Chapter 98: Three Years as a Clean Prefect, One Hundred Thousand Snow-White Silver

Chen Mo held two large iron hammers in his hands, each weighing over a hundred catties.

These were spoils of war seized previously at Xingluo Mountain; they were fine weapons.

His foster father possessed excellent saber techniques and his own weapons were of the highest quality, so naturally, he disdained using these two large iron hammers.

Thus, Chen Mo asked for them to use himself; before undergoing his last Mortal Transformation, he found these two hammers quite handy.

However, after the Mortal Transformation, these two hammers felt a bit light, though they were still sufficient for use.

As for the long spear he originally used, it felt even lighter in his hands now.

So, he put the long spear away first and switched to using these two large hammers.

The most crucial point was that these two hammers were cheap; although they were forged quite well, they lacked any technical complexity, being merely forged from ordinary refined steel.

He was going to explore the Mirage Sea next, so even if this weapon were lost in the Mirage Sea, Chen Mo would not feel pained.

The long spear embedded with Iron-Reinforced Spear was different; Iron-Reinforced Spear was not something an ordinary martial artist could refine, but was smelted by Qi Refiners from refined steel.

A small piece weighed over a hundred catties, and when mixed into a weapon, it could make the weapon both flexible and sharp.

The cost of forging a weapon with Iron-Reinforced Spear was high, and it could not be calculated in silver.

One had to produce Mirage Spirits or Blood Essence Stones at the very least for those Qi Refiners to be willing to help refine the Iron-Reinforced Spear.

Furthermore, one had to find a blacksmith who was strong enough, preferably with some Martial Dao cultivation, to forge this Iron-Reinforced Spear into a weapon.

It could be said that the cost required to forge such a weapon as he wanted would not be small.

Chen Mo did have the idea of forging one, but he did not have enough money on hand.

If he were to forge a steel spear, the weight could absolutely not be just one or two hundred catties; it had to be forged to at least four hundred catties.

This way, even if he underwent another rebirth, this weapon itself would still be usable.

According to the market rates he learned at Xiaqi Valley, to forge such a weapon, he would need at least four Blood Essence Stones.

Three would be used to purchase materials, and one would be the reward for the master craftsman forging the weapon.

Chen Mo did not have nearly that much on hand; if he wanted to forge it, he would have to save for a while longer.

Of course, improving his own strength was the top priority; the forging of the weapon was not extremely urgent.

Even if it were forged, Chen Mo did not intend to bring this weapon into the Mirage Sea.

For his daily trips to the Mirage Sea, using blunt weapons like iron hammers was sufficient.

For one, there were all sorts of strange monsters in the Mirage Sea, and there might be creatures similar to the strange deer that could assimilate his weapons.

Even if a weapon forged from ordinary refined steel was expensive, the cost was only silver, and he would not feel pained if it were lost.

But a weapon forged from various special materials had too high a cost; if something went wrong, he would truly feel pained.

Secondly, through his few encounters with the monsters of the Mirage Sea, he discovered that these monsters were not easily killed with sharp weapons.

Even if their heads were severed or they were dismembered, they remained alive, their bodies still wriggling, trying to piece themselves back together.

Swinging a hammer to smash them into pulp was, instead, a better choice.

Placing the two large hammers carefully in the courtyard, Chen Mo went to move other heavy items from the carriage.

Other things were easy to handle, but the armor and precious bow were not things an ordinary carriage driver could move down.

In order to transport everything back, especially the two large iron hammers.

Chen Mo not only drove the carriage himself but also hired a large cart to get everything delivered.

"My Lord, how can we let you do this rough work? Let us do it." He Luoyun hurried over, panting, and the few personal attendants beside him were quite observant.

They hurriedly helped Chen Mo move everything off the carriage and took out silver to help settle the cost of hiring the cart.

"Come inside to talk." Chen Mo smiled at He Luoyun.

In fact, he was quite satisfied with this person; for one, the other party did things in a proper manner and did not require him to worry too much.

Secondly, the previous task of helping him collect evidence of Liu Mingqiao's corruption and law-breaking was also done with his help.

Based on these two points alone, it was enough to prove that this person was usable.

Or rather, in the eyes of others, he was already part of his faction.

