Just when Huang Qiong was so angry that Chen Zhizhou was talking nonsense. Su Jin ignored Jian Yong who was tugging at his sleeve secretly, and stood up and said: "Chen Zhizhou, since you said that it is the money and grain that the people of Mizhou have owed to the court since King Jing came to the vassal. Then I ask you, these years When money and grain are in arrears, whose name is the land in and who owns the harvest?”
"Master Futai, aren't you asking knowingly? The land in those years was naturally owned by King Jing. But then again, now that these people have taken back the land unconditionally. And the takeback of these lands is neither of these. What the people bought with money will be taken back free of charge. So naturally these people should bear the money and grain that King Jing owed back then."
Although they were both originally employed in Beijing, their yamen were not related. Therefore, although Chen Zhizhou and Su Jin are familiar with each other's names, they have no actual intersection, let alone familiarity. And for Su Jin, the notorious boss in all yamen in Beijing. He also looks down upon him who has a virtuous concubine in his palace and the support of his family behind him.
Therefore, before he took office, he even went to Zhengzhou to pay a visit to his superiors. This was the most basic etiquette for a new local official after he took office, or even superficiality. After just sending someone to say hello, he went directly to Mizhou to take up his post. Now I saw that the person speaking was Su Jin. This Chen Zhizhou didn't even raise his eyelids, and his attitude was even more indifferent.
Seeing himself as an official, he behaved so disdainfully. Even though he was mentally prepared, Su Jin was still very angry: "Since Mr. Chen also knows that these lands have always been under the name of King Jing, then why not go to the original owner of those years, King Jing, to demand payment?" If you default on money and food, you go to those innocent people to demand it?"
"Even though Prince Jing is dead, the imperial court has not abolished Prince Jing's title, and Prince Jing's Mansion is still in Zhengzhou Mansion. Besides, as the saying goes, the father pays his debts with his son, and Prince Jing's eldest son is still there. Mr. Chen did not go to Prince Jing's Mansion, but instead Isn't it a bit bullying to go to the people who have just taken back the occupied land and ask for it?"
After throwing away the big hat of bullying the weak and fearing the strong, Su Jin looked at Chen Zhizhou, who was made red-faced and thick-necked by his few words, and said: "Besides, Mr. Chen, you use all kinds of means to urge the people of Mizhou to pay." Is the money and food for the public, or for private use? For the public, why don't you see Mr. Chen going to the Jiefu Yamen, or the Henan Road Transport Department for a penny or a pound of food?"
"If it is for personal gain to put all the collected money and food into his own pocket, then everyone can punish Mr. Chen for his actions. As Mr. Chen's superior officer, Mr. Chen should at least give me an explanation on this matter. Mr. Chen, during this period of time, he drove cattle and sheep, demolished houses to collect land, and even robbed women and sold them. Where did the money and food go?"
In response to Su Jin's scolding, Chen Zhizhou, who was still tough-tongued, laughed and said indifferently: "Master Futai is really good at joking? I am recovering the arrears of money and food according to the court regulations. How can I bully the soft and be afraid of the tough? Customized by the imperial court , whoever has the land in their hands will have to pay money and grain. Now that the land is in the hands of the people of Mizhou, I will naturally demand payment from the people of Mizhou."
"As for the unpaid money and food, that's even better. I have only been in office for three months, and Mizhou is a place with extremely tricky folk customs. Those unruly people refused to accept the education, resisted the government, and always refused to pay the money and food owed. I am the one who No matter how efficient it is, it is impossible to collect several years of arrears in money and food in such a short period of time.”
"Since it failed to be collected, where is the money to hand over to the government office or the transportation department? On the other hand, Magistrate Su did not think about how to share the worries of the court and help me to collect the arrears of money and grain. Now, I am still talking empty-handed and falsely accusing me of robbery. Women. I would like to ask, Mr. Su, what evidence does Mr. Su have for saying that I took back land, drove cattle and sheep, and sold women?"
Chen Zhizhou is so arrogant, in addition to relying on the power behind him. Another reason is that Huang Qiong has no other actual evidence except the person he caught. And that person was just a dog he used to gather money, and he didn't know much about the real inside story. He refused to admit his guilt based on a single witness, even as a prince.
Not to mention where the account books are, he doesn't even know how much food he actually collected or where the money and food went. Without real evidence, let alone an ordinary prefect. Even the King of England wanted to convict himself based on his confession alone, but it also depended on whether Concubine De in the palace, his grandfather and father would agree.
Seeing this Chen Zhizhou, he was still stubborn and refused to admit it. After Huang Qiong went out for a while, he came back and stopped Su Jin from going on. Instead, he smiled lightly and said: "Master Chen, is it true that the money and grain have not been confiscated? I'm afraid not necessarily. Since Master Chen thinks that Collecting money and food privately does not violate the court's laws, so let's put this matter aside for now."
"Now, let's talk about the amount of money and grain collected by Mr. Chen, and the whereabouts of the money and grain. Since Mr. Chen can't remember how much food was collected, I will recall it for you, Mr. Chen. It's been a month since you took office. A few months later, we began to collect the so-called arrears of money and food from the people under Mizhou's rule."
"Even the bastards you sent were taking care of the border areas between some surrounding states and counties and Michigan during the collection process. Before that bastard of yours was captured by me, within two months, you pretended to be my king's We used various means to forcibly collect 90,000 gu in money and 60,000 shi in grain. Last month alone, we forcibly collected 30,000 gu in money and 40,000 shi in grain."
