jumped into the river. It would be strange if they were not electrocuted.
"Xiao Bao, Cuckoo, how can you do this? Can this thing prevent people from being electrocuted? Why didn't you say so before? "Old Man Chang pretended to be angry and said.
After he was electrocuted, he felt uncomfortable from his head, neck, and stomach. Now that he saw the things that Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan used, he immediately understood that there was a way to protect them. In the past, the two little guys were unwilling to take it out.
"Ah? What? Cuckoo and I are actually afraid of water. We get confused when we see water, especially when we stand in the water. That's why we wear boots. Grandpa Zhang, since you want one, I'll make one for you later. "
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan explained to Old Man Chang after they had been electrocuted for more than ten days.
Old Man Chang was stunned for a moment before nodding. It was not that he acknowledged Zhang Xiaobao's words, but that he acknowledged Zhang Xiaobao's shamelessness. When had Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan ever been afraid of water?
Amidst the laughter of the crowd, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan had already electrocuted quite a lot of fish. It seemed that it was enough for their families to eat today. Only then did they stop.
Just as the two of them stopped, before they could explain anything, a fast horse came to their side. The person on the horse did not even dismount and said to Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan, "Young Master, Young Lady, Taihu County is haunted. Now, no one dares to go there. Master asked me to come and find you two to go back."
"Haunted? I think it's just a trick. Even a big ghost like me can't do anything, who would dare to? " Zhang Xiaobao did not believe in ghosts at all. If it was another place, he might hesitate. However, it was impossible for something like this to happen in Taihu County. The only explanation was that the other party had thought of a way and was preparing to mine.
To Zhang Xiaobao, this was good. He was waiting for an opportunity to occupy the two mines. To be precise, he was waiting for Li Xun to occupy them. He was worried about where to start. Now that the other party had made a move, what should he do? He could only accept it.
After letting the person go back first, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan prepared to leave. The three old men did not know about this matter and immediately stopped them.
"Xiao Bao, Cuckoo, what happened? Which place is haunted? How is that possible? "Old Man Pi asked doubtfully.
Zhang Xiaobao saw that the three of them were also concerned about this matter, so he could only tell the three of them what had happened.
"They are too bold. Don't they know that our dynasty is currently lacking in copper? They actually want to secretly mine at this time. No, this matter cannot be let go so easily. I will write a report to impeach them. "Old Man Yao was angry and was about to do it.
Old Man Pi immediately pulled him back and said, "Let's see what Xiao Bao and Cuckoo have to say."
"In fact, it's not a big deal. The main thing is that we can't find evidence. Now that we are not afraid of them taking action, we are afraid that they have been hiding. Now it seems that they can't bear it anymore. That's good. Maybe we can find their weakness. When the time comes, we will talk about it. These two mines have already been given to Li Xun.
When the time comes, the marble mine will be managed by Li Xun himself. Even if the copper mine is mined, it will be sent to the capital. Li Xun will not refine copper himself, so you can rest assured. Three grandpas, you don't have to interfere. Just watch from the side. It's just a small matter. My family has already prepared. Isn't it just a ghost? Let them be. "
Zhang Xiaobao was afraid that the three old men would want to meddle in this matter. That would make things difficult for him. After all, he had already promised Li Xun two mines. Even if there was one that Li Xun would not be able to obtain in the end.
"Yes, yes, yes. We are worried for nothing. How can we be needed for this kind of thing? The Zhang family must have already made arrangements. Since that's the case, let's do it. Does your family want to catch ghosts?"
Old Man Pi only reacted when he heard Zhang Xiaobao's words. He felt that it was impossible that the two masters of the Zhang family did not know about this kind of thing. Since they knew, of course, they would have a way to deal with it. Why were they still worrying here?
Zhang Xiaobao did not explain and said, "We have to catch ghosts, but we can't go now. No matter what, we have to wait until they have mined enough ore. If we go now, we won't get anything. The people here are ghostly. They are even more ghostly than ghosts."
"Oh? Then I really need to take a good look and see what kind of methods your Zhang Family has. This old man remembers now. Your courtyard, oh, it's Xiaobei's courtyard. Could it be that the marble stones in that mine came from? No wonder your family is so generous and directly gave the children something to play with. "
Old Man Pi thought of the marble floor as he spoke. At first, he was wondering where the Zhang family found such good stones. Now, everything was clear. The Zhang family should have gotten a batch of such things. That made sense.
Zhang Xiaobao did not admit to this. Since he already knew, why should he say more?
After getting on the horse with Wang Juan, he did not wait for the three old men to return and ran back home.
As soon as he entered the house, he saw Zhang Zhong sitting there waiting. Zhang Zhong also saw his son and daughter-in-law at the same time. He stood up and asked the two of them, "Something happened over there. I heard that a person went crazy. Then a few people went over and also went crazy. They don't know anything. It's haunted. Can you go and catch them?"
