Qing Yao

Chapter 334 Zhao Youlu, We Can't Afford to Offend Him

Both letters were opened and Fu Song read them, but for some reason, the governor's eyes kept "floating" back and forth between the two letters, and his expression was very solemn, as if he was weighing an important decision.

"Master, Lord Chen has arrived."

The servant's voice from outside the door interrupted the governor's thoughts. He straightened his clothes slightly and said, "Please invite Lord Chen over."

"Yes, sir."

As the servant's footsteps faded into the distance, footsteps soon returned, and then the study door was gently pushed open, revealing the figure of Chen Fengzi, the Jiangsu Provincial Governor, to the Governor.

This Chen Fantai was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the 25th year of the Qianlong Emperor's reign. He rose through the ranks from county magistrate, accumulating a very solid grassroots experience. Two years ago, at the advanced age of 62, he was appointed as the Jiangsu Provincial Treasurer, which can be considered a successful career.

If he's lucky, he might be transferred to another province as governor before retiring. After all, Jiangsu is the richest province in the country, and serving as governor in that province would be very helpful for getting promoted again.

Chen Fantai, a man with a thin face and dressed in casual clothes, seemed a little puzzled when he entered. Although he and the governor were both stationed in Suzhou, the two officials rarely saw each other unless there were important matters. Today, there was nothing important, so he wondered why the governor had invited him over.

"This humble official greets Your Excellency, Governor!"

Chen Fantai stepped forward and bowed respectfully. There was nothing he could do; the governor sitting in front of him was a high-ranking official of the second rank with the title of Vice Minister of War, while he, though a provincial governor, was only of the second rank, making him a head lower or half a rank below him.

But this slight difference in rank forced him to adopt the rites due to a lower official; there was no other way, such was the rule of officialdom.

Fortunately, this was a private occasion. In public, even a high-ranking provincial governor would have to perform the grand ceremony of paying respects to the governor to show his respect.

"Lord Chen, there's no need for such formalities. Please have a seat!"

Fu Song, with a warm smile on his face, stood up and personally poured Chen Fantai a cup of freshly brewed Biluochun tea. "It was a gift from someone, said to be from before the rain. Try it and see how it tastes."

Chen Fantai took the teacup but did not taste it immediately. Instead, he asked curiously, "I wonder why Your Excellency summoned me here?"

Fu Song did not answer immediately, but instead pushed the letter of thanks that Zhao An had written to him in front of Chen Fantai: "Lord Chen, you may wish to take a look at this first."

"Oh?"

Chen Fantai picked up the letter and read it carefully. After a moment, he couldn't help but laugh and said, "This Lord Zhao is quite polite. However, our province only provided him with tens of thousands of shi of grain and tens of thousands of jin of rapeseed oil from Anhui. Is it really worth writing a special letter of thanks?"

He paused, then paused, "The two provinces and the three major treasuries have achieved joint operation and communication? What does that mean?"

Fu Song smiled and explained, "Lord Zhao means that our Jiangsu and Jiangning treasuries, like his Anhui treasury, will store their silver in a bank called Xianfeng Bank. This will make it convenient to use silver in either Anhui or Jiangsu, saving a lot of exchange procedures. I think Lord Zhao's idea is good, so I asked Lord Chen to come and discuss it with me."

As the Provincial Treasurer, Chen Fantai immediately understood Fu Song's meaning: "Does Your Excellency intend to agree to this matter?"

"good."

Fu Song nodded and said with a smile, "In the past, the silver reserves of various provinces have been deposited in private money shops and banks. The court has no special regulations on this. Since Lord Zhao has spoken up, we in Jiangsu will give him face. After all, Lord Zhao is also from Jiangsu. My intention is to do this quickly, but not too much, so as not to cause a lot of discussion outside."

Unexpectedly, Governor Chen looked troubled after hearing this: "Sir, the provincial treasury has always only cooperated with a few major firms. Xianfeng Bank is just a newly opened money shop with an unclear background and uncertain strength. If we rashly put the entire provincial treasury's silver into their hands and something goes wrong, neither of us can bear the responsibility!"

He hesitated for a moment, then added, "Besides, Zhao Youlu is an official from Anhui. What does he have to do with Jiangsu? Why should we give him face? Each province should manage its own affairs; there's no reason for them to be under one government." "Ah, Lord Chen, please rest assured. Although Xianfeng Bank is a newly opened money exchange, as far as I know, it currently serves not only the Anhui provincial treasury but also the Jiangning provincial treasury. With such strength, what is there for Lord Chen to worry about?"

Fu Song chuckled as he picked up his teacup. “By the way, speaking of Lord Zhao, I know more about him than Lord Chen does. I won’t say much more to Lord Chen, but I’d like to ask you, Lord Chen, in all your years as an official, have you ever seen anyone rise from a ninth-rank scholar to acting governor in just over a year?”

"This"

Chen Fantai shook his head, admitting that he had never heard of such a thing.

"That's right."

Fu Song put down his teacup, leaned forward slightly, and lowered his voice, saying, "Zhao Youlu has powerful connections; neither of us can afford to offend him."

Chen Fantai was a little stunned. He had also heard that Zhao Youlu was Heshen's man, but to put the provincial treasury's silver into Zhao Youlu's bank just because Zhao Youlu was Heshen's man was too risky.

Unable to think of any other reason to refuse, he said tactfully, "Your Excellency, it's not that I'm unwilling to follow your wishes, but Zhao Youlu is, after all, acting as the provincial governor. If the disaster situation in Anhui eases and the court reappoints a governor or provincial administration, wouldn't we be in trouble then?"

Fu Song chuckled softly after hearing this, then handed the secret letter from the capital directly to Chen Fantai, saying, "Take a look at this before you speak."

"what is this?"

Chen Fantai took the secret letter with a puzzled look and read it, then looked astonished: "Is what this says true?"

Fu Song smiled and nodded, saying, "The news that just came from the capital is absolutely true. Zhao Youlu has been officially appointed by the Emperor as the Provincial Treasurer of Anhui and Acting Governor, and it has even been reported in the Imperial Gazette. So, what else does Lord Chen have to worry about?"

"This this."

After putting down the secret letter, Chen Fantai was surprised but also reluctant to put the treasury silver into the Xianfeng Bank. The treasury silver accrued interest, and the two banks he had previously cooperated with had given him, the treasury governor, a considerable amount of money every year. It would be inappropriate to just kick them out like that, and he himself would also be at a loss.

Seeing this, Fu Song knew exactly what Chen Fengzi was thinking. He said meaningfully, "Lord Chen, Zhao Youlu is so young yet he has already taken on the roles of Provincial Treasurer and Acting Governor. His future is bound to be limitless. I dare say that he is no less capable than you or me. If we don't help him now, are we going to wait until he has achieved great success before adding to his glory?"

"I understand."

Chen Fengzi stammered and couldn't say anything coherent. He was the provincial treasurer in charge of the provincial treasury. If he insisted on not cooperating, even Fu Song, who was a second-rank governor, couldn't force him to cooperate.

Clearly, Fu Song had no intention of doing so. He stroked his long beard and said calmly, "It seems that Lord Chen does not know what the officials in Jiangning call this Lord Zhao?"

"what is it call?"

Chen Fengzi looked at Fu Song with a puzzled expression.

"Fifth Prince!"

Fu Song's voice rose noticeably to twice its normal level, tinged with excitement, "Lord Chen, you may not know this, but Lord Zhao Youlu is actually the Emperor's own flesh and blood!"

(End of this chapter)