allendalepharm Chapter 788 Hongmen Banquet
Chapter 788 Hongmen Banquet
"Your Majesty, please calm down. It must be that the salt field is selling inferior products as good ones, and we have been deceived." Sun Wei said hurriedly.
"Then why didn't the salt warehouse find out anything? Or are you in cahoots with the salt field? Or is it that the salt warehouse did something?" Jiang Youzhen snorted coldly and asked Jiang Li and others to continue with the random checks.
Sun Wei glanced at Zhou Qing, a ruthless look flashing in his eyes.
"Sir, this batch of salt was delivered before the New Year. Because of the New Year, the salt field is not operating. Perhaps it is because of the rush to finish the work that this happened. After the salt field is operational, I will definitely send someone to supervise it." Zhou Qing suddenly said.
"You mean this is the only batch? Substituting inferior goods for good ones and adding impurities is considered a loss. If it's just this batch, it would be considered dereliction of duty, but what if it's been like this for the past two years?
How much is the loss? If we take this loss into account in the salt trade, how much profit can we make? "
Jiang Youzhen pointed it out directly. Since it was already out in the open, there was no need to hide it.
"As the local officials, you are the ones who collect salt taxes directly. Don't you know this? I don't believe it."
Jiang Youzhen shook his head. His eyes swept over the co-magistrate Sun Wei and saw that his pupils shrank, but then immediately returned to normal.
Zhou Qing, on the other hand, looked frightened, but not guilty, and his behavior was quite strange.
"Your Excellency is wise! I really didn't know!" Zhou Qing immediately protested his innocence.
"I only check the account books once every three months and then verify the tax revenue. If I find that everything is correct, I will submit it to the court. If someone really seeks personal gain, then I have been kept in the dark. How could I know?"
"Right? The loss is so huge every time, but the prefect can't see it. That's stupid."
Jiang Youzhen took out two books from his pocket and said, "Look, you said the account book was lost, but someone presented it to me."
Zhou Qing and Sun Wei were shocked. They took a look at the names on the account books and found that they were indeed the two account books that had been stolen before.
"This? How could it be in the hands of the adults?" Zhou Qing was indeed shocked. Jiang Youzhen had just arrived at Lin'an Prefecture, and he actually got the account book?
Sun Wei really felt like he was falling into an icy cave. How could this happen?
"I have sent people to Dongzhou to get the account books of each shipment as soon as possible. I have also sent people to the Salt Transport Commissioner's Office. As long as the three parties' account books are compared, it will be clear whose account book is falsified."
There was a moment of silence among the people present. Sun Wei straightened his sleeves and glanced at Jiang Youzhen.
Zhou Qing seemed relieved. "That's great! Your Excellency is very perceptive and can just clear our name!"
He suddenly pointed at Sun Wei behind him and said, "Your Excellency, the salt tax has always been collected and handled by Sun Tongzhi. If there is anyone who has been partial to him and covered up for him, it must be Sun Wei."
Sun Wei was stunned by Zhou Qing's sudden attack and stood there for a moment.
"No! It's not me! How could it be me? Even if I failed in my duty again, I can't possibly be in league with those people!"
"Someone come here! Arrest Sun Wei and the two ambassadors and interrogate them strictly!" Jiang Youzhen suddenly said.
"Yes!" Qingyan and the others stepped forward and quickly subdued the three men.
"My Lord! I am innocent! My Lord..."
The three people had been gagged, and Qingyan immediately grinned at the constable beside him and said, "Please lead the way. The officials in our Dali Temple are good at interrogating prisoners, and none of them will not speak."
Seeing the three people being taken away, Zhou Qing suddenly said, "Please move to the government office, and we will discuss it in detail there."
However, Jiang Youzhen shook his head and said, "No hurry, Lord Zhou has not yet cleared his suspicion, so I dare not discuss this with you in detail."
"Come here, detain Lord Zhou in solitary confinement! Release him until he is cleared of suspicion. Send someone to guard his family. Only those allowed to enter the backyard of the government office are allowed to leave!"
"Yes!" Jiang Li led the guards to act, but soon found that there were not enough people, and they were all stunned!
"What are you all standing there for? The entire government office is under my command now. If anyone dares to disobey my orders, don't blame me for executing him first and asking for your permission later!"
Jiang Youzhen showed the token in his hand, and the yamen runners could only step forward and said, "I am at your service, Your Excellency the Imperial Envoy!"
Jiang Youzhen raised his chin towards Jiang Li, who immediately understood and let go of Zhou Qing.
The yamen runners were all dumbfounded and no one dared to step forward.
A bearded man gritted his teeth and stepped forward and said, "Sir, I'm sorry!"
Zhou Qing did not cry out for injustice, but turned to Jiang Youzhen and said, "Please, my lord, clear my name as soon as possible!"
"Take him away!" Jiang Li shouted, and everyone went to the government office in a mighty manner.
In an instant, the whole Lin'an Prefecture changed. The government office was heavily surrounded by yamen runners and guards. Before anyone could react, the imperial envoy sat at the head of the court.
"Sir! Someone outside has brought a visiting card!" Qing Lang walked in.
Now that Jiang Youzhen has become the imperial envoy, Qinglang and the others are following him in investigating cases and are also addressing him as "sir".
Jiang Youzhen took it and looked at it. "The Yu family in Lin'an Prefecture?"
"You can't sit still anymore?" Fang Zhongyi sneered.
"Probably the Hongmen Banquet!" Jiang Youzhen smiled.
The three major families in Lin'an Prefecture: the Wan family in the east of the city, the Yun family in the west of the city, and the Yu family in the north of the city.
The Wan family in the east of the city were once the imperial merchants of the previous dynasty. Unfortunately, the previous dynasty was overthrown and the Wan family was stripped of the title of imperial merchants. They then hid in their ancestral land and have not dared to make a comeback in the capital in recent years.
And because of the strong rise of the Yu family in recent years, it not only eroded the power of the Wan family and the Yun family, which had been standing for many years in the local area. Gradually, the momentum of the other two families could no longer compare with that of the Yu family.
The most important point is that the Yu family had a daughter in ancestor's family, who was betrothed to the late emperor. Although her rank was extremely low, she was only a third-class concubine, and she had no children and died young.
But it was thanks to this girl that the Yu family rose rapidly from being a small merchant to becoming a wealthy family.
"They actually dared to invite you to sit down at the table. Are they planning to kill you? I heard that the Yu family is very high-profile in the local area and has been involved in the private salt trade for a long time."
When Fang Zhongyi asked, people in the market said that even if they couldn't buy salt anywhere else, the Yu family shop would definitely have it.
The Yu family is involved in many industries, including grain, wine shops, and salt.
In previous dynasties, the government opened salt shops in various places. But if they only sold table salt, not only would they have to invest manpower, but they would also have to rent a shop. Wouldn't that be very troublesome?
Later, the salt was sold in several designated grocery stores. Originally, there was no commission, but there was always loss during the sale, and the merchants were unwilling to do so. So, they sold the salt to those merchants.
Of course, some profit must be left for the merchants, which solves the problem.
In other words, there are only five companies in Lin'an Prefecture that are allowed to sell salt. Other counties and towns are also allowed to sell salt by designated companies by the government. Others who sell salt are called smugglers.
Speaking of the five stores in Lin'an Prefecture, three of them are definitely there, and the other two are larger grain shops.