The fine was quite a lot, and the amount was so huge that the government was a little afraid to accept it. They thought that the normally lawless Zhao family was in trouble today.
Zhao Yuanliang was beaten by Jiang Yi's insinuations, and now he just wants to clear up the relationship. He has no other ideas.
As a result, Zhao Peng, the son of the Zhao family, was not happy. He immediately found his father and said dissatisfied: "Father! Why did you hand over so much money! Which government agency wants to collect it! I will go find him right now!"
"Stop!" Zhao Yuanliang glared and said, "Don't you think you've caused enough trouble?"
"Father!" Zhao Peng shouted, "I just want to see which blind guy dares to bully our Zhao family!"
"You short-sighted and stupid thing!" Zhao Yuanliang said, "It's good that the Zhao family can escape unscathed from this incident! Don't cause trouble for me and harm your sister again!"
Mentioning his sister, Zhao Peng said with some dissatisfaction: "It's true that my little sister doesn't want to talk to the king and just gives me an official position."
"You still want to be an official like this!" Zhao Yuanliang was furious: "Just be honest! Also, those dandy boys in Qinzhou, stop fooling around with them!"
"I know." Zhao Peng curled his lips, turned around and left.
"Where are you going again!" Zhao Yuanliang asked subconsciously.
"I'm in trouble!"
"You!" Zhao Yuanliang was angry again, but there was nothing he could do.
At this moment, the housekeeper also hurried over and said seriously: "Master, the Chamber of Commerce checked the warehouse and indeed found official salt..."
"What did you say!?" Zhao Yuanliang was shocked: "Is there really someone using the Chamber of Commerce to secretly transport salt!?"
"This, in the warehouse, may be something they haven't had time to transport away," the steward said.
"Quick! Control the Qinzhou Chamber of Commerce! Tell Mr. Jiang immediately!"
"yes!"
The Zhao family is a wealthy family with countless servants and thugs. It is also the president of the Qinzhou Chamber of Commerce. It is not difficult to control the chamber of commerce.
That night, the chamber of commerce warehouse was lit with torches, and there were not only servants and thugs of the Zhao family, but also countless soldiers.
Jiang Yi was dressed in official uniform. After looking at the seized official salt, he asked in a solemn voice: "Which caravan is this product from?"
"Sir, this is the caravan belonging to the Vice President of the Chamber of Commerce, Shopkeeper Qian." The housekeeper of the Zhao Mansion quickly replied.
Jiang Yi glanced for a week and pointed out: "In this case, this matter should have nothing to do with the Zhao family."
When Zhao Yuanliang heard this, he was stunned at first, and then he echoed: "Yes, yes, Mr. Jiang is very aware of everything. This money shopkeeper is doing smuggling in the name of the Chamber of Commerce."
"Well..." Jiang Yi nodded and immediately ordered: "Seal down Qian's shop and arrest all relevant personnel."
"No!" An officer immediately accepted the order and waved his hand, "Quick! Follow us!"
The soldiers quickly evacuated this place, and Zhao Yuanliang quickly handed over his hands and said, "Thank you so much, Mr. Jiang, for reminding me this time. Otherwise, I would have been kept in the dark and I might have made a big mistake."
"Why, Mr. Zhao is so polite." Jiang Yi returned the gift with a smile: "The Zhao family was deceived by traitors and had no idea. The only mistake they made was in customs clearance and taxation. However, Mr. Zhao understands the righteousness and has already taken the initiative. I admitted it and paid a large fine, and I believe that the court will not pursue this matter again."
"Yes, yes, thank you very much, Mr. Jiang..." Zhao Yuanliang was very grateful.
The next day, shopkeeper Qian and more than a dozen businessmen were arrested and brought to the relevant government offices for interrogation by Jiang Yi himself.
In the lobby, the businessmen were kneeling in the middle, looking trembling. Jiang Yi was sitting directly above the case, and said straight to the point:
"Tell me, Shopkeeper Qian. Now that everyone has stolen the goods, all the managers under you have given an account. They said they were ordered by you, and it's not just this group of private people. Now that things have happened, there is no need to think about sophistry. It's better to do it as soon as possible. Only by giving an explanation can you survive.”
Shopkeeper Qian swallowed hard and raised his sleeve to wipe the cold sweat, but he hesitated and did not speak.
Jiang Yi was not in a hurry and continued: "I will recover the official salt you smuggled earlier. By then, you won't need to explain it anymore. Now, there is still a chance."
Shopkeeper Qian swallowed again, sweating more and more.
"If you cooperate with the investigation, it will not be a capital crime. But if you insist on not telling the truth, when the truth comes out, I am afraid that not only will you die, but your family will also be implicated!" Jiang Yi continued to exert pressure.
Hearing this, some people couldn't hold on anymore and immediately said in a trembling voice: "The villain will confess, the villain will confess everything. I just ask the adults to spare the villain's life..."
"Tell it truthfully!" Jiang Yi looked serious.
The man said: "Everything... was arranged by Shopkeeper Qian. We only need to use the name of the Chamber of Commerce and the banner of the Zhao family to avoid customs inspection. Shopkeeper Qian will be responsible for everything else..."
"You! You're talking nonsense!" After being bitten, shopkeeper Qian became more and more panicked and said repeatedly: "How can a villain have such courage regarding official salt? It's all Yong'an County Governor Li Minggui! Yes, that's him, he told the villain As long as you follow his instructions, the government will never dare to inspect the Zhao family, and nothing will happen..."
Jiang Yi turned her head and looked at the official at hand, who was writing down something quickly.
"That means Guan Yan came directly from Yong'an?"
"Yes Yes."
"How many times have you smuggled goods in total?"
"Seven...seven times."
"How was the loot divided?"
"Li...Li Minggui took 60% of the profits." At this point, Shopkeeper Qian said again: "Sir, he is making profits without capital, and he is greedy!"
"Shut up!" Jiang Yi cut him off and said in a deep voice: "Do you know that Li Minggui is an official of the imperial court and the head of the county! If you are slandering me, even ten of your heads will not be enough to cut him off!"
"Your Majesty, everything you say is true..." Shopkeeper Qian said in a trembling voice.
"Okay." Jiang Yi nodded, "Then let's talk about the cooperation between you."
"Yes Yes……"
There were no difficulties in this interrogation. I'm afraid Li Minggui never imagined that the Zhao family would be investigated and things would develop like this.
Although it was said that he was investigating the matter, Jiang Yi didn't even go to Yong'an. He just sat in Qinzhou and used the Zhao family as an entry point. Not only did he easily solve the matter, but he also made the Zhao family feel grateful to him.
After collecting a series of evidence of Li Minggui's crimes, Jiang Yi sorted out the relevant confessions and files, and rushed to the Prince of Qin's Mansion without stopping, preparing to make a preliminary report to Xiao Yuan.
He knew very well what the king wanted in this matter, which was to sort out the official scandal and get rid of Li Minggui. At the same time, the Zhao family was not involved.
Although Xiao Yuan did not point out these three points clearly, Jiang Yi did everything without missing a beat.
It is not difficult to see how shrewd this person is.
