bookcurios Chapter 227 Bargaining with Magistrate Zhao
Chapter 227 Bargaining with Magistrate Zhao
When County Magistrate Zhao heard this, his eyes lit up.
He was worried for a long time. The Fourth Prince was a man of integrity. He didn't expect that he would tell him clearly that he was short of money as soon as he arrived.
He was also afraid that Yinzhen would find out that he had raised the price of grain and punish him. If Yinzhen accepted the money, the two of them would be tied to the same rope.
"My Lord, please tell me how much silver you need, and I will think of a way."
Yinzhen thought of the information Nian Gengyao had found out, and he stretched out his hand, "I want this amount."
Just ten thousand taels of silver?
That's easy to deal with.
County Magistrate Zhao nodded. "Okay, okay."
This actually surprised Yinzhen a little. He mentioned 10 taels of silver, so why did County Magistrate Zhao agree so readily?
Could it be that what Nian Gengyao found out was only his apparent wealth, and in fact, the embezzlement of this Zhao was more than 10 silver coins?
The two men each had their own ulterior motives, and after the meal, neither of them touched the wine.
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In the evening, Yixiu followed Wen Xumo to check Yinzhen's pulse.
After Wen Xumo came out, Yixiu stayed in Yinzhen's room.
Just as Yinzhen was about to ask Yixiu what she thought of Magistrate Zhao, he heard someone coming in.
Yixiu hid behind the screen all of a sudden.
County Magistrate Zhao came to find Yinzhen.
He held a wooden box in his hands.
"Lord Beile, this is the silver you requested."
Yinzhen didn't expect that he would deliver the things so quickly and so easily.
He opened the box and saw a stack of silver bills inside.
Each note has a face value of one hundred taels, and there are exactly one hundred of them.
"There is only 10,000 taels of silver here."
Yinzhen said in a deep voice.
"Given the current situation in Tai'an, 10,000 taels of silver is not enough."
As many as ninety-four counties and cities have suffered from disasters this year.
The 2.5 million taels of silver they brought were divided equally among each state and county, and the amount of silver used for disaster relief in each place was only over 26,000 taels.
Although it is much more than in the previous life, it is still not enough.
The only way to get enough money was to ask the local wealthy families for donations whenever they arrived at a place.
County Magistrate Zhao did not expect that the Fourth Prince had such a big appetite that even ten thousand taels of silver could not satisfy him, and he still spoke in such a high-sounding manner.
But what can be done?
Yinzhen is the emperor's son.
Magistrate Zhao bowed his head and asked in the most humble tone, "Then according to Lord Beile, how much silver is enough?"
"One hundred and fifty thousand taels."
County Magistrate Zhao: ???
How dare you ask for such a high price?
He worked hard and embezzled money for the people over the years, but only managed to save up 100,000 taels of silver.
Yinzhen actually asked for 150,000 taels right away.
Wait, how dare the Fourth Prince speak?
Does he know that he is rich?
"County Magistrate Zhao, let's not beat around the bush. I know you have so much."
County Magistrate Zhao said: "I am not lying. I really don't have that much silver!"
Yinzhen guessed that what Nian Gengyao said should be correct.
"So how many do you have?"
Magistrate Zhao was ruthless and said through gritted teeth: "Eighty thousand taels!"
"No, one hundred thousand taels."
Yinzhen subconsciously used the lid of the teacup to stir the tea leaves.
One hundred thousand taels of silver!
This was Magistrate Zhao's entire fortune, so he naturally couldn't hand it over. Otherwise, wouldn't all his work over the years have been in vain?
Before Magistrate Zhao could open his mouth, Yinzhen had already drawn his sword and placed it on his neck.
County Magistrate Zhao did not expect that the Fourth Prince would be so cruel!
Draw your sword if you disagree!
"Fourth Master, let's talk it out..."
"One hundred thousand, that's one hundred thousand."
Yinzhen couldn't bear to play along with this man any longer. The sooner he got the money, the sooner he could get things done.
Magistrate Zhao did not believe that Yinzhen would execute court officials, and said, "Fourth Master, I really don't have any. Even if you take my life, I still can't get that much. The most I can come up with is 90,000... No, 95,000 taels!"
Yinzhen said calmly: "Since there are not enough for 10, then use all the grain from your Chen's grain shop to distribute the porridge."
When County Magistrate Zhao heard this, he knew that Yinzhen came prepared.
He opened the Chen's grain shop in the name of his concubine's family, and Yinzhen actually knew that it was his shop!
The value of the grain in that shop has now exceeded five thousand taels.
The Fourth Prince was actually waiting for him here.
You know, what is most lacking now is food, not silver.
Seeing his conflicted expression, Yinzhen pressed the sword blade a little closer to his neck.
County Magistrate Zhao only felt a pain in his neck, and a hot stream slid down his neck.
No, are you serious? !
County Magistrate Zhao was truly terrified at this moment.
Why does this Fourth Master seem a bit crazy?
He dared to execute this imperial official on the spot without going through the court.
He didn't believe it just now, but now he does.
Yinzhen's eyes were truly terrifying.
"That's it."
County Magistrate Zhao burst out with a strong desire to survive.
"I will do it tonight."
Magistrate Zhao had already surrendered, so Yinzhen took back his sword and let him leave.
His current goal is to provide disaster relief rather than purge the bureaucracy. Purge the bureaucracy is the job of the Ministry of Personnel. He only needs to report the matter truthfully later.
Yixiu came out from behind the screen.
Yinzhen put away his fierce expression and said gently, "Xiaoyi, I didn't scare you just now, did I?"
Yi Xiu said: "No, just now Si Lang acted so decisively, which really made me... admire him very much."
Yinzhen suddenly felt that taking Yixiu out was the right decision.
If it weren't for Yixiu's understanding and tenderness, over the past few months, I'm afraid he would have been filled with only pain and irritation in his heart.
On the second day, County Magistrate Zhao had indeed prepared the porridge stall early and converted part of the silver into cash, just waiting for the statistics to be counted and distributed.
He finally cooperated, and Yinzhen let him go.
When the situation in Tai'an began to stabilize, they hurried to the next place.
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Yinzhen followed the same method and soon finished dealing with most of the places.
Although the disaster cannot be stopped in a short time, the situation has been brought under control to a lot.
The only thing facing people is the unstoppable flood.
Last year’s floods resulted in a poor harvest. This year, it’s already May and many fields have been flooded, making it impossible to grow crops.
"It's really annoying that the rain keeps falling."
Randong frowned.
The capital city was dry, and she had never experienced such humid weather.
Because a lot of land was flooded, they had to take a lot of detours.
"Be patient, we have a carriage to ride in after all, but the people outside will have to work harder."
Ran Dong looked at Yi Xiu and said, "Fu Jin, you can actually enjoy your life in the capital. Why do you have to come here in person?"