For a moment, Hou Yao just felt extremely annoyed.
After staring at Li Jingshan's resolute face for as long as a stick of incense, he finally made a decision.
Bet a big bet on Li Jingshan as a good person.
"Master Li, I'm afraid you think that I can't deal with the forces behind the salt farm, so you want to protect yourself wisely?"
As soon as these words came out, Li Jingshan was obviously stunned for a short time, but then he smiled bitterly:
"Your Excellency, you are worthy of Imagination. You have figured out the crux of the county in such a short period of time.
It seems that the imperial court can send such an outstanding person here because it must have reached the limit of its patience with the county.
In this way, there is no reason to block your way to promotion."
Judging from Li Jingshan's tone, he seemed to regard himself as someone specially sent by the imperial court to solve the problem in Bao'an County.
"Do you think I'm here just to solve the private issue?"
Li Jingshan shook his head and smiled bitterly:
"No matter what your purpose is, it has nothing to do with your subordinates.
I just feel guilty. After serving as an official for thirty years, I have never been able to find peace for the people of this county.
No matter whether adults succeed or fail, at most they just change a group of people and continue the next reincarnation.
They are all tall and powerful people. Every time they talk, countless people will be killed or injured below.
Those who suffer will always be our fellow villagers in Baoan.
This trick has been repeated several times in the past thirty years, and every time Baoan people bleed and shed tears.
The lower official is powerless to do anything about this. He feels ashamed of his father and fellow villagers and has seen enough of this human tragedy.
I am really exhausted mentally and physically, so I beg you to grant me your permission and allow me to retire to the countryside."
After saying that, Li Jingshan knelt down to Hou Yao again.
After hearing what Li Jingshan said, Hou Yao breathed a long sigh of relief.
It's not the worst outcome, but it's not a good outcome either.
Li Jingshan seems to be a good official, but he has become extremely pessimistic about the future of Bao'an County and has become disheartened.
Indeed, as he said, this problem is simply an unsolvable problem in this era. No wonder even the court would ignore it.
For the imperial court, even though it spent a lot of effort to reorganize Bao'an County,
It is nothing more than forcing these profit-seekers to change places, which is not worth the loss.
As long as salt profits remain, it will be impossible to ban private salt trade.
All the imperial court can do is to provide a certain degree of deterrence, eradicate a few salt lords who go too far, and let everyone keep a bottom line and know what is appropriate.
But just because others can't do it, it doesn't mean that Hou Yao can't do it.
"Master Li, please get up and listen to what Yao has to say."
Hou Yao picked up Li Jingshan with both hands and helped him to the seat.
For a good official who is willing to sincerely seek the welfare of the people, he is worthy of his respect from every angle.
Seeing Hou Yao's such a big change in attitude, Li Jingshan was a little confused for a moment. He had to let him do what he wanted and wait for the next step.
Hou Yao helped the person to the seat and said slowly:
"I didn't know that Mr. Li is a good official who wholeheartedly serves the people. Please forgive me for being rude."
As he spoke, he bowed to Li Jingshan and then said:
"It is true that as you said, as long as salt interests are not eliminated, the problem of private salt cannot be solved, but Yao doesn't think so.
There are many ways to solve this problem. It only takes a little time and Yao can easily solve it.
I wonder if Mr. Li would be willing to lend a helping hand?"
Li Jingshan looked unbelieving:
"The great man is so talented that a lowly official would feel inferior.
However, no matter how stupid the official is, he still knows that even if His Majesty comes in person, it is just a purge.
Within a few years after the purge, they will spring up again like bamboo shoots after a rain. People are chasing profit, so what can be done?"
Hou Yao laughed loudly:
"Your Majesty, you are right. Even if your Majesty comes here, you will not be able to solve this problem, but Hou Yao has a way to solve it.
And there is no need to use large-scale force to cleanse the existing forces. Is Mr. Li interested in knowing?"
Li Jingshan subconsciously asked:
"What can I do?"
After saying this, he suddenly realized his gaffe and hurriedly apologized:
"I'm sorry, I lost my temper for a moment. If you can really save the people of Bao'an County from the suffering of illegal salt trading, I am willing to saddle your horse for you."
Hou Yao laughed and said:
"In fact, it is easy to solve the problem of salt profit. All we need is a few more commodities in the world that are more profitable than salt profit."
Hearing this answer, Li Jingshan's face was slightly disappointed:
"What your Excellency said is true, but where did this product come from?"
"Lord Li, have you ever heard of the 'Mingzun Liulifang' in Nanhai?"
"I have heard that the power of glass is indeed as good as that of salt, but it's just that it's far away in Nanhai Mansion.
Even if it is shipped to Bao'an, the cost will increase exponentially, and it will still not be as impressive as the salt profit."
Hou Yao said with an unpredictable smile:
"Master Li, do you know that a factory producing colored glaze has been established in our county, and samples will be ready in a few days."
"What?"
Li Jingshan was truly shocked at this moment. He looked at Hou Yao blankly for a long time before exclaiming:
"Nanhai Liuli, my lord is from Nanhai. Could it be that the famous craftsman Liuli Fang is your property?"
Hou Yao nodded slightly and smiled:
"This is just one of many industries in Yao. There are dozens of industries that are comparable to it.
