High Rank and Handsome Salary 07

Zhang Qi's heart had not stopped reeling from shock.

Fang Zhiyi seemed very lazy, even asking him to go to the clerks to fetch official documents on his behalf. Zhang Qi had only accidentally glanced at the contents of the documents and nearly wet himself in terror.

His Lordship actually dared to have someone forge official approval documents from the Ministry of Revenue!

This, this!

Zhang Qi was dumbfounded. He was now acutely aware that Fang Zhiyi's lack of precaution against him meant he had passed the test, but it also meant it was impossible for him to back out!

Sure enough, some unknown storms began to brew in Qingzhou.

First to suffer was the Wang family, a newly risen noble house that had made its fortune through the silk trade in recent years. This Wang family had also met with Fang Hongyuan a few times, originally hoping for some future conveniences, but they never expected that Fang Hongyuan's words no longer carried any weight.

When Shopkeeper Wang applied for a customs clearance document, he was rejected three times in a row by the clerks under Fang Zhiyi, each time citing formatting errors. No matter how foolish Shopkeeper Wang was, he understood what was going on. He immediately smiled and sent someone over with some silver. However, the meaningful smile of the petty official who accepted the money made Shopkeeper Wang feel that things were not quite right.

Sure enough, before the goods were even loaded onto the carriages, someone reported that there was a problem with the Wang family's cargo. Immediately after, Commander Zhao, who just happened to be passing by, ordered his soldiers to confiscate several cartloads of goods, declaring that they would be returned immediately after a thorough investigation.

Shopkeeper Wang was utterly stupefied, not understanding the reason behind this. It was not until he met someone from the Gu family, who gave him a few pointers, that the light bulb went on. He immediately ordered his men to prepare five hundred taels of silver and gifted it to Fang Zhiyi under the guise of helping to repair the government office. Fang Zhiyi was deeply moved and declared on the spot that he would definitely clear Shopkeeper Wang's name.

Thus, three days later, Fang Zhiyi said with a troubled expression that the batch of silk had been soaked in water and was already ruined. However, he patted his chest and promised that he would definitely pursue the matter to the end. Therefore, that very afternoon, Commander Zhao brought over one thousand taels of silver as compensation. Shopkeeper Wang nearly lost his mind; those carts of silk were worth several thousand taels!

By now, he knew he had been played, yet there was absolutely nothing he could do about Fang Zhiyi. He could only swallow his broken teeth and endure the grievance in silence.

In the blink of an eye, those "water-soaked" silks appeared in the Ma family's shops.

Although Fang Hongyuan was displeased, seeing the silver that Fang Zhiyi sent people to carry back, his heart surged with excitement.

"This is what a son should be like! Making money while standing tall!" Fang Hongyuan praised excitedly, even though Fang Zhiyi was not present.

Fang Zhiyi seemed to have gotten addicted. After this alliance took shape, he became increasingly unbridled in his actions. The commanders and aristocratic families who had joined his alliance were also blinded by profit, striking wherever Fang Zhiyi pointed.

"How long will it take to get rich by scraping money from the common people?" Fang Zhiyi said. "Scraping money from the aristocratic families is the true strategy for us to build our fortunes."

They all nodded in agreement and praise.

Delaying business licenses, withholding transport documents, and forcing merchants to voluntarily donate money to grease the wheels were all routine operations. Those marginalized aristocratic families held many secrets of other noble houses, and every few days they would jump out to report someone. Each time, Fang Zhiyi would mediate between the two parties with a look of conflict, and ultimately, he would fleece them of a layer of skin under the pretext of a "confiscation penalty."

At the same time, holding the forged documents from the Ministry of Revenue, Fang Zhiyi began the operation of investigating hidden farmlands and pursuing unpaid taxes. Through this series of actions, almost all the aristocratic families were fleeced by him. With such maneuvers, Fang Zhiyi quickly became an upstart nouveau riche, and those marginalized aristocratic families also returned to their peak state. However, the other aristocratic families and merchants were left complaining incessantly.

They all coincidentally sought out Old Master Fang, but strangely, Fang Hongyuan claimed to be ill and refused to see any guests.

