Chapter 180 The End of Evil

Li Youshan smiled and said, "Eat quickly, there's plenty, the other runners have already eaten."

"Thank you, uncle." Xie Yan sat down and let Qingfeng eat with him.

He then asked, "Uncle, have you had a housewarming party?"

"Not yet."

"When you're going to have a housewarming party, have someone tell me so I can send a gift, too."

"good."

Xie Yan and Qingfeng had their meal and took their medicine.

I haven't seen Li Wanyue yet, but I know she is very tired from helping take care of him.

He had no choice but to say goodbye to Zhao Suying and Li Youshan and leave with his people.

After returning to the county government office and knowing that Zhao Kuo was in the guest house, Xie Yan went straight to the guest house.

Sitting under a tree in the yard was a man about thirty years old with a stern face and a strict gaze.

Seeing Xie Yan coming, he stood up and bowed: "Thank you, sir, long time no see."

Xie Yan bowed and said, "Master Zhao, you have come all the way here, please take a seat. Are you injured?"

Zhao Kuo sat down on the stone bench and waved his hand, "Thank you, sir, for your peace of mind. We brought enough people this time and wore light armor. We had a group of 300 people. We raided the Sky Eagle Village last night. Except for 15 people who were seriously injured, some were not hurt at all, and the rest were just superficial injuries. It's not a big deal. But you, are you seriously injured?"

Xie Yan smiled and said, "It's just a minor injury. It's nothing serious. Thank you for your hard work. How much did you seize this time?"

Zhao Kuo went back to the house and took out a booklet and several account books and handed them to him.

“It’s all here.”

Xie Yan flipped through the roster of Tianying Village, which showed that there were a total of 209 bandits, including more than 80 women.

Twenty-eight bandits were captured last night, and the rest were all killed.

Including those who went to Daohua Village last night, no one was left out.

Confiscated 2,260 taels of gold, 31,700 taels of silver notes, 2,550 pieces of jewelry, jade, calligraphy and antiques, 260 rolls of various silks and fabrics, more than 4,000 kilograms of grain, and more than 600 jars of wine...

Afterwards, he opened the booklet that he had searched out from the mansion of County Magistrate Cao.

The total amount of gold and silver was more than 135,000 taels, more than 1,000 pieces of calligraphy and paintings, jade and rare ornaments, two manors, five farms, and 15 shops...

After Xie Yan read it, he said in a gentle voice: "The Sky Eagle Village has been living here for many years and has colluded with Cao County. County Magistrate Cao provided the caravan information and travel routes, and the Sky Eagle Village was responsible for the operation. The stolen silver was split in half. If there was any news about the surrender of the bandits, County Magistrate Cao would send a message in advance. County Magistrate Cao also paid a lot to the people in the city. Now this wolf's den that harms people has finally been removed."

Zhao Kuo nodded and said, "Yes, Lord Xu could not have thought of this number. Thanks to your resourcefulness, Lord Xu will deal with the people that County Magistrate Cao has submitted.

Lord Xu has said that we can deduct some of the reward for completing the mission this time, as long as it is not too excessive and we report it to him."

This is an unwritten rule, and it is also tacitly approved by the emperor. For soldiers and generals, in addition to the strict discipline that makes people fear, they must also give appropriate benefits.

Soldiers on the battlefield can keep a portion of the spoils collected.

Of course, you can keep some of the proceeds seized from the bandits, but don't go too far.

Xie Yan smiled and nodded, "The soldiers have worked hard all the way, it's what they deserve. So, for the dozen or so who were seriously injured, each will get fifty taels of silver, and for the remaining thirty taels of silver, we will select some jewelry that is not too eye-catching, and let them each choose two pieces to bring home. What do you think, Lord Zhao?"

"Yes, their annual salary is only thirty taels, so this is quite appropriate. If it is too much, the prefect will not agree."

Xie Yan nodded: "As for Mr. Zhao, it's one hundred taels of silver, and you can choose five pieces of jewelry."

Zhao Kuo smiled and said, "That's very loyal. Thank you very much."

"Don't rush back. Rest here for a few days before returning."

"I will go back and report to Lord Xu. Two days later, I will set off with more than 200 people with minor injuries, leaving 20 people to take care of the dozen seriously injured. I will let them set off in ten days."

"Well, it just so happens that the people you left behind can help me with some things in the next few days." Xie Yan naturally knew that they couldn't stay any longer.

In the afternoon, someone sent the money and jewelry to the post station outside the city. The soldiers received the money and chose the jewelry. They were all in a good mood and felt that the trip was worth it.

County Magistrate Cao and his family were taken to jail, and the bandits from Tianyingzhai were also imprisoned. When Zhu Zhubo heard the news, he was stunned.

How come he was thrown into jail all of a sudden?

Mrs. Zhu burst into tears and asked, "Master, what is going on? Our daughter has been spoiled since she was a child. How can she bear the environment of the prison? You must think of a way to rescue her."

Zhu Zhu paced back and forth for a few steps. He knew something about what County Magistrate Cao had done, and he was also involved in some of it.

Thinking of this, he hurriedly said, "Madam, go pack your things quickly, take your valuables with you, don't worry about anything else, take your children and leave quickly, go to your aunt's house first to hide for a while."

"Why?"

"Don't worry about it, hurry up." Zhu Zhubu also immediately went to the study to destroy the account books.

At this time, the housekeeper suddenly ran over and said in a hurry: "Master, there are several soldiers in light armor outside our door, blocking the door and the side door. The leader said that if you tell us everything you know, your whole family can be spared from death.

If you say that after County Magistrate Cao confesses, it will be bad for the whole family."

Zhu Zhubu stopped immediately.

After a long silence, he opened the door and left the house with the account book.

The Qian family of Qingshi Town was also imprisoned in the mansion, waiting to be summoned.

In the next few days, the victims and witnesses submitted petitions one after another and arrived at the scene. Bai Simian also wrote a petition and submitted it to the county government.

After the trial, the evidence was conclusive and County Magistrate Cao had no choice but to plead guilty.

The county magistrate Cao was sentenced to death by beheading, his family members were enslaved and exiled 2,000 miles away, and their property was confiscated.

Zhu Zhubu embezzled and accepted bribes of 20,000 taels, and did not educate his son well. His son Zhu Guangyao bullied men and women, did all kinds of evil, and even took several lives.

Considering that Zhu Zhubu had confessed voluntarily, he was spared the death penalty. Zhu Guangyao sentenced him to beheading, and the rest were made slaves and exiled three thousand miles away.

All the bandits were beheaded.

Mr. Qian's family took advantage of their power to bully others, forced good women to become concubines, and were responsible for several deaths. Mr. Qian was beheaded, his property was confiscated, and his family members were enslaved and exiled three thousand miles away.

Even the head of the village who had given the waterwheel drawings to County Magistrate Cao and the head of the village who was in charge of managing Daohua Village and Wangjiazhuang were removed from their posts.

Several other wealthy families were also implicated. Those who committed bad behaviors were arrested, fined, or sent to jail.

The case is reported and executed after review.

The whole Anping County was in an uproar.

Especially those victims who had suffered, who finally had their grievances redressed, praised the arrival of a just judge in their county.

County Academy

Gao Zhiyuan has been feeling uneasy ever since he heard the news.

He never expected that Master Zhu's family would be sent to prison and sentenced so suddenly.

Fortunately, Xiaohui did not marry Zhu Guangyao, otherwise Xiaohui would also go to jail and she would be implicated.

His future would be ruined.

On second thought, without the support of Young Master Zhu, could he still study in the county school?