Being an official these days without being greedy is equivalent to being a member of the Moonlight clan who has worked a night shift and refuses to pick up the money when he sees it on the way home. Dai Qingyuan originally just wanted to be a little greedy and save some money to exchange for a bigger house. His parents took him from his hometown to live with him so that they could see that his son had a future. Unexpectedly, his opportunistic mentality made him more greedy and unable to hold back. He warned himself that this was the last time, but at the end He once let his boss get caught, and now he regrets it. Hearing that the imperial court sent a salt patrol to Yangzhou to thoroughly inspect the salt affairs, he was even more uneasy all day long. Recently, he heard that officials had been arrested one after another. Missing, like an ant on a hot pot, he felt that he would be completely ruined.
Unexpectedly, the first person waiting was not the silencer, but someone from the Imperial Envoy.
Dai Qingyuan was a little shocked. After taking a sip of tea, he truthfully confessed everything he knew. In this profit chain of selling illegal salt, he was just an insignificant role. When the big ship carrying illegal salt entered the ferry of Baoying County, he only He just needs to collect some money and then let him go by pretending that he doesn't know anything. Sometimes he will also accept bribes from small merchant ships that come and go.
Dai Qingyuan resisted at first, but Cao Ye, his boss and governor of Hedao, warned him to pretend to be blind when he saw something he shouldn't see, to keep his mouth shut about what he shouldn't ask, and to do what he should do honestly. If he is disobedient, he will be replaced by an obedient river steward. As for him, after ten years of hard work, he will be assigned to a remote place in the cold and cold to be an unnoticed steward.
This is indeed the case in the officialdom. In the long chain of interests of selling illegal salt, some people are forced to get involved, and some people indeed trekked thousands of miles to smell the stench and tried their best to get involved.
To put it bluntly, this Dai Qingyuan was a small character who could be abandoned at any time. Su Xiaolou was a little disappointed, it seemed that this trip was going to be in vain.
"Although you did something wrong, you were forced to do so. As long as you give evidence of other corrupt officials' crimes, the Imperial Envoy is willing to write a letter to plead for you and strive for a lighter sentence."
Dai Qingyuan shook his head: "I have no evidence of those people's crimes. They are very cautious and never allow me to ask about things I shouldn't know."
Sure enough, what Su Xiaolou thought was the same: "I'm sorry, we can't help you, we can only take you away."
Dai Qingyuan said eagerly, "But I know the place where Cao Ye, the governor of the river, hid his silver. Is this okay?"
This is so good. Su Xiaolou and Bao Baotou looked at each other and asked overjoyed, "Where did he hide the money?"
"Hidden in a warehouse cellar at Jiangdu Ferry."
The leader said suspiciously: "His wife, who has been sleeping with him for many years, may not even know about such a secret thing. How did you know about it?"
"Half a year ago, Cao Ye newly married a concubine who was as beautiful as flowers and jade. He was so happy that he drank too much at the banquet. When I sent him back, he stood by the river and refused to leave. He pulled me and said he had a golden mountain. , I didn’t believe it at first, thinking he was talking nonsense after being drunk, but later he said that it was mysteriously hidden in a warehouse cellar at Jiangdu Ferry, and he insisted on dragging me to see it, so I I believed him to be telling the truth while drunk, but he didn’t remember it the next day.”
Su Xiaolou said: "Then you should really thank him for not remembering this, otherwise you still wouldn't know which corner you were picking your feet in."
The boss suddenly asked: "Then where is the money you embezzled?"
Dai Qingyuan hesitated for a while, then got up and went to the study to lift up a few bricks on the ground. He dug with a shovel for a long time and then brought out a small box. When he opened it, he saw that it was full of golden gold bars. Su Xiaolou's eyes were dazzled. I can't even open it.
He has embezzled so much money in just over a year since he took office. I can’t imagine how much money those big corrupt officials have in their hands. They can probably build a house of gold. The River Department is indeed a very rich man! No wonder so many people are trying to get in.
"All the money I have been greedy for over the past year is here, and I don't dare to spend a penny." Looking at the yamen in such a state, you can tell that this sentence is somewhat true.
"Do you have any more that you have hidden somewhere else?"
Dai Qingyuan waved his hands repeatedly and said in horror: "No, no, absolutely no. I will never dare to deceive you two adults."
Su Xiaolou asked curiously: "Why are there gold bars inside? Do you always go out of your way to exchange them for gold bars after receiving bribes?"
"Most of the money here is rewarded by people from above. What they give is gold bars." Su Xiaolou touched his chin. It seems that gold bars are the internal money of corrupt officials.
Su Xiaolou and others took away the box full of gold bars, told Dai Qingyuan some things, and went to the street to rent a carriage. They put Dai Qingyuan's box into the carriage and prepared to leave. Dai Qingyuan hurried home to pack some gifts. He left with Su Xiaolou and his group.
A carriage and several fast horses headed to Jiangdu Ferry, fifty kilometers away, under the moonlight.
…
The sky turned white, and Jiangdu's ferry began to become lively. The porters began to work one after another. The open space of the ferry was full of goods. There were piles of goods here and there, and there were also rows of goods in the warehouses. There were many people in that row, and I didn’t know which one Cao Ye had hidden the money in. It would take a lot of effort to find them.
Su Xiaolou turned his head, returned to the carriage and took out Dai Qingyuan's box containing the gold bars. He found the ferry steward and said, "The box that Mr. Cao Yecao told me to put is here." After saying that, he put down the box and left.
The ferry steward looked at the box and couldn't help laughing. Seeing that no one around him was paying attention to his side, he tried to pick up the box with all his strength and grinned, but the box didn't move at all, as if it was embedded in the ground. He just saw which boy was holding the box very relaxedly! Why can’t I hold it up myself?
"Sir, do you want to help?"
When the ferry steward looked up, it was his subordinate Wang Er, looking at him with big white teeth bared.
"Get out of here, can't I even lift a small box? You're kidding, go ahead and do what you have to do, don't be an eyesore here."
The ferry steward drove away Wang Er impatiently. People who have been working as porters for many years can guess what's inside based on the weight and sound of a box if they lift it. The ferry steward naturally knows that, so he won't let anyone else do it. Lift boxes.
The steward rolled up his sleeves, took a deep breath, put his hands on both sides of the box and exerted force. Suddenly, veins popped up on his arms, and the box finally lifted off the ground. The ferry steward moved with difficulty, his face suffocating due to excessive exertion. Turning red and sweating profusely, he carried the box back to a small room. When he was exhausted, he slipped his hand and the box fell. The golden gold bars fell to the ground, playing the most beautiful song in the world. Music, the ferry steward hugged his feet and screamed in the gold.
Su Xiaolou was secretly observing every move of the ferry steward. Those watching him were anxious. This man was so weak that he couldn't even lift a small box. He was useless!
