Chapter 45
Fan Changyu couldn't figure out the key point for a while, and asked: "Why do you say that?"
Yu Qianqian explained to her: "The county magistrate is taking advantage of the people. If the people above him want to be greedy, then the county magistrate doesn't need to collude with the bandits to block the road leading to Jizhou Prefecture. Even if the matter gets out of hand, the people above him can easily suppress it."
"As for using the old man's death to put pressure on me, it was simply because they were eyeing the financial strength of Yixianglou. Among the wealthy merchants in this town, they have the shallowest foundation and are easy to control. I usually give benefits to those officials, and they are willing to help with ordinary difficulties. But when it comes to such a thing, they naturally dare not get involved. Once Yixianglou collapsed, the county magistrate went to other wealthy merchants one by one to extort money. If those wealthy merchants don't want to lose their fortunes and end up in jail like me, they can only pay up obediently."
Fan Changyu immediately understood the interests involved, and slammed the table and said, "Then we must quickly form a team with the other wealthy businessmen in Qingping County!"
Yu Qianqian shook her head, "We have to think about this matter carefully. I am just a merchant. I don't know how much grain the prefecture has issued. If you hadn't said that the county magistrate was greedy for collecting so much grain, I wouldn't have thought so deeply. After all, the court may not pursue him too much for bullying a merchant like me, but he is exploiting the people of Qingping County. No one from the top will protect him. Once the truth is revealed, he will suffer. The county magistrate cannot fail to understand the reason behind this. After thinking about it, the only possibility is that he intends to rebel against the king."
She paused here and looked at Fan Changyu: "Only officials know how much food the army needs to collect. Sister Changyu, how did you know that the county magistrate collected more food?"
After Fan Changyu brought out the reasons Xie Zheng had given, he added: "The county magistrate blocked the road to Jizhou Prefecture. He must have done so out of guilt!"
Yu Qianqian paused for a moment and said, "With the blockade of the prefecture, we can basically conclude that the county magistrate has rebellious intentions. But as long as the county magistrate denies it and only says that the bandits robbed the road, we have no evidence to prove that he is in cahoots with the bandits, and we can't convince the people. The only thing that can identify the county magistrate is the grain collection order. Just saying that the grain collected this year is more than in the past, the government of Huizhou will not force the people to this extent, and it really cannot be used as evidence to identify the county magistrate. After all, Huizhou happened to lose the war at this time, and the grain road was blocked. Who knows what those officials are thinking."
When Fan Changyu listened to Xie Zheng's analysis, he felt that what he said made a lot of sense. Now, when he heard what Yu Qianqian said, he suddenly felt that what Yu Qianqian said was also correct.
She thought carefully about what Xie Zheng and Yu Qianqian said, and suddenly a strange feeling arose in her heart.
Yu Qianqian said that only the officials knew how much grain the army would collect, but when Yan Zheng said that at the time, it seemed as if he knew how much grain the government would collect?
Secondly, Yu Qianqian was worried that the officials of Jizhou Prefecture would not care about the lives of the people because of the war, but Yan Zheng was very sure that the officials of Jizhou Prefecture would not dare to force the people to this extent.
Is it because Yu Qianqian has been in business for many years and considers everything more carefully, while Yan Zheng’s education is not as good as Yu Qianqian’s that he has such high expectations of the government?
Combined with the facts at hand, what Yan Zheng said seemed to be right. The grain that Suizhou Prefecture demanded to be collected was not as much as the county magistrate collected.
She frowned as she thought about all this, her brows were so tangled that they were almost in a fight.
Yu Qianqian saw this and thought she was bothering to identify the county magistrate, so she consoled her, "Sister Changyu, don't worry about me. I will slowly figure out the matter of Yixianglou myself."
Judging from the way the county magistrate used the old man who died of epilepsy to splash dirty water on Yixianglou, it was clear that he wanted to put Yu Qianqian in jail.
Fan Changyu pursed his lips and said, "Master He is the lackey of the county magistrate. It was Master He who hired people to throw dirty water on you. I think Master He probably knows how much military rations the Fuzhou Prefecture really wants to collect. Why don't we start with Master He?"
Yu Qianqian was confused and asked, "How do we do this?"