Zhang Zhong really believed that the place was haunted. Now, he was counting on the two immortal children to go and catch the ghost so that the future plan could be carried out.
"We can catch them. Dad, you don't have to worry. It's just a small matter. Leave it to me and Cuckoo. Don't worry now. We can catch them in a few days. At this time, the ghost is still not strong enough."
Zhang Xiaobao said with certainty. Wasn't it just a ghost? If they wanted to catch it, then just catch it. When the time came, what else could they do?
With his son's words, Zhang Zhong was relieved. Until now, he still thought that his son was telling the truth.
The news of Taihu County being haunted spread like wildfire. Soon, everyone knew about it. Not only did the people from the province know about it, even the people from the neighboring provinces also knew about it.
Originally, many people wanted to go and take a look at the places that Zhang Zhong had been to, but now, they gave up on this idea. They were also afraid. No matter how powerful Zhang Zhong was, he was still a mortal. That place was haunted.
Especially after knowing about the haunted place, Zhang Zhong was still indifferent. This made more people anxious. In their opinion, even if the Provincial Governor Zhang Zhong didn't go and take a look himself, he should at least find someone to catch the ghost. However, Provincial Governor Zhang Zhong didn't do anything.
The first thought that came to the people's minds was that even the Provincial Governor couldn't do anything. Perhaps he had secretly sent someone to catch the ghost but failed. What would he do in the future?
Under such an atmosphere, a rumor spread. It said that Zhang Zhong was an unlucky person. Otherwise, why would he be haunted after coming to Shuzhou? Especially when he personally went to the two places in Taihu Lake.
In the beginning, no one believed this rumor at all. However, as more and more people talked about it, those who didn't believe it couldn't help but think in this direction.
Now, the thing that the people wanted to see the most was Zhang Zhong personally come out to clarify the matter. However, Zhang Zhong still didn't do anything. It was as if he had admitted to this matter. The people started to panic. They weren't worried that Zhang Zhong had really attracted the ghost. They were worried about this year's harvest.
If it was really like what others said, that Provincial Governor Zhang was an unlucky person, then would the Provincial Government still be able to succeed?
This was a lot of money. Even though they had already agreed that they wouldn't have to compensate even if they failed, they had still put in effort. If they didn't do this work, they could do other things outside to earn more money. Now, their time was delayed.
As they thought about it, the people's hearts started to become unstable. Zhang Zhong also knew about the situation outside and was very anxious.
In a situation where there was no other way, he went to find his son and daughter-in-law. He wanted to ask them what to do.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were really holding a wire and doing experiments in a porcelain basin in the courtyard. When they saw Zhang Zhong arrive, they could only stop what they were doing.
"Xiao Bao, Cuckoo, do you know what the outside world is saying now? Everyone is saying that I attracted the ghost. Even those who learn from us are scared. "
Zhang Zhong really didn't want to trouble his son and daughter-in-law. He knew that the two of them were busy, but if he didn't look for them now, who else could he look for? The three old men had already looked for them, and their ideas were basically the same. That was to let Zhang Zhong go to Taihu County to take a look.
Zhang Zhong came to ask his son and daughter-in-law if they also thought so. If so, then he would go and take a look and let people know that there was no ghost in that place. Of course, the premise was that he brought his son and daughter-in-law to catch the ghost. He believed that the ghost's skills were far inferior to his son and daughter-in-law's.
Zhang Xiaobao listened to his father and said, "It seems that someone can't wait and has to use this method to test it. Now is not the time. Let's wait, father. Don't worry. You can do this now and then continue to stay here. Don't worry about the ghost or not, it's just a small matter."
After telling the matter to his father, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan continued to experiment. With electricity, they could do more things. If they didn't use it, it would be a waste of the electricity.
Zhang Zhong saw that his son and daughter-in-law were not anxious, so he came up with another idea. This time, he was relieved. He didn't want to disturb his son and daughter-in-law and left Yuan Yuan to make arrangements.
In the afternoon, many yamen runners appeared in front of the provincial government. This group of yamen runners surrounded the area in front of the provincial government.
Curious, the commoners came closer to take a look. When they had gathered enough people, people began to move things out of the door. They were all boxes, one after another. A total of a hundred large boxes were moved out before they stopped.
Zhang Zhong didn't appear. Steward Zhang stood in front of the boxes and shouted to the surrounding people, "Are you all scared by the ghost in Taihu County these days? Do you still think that it won't work? Don't be afraid. Today, I'll let everyone know Master's determination. "
After shouting this, Steward Zhang asked people to open all 100 boxes. As the boxes were opened, the surrounding people let out a burst of exclamations. The boxes were full of copper coins. If so many copper coins were poured out, they would be piled up into a small mountain.
