mynovelweb Chapter 328 Persuading to Surrender
Chapter 328 Persuading to Surrender
"Would you like to go to Kyoto, eldest sister?" Shen Li asked.
“We are willing to go, please come with us, sir,” the woman said, and the girl nodded timidly behind her mother.
Shen Li shook her head slightly, and just as she was about to say something, Ma Zheng came upstairs and reported: "Sir, the local prefect is waiting in front of the restaurant and asked if it would be convenient for him to come up and pay his respects."
"Tell him not to make a fuss, I'll come see him right now." Shen Li waved her hand.
The woman was momentarily stunned when she heard the word "sir". If she was not mistaken, this was clearly a woman. Could a woman become an official?
Moreover, it sounds like he's an official with an even higher rank than a prefect.
"Don't worry, elder sister. The Shen family will send you and your family north later. I will visit you at the estate when I return to the capital," Shen Li reassured her.
"The Shen family?" The woman asked incredulously.
That's a powerful and influential family, yet they actually listen to this person's orders?
Shen Li didn't have time to explain much. She left Lian Qiao to make arrangements for them and led her people downstairs.
The first floor of the restaurant had been cleared out, and yamen runners were standing all around. When Shen Li went downstairs, she saw an old man in his fifties with a white beard dressed in the robes of a fifth-rank official.
"Your humble servant, Zhao Mao, Prefect of Suzhou, greets Lord Shen." The old man bowed respectfully.
"Lord Zhao, please rise. Please take me to the government office to see the people we've arrested." Shen Li returned the greeting and left the restaurant with him, getting into a carriage.
Inside the carriage, Shen Li once again presented the gold medal and said, "Lord Zhao, I have important business to attend to this time, and I apologize for troubling you with your cooperation."
"Lord Shen, you flatter me. The Flying Fish Guards have already sent word, and I will do my utmost." Zhao Mao said respectfully, only daring to steal glances at Shen Li out of curiosity.
Thinking that people have different fates, just because others have good backgrounds, they can become officials of the fifth rank at a young age, even if they are women, while I have studied hard since I was a child and desperately tried to curry favor with the Shen family to get my current fifth rank. Compared to them, one is like heaven and the other like earth.
Who can I reason with about this?
Shen Li ignored his expression and continued, "How many people have been arrested?"
"A total of fifty-three people were captured from various Rong and Di merchant caravans, and if you include the ones you sent yesterday, that makes fifty-seven." Upon hearing the question, Zhao Mao immediately remained composed and answered solicitously, "They are all Rong and Di people, and they have been doing business in various Rong and Di tribes for many years, so they must know the way well."
Shen Li, whose booklet contained the resumes of these people, was very satisfied upon hearing this: "Thank you for your trouble, Lord Zhao."
“But these Rongdi people are naturally stubborn, and they keep causing trouble in prison. It won’t be easy to get them to work for you,” Zhao Mao said, expressing his concerns.
Shen Li nodded slightly; she knew this too and had made some preparations.
"Would you like to go, eldest sister?" Shen Li asked.
“We are willing to go, please come with us, sir,” the woman said, and the girl nodded timidly behind her mother.
Shen Li shook her head slightly. Just as she was thinking about something, Ma Zheng came upstairs and reported, "Sir, the local prefect is waiting in front of the restaurant and asked if it would be convenient for him to come up and pay his respects."
"Tell him there's no need for formalities, I'll come see him right away." Shen Li waved her hand.
The woman was momentarily stunned when she heard the word "official." If she wasn't mistaken, this was clearly a woman. Could a woman become an official?
Moreover, it sounds like an official position with a higher rank than a prefect.
"Don't worry, elder sister. The Shen family will send one of you north later. I'll visit you at the estate when I get back to the capital," Shen Li reassured her.
That's a powerful and influential family, yet they actually obey this person's orders?