Han You looked through the account book and couldn't figure it out.
What I can't figure out are two things. The first thing is, why are the officials in the middle of the capital and the director of the Ministry of Industry so bold? They send a fool to hand over the Yin and Yang ledgers in broad daylight under the emperor's feet. Do they not avoid people with the door open? What do they have to rely on? How dare you be so unscrupulous, or do you think that in this world, if you have the power, you can do whatever you want?
The second thing is about Bai Dao, who was beaten all over the floor and had teeth all over the place, that is, the steward of this dental shop.
A white-bodied person, no, a commoner, no, a cunning person, that’s right, a local rogue, a local rogue who kidnaps and sells children, met the son of the governor of Jingzhao Prefecture, met a group of palace guards, saw everyone coming to check the accounts, and on the spot Liu Wenguan's son was arrested in front of him, and he still dared to make a noise?
Looking at the account book at a glance, Han You frowned and said, "Stop."
A group of guards who were punching and kicking the white sword stopped, and Zhou Yan also started to attack, kicking his shoes away.
Han You, who was sitting on the stool, closed the account book, looked at the unrecognizable Bai Dao kneeling on the ground and asked, "Where's the money?"
Bai Dao was indeed a senior blind man. His face was covered with blood but he showed no fear. He grinned and said: "Master Han beat the common people for no reason. This is... lynching. According to the laws of the Zhou Dynasty, lynching is murder. The common people are going to the capital. Zhaofu is the one who beats the drum of injustice."
Han You chuckled lightly.
Many times, criminals understand the law more thoroughly than those who enforce the law.
Han You raised a finger and shook it.
Guo Peng next to him asked: "What do you mean?"
"Break off a finger."
"This..." Guo Peng looked confused: "This is inappropriate."
"Don't be afraid, I'll take care of you if something happens."
"Okay." Guo Peng stepped forward and stretched out his hand to grab Han You's finger.
Han You was startled, "What are you going to do?"
"Didn't the gentleman say that he would break off one of your fingers?"
"I..." Han You's nose was so angry that he said, "I said goodbye to him."
Guo Peng scratched the back of his head: "Why do you, sir, raise your own finger?"
Han You: "..."
A group of guards nodded repeatedly. They felt that Han You was doing too much, so they just said it and it was over. Why are you wagging your fingers?
With a scream, Bai Dao grabbed his broken finger and rolled on the ground.
Han You looked calm: "To beat the grievance drum, you must use your hands. You have to hold the wooden stick with your fingers and hit it. I am very curious about how you can beat the grievance drum and get another one if you don't have fingers."
Guo Peng's strike was like lightning. After kicking the white knife over, he broke off a thumb.
Han You crossed his legs and said, "Come on, come on, after breaking off this one, there will be another one left."
Screaming again, Bai Dao finally gave in, but it was only half-surrendered. He gritted his teeth and shouted: "What on earth do you want?"
Just as Han You was about to speak, a guard came in from the backyard with an extremely ugly expression: "Mr. Han, we found everyone. They are all in the yard, but..."
"Just what?"
After Han You asked, he stood up and walked to the backyard without waiting for the guard to answer.
Even though he roughly knew what was in the backyard, Han You's eyes jumped after he opened the curtain.
Yahang involves many business fields. The most profitable ones are human trafficking and loan money, that is, usury and loan sharking.
These are also the two core businesses of Yahang in Beijing, Zhongbei City. They lend money, and if the money is not repaid, they use their wives and daughters to pay off the debt or pay interest.
Han You and others squatted there for three days. At least seven of them and seven children were sent to Yahang outside the city.
The facade of Yaxing is not big, but the backyard connects the two adjacent courtyards on the left and right.
The courtyard is very big, with many cages and many children.
Nineteen people in total, nineteen children.
In addition to the seven children who were sent in these three days, there were twelve other children with chains hanging at their feet and connected to the stable stakes.
As for the seven latest children who were sent there, they were placed in cages with not enough room for them to even stand upright.
