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Chapter 438 Frustrated King Kang! (Please subscribe!)
"That's right! The wave of homeless people is coming! I heard that Wang Zhifu has recently closed the city gates, and I'm afraid they won't be able to open the city gates at that time. It may be difficult to come in at that time!"

After hearing what Zhao Baiyu said, the middle-aged woman also had a worried look on her face.

"Thus, Qingfeng had better come back quickly within the next few days, otherwise, it may be difficult to enter the city again!"

Zhao Baiyu frowned and said.

"Master, can't you just open your mouth?"

The middle-aged woman was a little puzzled. Their family is the largest grain farm in Jinling. No matter who is the magistrate, they will sell their family's face. After all, the magistrate changes frequently, but their Zhao family is the Zhao family, and this will not change.

Not to mention a magistrate, even a son of the royal family, in the land of Jinling, they have to be more than respectful to their Zhao family, so what he said to Zhao Baiyu that the magistrate would not even let her son enter the city seemed a bit incomprehensible.

"Hey, no matter if I open my mouth or not, I'm afraid I won't be able to do it this time!"

After Zhao Baiyu finished speaking, he paused for a moment before saying: "This wave of refugees is too huge. It has exceeded my expectations. As the magistrate, Wang Chengen must be afraid. He will never let the refugees enter the city! The last time he came to the house, I refused to see him, if we go to him this time and let him let Qingfeng into the city, do you think he will agree?"

Only then did the middle-aged woman remember that a month ago, Wang Chengen had come to the Zhao Mansion because of the increase in grain prices. At that time, he hoped that the Zhao family grain farm would take the lead in reducing the price to appease the public anger, but Zhao Baiyu did not agree.

Half a month ago, a wave of refugees broke out in various parts of the south, and the wave of refugees continued to grow. When it was so strong that it was rushing towards Jinling, Wang Chengen came to the Zhao Mansion again. meet him.

That is to say, from that day on, Wang Chengen never came to the Zhao Mansion again. Later, Zhao Baiyu sent someone to invite Wang Chengen, hoping to test his attitude. It was that time, Wang Chengen directly rejected his invitation, which was considered to be a relationship with him. Draw a line and part ways!
From this point of view, Wang Chengen really won't help him anymore!
"Master, if Qing Feng can't come back these few days, what should I do if I come back when the homeless people arrive outside Jinling City?"

The middle-aged woman became even more worried when she thought of this situation.

Zhao Baiyu also frowned and thought deeply, but did not speak.

"Master, you can't go to Wang Zhifu to say some polite words. Why is the relationship so stiff? He is the prefect of Jinling. From now on in Jinling, everyone will see you without looking up. What should you do if there is a tension?"

"Hehe, he, the magistrate, won't last long!"

Hearing the middle-aged woman's words, Zhao Baiyu sneered twice.

Can't do it for long?
The middle-aged woman was a little startled when she heard this. She had only heard that the increase in food prices and the riots among refugees were man-made, and the people behind the scenes were...

Could it be that the rumor is true?

"Master, could it be that the rumor—"

"Women, don't ask too many questions!"

Zhao Baiyu's eyes showed coldness, and he said gloomyly.

"My lord, King Kang is here to pay my respects!"

At this time, the servants entered the house to report.

Kang Wang?What is he doing here at this time?
Zhao Baiyu thought about it with some doubts, but he still said: "Please hurry up!"

…………

Jinling, or the Zhao family, the meeting hall.

Kang Wang took a sip of his tea, and then said with a smile: "Good tea! Sure enough, Boss Zhao is particular about it! If you want to taste such a good tea, the whole Jinling, I'm afraid you have to come to Boss Zhao's place!"

"Kang Wang is too famous!"

Zhao Baiyu also took a sip of tea, but changed the subject: "However, the old man thinks that King Kang's visit to the Zhao Mansion is not just for tea, right?"

"Haha, Boss Zhao is really amazing!"

Putting down the teacup, Kang Wang laughed twice, staring at Zhao Baiyu with burning eyes and said: "Boss Zhao, we are smart people who don't talk dark words. Although this king asked you to do this food price increase, things have changed. This king thinks that food prices should come down!"

"Falling back? Impossible!"

Zhao Baiyu said coldly.

You let it go up?You just let it go?
How can it be so easy!

Zhao Baiyu was a little angry.

