flstandardbreds Chapter 139 Triumphant Return
Chapter 139 Triumphant Return
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Everyone agreed with Mu Tianyan's arrangement. As long as the plague under the city walls could be sent away, everything was negotiable. They considered it buying peace with money; after all, the governor had lost his position, so what were a few thousand taels of silver? Only Gao Shunqin retorted, "I am a censor, with a meager salary, unlike you gentlemen who are adept at making money. I cannot afford these three thousand taels of silver." With that, he turned and left.
The crowd was stunned, then enraged: thousands of soldiers and civilians had died, countless houses had been destroyed, the governor had been forced to resign, and they had finally managed to appease the tyrant below the city. It was only a few thousand taels of silver, yet Inspector Gao actually wanted to stay out of it!
Yu Baocheng was indignant and muttered, "I wonder who was it that kept encouraging the governor to send troops to suppress us, causing all this trouble, leaving us with a mess, and then just wanting to walk away..." Normally, as a mere prefect, he would never dare to speak so disparagingly of a circuit censor. Circuit censors were officials sent by the Censorate to inspect prefectures and counties, specifically tasked with investigating and impeaching officials. While they might not determine an official's promotion, they could influence their fate, holding a very high position.
“He is a high-ranking official, extremely noble and upright, so naturally he cannot associate with people like us.” Mu Tianyan said with a stern face as she watched Gao Shunqin’s departing figure.
He could actually guess Gao Shunqin's thoughts: as a censor, if he could easily produce three thousand taels of silver, it would be tantamount to giving others leverage over him and jeopardizing his future. But what would that leave them all out of the picture? Would they all be corrupt officials, highlighting his own incorruptibility as Inspector Gao? This man couldn't be allowed to stay; he had to find a way to squeeze him out of the Guangdong officialdom.
Turning to Yu Baocheng, he instructed, "His share is on my head. With foreign enemies at hand, let's deal with the scoundrels outside the city first." This statement drew praise from the other officials, who all said that Lord Mu was responsible.
Yu Baocheng agreed, but he had already made up his mind that the three thousand taels and Lord Mu's own five thousand taels would be distributed to the merchants. With Governor Wang gone, it was unknown who the new governor would be. Lord Mu was a powerful figure in Guangzhou, so he would stick close to him for now.
Under the city.
The crowd was unaware of the true colors of the officials, big and small. They were all stunned as they watched Wang Zunde disappear from the city wall—their master's few words had actually caused the governor-general, who held the military and political power of Guangdong and Guangxi, to resign in public! Although this was just a statement, the words of a governor-general, even if not golden words, were like nails stuck in the sand, and he would never go back on his word.
The 100,000 taels of silver were quickly raised and lowered down the city wall by several yamen runners. Liu Ye waved to Yu Baocheng on the city wall, "Prefect, until we meet again!" He then led his guards, carrying cannons of all sizes, and rode away.
The defending general asked reluctantly, "Sir, this distance is just right. Shall we fire a few shots?"
Yu Baocheng, disregarding all decorum, jumped up and slapped him across the face, shouting, "You bastard, don't you have a brain?! Try firing a cannon! If you piss that devil off, I'll tie you up, stuff you in a cannon, and shoot you out!"
The general touched his cheek, meekly daring not to speak again.