Qing Yao

Chapter 205 Revolutionizing the Creditors
Old Ding shouldn't have asked that question, because in his grandson-in-law's heart, he was never a pig, but a phoenix chick.

In fact, the fact that the two sides were able to form an alliance and a kinship relationship was not something Zhao An deliberately designed, but purely a coincidence.

Or rather, it was Old Ding who gradually forced himself onto his granddaughter's husband's pirate ship.

If he hadn't forged Zhao An's ID card, fake academic credentials, and fake wife back then, would he be where he is today?
Therefore, today's Committee Member Zhao, Censor Zhao, and Professor Zhao are all the result of what you, County Magistrate Ding, did back then.

How can you say that Zhao An set up a trap to swindle you?

"Grandfather, what you're saying is not only an insult to your grandson, but also the greatest insult to yourself!"

Zhao An had to correct Lao Ding's mistaken thinking: "The relationship between grandson and grandfather is like that of Liu Bang and Xiao He in the Han Dynasty, Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang in the Three Kingdoms period, Li Shimin and Changsun Wuji in the Tang Dynasty, Zhao Kuangyin and Zhao Pu in the Song Dynasty, and Zhu Yuanzhang and Li Shanchang in the Ming Dynasty. It is like fish and water, how can they be compared to pigs, dogs and insects? I hope grandfather will not belittle himself and chill his grandson's heart!"

Because he was a little angry, he picked up Lao Ding's teacup and chugged it down in one gulp.

"."

Old Ding rubbed his temples in frustration, wanting to say a thousand words but unable to, wanting to curse a thousand times but unable to utter a single one.

It felt like there was a huge rock stuck in my chest; it was incredibly uncomfortable.

The half-open window suddenly slammed shut with a "click," as a strong wind had picked up outside.

The cold wind that rushed into the house made Old Ding shiver. He couldn't hold back any longer and pointed at his grandson-in-law, cursing, "How could you say such a thing? If outsiders heard this, we'd be beheaded by the imperial court! If you want to die, go find your own death, don't drag me down with you!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Instructor Song pushed open the door and entered, looking equally tense: "Lord Zhao, be careful with your words! You must be careful with your words in the future. Walls have ears, you must be careful!"

"."

Old Ding was startled and subconsciously looked behind Instructor Song. He was relieved to find that no one else was there.

"It is understandable that Lord Zhao is young and impetuous and thinks highly of himself, but what Lord Zhao said earlier was really too audacious. Fortunately, I heard it. If others had heard it, I fear that Lord Zhao would not have been far from being killed!"

Old Song looked at Zhao An with a face full of disappointment: "Should I say you're young and confused, or that you're arrogant and don't know your own limitations?"

You compare yourself to an emperor and the county magistrate to a strategist and wise advisor, then what is he?
"You are now an official yourself, don't you know the meaning of composure? Lord Song is not an outsider, it's fine to let him hear it, but if someone else hears it, can you and I still sit here in peace?"

Old Ding sat in his chair, sulking to himself. He thought Xiao He and Li Shanchang were bastards who talked without thinking, always leading their grandfather into a pit of fire.

"Gentlemen, please do not overthink it. Zhao An has no other thoughts in his heart. He only hopes to work hand in hand with his grandfather and Lord Song to make the Zhao, Ding and Song families glorious for generations to come, and to share the fate of the country."

Zhao An chuckled dryly. "We're all family, let's just say what we mean. Why are you reacting so strongly?"

"Take that nonsense and tell it to outsiders!"

Old Ding's long-suppressed suspicions finally erupted: "Tell me the truth in front of Lord Song, what exactly are you planning to do!"

"What do you want to do? I really don't know. Please enlighten me, Grandfather."

Zhao An was completely bewildered, not understanding what was wrong with Lao Ding today; he seemed to have taken some kind of poison.

"What did you say you were doing?"

Old Ding stood up angrily, pointing out that Zhao An was desperately trying to drag them into borrowing high-interest loans from the Imperial Household Department, not because he wanted to fleece them, but because he harbored rebellious intentions.

"Rebellion? Your Excellency, don't try to scare me!"

Instructor Song was startled by Lao Ding's words, his face turning pale with shock. How could borrowing money be linked to rebellion? Where could he go to reason with him?

"When did my grandson start a rebellion?" Zhao An also looked aggrieved, thinking that Old Ding was making a mountain out of a molehill.

"You have no intention of rebelling?"

Old Ding sneered, stood up and walked to his grandson-in-law, staring intently at him, and said, "I'm asking you, what will you do if you can't pay back the money you borrowed from the Emperor?"

Zhao An dismissively said, "His Majesty is already eighty years old, how many more years can he live?"

"Just because the Emperor is gone, does that mean the debt is wiped clean? Does that mean no one will come after us anymore?"

The key to Lao Ding's question.

"That's right. Even if we pay interest every year, the principal hasn't been repaid. Even if the Emperor passes away, the new emperor will still make us pay back the money. Where are we going to get the money to pay it back?"

Instructor Song also realized the seriousness of the problem. No matter how eloquently Zhao An spoke, or how he used loans to repay other loans, the principal was still the fundamental issue.

What if one day the creditor stops letting you pay only interest and demands that you pay both principal and interest together?
Zhao An glanced at the sulking Old Ding, then at the bewildered Old Song, and chuckled, "What are we borrowing money for? We're borrowing money to buy official positions and get promoted. Once we're high-ranking officials, will we still be afraid of not having the money to pay off our debts?"

"Right,"

Instructor Song breathed a sigh of relief: That's right. As an eighth-rank instructor, he could be so worried about owing ten or twenty thousand taels that he couldn't sleep. But when he was about to become a fourth or fifth-rank official, would that ten or twenty thousand taels of debt still be a debt?

"If that's what you're thinking, why did you plot to frame Councilor Wu?"

Old Ding wasn't fooled. He implied that the three of them were using loans to pay off other loans and borrowing money to get promoted. But why did you, Zhao An, drag Lou, the education official in the provincial education office, and Wu, the canal transport official, into this mess?

Shouldn't the fewer people who know about this kind of thing, the better?

They all need to learn it; how much silver does the Imperial Household Department have to borrow?

Only then did Instructor Song realize that Wu, the councilor of the Grand Canal Transport Office, had also been caught in Zhao An's "pig butchering scam," and he immediately became suspicious.

"If you don't tell the truth, don't blame me for turning against you, your grandfather!"

Old Ding was adamant because he had thought of something that made his heart pound when he was in the canal transport office.

Zhao An had no choice but to say, "The reason I asked more people to borrow money from the Imperial Household Department was actually to buy insurance for the three of us. You understand what insurance is, right?"

After explaining the meaning of "insurance," Zhao An chuckled and continued, "If only the three of us owe the Emperor money, then no matter how much it is, we will definitely have to pay it back in the end. But what if thirty, three hundred, or three thousand officials all owe the Emperor money?"

Old Ding snorted softly, "Does that mean we don't have to pay it back?"

Instructor Song didn't quite grasp the situation at first, thinking, "Where would so many officials be short of money?"

"Of course you should repay if you have the ability, but what if you don't?"

Zhao An posed a counter-question.

Old Ding said irritably, "What else can we do if we don't pay? Does he think the person who owes money would dare to rebel?"

"No, no, no,"

Zhao An uttered three "no"s in a row, coughed lightly, and solemnly said to Old Ding, "If so many officials owe the Emperor high-interest loans, then I think this is not called taking out small loans, but a revolution, a revolution against the creditors."

(End of this chapter)