Traveling through time and space to become a child, supporting the family by catching fish and shrim

Zhang Zhao said, "You only need to pay a little money to get the title of a county government partner. Isn't this better than participating in the auction?"

Chen Lang looked at Chang Anmin and asked with his eyes: Are these two idiots?

Chang Anmin drank his tea slowly, meaning, "Don't look at me, I don't know either."

"Chen Lang, I'm asking you a question! Please answer immediately." Zhang Zhao said unhappily.

Chen Lang took a deep breath and said, "Sir, your question is totally invalid."

"The government sells advertisements to make money. I obtained the title of a partner of the county government by paying a price far below the auction price. This is obviously damaging the interests of the government."

"If I can obtain the title of partner by paying a price far higher than the government office's, then why should I bribe the government officials? Why not just participate in the auction directly?"

Zhang Zhao was stunned.

Damn, what he said makes so much sense, I can't even refute it!

Chen Lang continued, "My Lords, you are not questioning me, but the officials of the Linshui County Government and the Market. You are short-sighted and have no moral integrity."

"For a tiny profit, they gave up this lucrative position as a partner of the county government."

Wu Ji was anxious: "Chen Lang, stop talking nonsense here..."

Then he looked at Chang Anmin and said, "Master Chang, we have absolutely no such intention."

Chang Anmin put down the teacup and glared at Chen Lang: "How can you talk to two adults like that?"

Chen Lang bowed and said, "I apologize for my words, my Lords."

Chang Anmin stood up and said, "My Lords, neither I nor the Supervisor have ever accepted any benefits from Chen Lang."

"He was given the title of County Government Partner because he came up with the idea for the auction advertisement."

"In addition, Chen Lang himself has made great contributions to city defense affairs."

"Based on these reasons, this official and the Supervisor have unanimously agreed to give Chen Lang this position."

"If you two lords feel there's something fishy going on, you can investigate in the next few days. I believe that with your abilities, it should be easy for you to get the real information from the common people and merchants."

Wu Ji and Zhang Zhao both looked a little embarrassed. They didn't expect the situation to turn around so quickly.

Besides, the Censorate never sent them down to target Chang Anmin and Wang Yunzhang, but only to target Chen Lang.

As a result, Chen Lang reversed the situation with just one sentence, leaving them in a difficult situation.

"Master Chang, you are too kind." Wu Ji quickly adjusted his attitude and said, "We naturally believe in the integrity of Master Chang and Master Wang, but please understand our difficulties."

Chang Anmin said calmly, "I understand very well."

"Chen Erlang."

"The students are here."

"Give the two gentlemen some money for their journey."

Chen Lang immediately asked Xiao Qi to send some silver.

Wu Ji's face darkened. "Master Chang, what do you mean by this? Are you trying to bribe us?"

Chang Anmin said, "Don't misunderstand me. The expenses of the inspectors' official business trips have never been very high. If the two gentlemen want to visit and investigate, they absolutely cannot do it without money."

"Our food, drinks and entertainment by the water aren't cheap. If you two adults are short of money, I'm afraid you won't be able to find out anything."

"There are only a little over ten taels of silver here, which is not enough to be a bribe. At most, it is the entertainment fee given by the county government to the two masters."

Wu Ji snorted and said, "We appreciate Lord Chang's kindness, but we absolutely cannot take the money."

"We will investigate this matter thoroughly. If we have wronged Master Chen, we will come to apologize."

"Farewell!"

After the two left, Chen Lang asked, "Master Chang, what does this mean?"

Chang Anmin smiled helplessly and sighed, "They are afraid of advertising."

Chen Lang was puzzled: "Why?"

"The money comes in too quickly." Chang Anmin said.

Chen Lang was stunned: "Is there anything wrong with making money quickly?"

Chang Anmin said: "In their view, this is not only wrong, but also a big mistake."

"They finally managed to suppress the Shang Party, but when the Liao Kingdom attacked, Linshui County's defenses still relied on the merchants' money."

"Advertising can be repeated endlessly; it can simply be copied elsewhere. By then, businessmen will once again be the guests of honor of officials. Then all the efforts of these people before will be for nothing."

Chen Lang asked, "Then why are you targeting me?"

Chang Anmin said, "You are the initiator of the advertisement. Once it is confirmed that you have a stain, it means that the advertising method is wrong and not worth promoting."

This logic confused Chen Lang. After a long pause, he said, "Oh my god, this doesn't make any sense."

"When it comes to a new thing, we can find ways to limit it, or even improve it."

"But if you try to kill it right away, you're missing the point."

Chang Anmin asked: "Do you know why?"

Chen Lang said, "I would like to hear the details."

"Because we won." Chang Anmin said, "Your Majesty has been on the throne for more than 20 years. You have fought nearly ten battles against the Western Xia and the Liao Kingdom, but you have not won a single one."

"However, this time, we not only won, but also captured a city."

"There's only one reason we can win, and that's because we have money."

"The soldiers' armor, weapons, and rations are all top-notch."

"As for horses, it's even more exaggerated. Throughout the winter, our war horses were fed with millet."

"As you know, there's a shortage of fodder in winter, so war horses become emaciated. Spring is when the cavalry is at its weakest. Both the Western Xia and Liao rarely initiate wars during this time."

"These two countries naturally assumed that our war horses should be fed with millet. But they could never have imagined that Your Majesty would order the use of millet to feed the war horses!"

"The cost was enormous, but because Your Majesty has relied heavily on the Shang Party for over a decade, our treasury was able to support it, ultimately leading to this crucial victory."

"The common people may not feel anything, but the officials, especially the Shilin Party, can realize how terrible this matter is."

"Spending money doesn't guarantee victory, but if you spend a lot of money, you can capture a city or stronghold."

"Just at this critical juncture, an advertisement that makes money extremely quickly suddenly appeared. If it were rolled out, the Shang Party that had just been suppressed would definitely make a comeback."

"So they would never allow this to happen."

Chen Lang rubbed his temple and said, "From what I hear, it feels like winning the battle is actually a mistake."

Chang Anmin said: "Right now, this has nothing to do with victory. This is a dispute over the right to speak in the court."

Chen Lang asked, "Could it be that these members of the Shilin Party simply hope that our dynasty will never win and remain in a state of perpetual decline?"

Chang Anmin shook his head: "That's not the case. They also hope that the country can become strong and that the barbarians can submit to them."

"The premise is that they have to lead and control all of this."

"As for merchants...just pay the money and don't think about anything else."