To be honest, Kang Wang was indeed instigating him to do this food price increase. Otherwise, how could he, an ordinary businessman, come up with such an idea?

This matter started half a year ago.

…………

Half a year ago, the prefect of Jinling changed hands. This is not a good thing for Zhao Baiyu who is in business, but it is not too bad.

Because for a businessman, the attitude of the local prefect determines whether he can eat well in the local area. The previous prefect had a good relationship with Zhao Baiyu. At the end, it is the reason why it is the first of the "Four Great Grain Farms".

The current magistrate has been replaced by Wang Chengen, although it has some influence on Zhao Baiyu, but with the size of the Zhao family's grain farm now, even the new magistrate is somewhat afraid of the Zhao family, so he is not very afraid.

But Wang Chengen was not the soft persimmon he had imagined, and he was given to him as soon as he arrived in Jinling——and the other Liangzhuang bosses got off the hook!

In the past, because they were doing business, they managed their relationship very well. They collected so much food and earned so much money a year, so naturally they paid a lot of taxes.

At that time, if they received 10 taels of silver a year, the tax they paid would be nearly ten thousand taels. Although they could earn a lot after paying the tax, for them, it was too much for them to take out these things for no reason. too much!
So they will give the original prefect a part of the money every year. The advantage is that the annual income they report is 1 taels, and the tax they pay is naturally less than 1000 taels.

In this way, even if they gave the magistrate some benefits, in fact they saved thousands of taels of silver, so this business is a guaranteed profit!
After Wang Chengen took office, the four of them gathered together again, planning to discuss with Wang Chengen and concoct the original method, but Wang Chengen was not the original magistrate, not only disagreed, but also told them that what happened before, He could turn a blind eye and stop holding them accountable, but if they still wanted to do this in the future, there would be no way for them!

Back that day, the bosses of the four major grain farms gathered together again, in a bad mood.

Although they are very angry, they have nothing to do. Who makes them officials and businessmen?And there is nothing wrong with what Wang Chengen did, they can only follow suit!

For a period of time after that, Zhao Baiyu, like the other bosses, had a sad face all day long.

One day, Kang Wang came to them.

That night, they discussed for a long time, and the next day their four major grain farms raised their prices together!
That's why what happened later, so logically speaking, the rebellion of refugees was caused by King Kang!

…………

King Kang was a little annoyed by Zhao Baiyu's reprimand.

But he didn't get angry, and calmed down before saying: "Boss Zhao, the current situation is not our original intention, is it? Our idea is to increase the price of grain to cause riots in the south, take this opportunity to blackmail the court, and reduce taxes for the grain farm! But Look, what are you doing now?"

To be honest, the reason Kang Wang proposed such a plan for Zhao Baiyu was not his idea alone. After all, what does the war between the magistrate and the owner of Liangzhuang have to do with him?

However, he has kept correspondence with the prince over the years, and once mentioned this matter, it was the prince who asked him to do so.

The crown prince said that raising the price of grain in the grain farm will inevitably cause riots. When the time comes, let the owners of the grain farm jointly sign a letter, saying that the tax is too heavy and they can only do so. Then he will advise the Tang emperor and propose to reduce the grain price in the south. Zhuang's taxation!

The prince's idea is that through this matter, firstly, he can establish a good and capable image for the Tang emperor, and secondly, he can show the merchants in the south in advance, so that when he ascends the throne, he can get the support of the south.

Everything was going smoothly. The price of grain has risen, and the refugees have rioted. The next step should be to let the owners of these grain farms write a letter to the Holy Father, raising the tax too heavy, but none of them wrote a letter, and what they said was water Flooding disaster, the grain village has no excuse to store grain!

It's okay to deceive ordinary people with this excuse, but how could King Kang believe it?

There is no grain in such a large grain farm, so it is a lie to ghosts, right?

So he was a little angry, not knowing what these grain farm owners were thinking!
Moreover, because of this matter, he revised several letters and sent them to the East Palace, but they all disappeared like a rock and never returned. He was a little panicked. Is the crown prince angry with him?Don't even bother to answer the letter?

So he came to the Zhao Mansion again early this morning, wanting to ask Zhao Baiyu the reason in person.

"Kang Wang, don't you think that even if the tax is reduced or exempted-then there is still a tax, and the difference is not big?"

Zhao Baiyu narrowed his eyes and smiled.

"Why is there such a small difference? Could it be that you still want to have no taxes?"

