noffsinger Chapter 1079 Does he want to become a local tyrant?
Chapter 1079 Does he want to become a local tyrant?
That day, the Yuzhou Prefecture government office was packed with people, and the common people also rushed over to peek inside. Everyone was talking about it: "The prefect is not handling cases but is holding a banquet in the government office."
"The guests are all wealthy merchants from all over Yuzhou. It's strange that Prefect Zhang invited them to dinner instead of us poor, penniless people."
"So many people have died in the flash floods in Yuzhou, and countless people are starving and freezing. Prefect Zhang should treat us to a good meal!"
Some people started to speculate about conspiracy theories: "The world is in trouble. There's a war in the Northwest. Who knows when it will reach our area? Everyone says that officials and merchants are colluding. It seems that Prefect Zhang is now currying favor with merchants, just like other officials."
"The imperial court has given so much disaster relief money to Prefect Zhang. Could he be using our people's disaster relief funds to curry favor with merchants?"
"It's also possible that the money and grain are all in the hands of Prefect Zhang, who is using the people's life-saving money to feed these unscrupulous merchants... Prefect Zhang has also become corrupt, which is truly outrageous!"
“What nonsense are you talking about? Prefect Zhang isn’t that kind of person. He’s been so good to us ordinary people! If it weren’t for Prefect Zhang, would we have anything to eat all these years?” A ragged old woman interrupted them.
“We cultivate the fields ourselves. Whether we have enough to eat depends on our own hard work. How could we rely on Magistrate Zhang for food? Grandma, does Magistrate Zhang give you all the grain in your house?”
"They receive salaries from the imperial court and never worry about food or clothing. Their lives are far better than those of us farmers who depend on the weather for our livelihood. Officials are just good at putting on airs all day long."
The man continued, “If you’re a good official, then show your true abilities and fill the granaries for the people of Yuzhou so that we have enough to eat and wear. Look at us, which family isn’t poor? Heaven doesn’t take care of the people of Yuzhou; it always makes us suffer.”
The old woman had nothing to say. "I just think Prefect Zhang is a good official. The poverty of Yuzhou is God's fault. I don't blame Prefect Zhang."
At this moment, the Wan family also arrived. Wan Qianshan, dressed in a magnificent robe, strode over. He suddenly stopped in the middle of the gossiping people and said loudly, "I don't know if Prefect Zhang gave any other families any benefits, but he didn't give any benefits to our Wan family. Have you ever seen any high-ranking official who wanted to win over merchants by holding a banquet in the yamen instead of a luxurious restaurant, and even doing it so ostentatiously? A bunch of ignorant people deserve to have no food at home."
Although the group was dissatisfied, none of them dared to offend Young Master Wan. After all, they still needed the Wan family to make a living. The Wan family was a prominent family in Yuzhou, and many of them had to rent land from the Wan family to support their families.
They depend on the weather for their livelihood, and at the same time, they also depend on the mood of every household.
The reason why Wan Qianshan was more imposing than Prefect Zhang was because the Wan family was indeed wealthy and a large landowner, making them more useful to the common people than the prefect.
Wan Qianshan couldn't stand the people's unbridled slander of Zhang Qian. To be fair, the people's lives had indeed improved a lot during the years Zhang Qian served as the prefect of Yuzhou. Although he hadn't brought any real benefits to the people, they couldn't ignore his achievements.
He said, "Prefect Zhang also invited you to the banquet?"
Everyone shook their heads.
He then said, "Since we didn't invite you, what do you want to report to the authorities by blocking the entrance of the yamen?"
Everyone shook their heads again.
"Since you weren't invited by Prefect Zhang, nor did you come to report to the authorities and ask the Prefect to make a decision, where did you get the information that Prefect Zhang was going to host a banquet at the yamen today?"
The group looked at each other, realizing they had only heard about it from others, but who knew for sure!
"Since we didn't notify you, and you have no grievances to report, what are you still doing here? Go back now!" he roared. "If you block my way, I'll raise the rent next year..."
Everyone was so frightened by the words "rent increase" that they ran away immediately.
Wan Qianshan wasn't stupid. He had already heard that Prefect Zhang had not only invited the Wan family, but also the Bai family, the Li family, and other merchants of all sizes.
He even knew that "Brother Ruan" had been with Prefect Zhang these past two days, so he guessed that "Brother Ruan" was probably a member of the imperial court, and that it was Prefect Zhang's idea to invite the merchants.
He just couldn't figure out why the merchants were brought here.
The servant was taken aback, then gave an awkward laugh and lowered his voice, saying, "Young Master, please be modest. This is the prefectural government office, not our Wan family's..."
Bai Yuhan saw Wan Qianshan swaggering around at the entrance of the yamen from afar. She scoffed and thought to herself, Wan Qianshan really thinks the whole of Yuzhou is his own home. No matter what, this is the Yuzhou City yamen, the place of the imperial court, and the Empress is still in the yamen.
Does he want to become a local tyrant?
Bai Yuhan stepped down from the carriage. Since none of the Bai family wanted to come, she did. Anyway, she wanted to see the Empress, and she would unconditionally support whatever the Empress wanted to do.
Bai Yuhan walked up to Wan Qianshan, snorted coldly, and walked straight past him into the building.
Wan Qianshan felt utterly humiliated and retorted, "What kind of look is that? What did I do to you?"
Bai Yuhan pretended not to hear anything and didn't even give him a glance.
"Hey! What does she mean? I'm her savior, how can she not feel any gratitude at all?" Wan Qianshan said to his servant.
The servant didn't know how to answer, "Young Master, let's go in too. It seems the Bai family head didn't come either, but sent Miss Bai instead."
"The Bai family's cowards were afraid of the trap set by Prefect Zhang, but I didn't expect there to be one in the Bai family who wasn't cowardly. This makes me look at her with new respect."
The servant felt embarrassed. "But didn't Master know that Miss Bai would definitely come?"
Wan Qianshan paused for a moment. She would definitely come because Brother Ruan was in this place, and their relationship was special.
Wan Qianshan made up an excuse and followed Bai Yuhan to her seat. Bai Yuhan came in but didn't see Jiang Fenghua, so she gave up looking for her, thinking that she would definitely come out later.
She glanced at Wan Qianshan and made way for him. Why was Wan Qianshan sitting at the same table with her?
She muttered, "It's like a persistent ghost."
Wan Qianshan pretended not to hear, saying that the Bai family was going to sell their daughter to the Wan family, and that he would deal with Bai Yuhan properly after she married into the Wan family.
Prefect Zhang walked over unhurriedly after everyone had sat down. He was very unpretentious, standing with his hands behind his back, calm and composed.
He said, "Thank you all for coming today despite your busy schedules."
Wan Qianshan took the lead in standing up from his seat and bowing to Prefect Zhang, saying, "Prefect Zhang, you are too kind. Please feel free to give us any instructions."
Zhang Qian said, "Please don't stand on ceremony, everyone. I have something to ask for your help with. It's also an opportunity for Yuzhou. It's up to you all to seize it."
Bai Yuhan asked, "What do you mean by 'opportunity' as the Prefect?"
Zhang Qian was good at whetting people's appetites, saying, "Let's talk about it after we finish eating!"