Chapter 130 A resounding statement, powerful and resonant, echoed in the main hall…

“Lord Zhang, you know in your heart that you confiscated the salt merchants’ account books when you were guarding the salt merchants’ government office. Therefore, you are here with nothing to fear.” Li Yang’s eyes were burning as he looked directly at Zhang Youdao.

Upon hearing this, the other person straightened their back and looked back at her with their round eyes.

Li Yang smiled faintly, “Lord Zhang, there are plenty of people like you in this world who are idle and corrupt. But there are also those who run their businesses diligently and keep a close eye on every single account.”

Do you think that stealing the ledger means there's no way to prove anything?

As she spoke, she reached into her robes, took out the account book, and held it in her hand. "Lord Zhang, would you like to take a look at this account book?"

"You, where did you get this ledger? I, I clearly burned it..." But it was too late to stop now; everyone in the hall heard it clearly.

Emperor Qing's eyes darkened slightly.

Seeing this, Zhong Zhengyuan stepped forward and said, "Lord Zhang, how foolish you are! How could you destroy the accounts yourself? How can you do this to the Emperor's cultivation and your family's expectations?"

Zhang Youdao suddenly turned around and gave him a deep look. He saw Zhong Zhengyuan's two thin eyebrows dancing like long worms.

After a long pause, he closed his eyes and let out a long breath. "I beg Your Majesty's forgiveness. In my haste that day, I mistakenly burned the account books. It was all my doing."

Li Yang glanced at the two men's situation and knew that Emperor Qing would not let the embezzled 43 million taels of silver go easily.

She glanced at Zhong Zhengyuan again, only to see the latter standing with his hands at his sides, his round head slightly raised, his beard and eyebrows raised as if he were confident of victory.

Seeing this, Li Yang blinked and continued looking at Zhang Youdao, his thin lips slightly parted, "Lord Zhang, don't be in such a hurry, it's not over yet."

Zhang Youdao looked at Li Yang in alarm, "My lady, don't talk nonsense. I only accidentally burned the salt merchant's account book."

Hearing him call himself "wife", Li Yang couldn't help but chuckle. "Just now you were a thieving woman, and now you're a young lady. Whether the people are human or ghost depends entirely on Lord Zhang's clever tongue."

After the mockery, she raised her head again, "In the past three years, the birthdays of Lord Zhang, Madam Zhang, the old lady of the Zhang family, the two young masters of the Zhang family, and their weddings, were all handled by the salt merchants."

For example, on Zhang Daren's birthday, ten tables were booked at the largest banquet hall in town, and porridge was distributed in the town for ten days in the name of the Zhang family, each time costing more than 30,000 taels of silver.

He received countless birthday gifts from various salt merchants, which were not recorded.

On Madam Zhang's birthday, only a family banquet was held. However, all the salt merchants and the Dajue Temple were required to offer incense, with donations starting at a thousand taels and often reaching ten thousand taels. These incense donations were then converted by the monks of the temple, placed in incense baskets, and transported to the Zhang residence.

For the birthdays of the other family members, countless gifts were received, but none were recorded.

That's about one million taels.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Youdao broke out in a cold sweat, his face darkening with uncertainty.

“Lord Zhang must be wondering where these accounts came from,” Li Yang said with a smile. “Yes, the Chen family’s account books don’t record these either.”

However, Lord Zhang, being a salt merchant for generations, is most skilled at keeping accounts.

The above details are a record of the gifts given, dictated by the salt merchants. A simple check at your residence will confirm the information.

As he spoke, Li Yang raised the account book in his hand again.

Emperor Qing: "You, Zhang Youdao, I appointed you as a local official to manage the salt affairs of Songshan Town, yet you embezzled from your post!"

Emperor Qing ordered Zhang Youdao to be detained and to be tried later. Immediately, someone stepped forward, grabbed Zhang Youdao, and dragged him aside.

Li Yang's lips curled slightly. Mr. Zheng was indeed right. At present, the court's most urgent task was the escalating war in the southern border, which was precisely when money was needed. That was why they quickly decided to fabricate evidence against Chen Junbai and others.

Li Yang's act of exposing Zhang Youdao's accounts today was a way of presenting Emperor Qing with five million taels of silver. This would allow the war in the southern border to continue, and with this bargaining chip, Chen Junbai's matter could still be discussed.

Mr. Zheng instructed her to treat Emperor Qing as Manager Zhou, and simply focus on negotiating a deal with him.

Li Yang hadn't understood before, but now that he saw Emperor Qing's demeanor was no longer as gloomy as before, and that he had taken Zhang Youdao into custody on the spot, he finally understood.

In this way, confidence was born.

It was as if she had returned to that day when she stood with her hands on her hips at the entrance of the banquet hall, discussing joining the business with Manager Zhou.

She smiled slyly and said, "Not only that, but Zhong Zhengyuan, the governor of Jiangnan, served two consecutive terms, totaling five years. During those five years, Songshan Town and the surrounding towns suffered countless disasters."

In the twelfth year of the Daqing reign (1873), Gao County suffered a devastating flood, resulting in countless deaths and injuries. Floods continued to occur in the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth years of the Daqing reign (1874), destroying farmland. The flood of the sixteenth year of the Daqing reign (1875) caused a famine.

During this period, the lower reaches of the river were fully repaired, costing 270,000 taels of silver, donated by salt merchants and transported to the warehouse.

The annual replacement of the gate ropes on the Yizheng section of the Grand Canal is seventy taels, which is used to transport silver from the treasury.

The repair of the saltworks gate cost 900 taels of silver, which was not recorded and was actually a donation from a salt merchant.