As long as Jiangyao's industry flourishes all over the county, the salt profit will not be worth mentioning at all."
Li Jingshan immediately knelt down on the ground excitedly and said:
"I am willing to serve you as your master, and I only hope that you can restore peace to the people."
Hou Yao quickly helped Li Jingshan up and said:
"Okay, with Mr. Li's help, Yao will have more confidence in solving the problems in the county.
But now Yao has a few questions that he would like to ask you."
Li Jingshan clasped his fists respectfully and said:
"My lord, please speak frankly. I will definitely tell you everything I know, and I will tell you everything I want to say."
Hou Yao nodded:
"Okay, then I'm not polite. There are rumors that you are behind the Hong Gang. I wonder what you mean by forming such a dark and evil force?"
Li Jingshan smiled bitterly:
"My lord, I think too highly of my subordinates. How can I build such a huge force as the Hong Gang? In fact, the Hong Gang is my backstage."
"Oh, what's going on?"
"My lord, fifteen years ago there was a major change in the power of the Salt Gang in the county. My younger brother Li Jingfeng used his skills to climb high and became the leader of the Hong Gang.
In recent years, their power has become stronger and stronger, and many of their subordinates rely on their power to make the people of the Salt Gang sell noodles at a low price.
The people behind my brother didn’t want Bao’an County to be purged again, so they lent me my hand to block the imperial court’s mouth.
Every year I am revising the county annals according to their requirements, and all evidence that is not conducive to them will be destroyed.
If you don't listen to them, there will only be one outcome."
"So that's it. So all the previous magistrates died because of this?"
Li Jingshan shook his head sarcastically:
"The first person to be killed, Zhixian Li, was hacked to death because he defaulted on money he lost in a casino;
The second person killed, Liu Zhixian, had an affair with the wife of a small leader of the Salt Gang, and was caught and raped behind the bed and beaten to death;
The third person killed, Wang Zhixian, was close to the top girl in Wanxianglou, which aroused the jealousy of another girl, drugged them, and both of them died;
The fourth Zhixian who was killed, Chen Zhixian, fell in love with the old bustard of the Sihai Class and wanted to take her as a concubine. Then he died inexplicably at sea;
As for the previous magistrate Du Zhixian, he recruited three girls in the Sihai class at one time and died after taking an overdose of tiger and wolf drugs. This was the most unjust accusation.
Alas, it is because of these people that Baoan County has gained the reputation of being a ‘definite county magistrate’.”
Hou Yao didn't expect that the truth would be like this, and he couldn't laugh or cry for a moment:
"If you think about it carefully, none of these people deserve to die.
By the way, what happened to the four major families?"
"Sir, this is news released by the Salt Gang to the outside world. Boss Liang's background is mysterious and his subordinates don't know.
But Ambassador Huang Ku should have some relationship with the person behind my brother. His subordinates don’t know if they are the same person.
Mr. Li Kangsheng, there is no need to lower his official position and say more, he is a real master.
As for the subordinates, they are the shields put forward by my younger brother, and they are also the intentions of the people behind him.
You want me to represent the power of the yamen and tell the outside world that the yamen can still control the situation in Bao'an."
Hou Yao chuckled and said:
"It seems that the people behind my brother have a big picture. It sounds like these people from the Salt Gang are vaguely headed by him."
Li Jingshan shook his head:
"It's just like this on the surface. In fact, their private fights have become more and more intense in the past two years. The reason why my subordinate wants to resign is because of this.
Since this year, fighting has occurred in major saltworks almost every half month.
A total of 100 people have been killed, and countless others have been injured. The subordinates have intervened to mediate many times, but to no avail.
Moreover, my younger brother has also kept a much lower profile this year. It seems that the people behind him are under pressure to restrain themselves, which is not a good phenomenon."
Hou Yao thought for a moment:
"You can't rush these things. Only by earning profits first can you be qualified to challenge them. Pulling in a group and beating a group are always necessary means.
By the way, do you know the identities of the people behind these?"
Li Jingshan lowered his head in embarrassment:
"Your Excellency, you think too highly of your subordinates. These people all have great backgrounds. I don't talk much about them, so how can I know?"
Hou Yao smiled and patted his shoulder:
"Then I understand, don't rush now, take your time, thank you for the hard work, go and do your work first."
Li Jingshan clasped his fists and said goodbye. He kept his head down and walked quickly. It wasn't until he returned to his office and closed the door that he couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth.
Then he smiled sinisterly, clenched his fists, and put them on the table for a long time, unable to calm down.
…
Hou Yao sat in the public room and pondered for a long time. He always felt that something was wrong, but he still couldn't grasp the key point.
There was nothing suspicious about Li Jingshan's performance, everything was reasonable.
What he said was similar to the results of his own secret investigation, and he did not hide anything.
Ordinarily he shouldn't feel this uneasy feeling, but it just happened that he felt so uneasy.
But at this stage, if he doesn't cooperate with Li Jingshan, he will undoubtedly have to take many more detours.
While Hou Yao was deep in thought, a sudden and unfamiliar voice sounded from around him:
"You have a very strong sense of perception, but you can actually feel uneasiness."