Chapter 93: The Emperor is Greedy for Money, Everyone is a Loser

Shi Hong put on a brand-new uniform and walked into the Jia-block prison with satisfaction.

The guards ran up to flatter him one after another. It didn't matter if they couldn't flatter; the key was to show their faces and not let the proud Shi Hong catch their handles.

Chen Guanlou didn't bird him, sitting behind the office desk, legs crossed on the desk, eating melon seeds.

Shi Hong walked into the duty room surrounded by guards. Seeing this scene, he was instantly very dissatisfied.

Scanning the guards behind him, Shi Hong raised his head, like a fighting chicken full of chicken blood, aggressive. "Chen Tou doesn't welcome me? Hmph, those who don't know would think you and Li Tou have a deep relationship, and you are fighting for him. But who doesn't know, you and Li Tou had already fallen out. Is his account settled?"

Chen Guanlou sneered, spitting out a melon seed shell. "When a person dies, everything disappears. Stone, hmm, sure you're called Stone? On your first day in office, you want to flip the old accounts of a dead person; you really have ability."

"Call me Hong Tou!"

"Right, just call him Hong Tou, Hong luck is on the head."

There is never a shortage of bootlickers at any time. Shi Hong succeeded, and the guards gathered around him one after another, clearly more optimistic about Shi Hong's future. Who let people have a watery cousin blowing pillow wind, which was much stronger than the Chen Tou who had read books.

Shi Hong clearly accepted the guards' statement, Hong Tou, not bad, not bad.

"I am an old man in the Jia-block prison; I know the rules better than you, Chen Tou. Of course, I won't flip Li Tou's old accounts. However, your appearance welcoming me will make people misunderstand that you have an opinion on me."

Chen Guanlou laughed. "I have no opinion on you. I am more worried that you have an opinion on me."

After saying that, he put down his feet, stood up, came to Shi Hong, and patted the other party's shoulder. "I have been a head constable for a few days longer than you, and have a few more days of experience. If you have anything you don't understand in the future, just ask me."

Shi Hong:...

He was so angry that his expression was distorted.

Chen Guanlou used four taels to move a thousand jin, easily crushing him in momentum. He didn't even have to look back, he could imagine what expressions the guards had.

Chen Guanlou walked out, and the guards scattered one after another, making way for the passage in the middle.

"Chen Tou is good!"

One person took the lead, and countless people followed, shouting one after another, "Chen Tou is good!"

Chen Guanlou waved his hand; he was going to find Jiang Jiang Yucheng Fan to drink tea.

"It's a headache! The people above are too excessive this time." Jiang Jiang Yucheng Fan sat in the office, looking like he had a headache.

Chen Guanlou hmm-hmmed twice, which was considered echoing. Jiang Jiang Yucheng Fan just needed a listener, not someone to give him advice.

"Money is suddenly less than half, what should we do in the future! Little Chen, the guards below didn't make trouble, right? The Yi-block prison side has already made trouble, and Jiang Jiang Yucheng Fan is very angry."

"My lord, rest assured, the Jia-block prison is currently normal, everyone's emotions are very stable, and they can understand that the higher-ups have unavoidable difficulties in doing so. Now the court is difficult, and we guards also have a public heart, and it is our duty to share worries for the superiors."

Jiang Jiang Yucheng Fan:...

Is it necessary? Is it necessary? Is it necessary to say these set words, empty words, and false words in front of him? Damn public heart.

"Little Chen, you have a public heart, and you have the idea of sharing worries for your superiors, this is a good thing. However, in front of me, you don't need to be like this. Let's just chat, chat, no need to be restrained."

"My lord is right. Sometimes I get nervous easily." Chen Guanlou smiled implicitly, looking young and shallow, very deceptive.

Jiang Jiang Yucheng Fan laughed happily. "When I was your age, I was also easily nervous. Several times in the child scholar exam, because I was too nervous, I didn't even see the topic clearly and rushed to write. I was afraid that there wouldn't be enough time to answer. Hey..."

"My lord is accumulating thin and sending thick, sooner or later you will go straight to the blue clouds."

"No way. Once you enter the official, you will be an official for life. In all dynasties, only when the new dynasty was just established was there a chance for officials to become officials. Later, the conditions for becoming an official became more and more strict. In this life, I have no chance."

Jiang Jiang Yucheng Fan was very regretful and sighed.

