My book friend Long Aotian

Chapter 126 White Tiger Hall Warning

In the blink of an eye, another two days passed.

There are undercurrents in the Huazhou officialdom, and public opinion in the market is already boiling.

Because Huazhou officials and businessmen who control public opinion have already put their propaganda machines into full operation.

The editor of "Yunjiang Notes" had already had a conflict with Li Bailong. The next day, the newspaper manager came to ask for an explanation, but was ridiculed and humiliated and was turned away. Thus, a grudge was formed between the two sides.

The Huazhou press has always had an offensive and defensive alliance. Although there is commercial competition among them, if an outsider dares to attack the sacred editor, the press will certainly attack him!
Therefore, editors of major and minor newspapers had been gearing up to teach Li Bailong a lesson. Just as they heard about the scandal that occurred when he took office as Tongwen, they all rushed to report on him in big caps.

At least they still have some concerns and hesitations, not knowing whether they should immediately use their pens to make up stories based on hearsay, slander and smear the traditional art of stirring up trouble.

However, the editors soon discovered that this was not necessary.

——Because there are so many scandals about Governor Li!
Bullying subordinates, exposing legal issues in court, and making arbitrary judgments by corrupt officials eventually aroused public anger, causing the officials in the court to flee in panic. The Tongwen Bureau became a lone general, which was simply a big joke in the officialdom.

At that moment, a harsh and cunning editor used a sharp pen to describe in detail the causes and consequences of the incident, and added artistic processing. A huge headline occupied the headlines of newspapers, entitled "Officialdom Unmasked".

In this story, Director Tongwen Li became a corrupt official who got promoted overnight and did evil at will. As soon as he took office, he suppressed officials and extorted businessmen. He intended to interfere in the sacred cultural and creative cause and interfered with the entertainment life of the people of Huazhou. In the end, he shot himself in the foot.

The funny thing is yet to come.

It is said that Governor Li found that the officials had scattered, the Tongwen Bureau was empty, and the review work of all the bookstores, theaters, opera troupes and restaurants in Huazhou had been taken over by the various government offices in Huazhou. In fact, the Tongwen Bureau became a mere decoration that no one cared about. It seems that this is why he panicked.

He was too proud of his status to go and apologize or ask for help, so for two days he could only send his minions to various government offices to call on officials to return to work.

Apart from causing ridicule from the officials involved and amusement from the masses, it had no effect.

Not only that, when Governor Li heard that the newspapers had been reporting on his accusation against Zhang Wenjiang and his collusion with the evil woman who beat people, he sent people to the Procuratorate to warn Zhang Wenjiang and ordered him not to accept interviews or expand the influence without authorization, otherwise he would bear all the consequences.

Zhang Wenjiang had not thought of this at first, but after being reminded, he immediately became excited.

He happily called several newspaper editors and told them the whole story.

Finally, he angrily accused in the newspaper: "Li Bailong has seized power as soon as he came to power and oppressed those of us who do practical work! Facts have proved that without the Tongwen Bureau and without Governor Li, we can still get things done! The power of review should always and forever remain in the hands of the government offices!"

At the same time, under the undercurrent, some people are also adding fuel to the fire.

Several mysterious people who did not want to reveal their identities secretly visited various newspapers in Huazhou, paid a large sum of money, and specifically asked them to write about Li Bailong's humiliating and demented situation.

They asked not to just look at the surface, but to conduct an in-depth analysis of Li's motivation for exposing his dementia and meet the people's political needs - to prove the power struggle behind this official exposé.

The editors were meant to take advantage of this hot traffic, and now they can even get paid for it, so they all used their real skills to analyze the logic and truth behind this news from all angles.

Facts have proved that there is still a market for keyboard politics.

The news industry is well-developed and primitive, and the people of Huazhou have eaten too much melons. Their spiritual needs have changed from "I know about this!" to "I also know the inside story of this matter, haha, I am much better than you superficial guys!" After all, the significance of keyboard politics is to increase one's own sense of superiority.

The revelations of Governor Li were no longer news. The logic and motivation behind the revelations were the real news. People in the streets were discussing it hotly. Gradually, many people knew the inside story that "the power of the Tongwen Bureau had long been hollowed out and divided among various government offices, forcing the newly appointed Governor Li to take a gamble."

The fact that the Tongwen Bureau had long been defunct was also faithfully recorded in the newspapers.

The Huazhou officialdom was already immersed in the joy of a great victory.

Because Li Bailong accomplished nothing, he lost his prestige and reputation, the Tongwen Bureau became a hollow shell, no one in the officialdom or business circles paid any attention to him, and people on the streets were mocking and laughing at his failure.

"This is too easy."

Huazhou Tongzhi Gao Bijin thought so.

He is now the de facto supreme ruler of Huazhou officialdom.

