mage in the late qing dynasty

Chapter 1029 Do you know who is the head of Xuantian Sect?
Boyarkov did not take it to heart. He thought he was not wrong and it was just a matter of maneuvering. So he plucked up his courage, stood up and confronted Zhao Chuanxin face to face in the courtyard.

When Zhao Chuanxin came, the guards dared not stop him, but also could not let Zhao Chuanxin in, so they could only follow him in.

As a result, the courtyard was crowded with people in a short time.

Levitan and Sato Masayoshi followed Zhao Chuanxin step by step.

Boyarkov's face turned pale and he asked, "Mr. Zhao, you are the prefect of Lubin Prefecture in the Qing Dynasty, and I am the treasurer of the Sakhalin Island District Governor's Office in Russia. You and I are not in the same system, so how can we talk about the incident? Is it inappropriate for you to rush into my office?"

Zhao Chuanxin was unmoved and said to Sato Masayoshi and Levitan, "Take off your shirt and let him see."

Levitan obeyed and took off his clothes immediately.

Sato Masayoshi was hesitant and only took off his clothes after Zhao Chuanxin glared at him.

Both of them were covered with scars and bruises, looking very miserable.

Zhao Chuanxin pointed at the two and said, "They are from the Peacekeeping Bureau. Who gave you the courage to detain people from the Peacekeeping Bureau without permission?"

Boyarkov said firmly: "They came to our island area to spread rumors and deceive the people, and persuaded the residents to go to the Peacekeeping Bureau. They have violated local laws..."

Zhao Chuanxin asked Sato Masayoshi: "Did you bewitch them?"

Sato Masayoshi put on his clothes and shook his head: "Sir, I didn't deceive anyone. I was just investigating the public sentiment. My notes were taken away by them, and that is evidence."

Boyarkov sneered: "You can take it away if you want. Maybe this notebook doesn't exist."

Zhao Chuanxin grinned: "Where were your notes taken away?"

Sato Masayoshi had something to rely on and was fearless: "In prison, the warden took it away, but he still enjoyed watching it."

Zhao Chuanxin nodded: "Okay, wait a moment, I'll get it."

When they arrived, Xingyue had already detected the location of the prison.

Zhao Chuanxin and a few others flashed to the prison. At the door, the jailer tried to stop him, but Zhao Chuanxin held the jailer's head and knocked it against the wall.

thump...

The prison guard rolled his eyes and fainted.

Zhao Chuanxin walked into the prison with his hands behind his back.

The prison guard saw him and yelled, "No visits today."

Zhao Chuanxin continued to walk inside.

The prison guard was annoyed and pushed forward.

Zhao Chuanxin raised his hand and pressed the edge of his palm against the prison guard's throat.

"Forehead……"

The prison guard retreated, covering his neck. Zhao Chuanxin swept his leg low and hit the calf of another prison guard. The man fell sideways, and before he hit the ground, Zhao Chuanxin kicked him in the face.

boom.

The man flew backwards and could never get up again.

Zhao Chuanxin then said, "I am Zhao Chuanxin. I am here to get something. Please ask the warden to come out."

A prison guard who wanted to blow the whistle put it down in confusion and hurried away.

Soon, the warden arrived.

With a dark face, he came to Zhao Chuanxin angrily and asked, "Why did you hurt my people?"

Zhao Chuanxin raised his hand and threw his arm over him: "Why the hell did you hurt my people?"

In the warden's understanding, everyone is a person of status and will not fight like the low-level minions.

Who knew that Zhao Chuanxin didn't play by the rules at all.

Of course he knew who Zhao Chuanxin's people were.

Those two guys should have been shot by now.

When Zhao Chuanxin saw a prison guard showing his loyalty, he wanted to point his gun at him.

As he raised his hand, a red light flashed and a bloody hole appeared between the prison guard's eyebrows.

The warden was terrified and was about to speak when Zhao Chuanxin pressed his head with his right palm and exerted force with his thumb.

puff……

Gouging out the eyeballs.