"One hundred and twenty-three women were robbed and sold by you to repay the arrears of money and grain. Among them, 109 have been sold by you, earning a total of 32,000 guan. And these money and grain are worth one penny and one penny. None of the kilograms of grain entered the Mizhou state treasury, and not a penny or a kilogram of grain was handed over to the Zhengzhou government office and the Henan Road Transportation Department."
"The grain department was all resold to grain merchants by you, and the money was 96,500 guan. Together with the money forcibly collected by you, the total was 218,500 guan. Of this money, except for part of it, you Song sent them outside the capital, and the rest were exchanged for silver notes from Wuwei Bank and hid in your outer house."
"Since Mr. Chen keeps saying that he enforces the law impartially, I would like to ask you why the money and food confiscated by you were neither put into the state treasury nor handed over to the government office, but were instead deposited in your private residence. In the middle? Is Mr. Chen doing this for public or private reasons? Should Mr. Chen explain the whereabouts of his money and food to the emperor, the court, and me?"
"Don't tell me that the money you transported to the capital was handed over directly to the Ministry of Household Affairs. Mr. Chen, don't treat me, the officials on Henan Road, and the people of Zhengzhou Prefecture as idiots. Mizhou How many families are there? In two months, you actually made so much ill-gotten wealth. How many people in Mizhou had to lose their families to get it out?"
Facing Huang Qiong, who had already exposed his old foundation, Chen Zhizhou's expression changed slightly, but he still said sternly: "Your Majesty, you think too highly of me when you say this. The people of Mizhou are unruly. There are many people, and they have been resisting donations and tax deductions. If I am so capable and can amass so much money in such a short period of time, why am I still doing this?"
"Having gone out to do business a long time ago, wouldn't it be more powerful? The King of England said so, and he must provide evidence. Otherwise, even if the lawsuit is brought to Zhongshu Province and in front of the emperor, I will also fight this Litigation. Although the King of England is a prince and a prince, I am not afraid of it. I believe that justice is in the heart of the people."
Seeing this Chen Zhizhou, he was still stubbornly resisting and unrepentant. Huang Qiong did not hesitate. He took out a ledger from his sleeve and threw it in front of Chen Zhizhou, who was still tough-talking. After Chen Zhizhou saw this account book, his previously arrogant face instantly turned livid.
This account book was none other than the one he had hidden in that outer house. It was full of the money he had made during this period. This account book fell into the hands of the King of England, which confirmed his guilt. But he didn't understand why this extremely secret ledger would fall into the hands of Huang Qiong in Zhengzhou Mansion, a hundred miles away from Mizhou.
Looking at this arrogant Chen Zhizhou, he finally bowed his head. Huang Qiong sneered and said: "Mr. Chen, you can be said to have used all the tricks, but you have ruined your own life. You think you are hiding from God and ghosts, but you don't know that you are scheming against others, and others are also scheming against you. Your outer residence is so hidden, but after all, you can’t hide it from those who are interested.”
"The man you sent to work for you, Mr. Chen, was afraid that one day he would be pushed out by you as a scapegoat. Although he did not dare to check the whereabouts of the money and food, you had already set up the location of the outer house and found out who was hiding in it. The investigation is clear. You don’t have to be so tough-talking. You can handle it, but I don’t believe that the concubine you raised can also handle it? "
After saying that, Huang Qiong clapped his hands. As his applause fell, Liu Hu and his men, who had returned from Mizhou, came in carrying a frightened and trembling woman, as well as more than a dozen boxes of money and banknotes. After seeing this woman, as well as the dozens of boxes of money and banknotes, Chen Zhizhou, who had been extremely arrogant before, couldn't believe his eyes.
The money and banknotes had been transferred after he knew that the man had been arrested. As for this woman, he also asked her to temporarily leave the original house, take the secret book to another place outside Mizhou City, and rest temporarily until this matter is over. He didn't expect that he would be discovered anyway.
Seeing this guy finally lowering his head slightly, Huang Qiong sneered: "I have long expected that your bastard confession alone will not suppress you. For you, that guy has nothing more than to take away the wealth and wealth of the people for you. In addition, I’m afraid another role is to take the blame for you when necessary. Otherwise, given your thoughtful mind, why would you indulge this person so much?"
"Even if I hadn't been on guard against you and sent people to keep an eye on you early, I might have been bitten by you a few times. You are also a bit quick-witted. If you use this thought on the right path, you will be better off. You will definitely become a capable official. After a few years of hard work, and with the support of your family background, you may not have a promising future."
"It's a pity that you put all your thoughts on how to collect people's wealth. By doing this, aren't you really afraid of forcing the people to rebel? The people of Zhengzhou have been completely destitute over the past few years. They have almost reached the point where The people are in dire straits. Why do you still dare to act so wantonly and plunder the people's wealth?"
"Since you said that the imperial court has never informed the world that excess land under the clan's name will be exempted from money and grain. Then I ask you, have you ever sent anyone to collect money and grain from the three thousand acres of land owned by the King of Song in Mizhou? Don't tell me King, you are a close relative of the Song aunt, and you don’t know that he has three thousand acres of land in Mizhou? Don’t you know that according to the law of the court, a prince who has not joined the vassal cannot hold land in his name."
