After being transformed into the cannon fodder of a villain, I counterattacked and became the protag

Master Zhao nodded, "Originally I didn't want to tell you this matter, but now I can't."

"The adults in the imperial court want to build a bridge on the Qinglong River, but the government office has no money. Without money, it is impossible to buy food and drink for the service personnel. I think this is not an option, so I have to temporarily let the people provide food to their families. People delivered meals, and then approached major merchants, trying to persuade them to donate, but..." Master Zhao gave a bitter smile.

"Those merchants must be unwilling, right?" County Magistrate Li took a sip of water and looked calm.

He has dealt with merchants and knows that they are a group of guys who don't see rabbits and don't let eagles fly. They will not do such useless things.

"Yes, yes, it's because we didn't get enough money, and what's more -" Mr. Zhao said with a crying face: "There are two people who are not in good health and can't survive it."

"You wouldn't have told me something like this earlier?" Magistrate Li placed the tea cup heavily on the table with a bang, "What's more, are there other things you're hiding from me?"

Master Zhao lowered his head and said hesitantly, "No, no more."

County Magistrate Li walked around twice, suppressed the anger in his heart, and said to Master Zhao: "Let's go, follow me to Qinglongjiang first!"

It was meal time when we arrived, and many people delivering meals were passing through. The Qinglong River was as noisy and chaotic as a vegetable market.

Seeing him coming, the people fell silent, and the atmosphere instantly condensed.

Magistrate Li glanced at it, pointed to an officer and asked: "I heard that some of the civilians who served in the service died?"

"Two people had an accident, but that's normal. People always die every time they serve, and those who are in poor health can't survive it." The officer replied, obviously not thinking there was anything wrong.

Mr. Li frowned slightly, "When did this happen? Where is the person?"

"It happened two days ago, and the person has been sent back."

"Is there any pension?"

"This" the official hesitated and was speechless.

It looks like it’s not given.

Mr. Li looked a little sulky, "Why not give it?"

Master Zhao behind him came to the rescue at the right time, "Originally, I was going to give it, but the government can't get out a penny now, so I can only owe it first, and then make up for it when I have money."

After asking about the situation, Magistrate Li did not stay too long and took the people back. The top priority was to solve the money problem first.

When he returned to the government office, County Magistrate Li asked Master Zhao for a list of merchants in the town, selected the first few big merchants, and asked Master Zhao to summon people.

The government office is now short of money, so the most direct way to solve the problem is to ask merchants to donate. At least, we must first collect some money to feed the migrant workers and then pay the pension.

Many merchants paid "filial piety" to Mr. Zhao during the holidays. When they heard that the county magistrate had summoned him, they all asked him about the situation.

When he found out that he was asking for a donation, he lowered his lips, feeling unhappy.

These officials know how to ask for money from them every day. Do they really think that their money comes from strong winds?

I thought so, but I had to go. The county magistrate still had to give me face.

Before the county magistrate arrived, the person who arrived first sat down and lowered his voice to talk to the people next to him.

Magistrate Li was in a hurry to collect money and did not keep them waiting for long. He came out when everyone was gathered.

"Your Majesty the County Magistrate." All the merchants stood up and saluted.

"No courtesy." Magistrate Li lowered his hands slightly and said, "You don't need to be polite. Li invited you to come this time because he has something to discuss."

"I don't dare, please tell me, magistrate."

"You must also know that the imperial court recently built a bridge and recruited migrant workers to serve as corvees." County Magistrate Li said.

"I've heard a little bit about this."

"This is why I invite you here today. The government is short of money and urgently needs your help. If you are willing to donate generously, I would be very grateful."

The merchants present looked at me and I looked at you, but they were speechless.

Magistrate Li frowned and said with emotion: "This is a major event for the country and the people. If you are willing to help, when the bridge is completed in the future, I will definitely report it to the magistrate and ask for your help."

The merchant below still said nothing.

It's unrealistic to ask them to spend a large amount of real money just for a frivolous request.

"Shopkeeper Tong, what do you think?"

County Magistrate Li looked at Shopkeeper Tong and without saying a word, he had to name them and defeat them one by one.

"Here," Shopkeeper Tong glanced at everyone, "We really want to help with this donation matter, but we are powerless."

When he said this, other merchants nodded.

"Everyone here is a sensible person, so don't say such superficial words. Shopkeeper Tong, you just married your 18th concubine last month. I heard that she is still the number one in Huamanlou?" Magistrate Li said with a smile.

"Uh" Shopkeeper Tong's face froze, and he stopped talking after receiving the meaningful looks from others.

The expressions of the others were not relaxed either. It seemed that the magistrate had specially investigated them before he came, and sweat started to fall down his face just thinking about it.

"I wonder how much money the magistrate wants to raise?" Shopkeeper Zhao said cautiously.

If you have less money, just spend it to buy peace.

"I ordered Master Zhao to estimate that at least one hundred thousand taels of silver will be needed to complete the bridge."

"What?" Shopkeeper Zhao exclaimed.

Magistrate Li invited ten people today, and the one hundred thousand taels were divided equally among each person, which equals ten thousand taels.

Shopkeeper Zhao couldn't help but be speechless. It is estimated that few of the people here could easily come up with such a large sum of money.

He glanced at them, and sure enough, they all looked solemn.

County Magistrate Li glanced at everyone's expressions and knew that they would not let go easily, so he simply said: "Tell me your conditions."

When the merchants heard this, their eyes flashed and they looked at each other. Shopkeeper Tong coughed twice and took the lead in saying: "Your Excellency, the county magistrate, we are also from the Wei Dynasty. In public and in private, we hope that the Wei Dynasty will become more and more prosperous." Okay. But, it’s not easy for everyone to make some money, and ten thousand taels of silver is really too much. Why don’t you, the county magistrate, subsidize us from somewhere else?"

"Oh? What do you want me to do?" Magistrate Li asked.

Seeing that Magistrate Li seemed to be very talkative, Shopkeeper Tong became more courageous, "I think we have too many miscellaneous business taxes, which makes me and everyone here miserable, so we hope that Magistrate Your Excellency, I will exempt you from business tax for three years.”

The merchants here all looked at County Magistrate Li expectantly after hearing this. If he could agree to this request, it would not be impossible to donate ten thousand taels of silver. After all, the tax items they pay to the government in various names every year amount to more than ten thousand. two.

"You have a beautiful idea!" County Magistrate Li snorted coldly.

Although this solves a temporary emergency, the consequences are endless. With the exemption of business tax, these businessmen have made a lot of money. However, the government's tax revenue will be less in the next few years, and they will be stretched if they really want to do anything.

Both sides had their own plans, and the meeting ended on bad terms.