Fan Changyu said, "Knock him out with a stick, put him in a sack, drag him back upstairs and interrogate him. What do you think?"
Yu Qianqian looked at the honest and cute girl in front of her, and found it a little hard to believe that such words actually came out of her mouth.
Thinking about how she had just used this method to help her deal with a few thugs, the subtle surprise in her heart was reduced a little.
She thought about it carefully and nodded, "Forget it, let's try it out."
She looked at Fan Changyu and said, "But don't get involved in this matter. I'll hire someone to do it. The county magistrate is currently embezzling the majority of money from the wealthy businessmen in Qingping County. If the truth is revealed and it's your fault, your husband and your sister will also be implicated."
Fan Changyu was about to say something in rebuttal, but swallowed it back because of Yu Qianqian's second half of the sentence.
She was indeed fearless when alone, but once Changning was involved, she dared not act recklessly.
If anything happened to her, Changning would be left alone in this world.
And there is Yan Zheng. Yan Zheng is leaving soon, and he can't be involved in such a lawsuit because of her.
Finally, Fan Changyu could only ask, "Shopkeeper, is there anything else I can help you with?"
Yu Qianqian smiled at her: "You have given me so many suggestions, isn't that a help? Don't call me shopkeeper in the future, it sounds strange. Although I am six or seven years older than you, don't call me old, just call me Qianqian."
Fan Changyu could clearly feel that Yu Qianqian treated her more intimately than before, and she did not dwell on the title and immediately said, "Qianqian."
Yu Qianqian smiled with eyes crooked, and said, "I heard that you brought a cart of salted meat. I can't sell it here today. It would be a pity if you take it back and can't sell it all and it goes bad. So, you can send it to Zui Li Rice Shop. I have a good relationship with the boss. He just happens to have a reserved banquet today, so he can use your salted meat."
She called a waiter upstairs and asked him to take Fan Changyu to Zui Li Rice Restaurant. She also paid Fan Changyu for the brined meat: "I will pay you on behalf of the boss of Zui Li Rice Restaurant first, and I will ask him for the money later."
Fan Changyu refused: "You should first deal with the problem upstairs. Once the boss of Zui Li Rice Shop gives you the money, you can give it to me later."
Yu Qianqian put the money bag in her hand: "Take it. If Yixianglou is still not saved, I might have to bring Baoer to your place to eat and drink for two days. I can't owe you money first."
Since she said so, Fan Changyu had no choice but to accept it.
After delivering the brined meat to Zuilu Villa, Fan Changyu asked the old man who was driving the car to send the employees of Yixianglou back to the building. After thinking it over, he decided to go to Captain Wang's house.
It was not for the purpose of asking Captain Wang to help Yu Qianqian. Fan Changyu knew that Captain Wang was an upright man. If the county magistrate asked Captain Wang to lead his detectives to do something against the law, and Captain Wang was unaware that the county magistrate had already rebelled, and he became a knife for the county magistrate without knowing it, he would probably have to spend the rest of his life in guilt.
If I am labeled as a thief again, it will be even more of a loss.
Fan Changyu knocked on the door of Captain Wang's house. The woman who opened the door was the old woman again. She was not as happy as before to see Fan Changyu. She looked worried and said, "It's the wife of the Fan family."
Fan Changyu asked, "Is Captain Wang at home?"
The old woman said, "Yes."
Then he led her into the house. Captain Wang and his wife were both in the main room. She didn't know if it was Fan Changyu's illusion, but she always felt that Captain Wang seemed to have a decadent look and was not as heroic as before.
Mrs. Wang smiled and asked her to sit down: "Changyu is here, have you encountered any difficulties?"
Fan Changyu shook his head and said, "No, I came here to ask Uncle Wang about some matters related to the county government."
Mrs. Wang immediately showed some embarrassment on her face and said, "Your uncle Wang...I'm afraid he can't help you. He is no longer working in the county government."
Fan Changyu was shocked and asked, "When did this happen?"
Madam Wang sighed, "On the second day of the new year, your uncle went to the county government office for duty, and was told that he didn't have to go anymore. He was told that he was not effective in investigating the treasure map murder case, and all the guys who followed your uncle were replaced. This county magistrate is usually very quiet, but he did something like this when he was about to be transferred."