The warden screamed like a pig being slaughtered: "Ah..."

"You've done a lot of work for my people, so I'll leave you a little souvenir." Zhao Chuanxin hooked his finger, and the water in the cup on the table flew up, washing the dirt on his thumb: "Now, go get Sato Masayoshi's notes. If you dare to play tricks on me, I'll massacre the prison."

The warden was in so much pain that he gave no orders.

The prison guards stared at each other.

One of the prison guards was named Lukaszewicz. After listening to Sato Masayoshi's brainwashing for so long, he inevitably had some ideas on his mind. He cleverly ran to the warden's office to get the notes.

"Mr. Zhao, this is Sato Masayoshi's notes."

Zhao Chuanxin patted him on the shoulder and stuffed a dollar bill into his pocket: "This is a reward for you."

The prison guard didn't look at the one dollar coin he had never seen before, but bowed respectfully: "Mr. Zhao, I have a request. I want to go to the Peacekeeping Bureau with Mr. Zhao."

Zhao Chuanxin glanced at him in surprise and said, "Then go find Sato Masayoshi and Levitan and go with them."

The prison guards were delighted.

He was taking a huge risk when he said this. If Zhao Chuanxin did not allow it, he would definitely be retaliated against.

Zhao Chuanxin flashed back to the island district office and threw the notebook to Boyarkov: "Take a look, is there anything misleading in it?"

Boyarkov took the notes and looked at them. He found that Sato Masayoshi mainly conducted twelve investigations, which were detailed and clear in key points. Judging from the notes alone, it seemed like a population survey and did not contain any misleading content.

Zhao Chuanxin said: "In order to avoid unnecessary war, I asked him to investigate public opinion and listen to the opinions of the people. But you arrested and detained my people indiscriminately, tortured them and even wanted to kill them. You have violated Article 50 of the Peacekeeping Bureau. Now, on behalf of the Peacekeeping Bureau, I will order you to pay a fine of rubles and sentence you to three years in prison."

At this time, the exchange rate of the ruble is similar to that of the Japanese yen, about half of that of the US dollar, and the exchange rate with the British pound is 1:9.45758...

A fine of five hundred thousand rubles is absolutely an astronomical figure.

When Boyarkov heard this, he jumped up on the spot: "What? Impossible, absolutely impossible!"

Zhao Chuanxin smiled sinisterly: "Do you want to resist the law? I blinded the warden's eye. I can execute you on the spot."

Boyarkov vaguely saw the blood on Zhao Chuanxin's body and knew that what he said was not false. He staggered and fell into a chair: "I, I..."

"Before that, there is one more thing." Zhao Chuanxin took out a cigarette and lit it. Levitan brought a chair for Zhao Chuanxin to sit on. Zhao Chuanxin said, "You fired at the south without authorization in the Varona Valley and provoked a border conflict. You must pay a fine of 5 rubles."

Boyarkov said anxiously, "It's not our fault. It's the Japanese. The Japanese stole our armory. They should be the ones to pay the fine."

Zhao Chuanxin raised his eyebrows and pretended to be shocked: "Really? I really didn't know that. I really can't just listen to Kuroda Toshiyoshi's one-sided story. Well, I'll go back and do some research."

Boyarkov: "..."

Although the matter was resolved, he still had to pay a three-year prison sentence and a fine of 500,000 rubles. What should he do?

Zhao Chuanxin flicked the cigarette butt away, stood up and said, "You have five days to go to the Peacekeeping Bureau to pay the fine and be detained."

After saying that, he stood up and left with Sato Masayoshi and Levitan.

After leaving the office, Zhao Chuanxin said to the two men, "Go find lawyer Jiang Taoliu and go back with him. Oh, and take the prison guard named Lukasevich with you."

Sato Masayoshi was shocked: "Sir, aren't you going back with us? What if the Russians arrest us again?"

"If you don't return on the fifth day, I will regard it as a provocation by the Russians, and I will let the North Island become a river of blood."

……

Zhao Chuanxin called many places to purchase mooncakes.