Because the prefect had set out for Lin County yesterday, the new drum for reporting had already arrived. As the parent official of the state, the prefect had to be there to blow the drum, instruct the people and announce the government. Before leaving, he entrusted the prefect's power to him and let Gao Bi Jin, the deputy prefect, manage the administration and command the officials on his behalf.

As for this prefect, everything else is fine except that he is a little aloof and old-fashioned.

You could say he was aloof, but he was not completely so. When he was transferred to Huazhou to be an official, he accepted the money allocated to him, but he refused to get closer to the organization. He usually kept a certain distance from everyone and was not close to them.

Although he is old-fashioned, his bottom line is sometimes flexible, but sometimes he is very rigid.

For example, this time when Lord Shi went to Lin County to start government administration and temporarily entrusted the affairs of the government to him, it should have been a matter of a few words, but he had to follow the rules and issue a formal document to declare the entrustment of power. He also had to exhort and admonish Gao Bijin in the document, asking him to "be friendly to his colleagues, restrain himself and return to propriety, strictly abide by his duties, and restrain other officials."

It's a mixture of all sorts and no real meaning.

But fortunately, the prefect is gone. He is the person with the highest actual rank in the administrative system. He can promote the development of some things, condone some things, and hint at some things to happen.

Of course, it is only the highest actual level.

Because the person with the highest nominal rank was Governor Li of the Tongwen Bureau.

But this official position and this name have become a joke in the Huazhou officialdom. No official will respect Li Bailong, and no businessman will be afraid of Li Bailong... In fact, this noble fourth-rank official is precisely the target of officials and businessmen.

Gao Bijin was the acquiescer and promoter.

In the eyes of his colleagues in the state of Huazhou, he has ample motivation to do so.

First of all, he is the actual leader of this huge interest group. Li Bailong wants to touch everyone's cake and snatch everyone's money and power, so as the big brother, he must take the lead in fighting back.

Secondly, Zhang Wenjiang was his brother-in-law, or to be more precise, the younger brother of his new concubine. His capable concubine, Zhang, who managed his business, was beaten by Bao Li until her blood was all over her body and her skin was torn.

Public hatred and private hatred will never change, so Gao Tongzhi's motive is clear. But only Gao Bijin himself knows that there is a deeper reason for attacking Li Bailong - he is a member of the Fenglin faction, and there is no other reason for attacking Li Bailong.

These are just the master's orders.

"That being said, this is too easy..."

After Li Bailong arrived in Huazhou, the tentacles of the Fenglin system entrenched there immediately sensed it and notified their minions to prepare for action. It was not long since King Zhao's mediation, and Fenglin Huoshan was still downplaying the impact of the major failure. In principle, no more trouble could be caused, but Fenglin Huoshan would never tolerate Li Bailong's freedom for too long, so they simply planted a nail there first to see if there was any opportunity.

When Gao Bijin was assigned this task, he was filled with astonishment.

——Eh? I'm going to deal with Li Bailong? Really?
But the boss doesn't care whether you are afraid or not, or whether you can win or not, so Gao Bijin can only do it with gritted teeth.

It was when the identity of "Mo Feng" was revealed that Gao Bi Jin suddenly discovered that Li Bailong was actually writing storybooks under a pseudonym, and that he was writing them in the Yunjiang Bookstore that he had embezzled and acquired. He was immediately delighted.

Because of this intelligence advantage, he was the first to receive the news, and at the request of Feng Lin's boss, he began to work on the nail. It just so happened that Xiao Nanyan was hyping up CP, and it caught Gao Bijin's eye.

Through the tremendous power of Fenglin Huoshan, Tongzhi quickly captured the beautiful courtesan and forced her to devote herself to Li Bailong. He tried every means to lurk beside her, waiting for further orders.

At that time, Gao Tongzhi felt like he was facing a formidable enemy, after all, it was Li Bailong who had caused Fenglin Huoshan to suffer a great loss!
He regarded Li Bailong as a powerful warrior at the King Hundred Stars level. When he heard that Li Bailong took over the Tongwen Bureau and would be the first to operate on his brother-in-law, his heart jumped to his throat. He fought back as if facing a powerful enemy, but was shocked to find that Li Bailong fell down before he even used any strength!
The victory in the past two days was like a crushing victory. All the power and authority of the Tongwen Bureau was taken away. Li Bailong was helpless and was hunted down by public opinion. His reputation as an official was completely destroyed.

Today, Lian Fenglin's superior secretly sent him words of encouragement, asking him to keep up the good work and try every possible way to make sure that Li Bailong could not do anything about the political affairs of the Tongwen Bureau.

In addition to this, his reputation must be completely ruined so that even if he resigns from his official position and takes the college entrance examination again, or even gets his name in the Imperial Palace, he will always be stigmatized by the stigma of being an official of the same literary standard.

By now, Gao Bijin has finally gained confidence.

Sure enough, Huazhou is his home court.

