Dai Tongzhi was a man of action. Early the next morning, he went to find Zhang Duo and said, "Milord, this lowly official has carefully thought about it all night and finally thought of a way that satisfies both sides. This way, the distribution of the relief funds will be fair and no one will be able to criticize us."
Big Fatty Zhang had just woken up and was being served by two little maids to wash up. He had not changed his clothes and had not combed his hair. His hair was disheveled like a roly-poly doll with a wig on his head. Hearing Dai Tongzhi's words, Zhang Duo asked curiously, "You really thought of a way? I plan to wait for a couple of days and then distribute the relief funds according to the original plan. "
Dai Tongzhi took a toothbrush from a maid, smeared it with special Chinese herbal toothpaste powder bought from "Wufangzhai" in the capital, and diligently stuffed it into Big Fatty Zhang's mouth. As he "brushed" Big Fatty Zhang's mouth, he said, "In our Tongren Province, Your Excellency is the Emperor. Of course, it is not a problem for you to act arbitrarily. However, the relief funds are allocated by the court. If something goes wrong in Gourd County and the court investigates and finds out that we are the cause, I am afraid that the relief funds next year will be difficult. Moreover, although Gourd County is under the rule of a second-rate official and has a poor relationship with Milord, Ye Xiaotian is still your student and a famous capable official. The Emperor is very appreciative of the change of customs last year, so it is not appropriate to make things too difficult for him. "
Two streams of white foam flowed down from the corners of Big Fatty Zhang's mouth, like two white whiskers. Big Fatty Zhang mumbled for a long time and finally waited for him to finish brushing. He took the warm salt water from another maid to rinse his mouth and then grabbed a towel to wipe his mouth. Then he said, "What you said makes sense. So what do you think we should do?"
Dai Tongzhi said to Zhang Duo, "Your Excellency, why don't you distribute the relief funds in full according to the old plan and add another 30% on top of that …"
Zhang Duo had just glared at him when Dai Tongzhi said, "Of course the local officials will be dissatisfied, but Your Excellency will not immediately decide to allocate the funds. There must be an additional condition."
Zhang Duo was puzzled, "What additional condition?"
Dai Tongzhi said, "Isn't that Ye Xiaotian a famous government official? He's doing very well in Gourd County, so you should allocate more funds to him. But at the same time, Ye Xiaotian has to do one thing first, and that is to settle the dispute over the Mercury Mountain.
Zhang Duo frowned and said, "Even this old man can't do anything about the Mercury Mountain. Can Ye Xiaotian do it?"
Dai Tongzhi said with a smile, "If he can't do it, we'll naturally pay him according to today's rate, and everyone will be happy. If he succeeds and solves this problem for you, Daren, you can give him a few more shares. What can the others say? Of course, in order to be fair, the Lord had to announce this matter in front of everyone. If any other county officials are willing to recommend themselves, they can also be given this opportunity. "
Big Fatty Zhang thought for a moment, then patted his round belly and said, "Alright! But will Ye Xiaotian agree? "
Dai Tongzhi bravely said, "No problem. This lowly official can give him a hint and tell him that this matter is not difficult to handle. This is only because the prefectural magistrate wants to take care of him. However, we still need a reason to calm everyone down."
Big Fatty Zhang was delighted and said, "Good! Go and do it. Tomorrow, we'll gather all the county officials for a meeting. "
…
After duping Big Fatty Zhang, Dai Tongzhi rushed straight to Dabei Temple to dupe Ye Xiaotian.
Ye Xiaotian had grown up in the midst of being tricked and lied to. The Heavenly Prison's Black Division locked up all the corrupt officials who fell into Brother Kong Fang's hands. Seeing that Little Tian was still young, in order to dupe him into doing things for them, they used all kinds of tricks. Every time, they would dupe Ye Xiaotian into helping them run errands.
After being duped again and again, Ye Xiaotian finally went from being duped without blinking to being duped without blinking to being duped without blinking. How could Ye Xiaotian believe Dai Tongzhi's words?
"Mt. Mercury? I'm afraid there's a big problem there. Even the prefectural magistrate can't do anything about it. That's why he pushed this problem to me. But what happened to Mt. Mercury? I've never even heard of this place. But … after all, it's under the rule of the Great Ming Dynasty. Even if there's some conflict, it shouldn't be to the extent of using swords or spears, right? "
Ye Xiaotian secretly pondered. Dai Chonghua saw that he was on guard and said, "This matter has already been agreed to by the prefectural magistrate. I have no power to change it. If you're not willing, then even if I do everything I can, I'll only be able to help you get 90% of last year's allocation. I won't get any more! "
Hearing him say this, Ye Xiaotian could only treat a dead horse as a living horse. Since his life wouldn't be in danger, there was no harm in agreeing.
After sending off Dai Tongzhi, Ye Xiaotian wanted to inquire about the Mt. Mercury. But he couldn't just randomly pull someone to inquire about it. Besides, based on his experience as an official in the past few years, the truth of the matter was only known to those who were in the officialdom. Most of the common people were groundless rumors and exaggerated things. The secrets he heard from their mouths could only be used as gossip after a meal. There was not much reference value and it might even lead people astray.