There are Cantonese-style mooncakes, Suzhou-style mooncakes, Beijing-style mooncakes, Chaozhou-style mooncakes, and Yunnan-style mooncakes that appeared during the Ming and Qing dynasties... soft, hard, crispy, and fillings include mung bean paste, red bean paste, taro paste, custard, osmanthus preserved fruit, crab roe and fresh meat, and five-nut fillings with a lot of oil and sugar...

He asked workshops in various places to work overtime and produce the products day and night.

At this time, mooncakes were particular about their size. Mooncakes made in the palace could weigh up to three catties. A catty at this time was even larger, about 600 grams.

Rich families would buy mooncakes weighing one or two kilograms each.

If you are a little more particular, you can buy four per pound.

The mooncakes made to order by Zhao Chuanxin, no matter what style or filling, are not that big, the standard size is six per pound.

He bought a large quantity, totaling 9 mooncakes.

Some are expensive, some are cheap.

Expensive mooncakes, such as the Seven-Star Mooncake, Guizi Toad Mooncake, Four-Yellow Lotus Paste Mooncake, Crab Roe Lotus Paste Mooncake, etc. purchased from Guangzhou Taotaoju... a mooncake can cost up to 5 cents, and the cheapest one is calculated by "wen".

By this calculation, Zhao Chuanxin spent 19,000 yuan just on mooncakes.

Purchasing, packaging and sorting were left to the students of the Xuantian Sect Intermediate School in Hong Kong Island.

The labor and packaging costs cost Zhao Chuanxin nearly two thousand dollars.

The incident caused a sensation and was even reported in many newspapers. The public had mixed reactions to it.

A newspaper said: The country is in a difficult situation, foreign threats are increasing, the people are poor and the money is gone, but Zhao Tan Gong spent a huge amount of money to buy 90,000 moon cakes...

A newspaper said: Zhao Chuanxin's contribution to the restoration of the country was great. He blocked the Japanese invasion in the east and blocked the Russian invasion in the north. He was the best at that time. Zhao was involved in all kinds of trade and made a lot of money on Wall Street. He was a millionaire but he was willing to help the world. He was a hero of the time. It was ridiculous that a clown was so arrogant for just 90,000 mooncakes...

There are also speculations about Zhao Chuanxin's purpose in buying 90,000 mooncakes.

If we say that Zhao Chuanxin has been the hot topic of the year since 1908, then this was even more so in most of 1909.

Just because of mooncakes, some reporters strongly requested Zhao Chuanxin to hold a press conference.

When Zhao Chuanxin received the news, Sato Masayoshi, Levitan and Jiang Taoliu had just returned.

Jiang Taoliu wanted to go back and report to Kuroda Toshiyoshi, but Zhao Chuanxin forced him to stay: "By the way, help me improve the laws of the Peacekeeping Bureau before you leave."

Jiang Taoliu was so scared that he escaped from the wolf's den and entered the tiger's den.

"Mr. Zhao, this, this is inappropriate..."

"Stop talking nonsense. If you dare to leave before you finish, I'll break your legs."

Neng Chengwen acted as a peacemaker: "Lawyer Jiang, we are all family. Think about it, can we treat you unfairly? Just do your job, and you will be paid for your work."

"My last name is not Jiang, it's Jiang Tao." Jiang Taoliu argued: "You can help improve the law, but you have to give me my freedom afterwards."

He thought he was detained by Zhao Chuanxin.

Neng Chengwen smiled and said, "That must be the case."

Zhao Chuanxin also wanted to ask whether Boyarkov had come too, after all, he was only given five days.

At this moment, Xingyue reminded him that the mobile phone upstairs was ringing.

Zhao Chuanxin went upstairs and picked up the microphone. Liu Huaqiang said, "President, a group of reporters came to our college and asked you to hold a press conference."

"What?" Zhao Chuanxin bit his toothpick and said, "Are they going to sing my praises again? Really, why are they being so polite?"

"Uh..." Liu Huaqiang was choked: "The press conference is about mooncakes..."

