The envoys were responsible for announcing the imperial edicts and were dismissed upon completion of their mission. After the Shaoxing era, the envoys were responsible for recruiting and pacifying the people, or inspecting officials, or controlling the army and horses, and their powers gradually increased.

Li Qingyuan was in this state at the moment. When he came to Qinghe Prefecture, he felt as if he had become the master of Qinghe, and the prefect of Qinghe Prefecture, Zhao Kangping, could only stand aside.

In the lobby of Qinghe Prefecture, Li Qingyuan was sitting in the hall, reading files, while the prefect Zhao Kangping was lowering his head.

"Sir Zhao, what's going on?" Li Qingyuan pulled out a page from the file, and his subordinates immediately took it and walked to the bottom to hand it to Zhao Kangping.

Li Qingyuan acted very arrogantly, like a local tyrant. Even sending a file required his subordinates to do so.

Zhao Kangping took the file, glanced at it, and said, "Your Excellency, this is a memorial submitted by Kui County Magistrate Zhou Guitong. It states that over 700 smugglers in Kui County have been interrogated, and none of them were involved in leaking secrets. Considering that the Kui County jail can barely hold so many prisoners, and that feeding these 700 people daily is a significant expense, Magistrate Zhou admonished these smugglers and made them write a written pledge not to offend again, threatening severe punishment. And so, they were all released home."

"Nonsense!" Li Qingyuan slammed the table in anger. "This is child's play! Zhou Guitong is playing with the laws of the Great Song Dynasty. Your Majesty sent me here to thoroughly investigate the military leak case. Zhou Guitong is going against the tide and is not caring about his own life. I will report this to the court and have him dismissed and investigated!"

Zhao Kangping was shocked. If this were to happen, Zhou Guitong's future would be over. At this critical juncture, dismissal from office would be the least of his worries.

"Please calm down, sir!" Zhao Kangping hurriedly saluted. "I think Lord Zhou must have been helpless. He captured these prisoners in the first place, and releasing them now is only after careful consideration. Please calm down, sir. Give Lord Zhou a chance to atone for his crime. Why not let him recapture those prisoners?"

Capturing Zhou Guitong was nothing to Li Qingyuan. After all, a small local county magistrate wouldn't cause a stir in the government or the public. He was afraid that if he were captured, it would be difficult to recapture the smugglers he had let go.

Li Qingyuan thought for a moment and finally agreed: "Okay! I will give him one more chance. You must recapture the over 700 smugglers he let go within three days. Otherwise, don't blame me for being rude!"

In Kui County, the county magistrate Zhou Guitong had an extremely ugly expression on his face. He angrily slammed a letter in his hand on the table.

"Sir, what happened?" the lawyer asked cautiously.

Zhou Guitong sighed. "Alas, this new envoy has arrived. He said he wants to recapture those smugglers and bring me to justice."

The lawyer was surprised: "What? Why are we arresting them? These smugglers are not smuggling large amounts of money. We have also investigated and found that they have no connection with the leak case. Why are we arresting them?"

Zhou Guitong shook his head and sighed, looking up to the sky: "I can't explain it clearly, but I have a feeling that something big is going to happen."

The master was a little anxious: "Then, those smugglers who were released..."

Zhou Guitong waved his hands and said helplessly: "Catch them and bring them back."

So in another round, Liu Dutou led the yamen runners to turn Kui County upside down.

These smugglers are ordinary local people. They are all home-loving rabbits, and no one is willing to run away and move for such a small matter.

Their crimes were all petty thefts, just exchanging two pounds of tea for a few sheep, and two or three iron pots for a cow.

In the past, this was just a kind of transaction between the people of Song and Mongolia. Bartering existed in primitive society. Later, when Kui County was invaded by Mongolian cavalry, many people did not understand why the court suddenly banned this kind of bartering.

Due to the unique geographical location of Kui County, the people of Song and Mongolia had close exchanges, and even intermarriage occurred. However, the court now stipulates that any Mongolian women who marry into the territory or sons-in-law who marry into the family will be sent back to Mongolia.

The people of Kui County also hated the Mongolian soldiers, but they did not have any hatred towards ordinary Mongolian people. In their eyes, the Mongolian people were more enthusiastic and had no scheming.

For example, when the market was booming, merchants from all over the country flocked to it. If someone crossed the border to Mongolia, they would often welcome you with all their hospitality if they met a familiar Mongolian.

This is the warm and hospitable side of the Mongolians. When you go to their home, they will kill sheep and cook wine to welcome you. Mongolians are never stingy with their guests.

In fact, objectively speaking, almost all ethnic groups are kind. It is only when they are manipulated by those who are obsessed with power that they become violent and cruel, or even lose their humanity.

More than 700 people, but not a single one escaped, and all were brought back to justice. This was because these people naively believed that their crimes were not serious and that the court would at most give them some acceptable punishment. In fact, most of them did not know where to escape.

Zhou Guitong sat in the county government office, handling official business. The files were filled with trivial matters. Even two sheep had to be recorded in detail. For him, handling files on more than 700 people was a huge task.

But the corrupt official insisted on detailed files for every person, which forced the county magistrates to work overtime. A total of 2,006 smugglers were registered and imprisoned in Qinghe Prefecture.

Li Qingyuan was happy and excited. He believed that his mission was about to be fulfilled. His meteoric rise to fame was within reach, and he was busy at his desk.

The difference is that what Li Qingyuan wrote was to be sent to the capital, to be mailed to the emperor for him to read personally.

'Your Majesty, long live your Majesty!'

I am grateful for the emperor's great grace and the wisdom of his holy son. I have thoroughly investigated the case of military secrets leaked from Qinghe Prefecture and apprehended 2,006 individuals who were secretly trading with Mongolian smugglers. I believe the smugglers are the real culprits behind the recent disaster in Kui County.

The people here are fierce and unruly, and the common people do not know the power of the emperor. I believe that the court should issue an edict to execute these two thousand people on the spot! To uphold the majesty of the holy emperor. Use the heads of these two thousand people who have dared to defy the law to comfort the souls of the people who died in Kui County.

Li Qingyuan finished writing in one stroke, feeling very satisfied. "Come, come, Lord Zhao, please show me this memorial. How about sending it to Bianjing?"

Qinghe Prefecture Governor Zhao Kangping leaned forward, looking away. He would have been fine if he hadn't, but when he did, he broke out in a cold sweat. He reached out his sleeve and wiped his sweat. "Sir Li, this matter is open to discussion. From what we know about Xiaguan, these two thousand smugglers haven't committed any serious offenses."

Li Qingyuan felt a little regretful that he shouldn't have asked him: "Master Zhao, please be careful with your words!"

"Sir Li, it's too hasty to draw conclusions on this matter now. Why don't you notify all the counties of this memorial first and listen to their opinions? If the counties support Sir Li's memorial, it won't be too late for Sir Li to submit it later."