"Yes!" He Luoyun nodded repeatedly, a flash of joy appearing on his face.

He truly did not expect that not long after Liu Mingqiao disappeared, the government stopped pursuing the matter, and two or three months later, Chen Mo took office as the new Salt Transport Chief.

Matters like the Prefecture Assistant colluding with the Dutian Dao were not things a small person like him could know at will.

He would have to wait at least a period of time, until after the Prefecture Assistant's nine generations were executed, before he could know this news.

But regardless, He Luoyun was clear on one point: his initial choice to help Chen Mo was the right one.

This was an opportunity; as long as he could grasp it, his business could at the very least double four or five times over.

"I have been away for this period of time; did anything happen at Zhu Niu Ji?"

Chen Mo pushed the door open and walked into the room, intending to sit down, but seeing a layer of dust on the chair, he stood and asked.

"Replying to my Lord, Zhu Niu Ji has been quite stable over this past month or so. It is just that within the jurisdiction of the Salt Transport Department, some things have happened."

He Luoyun answered in a respectful and deep voice.

Without waiting for Chen Mo to urge him, he continued to speak and explained the matter.

"Upon learning that you had taken office, my Lord, two private salt merchants who had an excellent relationship with Liu Mingqiao moved their entire families away, leaving behind quite a bit of liquid assets before they left."

As He Luoyun spoke, he took a stack of silver notes and many sheets of paper with secret codes written on them from his Huai.

These silver notes were large-denomination deposit notes, each with a corresponding secret code; to withdraw them, one needed not only the silver notes but also the secret codes.

"This is the money left behind by those two private salt merchants; please take a look, my Lord."

Chen Mo reached out and took the silver notes; a rough glance showed they amounted to a massive sum of five or six thousand taels.

It seemed those two private salt merchants saw Liu Mingqiao's fate and worried that once Chen Mo, the new Salt Transport Chief, arrived, they would be targeted and liquidated as his accomplices.

After all, they not only had a close relationship with Liu Mingqiao, but more importantly, they were very wealthy and lacked the ability to protect their wealth.

Worried that Chen Mo would take them as the first targets upon taking office, they left first.

However, they were smart enough to leave behind a large sum of liquid assets before leaving, ensuring that Chen Mo would not continue to pursue the matter.

"Now that they have left, is there anyone to take over their business?" Chen Mo asked softly, placing the silver notes casually on the table to the side.

"Reporting to you, my lord, since you had not yet taken office, no one dared to take it over on their own initiative," He Luoyun answered honestly.

The private salt business is called a business, but if one hasn't established the right connections and just acts like a reckless greenhorn, then the whole family might not even know how they died.

Therefore, because Chen Mo hadn't given the nod, no one dared to take over this business on their own.

"Can you take over their business?" Chen Mo looked at He Luoyun with a smile.

The other party had helped him with tasks before, so he couldn't let him work for nothing; he had to provide some benefits.

"I can!" He Luoyun had been waiting for these words from Chen Mo and nodded decisively to accept the matter.

"Good, then you shall take it over. Work hard; in the future, I will have more things that require you."

Chen Mo revealed a smile; he indeed intended to let He Luoyun do some things for him, mainly because this person was quite useful.

Since using him hadn't caused any problems so far, there was no need for him to take the risk of finding someone else.

"Thank you, my lord!" He Luoyun bowed, then immediately took a stack of silver notes from his Huai.

"My lord, please keep this silver for tea. In the future, if there is any place you need this lowly one, just give the word; even if I have to climb a mountain of blades or descend into a sea of fire, I will handle it for you!"

He Luoyun's tone was slightly excited; if Chen Mo weren't standing right in front of him, he might have jumped up.

The business of those two big private salt merchants was much larger than his own; as long as he could take it over steadily, he would have plenty of money to earn in the future.

Even if he still had to pay bribes up and down, the silver earned would still be far more than before.

As long as this business could stabilize, he would no longer have to worry about the money for his son's martial arts training, and all kinds of supplementary medicinal soups could be used.

He Luoyun knew from his own experience that if one only practiced martial arts without taking supplements, it might be fine in the prime of life, but once old age arrived, every part of the body would ache.