"Nonsense! Instead of celebrating so many great deeds, you have to dwell on these bullshit."

Liu Huaqiang: "..."

After he explained, Zhao Chuanxin spat out the toothpick.

The Japanese female soldier who was in charge of cleaning today hurried forward to pick up the toothpick and threw it into the trash can.

Zhao Chuanxin said: "I spend my own money to buy mooncakes, it's none of their business. They are just meddling in other people's business."

But I still agreed to go there when I got the mooncakes.

……

Boyarkov was in an extremely anxious state.

He didn't want to pay the 500,000 ruble fine, let alone spend three years in prison.

Why!
Even the Hague Arms Limitation Commission is nothing but a joke. What can restrain the countries is not this organization, but the conflicts of interest among the countries themselves.

After listening to Boyarkov's complaints, General Vladimir Kononovich, the chief of the Sakhalin District Office, lit a cigar and said, "The Hague Arms Limitation Commission is nothing. It relies on compromises among the great powers. The Sakhalin Peacekeeping Bureau is nothing either, but it also relies on Zhao Chuanxin's threat of force. The only solution now is for you to flee Sakhalin. I will have someone tell Zhao Chuanxin that you absconded with the money. This way, you can avoid prison and the country can save a huge amount of money."

The Russians are greedy by nature. Boyarkov came to seek help in order to avoid imprisonment and to keep his position, not to escape.

He hasn't realized the seriousness of the matter yet.

Hearing this, he was not convinced and said, "Can't we let the country intervene to deter Zhao Chuanxin?"

"Dear Boyarkov, you should understand that the emperor is no longer willing to worry about Zhao Chuanxin's affairs. The 'magic' of the evil monk Rasputin is obviously useless on Zhao Chuanxin." V.O. Kononovich said earnestly: "At this time, you should not cause trouble for the empire. Of course, I will not treat you unfairly. I will give you resettlement expenses for your trip far away. I will pay for it myself and report it for reimbursement later. The Sakhalin Island District will not forget your contribution, and the empire will not forget your contribution. That's it, hurry up and you can still catch up with the Baikal ship. Go for two days first. Even if Zhao Chuanxin has great abilities, he can't catch up with you."

Boyarkov was disappointed: "Is there no other way?"

V.O. Kononovich shook his head.

When Poyarkov left in despair, Vladimir Kononovich said to his men: "Wait for Poyarkov to board the ship. One day later, you will kill him and take back the money. He has plundered the people's wealth over the years and it cannot be wasted. I will report him for absconding and deserting his post..."

……

Li Ziyu is gentle in his methods, and his sister Li Zining is good at networking. In addition, Zhao Chuanxin and Zhang Renjun have a relationship of both allies and friends, so he has good relations with officials at all levels in Guangdong.

Now that Yuan Shuxun is in power, he not only interferes in the province's gambling industry, but even wants to get involved in the salt business.

Li Ziyu asked around to find out about Yuan Shuxun's personality and preferences, and prepared to pay him a visit.

Fan Zhijie, editor of the Hanlin Academy, said: "Governor Yuan was a strong man who was not afraid of foreigners. When he was appointed to Shandong, he found that the local officialdom was frivolous and the finances were redundant. He proposed to lay off employees and reduce salaries, regardless of offending other officials. This is admirable..."

People in Tianjin said: "Mr. Yuan is really incorruptible. When he was the prefect of Tianjin, the harvest was bad and the price of rice was rising. Mr. Yuan announced that rice would not be exported. Grain merchants offered tributes one after another, but Mr. Yuan refused to accept them until the price of rice was stabilized..."

People in Shanghai said: "When Mr. Yuan was in Shanghai, he sent a note to Japan and Russia, which was absolutely true. When Russian soldiers killed people, they still requested a joint trial..."

After hearing this, Li Ziyu felt a little relieved.

He personally brought the "filial piety" to the door.

In front of Yuan's mansion, the doorman stopped Li Ziyu and others.

"What?"

"Requesting an audience with Governor Yuan." Dadong from the Arbitration Committee stepped forward and bowed.