Fan Changyu's eyelids jumped when he heard this. It was obvious that the county magistrate knew Captain Wang's character and was afraid that he would do something bad, so he sent Captain Wang away early.
She asked, "Uncle Wang, do you know where the runners currently employed in the county government are from?"
Captain Wang shook his head and said, "I didn't ask, but I heard that they were specially recruited to find people with good martial arts skills."
Fan Changyu pursed his lips and said, "Those people might be bandits."
These words stunned Captain Wang and his wife.
Mrs. Wang was the first to react. She smiled and said, "Why is this child talking nonsense?"
Fan Changyu looked solemn, "Auntie, I'm not talking nonsense. The county magistrate colluded with the bandits to block the prefecture and roads, and also used the conscription of military rations to extort money from the people. Now he is targeting the wealthy merchants in Qingping County. He clearly wants to take all this money and join the rebel king."
After she finished speaking, the whole room became so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
Captain Wang was in such shock that he could not recover for a long time. He could only mutter, "How...how is this possible?"
Fan Changyu then told Yu Qianqian about what happened to him. "He is not just forcing the shopkeeper of Yixianglou to give him money. He wants all of Yixianglou's money. He also blocked the road to the prefecture, blocking the way from the county to the prefecture."
Captain Wang actually believed it to some extent, but the news was too shocking. He was still trying to convince himself: "Blocking the prefecture road, maybe just to prevent that shopkeeper Yu from going to the Jizhou prefecture to sue him?"
Seeing this, Fan Changyu also felt that Yu Qianqian's worries were not unreasonable. Without solid evidence, people could only guess based on some clues. Even if most people had doubts in their hearts, they would not dare to take sides easily without seeing hard evidence.
She thought of the grain collection order that Yu Qianqian had mentioned, and said, "Uncle Wang, have you seen the grain collection order sent from Jizhou Prefecture to Qingping County? If the amount of military rations collected by the county magistrate is inconsistent with the grain collection order, this would be ironclad evidence."
Captain Wang shook his head and said, "I can't see that. The county magistrate and Master He looked at it and then directly ordered the brothers to collect grain. However, all the documents are kept in the county government's library. I have some friendship with the chief clerk who manages the documents. He should be able to see the grain collection order."
Fan Changyu's heart beat fast and his palms were sweating unconsciously: "Can we go find the chief clerk?"
After all, Captain Wang had been handling cases for many years and was calm. He said, "We can't make a fuss. I was dismissed from my post and I went to Chief Clerk Liu's house. If the county magistrate really wanted to rebel, I'm afraid someone would have told him the moment I went to Chief Clerk Liu's house."
Mrs. Wang suddenly said, "We haven't visited the Liu family this year, so this is a good excuse. It's almost noon now, so you stay home, old man. I'll take Changyu to the Liu family with the New Year gifts. It won't let the county magistrate find out."
Captain Wang nodded: "This method is feasible."
Mrs. Wang picked out a few New Year gifts and took Fan Changyu to Liu Zhubu's home.
After hearing their purpose, Liu Zhubu was also shocked, and then said: "The Fuzhou Prefecture did send a document for collecting military rations, but I have never seen it. The order for collecting rations has always been kept by the county magistrate."
The county magistrate kept holding on to the document and refused to give it to Liu Zhubu for filing, which undoubtedly proved that the county magistrate was rebellious.
Fan Changyu and Mrs. Wang left Liu's house, both walking back with heavy hearts on their faces.
Without the grain requisition letter, all hope can only be placed on Master He.
Mrs. Wang said sadly, "The damn county magistrate took all the money and grain and joined the rebel king. All the grain seeds were taken away. How can the farmers live?"
Fan Changyu glanced at the sun and wondered whether Yu Qianqian and her men had captured Master He.
As soon as this thought came to her mind, another idea suddenly flashed through her mind.
She looked at Mrs. Wang and said, "Auntie, why don't we just tie up the county magistrate?"
The redness in Mrs. Wang's eyes had not yet faded. She looked at the well-behaved girl in front of her, opened her mouth, but could not utter a word for a long time.
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