Kang Wang growled.

But Zhao Baiyu was unmoved, and still smiled and said: "Kang Kang is right, no tax is the best!"

"how can that be!"

Kang Wang has an incredible expression on his face, he doesn't want to pay any taxes, isn't he going crazy?
"How is it impossible? Before Wang Chengen, how much tax did we have besides the benefit fee to the magistrate?"

Zhao Baiyu asked back.

"........."

King Kang was silent. He had stayed in Jinling for 20 years, so he was very familiar with the things here, so he was very clear about what happened in the past few years.

He is clear about the fact that several grain farms in Jinling lied about their income and underpaid taxes, because those grain farms would also give him money in addition to favors for the magistrate. He knew that it was a hush money.

However, King Kang readily accepted all of them. Anyway, he had nothing to do with him, and he couldn't be found if something happened.
But it's different now!
"Boss Zhao, but you have to know that Wang Chengen is not the prefect who asked for money! He has been in Jinling for a while, but have you ever seen him ask you for a penny? You still want him to accept it. Is it your favor fee?"

Kang Wang asked.

"Kang Wang is right, so I don't count on Wang Cheng's grace!"

"Don't count on him? Then you—"

Speaking of this, Kang Wang seemed to understand something, narrowed his eyes, and said with a sneer, "What? Are you trying to use this to take Wang Chengen down, or force him to leave?"

Zhao Baiyu didn't answer, but the smile on his face said everything.

Kang Wang gasped. He thought he and the crown prince were taking advantage of these businessmen, but they turned out to be using him instead. Kang Wang smiled wryly in his heart.

"Even if Wang Chengen is gone, can you be sure that the prefect who comes back will not be like him?"

"Hehe, if he is the same as Wang Chengen again, then his end will be the same as Wang Chengen!"

Zhao Baiyu said very domineeringly, no matter who comes, Jinling is the Jinling of their Jinling people, if they don't know each other, Wang Chengen will be their fate!

Seeing Zhao Baiyu's fearless appearance, Kang Wang felt that his attitude was a little blunt, so he adjusted his tone and said as gently as possible: "Boss Zhao, this matter is getting too big now! If you have such a Think about it, just go to Wang Chengen and talk about it? Now everyone knows about the chaos of refugees, even Jingzhou City is full of rumors of refugees, and countless memorials have been sent to His Majesty. If His Majesty blames it, you Who can bear it?"

The weight of his own words was not convincing to these rich natives of Jinling, so King Kang had no choice but to move Emperor Tang out.

But Zhao Baiyu was not afraid. After hearing this, he smiled coldly and said, "King Kang, you and His Royal Highness discussed the food price increase at the beginning. We only care about the increase, but there is no objection! , is of no benefit to anyone!"

When these words came out, Kang Wang’s face was already very ugly. Seeing this, Zhao Baiyu said again: “However, Kang Wang doesn’t need to worry too much. I heard a letter from a friend who is an official in the court saying that His Majesty’s attitude towards the southern affairs is also the same. It’s not very clear, and no one was sent to Jinling to deal with the rebellion of the refugees! What does this mean? I’m afraid His Majesty wants this matter to be resolved by ourselves!”

Perhaps after talking for too long, Zhao Baiyu picked up his teacup and took another sip before continuing: "So in a few days, when Wang Chengen is forced to step down, this matter will be over. Yes, hahaha..."

Zhao Baiyu's face was filled with a smile, but Kang Wang's complexion was not good all the time.

"Boss Zhao, that's what you said—but it's a bit of a big deal, isn't it? Why don't I be a peacemaker, and Boss Zhao will sit down with Wang Zhifu and have a good chat. If you can settle this matter calmly Wouldn't it be better?"

Kang Wang is making the last effort, hoping to persuade Zhao Baiyu.

But Zhao Baiyu said with a cold smile: "Kang Kang, you are so anxious, maybe you have other plans?"

Hearing this, Kang Wang's face immediately turned red, he hesitated and said: "What is Boss Zhao saying? It is said that people don't fight with officials. This king is just because Boss Zhao is one of his own people." , I don’t want Boss Zhao to take a detour!”

"Oh? That's it! Then I really have to thank Kang Wang, but Kang Wang should not interfere with the old man's affairs!"

Zhao Baiyu said coldly, but what he was thinking in his heart was, what do you think, I don't know?
(End of this chapter)