Dadong is one of Li Zhitao's five brothers. He now follows Li Ziyu and works in the Ao Island Arbitration Group. This time he is the accompanying guard.

The doorman crossed his arms, his nose turned up to the sky: "Really? What do you have to say?"

Dadong fights and kills every day, how can he know so many tricks?
He said in a daze, "Li Ziyu from the Xuantian Sect of Ao Island wants to see Governor Yuan."

"Hmph." The doorman said disdainfully: "I'm so sorry, my master is busy with official duties today and has no time to see you."

Li Ziyu, who was far away, understood a little bit, stepped forward and pulled away the angry Dadong and said, "I have prepared a door bag, please be accommodating."

Menzi took the red envelope and weighed it: "Haha, wait a moment, everyone."

Even his tone became more polite and he even smiled.

Li Ziyu waited for him to leave, and a sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth: "Those who don't pay the rent will not be seen for more than a day. What an incorruptible person, what a selfless person."

Dadong also understood and spat at Zhumen: "Bah, you dog official."

Li Ziyu: "..."

Soon, Menzi took them into the reception room.

Yuan Shuxun is a wealthy man with a fair complexion and narrow eyes, looking like a retired cadre in his sixties.

Li Zining, who was accompanying him, smelled the odor of an old man after entering the house. He wanted to cover his nose, but he knew it would be impolite to do so.

She was an expert at choosing the right dish to serve, otherwise Zhao Chuanxin would not have abused her thousands of times, but instead beat her to the point of having special needs...

After exchanging a few pleasantries with Yuan Shuxun, Li Ziyu asked Dadong to bring a box. After opening the box, he found piles of banknotes inside.

Li Ziyu smiled and said, "Governor Yuan, this is the banknote issued by the Lubinfu Bank. Here are 300,000 yuan, which is equivalent to 30,000 big-eyed gold coins and 300,000 silver dollars from Lugang Town. It is a small token of our Aodao Xuantian Sect's appreciation."

Yuan Shuxun knew why he came.

Since it is paper money, it is still unclear whether it can be exchanged for a sufficient amount of silver, or whether it can last for a long time is still debatable.

What’s more, it’s only three hundred thousand dollars.

Therefore, Yuan Shuxun immediately became upright and said, "Who do you think I am?"

Li Ziyu didn't believe it at all.

Li Zining said, "Governor Yuan, don't get me wrong. This is just a small token of my appreciation. I am not asking for anything from you, Governor."

Having said that, once Yuan Shuxun accepts it, won’t the gambler Qiu Jialiang be at the mercy of Li Ziyu?
They are all masters of witty remarks, and Yuan Shuxun can understand the elegant meaning of the music just by listening to it.

However, Qiu Jialiang is more elegant and refined.

The first bribe was 300,000 taels of silver, and he even promised to reward him with another 2 million taels of silver after the salt business was completed.

Li Ziyu has no other intentions. You can do whatever you want in other places in the province, but don’t come to my little piece of land, Ao Island, and act wild.

As long as you take the three hundred thousand dollars, you will agree to this matter.

Yuan Shuxun snorted coldly, his beard trembling, and he scolded Li Zining: "How can a woman show her face in public, and speak on behalf of a man? This time I will let you off the hook, but next time I will expel you from the Governor's Mansion."

Obviously he didn't take the money seriously.

Li Zining's greatest reliance is not her brother Li Ziyu, but Zhao Chuanxin.

She was the "Flower Paper Fan" appointed by Zhao Chuanxin himself.

Originally there were only white paper fans, and there were no such things as flowery paper fans.

But Zhao Chuanxin actually added a position, which was a public relations vacancy.

Li Zining chuckled: "Governor Yuan, do you know who is the leader of our Xuantian Sect? The British and Portuguese envoys and governors may not dare to kick me out if they see me. I respect you a little, but I don't want to hurt the relationship. Governor Yuan is so upright, but at your age, I want to see how long you can hold on!"

(End of this chapter)