Empress: Your Majesty, please respect yourself, I don't want to be promoted

"What?"

Taihe County, Li family lobby.

Li Zhiping frowned, looked at the panicked servant in front of him, and asked in surprise:

"All the county government officials, including the county magistrate, were imprisoned by a big shot who suddenly appeared?"

"Yes, Master."

The servant knelt on the stone slab and responded: "Now the big shot in the county government is in charge. When I was young, the person guarding the gate of the county government was no longer the former yamen officer. I heard that the big shot is now checking the people in the government office. Where’s the dossier?”

Hearing this, Li Zhiping's brows suddenly furrowed even deeper.

He still cares a little about Li Yongcheng, the county official.

After all, from the time Li Yongcheng took office as the magistrate of Taihe County to now, four years ago, the cooperation between them has been quite pleasant.

Although this guy has a big appetite, he still follows the rules, so it is not unacceptable. It is mutually beneficial. The Li family is not without benefits. Moreover, every time they cooperate, they are clean from beginning to end, and there is almost no follow-up trouble. .

It would be a pity if such a partner, which can solve the worries of its collaborators, fails like this.

Who knows whether the next Taihe County Magistrate will be as polite and easy to talk to as Li Yongcheng.

If possible, it would be best for this good county official who follows rules and is accustomed to cooperating with the Li family to survive this disaster and continue to serve in Taihe County. This is in the interests of the Li family.

After thinking for a moment, Li Zhiping asked again: "Do you know the name of that big shot? What is his background?"

The servant thought for a moment and then said: "I heard that the lord's surname is Lu, and he is some kind of right servant."

After a pause, he organized his words a little, and then added: "That Mr. Lu is very mysterious. He came to our county with no pomp and circumstance. He just seemed to pop out of a stone and suddenly appeared in Dongshi. Then, with thunderous means, the county magistrate and others were taken down and held accountable, without even a little leeway."

"By the way, there are three fairy-like women traveling with him..."

Hearing the servant's story, Li Zhiping looked thoughtful.

"A high-ranking official named Lu, and he is the right servant... Lu... Lu..."

After a few breaths, he suddenly thought of something. His eyes suddenly widened, and then he suddenly exclaimed:

"Lu Chen?!"

The servant was startled and quickly shut his mouth, not daring to speak again.

After Li Zhiping realized that there was only one minister named Lu in the court, his expression became visibly ugly.

Lu Chen's name may not be so famous in other places, but in the capital, especially for people with a little status at the emperor's feet, he is definitely a household name.

Li Zhiping is naturally no exception, and as the head of an aristocratic family in Taihe County, he knows much more than others.

There is almost no chance of survival in the hands of this evil star who ignores the rules of officialdom.

In other words, none of the people he targeted ended well.

King Yu was like this, and the officials in the Sui and Yu states were like this. How could Li Yongcheng, the seventh-rank county magistrate, be spared?

After thinking this, Li Zhiping decisively gave up the unrealistic thoughts in his mind, then called the housekeeper and handed the notice to each house.

Naturally, other families would not be unaware of such a big event. They soon realized that the sky in Taihe County might be changing. So after receiving the invitation from the Li family, they stood up without any hesitation. Rush to Li's house to discuss important matters together.

Soon, apart from Lin Yi, the head of the Lin family, all the prominent figures in Taihe County gathered together again.

The reason why he is not called Lin Yi is because Lin Yi did not know how to promote himself before, and the entire Lin family has been classified as the official residence of Taihe County. It has completely fallen out of the list of wealthy families in Taihe County, and even the third-rate aristocratic families have not. Not really.

"Master Li."

After everyone greeted each other, Zhao Dafu got straight to the point.

"Your Excellency, the county magistrate, was caught red-handed by that gentleman this time. I'm afraid the situation is in danger. What should we do?"

Others also spoke.

"Yes, I don't know what Mr. Lu's attitude is towards the food industry in Taihe County. Alas..."

"Who says it's not the case? If he directly overturns the plan made by the previous county magistrate and re-designates the food fief, or if the Taihe County Duke designates it, won't we all be like the Lin family and be used as food fief?"