If he were a few years younger, he wouldn't have come to the Heavenly Prison to be a warden, and he would definitely have continued to take the imperial examination.

Chen Guanlou coughed lightly. "My lord, don't be disappointed. Even if you are an official, you can do a lot. Many officials are imprisoned below; if you see any you like, you might as well contact them more."

"What do you mean?" Jiang Jiang Yucheng Fan was instantly interested, letting Chen Guanlou explain in detail.

Chen Guanlou told him, "Officials from the background of the Jixia Academy usually have a very high probability of returning to their original posts. They also need a few confidants to do things for them."

Jiang Jiang Yucheng Fan nodded repeatedly upon hearing this. "You are right. All officials need a few confidant subordinates to do things. However, how can I determine which imprisoned official is worth investing in? Besides, people may not look up to me!"

"My lord just needs to wait patiently. I will pay attention to the prisoners in the prison for you, and if I meet a suitable one, I will notify you immediately. At that time, you can cater to their preferences..."

Jiang Jiang Yucheng Fan was pointed out by Chen Guanlou, feeling like meeting late. He wished he had met ten years earlier.

He held Chen Guanlou's hand and sighed repeatedly, saying that Chen Guanlou was the most loyal iron rod by his side.

Chen Guanlou only felt disgusted and quickly pulled his hand out without a trace. People in this era have a bad habit; once excited, they like to hold hands and not let go. And they are not women; two men holding hands together is not like words.

Why did Chen Guanlou fool Jiang Jiang Yucheng Fan?

Just because he saw that Jiang Jiang Yucheng Fan had the idea of scraping money from the guards' pockets. Quickly use the future to divert attention and dispel Jiang Jiang Yucheng Fan's idea.

To have a future, you can't force the guards too hard. Prisoners deal with guards every day; if he gets a reputation for being harsh and greedy, and it reaches the ears of those imprisoned officials who are about to rise, where is the future?

Being an official, the most important thing is reputation. Even if you don't care about reputation in your heart, at least you have to do it on the surface. Recruiting someone with a bad reputation to work by your side is not worth it.

Jiang Jiang Yucheng Fan also knew the severity of this, and in his mind, the future was always more important. If there was really a chance to rely on a big boss and get the boss's appreciation, he could accept the loss of one or two money.

Chen Guanlou breathed a sigh of relief secretly.

As long as Jiang Jiang Yucheng Fan wouldn't be crazy enough to hollow out the guards' pockets, the work could still continue. ===== CHAPTER 94 =====

He gritted his teeth; he couldn't count on his backers, as it was impossible for them to stand up for him over such a trivial matter, so he could only helplessly and passively endure it.

He had been so angry that he hadn't eaten, drunk, or slept well for two days, and he had lost weight. He had promised his newly taken concubine a set of head ornaments, but he was afraid he would have to break his word.

Private Secretary Li also sighed, "The Ministry of Revenue has no money and has been in arrears with the salaries of capital officials for more than half a year. Here in the Heavenly Prison, it has also been nearly half a year since we received a single coin or a grain of rice; we are all relying on the meager funds in the private account set up by the Heavenly Prison to barely hold on. Now, the public account has been cut by ten percent directly from above, and the prison guards' pay has been cut by twenty percent. It will be even harder in the future."

"I heard that His Majesty's expenses are increasing, and the exploitation is becoming more and more severe..."

"Shh! Watch your words! Do you not want your life?" Jiang Jiang Yucheng Fan glared fiercely at Little Prison Clerk Fan, "This is the capital, not the ancestral home in your hometown. Keep your mouth shut; you are not allowed to talk nonsense at any time. Even in your dreams, you must keep your mouth shut."

Little Prison Clerk Fan looked sullen and appeared very embarrassed.

Private Secretary Li coughed lightly and said in a low voice, "The rebels in Jinzhou are making more and more trouble, and the Ministry of War is clamoring for money every day. Yet, His Majesty refuses to take money from the Imperial Treasury to use, and even lets Jiang Tu repeatedly exploit the localities, causing public resentment to boil over. Many officials have run to the Crown Prince..."

"Stop talking! Those matters are not something we can participate in." Jiang Jiang Yucheng Fan kept a straight face, "Regarding this matter, the prison guards below must be full of complaints. You all watch them carefully for me; if anyone causes trouble, I will never be lenient."