He was like that now; whenever it was cloudy or rainy, it hurt almost every time he moved, and this was only after he had practiced martial arts for a few years.

He had suffered this misery and absolutely could not let his own child suffer along with him.

"Then this lowly one will take his leave first; my lord, please rest." He Luoyun bowed in thanks and left.

Chen Mo looked at the silver notes in his hand; those two private salt merchants had left behind a total of six thousand taels of silver before leaving, and He Luoyun had just brought another one thousand taels.

One has to say, being promoted is truly good; once this official position was raised, he had obtained seven thousand taels of silver before doing anything at all.

He could keep all of these seven thousand taels of silver, but if he were to receive more silver in the future, he would have to take it out to pay bribes up and down.

He Luoyun had helped call people from somewhere, and they were currently helping to clean up everywhere in the courtyard.

"I have just taken office, so I must go and check the situation first; you stay at home and watch over the things," Chen Mo walked to Zhao Yu's side and whispered to her.

Since he had taken office, he had to hurry and do some things.

It would also be an opportunity to take a look at the situation of the nearby military camps along the way, to determine which military camps he needed to visit every month in the future.

"Alright, don't worry, I will take care of everything at home," Zhao Yu nodded and said.

She understood that Chen Mo was talking about the chest containing the precious bow and armor; compared to that, it wouldn't matter if everything else were lost.

Leaving his small courtyard, Chen Mo rode his horse away, leaving the horses and carriages at the previous military camp for others to look after.

He did not ride a horse himself, choosing to travel alone.

The main reason was that riding a horse was far less fast than his own two legs.

As a Seventh Grade Salt Transport Chief, he had no subordinate officials, and there were not even any soldiers under his command.

This position was said to be for escorting Official Salt and cracking down on private salt merchants, but it was more about inspecting various places to ensure that the Salt Transport Commissioners and Salt Transport General Commissioners under his command were doing their jobs.

Of course, although he had no soldiers directly under his command, he could mobilize all the soldiers within the entire scope of the Salt Transport Department at will.

Therefore, the empty pay that those Salt Transport Commissioners and Salt Transport General Commissioners took, as well as the income from selling private salt, would also have a portion shared with him.

Although the Salt Transport Chief had no soldiers directly under his command, he could independently recruit clerks to do things.

Chen Mo had already asked his foster father for people, but he would have to wait until after the leave period for them to arrive one after another.

He did not force people to come over; after all, having survived a battle, they naturally all wanted to go home to see their relatives and friends.

Chen Mo made a round of the entire area for which the Salt Transport Department was responsible, indicating to everyone that everything would follow the old customs.

The Salt Transport General Commissioners, Salt Transport Commissioners, and various large and small private salt merchants under his command all handed over a sum of silver to him according to the rules.

This silver was no longer given once a month, but collected once a season.

Chen Mo had come in person this time to indicate to everyone that he had already taken office.

With this time, next time someone would naturally send the silver that should be sent to Zhu Niu Ji one after another.

After the round was finished, Chen Mo already had more than twenty thousand three hundred taels of silver notes in his hand, and they were all large denominations of one hundred taels each.

Even so, it was still a considerably thick stack in his hand.

From this, it could be seen that transporting private salt was truly the most profitable of all profits.

Not counting the small change, of this silver, twenty percent had to be given to his foster father, who was his immediate superior.

Another twenty percent had to be sent to the Ding Prefecture Patrol Heaven Guard General, that is, General Zhou Dong.

When suppressing the Dutian Dao Sect, he had performed meritorious service and had now been promoted.

Another twenty percent had to be given to the Ding Prefecture Prefect, and the Xingyuan Prefecture Prefect would get ten percent.

In addition, the garrison commander and the Prefect of Yangyang Prefecture also had to be given five percent each.

Although seventy percent of the area he governed was within Xingyuan Prefecture, a considerable portion was also in Yangyang Prefecture, so he had to handle the connections up and down well.

After distributing everything, he would still have more than four thousand three hundred taels left.

Spread out over each month, that was more than one thousand four hundred taels of silver, and this was only a part of his income.

There was also the empty pay he could take, and the private salt merchants he protected would also give him an extra share of the profits.

