How can this be?
Everyone present looked horrified, with their hearts in their throats. How did King Qi know these things? Could it be said that he came to Qingzhou this time not to provide disaster relief, but to raise troops and punish the guilty?
The cold words were accompanied by unspeakable murderous intent, frightening everyone in the hall to immediately kneel down and kowtow to the ground without daring to say a word. King Qi's words were like sharp blades, bringing to the surface all the hidden thoughts in their hearts.
"Your Highness, please calm down. Even if we don't get any credit for rescuing people, we still have hard work. Why do you say this?" At this time, among the silent people, County Sheriff Tang Mingzhao was kneeling on the ground, but he was still working hard. they argued.
Bidige
Although they did not attach too much importance to King Qi at first, because although King Qi is a descendant of the royal family, he is far away in the capital and is not even a prince. Even though he is powerful in the court, in this land of Qingzhou, no matter how powerful he is, he is not a prince. It is difficult to shake the entire officialdom.
Because the entire Qingzhou official and gentry families have already formed a coalition of interests.
Since the severe drought began in Qingzhou, officials and gentry here began to hoard food and resell official warehouses. When the disaster broke out, they made a huge profit.
Not to mention, after the court provided disaster relief, they secretly joined forces to embezzle money and food, and each of them made a lot of money. It was even bluntly said that the reason why the Qingzhou disaster victims rebelled was because they were forced out by this group of people.
To them, a group of victims were nothing more than a disease that could be wiped out with a snap of their fingers, but once they were eradicated, the gains outweighed the losses, so they began to support the bandits in order to defraud the court of disaster relief funds.
"Really? My king, how have I wronged you? The facts are right in front of you, why do I need to say more?" Li Nian stood up from his seat, held up his jade crown, his brows filled with murderous intent.
If he didn't take the overall situation into consideration, he would have killed every one of the people here.
Now, almost everyone felt the anger in Li Nian's words, and lowered their heads deeper. The heavy pressure already made them breathless. After all, he was a prince, with noble blood and strong aura. .
At this moment, the county magistrate Zhao Xuan straightened up, looked directly at Li Nian, and said in a deep voice, word by word, "Master Tang is right, I don't know where your highness heard these rumors. However, since the severe drought, Since then, Xianguan and his colleagues have been working hard and long at night to actively provide disaster relief, so that thousands of people in Qingzhou can survive. If I hadn't been waiting for food and clothing at night, His Highness would not have seen victims along the way, but white bones. "
What they said is correct and reasonable. If they did not provide disaster relief, those people would indeed not be able to survive. But they embezzled 90% of the money and food, and could have saved more victims and eliminated the rebellion in Qingzhou.
But it was because of their greed that the situation deteriorated to this point. They could have achieved a score of 100 points, but they only achieved a score of 10 points. This was what made Li Nian the most angry.
"You!!!" Seeing Zhao Xuan's righteous words and high-sounding appearance, Li Nian was so angry that he was speechless. The officials in Qingzhou have such low moral standards!
When the others heard Zhao Xuan's words, they quickly exchanged glances and did not step forward. The situation is still unclear, so it is not a good thing to step forward rashly.
Although there has always been a saying in the official circles that the law does not punish the public, but if the King of Qi is angered and beheaded, who can you ask for explanation? They will come with an imperial edict.
"Okay, it's really good!" After hearing his words, Li Nian quickly calmed down. Anger could not solve the problem. Faced with this mess, he had to solve it as soon as possible.
"Pfft!"
Suddenly, in the hall, a splash of blood spattered. Zhao Xuan, who had just said so confidently, immediately separated his body and head. A six-yang leader flew high, and the look of shock on his face had not dissipated.
The rich smell of blood filled the hall, and all the sounds disappeared. The people kneeling in the hall did not dare to whisper to each other anymore, they just knelt there, motionless!
He actually dared to take action!
The county magistrate Zhao Xuan, who had just returned his righteous words, turned into a corpse in front of everyone. This was something no one expected.
"You'd better spit out what you eat honestly to me, otherwise, he will be your role model! Moreover, I don't want more, just 70%. You will use 70% of the money to feed the people, and the rest will be For 30% of the crime, I can forget the blame and even help you cover it up."
"However, for this disaster relief, you must respond with all your strength, without making any mistakes, otherwise..." At the end of the sentence, Li Nian glanced at them meaningfully and sat down again.
Now, the pressure turns to the officials and gentry below.
Money or life, this question is not difficult.
But for these people, they are unwilling to give away 70% of their hard-earned money for nothing.
Just when they were about to bargain with King Qi, their eyes suddenly glanced at Zhao Xuan's head on the floor. The bloody look and disbelief in his eyes immediately made them shrink back.
Yes, living, isn’t it good?
Even if they spit out 70% of the money and food and only take the remaining 30%, they have made a lot from this disaster and they will not be able to spend it all in ten lifetimes.
Not to mention, after the disaster relief, King Qi promised not to pursue them further and helped them cover up their crimes. In this way, their illegal income became legal. Even if they settle old scores in the future, King Qi would endorse them. No one will pursue it again.
After thinking about this clearly, the people kneeling on the ground glanced at each other and understood each other's thoughts.
The county guard Tang Mingzhao saw the right moment, stood up decisively, and shouted, "I am willing to fully support His Highness King Qi in relieving the victims." During this process, he did not even look at Zhao Xuan.
If the person who just said those words was him, the person lying there now is himself. The two of them were the ones who made the most money out of everyone present.
At first, they were the ones who linked up with the major families to make money together. Now that Zhao Xuan is dead, it means that his money has fallen into their hands, and Zhao Xuan will also take the blame for them and drag him out to top the cylinder.
"This official also supports me."
"I also support King Qi and am willing to do my best." Another person stood up to express his support.
"Thank you for your support." Sitting there, Li Nian smiled and looked at the others. Three people took the lead. The others finally couldn't bear Li Nian's oppressive gaze and expressed their opinions one after another.
"Very good. You finally didn't disappoint me again. I hope this is the last time. Happy cooperation! Let's drink together!" After saying that, Li Nian picked up the wine bottle filled with sake on the table and stood up again. , drink it all in one gulp.
And the officials in the hall also got up one after another, "I thank you, King Qi!" After saying that, they drank all the wine in their glasses.