But Li Bailong has to serve in a cesspool like Tongwen Bureau. With such a disadvantage, even Marquis Wolong can't make any progress... I didn't expect that when the time comes, heaven and earth will work together to make Wuque Zhiyue, who just defeated Feng Lin, become a stepping stone for me, Gao Bi, to enter the officialdom!

With such a victory, all the Eight Fronts would look up to me!
Looking back on the past tonight, he felt that it was ridiculous to treat it as a formidable enemy before, and it was a pity to send the courtesan away... If I had known that Li Bailong was so useless, I would have enjoyed Xiao Nanyue by myself!

Thinking of the seductive charm of the courtesan who could not be concealed even when dressed as a man, Gao Bijin felt his heart burning with excitement. He even began to wonder if there was any way to blackmail Xiao Nanyue back from Li Bailong.

After all, the young and energetic Wuque Zhiyue has been in a state of panic recently. Although I don’t know why he came to work in the Tongwen Bureau, if he doesn’t do this job well, it will probably be very troublesome...

Thinking of this, he smiled and the night wind blowing on his face helped soothe the drunkenness a little.

Tonight is a happy occasion, so we drank quite a bit...

The horse moved slowly, and the attendant who led the horse turned around and asked, "Master, where are we going to rest tonight?"

Gao Bijin thought about it. Tonight's banquet invited the famous actor Xiao Yuexing from the Huachun class to perform. This actor's appearance in men's clothing is really unique. Thinking of the other party's androgynous peach blossom eyes, he couldn't help but think of Xiao Nanyue, who usually dressed as a man. He swallowed his saliva and ordered, "Go to the house in the fourth alley in the west of the city. Yu Er, go to the Huachun class and call Xiao Yuexing over. Tell her not to remove her makeup and keep the outfit for tonight!"

"Yes!"

The attendant who had been following him hesitated for a moment and said, "Sir, shall I take you first?"

The public security in Huazhou is pretty good. The Tongzhi is confident in his military strength, and he is going out to have fun tonight. Of course, he cannot bring too many people with him, lest the old cat at home find out. Now, there are only a horse attendant and an errand attendant following him. If the attendant goes to invite Xiaoyuexing, then the Tongzhi will be left with only one person.

The Tongzhi thought of the beauty in men's clothing and urged her, "You go by yourself. I have Ma San by my side."

The attendant took the order and left. Gao Bijin let the attendant lead the horse and headed towards the Sihu in the west of the city. The southern area of ​​this area is Fuya Avenue, the office area of ​​Huazhou government. Although it is night, there are still many people. Gao Bijin does not want others to see him drunk, and he does not want anyone to see where he is going. After all, there are some things that the fierce woman at home wants to know.

So he ordered: "Go around the government street and take another road."

The street lights were bright and there were few pedestrians along the way, mostly vendors returning home late at night and drunk people who were lost. After walking for a while, a middle-aged man with a staggering figure and haggard face came towards them.

Huazhou is a place of desire. Many people have become rich, but many people have lost everything. There are so many such frustrated people on the road. Gao Bijin just glanced at them and didn't care.

The attendant holding the horse watched vigilantly, as he had the responsibility to protect them, but the middle-aged man just glanced at them a few times and then moved away from them. The two men passed each other as if nothing had happened.

Gao Bi Jin withdrew his gaze and heard the middle-aged man who had walked behind him sigh.

"I have not met anyone who understands me, and my unique play has been wasted."

Gao Bijin didn't take it to heart.

The middle-aged man stopped under the street light and took something out of his pocket. He heard the rustling of papers and shouted to the sky, "In such a big Huazhou, there is not a single person who understands opera! Let's just ruin it!"

Gao Tongzhi heard this and turned around.

Under the bright street light, the man was flipping through an old bound book with his back to him.

The whale oil lamp shone brightly, illuminating the words on the book. Gao Tongzhi was a military scholar with amazing eyesight. He could recognize page after page of sloppy handwriting at a glance.

"Those who do good suffer poverty and have shorter ambitions, while those who do evil enjoy wealth and longevity. Heaven and earth, you are bullying the weak and fearing the strong, but it turns out that you also go with the flow. Earth, how can you be an earth if you can't distinguish between good and evil? Heaven, you are unworthy of being heaven if you misjudge the wise and the foolish! Alas..."

Gao Bijin loved to listen to operas and had the ability to appreciate them. Just one glance at them made him tremble with fear.

It was also his turn to be busy, and he said fiercely: "Let's see!"

The man hesitated and only tore off a few pages and handed them over. The attendant said dissatisfiedly: "Who are you guarding against, man? My master is..."

Gao Bijin read the words and urged, "Bring it here first!"

The attendant had no choice but to take it and hold it up to the horse. Gao Bijin took it in his hands and read it carefully under the street light. After reading only a few pages, he was surprised and cried out, "What a good book! I'll buy it! How much do you want for it?"

(End of this chapter)