It was already one month since Li Ling was appointed as the prefect of Yangzhou. During this month, he was really busy. He either handled relevant official duties in the yamen or went to the construction site outside to inspire people's fighting spirit, so that the people who rebuilt the city's homes could work harder.

Every day, he gets up early and goes to bed late, and it is indeed very hard to ask about everything. But at the same time, the results are obvious. Yangzhou City has gradually returned to its old appearance, and the people also have a smile on their faces of looking forward to the future. As the parents and officials who dominate all this, Li Ling's reputation has reached a high point. Both the military and the civilians are full of respect for him. With just one order, everyone will execute without any discount.

At this point, he felt that he should take a step further. After all, time does not wait for anyone. Before this year, he had to hand over the taxes, money and grain, and he had to talk to the two big families. Moreover, he believed that with his reputation and status in Yangzhou City today, he was indeed qualified to talk to the Lu Xie family.

However, before thinking about how to talk to them, Li Ling also considered one key point, which one to visit first. Perhaps in the eyes of ordinary people, this order is not important, but in the officialdom, the order means the difference in status between the two families, so I dare not relax at all.

After some trade-offs, Li Ling still chose to go to the Xie family first. Although the Lu family in Jiangnan is now the leader of the nine surnames, this is just their ranking in the civil forces, and it is not the case in the officialdom. Not to mention that Lu Xu, the head of the Lu family, is just a retired official, even if Lu Zhen is here, he is not as high as the left prime minister as Changxing Marquis.

Moreover, because of Lu Zhen, he had some doubts about the Lu family, so it would be easier to open the gap from the Xie family first. So today, accompanied by Li Moyun, he came to Xiejiabao to pay a visit.

When Li Ling handed his name into it, the Xie family did not dare to be entrusted. They immediately brought him into it, watched tea in a side hall, waiting for Xie Wenruo's reply. And this wait was only half an hour before a man dressed in charge led them to the deeper part of this large courtyard, and came to a bamboo monument building, and saw the current head of the Xie family, the contemporary Changxing Hou, Xie Wenruo.

Without gorgeous clothes, she only wore a wide blue robe, but Xie Wenruo's first impression was still quite good. The nobleness that came from her bones was not something that ordinary rich men could have. In addition, his handsome face made people respect him. Even Li Ling followed the rules and signed up in front of the hall to see: "Li Ling, the governor of Yangzhou, met the Marquis of Changxing."

"Haha, Master Li is so polite. Come in and sit down and talk. I have prepared refreshments for you." Xie Wenruo looked polite and had a good friend, waved Li Ling to come in and asked him to sit in the guest seat beside him. When he sat down, he smiled again: "To be honest, this marquis was a few months ago. When Master Li took office, he wanted to see you, a young and promising minister who made many contributions to the court. It was just because he heard that Master Li was busy with his affairs, so he did not dare to disturb him."

"The Marquis is absurd, and the officials are frightened." Li Ling said modestly and then clasped his fists solemnly, "Originally, the officials should have come here to greet and see them earlier, but as you said just now, it was because of all the troubles that he had to clarify all the clues, stabilize the people of Yangzhou, and see the Marquis again. I hope the Marquis will not blame the officials for being negligent and rude..."

"Haha, no wonder, I am from Yangzhou, so I naturally hope that the weather here will be good and the people will be stable. You have done a good job and won my heart. By the way, I have heard a lot of things that you have worked hard for the people and worked hard at home recently. I am really impressed. When I submit this year to the court to celebrate the New Year, I will definitely ask the court for you to make a contribution."

Xie Wenruo said it nicely, but Li Ling felt a little nervous and savored the threatening meaning implied in his words. As the Marquis of Changxing, he had the right to report.

However, Li Ling still had a modest smile on his face: "The Marquis is too good, but the officials cannot afford such praise. It is all the things I should do for the prefect of the local magistrate. However, Marquis, you and the Xie family are really doing things for the people of Yangzhou. I have heard that Yangzhou has undergone a major change before and the people cannot continue. The Xie family has taken out a considerable amount of money and grain to help the people of the whole city every day. This practice of only helping people save people but not paying back is deeply admired."

"Haha, I dare not take it or not. After all, my Xie family has been in Yangzhou for a hundred years. I should do something for this place within my ability." Xie Wenruo smiled and said modestly.

The two of them just circled around and said some compliments to each other. They only occasionally clicked on some key points, but were quickly avoided. After a confrontation, no one could suppress anyone, and the match was evenly matched.

However, this is not what Li Ling hopes to see. Xie Wenruo wasted at most by talking in circles, but his goal could not be achieved.