He could ask Professor Li for advice, but Professor Li was also seeking funds for the prefectural school. His son-in-law was also seeking benefits for his connections. Any one of them was much closer than he was. If the news leaked, it would be disadvantageous to him.
After thinking it over, Ye Xiaotian could only suppress his impatience and wait until the "imperial announcement" was published before asking Prefectural Magistrate Zhang himself. He believed that Zhang Duo wouldn't hide anything at that time and he would be able to find out the truth.
The next day, Prefectural Magistrate Zhang gathered all the officials who had come to fight for the relief funds. The Empress Dowager usually sat at the head and it was still Dai Tongzhi who spoke on her behalf.
Dai Tongzhi said, "The prefectural magistrate is well aware of the difficulties of the various prefectures. He also wants to satisfy all of you, but even the cleverest housewife can't cook a meal without rice. Right now, there's only so much relief funds. If he can satisfy one person, the others will probably feel indignant. So the prefectural magistrate has decided … "
The officials sitting on both sides immediately puffed out their chests and concentrated. They heard Dai Tongzhi say, "The Yi Mei Dong and the Shiye Dong are the poorest. They will be given the full amount according to the old rules! The other departments will be given 90% according to the old rules! As for the other departments, the 10% will be deducted … "
Dai Tongzhi looked around at the officials and said, "Whoever can help the prefectural magistrate solve a serious problem will be rewarded with this amount of relief funds."
The officials all asked, "Dai Tongzhi, what serious problem?" Some of the quick-witted ones didn't ask. Instead, they looked pensive and obviously had already thought of something.
Dai Tongzhi spat out three words like stir-frying beans, "Mt. Mercury!"
As soon as he said these three words, the hall fell silent. The officials all looked at each other, but no one said anything. Ye Xiaotian looked on coldly, observing the reactions of the people. Initially, he was a little worried that someone would jump out and compete with him. But when he saw the silence, his heart sank. It seemed that the problem of Mt. Mercury was more serious than he had imagined.
Dai Tongzhi looked around and raised his voice to ask, "May I know which official is willing to help the prefectural magistrate?"
The hall was filled with whispers. The officials whispered to each other and shook their heads. Obviously, they didn't want to do anything. Seeing that no one was willing to do anything, Dai Tongzhi secretly gave Ye Xiaotian a look. Ye Xiaotian coughed and slowly stood up, saying, "I am willing!"
"Ha!"
The County Magistrate of Great Myriad Mountains, Hongdong, who was sitting next to him, gave a cold laugh. He raised his eyebrows, twitched the corner of his mouth, and rolled his eyes disdainfully. All the local officials from various counties and tribes turned to look at him, their faces filled with admiration, just like how Crown Prince Dan and Gao Jianli were watching Jing Ke sail south.
The relief silver was of great significance to these local officials. The natives under their rule were equivalent to their slaves. They could keep the money if they wanted. Even if they couldn't openly keep the money, they could still collect it after distributing it to their subordinates. But Ye Xiaotian was a low-ranking official. The money wouldn't fall into his own pocket. Now, he was even willing to risk his life.
Big Fatty Zhang struggled to pull his fat out of the chair and looked at Ye Xiaotian with relief. He almost blurted out, "I will take care of your wife. You don't have to worry about her."
Ye Xiaotian looked at their expressions and couldn't help but feel a little scared. "No way. Is his life really in danger?"
…
Magistrate Ye was willing to risk his life. Even though the local officials were dissatisfied, what else could they say? They would never volunteer themselves. But no one could clear up the bad debt of the Mercury Mountain. They were sure that Ye Xiaotian wouldn't succeed, so there was no need to rush. They could just wait for him to fail, be injured, or even lose his life. Then, they could divide the relief money among themselves.
Seeing this, Ye Xiaotian hurriedly made up for it. He said to Big Fatty Zhang, "Magistrate, I don't know what kind of dispute is going on in the Mercury Mountain. Moreover, I don't know much about the Mercury Mountain. Would you like to invite someone who knows to accompany me to the Mercury Mountain and explain it to me in detail? "
Ye Xiaotian looked at Dai Tongzhi and said in a very friendly manner, "I think Dai Tongzhi is a very suitable candidate."
Dai Chonghua was startled and hurriedly said, "No, no, no. It's my duty to share the magistrate's worries. It's just that I'm busy and can't leave. The person who will accompany Magistrate Ye to the Mercury Mountain has already been selected. Magistrate Ye can ask him about the details of the dispute. "
Big Fatty Zhang smiled and said, "Yes. I have already selected the person who will accompany you to the Mercury Mountain."
He stretched out his two chubby palms and clapped them three times. A man with a long face walked up the hall, his face full of displeasure. Ye Xiaotian looked at him and saw that this person wasn't tall. His shoulders were slightly shaky and his eyes were narrow. It was Li Xiangrong.
Ye Xiaotian thought, "Li Xiangrong will accompany me to the Mercury Mountain? Then wouldn't it be easier for Dai Tongzhi to have an affair with Li Xiangrong's wife? He doesn't want to let go of this kind of opportunity. It's really admirable! "
Ye Xiaotian looked at the unhappy Li Xiangrong and thought, "This person is covered in green clouds. It's really pitiful."
Li Xiangrong looked at the eager Ye Xiaotian and thought, "This person's forehead is dark. I'm afraid there will be a bloody disaster."
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