Song Yan led these uninvited guests into the meeting room at the back of the house. He dismissed the servants and personally poured tea for them. He was very polite, but there was not a hint of fear on his face.
Even if the young man sitting in front of him was His Royal Highness of Beiliang and was the new Lingzhou general who had appeared out of nowhere.
Hsu Fengnian took the teacup and said calmly, "Back then, Beimang's jianghu wanted to infiltrate Beiliang under the orders of Spider Web Li Mibi. They specifically targeted the weak civil servants and used this to disrupt Beiliang's foundation. In the end, before they could even enter the country, they were all killed at the border. However, there were still some who managed to slip through the net and sneak into You and Liang Provinces. At that time, to appease the people, many of the incidents were covered up. Lingzhou was relatively better, but the tragedy in this mansion still happened. Over the years, Beiliang's spies have mostly focused on Beimang's men of sacrifice. Every now and then, there would be a seemingly random murder case, but the people did not know about it."
Song Yan smiled, "Last year, there was a murder case in Hwangnam County. It startled a group of cavalry from another county to cross the border to kill. They uprooted a gang and almost killed the entire family. At that time, I did not know the secret behind it and almost wanted to personally stop it and demand an explanation from that famous school's commander. Later, a spy under General Chu sent me a military order. Only then did I know the danger."
Hsu Fengnian said, "Hwangnam County is known as Jiangnan beyond the Great Wall. It is where Beiliang's granary is located. As the granary of our Lingzhou, Sir Song must have a heavy responsibility on your shoulders."
Song Yan's tone was calm as he replied, "It is my duty."
Hsu Fengnian sneered and said, "It is also the duty of the Prefectural Governor to forbid all unsuitable offerings in the county. Lord Song has always been known to be swift and decisive in Lingzhou. How is he neglecting his duty? There were three ghost temples in Hwangnam County, and the memorial tablets enshrined there were neither the souls of Beiliang heroes nor the gods conferred titles by the imperial court. It was obvious that this was against the etiquette system. However, one of the couplets was written by Lord Song. Could it be that Lord Song was relying on the protection of the Administrator to knowingly violate the rules? I've heard that Lord Song is fond of collecting books. You've collected more than sixty unique ancient books, and they're quite expensive. I wonder how many incense offerings did that illegal temple give to Lord Song this year? "
Song Yan drank a mouthful of tea and said, "It's only five hundred taels, not worth mentioning. There were many rare books that were coveted, but they were not able to get them. It is a pity."
Hsu Fengnian smiled, "Excessive offerings in the territory, embezzling more than three hundred taels, the punishment for these two crimes is the death penalty. Does Lord Song want to use your head to help me establish my prestige in Lingzhou?"
Song Yan was indeed the smelly and hard rock in the latrine pit of Lingzhou. He actually smiled, "Since Your Highness has brought a knife and I have admitted my crimes, then it's just a matter of one knife."
Hsu Fengnian put down the teacup, "You and I both know that you have disobeyed the wishes of the Administrator. You want to come out of the Lingzhou officialdom so that I can take note of you, the person who once angered Xu Xiao. As long as you're willing to 'start an uprising' in Huangnan County and let outsiders misunderstand that the Administrator has made up his mind to lower his head to the General of Lingzhou, many officials would tactfully restrain their petty actions. After all, if they were really dealt with later, those who came up with the idea would clean their hands and feet while those who did the dirty work themselves would have to bear the consequences. Although the law did not punish the majority, who did not know how to punish the majority? After all, there would always be a few unlucky chickens that would be picked out. In fact, these crafty and slippery petty officials were also afraid of the consequences from the bottom of their hearts. Song Yan, do you think that without your Hwangnam County, I will be stuck in the mud? Even if I go ashore, I will be covered in mud and can only run to Liangzhou to complain to Xu Xiao? "
Song Yan shook his head, "Your Highness does not lack methods to break out of the situation, you just lack time. After all, even if Your Highness kills randomly, you will be able to kill until they are not convinced. In the future, when the military confidants are all in place and some local officials and scholars from Lingzhou keep each other in check, the Lingzhou officialdom will slowly be tamed. However, Your Highness does not seem to have such ruthlessness and decisiveness, and you cannot wait. On this point, after Your Highness personally came to Hwangnam County to find me, Song Yan was even more certain. "
Seeing that Hsu Fengnian did not speak, Song Yan continued to speak slowly, "If I become the Lingzhou Provincial Governor, I can be a vanguard for Your Highness to get rid of the filth and also appease the Administrator on the surface. Both sides will have a way out and I can secretly weaken Sir Li's control in Lingzhou …"
Xu Fengnian smiled and planned on what the prefectural governor would say, "Prefectural Governor, you overestimate yourself. The provincial governor of Lingzhou can only be Xu Beizhi, not you, Song Yan. At most, you can only be the governor of Lingzhou. However, I can tell you something straightforward. When Xu Beizhi becomes the Administrator of Beiliang, you have hopes of becoming the Lingzhou Provincial Governor. However, that is still too early and you will have to wait. This is because Beiliang will not touch Sir Li who has done meritorious deeds without any mistakes. The Xu and Li families have accumulated two generations of incense. Not to mention Sir Li's hard work, just my relationship with Li Hanlin is enough for the Administrator to enjoy being an official. Furthermore, it is better to not do something as immoral as killing the donkey after it has outlived its usefulness. Of course, if you, Song Yan, really have the ability, with Xu Beizhi in front of you, even if you can't become the Lingzhou Provincial Governor, there are still two Provincial Governor seats for me to consider. There are 30 provinces in Liyang. Let's not talk about Xu Beizhi who is an anomaly. Count them, how many of them are under 40? Sir Song, you should be content. "
Song Yan's expression was uncertain.
In the end, Hsu Fengnian said something that made Song Yan not know whether to laugh or cry, "Also, there are many people who want to be promoted to Lingzhou Provincial Governor. If you, Song Yan, want to be promoted, you have to give me half of the books in the building. Many scholars have come to Beiliang and I can use them to buy people's hearts."
Without waiting for the Governor to nod, Hsu Fengnian stood up and muttered to himself, "Motherf * * ker, no wonder so many people want to be the Emperor. They can be so righteous when they are selling their positions for money."
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