Fang Hongyuan sneered, "They are only called allies when there are benefits involved. Ignore them." He smacked his lips, looking at the silver hoarded in the house. "This boy, although his methods are a bit immature, his line of thinking is surprisingly clear. I misjudged him in the past."

On a rare occasion when Fang Zhiyi returned home, Fang Hongyuan ordered his servants to lay out a grand banquet. He wanted to take a good look at this son who had completed his transformation.

"Father." While Fang Hongyuan was still brewing his words, Fang Yan couldn't help but speak up. "I want to seek an official position. You said you would help me talk to my younger brother about it, but you never did."

Fang Hongyuan cast a displeased glance at him. In the past, he had been partial to these two older sons, right up until recently. But now, looking at Fang Zhiyi and then at Fang Yan, he instantly felt that Fang Yan was utterly stupid.

"Shut up. Can't even eating block your mouth?"

Fang Yan felt somewhat unconvinced and resentful.

Fang Zhiyi's eyes, however, lit up. "Big Brother, you want an iron rice bowl?"

Fang Yan was taken aback. "What is an iron rice bowl?"

"It means getting an official position," Fang Zhiyi explained.

Seeing Fang Zhiyi bring it up on his own initiative, Fang Yan immediately felt somewhat happy. "Yes, little brother. Now that you are a prefect, you should definitely give your big brother some consideration..."

Fang Zhiyi narrowed his eyes. "That's easy to say, Big Brother."

The atmosphere of this family banquet was very good.

That was until Fang Zhiyi placed a list of official positions, looking much like a menu, in front of Fang Yan. "Here, take a look for yourself at what you want to do. The prices are listed at the back. Of course, since you are my big brother, I'll give you a twenty percent discount."

"You..." Fang Yan stared in shock at the piece of paper in front of him. He could wrack his brains and never imagine that Fang Zhiyi, this bookworm, would actually take these official positions out to sell directly!

Equally shocked was Fang Hongyuan.

He suddenly felt that Fang Zhiyi's change was too extreme. This was not a good thing, absolutely not a good thing. Looking at Fang Zhiyi's jubilant appearance, Fang Hongyuan felt a sense of vigilance in his heart.

Fang Yan looked helplessly at Fang Hongyuan. In the end, he still took out the money to buy the official position. However, Fang Zhiyi immediately turned around and gave all the silver to Fang Hongyuan. This action filled Fang Hongyuan with uncontrollable joy.

He didn't even have the mind to listen to his eldest son's complaints.

But before Fang Hongyuan could figure out how to handle this, Fang Zhiyi's next move had already begun.

He issued a new set of industry regulations, and his targeted intentions were barely concealed. The water transport, banks, and merchant caravans under the control of those lofty aristocratic families were all included in his calculations, the lending rates of the banks, the quotas for water transport, the customs inspections for the caravans, and so on. At the same time, the local garrison troops directly took over the docks and various major transport routes under the pretext of "maintaining public order." Furthermore, the transport quotas all fell into the hands of their own people through a "bidding" process. Under such maneuvers, the aristocratic families who originally lived very comfortably began to suffer. If they did not follow the rules, Fang Zhiyi could directly investigate their taxes with a legitimate reason. And whose family taxes didn't have problems?

Some aristocratic families couldn't bear it and wanted to write letters to the capital to get the higher-up officials to intervene. As a result, the letters were intercepted before they even left Qingzhou. Immediately following that, the coordination of Fang Zhiyi's alliance was fully displayed. The aristocratic families led by the Gu family wildly slung mud, spreading rumors that the letter carriers were colluding with foreign enemies. The Qingzhou garrison troops closed off the main roads under the excuse of emergency military intelligence. Meanwhile, Fang Zhiyi turned around and preemptively submitted a memorial of impeachment. The old emperor was incompetent and naturally believed Fang Zhiyi's report without a doubt upon reading it.

And those officials in the capital, after receiving the bank notes that Fang Zhiyi sent along with his letters, tacitly suppressed the matter.

After a few times of this, the aristocratic families in Qingzhou became well-behaved.