The tears of these children have dried up, and their bodies are curled up there. When they see someone coming, there is no color in their eyes, not even fear, as if they are walking zombies. Several of the children have whip marks all over their bodies. , the oldest is only eleven or twelve years old, and the youngest is only seven or eight years old.
"Zhou Yan!"
Han You called Prince You by his full name for the first time. The young prince hurried to the backyard. As soon as he stepped over the threshold, he felt like he was struck by lightning.
"See clearly, open your eyes and see clearly. One day, when His Majesty asks, you will tell His Majesty everything you saw, every detail, every shocking detail."
Han You took a deep breath: "Tell your majesty what happened in the capital under the emperor's feet, in the dark places that cannot be seen with the eyes, and in the dark places where the people gather."
Zhou Yan's eyebrows began to twitch, and anger began to brew in his chest.
Zhou Yan clenched his fists and turned around, shouting in a tearful voice: "Hit me, break his legs, break his hands, break all ten of his fingers, and cut off one of his fingers. You are the only one asking me!"
Han You, who stood there, blamed himself very much.
He knew that there were many children imprisoned in the backyard of Yahang. The boys would be sold to various mansions as slaves. As for the girls, the more delicate ones would be bought by various brothels and flower boats. The ones with unpleasant looks would The fate is the same as that of the boy.
But Han You didn't expect that these people... no, these beasts would lock the child in a cage and treat him like this.
Wang Hai walked in without much surprise on his face. Thinking about it, he had seen this kind of thing many times before.
The feeling of self-blame did not last long. Han You returned to the shop and sat on the stool, as if nothing happened.
Bai Dao was like a fish that jumped to the shore and was starved of oxygen. All his limbs were broken, and he screamed and wailed at the top of his lungs.
The palace guards had expressionless faces.
They came from the imperial guards in the palace, and the imperial guards were the tigers in the army of the former dynasty who followed the emperor through life and death. They had never seen anything like this before. Even Zhou Yan did not feel sorry for Bai Dao at all, but rather deserved it.
This is the difference between Zhou Yan and other Tianhuang nobles, empathy!
For a moment just now, he was thinking, if he were not a prince, but the son of the common people, would he be abused like those teenagers of the same age?
"Human traffickers, the people I hate most in my life, are equated with Japanese dogs."
Han You took a sip of tea and said calmly: "Let me tell you what will happen to you. After getting the information I want, I will ask the soldiers to imprison you in Jingzhao Mansion, which is my father's territory. , will not let you die, will not let you starve, will only let you live like a maggot. When one day I, Han You, gain power, I will hang you at the gate of the city, so that all people, whether legal or Illegal human traffickers will tremble and feel fear from the depths of their souls whenever they see a child."
"If you have the ability..." Bai Dao gritted his teeth and roared: "If you have the ability, kill me!"
"The first question is, how did you abduct the children to Beijing? The second question is, besides the Liu family, who else was involved. The third question, give me some intelligence, that is, information that can bring these people to the capital. Information that will lead to death and ruin.”
"You are dreaming, I am not afraid of death!"
"good."
Han You stood up and said to Wang Hai: "Find his relatives, whether they are parents or children, break off their limbs and throw them into Jingzhao Mansion."
Guo Peng's expression changed slightly: "Sir, it is true that this thief deserves what he deserves for his crime. It must not be rebellion, and he must not implicate his relatives."
"Liu Wenguan, the head of the Ministry of Industry, must have been there for more than ten years."
Han You suddenly said nonchalantly: "The oldest of his four sons more than ten years ago was less than ten years old. Ten-year-old children would not do all kinds of evil, but why do they regard the lives of the people now?" Like grass, there are so many corrupt officials in Beijing, their children are enjoying the benefits brought by their rights, and they are arrogant and domineering to the common people. Don't they know what kind of beast their father is? Are they not guilty?"
After finishing speaking, Han You looked at the ashen white knife on the ground: "This is your last chance to be a loyal dog to your master regardless of your relatives, or will you betray your masters for your relatives?"
