Rebirth of The Deer and the Cauldron, Wei Xiaobao Becomes a God

After hearing the words of the governor, Wu Xingzuo could not help but shake his head, feeling helpless about these subordinates who were pretending to be poor and stupid.

Even though they had handed over the stolen silver from the sea gang, how could they really be so poor that they couldn't even afford to eat?

These people were merely following an unspoken rule - "Don't show off your wealth, wear shabby clothes, and pretend to be poor in court."

However, Wu Xingzuo did not expose them, but turned to Zhu Youli and asked: "General Zhu, can you ask the teacher if we can arrange some food for them as well?"

Zhu Youli glanced at the hundreds of Fujian officials at all levels standing in the hall and laughed in his heart. These guys are really good at pretending!

Then he nodded, indicating that he would ask for instructions, and then he turned and walked towards the big private room where Wei Xiaobao and Kangxi were.

"Report!" Zhu Youli shouted loudly outside the door.

"Come in." Wei Xiaobao's voice came from inside.

Zhu Youli pushed the door open and explained to Wei Xiaobao the situation of those Fujian officials outside who had no food to eat.

After hearing this, Wei Xiaobao couldn't help laughing, and turned to Kangxi and said, "Your ministers are hungry. As a big boss, shouldn't you do something about it?"

Kangxi also laughed and replied: "Didn't you say you would host a welcoming party for me? Then treat them as my followers and invite them to a banquet together."

Kangxi was really poor. When he went out, he took 50,000 taels of silver notes from the treasury. If he were to give a banquet to the hundreds of officials outside, he would have to spend at least 10,000 or 20,000 taels of silver notes. Kangxi really couldn't afford such a reception.

"Okay, for my brother-in-law's sake, let the shopkeeper cook them each a bowl of plain noodles with clear soup."

"Xiao Bao, you are also the richest commander-in-chief of the Tiandi Federation. You are embarrassed to offer a bowl of plain noodles. Please give me some face and let's eat!"

Kangxi wanted to spend Wei Xiaobao's money to calm the officials in Fujian.

Unexpectedly, Wei Xiaobao said, "Your subordinates are all rotten at heart. Not inviting them to a beating is already polite. They don't deserve to have a feast."

Kangxi seemed to have sensed something different and asked quickly, "Did they do something that made you unhappy?"

Wei Xiaobao smiled and said, "Your Majesty, I am very happy, but I am afraid you will not be happy after knowing it."

"Oh, what's that? Tell me about it?" Kangxi asked.

Wei Xiaobao smiled and said, "After dinner, the emperor can go ask Wu Xingzuo. He handled this case well and is very capable."

Kangxi was confused and couldn't help but become curious, but when he heard Wei Xiaobao mention Wu Xingzuo, he could only bear it and ask after dinner.

Kangxi was preoccupied during the meal and ate very little, but Jianning and Shuangshuang, mother and daughter, ate to their heart's content, and Shuang'er and Lingzhao were not to be outdone.

Buddha jumps over the wall, mussels in chicken soup, wine lees chicken, lychee meat...

They enjoyed the meal very much with these Fujian signature dishes.

In the lobby, the governor and others looked at the noodles in front of them, and then looked at the food on the table of the governor and others. They felt extremely uncomfortable.

Everyone looked unhappy. They thought they could have a big meal, but in the end they only had a bowl of plain noodles.

Wei Xiaobao's spiritual sense passed through the private room, looking at the expressions of these officials, and he laughed in his heart. This is the game of power. Sometimes, a small decision can put people in an embarrassing situation.

After the welcoming banquet, everyone returned to the Governor's Mansion.

Before starting negotiations with Wei Xiaobao, Kangxi summoned officials of all ranks in Fujian to the Governor's Office.

Kangxi looked at the people kneeling below and slowly said, "I have roughly understood the matter regarding Yao Qisheng. Has Wei Xiaobao told you how he wants to resolve this matter?"

"Your Majesty, I have asked Lord Wei, but he just said that it depends on your decision," Wu Xingzuo replied.

"This guy is such a cunning fox!" Kangxi frowned slightly and glanced at Wu Xingzuo. He suddenly remembered a case that Wei Xiaobao mentioned during dinner, so he turned to Wu Xingzuo and said, "Governor Wu, Wei Xiaobao said that he asked you to handle a big case. What is it? Tell me in detail."

As soon as Kangxi uttered this, all the officials present were so frightened that they knelt on the ground, trembling and not daring to even breathe.

Seeing the officials' reactions, Kangxi had guessed something in his mind. His face became more gloomy and his tone became serious: "Tell me quickly, what is the case?"

Wu Xingzuo knew that he could no longer conceal the matter of the Hai Gang, so he had to tell the whole story about the Hai Gang's smuggling from Ryukyu and their huge profits, and how Zheng on Dongzhou Island, Prince Kang, Yao Qisheng and other Fujian officials were involved.

"What? A smuggling case involving a sea gang actually involved important officials in the court, provincial governors, and officials from a province, and even involved aiding the enemy and selling out the country!"

When Kangxi heard the news, he was so angry that his face turned blue and his body trembled slightly.

Kangxi glared at the kneeling Fujian officials and said sternly, "Let's talk about you first. Relocating the border and banning the sea is our national policy, but not only did you not implement it seriously, but you colluded with the smuggling gangs. You clearly knew that they were colluding with the hostile forces of the Zheng family of Dongzhou Island, but you protected each other and provided convenience for them to plunder silver in the Central Plains! Where is your conscience? Where are the books of sages that you read?"

“And you, Wu Xingzuo, as the governor, an important official of a province, don’t you have Hanying Fubiao under your command?

You can do things like confiscating property by yourself, so why do you have to rely on Wei Xiaobao?

Is he the kind of person who only cares about money? Back then, when he raided Aobai's house, he secretly embezzled my 500,000 taels of silver, which made me very sad.

Now, even you don't know how much silver he looted this time. Just look at the silver these accomplices got, it's tens of millions of taels of silver, not to mention the wealth of the main criminal's family is immeasurable."

Kangxi calmed down and continued, "Do you know that if I had this money, I could do a lot of things!

The Yellow River floods can be alleviated, the drought in Shaanxi and Gansu can be resolved, and even the locust plague in Shandong can receive effective relief!

This money can save countless lives! And you actually handed over such a huge fortune to Wei Xiaobao! Do you have a brain?" The emperor pointed at Wu Xingzuo angrily, his eyes flashing with anger.

"Your Majesty, please calm down. I know I was wrong. Please punish me." Wu Xingzuo lowered his head, his voice trembling.

"Punishment? Do you think punishment can make up for the losses? Do you know what this batch of silver means to the court and the people?" the emperor said angrily.

"Your Majesty, I had no choice but to make this decision. Now the entire Fujian is under the control of the Tiandi Army. If I disobey, I will lose my head." Wu Xingzuo explained.