Steward Zhang was very satisfied with the reaction of the people. At this time, he shouted a few more times, asking the people to keep quiet. When the people gradually quieted down, he continued to shout,
"Do you see so much money? Master had said that as long as one followed the method of trapping and did not cause trouble for oneself, then even if one failed in the end, it would be fine. The money that was given out earlier would not need to be returned. Moreover, anyone who failed would be able to get two strings of money.
It will be more than what you earn when you work outside during this period of time. Rest assured and don't be afraid even if something happens. You don't have to worry about those little ghosts in Taihu County. "
The solution to the crisis was very simple. The simple people didn't care about anything else as long as they could see the benefits in front of them. After the steward promised, one by one, they spread the news to the people they knew as fast as they could, especially the relatives who had already participated in the scheme.
They were afraid that if their relatives didn't take care of them and went outside to work, they would earn less and lose more than they did now. After all, the steward of the Provincial Governor had said that as long as they didn't make trouble for themselves, they would compensate.
Rumors came and went quickly. Those who didn't have much confidence in Zhang Zhong were no longer afraid. They continued to follow the method steadily. The ghosts were only in Taihu County. At worst, they wouldn't go there. What else could they do? Could it be that the ghosts there would come to their side?
The crisis that had just appeared disappeared just like that. Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan didn't spend much effort on this kind of thing. It wasn't worth it. It was just a small trick. Wasn't the bank run much more serious than this? Could it be that the crazy stock market couldn't be compared to this kind of simple problem?
The human heart was complicated, but it was also simple. Compared to the officialdom, the affairs of the people were easier to deal with. As long as there was a little guarantee of benefits, it would be enough. No power was needed, and they wouldn't want to kill a certain official.
"Xiao Bao, it seems that they are afraid, so they used such a despicable method. If they continue to do nothing, it will be very tiring. A sword that is not out of its sheath is the scariest sword. Once it is out of its sheath, it is nothing."
Wang Juan put her mouth to the lead in the porcelain basin in front of her. After taking a breath, she said to Zhang Xiaobao.
"This is a struggle. It's very interesting. How long has it been? Five minutes? Try it and see if it can catch fire."
Zhang Xiaobao also said. Then, he turned the glass cup upside down on the porcelain basin and put the burning wooden stick on it.
With a boom, a ball of fire appeared two inches away from the glass cup. It came and went quickly. Zhang Xiaobao nodded with satisfaction.
Wang Juan did the same. She put a burning wooden stick on top of the glass cup. The flame on the wooden stick suddenly became bigger.
She threw the wooden stick away. "Okay, we can continue to improve in the future. They are not at the same level at all. It's easy to think, but it's not that easy to trick others. It's haunted, or even a demon. Do we need to personally participate in the next step?"
"No, Team Zero is enough. It's just that this time, we can only deal with one person. It's not enough to deal with all of them. We have to see if the county magistrate of Taihu County is tough. Since the light bulb has been made, let's test it on him first. You should be the best, right?"
After Zhang Xiaobao saw that the experiment in front of him was a success, he heaved a sigh of relief. It was finally completed. His side might not be of much use, but Wang Juan's side was different.
Wang Juan was also very gratified. However, when she heard Zhang Xiaobao's words, she immediately asked, "What do you mean? Am I a bad person like the Brocade-clan Guards? Or the East and West Guards? I'm not a bad person. "
"I admit. How can bad people be compared to the Special Second Department? Even the worst person in the world is inferior when compared to you," Zhang Xiaobao said as he packed up.
Wang Juan did not help this time. She said with dissatisfaction, "Do you think we are the same as those unscrupulous local police? After extorting a confession, they will find all kinds of reasons. I don't know what they are thinking. There are actually people who die while breathing. It's so worrying. What intelligence. "
"Let's not talk about this anymore. You are the greatest, okay? Send people out now. We can start in a few days. It's very interesting. There must be some twists and turns in it. It's a pity. If they came from the same place as us, they would definitely not use such retarded methods."
Zhang Xiaobao poured the water, dragged the porcelain basin, and walked back. He handed the wire in his hand to Wang Juan. Weiwei shook her head, looking very lonely.
Wang Juan saw that Zhang Xiaobao had thrown something to her, so she could only accept it. She walked behind Zhang Xiaobao and suddenly said, "Why don't we make it more lively? We can call Grandpa Bi, Grandpa Zhang, and Yao Chong. It will be very interesting to have fun together."
"I think that's fine. We'll do as you say. Let's tell them in advance so that they can be prepared. Don't be scared when the time comes."
"Don't tell them. They aren't afraid of being scared. That's more fun." Wang Juan disagreed.
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