Chen Mo made a rough calculation; adding everything together, he would definitely have more than two thousand taels of silver every month.

No wonder it is said that a clean Prefect is worth one hundred thousand taels of snow-white silver in three years.

As a Seventh Grade Official, he could earn more than twenty thousand taels of silver in a year.

Moreover, for a Prefect, a Fifth Rank Official, even if they are an incorruptible Prefect, as long as they aren't too incorruptible, skimming thirty thousand a year is on the low side.

If they were even slightly greedy, then there is no telling how large that number might be.

Chen Mo sealed the banknotes and placed them into an envelope along with the secret letter.

He only needed to wait for his subordinates, the clerks, to arrive, and he could send them out one by one to deliver these things.

And the clerks who could come to do this task were all veteran Personal Soldiers under Sun Jiangjun, and were all of the same clan as him.

Furthermore, every one of them had a wife, children, a home, and a business; they were people who could run away, but could not run away from their temple.

Otherwise, with such a large sum of money, it would be hard to guarantee that no one would be tempted.

"Stop busybodying, eat first!" Zhao Yu knocked on the room door and called out softly.

"Be there in a second," Chen Mo replied, locking the chest containing the banknotes with three locks and pushing it under the bed to store it safely before getting up and walking toward the dining room.

Inside the dining room, food still steaming was being brought to the table one after another.

Zhao Yu had put a lot of effort into making this meal; she knew Chen Mo was very tired, as he had just taken office and hadn't had time to stay at home much before rushing off to inspect, working busily for several days in a row before finally returning home.

She put her heart into making this meal, mainly wanting to properly reward him.

There were six cold deli dishes bought from outside, and six hot stir-fried dishes she had made with her own hands.

There were also four main dishes: braised pork knuckle, red-braised beef, clay pot hen soup, and steamed sea bass.

"I'll do it, you just rest well." Seeing Chen Mo walk into the kitchen wanting to help, Zhao Yu hurriedly pushed him away.

When the last dish was placed on the table, she sat down at the dining table, revealing a contented smile.

"You must be tired." Chen Mo handed over a cup of slightly warm tea.

She took it in her hand, drank a few mouthfuls, and urged him again, "Eat quickly, it will get cold if you don't."

The weather had already entered winter, not comparable to the spring and summer seasons. If the dishes got cold, the taste would not be good.

Chen Mo immediately tucked in, letting go of his appetite and enjoying a wonderful meal.

The pork knuckle was rich in soy sauce fragrance and went quite well with rolled pancakes; the red-braised beef was stewed until soft and tender, and he sent it into his belly in three bites, meat and tendon alike.

The clay pot hen soup was quite delicious.

As for the steamed sea bass, it had to be eaten while hot so it wouldn't be fishy.

By the time the table was a mess of cups and plates, the vegetables in the dishes had been eaten seven or eight tenths of the way.

Zhao Yu brewed a new pot of tea and poured it for Chen Mo and herself to drink.

After eating their fill, neither of them wanted to move much; it wouldn't hurt to rest a while before cleaning up the plates, bowls, and chopsticks on the table.

"I found the location of Ningye Fu; it is right next to Baoning Prefecture, over one thousand seven hundred li away from here."

Chen Mo spoke slowly; previously he did not know where Ningye Fu was because his status was low, but now it was different.

He couldn't get a detailed map of Ding Prefecture, but a simple version was not difficult.

"The matters at my post are basically all done; for the next half month or so, it will be relatively leisurely, with no major tasks to be busy with."

Chen Mo was telling the truth; his position was an absolutely leisurely job, as long as he collected the silver and sent the silver.

As for other affairs, his subordinate clerks would handle them, and he didn't need to be busy himself.

If the clerks didn't arrive, he could just stay idle.

"If you want to go to Ningye Fu to find your relatives, I will prepare, and I can send you there."

Over one thousand seven hundred li of road; if he didn't escort her, she probably wouldn't even make it halfway.

"If you don't want to go and are willing to continue staying at home, I will take you as my wife."

After Chen Mo finished speaking, he said no more; the nominal relationship between him and Zhao Yu had already lasted for nearly a year.

Now, no matter what, a decision should be made; the longer it dragged on, the harder it would be to resolve.

(End of chapter)