The dredging of the Wanchang Canal cost 480,000 taels of silver, which was transported through the treasury, donated by salt merchants, and loaned to them.

Zhong Zhengyuan frowned and asked, "So what?"

Li Yang said, "Lord Zhong, in the past five years, the salt merchants have donated and borrowed nearly one million taels of silver, which is recorded in the books. There are also disaster relief efforts in the city that have not been recorded. Therefore, the actual expenditure on the flood alone has far exceeded one million taels of silver during your tenure."

What do you think, sir?

Can't a million taels of silver be used to repair dikes and waterways?

I'm afraid not. How much of that money was actually spent on repairs, and how much of it somehow ended up in your residence, Lord Zhong, through the flood?

Floods have displaced many people, leaving them homeless and even causing famine. For you, Lord Zhong, this is a time of divine grace and abundant wealth.

Not to mention drought, road construction, and other projects. Lord Zhong, I must say, you are smarter than Lord Zhang. But do you really think all of this is beyond verification?

Zhong Zhengyuan raised his eyebrows. "As the official in charge of the people of Lianghuai, I have always been conscientious and diligent. Whenever a disaster occurs, I report it to the court immediately. How can you slander me?"

Li Yang raised the ledger in his hand once again. "I'm sorry, the salt merchants in town remember. Every disaster relief effort, every donation, every account, every receipt is recorded."

Lord Zhong, you seem to have forgotten what happened in the fifteenth year of the Daqing reign. To welcome His Majesty's visit, the salt merchant Li Yuhan raised the issue of the dikes in Gao County and suggested repairs, which you rejected. The following year, Gao County suffered a major flood, displacing many people. The salt merchants had to raise funds for disaster relief, resulting in them being unable to pay the full amount owed to the treasury that year. This also affected the salt administration, with taxes reduced by 20%.

You were the one who caused the deaths of every commoner and every animal that year, the loss of 20% of the tax revenue, and the shortage of treasury funds.

Lord Zhong, do you remember why you rejected the proposal to repair the dike, but approved the proposal to build a road to Ganquan County? I'm afraid you don't. Although the dike repair, which was in danger, was postponed, widening the dirt road was considered the top priority. Why? For political achievements?! For reward?!

Upon hearing this, Zhong Zhengyuan could no longer stand upright in the hall. He could only twitch his mustache and point a trembling finger at Liyang, unable to utter a single coherent word.

Seeing this, Zhuang Ziyang said, "He is truly a coward! Your Majesty, Lord Zhong's actions are a disgrace to the court and to His Majesty. He must not be let off lightly!"

Emperor Qing nodded. "Zhong Zhengyuan, what do you say?"

“She fabricated this out of thin air! She slandered an official of the imperial court! According to the law…” Zhong Zhengyuan simply denied it.

"Lord Zhong!" Li Yang shouted, "The people involved that day, Lord Lin and Chen Junbai are in prison. Are Li Yuhan and Liu Yitong still outside the palace? The magistrate of Gao County said at the time that he reported the matter to the Ministry of Works on the grounds of widening the river channel, which can be found out with a simple investigation."

Zhong Zhengyuan was so shocked by her shout that he lost his voice.

Perhaps because she had exerted too much force earlier, Li Yang felt a tearing sensation in her back, so she lowered her head to recover.

These were all things that Chen Junbo and Li Yuhan had casually discussed when they were in Beijing. Chen Junbo had initially brought up the matter as a joke about Li Yuhan's love of donating to disaster relief, but when they got to the point where they talked about the shameless remarks made by the magistrate of Gao County and Zhong Zhengyuan that day, Chen Junbo's expression turned indignant, clearly showing that he had been harboring resentment for a long time.

Thinking of this, Li Yang seemed to feel Chen Junbai's frustration, and felt a surge of anger rising in her chest. She raised her head and shouted, "Look at this! Who is the real criminal? Who is embezzling? Who is breaking the law? The diligent salt officials have had their property confiscated, and the imperial merchants who have worked tirelessly for the salt industry have been sentenced to exile. Important account books have been burned, and the presiding officials are either corrupt or incorruptible. All the evidence is fabricated and cannot withstand scrutiny. Why can't this case be retried?!"

His words were powerful and resonant, echoing throughout the hall.

No one present had expected that Li Yang would suddenly turn his attention to Emperor Qing. The crowd immediately fell silent, fearing that even a single breath could become evidence of their allegiance, and they listened intently to the commotion in the hall.

As Li Yang spoke, she grew increasingly agitated, and at this moment she raised her head and looked directly at Emperor Qing in the hall.

In the grand hall, the emperor, seated high on the dragon throne, appeared so small at this moment. He barely covered half of the chair back, leaning against the armrests for support, his back no longer as straight as before.

He should be a few years younger than his grandfather, but he looks much older than his maternal grandfather. The strands of white hair at his temples and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes tell a story of the old man's hard work.

The old man's face was flushed and his eyes were wide open, as if he was very angry about Li Yang's words.

Below the main hall, officials stood with their heads bowed and bodies hunched over, showing their respect to the emperor of this dynasty through their humility.

There was only a young girl, her hair slightly disheveled, and two faint red marks on her face, yet they couldn't hide the brilliance in her eyes. With her head tilted back, her eyes were intense, staring directly at the emperor, like a stubborn little daughter in a family resisting her father's unwarranted punishment.

The woman was dressed in a plain long gown, and her petite figure made her look like a child. Yet, her body was ramrod straight, and if it weren't for the bloodstains on her back that had just been seen, one would never have guessed that she had just been flogged thirty times.