"If this matter comes to light, maybe after the master of the mainland knows our intentions, he may think that we are involved in the food relief matter, or he may be angry with us, and he may personally designate us as a food fief."

"In this case, wouldn't it mean that our family fortune accumulated over the past century would be given away to the Duke of Taihe County?"

"What should I do?!"

They were not worried that Li Yongcheng's collapse would implicate them. After all, they had cooperated with each other not once or twice. They all knew that Li Yongcheng did things neatly and neatly, so there was nothing worth worrying about in this aspect.

Li Zhiping sighed and said in a deep voice: "If Mr. Lu really wants to do this, there is nothing I can do."

Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions darkened.

Everyone has a depressing feeling that the sky is falling.

Suffocatingly oppressive.

"or……"

A middle-aged man dressed in luxurious silk said with some uncertainty: "Let's invest together and prepare a heavy gift to send to Mr. Lu's house..."

However, before he finished speaking, everyone looked at him like a fool.

"Exceptor Xue, if you want to die, no one will stop you, but please don't implicate us."

Damn it, who doesn’t know that Lu Chen has always been a cool man and never accepts gifts from anyone? Moreover, as the Duke of Xingping County, he already has an estate and is the most favored minister of the dynasty, so he can’t handle the emperor’s rewards easily. , the warehouse is probably full of all kinds of natural treasures and panaceas. The assets that can be seen in the light are already quite scary. Is it necessary to risk ruining your reputation to get this thing from you?

Moreover, this guy has no tolerance for disgrace in his eyes. Anyone who dares to bribe him, even if it is just to "make friends", will be targeted by him.

Isn't this seeking death?

Hearing what he said, the middle-aged man immediately sat down.

After this episode passed, everyone couldn't help but put on a mask of pain when they thought that Lu Chen might overturn the previous list of supplementary cities and draw up a new list for them.

At this moment, they suddenly felt a little envious of Lin Yi.

The Lin family did not participate in the mutual aid in the whole process this time, and they looked unafraid of power, which will definitely gain Lu Chen's favor. If Lu Chen drafted the list of supplementary towns again, the Lin family would most likely be excluded, allowing the Lin family to be preserved.

In other words, the Lin family escaped a disaster this time without doing anything or paying anything.

How could this not make them envious and jealous?

"You don't have to be too pessimistic."

After a long silence, Li Zhiping suddenly spoke again.

"No one wants to settle in Heishan. Almost all the people in the city have paid for this mutual aid, just to ensure stability. Regardless of what the county minister has done before, as long as he represented the court at that time, the government cannot go back on his word, otherwise the court will be so broken. For people, if an order is changed overnight, the people in the city will definitely not agree to it, so isn’t Mr. Lu dedicated to serving the people? If public opinion is like this, he must not be able to act forcefully, right?"

As soon as these words came out, everyone thought for a moment, and then their eyes suddenly lit up.

It seems...that's the truth!

Zhao Dafu slapped his thigh: "That's right! All the people in the city have paid for mutual aid. This matter has been settled anyway. If Mr. Lu forcibly changes the list of relocated people, how will the people agree?"

Others quickly reacted.

"And this time we just exchanged food supplies to ensure safety. We didn't do anything else. Strictly speaking, putting aside the matter of the county magistrate, we are essentially still providing food and efforts for the court. Mr. Lu will Anyway, you shouldn’t target us, right?”

"Yes, yes, yes..."

Everyone said something to each other, and their expressions gradually became relaxed.

At the same time, I felt ashamed of myself for envying the Lin family just now.

In the face of the catastrophe, the Lin family did not want to be in the same boat as them. They were so independent and did not know how to commend themselves, so they deserved to go to the Black Mountains to eat ashes and work as cattle and horses for the Taihe County Lord forever.

What is there to envy about such a person?

So the topic was dropped.

Then everyone began to discuss how to proceed with business and other matters without Li Yongcheng as a "good county official", or how to deal with possible changes that may occur next.

And the reality was just as they expected.

Lu Chen indeed had no intention of overturning the relocation list set by Li Yongcheng, but for them, or for those who tried every means to avoid becoming the patronage of Taihe County Duke at all costs, was this a big deal? It's a good thing, but that's hard to say.