In desperation, he could only take the initiative to bring the topic to taxation: "Mr. Marquis is in Yangzhou, and I believe he has a deep understanding of the chaos in Jiangnan this time?"

"Yes, Luo Tian Cult's rebels are indeed extremely harmful. The court should send troops as soon as possible to wipe them out one by one."

Seeing that the other party had not yet responded, Li Ling frowned slightly and continued, "The officials refer to the influence of the chaos, which is as wealthy as Jiangnan. After this chaos, it will be a serious injury to the vitality. But the problem is that Jiangnan is a place of taxation in the court, and now the court cannot reduce the taxes of Jiangnan after the disaster due to major events in various parties. I wonder what the marquis has to think about this?" If the person did not respond, he could only make it clear.

But in the end, Xie Wenruo still avoided: "This marquis is only idle, he knows very little about the various measures of the court, and he has no ability to help Prefect Li share his worries."

"The Marquis is too humble. I think that in this matter, the only ones who can help the court and the officials in Yangzhou are the Xie family where the Marquis is located and the Lu family."

"Oh? Why didn't I know this myself? I hope Master Li can explain it more clearly."

Li Ling looked at the other party's smile, but could only hold back and said seriously: "What the court wants is taxes, but the people of the people are too busy to take care of themselves and can no longer collect money and food. Therefore, the meaning of the subordinate officials is that someone needs to donate generously to resolve the difficulties of our government office. I believe the marquis should also know how important this tax is to local officials like the subordinate officials, so..."

"So you want me to give you some money and food to help you. This is easy to say. Although my Xie family is not very rich, I am willing to do my best. In this way, tomorrow I will ask someone to send 20,000 taels of silver and 10,000 dou of food to the government office. What about?"

Li Ling narrowed his eyes and was very annoyed. Mr. Xie not only pretended to be stupid, but now he even treated himself as a beggar. The money and grain he proposed to give seemed to be a lot of money and food, even more than the single funding provided by the wealthy households in the city before. However, compared with the taxes Li Ling needed, this amount of money and grain was a drop in the bucket.

However, Li Ling knew that this matter could not be used as a strong person, and he could not tear his face apart, so he could only reply with a wry smile: "Mr. Marquis, if you only have such a little money and food, the officials can find a way to solve it himself, and they will not ask you at all."

"Master Li, how much help do you want me to give you? To be honest, my Xie family is not too rich, and as you said, I used to help all the victims of the city regardless of gains and losses, but now there is really not much left in the warehouse at home. My Xie family has more than 200 people, and it is not easy to support it."

What a genius believes in your excuse? Who doesn’t know that your Xie family was a wealthy family in Jiangnan before the establishment of this dynasty. Even if your ancestors dedicated all their property to Emperor Taizu, they would still get back their capital and profits? In addition, your Xie family’s accumulated over a hundred years, it is not an exaggeration to say that wealth is as good as a country. Now they are crying with me and cheating on me!

Li Ling kept refuting it in his heart, but he couldn't say it straightforwardly, so he could only say bitterly: "Marty, it's about Yangzhou and even the peace in Jiangnan. The officials still hope that you can put the overall situation first. I think you don't want a good Yangzhou to have any trouble again due to taxes, right? If there is another chaos, it will be a disaster for you to the Xie family, right? You are the hereditary Marquis of Changxing, the imperial court, and only when the place is stable can your Xie family last long..."

"What Li prefect said is indeed reasonable, but this marquis is really helpless. At most, I can only take out 50,000 taels of silver." Xie Wenruo still bit him to death and did not give up. Then he smiled even more: "As for the fact that it is really going to be in chaos, I am powerless. After all, I am not an official in Yangzhou and have no responsibility to defend the people. As for the safety of my Xie family, you will not worry about it. I can keep my Xie family fort before, and there will be no problem in the future!"

This guy didn't eat oil and salt, and he didn't eat soft and hard anymore. After clarifying this, Li Ling's face finally turned completely cold: "Honor is he really not willing to help at all?"

"Help, I told you, 50,000 taels of silver and 20,000 dou of food. I will send you to the government office tomorrow and do my best."

Li Ling shook his head and sighed. He didn't want to be an enemy of him, but he was irreverent and could not do his plan. He could not say that he had to use some extraordinary means next. Anyway, the court had this meaning, and it was time for such a wealthy family who had been raised by the court for a hundred years to know what it means to take from the people and use it for the people, what it means to destroy the family county magistrate, and destroy the family magistrate.

But just as he was about to get up and say goodbye, Xie Wenruo suddenly said, "Wait, there is something, maybe you will be interested in seeing it, Master Li." As he clapped his hands, someone came in outside and sent a wooden box to Li Ling.
Chapter completed!